Chapter 802: Conforming to the Way

After paying their respects, the Woodcutter and the other four Heavenly Masters resumed their normal demeanor, gathering around Emperor Overlord to study his divine blessings. Having conducted research since the Emperor Kai era, they would become so engrossed in a task that they paid no attention to the identity of their research subject.

Emperor Overlord stood motionless, allowing the individuals to scrutinize and study him. The Scholar even pricked his finger with a needle, extracting a drop of blood for study. As for the discussions among the four Heavenly Masters, Emperor Overlord found them even more incomprehensible. Qin Mu, being a learned scholar of Eternal Peace, also joined the conversation.

Emperor Overlord stood there bewildered when suddenly, one of the Heavenly Masters suggested, "Go invite Jiang Baigui; he always has ideas."

Soon after, the Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor arrived and, as if discovering a treasure, began to circle Emperor Overlord.

"My dear Minister Qin, it's quite lively here. I came to..." Emperor Yanfeng, who had arrived for a visit, soon joined the crowd circling Emperor Overlord.

"Mu'er, why did you ask me to return?" Founding Ancestor Human Emperor burst in with twenty to thirty young men and women. The Village Chief was also present, his limbs now fully restored. Founding Ancestor and the Village Chief joined the others surrounding Emperor Overlord, while the rest of the young individuals pulled Qin Mu aside and watched him with smiles.

Qin Mu was puzzled and tentatively asked, "Senior brothers and sisters, who are you?"

One person, short and stout with a stocky build, bluntly asked, "Are you Qin Mu, the current Human Emperor?"

"I heard you're very powerful."

Qin Mu humbly replied, "I am the current Human Emperor, but I'm not that powerful. There are quite a few people in this world whose wisdom and talent surpass mine, several of them. And countless more whose cultivation and strength exceed mine. Who are you all?"

"Enough talk, let's fight first!"

They all rushed forward simultaneously; their abilities were formidable, their techniques exquisite, and each was a top-tier expert. Qin Mu quickly dodged, only to find that their footwork was profound and unpredictable. They managed to keep pace with him, encircling him from all sides and attacking from both front and back, leaving him nowhere to hide. He couldn't help but feel surprised.

"Where did so many experts suddenly emerge from in Eternal Peace?" he wondered. "Each one's strength is exceptionally formidable. If they were of the younger generation, that would be one thing, but the crucial point is that these twenty to thirty people all have very high cultivation realms, no weaker than mine!"

The crowd swarmed forward; they were clearly experienced in brawls and accustomed to fighting in this manner, proving to be skilled combatants.

"However, I've never been afraid of group fights!"

Runes churned around Qin Mu, teleporting over a dozen attackers more than ten miles away. He then transformed into a three-headed, six-armed form and unleashed martial arts divine abilities. With several loud booming sounds, over a dozen experts lay on the ground, unable to move.

Qin Mu's steps shifted as his three heads and six arms unleashed various divine abilities. One by one, figures were sent flying, lying scattered and sprawled on the ground. He spread his six arms and reversed the runes. The dozen or so individuals who had just been sent over ten miles away and hadn't yet landed immediately spun around and returned.

"Great Primordial Magnetism Divine Ability!"

Qin Mu pushed his palms forward, and the dozen or so individuals immediately felt their bodies and souls become incredibly heavy. With a loud thud, they crashed to the ground, leaving a large pit in the earth. More than ten zhang away, the short, stout person quietly got up, just about to unleash a divine ability for a sneak attack. Qin Mu slapped his hand back, and the Heavenly Fire divine ability erupted, blowing the stout person high into the air, flailing their limbs, and disappearing somewhere unknown.

"Suddenly there are over thirty young experts not inferior to me," he mused. "When did Eternal Peace produce so many talents?"

Qin Mu was still puzzled; he shook his head and walked towards Emperor Overlord. The Village Chief looked at him with a sly gaze and winked.

