Chapter 1684: There Are Traitors Close to His Majesty

"What makes Your Majesty say such a thing?"

On the golden ship opposite Emperor Haotian, Qin Mu's gaze was sincere and his tone earnest as he declared, "Your Majesty should know that my old Qin family has been loyal for generations, all honest and simple people with no intention of rebellion. Yankang, for generations, has been a subordinate nation of the Heavenly Court, also with no intention of rebellion. To this day, my old Qin family and Yankang have not rebelled against the Heavenly Court! It is Your Majesty!"

His voice suddenly became impassioned, carrying both intensity and anger: "It is Your Majesty who has been deceived by treacherous officials, believing my old Qin family intends to rebel, believing Yankang intends to rebel! Your Majesty has been swayed by treacherous officials, leading millions of Heavenly Court troops to conquer us, giving neither me nor Yankang and Worry-free Village a chance to speak! The reason we resist is not to rebel, but to correct Your Majesty's mistakes!"

His voice grew louder, reaching the ears of the countless Heavenly Court armies: "There are treacherous officials by Your Majesty's side!"

At these words, spoken with conviction, everyone's heart trembled!

Qin Mu's voice reverberated powerfully along the cliffs on both sides: "Your Majesty has been misled by treacherous officials who sow discord and stir up trouble! All of you are loyal and patriotic heroes; you should join me in purging the corrupt elements, eradicating the wicked and vile, to restore peace to the world and an enlightened cosmos!"

Whether it was Worry-free Village or the Heavenly Court army, there was complete silence; millions of people and horses were utterly quiet.

Grand Primordium cast an admiring glance from afar, thinking, "Celestial Venerable Mu is already invincible!"

Celestial Venerable Hao stood with his mouth agape and eyes wide, unable to recover for a moment.

Grand Beginning coughed, about to speak, when Qin Mu suddenly raised a hand and pointed at him, shouting, "You! It's you! Grand Beginning, you are the treacherous official by Your Majesty's side! You incited Your Majesty to strike at the loyal and righteous heroes of Yankang and Worry-free Village! You eliminate dissenters, plotting restoration, yet you think the world doesn't know!"

Grand Beginning clenched his fists, then slowly released them, huffing, "Celestial Venerable Mu, I will not argue with you."

Qin Mu roared, "Your Majesty, please kill this treacherous official, and your humble servant will withdraw his troops!"

Emperor Haotian finally recovered, saying with a faint smile, "The greatest villain often appears loyal. Celestial Venerable Mu, your skin is truly a divine weapon that has achieved the Dao, impenetrable. Celestial Venerable Mu, you are rebelling and causing chaos..."

"I have not rebelled. Why would I rebel?"

Qin Mu laughed heartily, with his hands clasped behind his back: "This world belongs to the Heavenly Alliance. Even Your Majesty is an elder of the Heavenly Alliance; your position as Heavenly Emperor was granted by the Heavenly Alliance. I am the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Alliance. The Heavenly Alliance is yours, and it is ours, but ultimately..."

His expression grew indifferent: "It is still mine. Why would I rebel against myself?"

The playful look on his face vanished, and his gaze fell on Emperor Haotian. He said calmly, "Celestial Venerable Hao, you are a noble person; why do you follow a thief? Why do you rebel against me? Why do you rebel against the Heavenly Alliance?"

Emperor Haotian burst into laughter: "You've finally shown your true colors! Celestial Venerable Mu, with my army at your gates, if you surrender immediately and cease resistance, the people of Yankang and Worry-free Village will have a chance to live. If you remain stubborn, where my finger points, everything will turn to dust!"

Qin Mu said leisurely, "Celestial Venerable Hao, why don't you raise your hand and point at me, and see if I can turn to dust as you claim."

Emperor Haotian's pupils contracted sharply.

Qin Mu stood at the bow of the ship, looking across at the countless divine and demonic armies of the Heavenly Court. He said calmly, "It would be unfair for the soldiers on both sides to fight to the death. How about this: you and I have a decisive battle in front of the formations, in the presence of both armies."

He raised his hand and made a sweeping gesture: "If I die by your hand, Yankang and Worry-free Village will surrender completely, subject to your disposal. If you die by my hand, the Heavenly Court will disband. Hao, do you dare?"

