Chapter 1706: Hunting the Spiritual Officer

“Who is this person called Linguan?” Lady Tianyin asked, feeling somewhat lost. Linguan had suddenly appeared, seeming powerful and terrifying, but then just as suddenly and inexplicably died, leaving her bewildered. “He looked so strong; who killed him?”

She quickly set aside this strange incident, focusing her full attention on the Heavenly Court’s Seven Dukes army, which had invaded Tianyin World.

The Seven Dukes were the most ancient and rarely replaced Imperial Seat experts, essentially the Heavenly Court's seven patriarchs, heroes who had served the emperor since the Dragon Han era. They presided over the Heavenly Court’s seven policies: governance, military, law, fire, hell, water prison, and harvest. They were formidable; even without Linguan, the Seven Dukes alone would be extremely difficult to handle, not to mention the Ancestral Court Jade Pond accompanying them.

“Tianyin World must not fall into the hands of the Heavenly Court, otherwise they will unleash the black sand and turn it into zombie-like creatures, transforming all of Yankang and even the Primordial Realm into a great ruin!”

The Battle of Tianyin officially began.

In the Taiqing realm of Wuyou Township, Lan Yutian sat idly beside Madam Yuanmu. Madam Yuanmu seemed to be experiencing an issue; moments ago she had been speaking cheerfully, but suddenly she fell into a daze, remaining motionless for quite some time. After a while, Madam Yuanmu awoke and continued their previous conversation, giggling, “Who would have thought that Yu Tianzun, once so handsome and heroic, would become a little胖子 (chubby person) now? My sister would be so sad to see you.”

Lan Yutian looked up, rolled his eyes at her, and tossed the small pebble he held. “I’m not fat anymore. Yuanmu, someone has ambushed you.”

Madam Yuanmu asked curiously, “I’ve been ambushed? How do I not know?”

“You keep zoning out, and after you zone out, you forget about it,” Lan Yutian said seriously. “Just now, when you came to find me, you zoned out twice in a short period! Each time was very brief, a mere twelve seconds and three ‘hu’ (a unit of time) before you awoke.”

Madam Yuanmu blinked, utterly unaware of her zoning out.

Lan Yutian rested his chin on his hand, contemplating. “You must have been affected by someone else’s divine ability. If I wanted to kill you, I certainly could. But I also sense a strange power sealed within you. If I were to kill you, that power would be released. At that point, I definitely wouldn’t be able to defeat you. Not even if we ganged up on you.”

Madam Yuanmu eyed him menacingly, about to act. Lan Yutian quickly said, “As soon as you harbor murderous intent, you’ll zone out. I think you’ve been affected by my brother’s Samsara divine ability. Every time you have murderous intent, you undergo reincarnation. I wonder if I’m right.”

He looked up; Madam Yuanmu stood frozen, her eyes showing murderous intent, clearly in a dazed state again.

“To know if I’m right, I just need to enter your consciousness and see!”

Lan Yutian’s divine consciousness rippled, swiftly entering Madam Yuanmu’s mind. A moment later, he found himself in the vast ocean of Madam Yuanmu’s thoughts and was horrified by what he saw. Madam Yuanmu didn’t just reincarnate once when she had murderous intent, as he had assumed; she did it a staggering 960 times!

Furthermore, he saw Empress’s consciousness lurking deep within the ocean of Yuanmu’s mind, like a dark cave hidden beneath the waves, continuously growing stronger! This was clearly the source of the danger he had sensed! If Madam Yuanmu were killed, Empress would be unleashed and impossible to suppress! Therefore, Madam Yuanmu absolutely could not be harmed, or the Empress would be released! Madam Yuanmu was a tool created to suppress the Empress! And that person must have been Qin Mu! Madam Yuanmu’s repeated reincarnations were likely due to the Empress being too powerful for Qin Mu to fully suppress, causing flaws in his Samsara divine ability.

Lan Yutian withdrew his divine consciousness, wide-eyed. After a moment, he murmured, “My brother is truly ruthless… His Dao of Samsara has reached an incredible level; I can’t comprehend it.”

