Chapter 1630: I Am a Wild Man of Chu

"A collection?"

The reincarnation of Emperor Haotian frowned. This person's tone made him uncomfortable. Heavenly Venerate Mu was arrogant enough, but he was always polite and never lost his manners, never being too unrestrained. However, this youth, who had appeared from nowhere, spoke in a way that could stifle someone; his words were seemingly light and easy, yet gave off an air of looking down on everything.

His appearance was identical to that of Heavenly Venerate Yu in the past. It was obvious he was a young Heavenly Venerate Yu, created by a divine artifact of creation. When the divine artifact Heavenly Venerate Yu was first developed, some of the Ten Heavenly Venerates attempted to create young Heavenly Venerate Yus to descend to the lower realm, but most died in Yankang. Presumably, the young Heavenly Venerate Yu this person obtained was from that very batch.

"I am Emperor Haotian," Emperor Haotian said with a slight smile.

Xing An nodded, "You are quite challenging."

Emperor Haotian took a deep breath, thinking, "How has this person survived until now, when a single sentence from him can provoke such fury?" He didn't know that too many people wanted to kill Xing An; even Qin Mu had wanted to eliminate him in the past but had never succeeded.

"Judging by the traces left from your battle with the reincarnation of Heavenly Venerate Huo, you are proficient in another aspect of the Grand Primordium path: Innate Primordial Qi." Xing An surveyed his surroundings, then gently raised a hand. The corpse of Heavenly Venerate Huo's reincarnation floated up, then swiftly split into pieces with a swishing sound. His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, tendons, bones, skin, and muscles were all neatly separated, leaving Emperor Haotian with a bizarre and surreal feeling. With this technique, Xing An revealed the physical structure of a god-demon to its utmost extent, allowing a clear view of even the most minute details, including the intricate structure of the bone marrow. There were virtually no secrets left.

Heavenly Venerate Huo's various divine treasures and Celestial Palaces were all laid bare, and all his injuries were visible at a glance! This display made Emperor Haotian feel a chill: "This person is far too familiar with the physical structure of god-demons. Was he a butcher?"

Xing An said, "From the appearance of Heavenly Venerate Huo's reincarnation in death, his soul was twisted, and his Celestial Palaces and divine treasures were distorted into a vortex by a terrifying force. The other cultivation method you are proficient in must be based on the Path of the Return to the Ruins." He showed approval, "It's truly rare that you have merged two Grand Paths and comprehended the Dao realm of Innate Primordial Qi to the 30th Heaven, cultivating to such a level."

The reincarnation of Emperor Haotian was even more surprised and, feeling a touch of admiration for talent, asked curiously, "You can see that?"

"Heavenly Venerate Mu is also proficient in Innate Primordial Qi and the Path of the Return to the Ruins, so of course, I can see it," Xing An replied.

Xing An continued to examine the traces of divine abilities around them and Heavenly Venerate Huo's physical body, analyzing, "You possess a vast number of Celestial Palaces. One of your Grand Heavenly Court cultivation methods must be complete, reaching 36 Celestial Palaces. Heavenly Venerate Huo guarded against this method, but your other cultivation method, based on the Path of the Return to the Ruins, caught him off guard. His Dao fire was precisely countered by this method of yours, allowing your divine ability to invade his body, twisting his divine treasures and Celestial Palaces, and directly crushing his soul."

He observed the battle traces around them and continued, "However, the Celestial Palace count for the Path of the Return to the Ruins cultivation method is not complete; it should only be thirty-five."

He touched the traces of Heavenly Venerate Huo's reincarnation's Celestial Palaces, examining their types, and said, "Most of these thirty-five types of Celestial Palaces are duplicates of your other thirty-six types, but their arrangement order and primary/secondary roles differ, thus producing different cultivation effects. Presumably, this is due to your lack of wisdom."

Emperor Haotian burst into laughter, as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing: "My wisdom is insufficient?"

"It's slightly lacking," Xing An nodded, stating, "The arrangement sequence of the Celestial Palaces in your two Grand Heavenly Court cultivation methods is not optimal. Therefore, both methods have flaws. This is likely due to your inadequate mastery of arithmetic and calculations."

