Chapter 467: Heavenly Palace

Qin Mu leaped into the air and looked up, seeing that the Five-Thunder Pot's vibrations had gradually ceased. Fu Yunxi was leading many Fu family women to divert the surrounding lightning.

"Cult Master Qin, your sword!" Fu Yunxi called out.

Qin Mu recalled his flying swords. Eight thousand swords converged in the air, transforming into a sword pellet the size of an orange.

"How did the sword pellet shrink so much?"

Qin Mu was slightly startled. Just as he was about to grab the sword pellet, several Fu family girls flew over, their expressions tense. "Cult Master Qin, don't move!"

Qin Mu stood still as the girls chanted, and bolts of lightning flew from his body, collected by them.

"You still have lightning power in your body that hasn't erupted," one of the girls explained. "Because you haven't touched anyone else, the lightning's power won't burst forth yet. If you touch anything else, the lightning's power will explode. The lightning from that large gourd is divine lightning, incredibly powerful. We'll help you collect the lightning, and then you'll be fine."

Qin Mu thanked them. Suddenly, he heard continuous rumbling. He quickly looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Dragon Qilin, stepping on fiery clouds, attempting to descend from the sky. Before he could land, the lightning power in his body erupted.

Lightning crackled and struck wildly from the Dragon Qilin's body. The large, chubby creature bounced up and down like an electric ball, instantly charring the Dragon Qilin black.

The Fu family girls quickly rushed over. Qin Mu pretended not to notice, reaching out to grasp the sword pellet. Its weight remained, but it was much smaller, fitting in his hand, and easier to control than before.

He was overjoyed. "Having refined my sword with the Five-Thunder Pot to this extent, I'm not far from refining swords into water!"

"Cult Master, didn't you say I wouldn't be harmed even slightly?" the Dragon Qilin's voice rumbled, smoke billowing from his mouth.

Qin Mu pretended not to hear, stored the Five-Thunder Pot in the True Dragon Den, and rushed towards the True Heaven Palace.

"Cult Master!"

The Dragon Qilin wanted to rush over, but more Fu family girls surrounded him. "Don't run around, you big oaf! You're too large, and you were just holding that big gourd, so you have the most lightning on you. If you keep running, you might get struck dead!"

The Dragon Qilin quickly stopped, grinning. "Sisters, I haven't been disfigured, have I? My dragon scales are the most beautiful; they look majestic on me. I can't let them be ruined!"

"Uh..." The girls looked troubled.

The Dragon Qilin looked suspicious and tried to twist his head to see his own body, but his neck was too thick and fat to turn.

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang was the first to land in front of the True Heaven Palace gates. Around the gates, charred bodies lay everywhere, and large craters formed by lightning strikes still emitted black smoke, with some areas even alight.

The True Heaven Palace Mistress collapsed to the ground, difficultly raising her head to look at the approaching middle-aged man. She whispered, "I am pregnant. For the sake of the child in my belly, please don't kill me..."

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang walked past her, stating calmly, "Whether you are pregnant or not is irrelevant to me. I have no grudge against you, and I won't deliberately kill or harm you. I only want this True Heaven Palace and the Western Lands."

The True Heaven Palace Mistress was slightly stunned.

Xiong Xiyu arrived at the palace gates with Xiong Qi'er. The True Heaven Palace Mistress's eye twitched as she whispered, "Nai Kui, I am pregnant..."

"Many of the daughters of my Xiong family who died were also pregnant."

Xiong Xiyu's eyes showed intense hatred. She snatched the Black Tortoise Pearl from the True Heaven Palace Mistress's hand and took the Azure Dragon Pearl from Xiong Qi'er, lowering her voice. "Did you ever pity them?"

Bathed in the light of the Azure Dragon Pearl, the True Heaven Palace Mistress tried to struggle, but her body and spirit instantly turned to wood, transforming into a wooden statue attempting to escape.

Xiong Xiyu exhaled deeply, then led Xiong Qi'er into the True Heaven Palace, saying coldly, "I won't kill you, but I won't spare you just because you're pregnant. You will become a wooden statue kneeling here forever in front of the palace gates!"

Behind them, women from the great aristocratic families rushed into the True Heaven Palace, attacking the remaining Yu family divine arts practitioners inside.