Madam Yuanmu no longer posed a danger to him, but Qin Mu’s Samsara divine ability would eventually be worn down by Empress. When that happened, Empress would completely merge with Madam Yuanmu, transforming into the true Guixu Divine Maiden, who would wreak havoc and be extremely dangerous! Lan Yutian rested his chin on his hand, pondering, “However, my brother managed to ambush Empress, causing her to get stuck. When she’s stuck, I’m not in danger. If that’s the case, why don’t I think about how to plant other divine abilities inside Empress? Even if she escapes in the future, she won’t be as dangerous…”

He set his mind to work, thinking hard. The Taiqing realm truly lived up to its name, serene and quiet, while the other heavens of Wuyou Township saw increasingly fierce battles.

Meanwhile, in the Primordial Realm Youdu, which overlapped with Wuyou Township and Yankang, You Tianzun clashed with Xu Tianzun in an exceptionally brutal battle. Fengdu could no longer hold out. King Yama led Fengdu’s ghost gods against Youdu’s demons and demonic gods, who had already breached Fengdu’s divine cities. Yama had successively abandoned several cities and was desperately defending the eighth divine city, with Fengdu having only nine cities in total. The eighth city was also teetering on the brink of collapse, riddled with holes from the countless attacks of Youdu’s demons and demonic gods, and the street fighting was extremely grim. As more and more demons and demonic gods flooded in, Yama was forced to order the abandonment of the eighth divine city.

Just then, Tian Shu Heavenly King charged into Youdu, leading numerous demonic cultivators and gods to provide reinforcement, temporarily relieving the pressure on Fengdu.

On the other side of the battlefield, You Tianzun, in his youthful form, wielded the Book of Life and Death, carrying a lantern and standing on a paper boat, battling Xu Tianzun, who held the Nether River Whip! Both were renowned for their vast and immensely powerful primordial spirits, unleashing their full might across the boundless Primordial Realm Youdu. The whip became a roaring river, the Book of Life and Death emitted golden light, the lantern flew, and they traversed thousands of mountains and rivers with every step! You Tianzun’s primordial spirit was stronger, having spent years trying to maximize its potential, striving for Primordial Spirit Dao attainment, making his primordial spirit even more formidable. However, Xu Tianzun benefited from a robust physical body and had made great strides in his magical power after refining Earth Count’s body and obtaining the fragmented Youdu Great Dao. Coupled with over ten years of guidance from the Linguan Palace Master, his progress was astonishingly rapid!

Their battle was spectacular, showcasing Youdu’s strange and intricate arts, which they wielded with full mastery. Suddenly, they fought their way into Yankang’s heartland, where they saw the colossal Six Paths Heavenly Wheels revolving around a towering figure: Qin Fengqing. Little Earth Count, Qin Fengqing, had his eyes tightly shut, his vertical eye on his forehead open, working to keep the Primordial Realm Youdu from collapsing. If Youdu’s invasion were not maintained by him, the demons and demonic gods within Youdu would not just surge into the Primordial Realm Youdu but ascend to the mortal realm, invading Yankang and inevitably causing a bloody massacre! His six arms were spread wide, the Six Paths Heavenly Wheels continuously rotating around him. His gaze constantly shone upon the Heavenly Wheels, where various beautiful characters and runes flashed and transformed, influencing the Great Dao changes within the Primordial Realm Youdu. Waves of strange Dao sounds emanated from the Heavenly Wheels, and the souls of fallen gods and devils from the Wuyou Township battlefield continuously flew towards him, drawn by the Six Paths Heavenly Wheels. Even other heavens and myriad worlds were subtly influenced by the Six Paths Heavenly Wheels.

Xu Tianzun glimpsed Qin Fengqing, his heart tightening. He snapped his Nether River Whip, sending the mighty Nether River surging towards Qin Fengqing in the Six Paths Heavenly Wheels! If he severely injured Qin Fengqing and shattered his “my body is Youdu” defense, the Primordial Realm Youdu would shatter, allowing Youdu’s demons and demonic gods to pour into Yankang and turn it into a living hell!

“Don’t even think about it!” You Tianzun blocked the Nether River Whip. His physical body shattered with a crack, transforming into countless You Tianzuns flying off on paper boats, while his primordial spirit leaped up and blasted Xu Tianzun’s primordial spirit out of his body! For a short time, neither could overcome the other. They each stabilized their positions, cautiously watching their opponent.