Qin Mu paused slightly, then suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Human Emperor Qikang, Human Emperor Yishan! And Second Ancestor! Third Ancestor! That's right, it's you! You came with Founding Ancestor!"

He quickly went to help the young men and women get up and lamented, "I wondered where so many experts not inferior to me had appeared from! It turns out it's all of you, my grand-ancestors and ancestors! Why didn't you say hello? If you had, I wouldn't have been so heavy-handed... You're Second Ancestor, aren't you?"

The young man he helped up quickly shook his head, "I am not!"

"You are Fifth Ancestor!" Qin Mu said excitedly, scrutinizing another young man.

"I am not, don't talk nonsense!"

The young man's face flushed red as he stammered in defense, "How tall and mighty is Fifth Ancestor? How can I compare to Human Emperor Fifth Ancestor? I'm just a small figure!"

Qin Mu removed the willow leaf from between his brows and looked with his third eye, immediately seeing everyone's primordial spirits clearly and distinctly. He smiled and said, "You are Fifth Ancestor! Although your appearance has changed, your primordial spirit has not. Did you possess a body or are you reborn?"

The young man's face flushed red; he was unable to speak.

"Grandmaster Lanpo! Grandmaster Tuoyu! Grand-ancestor Qikang! It really is all of you! Was that short, stout person I just blasted away with the Heavenly Fire divine ability Grand-grand-ancestor Yishan?" Qin Mu quickly said, "I don't know where he flew off to; what should we do?"

Human Emperor Qikang walked over, snorted coldly, and said, "You just said 'not inferior to you'; is this what you meant by 'not inferior to you'?"

Qin Mu explained, "'Not inferior to me' means still slightly weaker than me."

Human Emperor Tuoyu angrily said, "A slight difference makes such a huge gap?"

Qin Mu scratched his head. "My meaning is 'a miss is as good as a mile'… Let's not talk about that. Grand-ancestors and ancestors, Founding Ancestor often goes out saying he has important matters. Could it be that he's been teaching you cultivation techniques and divine abilities?"

The Human Emperors exchanged glances. Second Ancestor sighed and dejectedly said, "Lately, Founding Ancestor has been secretly training us in Jade Bright Palace behind the Human Emperor Hall, teaching us cultivation techniques and divine abilities. He also brought out various ancient texts from Jade Bright Palace, which contained the miraculous divine arts of the Emperor Kai era, and passed them on to us. This time, when we emerged from seclusion, we wanted to give you a big surprise..."

Qin Mu smiled. "Grand-ancestors and ancestors, don't be disheartened. Founding Ancestor's abilities are also only slightly inferior to mine, and you are already very strong. The key is that during these few years you spent in seclusion in the Human Emperor Hall, the Dao arts and divine abilities of Eternal Peace have progressed incredibly fast. You learned the cultivation techniques and divine abilities of the Emperor Kai era, but you didn't learn the cultivation techniques and divine abilities of Eternal Peace, which are all flaws in my eyes. However, in terms of cultivation, you are not inferior to me..."

Granny Si's voice came, and she said in surprise, "Mu'er, why is it so lively here?"

Qin Mu hurriedly left the others and went to greet her, saying happily, "Grand-ancestors and ancestors, Granny is the one who created the Primordial Magnetism divine ability. The Great Primordial Magnetism divine ability I just used was learned from Granny. Please find a place to sit; I'll go welcome Granny. Oh, by the way, who will go find Human Emperor Yishan?"

"Mu'er, you're back?" The Blind Man, leaning on his bamboo staff, fumbled his way in.

"Blind Man, why are you running so fast?" The Deaf Man and the Butcher followed closely behind.

Qin Mu's residence was already overcrowded, with no room to stand. He quickly found the Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor and asked, "Junior Brother, how many people did you invite?"

"Also the Dao Master, the Tathagata, and those from Little Jade Capital," he replied. The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor said, "I've also informed the King of Hell. As the remaining tribes of Chiyou in the South Sea are not our forces, I didn't notify them. Great Libationer Xu Shenghua is far away in the Western Earth, too far from here; it would take him two to three years to travel here, so I didn't notify him either."

