Chapter 657: Red Emperor's Brain

The Red Bright Divine Son turned, a broad smile on his face. "My invitation for you to enter the sacred hall is not an offense. Please."

Qin Mu hesitated, glancing back at First Ancestor. The First Ancestor looked sickly and listless, trudging slowly forward.

"His injuries should be mostly healed by now, so why is he still so dispirited?"

Qin Mu wondered. Although First Ancestor had always been cold and reserved, indifferent to others, he usually possessed a contained demeanor. However, since the journey to the Hanging Realm began, he had been despondent, indicating his condition wasn't due to his injuries.

He and First Ancestor followed the Red Bright Divine Son towards the sacred hall. The Red Bright Divine Son smiled, "This friend has consistently protected you, yet not Princess Yan Kang. This shows that in his heart, you are far more important than she is."

Qin Mu was about to speak when the Red Bright Divine Son continued, "In fact, in my heart, you are not only more important than Princess Yan Kang, but also far more important than Emperor Yan Feng."

Qin Mu paused, then chuckled, "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

The Red Bright Divine Son didn't reply, walking into the hall. "Since its establishment," he said, "no outsider has been permitted to enter this sacred hall. In fact, few even among my own people are qualified to come in and venerate the Red Emperor's Brain."

"Your Highness, allowing us to enter truly overwhelms me with honor," Qin Mu said.

The Red Bright Divine Son turned, scrutinizing Qin Mu's face as if to discern if he was genuinely overwhelmed.

Qin Mu displayed an expression of being overwhelmed.

The Red Bright Divine Son shook his head. "Your expression is remarkably lifelike, but it's merely a pretense, not genuine. You're simply curious, with no trace of being overwhelmed. If you could feign it to the point where it truly came from your heart, then you might deceive me."

Qin Mu looked embarrassed.

"Still fake," the Divine Son commented.

The Red Bright Divine Son continued forward. "You might not know this," he said, "but I am not actually a descendant of the Red Emperor or the Bright Emperor. I have no blood relation to either of them."

Qin Mu was greatly astonished, and the First Ancestor Human Emperor, too, grew curious, proactively asking, "Fellow Daoist, if you are not their descendant, why are you revered as the Red Bright Divine Son?"

The Red Bright Divine Son seemed to fall into a reverie. "Before the catastrophe, the Bright Emperor had a premonition," he began. "He gathered young talents from across the land for a grand martial arts assembly. After rigorous selections, a thousand individuals were chosen to meet him, and I was among them. The Bright Emperor's teachings greatly enlightened us, the thousand youths. I wasn't the most exceptional among them; whether in innate talent, comprehension, or divine arts, I didn't even rank in the top ten. Yet, in the end, the Bright Emperor chose me. He told me that the Red Bright Era didn't need the person with the highest talent or comprehension, but rather someone who could unite the people and help them rise after defeat. He revealed the path to the Hanging Realm to me, and soon after, the catastrophe struck."

The Red Bright Divine Son's expression grew somber, then returned to normal after a moment. "I never truly understood why he chose me," he said, "until the catastrophe erupted. The Bright Emperor publicly declared me the fated Divine Son of the Red Bright Era, which garnered me many followers when doomsday arrived. They firmly believed I was the destined Divine Son, capable of bringing them hope. Thus, I led the remaining clansmen, the last hope of the Red Bright Era, into the starry sky, seeking the Hanging Realm, and there we settled."

His expression composed, he continued, "I then understood why the Bright Emperor chose me: it was because I could withstand failure, unite people's hearts, and offer hope to my clansmen. I am not the fated Divine Son of the Red Bright Era, but I can lead my people back from death, back from defeat. I can also lead them out of their comfort, instill in them the will to fight, and awaken their wild spirit of the Red Bright Era!"

The First Ancestor Human Emperor fell silent.

The Red Bright Divine Son's experience closely mirrored his own.

Yet, their choices diverged entirely.

The Red Bright Divine Son persevered with forbearance, proving himself an exceptional leader who understood when to exercise restraint and when to act decisively.

In contrast, he had become despondent after leading his surviving clansmen to Yan Kang, making no move for twenty thousand years and offering his people no hope.

For days, he had been utterly despondent, his heart heavy, precisely because the Hanging Realm reminded him of Wuyou Township. The current state of the Hanging Realm was, perhaps, exactly the current state of Wuyou Township!

