Chapter 835: The Heavenly Court of the Dao Ancestor

Qin Mu controlled numerous jade slips as they flew around the jade pillar. The rune imprints on the slips were projected onto the pillar, forming the figure of a young man. As the slips moved, the young man inside the pillar slowly rotated his body.

Qin Mu could clearly see the internal structure of the young man's brain, as well as the internal structure of all his organs.

By adjusting the position of the jade slips, Qin Mu could even magnify the young man's organs to examine their more intricate structures.

This young man was Yu Tianzun.

Standing before the jade pillar, Qin Mu carefully observed the Yu Tianzun within it. The projection from the jade slips felt a little off to him.

The projection of Yu Tianzun within the jade pillar was unlike that of other ancient gods. While other ancient gods used arithmetics to construct Great Dao runes and recreate their Great Dao, Yu Tianzun's projection was directly constructed from his physical body using arithmetics.

These jade slips were not intended to recreate Yu Tianzun as a whole, but solely to reconstruct his physical form.

Qin Mu carefully examined the runes on the jade slips. Just as he expected, these were not Great Dao runes, but Creation Runes.

The runes on the jade slips in the hundreds of jade towers below were all Great Dao runes, formed by Dao Ancestor using arithmetics to deconstruct the Great Dao of ancient gods.

Arithmetics Great Dao runes differed from Creation Runes. The Creation Great Dao was also a Great Dao created by later races, but it was not based on arithmetical structures.

Qin Mu himself was an expert in this field, and the runes on the jade slips posed no challenge for him.

"What was Dao Ancestor's purpose in reconstructing Yu Tianzun's physical body with these Creation Runes?"

He fell into thought. The significance of these Creation Runes was clearly not as great as the Great Dao runes on other levels. At the time of his death, Yu Tianzun's cultivation had only just reached the Celestial Palace realm, becoming a deity.

Yet Dao Ancestor had placed the Creation Runes on the highest level, positioning Yu Tianzun above even the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. What was his intention then?

Qin Mu looked down, seeing that the jade pillar extended directly down to the lowest floor. Layers of jade steps spiraled upwards around the pillar, and its six sides were lined with bookshelves displaying jade slips.

Qin Mu mused. Lin Xuan Dao Master and Xiao Chunfeng were ascending to the highest level, while the red-robed girl Yu Hongxiu was still unconscious.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. His vital qi erupted, surging downwards along the jade pillar!

Xiao Chunfeng was startled, fearing he was about to attack him. However, he saw Qin Mu's vital qi flow into each floor, sweeping up the jade slips from the bookshelves with a rustling sound. Countless jade slips unfurled, all facing the jade pillar!

These hundreds of floors contained an immense, countless number of jade slips. And now, every single one of them unfurled!

Even for Qin Mu, who had cultivated to the peak realm of divine arts practitioners, controlling so many jade slips was still somewhat strenuous.

At this moment, the runes on the jade slips emitted light that reflected onto the jade pillar. Immediately, ancient god projections of various sizes appeared within the jade pillar.

Just then, as the light reflections intertwined, a column of light began to ascend within the jade pillar!

A hum filled the air.

All the lights converged entirely on Yu Tianzun's form at the very top. Immediately, blindingly bright light radiated from the jade pillar!

Qin Mu shielded his eyes. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the intense glare, and he looked into the jade pillar.

The ancient god projections formed by the rune imprints on the jade slips, refracted by the curious internal structures of the jade pillar, transformed into points of light within Yu Tianzun's body. These points of light gradually converged, forming the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure.

After the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure was formed, the Five Luminaries Divine Treasure also took shape, with an ancient god projection appearing on each of the five celestial bodies of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Next was the Six Directions Divine Treasure. The Earth Mother Sovereign and the Primeval Tree formed within the light, and smaller ancient gods, such as those of dragon veins, phoenix nests, mountain gods, and river gods, each took their designated positions.