Qin Mu also arrived at the True Heaven Palace. This vast complex contained many streets and alleys, and remnants of the Yu family forces were hidden among the palaces and thoroughfares.

Some Yu family experts, wielding the Vermillion Bird Pearl and the White Tiger Pearl, were still resisting. The power of these two spiritual treasures was immense; even practitioners of lesser cultivation could unleash astonishing might with them.

Qin Mu also followed the others into the palace, thinking, "Ban Gongcuo should still be in the palace, right? I can't let him escape this time, no matter what!"

Suddenly, a golden light showered down. A woman held a golden yet transparent pearl, within which resided a White Tiger spirit. The golden light erupted from the pearl, shattering everyone in its path!

Qin Mu quickly activated his sword pellet. Eight thousand swords swiftly revolved around him, producing an intensely rapid *ding-ding-ding* sound as the golden light struck him and his swords, sending them flying.

Qin Mu tumbled and rolled, finally steadying himself, only to find he had been knocked dozens of yards away.

"The White Tiger Pearl!"

He dodged behind a grand hall. Golden light, like a tide, surged from both sides of the palace. Qin Mu focused his gaze, observing that where the golden light shone, countless sharp golden energies seemed to dart within the radiance. The women who had just died in the golden light were harmed by these incomparably sharp golden energies!

He hugged a large pillar of the palace, exerting force from his waist, intending to lift the entire palace and crush the Yu family expert controlling the White Tiger Pearl with it.

The pillar didn't budge.

Qin Mu grunted, exerted force again, but the pillar still didn't budge.

"Cult Master Qin, this is the True Heaven Palace."

Suddenly, Liu Zhenqing's voice reached him. Qin Mu was slightly startled to see a group of black coffins, escorting a golden divine coffin, flying towards him. The Liu family mother and daughter each sat on their coffin lids. The little girl, Liu Zhenqing, put down her sugar-coated haws and laughed, "True... Heaven Palace! The true Heaven Palace!"

Qin Mu was surprised, blurting out, "You mean...?"

"This Heaven Palace fell from the sky; it's not fake."

Liu Zhenqing jumped off her coffin lid, stuck her sugar-coated haws into a coffin seam, climbed onto the golden coffin, and began peeling off talismans. "Hurry, move closer! The old guy is coming out! Get the chains ready!"

As she spoke, the golden divine coffin burst open with a crash, emitting a surge of divine power. A soul-stirring roar came from within the coffin, and a towering figure charged directly into the golden light.

Boom—

A tremendous sound came from behind the palace, followed by chewing noises.

Liu Zhenqing was extremely tense and quickly instructed the other Liu family members, "Pull the chains faster, hurry! Drag this old guy back! Don't be scared, he's biting the White Tiger Pearl, and it's suppressing him! Hurry! Hurry!"

From among the many black coffins, various Liu family experts vigorously pulled the chains fastened to the golden coffin, which clanked loudly. After a moment, a brawny divine corpse was dragged back from the palace.

The divine corpse still struggled fiercely, trying to break free from the group. Liu Zhenqing and Liu Ruyin also personally stepped forward, exerting all their strength to drag the divine corpse back into the coffin.

Liu Zhenqing climbed onto the divine corpse's head, raised her small fists, and vigorously hammered its nose, loudly demanding, "Spit it out, spit it out quickly!"

The divine corpse's mouth was bulging, clearly concealing something.

The divine corpse glared ferociously at the audacious little girl, looking as if it could devour her at any moment, but its limbs were locked by chains, rendering it immobile.

Moreover, what was in its mouth was indeed the White Tiger Pearl, which it had swallowed along with the True Heaven Palace expert just now. However, only upon swallowing it did it realize how terrifying the White Tiger Pearl was; it was nearly assimilated by it and failed to swallow the pearl into its stomach.

Liu Zhenqing punched the divine corpse until its nose bled profusely. Unable to endure it, the divine corpse opened its mouth and spat out the White Tiger Pearl, along with a surge of corpse poison, trying to bite Liu Zhenqing.

The coffin lid slammed shut. Liu Zhenqing quickly affixed the sealing talismans, picked up the fallen White Tiger Pearl, and, beaming with joy, jumped back onto her small coffin lid. She pulled out her sugar-coated haws, licked them, and smiled at Qin Mu. "Big Brother Qin, we're going back! Come visit us in the Divine Burial Valley when you have time!"

