Chapter 1393: Heaven Alliance Leader

"What kind of divine art is this?" Hong Tianzun was bewildered. He attempted to break free from the Nine Hells Lock Heart with his Dao heart, but the moment his Dao heart stirred, he felt countless sharp spikes grow wildly within the Nine Hells Platform, preventing his Dao heart from escaping.

His Dao heart felt a stinging pain.

Qin Mu's enduring Nine Hells Lock Heart Dao could not suppress Hong Tianzun's cultivation, but it did shackle his Dao heart.

Hong Tianzun's cultivation was immensely powerful; even the true Nine Hells Platform couldn't affect him in the slightest, much less Qin Mu's divine art, which was merely derived from the Nine Hells Platform at the back of the Ancestral Court.

However, this enduring divine art of Nine Hells Lock Heart was not aimed at his cultivation, but at trapping his Dao heart. While the Dao heart's direct impact on a person might not be as potent as cultivation, it is still crucial.

The Divine Treasure Heavenly Palace system focuses on enhancing cultivation and magical power, emphasizing brute strength, for which the Dao heart is not considered vital.

However, Kaihuang forged a new path, pioneering the Dao Realm system.

Advancing through the Dao Realm requires not only comprehending the Great Dao but also critically depends on the Dao heart.

Kaihuang possessed the strongest Dao heart in existence, which enabled him to stand against the Ten Celestials despite only reaching the thirty-fourth heaven of the Dao Realm. By locking Hong Tianzun's Dao heart, Qin Mu effectively halted his progress in the Dao Realm, making any further advancement impossible.

He could only break through Qin Mu's lock on his Dao heart if his comprehension of the Heavenly Dao reached the twenty-fourth heaven of the Dao Realm.

Although Hong Tianzun was a protector during the Kaihuang era and had benefited from its advancements, his understanding of the relationship between the Dao heart and the Dao Realm remained rudimentary.

He had no idea what it meant for his Dao heart to be locked by Qin Mu.

After all, the Dao Realm system was still in its nascent stages, with no one having yet achieved its Grand Perfection. Moreover, Qin Mu's enduring Nine Hells Lock Heart Dao was a newly developed great divine art for entering the Dao, being unveiled to the world for the very first time.

Aside from his Dao heart being locked, he felt no other abnormality or weakening within himself.

This weakening was based on the Dao heart and could not be perceived at the moment. However, should Hong Tianzun sustain an injury and his cultivation be damaged, he would find his vital energy, divine sense, primordial spirit, physical body, and even the Great Dao he had cultivated, all locked and unable to return to their peak state, precisely because his Dao heart was bound.

As long as he remained uninjured, it would be nothing more than Qin Mu having locked his Dao heart.

But the moment he sustained an injury, he would be utterly doomed!

This was the formidable power of Qin Mu's twenty-fifth heaven great divine art of the Dao Realm!

"Why is Celestial Venerable Mu upset with Celestial Venerable Hong?"

Yun Chuxiu approached, her two braids swaying as she chuckled, "That old fellow has always been a good-natured person. How did you manage to offend him?"

Suddenly, blood began to stream from Qin Mu's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Startled, Yun Chuxiu cried out, "You seemed perfectly fine a moment ago, even able to regenerate after being shattered. Why do you suddenly look as if you're on the verge of death?"

"You're the one about to die."

Qin Mu snorted coldly, saying, "I was wounded by Hong Tianzun. Although my physical body and primordial spirit have recovered, his divine art was so potent that it left me with some Dao injuries, which periodically harm my physical form and primordial spirit. Nevertheless, it's fine; I've cultivated the Medical Dao Heavenly Palace, so these minor Dao injuries won't pose a challenge."

Yun Chuxiu observed two trails of blood flowing from his ears, two lines of bloody tears from his eyes, and two steady streams of blood from his nostrils. She then discreetly glanced towards his lower body.

Qin Mu exploded in anger: "Where are you looking?"

Yun Chuxiu quickly chuckled, "I was just checking if there'd be blood there, but alas, no."

Qin Mu snorted, "Why did you come with this avatar? For a Heavenly Alliance summit, you should at least use your Yuanmu physical body. Anything less would be undignified. You have retrieved your Yuanmu physical body by now, haven't you?"

"Of course, I got it back."

Yun Chuxiu calmly stated, "You had Celestial Venerable You scheme against me, using my physical body to coerce me, which forced me to repair the divine artifact Imperial Celestial Venerable in Earth Count's possession. Had I not retrieved my physical body, everyone in Yankang would be dead by now."

"Didn't you also play a trick on me? Celestial Venerable Gong, Divine Emperor Langxuan, and Celestial Consort Yan all came looking for me; they nearly flayed me alive."