Suddenly, demonic energy rolled in. A bull-headed, human-bodied demonic god descended from the sky, landing with a thud in the Primordial Realm Youdu, in front of Qin Fengqing. The demonic god resembled Earth Count but was somewhat different, though it also had a vertical eye on its forehead. It looked around, then its gaze settled on Qin Fengqing within the Six Paths Heavenly Wheels, and it said, “Fellow Daoist Qin Fengqing, Linguan here offers his regards…”

The ancient god resembling Earth Count suddenly exploded. The power of the Heavenly Dao permeated and surged at that moment, astonishing You Tianzun and Xu Tianzun. That powerful ancient god resembling Earth Count had first been attacked by a terrifying force, then forcefully erased by the power of the Heavenly Dao! They quickly looked, only to see a stream of light carrying a figure dashing away, moving so fast that it left a deep black mark in the Primordial Realm Youdu! Then, the figure leaped out of the Primordial Realm Youdu and vanished! Xu Tianzun and You Tianzun withdrew their gazes, their hearts filled with dread, but they knew they had to decide the outcome of their battle and could not be distracted.

At the exact moment Qin Mu leaped out of the Primordial Realm Youdu, the Linguan ancient god avatar heading to the northern border’s Kan territory in the icy wilderness felt a drastic change in his expression. He sensed the demise of his ancient god avatars in Wuyou Township and Jade Cliff Pass in the Southern Sea, and his heart skipped a beat. His speed was too fast, and the distance too great. Each ancient god avatar was an independent entity, so only now did he sense the deaths of his other avatars. “Only the Seventh Young Master could have such speed and kill thirteen of my avatars in such a short time!”

At the same time, the Linguan ancient god avatar heading to Great Thunderclap Temple, arriving at the foot of Mount Leiyin, also sensed the demise of twelve of his avatars. He couldn’t sense those in Tianyin World and Primordial Realm Youdu because they were independent worlds. “The Seventh Young Master has come for me, and he’s so fast!”

And at this moment, two other Linguan ancient gods had already seen Heavenly Duke and A Chou. These two were looking up, gazing at Ancestral God King battling Moon Tianzun and Lang Wo in the sky. Heavenly Duke and A Chou were poised, seemingly intending to ambush Ancestral God King! The Linguan ancient god avatars heading to Yankang Dao Sect, the capital, and Yankang Primordial Wood also changed their expressions drastically at the same time. The demise of their avatars could not escape their perception. But Qin Mu’s speed was too fast; their sensory speed couldn’t keep up with Qin Mu’s, resulting in a peculiar phenomenon where things happened faster than they could be perceived.

“The Seventh Young Master is chasing my avatars at such speed; his body and magical power might not be able to endure it! But even so, my avatars are hardly his match.”

“He found me because I was too conspicuous, but if I conceal my tracks, he’ll have to run back and forth fruitlessly!”

“Killing me at this speed, he’ll soon be exhausted and spitting blood!”

All of Linguan’s ancient god avatars immediately reined in their aura and moved stealthily. At the foot of Great Thunderclap Temple, the Linguan ancient god transformed into a large monk and walked unhurriedly up Mount Sumeru. Mount Sumeru’s Great Thunderclap Temple was where the worldly Buddha Zhan Kong resided, and above Great Thunderclap Temple were the twenty heavens of the Buddha Realm, with the Great Brahma King Buddha residing in the twentieth heaven.

Simultaneously, Heavenly Duke and A Chou prepared to ambush Ancestral God King, while two other Linguan ancient gods prepared to ambush them!

Boom! Qin Mu leaped out of the Primordial Realm Youdu, appearing before Heavenly Duke and A Chou! The two ancient gods’ faces drastically changed. They fled in opposite directions, one to the left and one to the right!

Buzz! Qin Mu’s divine consciousness erupted, striking the two ancient gods’ brains. Following that, layers of Samsara divine ability unfurled, like another rotating Six Paths Heavenly Wheel, engulfing the two ancient gods within its spinning embrace. The ancient god monk climbing the mountain felt a drastic change in his expression, sensing that two more of his avatars had vanished!