Emperor Haotian's gaze was fixed on his face. Their eyes met, neither yielding.

Emperor Haotian rose from his imperial carriage, his aura growing stronger. He said menacingly, "When I was young, I killed Celestial Venerable Yu, eliminated Xie Wuqi. As an adult, I deposed a Heavenly Emperor, killed Celestial Venerable Yun, annihilated Chi Ming, pacified the High Emperor, and forced Founding Emperor to flee to Worry-free Village! In recent years, Grand Emperor was beheaded, Grand Beginning submitted, and I overpowered the Ten Celestial Venerables to become Heavenly Emperor! I sit in this position due to invincible martial prowess! What do I have to fear?"

Qin Mu's clothes flapped in the wind, and he smiled: "You have only suffered two major defeats, and both times you were defeated by me."

Emperor Haotian's killing intent grew stronger, and he was about to step out of his imperial carriage.

At that moment, the Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace said in a deep voice, "Heavenly Emperor, during a battle between two armies, it is unwise for the Heavenly Emperor to engage in mere reckless bravery."

Emperor Haotian's eyes narrowed, and he hummed, then retreated to his imperial carriage and sat down, saying calmly, "The Hall Master speaks wisely. Celestial Venerable Mu, I intend to destroy your nation, destroy your ideals, destroy your lifelong beliefs—not just kill you. Killing you would be too lenient."

Qin Mu laughed: "Hao, you've been defeated by me twice; you no longer dare to fight me."

Emperor Haotian clenched his fist, about to stand up again.

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace coughed and said, "As Heavenly Emperor, you should possess the demeanor and cultivation of a Heavenly Emperor. How can you rule the world by merely showing brute strength?"

Grand Beginning, Grand Ultimate, and other beings stepped forward, advising, "Fighting on the front lines of two armies is merely the act of a brute. Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Emperor Haotian waved his hand, and the imperial carriage turned back. Qin Mu's voice reached him, tinged with disappointment: "So, you still don't dare. Little Hao, you don't even have the courage to fight me. What virtue or ability do you possess to command all the heroes of the world? How will they submit to you?"

Emperor Haotian's chest heaved violently as he suppressed his anger, returning to the Heavenly Court's encampment.

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace said, "Your Majesty, your strength is slightly inferior to his; you are not yet his match."

Emperor Haotian could not hide the fury in his chest. He lowered his voice and sneered, "Dao Brother, I have completed all the flaws in my cultivation technique. How could I fear a mere thief Mu? Now if I were to kill him, he wouldn't last ten moves against me!"

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace shook his head: "If Your Majesty truly takes action, you might not last ten moves against him. Your Majesty, you have only completed the flaws in your own cultivation technique, but why would the Seventh Young Master need to find your flaws? He has now comprehended the ultimate arts of our teacher, and he also has an ultimate art from our teacher's archenemy. Between these two moves, Your Majesty will surely be defeated. Within ten moves, Your Majesty is in danger of falling. The Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master nurtured you not for you to die at the Seventh Young Master's hands. Your role is not to clash with the Seventh Young Master."

Emperor Haotian frowned.

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace said, "If Your Majesty wishes to defeat him, it is simple. Your Majesty only needs to cultivate the third method of achieving Dao, then you can break his divine arts."

Emperor Haotian was about to inquire when Qin Mu's voice suddenly reached him: "That headless prehistoric Dao achiever, who last time cut off your head, damaged your Dao tree, and destroyed one of your Dao fruits, I forgot to ask your name. May I ask, which Hall Master of the Seventy-Two Halls of the Mi Luo Palace are you?"

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace did not continue speaking. He turned around and bowed: "Lingguan Treasure Hall of the Seventy-Two Halls, known as Ling Sheng of the Mi Luo Palace, also called Hall Master Lingguan. I greet the Seventh Young Master."

Qin Mu turned his head and said to his shadow with delight, "Merchant Lord, this time we finally know who we killed."

Merchant Lord's voice came from his shadow: "Young Master, why ask the name of one who is about to die?"

"Just courtesy," Qin Mu replied. He turned back, a slight smile on his face. "Lingguan, do you dare to fight me in front of the formations?"

