Chapter 1299: Foster Son and Foster Father

On the altar, Earth Mother Primordial Monarch gnashed her teeth in hatred. No matter how she urged the altar to summon Dragon Raging, she simply could not make the colossal beast appear.

Dragon Raging's power was far greater than hers; even in the past, he had surpassed her. It was only because she was the Mother of Earth and could control colossal beasts that Grand Emperor assigned her to deal with Dragon Raging. She chose not to kill Dragon Raging, instead hiding him and other powerful beasts in the shadowy depths of Ancestral Court, planning for her own future.

Earth Mother Primordial Monarch harbored grand ambitions. While Heavenly Duke and Earth Count could remain detached, she, the primordial wood that grew strong through the Creator sacrifices in Ancestral Court, had long been tainted by the Creators' worldly desires. She wished to contend with Grand Emperor for future dominion over the universe. However, Grand Emperor was later enthroned by all the gods, establishing the Dragon Han Celestial Heavens and inaugurating the Dragon Han Era. Knowing her ambitions were futile, Earth Mother Primordial Monarch abandoned the idea.

Later, during the Emperor Wars, she was besieged by Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable Ling, Celestial Venerable Huo, Celestial Venerable Xiao, and others, and was killed before she could summon Dragon Raging. Only today, with the unsealing of Ancestral Court, did she have the chance to summon Dragon Raging. Yet, Dragon Raging held her in utter contempt!

"Since you are heartless," Earth Mother Primordial Monarch sneered, "don't blame me for being unjust! I cannot summon you, but I can summon your descendants, bringing all the colossal beasts from Ancestral Court's shadowy depths back here to be commanded by me, to fight for me! I will pave my path to ascension with the blood of your countless offspring!"

She continued to summon colossal beasts from the far side of Ancestral Court. All sorts of bizarre and monstrous creatures continuously emerged from the sky, landing one by one, each immensely massive.

In the void, Qin Mu stared, his eyes wide with astonishment. So many colossal beasts, with such immense physiques, they were no less formidable than Void Beasts. Of course, Void Beasts combined the strengths of most colossal beasts, possessing more attack methods and being more mysterious and unpredictable. They were still somewhat stronger than these beasts; otherwise, Void Beasts wouldn't be the only ones left in this place.

"In the Ancestral Court of old," Qin Mu mused, "the Creators lived in such a perilous world. If they hadn't mastered the power of the Primordial Stone, it would have been truly difficult for them to survive here." Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The Creators' acquisition of the divine stone was accidental, yet it marked the dawn of civilization. From then on, the Creators grew stronger and stronger, gradually controlling the colossal beasts, contending with nature itself, and ultimately becoming rulers. For later races, the Creators were the most ancient gods.

Just then, Qin Mu suddenly sensed something and quickly fled into the depths of the void with the Grand Beginning Egg.

*Swoosh—*

An incredibly thick root-tendril shot past him. Its sharp rootlets suddenly expanded like a huge hedgehog, countless rootlets frantically growing in all directions. The rootlets pierced through layer after layer of void, pursuing Qin Mu directly!

"Celestial Venerable Mu, do you still intend to hide?"

A root-tendril suddenly grew, transforming into flesh and blood. Soon, a woman in the form of Earth Mother Primordial Monarch emerged not far from Qin Mu. The woman let out a sharp, sneering laugh: "Dragon Raging's dragon scales have already illuminated your form in exquisite detail. You actually thought you were hiding cleverly!"

Qin Mu, with the Grand Beginning Egg, fled from the second layer of void into the third, then the fourth. However, root-tendrils filled the sky, swirling and intertwining around him, attacking him relentlessly. On the root-tendrils, one Earth Mother Primordial Monarch after another suddenly grew. Some grew directly on the tendrils, others hung upside down from beneath them, attacking Qin Mu from all directions. Qin Mu's posture was graceful, calmly evading attacks from all directions as Earth Mother Primordial Monarch pursued him deeper and deeper into the layers of void.

He entered the void with his physical body. His entire being seemed to merge with the void, experiencing not the slightest repulsion from it. Earth Mother Primordial Monarch, however, did not possess his ability. She could only forcefully resist the void's repulsion with immensely powerful magic. Thus, Qin Mu was fully confident that he could make Earth Mother Primordial Monarch retreat once she realized the difficulty.

"Earth Mother, you probably don't know this," Qin Mu said with a laugh, "but Consort Yan has already arrived at Ancestral Court. It seems Dragon Raging was right; your wisdom has indeed been affected by the Blood Fiend's entanglement. You've summoned Dragon Raging and so many colossal beasts, causing such a huge commotion; it will be very difficult to hide this from Consort Yan. If you don't leave now, are you waiting to die by Consort Yan's hand?"