Qin Mu activated the Medical Dao Heavenly Palace to suppress and slowly heal his Dao injuries. Although his injuries were severe, Hong Tianzun had not used his full strength, intending to spare his life, so the Medical Dao Heavenly Palace was capable of healing them.

Ever since Apothecary demonstrated the immense power of the Medical Dao Heavenly Palace and subsequently used his medical expertise on Celestial Venerable Yue, Qin Mu's mastery of the Medical Dao had also steadily improved.

Apothecary's Medical Dao and the Medical Dao Heavenly Palace were truly exquisite and miraculous, achieving feats beyond the reach of even the Dao of Creation.

Yun Chuxiu sighed with a hint of resentment, "For this gathering, I couldn't use my Yuanmu physical body, nor could I directly involve Shi Qiluo. What if the Ten Celestials harbored ill intentions? Wouldn't I risk losing both my physical body and my life? So, I decided to attend with this body first; it won't be too late to reveal myself once everything is confirmed."

The two entered the Yaochi Pavilion. Qin Mu had stopped bleeding from his seven orifices, and his injuries had somewhat stabilized, though his complexion remained slightly sallow. He remarked, "It was right here that I beat your son, Celestial Venerable Hao, starting from the side palace hall just ahead."

Recalling the past, Yun Chuxiu sighed with emotion, "It's a pity you couldn't kill him. Your abilities were too lacking; if you had, none of the subsequent events would have transpired."

Qin Mu retorted angrily, "Didn't you stop me back then?"

Yun Chuxiu quickly chuckled, "At the time, it was my first time having a child, and I was fiercely protective. Seeing you so valiant and injuring my son naturally made me very nervous. You were particularly formidable then, which made my heart flutter like a deer, transforming my young woman's heart back into a maiden's..."

Qin Mu was speechless; that little vixen never spoke a word of truth. Still, listening to her sweet talk was infinitely more pleasant than listening to Shi Qiluo's.

The two walked past the side palace hall and arrived in front of the Celestial Venerable Hall.

Yun Chuxiu seemed a little nervous, pulling on his sleeve. Qin Mu quickly pulled away; Madam Yuanmu was an eccentric ancient god, and not a single word or expression from her could be trusted.

"When this woman gets ruthless, she even deceives herself! She isn't nervous at all; she's just putting on an act."

The two entered the hall and saw eight Celestial Venerables—Hao, Huo, Xu, Lang, Zu, Gong, Qiang, and Yan—already seated in two rows.

The central main seats had five futons, presumably representing the five founders of the Heavenly Alliance.

Celestial Venerable Hao occupied the leading seat on the left row, while the leading seat on the right was empty, presumably reserved for Celestial Venerable Xiao. Despite being exiled, Celestial Venerable Xiao remained one of the principal Ten Celestials.

All eyes immediately fell on Qin Mu and Yun Chuxiu. Qin Mu offered a slight smile and walked directly toward the five futons on the main platform.

"Wait."

Celestial Venerable Hao's gaze shifted from Yun Chuxiu to Qin Mu, stating indifferently, "Celestial Venerable Mu, many fellow Daoists have proposed that you enter our inner circle, and I have no strong objection. Once you take a main seat, you'll be one of us, and you'll receive a share of our interests, including those from the Ancestral Court and its inverse side. However, as your contributions have been minimal, you will bear the responsibility for all future setbacks of the Heavenly Alliance. Consider this carefully."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, continuing his walk toward the futon on the main platform. "You're absolutely right," he said. "My power is indeed meager, and if I don't shoulder the blame, I certainly don't have the right to share in your interests equally. The Heavenly Alliance's burden, I will bear it!"

He arrived at the central futon among the five, smoothed his robe, and sat down. His vertical eye on his forehead opened, casting a glance at each of the seated Celestial Venerables.

Hong Tianzun approached, settling onto his own futon with a chuckle. "Celestial Venerable Mu is certainly swift. A young man, after all, with nimble movements."

Celestial Venerable Hao stated solemnly, "Since fellow Daoist Hong has arrived, the Heavenly Alliance meeting can now commence. Celestial Venerable Xiao is absent, and we have a new potential member: Shi Qiluo of the Zao Fu Heavenly Palace. He possesses great talent and ambition, and his cultivation strength is no less than ours. He can join us. What are your opinions?"

Yun Chuxiu stood in the center of the grand hall, flanked by the nine Celestial Venerables, all of whom fixed scrutinizing gazes upon her.

Fire Celestial Venerable sneered, "What virtue or ability does Madam Yuanmu possess that makes her worthy of a Celestial Venerable's seat?"

Hong Tianzun cleared his throat and said, "We Ten Celestial Venerables do not question origins. If we did, I fear we wouldn't be able to gather a force capable of reshaping the heavens and earth."

Fire Celestial Venerable raised an eyebrow and snorted, "An ancient god entering the ranks of Celestial Venerables? I, for one, object strongly!"

