Chapter 1629: You, I Have Collected

Qin Mu returned to the Goldship of Fortune, looking down at the Southern Heaven. The numerous heavens there sparkled like individual pearls suspended in the universe, radiant and colorful. The fate of Fire Celestial Venerable, a celestial being from the Dragon Han era, brought a deep sense of melancholy to Qin Mu.

"Is it truly difficult for people to maintain their true selves amidst power and desire, often succumbing and losing their way?" Qin Mu silently mused, "Fire Celestial Venerable probably lost his way the moment Celestial Venerable Yu died. He sank deeper and deeper, and by now, he has completely forgotten who he once was."

He recalled returning a million years ago and meeting Fire Celestial Venerable at the Jade Pool Assembly. At that time, Fire Celestial Venerable was a spirited, kind young man. He believed Qin Mu's extensive praise and encouragement of Ling Celestial Venerable's difficult divine art research was actually harming Ling Celestial Venerable, and thus fought fiercely with Qin Mu. Even after being defeated by Qin Mu, he bore no grudge.

The Fire Celestial Venerable of that time was the true Fire Celestial Venerable. However, after Celestial Venerable Yu's death, that version of Fire Celestial Venerable also died.

"Sadly, he never truly awakened from beginning to end, nor did he perform a final good deed. He educated the people of Southern Heaven into slavery, yet even in death, he couldn't free them from their servility."

Qin Mu withdrew his gaze, and the Goldship of Fortune sailed towards the Primordial Realm.

Meanwhile, as soon as Lady Yuanmu appeared, the battle between Grand Emperor and Emperor Haotian immediately ceased. Grand Emperor was incredibly astute; upon seeing Lady Yuanmu, he instantly knew his chances of victory were nil. Not only was Fire Celestial Venerable doomed, but he couldn't even protect his own son, Lang Xuan. He might as well settle for a comfortable retirement as the Grand Supreme Emperor. Emperor Haotian, constrained by Grand Emperor's power, would not deliver a fatal blow.

"Grand Supreme Emperor, by tomorrow, I want to see the head of my brother, Lang Xuan, placed before my desk," Emperor Haotian called out to Grand Emperor, who was about to leave, stating it flatly.

Grand Emperor's body stiffened, and he nodded silently.

"My two fellow Daoists, are you not coming with me?" Grand Emperor asked, looking at the Taiji Ancient Gods with a slight frown. He took a step, but the two Taiji Ancient Gods remained in place, not leaving with him.

Lunar Celestial Venerable and Solar Celestial Venerable exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison. "Brother Grand Emperor," they said, "our path to enlightenment is long. We still need to gain experience in the mortal world to truly comprehend the Dao heart. We cannot accompany you into reclusion."

"So, you intend to pledge allegiance to Emperor Haotian? Indeed, indeed..." Grand Emperor burst into laughter, then turned to Emperor Haotian and said solemnly, "Hao'er, if you wish to secure your position as Celestial Emperor, you must never place too much trust in the Taiji Ancient Gods. Only allow them to charge into battle; do not grant them any power! These two have long been corrupted by power struggles; they are opportunists, disloyal and ungrateful, turning wherever the wind blows, utterly selfish. The Empress's past mistakes, and my own, serve as stern warnings that you must not ignore!"

Emperor Haotian smiled faintly, saying leisurely, "I have heard the Grand Supreme Emperor's lessons, but I may not necessarily adopt them. Grand Supreme Emperor, go and bring me my brother's head. I have reserved a place of reclusion for you: the Eastern Extremity Heaven. I also ask the Grand Supreme Emperor to deal with the Azure Dragon of Eastern Extremity Heaven. After all, he died in Southern Heaven, and I do not wish for him to still be alive."

Solar Celestial Venerable frowned, and Lunar Celestial Venerable said, "Brother Grand Emperor, you've lost, so why blame us? It's natural selection; survival of the fittest. You couldn't adapt and plan to retire, but we still seek the Dao!"

"My two fellow Daoists, you have already become one of the Ten Celestial Venerables, just as I was in my time." Grand Emperor sighed, then let out a long laugh. "I am truly alone now! Haha, I have genuinely become a 'lonely one'!" His spirits dampened, he waved his hand and turned to depart for the Eastern Extremity Heaven.

