Chapter 1743: Ancestor Hall Upheaval

The Empress watched the Heavenly Court army, which was now drawing ever closer to the Ancestral Court. Only about 700,000 soldiers remained. Inside the Heavenly Emperor’s carriage, Emperor Haotian’s face was grim. He sat motionless, emaciated and lifeless, as if already dead.

Emperor Haotian was suffering more than death itself.

Throughout their retreat, they had been repeatedly pursued. The armies of Eternal Peace and the myriad heavens grew larger and larger. After leaving the Primordial Realm, by the time they reached the place where Emperor Ming fell, the Heavenly Court's army was roughly equivalent in size to the Eternal Peace allied forces.

The site where Emperor Ming fell was originally a battlefield from the late Crimson Light era. After Emperor Chi and Emperor Ming were resurrected, they reached this location ahead of the Heavenly Court’s advance forces and engaged the remaining Heavenly Court troops in a major battle there.

The previous battle in the Blood Rust Zone had already caused heavy casualties for the remaining Heavenly Court forces. At Emperor Ming's fall, the battle intensified, with participation from Celestial Venerable Yue, Lang Wo, Celestial Venerable You, Xu Shenghua, Gongsun Yan, and others. After a fierce engagement, Jiang Baigui intentionally left a path of retreat, allowing the remnant Heavenly Court forces to break through the encirclement.

From that battle onward, the Heavenly Court’s momentum steadily declined. Celestial Venerable You periodically launched surprise attacks from Youdu, infiltrating the life and death divine treasures of Heavenly Court gods and soldiers, snatching their souls and causing them to die mysteriously.

The mutiny among the Heavenly Court soldiers occurred on the night Emperor Haotian ordered all soldiers to abolish their life and death divine treasures.

After this order was issued, many Heavenly Court soldiers were discontent. Abolishing their life and death divine treasures meant that the lifespan of gods and devils would no longer be co-existent with heaven and earth; instead, every individual's life would have an end.

The Heavenly Court had already suffered repeated defeats. If the Four Heavenly Masters had been present, they might have been able to boost morale and reorganize the formations. However, only Shang Pingyin remained in the Southern Heaven, while the other Heavenly Masters had either died or betrayed.

The mutiny was suppressed by Emperor Haotian, but more than half of the soldiers fled into the starry sky under the cover of night.

From that point on, a portion of the Heavenly Court soldiers deserted each day. By the time they approached the Ancestral Court, only these 700,000 gods and devils remained.

"Emperor Haotian has suffered a crushing defeat," the Empress thought, her eyes flickering. "His Dao heart is broken. Even if he returns to the Ancestral Court, it's impossible for him to rally. With various races rebelling and the number of soldiers dwindling, the Heavenly Court simply cannot develop in the Ancestral Court. In this war, Celestial Venerable Mu has completely shattered him! Should I replace him...?"

She immediately shook her head. Eternal Peace now held the advantages of timing, geography, and popular support. The myriad heavens had rebelled, and the Heavenly Court's territory had shrunk drastically. It was unknown whether the Ancestral Court itself could even be held.

Seizing power now and proclaiming herself empress would only invite trouble!

Whoever was the Heavenly Emperor would suffer the most tragic fate!

"Besides, I should also plan for my own future," the Empress thought to herself. "The Heavenly Court's momentum is gone, and my position of power will surely turn into a dream. If I rebel against the Heavenly Court now and join Celestial Venerable Mu, I can still be seen as a loyal official who abandoned darkness for light, and continue to wield high authority as a Celestial Venerable. If I delay, I'll be a defeated general, destined for imprisonment..."

Power, she mused, was a commodity that could be bought and sold. Dynasties changed, but the central figures and forces of power remained. This game had been played this way since ancient times.

The Empress had witnessed too much of it.

Just as she thought this, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall behind Emperor Haotian’s head suddenly vibrated. The red cords unknotted automatically, and surges of vigorous Dao power poured out, instantly filling Emperor Haotian's body with overwhelming force!

The Empress's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly dismissed her subtle thoughts.

"All armies, prepare to enter the Ancestral Court!"

Emperor Haotian stood up, his previous despondency completely gone. He declared loudly, "The Ancestral Court is our homeland, the place where we will rise again! In this battle, we have not yet lost!"

Though he spoke with fervor, only a few responded. The hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Court soldiers moved stiffly through the starry sky like walking corpses.