Qin Mu laughed heartily and waved at them.

"Let's go!"

The coffin lid flipped over with a *thump*, covering the little girl inside. Liu Zhenqing's muffled voice, filled with triumph, came from within: "No more fighting! Back to Divine Burial Valley! Our Liu family isn't here to share power in the True Heaven Palace. With this White Tiger Pearl, our Liu family's Divine Burial Valley can also become a holy land of the Western Lands!"

A large group of coffins, embracing the golden divine coffin, whistled away, exiting the True Heaven Palace.

"Little Sister Liu Zhenqing is no ordinary person; perhaps she really can establish a Holy Land for the Corpse Sect."

Qin Mu continued deeper into the True Heaven Palace, thinking, "But I shouldn't call her 'Little Sister.' Her age should be similar to her mother, Liu Ruyin; she must be four or five hundred years old."

Deeper within the True Heaven Palace, the power of another spiritual treasure, the Vermillion Bird Pearl, was astonishing. Everything in the path of the Vermillion Bird's true fire was incinerated to ash, with only the True Heaven Palace's structures remaining intact.

People from the great aristocratic families were rushing towards the area where the Vermillion Bird Pearl's power erupted, clearly intending to acquire it before Xiong Xiyu and her daughter.

"Ah, Cult Master Qin."

In a grand hall on the other side, Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang emerged, a rare smile on his face, nodding towards Qin Mu.

Qin Mu stepped forward, asking with curiosity, "Imperial Preceptor, with your current abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to seize the three spiritual pearls. Yet you seem to ignore the treasures in the True Heaven Palace. What exactly are you searching for?"

"History."

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang walked towards another palace, stating leisurely, "The treasures of the True Heaven Palace belong to the Western Lands; I will not contend for them. To me, while the True Heaven Palace's treasures are indeed tempting, its history is the true wealth. Cult Master Qin, you also have no need to vie for treasures and power like them. Come with me, and let us bear witness to the True Heaven Palace's past history."

He extended an invitation.

Qin Mu agreed gladly, "Imperial Preceptor, your vision is extraordinary. If I were also tempted by the True Heaven Palace's wealth, wouldn't you disdain me?"

He followed Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang to another palace.

The True Heaven Palace's structures were majestic and grand. Although the war continued and various divine arts and spiritual weapons flew everywhere, this palace complex remained unharmed.

"Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Temple, Little Jade Capital—they are all losers. If even the losers record history, then how would the victors write their history of triumph?"

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang entered the hall. Many Yu family disciples hiding there immediately attacked the two. Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang waved his hand, and everyone instantly felt their power dissipate, slapping *pa-pa-pa* against the four walls of the palace, unable to move.

"I have already seen the history recorded by the Dao Sect, Little Jade Capital, and Great Thunderclap Temple. I want to see the history written by the victors."

He waved his hand, and the many Yu family women on the walls involuntarily moved aside, revealing murals.

Qin Mu looked at the murals, which depicted a deity descending from the sky, standing atop a palace. The deity's appearance bore some resemblance to Ba Gou.

In the second mural, Ba Gou met a female deity. This goddess was an equal to Ba Gou, standing in rivalry.

"She is the founder of the True Heaven Palace, the True Heaven Old Mother."

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang pondered, saying, "Someone who could stand as an equal to Ba Gou shouldn't have been killed by my single sword strike... It's somewhat strange."

Qin Mu was slightly startled, remembering the wooden deity statue he had seen in the Flaming Desert. Its face faintly resembled this True Heaven Old Mother.

He continued looking. Ba Gou's figure did not appear in the third painting. The third painting depicted the True Heaven Old Mother using the Vermillion Bird Pearl to transform tens of thousands of miles of land into a great fire, turning it into a desert.

"The Flaming Desert!"

Qin Mu narrowed his eyes. Transforming an area tens of thousands of miles wide into a fiery desert—such magical power was truly terrifying!

"Cult Master," Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang asked, "do you think someone with such abilities could be killed by my single sword?"

Qin Mu's expression turned stern. "She's still alive!"

Imperial Preceptor Yong Kang nodded. "The True Heaven Old Mother I killed with one sword strike must have been a divine statue. Her Dao of Natural Creation has countless transformations; she can even imbue mountains and rivers with life. Creating a false body wouldn't be difficult for her. Is she still in the True Heaven Palace?"