He raised his palm, and the box opened. Emperor Haotian's pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran down his spine. From the box, brains of god-demons flew out one by one. The thoughts and consciousness within these brains were still active; they were still functioning independently, and countless divine lights could be seen flowing across their surfaces!

"I collected these brains; you don't need to worry, they are all dead," Xing An said, glancing at him. He explained, "Cult Master Qin always wants to deal with me, but he adheres to principles. If I were to kill indiscriminately, he would eliminate me at all costs. So, I only selected god-demons who had already died in battle. Since they were dead, their brains were useless, so I took them. In life, their minds were cluttered with miscellaneous thoughts, but after death, those thoughts are gone, and they become my best computational divine weapons. Using biological brains as computational spiritual weapons is faster than even Yankang's most advanced computational spiritual weapons!"

He sighed regretfully, "Actually, what I want most is Cult Master Qin's brain, but unfortunately, he definitely won't give it to me. Once I've thoroughly studied you, your brain will also appear among them."

He was reinvigorated, and with a wave of his sleeve, countless god-demon brains in the air arranged themselves into a massive biological brain neural network array, performing incredibly complex calculations. Divine light flowed from these neural network arrays with astonishing speed.

Emperor Haotian stared, dumbfounded, and muttered, "Some of them were very foolish people in life. You're saying their brains, connected together, can surpass mine? Impossible!"

Xing An replied, "They might have been foolish in life, but what was foolish was not their brains, but their various thoughts. This was related to their education and living environment, not their brains." He patiently explained, "After their death, these thoughts are gone. As long as a brain remains active, it can be considered the fastest computational spiritual weapon. I, on the other hand, am utilizing waste, using these brains to make myself smarter. I can easily find different Celestial Palace sequences to achieve the optimal solution for Heavenly Court cultivation methods. Someone like you, who isn't clever enough, cannot find the optimal solution."

Emperor Haotian looked up at the brain matrix in the air and exclaimed, "You remind me of someone: Shi Qiluo, the Palace Master of the Creation Ancestor Palace in the Heavenly Court, who is also my mother, Lady Yuan Mu. She also has a box, and it contains strange and unusual things."

"Shi Qiluo?" Xing An mused. He gently raised his hand, and a messy head flew out of the box. "Is this the person? I found this head on the battlefield of Xuandu. His path is too rudimentary; he merely utilizes the Path of Creation and the Path of the Return to the Ruins. Compared to me, he is..." He paused for a moment, then drew a straight line in the air, saying, "He's off by a single line—Cult Master Qin's single line."

Emperor Haotian looked at the head, which had a full beard, recognizing it as Shi Qiluo. It must have been severed by someone during the battle in Xuandu and then picked up by this person. However, what sent chills down his spine was that Shi Qiluo's skull had been opened, and his brain was gone! He looked up at the brain matrix in the air, realizing Shi Qiluo's brain must be among them! He then looked at Xing An's box again, wondering what other horrifying things were hidden inside.

"You are so sinister that even I feel a chill," Emperor Haotian remarked. "It's audacious of Heavenly Venerate Mu to dare to use you." Emperor Haotian couldn't help but praise, "If you pledge allegiance to me, I can appoint you as the Palace Master of the Creation Ancestor Palace. I truly admire your talent."

Xing An raised his hand, retracting the brain matrix from the air, and said, "Cult Master Qin doesn't dare to use me; he's afraid I'll do something out of line. The one who dares to use me is the Emperor of Yankang. Her magnanimity is far greater than narrow-minded individuals like Cult Master Qin. I will go to the Heavenly Court; their collection must be very abundant."

He closed the box and stated, "I have already calculated the flaws in your cultivation method. You can now become part of my collection."

Emperor Haotian's pupils contracted sharply. Xing An had shown him the brain matrix and spoken so much, but the true purpose was to use the brain matrix to deduce the flaws in his cultivation method from the various divine ability traces left behind and the injuries within Heavenly Venerate Huo's body! Now, Xing An must have deduced some flaw, thus revealing his true intentions!

Although Emperor Haotian held himself in high regard, after encountering Yankang's reforms, he realized that the world contained many people with diverse talents. Xing An might just be one of them!

