Chapter 1346: At Rock Bottom

In the northern border of Yankang, a red light suddenly descended from the sky. Within the red light were two wandering souls—a terrestrial soul and a celestial soul. They were wretched and riddled with holes from Qin Mu's attacks. Fortunately, the Heavenly Emperor's two souls were incredibly powerful, which prevented them from being instantly scattered. However, Heavenly Emperor Taichu's terrestrial and celestial souls were also severely weakened.

These two souls had originally been summoned by Qin Mu nineteen years ago, before the Yankang Calamity erupted. To persuade the Heavenly Emperor to help Yankang overcome the disaster, Qin Mu had to fulfill the Heavenly Emperor's conditions to summon his souls. At that time, the Heavenly Emperor's two souls had already shattered into black soul-sand. To reconstruct these two souls, Qin Mu spared no effort, repeatedly kowtowing to Heavenly Duke and Earth Count for their power, which he eventually received. Reconstructing the two souls left Qin Mu severely weakened himself, even causing him to collapse into a coma from exhaustion.

Yet, even after his two souls were reconstructed, the Heavenly Emperor did not directly intervene to protect Yankang during the Calamity. The Yankang Calamity still erupted, resulting in countless deaths among common folk and divine practitioners. Only after gaining dominion over the Primordial Realm did the Heavenly Emperor order the gods of the Celestial Heavens to cease their attacks on Yankang, allowing it to survive. However, he then went back on his word, prohibiting reforms, suppressing Emperor Yanfeng and Yankang Imperial Advisor Jiang Baigui, and executing Ling Yushu of the "Tai" character generation. This series of bloody tactics plunged Yankang into a state of great terror.

At that time, Qin Mu was without his soul; his entire soul had been handed over to his elder brother, Qin Fengqing. He was left with only his indestructible divine consciousness and physical body, effectively a walking corpse. It was only through Qin Mu's strenuous efforts to protect Yankang that he secured its future. Heavenly Emperor Taichu's terrestrial and celestial souls were also reincarnated in Yankang at that time. Qin Mu, wandering soul-less, only arrived at the Celestial Heavens two or three years later. As Qin Mu is now sixteen, almost seventeen, he deduced that Heavenly Emperor Taichu's reincarnation in Yankang would be nineteen years old.

"Mu Tianzun is a mere jumping clown, so vicious, attempting to assassinate my reincarnated self—I cannot tolerate him!" The Heavenly Emperor's terrestrial and celestial souls entwined in the air, seething with rage. "I have indulged him far too much; I never imagined he would be so presumptuous! This Primordial Capital is my territory. He barely survives under my very eaves, yet dares to be so insolent? I will not tolerate him!"

The Primordial Realm was originally called Primordial Capital. Later, Earth Mother renamed it the Primordial Realm to signify her dominion over it. However, some ancient gods still refer to it as the Primordial Capital.

"He was able to find me, likely by using Earth Count's Book of Life and Death, and also because my name contains the character 'Xiao'. It seems I can no longer use 'Xiao' in my name from now on." "Taichu" was the name given to him by the Grand Emperor, while "Xiao" was a name he chose for himself. He actually disliked the name "Taichu" greatly, which is why every time he reincarnated, his name would include the character 'Xiao'. Names like Gu Xiao, Chu Xiao, Xiao Weisu, Xiao Tianji, and Xiao Chujue all contained the character 'Xiao'.

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the sky. Formidable divine beings descended from above the Primordial Realm directly into it, bypassing the spirit energy transfer bridges. The immense power of these divine beings caused the spirit energy transfer bridges within the Primordial Realm to continuously erupt with thick gushes of spirit energy, working to maintain the realm's energy equilibrium. After these divine beings descended, numerous towering ships and large vessels were seen sailing into the Primordial Realm from the sky, causing the spirit energy from the transfer bridges to gush out even more fiercely.

When Celestial Venerable Xiao's divine artifact, Imperial Celestial Venerable, and the Primordial Wood were suppressing the Primordial Realm, no one would have dared to commit such an egregious act. However, with the disappearance of the divine artifact, Imperial Celestial Venerable, and the Primordial Wood, the Primordial Realm is now a land without a master. Consequently, certain entities within the Celestial Heavens could no longer sit idly by, unable to resist extending their influence towards the Primordial Realm.