Earth Mother Primordial Monarch's heart jolted. All the rootlets that had pierced into the void rapidly retracted, and her main body immediately began sinking beneath the altar! Suddenly, a Great Void of Gui Xu appeared above the altar, drawing in the countless retracting root-tendrils from the void and pulling them into the abyss! This was Consort Yan's Gui Xu divine art. By seizing Earth Mother's root-tendrils, it actually pinned Earth Mother Primordial Monarch underground, forcefully dragging her towards the surface!

Earth Mother Primordial Monarch's hatred for Qin Mu was so profound that she had fully committed her rootlets to chasing him this time. Now that her rootlets were swallowed by the Great Void of Gui Xu, even she found it difficult to escape. Just as Earth Mother Primordial Monarch was about to be pulled to the surface, root-tendrils suddenly snapped, one after another. This was Earth Mother Primordial Monarch, knowing full well she was no match for Consort Yan, severing her roots to escape.

The Great Void of Gui Xu devoured and annihilated the severed root-tendrils. Consort Yan's figure appeared, shaking her sleeves and clasping her hands behind her back. She looked down into the earth, observing the direction of Earth Mother Primordial Monarch's escape. Her presence was immense, like an empress ruling the cosmos, wielding supreme power over all things, including life and death.

Suddenly, the colossal beasts summoned by Earth Mother Primordial Monarch roared, charging menacingly towards Consort Yan, their forms ferocious. Consort Yan let out a cold snort, withdrawing her gaze from the earth, and swept her beautiful eyes across the ancient colossal beasts. Wherever her gaze fell, Great Voids of Gui Xu appeared, successively pulling the ancient colossal beasts into the abyss. Within the abysses, blood gushed like springs. Those seemingly invincible colossal beasts could not escape her gaze, and one by one, they were annihilated into dust.

She suddenly looked up, gazing into the depths of the void. Qin Mu's heart jolted. He thought she was about to act against him and immediately retrieved the Grand Beginning Egg. But then, he suddenly saw a large-headed youth appear in the sixteenth layer of void, observing the movements in Ancestral Court. The large-headed youth had not anticipated Consort Yan's gaze to be so terrifying. Before he could even react, a Great Void of Gui Xu had already appeared in the sixteenth layer of void, drawing him in and causing him to plummet into the abyss! He had originally believed that hiding in the sixteenth layer of void was quite safe. However, Consort Yan's gaze could penetrate through multiple layers of void, reaching him directly!

"Celestial Venerable, truly unexpectedly terrifying!"

This large-headed youth was indeed Shu Jun. He couldn't help but turn pale. He had come for Dragon Raging, but unexpectedly, Dragon Raging had not been summoned by Earth Mother Primordial Monarch at all. Instead, he had encountered Consort Yan, this ruthless woman. His divine sense was powerful, but it had all been used to strengthen his physical body. If it hadn't been used for that, he could have hidden in even deeper layers of void, unafraid of Consort Yan's gaze. And now, even if he wanted to escape into deeper layers of void, it was impossible.

Just as he was about to be sucked into the Great Void of Gui Xu, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him: Qin Mu. Qin Mu also found it difficult to resist Consort Yan's divine art. With a whoosh, he was pulled into the Great Void of Gui Xu. Inside the abyss, thunderous roars echoed, as if a colossal beast was opening its maw to bite and chew fiercely, crunching and grinding.

After a moment, Qin Mu seemed to have been completely chewed to pieces by the Great Void of Gui Xu, and a cloud of blood mist erupted from the abyss.

"Celestial Venerable Mu…" Shu Jun's mind reeled, and he spoke with a tremor.

The blood mist surged, then reformed into Qin Mu's figure. He waved a hand at Shu Jun and smiled: "No need to worry. Consort Yan's divine art isn't too powerful here."

Shu Jun was aghast.

Suddenly, the void trembled. Consort Yan's figure appeared in front of the two men, her cold, clear gaze sweeping over them both.

Qin Mu stepped in front of Shu Jun and smiled: "Empress Consort, we are allies. It hasn't been long since we parted. Why such a deadly attack the moment we meet?"

"Celestial Venerable Mu, you and I are not allies." Consort Yan seemed to want to see through his body, to discern the large-headed youth behind him. She spoke softly: "Who is this youth? His divine sense cultivation is quite good."

"This is my adopted son." Qin Mu turned around, taking the large-headed youth's hand, and smiled: "He specializes in divine sense divine arts. He's merely showing off his meager skills before Your Ladyship."

Shu Jun was utterly unwilling in his heart, but still bit the bullet and said: "Adopted Father, who is this lady…?"

"Don't be rude!" Qin Mu feigned anger and scolded: "This is Celestial Venerable Yan, Empress Consort, one of the Ten Celestial Venerables! Why aren't you bowing?"

Shu Jun hastily performed a junior's salute. He felt even more displeased in his heart: "My seniority seems to be getting lower and lower…"

Today, I'm meeting up with readers in Shanghai, so there will still only be three updates.