The Red Bright Divine Son sought to emerge from the Hanging Realm, but who could lead Emperor Kai's former forces out of Wuyou Township? Wuyou Township, too, required a Kai Emperor Divine Son!

Now, understanding the Red Bright Divine Son's past, he was reminded of his own.

"I am not the Kai Emperor Divine Son..."

A bitter feeling welled up in his heart. "The Heavenly Teacher was absolutely right," he thought, "I am a deserter, always a deserter..."

Qin Mu suddenly spoke, "Divine Son, you've shared these secrets with us without reservation. Are you perhaps planning to silence us?"

The Red Bright Divine Son laughed heartily, shaking his head. "No. Your friend here is very strong, and you also harbor a terrifying power within you. Though it's suppressed and sealed, it still makes my heart pound. I don't wish to harm either of you; rather, I want to win you over and bridge the gap between us."

He said earnestly, "Emperor Yan Feng possesses the magnanimity of a Heavenly Emperor, but alas, he was born in an unfortunate era. He is certainly doomed, and if you assist him, you will gain nothing. If Cult Master Qin can assist me, I can extend the fortunes of Yan Kang and Red Bright, rally our forces, and once again contend with Heaven! I implore Cult Master Qin, please help me!"

Qin Mu paused, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter, his voice echoing through the sacred hall.

After a long while, his laughter slowly faded, and the smile on his face gradually vanished. He shook his head. "Your Highness Divine Son is mistaken," he said. "I am not the pillar of Yan Kang, nor the National Preceptor of the reforms. I am merely a Grand Libationer of Yan Kang, who happened to participate in these reforms. If you wish to win someone over, you should approach the Yan Kang National Preceptor. His talent and insight surpass mine by a hundred... well, twice! Roughly twice, maybe not even, but he's passable..."

The Red Bright Divine Son smiled faintly. "The Yan Kang National Preceptor? I will meet him personally in the future and see if he lives up to the Libationer's praise. There's no need to rush your refusal, Libationer; who can say for certain what the future holds? Please consider it. Ahead is the Red Emperor's Brain."

Qin Mu and First Ancestor looked ahead. Bright, interwoven lights emanated from the front, forming a shape like a brain, spanning several acres. Standing there, one instantly felt their own insignificance and the profound inferiority of their intellect.

Although referred to as the Red Emperor's Brain, this luminous mass was not a true brain. The Red Emperor had already transformed into the Hanging Realm, and his physical brain no longer existed. These lights were his still-flowing thoughts.

Some areas of the brain-shaped light were very bright, while others were somewhat dim, but this wasn't fixed. These lights flowed in continuous streams, constantly shifting, as if the Red Emperor were still thinking, still imbued with life force.

"What a powerful existence!" Qin Mu thought. "Though his body perished and his spirit dissolved, his consciousness endures, and his thoughts are eternal!"

Qin Mu felt a surge of reverence and bowed to the luminous mass. This was heartfelt respect, utterly without pretense.

The Red Bright Divine Son approached the Red Emperor's Brain. "Back then," he explained, "the Bright Emperor performed rituals for the Red Emperor, receiving a wisp of the Red Emperor's consciousness. This led him to the path to the Hanging Realm, securing a retreat for our Red Bright people. I now suspect that the Red Emperor's true intention was not for us to merely find the Hanging Realm to escape disaster. He might have wanted us to use that wisp of consciousness to locate his Red Emperor's Brain and access certain thoughts and memories stored within it."

Qin Mu paused, secretly commending in his heart, "Although this Divine Son claims not to be the true fated Divine Son, he certainly knows how to think inversely. His thought process is quite similar to mine."

With a complex expression, the Red Bright Divine Son gently touched the Red Emperor's Brain. Immediately, streams of thought-light on the Red Emperor's Brain intensified, flowing ceaselessly across its surface, flickering into brilliance and fading away!

"He truly wishes to impart something to me," the Divine Son sighed, "but my aptitude is dull. For years, I've often come here, hoping to gain more information, yet I've never received his guidance."

The Red Bright Divine Son sighed, "Since you two are here, why not give it a try? Perhaps you can receive the Red Emperor's guidance."

Qin Mu extended his hand toward the Red Emperor's Brain, but the First Ancestor Human Emperor suddenly slapped his palm away with a *smack*. "Beware lest the Red Emperor possess you," he warned.