Emperor Haotian turned to the Empress, delightedly saying, "Mother, the Third Young Master has broken free from his confinement; the overall situation is settled! Once we reach the Ancestral Court, everything that has happened will merely be our tempering, only making us stronger!"

The Empress smiled, but said nothing.

Finally, the remnant Heavenly Court army entered the Ancestral Court. Ahead, the magnificent Heavenly Court was in sight.

The Heavenly Court, an ultimate divine weapon formed by the fusion of countless divine armaments and heavy artifacts, was also the most formidable fortress in the world today—their last hope.

As long as they entered the Heavenly Court and sealed off the Ancestral Court's world barrier, the allied forces of Eternal Peace and the myriad heavens would suffer countless casualties if they tried to break in!

Moreover, the Ancestral Court was incredibly rich. Occupying it meant holding an unassailable position!

Eternal Peace, a barren land, had developed to its current scale in two hundred years, almost unifying the Primordial Realm. The current Heavenly Court was incomparably better than Eternal Peace back then. Given time, the Heavenly Court could also become incredibly powerful!

However, the joy on Emperor Haotian's face and those of all Heavenly Court soldiers froze. They stood dumbfounded in the sky.

Before them, above the Heavenly Court, five Dao Trees hung high in the five cardinal directions—southeast, northwest, and center—radiating solemn Dao power. These were the Dao Trees of five enlightened beings.

Within the Heavenly Court, countless venerated beings, each comparable to a Celestial Venerable, displayed various divine countenances, their divine might permeating the entire Heavenly Court.

Below, in the Ancestral Court, large and small divine cities were spread throughout, glowing brilliantly, each guarded by powerful Celestial Venerable-level venerated beings!

Further away, in what was originally Celestial Venerable Mu's territory, near the Great Black Mountain and beneath the World Tree, various magnificent divine cities had risen from the ground. Even on the tree leaves, divine cities had been built!

The Ancestral Court now appeared completely different from when they had led their massive army to attack the Primordial Realm!

Suddenly, Emperor Haotian collapsed, his emotions out of control, and he burst into a fit of wailing.

"Celestial Venerable Mu, to defeat me, to seize my power and position, you are shameless!"

He cried heartbrokenly, tears streaming down his face, weeping and cursing: "You knew you couldn't defeat me, so you released the prehistoric powerhouses under the World Tree. You are a scoundrel, a sinner of the entire universe! Old dog Mu, fishing for fame, you have harmed the entire universe, you have harmed everyone! You should commit suicide to atone for your crimes! You will surely die a miserable death!"

Just then, the Third Young Master's voice came calmly from the Lingxiao Treasure Hall behind Emperor Haotian's head: "These powerhouses were released at my instruction by the Palace Master of the Spiritual Official Palace. This is our path to victory."

Emperor Haotian instantly stopped crying and respectfully said, "Young Master's action must have profound meaning. May I dare to ask for enlightenment?"

The Third Young Master Lingxiao's voice replied: "Not all powerhouses under the World Tree are enlightened beings; enlightened beings are, after all, a minority. The Spiritual Official fought with disregard for life and death to release them, a great merit. These prehistoric powerhouses can be easily subdued, and the more of them who die, the easier it is for my blood sacrifice."

Emperor Haotian bowed, listening quietly, a look of delight gradually appearing on his face.

The Third Young Master continued, "To subdue them, the most crucial point is to enter the Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court. Once you arrive there, in the chaotic river of the Sixteenth Epoch, the Fourth Young Master Zixiao will give you a zither string. Holding this string, you can reap countless lives! Dare to disobey, and one string will extinguish them."

Emperor Haotian was overjoyed.

The Third Young Master continued, "On the other side, the blood sacrifice in the Primordial Realm has reached a critical stage. Within the next two years, three Palace Masters—Huanxi, Changfeng, and Chuge—will descend. With these three Palace Masters assisting you, the overall situation can be settled."

Emperor Haotian bowed deeply, choking back a sob, "Young Master's great favor, Haotian will never forget!"

"No need for such formality," the Third Young Master Lingxiao said indifferently. "My Mulao Palace has always cherished life. Had you not harbored ill intentions towards the Mulao Palace back then, you would not have ended up in this situation. However, the fault is not yours; it lies with Old Seven. He is like a stone in a cesspool, both stinking and hard, and it was his resistance to me that caused so much tragedy and bloodshed. But this time, the overall situation is settled."