Emperor Haotian, having achieved a great victory, was filled with ambition.

As the Goldship of Fortune traveled through the void, Qin Fengqing and Grand Beginning suddenly flew from the void and landed on the ship. Grand Beginning shook his head and said, "There was no opportunity to eliminate Void Celestial Venerable and Ancestral God King. The two Taiji Ancient Gods have arrived. Their strength is immense, making it difficult for Big Head and me to seize an opportune moment to eliminate them."

Qin Mu nodded. "It's normal that you couldn't eliminate them. One of them controls Xuandu, and the other controls half of Youdu. Now that Yin Tianzi should be dead, it shouldn't be difficult for Void Celestial Venerable to control all of Youdu. These two pose a fatal threat to Eternal Peace, and even to the Primordial Realm!"

He frowned slightly. Even more fatal was Celestial Venerable Hao. Now, Celestial Venerable Hao's family was supreme, and with Lady Yuanmu's help, Grand Emperor was no match for him. Given Grand Emperor's character, he would certainly relinquish all his power. More crucially, Grand Emperor would absolutely never defect to Eternal Peace. On the contrary, if Celestial Venerable Hao were to act against Eternal Peace, Grand Emperor would still emerge to assist him. After all, their interests remained intertwined. The Ten Celestial Venerables forming a community of shared interests was no exaggeration. Once one became one of the Ten Celestial Venerables, it was extremely difficult to escape this community of shared interests!

"Brother, Fire Celestial Venerable still has an avatar in Eternal Peace. Who will deal with him?" Qin Fengqing asked.

Grand Beginning pondered. "Emperor Yanxiu should have already made arrangements, right? Eternal Peace has many masters among its younger generation; we don't need to worry."

Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "The Emperor doesn't need to send anyone. Fire Celestial Venerable's avatar will also be hard-pressed to escape death. The one who truly wants to kill him is not us, but Celestial Venerable Hao."

Qin Fengqing and Grand Beginning were somewhat puzzled. They pondered deeply, then Qin Fengqing suddenly clapped his hands. "I know! The one who truly wants to kill him is Emperor Haotian! Wasn't it Emperor Haotian who made a move against Fire Celestial Venerable this time? Emperor Haotian also has an avatar in Eternal Peace, and he certainly won't miss this opportunity; he's bound to act against Fire Celestial Venerable's reincarnated body!"

Qin Mu smiled. His brother had truly grown up.

Eternal Peace.

Star-Picking Peak, next to the Wen Dao Academy of the Earth Virtue Celestial Palace.

Ling Yuxiu, clad in imperial robes and accompanied by only a few attendants, arrived before the palace atop Star-Picking Peak. She addressed the interior of the palace, "Mr. Xing, you have lived in reclusion for years, and I have ordered the continuous delivery of Eternal Peace's reform achievements to you. Having received so many benefits, I wish to ask you to do something for me."

"The Emperor has been gracious to me; please speak your mind," a youthful voice with a hint of childishness came from within the palace.

Ling Yuxiu said, "I wish to ask you, sir, to kill someone. This person is a reincarnation of one of Fire Celestial Venerable's souls, residing in Eternal Peace, named Gu Duyi. I ask for Mr. Xing's assistance." She raised her hand, and a golden paper flew out, landing inside the palace.

A moment later, a handsome youth emerged from the palace, holding the golden paper. Behind him, a box trotted along. The box came up to Ling Yuxiu, affectionately rubbing against her leg, then quickly caught up with the youth and hurried away.

Ling Yuxiu and her attendants descended the mountain. One of the women asked curiously, "Your Majesty, who is this Mr. Xing?"