Celestial Venerable Hao stated, "Yuanmu is my mother. Fellow Daoist Huo, please show some forbearance."

Fire Celestial Venerable hesitated, then bowed slightly. "I was rash," he said. "Since Madam Yuanmu is deceased, she is no longer an ancient god. Brother Daoist Shi Qiluo, I am by nature a crude person and have often caused offense; please forgive me."

Ancestral God King cast a dismissive glance at Yun Chuxiu, stating, "I disagree with Fire Celestial Venerable calling Shi Qiluo 'Brother Daoist.' Madam Yuanmu died at the hands of Celestial Venerable Ling and transformed into Shi Qiluo. Shi Qiluo is younger than all of us; how much cultivation could he possibly possess? The Ten Celestials are not a place for just any upstart. Allowing Celestial Venerable Mu, an upstart, to join was already an exception; we cannot make any more. Celestial Venerable Mu, I'm direct by nature; this isn't directed at you personally."

Qin Mu smiled faintly, saying leisurely, "I know you're direct, so I won't take it to heart. I'm also curious to see what capabilities Shi Qiluo possesses."

Yun Chuxiu scanned the room, then suddenly chuckled, "My cultivation is certainly not comparable to yours, but I possess three divine artifacts, the Imperial Celestial Venerables. Would that qualify me for a Celestial Venerable's seat?"

At her words, everyone present's expression instantly changed.

Madam Yuanmu, who had transformed into Shi Qiluo and controlled the Zao Fu Heavenly Palace, must have cut corners over the years, saving an untold amount of divine materials to forge three divine artifacts, the Imperial Celestial Venerables, for herself!

The Zao Fu Heavenly Palace was responsible for constructing divine weapons, heavy armaments, towering warships, and even celestial palaces for the Heavenly Court's various armies. Even if a Celestial Venerable wished to refine a powerful treasure, the initial manufacturing stages would be handled by the Zao Fu Heavenly Palace.

In recent years, the Zao Fu Heavenly Palace had amassed astonishing wealth. They outsourced the forging of divine weapons, formidable artifacts, towering warships, and spiritual energy transfer bridges to Yankang at extremely low prices, while reporting double the cost to the Heavenly Court!

All the Celestial Venerables knew Shi Qiluo was avaricious, but they had never imagined he would be so greedy as to use his ill-gotten gains to craft three divine artifacts, the Imperial Celestial Venerables!

Even more terrifying was that he only claimed to possess three Imperial Celestial Venerable divine artifacts, leaving everyone to wonder how many he had actually manufactured.

Ancestral God King suddenly burst into laughter. "Shi Qiluo taking a Celestial Venerable's seat? I have no objection."

The other Celestial Venerables also nodded in agreement, stating, "No objection."

Celestial Venerable Hao looked at Qin Mu, his voice solemn. "Then, what does the Alliance Leader think?"

Qin Mu smiled faintly, nodding. "Celestial Venerable Shi, please take a seat."

Yun Chuxiu bowed and took her seat.

Celestial Venerable Hao continued, "Celestial Venerable Shi is entitled to a share of the interests within the Ancestral Court, as well as a share of the interests on its inverse side. What are your views regarding Long Xiao and the ancient giant beasts?"

Playful smiles appeared on the faces of the Celestial Venerables throughout the grand hall.

Celestial Venerable Hao cleared his throat and stated solemnly, "The matter of the Beast Realm was disseminated by the Alliance Leader. What is the Alliance Leader's opinion?"

Qin Mu chuckled, "This is an excellent idea. If the giant beasts remain at the back of the Ancestral Court, only those with powerful divine consciousness would benefit most. Therefore, it would be better to establish a Beast Realm and teach summoning divine arts."

"The Beast Realm is feasible," Celestial Venerable Gong said, smiling.

Divine Emperor Langxuan praised, "The Alliance Leader is indeed exceptionally wise. I also believe the Beast Realm is feasible."

Everyone else chimed in with approval: "Feasible, indeed feasible."

Qin Mu then inquired, "Is Long Xiao a suitable ruler for the Beast Realm?"

Hong Tianzun replied, "The Beast Realm requires a sacred being to manage it impartially. If Long Xiao can fulfill that role, then allowing him to become its ruler is acceptable."

The other Celestial Venerables nodded in agreement. Fire Celestial Venerable added, "Long Xiao is wild and untameable. While he acknowledges the power of the Celestial Venerables, he may not be willing to serve us."

Qin Mu smiled faintly. "Long Xiao, come forth!"

Suddenly, the void behind him ripped open, and nine colossal dragon heads emerged. Long Xiao's eighteen eyes opened, shining with brilliant intensity, illuminating the entire Celestial Venerable Hall in stark white light.

"Ancient God King Long Xiao greets all Celestial Venerables and bows to the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Alliance!"

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