Chapter 1473: Taiyi Borrows Treasure

Shu Jun's messy head was highly conspicuous. Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, "This Aroma Palace is a building from Jade Capital City."

"Which Jade Capital City?" Everyone was a little confused.

There were simply too many Jade Capital Cities. Eternal Peace had a Minor Jade Capital, there was also a Jade Capital City in the Celestial Heavens, and other emperors' heavenly palaces also contained structures like Jade Capital City.

"The Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City," Shu Jun paused, then continued, "Back then, when I was still an ancient god-king, I once ventured to a mysterious place with Grand Emperor, Grand Initial, and other god-kings. That place was the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital. We saw many incredible things there..."

His expression was strange; evidently, even now, he still found it unbelievable. After a moment, he continued, "We suffered heavy casualties there, but our discovery was so astonishing that we sealed the place. It's likely that someone among us brought the Aroma Palace out during that expedition."

Qin Mu scrutinized the Aroma Palace. This grand hall was indeed not a treasure that the former creators could have made.

In the Primordial Era, creators fought by visualizing with their divine consciousness. Their architecture was predominantly minimalist, without decoration, and they hadn't developed their own art.

Each era had its own unique artistic heritage. The architecture and aesthetics of the Dragon Han Era were largely based on ancient god totems and worship, with bizarre ancient god patterns everywhere.

The Crimson Light Era championed masculine beauty, with numerous majestic three-headed, six-armed god-demon patterns showcasing the aesthetic of physical power.

During the High Emperor Era, the Northern High Emperor and Southern High Emperor were in opposition. The Northern High Emperor ruled over demigods, while the Southern High Emperor ruled over humans. The Southern High Emperor's philosophy was that human lives were more important than heaven, so their art often depicted the idea that humans could conquer nature.

By the Founding Emperor Era, divine arts had become intricate, and art had reached its pinnacle. The art of this period was extremely complex, often depicting the Post-Celestial Dao and daily life.

As for Eternal Peace's art, it hadn't fully developed yet, and its variety was even greater. For example, the Deaf Mute was skilled at painting gods, ghosts, and demons, as well as court ladies.

However, the artistic style of the Aroma Palace had no lineage connection with these eras. The Aroma Palace could indeed have originated from the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City.

Yet, this art was clearly not naturally occurring but rather created by people. This was peculiar!

"Could it be that the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City wasn't naturally formed, but rather man-made?"

Qin Mu's expression was strange. Having witnessed the Ancestral Court's Four Heavenly Gates, Nine Prisons Platform, God Slaying Platform, Heavenly Sea, Jade Pond Terrace, and other places, he had a preconceived notion that the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City was also a unique place formed by the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

However, judging from the Aroma Palace, this Jade Capital City was likely not a natural wonder formed by heaven and earth, but rather a divine city created by sentient beings!

There was no civilization before the creators. So, when was Jade Capital City forged?

He grew alert. Connecting this with the coffin of the previous universe beneath the Jade Pond Terrace and the fact that the entire Ancestral Court was a massive altar, he formed a conjecture.

"The Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City is likely a product of the previous cosmic epoch, not destroyed by the universe's collapse... However, this is just my guess. Whether it's true will only be known by entering Jade Capital and seeing for myself!"

His gaze fell back on the Aroma Palace. Grand Emperor, Grand Initial, and others explored Jade Capital City back then, took the Aroma Palace, but then sealed it.

The oldest seals on the Aroma Palace could be traced back to the Primordial Era.

This meant that after Grand Emperor and Grand Initial took the Aroma Palace, they discovered something terrifying: something dreadful was about to emerge from within the Aroma Palace!

Even Grand Emperor and Grand Initial, at that time, felt threatened. So, they gathered the strength of all the powerful experts and sealed the Aroma Palace together!

"Later, Celestial Emperor Grand Initial eradicated the creators, sealed the Ancestral Court, and unified the cosmos. He then placed the Aroma Palace in the Celestial Heavens, making it a tool to suppress dissidents. Anyone disobedient would be executed, their souls and primordial spirits imprisoned within the Aroma Palace. This custom continued when the Ten Heavenly Venerates came to power."

As Qin Mu thought this, he saw the Cripple and Lan Yutian circling the Aroma Palace repeatedly. Qin Mu had once used a divine mirror to scan the Aroma Palace's seals, and they had studied it for many years. The Mute even replicated several halls according to the Aroma Palace's specifications.

However, when facing this divine palace itself, the Cripple and Lan Yutian were still unsure.

The Mute's replicas didn't have seals as powerful as the true Aroma Palace. To enter the hall, one would have to pass through various incomparably powerful seals!

Furthermore, getting in was one thing; getting out was another!

If they could get in but couldn't get out, that would be disastrous.

"Don't act rashly!" Qin Mu instructed, then called for Yan'er and asked, "Is Grand Beginning still in the holy mountain?"

Yan'er replied, "He was repairing the holy mountain just now. I don't know if he's finished."

Qin Mu said gravely, "Take Lan Yutian to see him. You must ask for a willow branch from him."

Yan'er immediately flew up, transformed into a dragon-sparrow, grabbed Lan Yutian's arm, and soared towards Grand Beginning.

Meanwhile, the others circled the divine palace, recording various seals, compiling them for the Blind Man. The Blind Man, Granny Si, Xu Shenghua, and others then listed methods for breaking them.

Wei Suifeng tried to break the outer seals but was stopped by Qin Mu, who shook his head and said, "Heavenly Venerate Huo knows the Aroma Palace is in our hands, but the other Heavenly Venerates don't. If we disturb their seals, they'll sense it. We can only attempt to break their seals when absolutely necessary."

Wei Suifeng's eyes flickered, and he whispered, "Are you implying?"

"If we go to the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City and get trapped there, we can then try to break the Heavenly Venerates' seals."

Qin Mu blinked, then chuckled, "If the Ten Heavenly Venerates come to our rescue, that would surely be quite a grand spectacle."

Wei Suifeng burst out laughing and stopped touching the seals.

Qin Mu took out his divine bow and slung it over his back.

The Cripple was eager to try something. Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then reached out. With a rumble, the Lapis Lazuli Heaven Flag's twenty-eight heavens sequentially retracted, quickly transforming into a canopy over three zhang tall.

"Grandpa Cripple, take this treasure for self-defense."

Qin Mu handed him the Lapis Lazuli Heaven Flag, then suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "It's lent to you, not given. You must return it to me after we leave this divine palace!"

"Stingy!" The Cripple took the Lapis Lazuli Heaven Flag, examined it, and praised, "What a good treasure... Of course, I wouldn't keep something I didn't steal myself. Don't worry, I'll return it."

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Shortly after, Yan'er returned with Lan Yutian, saying, "Grand Beginning said he couldn't lend it to you; if he did, you wouldn't return it. It was Little Fatty Lan's plea that made Grand Beginning reluctantly nod, only lending you a single leaf."

"That's outrageous! Am I the kind of person who doesn't return what they borrow?" Qin Mu took the leaf; its texture was complex, a leaf from Grand Beginning's Dao Tree. He regretted, "If I had borrowed the branch, then one less leaf wouldn't matter. But with just a single leaf, it's hard to secretly keep it..."

He felt invigorated, looked around, and said in a deep voice, "This time, Grandpa Cripple, Lan Yutian, and I will enter the divine palace. Everyone else stays outside. If we get trapped inside and can't escape, then Shu Jun and Senior Brother Wei, take the divine palace to the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City. Once there, try to break the outer seals to lure the Ten Heavenly Venerates to rescue us!"