"Though the saying 'A saint emerges every five hundred years' is an inspiring rumor, likely spread by the Imperial Preceptor, it is true that every five hundred years, there are indeed exceptionally talented individuals among humanity." Ling Yuxiu smiled. "In the last five hundred years, it was former Imperial Preceptor Jiang Baigui, who initiated Eternal Peace's reforms. Five hundred years before that, it was this man. His name is Xing An, and he is an extremist. Back then, when Eternal Peace's divine bridge was broken, no one could live past eight hundred years, but he was the only one who did. Later, the Imperial Preceptor subdued him, but his temperament is truly eccentric. He doesn't like going to Wen Dao Academy or interacting with people; he only wishes to reside on this Star-Picking Peak."

None of the attendants had ever heard of Xing An's name. They pondered, but still had no impression of this person.

Ling Yuxiu said, "It's normal that you haven't heard of him. He has lived in reclusion since the Eternal Peace Catastrophe and rarely appears. However, during the battle at Heavenly Saint Academy back then, he fought alone against some of the most powerful beings in Eternal Peace, and nearly all of Eternal Peace's masters were annihilated."

"After all, Fire Celestial Venerable is one of the Nine Celestial Venerables of Dragon Han, each possessing unique strengths and unparalleled techniques. Fire Celestial Venerable's reincarnated body is also incredibly powerful; at the same cultivation level, it would only be stronger than Fire Celestial Venerable's original body!" Ling Yuxiu said, "To kill his reincarnated body, we need a Celestial Venerable of comparable strength to act. However, Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and others are all in the ancestral court, so I had no choice but to ask Xing An to intervene. His temperament is just too peculiar, so I had to use the years of his obligations to me to get him to come out."

Xing An strode through the air, with the box following behind him. This box, brought to life by Qin Mu, was quite intelligent, but its temperament was as peculiar as Xing An's. It would suddenly pull out two eyes from within itself and stick them onto its sides, peering around furtively, then occasionally quicken its pace to keep up with Xing An.

Xing An looked at the golden paper Ling Yuxiu had given him. There were only two red dots on it: one representing him, and the other Fire Celestial Venerable's reincarnated body, Gu Duyi. A click on the red dot would display a lifelike image and voice of Gu Duyi.

"This paper was refined using the Dao of Youdu, and it locks onto souls. You only have a spirit, not a soul, so this paper won't show your whereabouts," Xing An said to the box.

After a day or two, Xing An's distance from Gu Duyi grew shorter.

Suddenly, terrifying fluctuations of divine arts emanated from ahead. He couldn't help but frown slightly. He raised his hand, and the box leaped up, its handle automatically falling into his palm. Xing An, carrying the box, walked towards the source of the divine art fluctuations. The fluctuations ahead grew increasingly intense. Although the two individuals engaged in combat did not possess high traditional cultivation realms, their Dao realm was extremely profound, revealing a cultivation of the 30th Heaven of Dao Realm! Such strength was already that of Eternal Peace's top masters! As long as one's talent and comprehension were high enough, the simplest way to rapidly improve strength was not through the traditional Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system, but rather through the Dao Realm system! Beings with extremely high comprehension could, in just a hundred years, comprehend over twenty Heavens of the Dao Realm, elevating the power of a single Great Dao to a level comparable to the Jade Capital realm! However, such individuals were extremely rare throughout the entire universe, across hundreds of thousands of years of history!

Xing An frowned. By the time he arrived, he saw two youths crossing paths, then separating. The terrifying fluctuations of Dao Realm divine arts made the surrounding mountains tremble incessantly, like paintings floating on water! When Xing An landed, the trembling mountains immediately settled, becoming completely still.

*Thud.*

One of the youths collapsed, his soul completely annihilated, dying a violent death. Xing An walked forward, turned the body over, and it was indeed Gu Duyi. As Gu Duyi's soul dissipated, the red dot representing him on the golden paper also vanished.

"Are you Lan Yutian?"

The other youth looked at him, showing surprise, then shook his head with a smile. "You are not Lan Yutian. Your body resembles Lan Yutian's, but it must have been created by a divine artifact of creation. No need to look, Fire Celestial Venerable has already been eliminated by me. You can now go back and report to the Emperor of Eternal Peace."

Xing An stood up, tilted his head, and observed him. His eyes lit up. "I like your body very much."

The youth chuckled. "Do you know who I am?"

Xing An shook his head, put down the box, and said, "I don't need to know. But you, I will collect."