Qin Mu was stunned. He quickly called for several maids, saying, "I have too many guests here; there's no more room. Take some money and buy the neighboring residences."

The lead maid said, "The residents nearby are mostly wealthy merchants and nobles; I'm afraid they might demand exorbitant prices."

"Those small sums don't matter," Qin Mu said, waving his hand and telling them to handle it as quickly as possible. The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was silent for a moment, then said, "Much of Heavenly Saint Cult's money has been donated to the national treasury for disaster relief. Brother, why do you still have so much money?"

"Perhaps Ling'er earned it in Dragon Imbuement City," Qin Mu guessed. He didn't quite understand either and said apologetically, "I haven't asked about money matters; I'm not interested in that."

The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor quietly walked away and continued to study the ancient god's blessings behind Emperor Overlord's head with the others.

After acquiring the surrounding residences, Qin Mu immediately tore down the walls, connecting the properties for easy access. After a few days, Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai, and others from Little Jade Capital arrived. After some more time, Dao Master Lin Xuan brought many old and young Daoists from the Dao Sect. Ma Rulai arrived with the Demonic Ape Zhankong and Monk Mingxin. Qin Mu heard that Emperor Sakra Devajara Buddha had also arrived, but he hadn't seen him, presuming he was hiding from the old farmer, or had been beaten by the old farmer and sent flying into some unknown ditch without his knowledge.

This cluster of residences was filled with experts. Dao Master Lin Xuan, with many Daoists, diligently cataloged the various runes in the ancient god's blessings, while others deduced the mysteries within these runes and tried various methods to decipher them.

"Emperor Overlord's ancient god blessings are a vast treasure trove!"

The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor suddenly exclaimed, "If we organize all the runes contained within the ancient god's blessings, we can determine the ancient god's grand Dao rune system! Eternal Peace's rune Dao is bound to experience a great burst of development!"

The Woodcutter said, "Don't be in a hurry to eliminate these blessings; let's quickly organize them! If we can fully organize them, this will be the ancient Heavenly Court's grand Dao rune system!"

Qin Mu also intended to study its mysteries, but was driven out by the four Heavenly Masters. The old farmer said, "You have your own important task: go open the Seventh Divine Treasure. Call me when you're done!"

Qin Mu was helpless and had no choice but to diligently cultivate, opening one divine treasure after another. He opened the Seventh Divine Treasure faster and faster, but each time he opened one, the old farmer would destroy it with a single punch, and then immerse himself back into research.

Four or five months later, all the rooms were filled with various rune records. The divine and demonic experts in the residence were all disheveled and dirty; only the Scholar, Granny Si, and other women still paid attention to their appearance.

Meanwhile, Qin Mu was opening the last of the Seventh Divine Treasures: the Heavenly River Divine Treasure. The Heavenly River Divine Treasure was something he designed based on a sudden inspiration from the Heavenly River of the ancient Heavenly Court. This divine treasure flowed out from the Celestial Palace, towards the Seventh Divine Treasure, passing through the Celestial Being, Seven Stars, and Five Element realms, flowing through the Spirit Platform, and finally into Youdu.

Qin Mu suddenly paused. "If that's the case," he mused, "wouldn't opening the Seventh Divine Treasure allow all divine treasures to become one?"

He blinked. Xu Shenghua had already developed the Primordial God Bridge of Jianmu as a cultivation method to connect and unify all divine treasures. However, the Jianmu God Bridge had extremely high requirements for arithmetic and divination. There were probably very few people in the world today with such mastery who could create the Jianmu God Bridge, as it required a master of arithmetic and divination to first plant a 'Dao heart demon seed'—a sapling—within the practitioner's body. Therefore, the Jianmu God Bridge was difficult to popularize.

If there was this Heavenly River Divine Treasure, it would be much simpler: a single Heavenly River could directly connect all divine treasures, even connecting the Celestial Palace!