Emperor Haotian straightened his back, gritting his teeth, "Celestial Venerable Mu, for his wicked deeds, will surely not come to a good end!"

The Third Young Master also seemed a little helpless, saying, "If he could be killed, he would have died long ago. You did well to send him back to the past universe."

Emperor Haotian hesitated, then said bravely, "Reporting to Young Master, Celestial Venerable Mu was not drowned in the river. Rather, a traitor interfered and released him midway..."

The Third Young Master was silent for a moment: "More harm than good."

Emperor Haotian immediately prostrated himself, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Get up. Show some backbone," the Third Young Master's voice carried a hint of displeasure. "There is no master-servant distinction in my Mulao Palace; all who enter are Dao friends. When the Mulao Palace descends in the future, if you still kneel before me, you will be laughed at. The knees of an enlightened being are not so soft."

Emperor Haotian felt ashamed and got up.

"Prepare yourself immediately and head to Jade Capital City to retrieve that string that spans two universes and the kalpa of destruction!"

Emperor Haotian composed himself and said to the Empress, "We have arrived at the Ancestral Court, but the Heavenly Court has been occupied by prehistoric powerhouses. They have five enlightened beings and many such powerhouses assisting them, making their strength formidable, so it is not easy to launch an expedition against them. Moreover, we will have to work together in the future, so Mother, please stay here and avoid direct conflict with them. I will return after a trip to Jade Capital City."

The Empress smiled sweetly, "Go ahead, Haotian."

Hearing her say "Haotian" instead of "Your Majesty," Emperor Haotian felt a slight displeasure. "When I rise again, I will recover everything I have lost, doubled!"

He flashed away.

In the Primordial Realm, Lan Yutian painstakingly searched for the location of the blood sacrifice altars. Over the years, he had already scoured every part of the Primordial Realm, even turning over the earth beneath.

Finding the blood sacrifice altars was not easy. They were crafted from fragments of the Grand Overarching Heaven, making them simple to conceal but difficult to locate.

The Primordial Realm was also vast, making a thorough search time-consuming and laborious.

One day, as he was searching the thirty-sixth void layer of the Primordial Realm, he suddenly felt something. He quickly sat down cross-legged, sensing deeply, then leaped up and flew through the thirty-fifth void layer.

As he ran, he activated his divine art. The void ahead suddenly cracked open layer by layer, peeling away like an onion!

When the last layer of void peeled back, a fragment of the Grand Overarching Heaven appeared before him!

Within the Grand Overarching Heaven fragment, a hexagonal column rotated, and various blood-stained runic imprints continuously stamped onto the Primordial Realm!

"The first altar has been found! Then the other altars won't be difficult to locate!"

Lan Yutian surged into the Grand Overarching Heaven fragment, standing on one foot atop the hexagonal column. His mathematical skill was not high; if Qin Mu were here, he would undoubtedly calculate the imprinting positions of the altar runes and then use mathematics to determine the locations of the other altars. However, Lan Yutian's sensitivity to the Dao was stronger. He directly attached his divine consciousness to the hexagonal column and spread out with the altar's power.

"...Two, three, four, five, six..."

Lan Yutian sensed carefully and quickly found the locations of the sixteen Grand Overarching Heaven fragments that enveloped the Primordial Realm. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

"So the center of the altars is..."

He continued to sense, his expression subtly changing. There were three central altar points in total. From the counter-offensive to now, eight years had passed. In eight years, with three central altars, it was highly probable that enlightened beings were about to descend!

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Any single enlightened being from the Mulao Palace was beyond his ability to contend with, let alone three?

Just then, he saw a Golden Boat of Passage sailing out of the ultimate void.

On the golden boat, Qin Mu sat on an upright coffin, seemingly resting with his eyes closed.

"Brother!"

Lan Yutian quickly flew up and landed on the golden boat, telling Qin Mu about his discovery. He said, "I definitely can't handle three enlightened beings from the Mulao Palace!"

Qin Mu opened his eyes and smiled, "No need to underestimate yourself. Besides, we're not fighting alone; don't we still have Shang Jun? My brother, look at this coffin. Can you open it?"

Qin Mu's eyes were bright, showing encouragement. "If you can open it, you can kill even thirty enlightened beings!"