Then came the Seven Stars Divine Treasure. The Sun, Moon, and the Star River materialized; the Great Sun Star Lord and Grand Moon Star Lord appeared within the Sun and Moon respectively, while the 360 Zhou Tian Star Gods appeared on the stars of the Star River.

The stars, Star River, and constellations collectively formed the projection of Heavenly Duke, creating the Heavenly Human Divine Treasure!

Qin Mu looked further, seeing the Life and Death Divine Treasure below. Youdu materialized, with Earth Count standing in the darkness beneath Yuandu.

Next was the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, a divine bridge leading directly to the Celestial Palace!

Qin Mu looked towards the Celestial Palace, his mind was greatly shaken. He saw more light spots, formed from rune imprints, constructing an incredibly vast Celestial Palace within Yu Tianzun's glabella.

That was not just one Celestial Palace, but thirty-six Celestial Palaces!

Not only were there thirty-six Celestial Palaces, but also seventy-two Treasure Halls!

This was a complete Heavenly Court!

The complexity of this Heavenly Court, however, surpassed all imagination. It was constructed from the Great Dao runes of the various ancient gods; even the Heavenly Emperor was merely an ancient god seated within the Lingxiao Palace!

Setting aside the Heavenly Court, the Seven Divine Treasures alone were markedly different from the Divine Treasures of common divine arts practitioners.

The Divine Treasures within Yu Tianzun's body encompassed the Great Dao runes of Heavenly Duke, Earth Mother, Earth Count, and numerous other ancient gods. Their complexity far surpassed the Divine Treasures of current divine arts practitioners.

However, even such complex Divine Treasures were dwarfed by the Heavenly Court!

One could only imagine the immense complexity and meticulousness of the Heavenly Court Dao Ancestor had constructed within Yu Tianzun's body.

If this method were to spread, it would not subvert the current cultivation system in the world, but instead represent a monumental refinement!

"Did Dao Ancestor compile these things in the Heavenly Court's Scripture Repository for the powerful cultivators in the Heavenly Court?"

Qin Mu was stunned.

This scene in the Scripture Repository was too breathtaking; yet it was not merely about perfecting the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace cultivation systems.

Any of these ancient gods whose Great Dao mysteries had been thoroughly deciphered, if they proved disobedient, would likely be replaced in the future!

The same likely applied to Heavenly Duke and Earth Count.

However, what puzzled Qin Mu was why it had to be Yu Tianzun.

"In truth, the rune imprints on the highest level could have been made into anyone; why specifically Yu Tianzun?"

He was somewhat bewildered.

Furthermore, with Yu Tianzun's soul being incomplete, and a portion of it hidden within this Heavenly Court from beyond the heavens, Qin Mu was even less able to comprehend Dao Ancestor's actions.

"Yu Tianzun's soul was missing memories. Did Dao Ancestor intend to recreate a Yu Tianzun and implant his memories into this new body? But would the Heavenly Emperor in the Heavenly Court permit him to do so?"

"Or perhaps the Heavenly Emperor believed Yu Tianzun's physical body to be the most perfect, and thus intended to reincarnate into this body?"

"It's also possible that this Heavenly Court cultivation system is imperfect, and the Heavenly Emperor needed Yu Tianzun's memories and wisdom to perfect it!"

"Was this Dao Ancestor's idea, or the Heavenly Emperor's idea?"

He began to feel a headache coming on, for Dao Ancestor's attitude was too perplexing.

He had met once with Yan Qiling, a disciple of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. The information Yan Qiling had revealed was that Dao Ancestor was helping the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, yet the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court from beyond the heavens were clearly not the same person, but mortal enemies!

Dao Ancestor sided with the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, yet also served as the master of the Heavenly Court's Scripture Repository in the Heavenly Court from beyond the heavens, helping its Heavenly Emperor establish this magnificent Scripture Repository!