The Red Bright Divine Son stated, "The Red Emperor was the one who inaugurated the Red Bright Era; how could he stoop to such a sordid act? If he wished to possess someone, he could have long since taken over me. Alas, though I am willing to sacrifice myself, his soul has already scattered, transforming into this Hanging Realm."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then peeled off the golden willow leaf from his forehead, extended his hand, and chuckled, "Touching it won't kill me..."

The First Ancestor frowned, extending his palm at the same moment as Qin Mu. Both their palms pressed almost simultaneously against the Red Emperor's Brain.

—Boom—

A colossal roar, seemingly of creation itself, reverberated within their minds. Innumerable, incredibly complex images and sounds surged wildly into their heads. Each sound originated from the same individual, yet the phrases were very short, just a single sentence, but their sheer volume was immense; tens of thousands of statements echoed simultaneously in an instant!

The accompanying images were likewise incredibly intricate, tens of thousands flashing past their vision. It was as if bizarre and wondrous scenes from the time of creation were unfolding. Qin Mu and the First Ancestor Human Emperor's eyeballs darted rapidly from side to side like rattling drums, making it almost impossible to discern their pupils!

—Buzz—

The eye in Qin Mu's glabella opened. Within that eye, another eye was surprisingly revealed, curiously peering outwards.

At this moment, within the Qin Continent inside Qin Mu's eye, Qin Fengqing, the large, chubby baby, had the Heavenly Duke's clone seated beneath him. He stretched out a hand and pried open a sliver of the seal, barely allowing one eye to glimpse the outside. This giant infant, incredibly curious, stared at the Red Emperor's Brain through Qin Mu's glabella eye, drooling profusely.

Suddenly, a torrent of violent information surged from the Red Emperor's Brain, pouring directly into his mind!

"What is ambushing me?"

The giant infant was startled; the violent information surged wildly into his mind, freezing him in place.

Simultaneously, the pressure on Qin Mu greatly lessened, while the First Ancestor Human Emperor bled from all seven facial orifices. His hand involuntarily released its grip, and he toppled stiffly to the ground, unconscious.

The Red Bright Divine Son sighed softly, "You, too, cannot endure the information from the Red Emperor's Brain. Indeed, your cultivation level is a step below mine; if I can barely withstand it, how much less can you?"

He raised his hand, revealing a transparent glove. He had touched the Red Emperor's Brain moments ago while wearing it, thus remaining unaffected.

"But as for Cult Master Qin..."

The Red Bright Divine Son's eyes flickered, all three opening simultaneously and focusing on Qin Mu. His voice was strange: "How did you manage to endure this long without losing consciousness? However, it's irrelevant now. You've fallen into the Red Emperor's Brain's labyrinth of consciousness; I fear you won't awaken."

He gently raised his hand, and the unconscious First Ancestor Human Emperor floated into the air. The Red Bright Divine Son turned and walked out, with the First Ancestor Human Emperor floating along behind him.

"I've encountered individuals like you," he said. "It's impossible for you to pledge allegiance to me. Even if Emperor Yan Kang's reforms fail and he dies in the future, you still wouldn't join me; you would only go to assist Princess Yu Xiu."

He walked out of the sacred hall, his gaze deep and distant. "You won't die," he said softly, "but your mind will merge with the Red Emperor's consciousness, and you will fall into the Red Emperor's labyrinth. Even if you manage to emerge in the future, you will then discover that the world ahead is no longer the world you remember, and the people of that future will not be the people you know now..."

He began to descend. Just then, a faint fluctuation emanated from within the sacred hall.

The Red Bright Divine Son paused, turning his head to look at the sacred hall's entrance.

Suddenly, the sacred hall plunged into darkness. Only Qin Mu's astonished voice could be heard: "It's extinguished? How could this happen... First Ancestor? Divine Son? Where are you... No one... Quick, let's slip away!"

The Red Bright Divine Son watched Qin Mu furtively slipping out of the sacred hall. Upon seeing him outside, the Libationer's sneaky demeanor instantly vanished.

The Red Bright Divine Son's expression subtly changed. He immediately dropped the First Ancestor to the ground, and with a flash, he was back inside the sacred hall. Upon seeing the Red Emperor's Brain, his limbs turned cold, and he nearly collapsed.

The Red Emperor's Brain had, astonishingly, gone out!