At this moment, Xing An struck! Emperor Haotian let out a low cry, and a cluster of Celestial Palaces erupted behind his head, forming two Grand Heavenly Courts. These two Grand Heavenly Courts stood erect, transforming into two Wheels of Ten Thousand Daos, one positive and one negative, one dark and one light! It was a perfect combination of Innate Primordial Qi and the Path of the Return to the Ruins!

This reincarnation of his was merely a reincarnation of a single soul clone. His current cultivation realm was still at the Heavenly Sea realm, between the Jade Pool and the God-Slaying Platform. However, based solely on his cultivation method, he could contend with traditional Heavenly Palace realm experts! Furthermore, with his Dao realm cultivation reaching the 30th Heaven, he could compete with beings at the Emperor's Throne realm! Of course, he was slightly inferior to the Emperor's Throne realm existences in Yankang. While Yankang didn't have many such experts, those they did have possessed extremely solid foundations.

Yankang's reforms had a history of 130 years. Over these 130 years, the ever-evolving cultivation methods and divine abilities had intensified, also creating a large number of elites. Emperor Haotian's involvement came relatively late, but as a Heavenly Venerate who founded realms millions of years ago, he was certainly not someone who had gained a false reputation. In just a few decades, he had already become one of Yankang's strongest existences! His ability to effortlessly kill Heavenly Venerate Huo's reincarnation without taking any damage naturally gave him this confidence and foundation!

However, just as his cultivation method was pushed to its limits, Xing An flew in, and the two clashed at close quarters. The instant Emperor Haotian activated his method, Xing An pointed a finger at the center of his Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos.

At this moment, Emperor Haotian felt a slight flaw appear in his cultivation method's operation, becoming somewhat sluggish. The two Wheels of Ten Thousand Daos, previously perfectly combined, immediately conflicted with each other. Two different forces collided, and the Celestial Palaces crashed into one another, subtly tending towards mutual destruction! Before he could even pinpoint where the flaw originated, Xing An's palm was already striking towards his glabella!

Emperor Haotian's Dao realm divine ability erupted with a thunderous roar. Thirty layers of the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos, each borrowing power from the next, cascaded forward. This very attack had once forced Qin Mu to retreat hastily on the Primordial Chaos River in the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City, pushing him directly onto the river!

However, with a gentle flick, Xing An instantly transformed the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos divine ability—which borrowed power from itself—into opposing forces that clashed and annihilated each other!

Emperor Haotian was alarmed. Xing An's magic power was far more profound than that of his reincarnation body, and his cultivation method and divine abilities were even more unpredictable! Xing An must have found only one flaw in his cultivation method, but this single flaw was already lethal enough!

Amidst his frantic efforts, Xing An's palm had already struck his glabella. His primordial spirit shook violently and was knocked out of his body. Swish, swish, swish—steel needles pierced into his physical body, preventing his primordial spirit from re-entering.

Xing An reached out to grab his primordial spirit, attempting to capture his soul. Emperor Haotian sneered, and his primordial spirit flew away towards the heavens, "I am the Heavenly Emperor! Do you think you can lay a hand on my soul?"

Xing An flicked his fingers repeatedly, and Emperor Haotian's primordial spirit instantly had its spirit and soul separated from each other. He couldn't help but be shocked: "Yankang fiend!" He hastily recalled his own soul, while the other souls and spiritual embryos were swept away by Xing An's sleeve.

"I will find the flaws in my cultivation method and tear you to shreds!" the voice of Emperor Haotian's single soul echoed from beyond the heavens.

Xing An paid him no mind, collecting the other souls and spiritual embryos of Emperor Haotian's reincarnation and storing them in his box. "By then," he murmured, "I should have found even more flaws in your cultivation method."

His vital qi, like knives and threads, meticulously dissected Emperor Haotian's reincarnation, and an excited gleam appeared in his eyes. The box hopped around with a clatter, as if urging him on.

Xing An looked up, rolled up Emperor Haotian's reincarnation—which had been meticulously dissected—and placed it into the box. He said, "You're right, I shouldn't be too outlandish. Cult Master Qin is narrow-minded; if he knew I did something like this in broad daylight, he would definitely make things difficult for me. Let's go back..."

"Speaking of which, could I have a piece of Cult Master Qin's brain? It can regenerate anyway, what do you think... No, I suppose not. He's quite stingy..."