The pair of ox horns on the shoulders of the Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace twitched. He laughed heartily, "Seventh Young Master, you have assassins hidden in your shadow, waiting to ambush me. How could I not know? Today, I will not fight you. You and I will have our day of decisive battle!"

Emperor Haotian invited him into the palace, courteously saying, "Dao Brother, you must elaborate on this third method of achieving Dao. Please!"

Qin Mu frowned. The Golden Ferry of Crossing Worlds sailed towards Worry-free Village and stopped in the Grand Purity Realm. He said, "Prepare for battle!"

His gaze fell on the Heavenly Court's camp opposite, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"The third method of achieving Dao was created by the Second Young Master of the Mi Luo Palace. The Second Young Master Wuji is the Goddess of the Great Ruins; her Dao is boundless, vast and indistinct, untraceable, with no root. When she achieved Dao, she found that the Dao Realm Dao Achievement method and the Jade Capital City Dao Achievement method taught by our teacher were useless to her. Her Dao of the Great Ruins could never be imprinted in the void."

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace and Emperor Haotian entered the palace and sat down. He continued, "At that time, she created the Great Ruins Dao Achievement method, finally achieving Dao. Its power was so immense that even our teacher praised it repeatedly. I observe that you have the bloodline of the Goddess of the Great Ruins and have cultivated the Dao of the Great Ruins. Since the Dao of the Great Ruins cannot achieve Dao, I thought of the Second Young Master's method of achieving Dao."

Emperor Haotian bowed deeply to the ground, saying, "Please, Dao Brother, teach me!"

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace shook his head: "The Great Ruins Dao Achievement method is useless to me. I know little about how to achieve Dao, having only heard our teacher mention it once. It seems to require planting a lotus in chaos. Our teacher said, 'In a pool of chaos, a golden lotus blooms.' How exactly to plant and how to bloom, that is not something I know."

When he said, "In a pool of chaos, a golden lotus blooms," he used Dao language, which had a profound meaning and an ancient tone. Clearly, it was not Dao language that the Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace could comprehend but rather originated from the Master of the Mi Luo Palace.

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace was merely repeating the words of the Master of the Mi Luo Palace.

Emperor Haotian pondered these words, feeling they held deep meaning, but how to achieve the blooming of a lotus in a chaotic pool, he was completely bewildered.

"To plant a lotus in chaos, I can only ask Mother Empress for answers!"

Emperor Haotian hesitated. Although he was the son of the Mother Empress, she rarely showed affection. If the Mother Empress achieved Dao, she might usurp his imperial throne!

"Dare I ask, Dao Brother, how is this fourth method of achieving Dao achieved?" Emperor Haotian asked.

"Your Majesty, you are too greedy."

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace said, "You have already cultivated one of the first three methods of achieving Dao. Do you intend to cultivate all four? You might be able to cultivate the first three, but you cannot master the fourth."

Emperor Haotian inquired again.

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace, resigned, said, "This fourth method of achieving Dao was created by our archenemy of the Mi Luo Palace. I don't know how it achieves Dao; I only know that this method does not cultivate a Dao tree, nor does it borrow power, nor does it imprint the void, nor does it plant a lotus in chaos. It is profoundly mysterious."

Emperor Haotian exhaled a deep breath, abandoning that thought, and said in a deep voice, "Summon Mother Empress!"

The Empress arrived. Emperor Haotian said, "Dao Brother, please repeat that sentence from earlier."

The Hall Master of the Lingguan Palace repeated the sentence in Dao language. The Empress's mind was greatly shaken. As the Dao language entered her ears, images of the deepest part of the Great Ruins abyss involuntarily appeared in her mind.

Suddenly, her own Great Ruins Great Dao rapidly contracted. All her Celestial Palaces collapsed entirely, followed by the collapse of her divine treasures!

All her cultivation at this moment settled, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, emitting a soft 'thump'. Her spirit embryo divine treasure also directly shattered and disintegrated!

Within her body, only a chaotic pool remained!

Looking up from this chaotic pool, one could only see a sliver of sky—that was the Great Ruins abyss!

"So that's how it is."

The Empress came to a sudden realization. In the chaotic pool, a lotus leaf began to emerge. She had finally achieved Dao through the Great Ruins!