"This is terrible! I've been exiled by Celestial Venerable Yue; this Primordial Capital might not be protected." The two souls started, immediately concealing themselves, feeling uneasy. "Last night's fierce battle caused too much commotion. Although I used the Primordial Wood to seal the Primordial Capital, preventing the Celestial Heavens from noticing the major conflict in the Primordial Realm, they will certainly send powerful individuals to investigate. Seeing my disappearance, these insidious and cunning individuals will definitely seize this opportunity to seize the Primordial Capital."

From the towering ships in the sky, black dogs with slender waists and long legs suddenly leaped out, rushing forth like a flood in all directions. "Howling Celestial Dogs!" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls were even more startled. The Celestial Heavens had a vast number of Howling Celestial Dogs, which were adept at tracking people. However, these dogs were under the control of the Divine Pursuit Camp, implying that all the divine pursuers might have been mobilized. But anyone capable of mobilizing all divine pursuers must possess immense power, at least on the level of the Four Emperors.

More and more Howling Celestial Dogs streamed down from the sky, sniffing around wildly. Some even rushed directly towards the crescent moon above, transforming into primeval beasts and opening their massive mouths as if to devour the Primordial Realm's moon. On the moon, a divine maiden appeared, and a flash of sword light severed a dog's head, causing the other Howling Celestial Dogs to scatter immediately.

Just then, the sky suddenly brightened. Golden three-legged crows were seen pulling golden chariots into the Primordial Realm. These enormous crow-drawn chariots radiated intense fire, transforming into small suns that rolled across the sky above the Primordial Realm. "It's the Golden Crow Army, under the command of Great Sun Star Lord!" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls were even more alarmed. The Golden Crow Army was a personal guard army under Ancestor God King, led by Great Sun Star Lord Danfeng. These golden crows possessed incredibly keen eyesight and were known for their meticulous observation. Clearly, the Golden Crow Army had also come to search for the whereabouts of Celestial Venerable Xiao.

"This time, we're truly in trouble!" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls felt anxious. "Thanks to Mu Tianzun!"

Suddenly, a white cat descended from the sky, leaping and soaring through the air, jumping nimbly from one Golden Crow Army chariot to another. The Golden Crow Army dared to be angry but not to speak. The white cat then leaped onto the back of a Howling Celestial Dog, its cat eyes wide as it gazed out at the mountains and lands of the Primordial Realm. The Heavenly Emperor's two souls involuntarily shuddered. This white cat, Little Seven, was a handsome man in the Celestial Heavens, the paramour of Consort Yan. Consort Yan releasing the white cat now meant her purpose was self-evident: to search for Celestial Venerable Xiao.

"That vile woman is so ruthless, sending her paramour to kill me!" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls swiftly fled.

The sky grew even brighter. It was daytime, yet numerous stars appeared in the heavens. On thousands of stars, divine beings stood, their right hands resting on their foreheads as they gazed towards the Primordial Realm. These divine beings were Celestial Heaven divine generals guarding the star maps; many were commanders from the Celestial Eye Tribe. Even these divine beings had been deployed now. The Heavenly Emperor's two souls plummeted with a sudden jolt, as if falling into an abyss. Anyone capable of mobilizing all divine beings across the entire celestial map must be one of the Ten Celestial Venerables.

"When a wall falls, everyone pushes it! Now that my Celestial Venerable Xiao identity has been exiled, all these fellows are coming to push the wall down!" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls attached themselves to a tree. Suddenly, mournful cries of "Dahong!" "Dahong!" echoed from the sky. A colossal cyan bird was seen flapping its wings, flying like a floating continent. "When did Hong Tianzun, that old good-for-nothing, become so proactive?" The Heavenly Emperor's two souls were furious but helpless. Only after Hong Tianzun flew far away did they continue onward, thinking, "I need to reincarnate as quickly as possible. My celestial and terrestrial souls are injured now; I must find a young body to conceal my soul's aura."

The Land of Exile, a chaotic space. Celestial Venerable Xiao, accompanied by the Primordial Wood, had fallen into the labyrinth of this space. He saw fragmented cosmic spaces of various sizes colliding all around him. Located at the center of this chaotic space, he could not perceive its full extent. If he had stood outside this chaotic space, able to discern its deepest reaches, he would have seen a suspended realm on its periphery. That realm was the territory of the Chishang Remnants, a peculiar space-time formed from the physical body of the Red Emperor.