Now, Dao Ancestor had also summoned Qin Mu and his companions into the Scripture Repository, and revealed to them the plan of the Heavenly Emperor from beyond the heavens!

"Is Dao Ancestor benevolent or malicious? Is he neutral or does he lean towards one side? Or is he simply..."

Qin Mu's expression was peculiar: "A pot-stirrer?"

Lin Xuan Dao Master and Xiao Chunfeng came to his side, staring blankly at the sight within the jade pillar. Both were awed and speechless.

"Senior Brother Xiao!"

Qin Mu said with a smile, "The Divine Treasure system and Heavenly Court system in the Scripture Repository—have you ever seen anything like them?"

Xiao Chunfeng shook his head blankly.

"Then have you heard of them?" Qin Mu continued.

Xiao Chunfeng shook his head again.

"You haven't heard of it, nor seen it. Do you think anyone in the Heavenly Court has cultivated this system?"

Qin Mu patiently coaxed, "Someone who cultivates this system—their cultivation and strength would undoubtedly be incredibly powerful, unbeatable within the same realm. Such a person would surely be like me, making you believe he's an Overlord Body, another Qin Mu, an existence you could only look up to, beyond your reach. Have you ever encountered such a person?"

Xiao Chunfeng regained his composure and looked at him with a peculiar expression.

Lin Xuan Dao Master also secretly thought Qin Mu was a bit shameless. Who praises themselves like this?

However, Qin Mu's statement that anyone cultivating this Heavenly Court system would be invincible within the same realm, an unreachable figure one could only look up to, was indeed true.

If someone truly cultivated according to this Heavenly Court system, from the seven Divine Treasure realms to the seven Celestial Palace realms, they would absolutely have no rivals within the same realm!

If that person could cultivate to the Heavenly Court realm, they would be unrivaled throughout history, unbeatable across all lands, even surpassing the ancient gods!

The only pity was that only the Divine Treasure and Heavenly Court structures were present, but no actual cultivation techniques.

The Scripture Repository contained innumerable jade slips, and the Great Dao runes inscribed on them were countless. To organize and integrate these Great Dao runes into a single cultivation method would absolutely be an incredibly monumental undertaking!

Lin Xuan even doubted if any single cultivation method could encompass such a grand cultivation system!

"Moreover, this cultivation system is not perfect."

He glanced at Qin Mu. Xiao Chunfeng was unaware of this cultivation system's imperfections, but Qin Mu, however, definitely knew them inside out.

The first point was that this system still included the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure.

The Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, however, had been superseded by the Heavenly River Divine Treasure, a creation of Qin Mu, and the Heavenly River Divine Treasure was superior.

The second point also lay within the Divine Treasure system: the seven Great Divine Treasures were disconnected from one another, failing to form a complete, unified Divine Treasure. Even with the Primeval Tree rooted in the Six Directions Continent, it remained incomplete and couldn't connect with the Divine Bridge.

If it were replaced with Qin Mu's Heavenly River Divine Treasure, this issue could be perfectly resolved.

The third imperfection lay in the arithmetics Dao Ancestor used to structure the ancient gods.

Dao Ancestor used macro-arithmetics, such as the Grand Profound Arithmetics Scripture and the Maiden Arithmetics Scripture, but lacked micro-arithmetics. And micro-arithmetics was the Grand Micro Arithmetics Scripture, created by Qin Mu and perfected by the Eternal Peace Dao Sect!

Without the Grand Micro Arithmetics Scripture, the Great Dao runes of ancient gods deconstructed by Dao Ancestor were imperfect.

These three limitations meant that the Heavenly Court system constructed by Dao Ancestor was not perfect.

There were likely other imperfect factors, but Lin Xuan Dao Master could only identify these three at the moment.

"I now know Dao Ancestor's purpose in summoning us."

Suddenly, Xiao Chunfeng sighed, his spirits low, and he laughed self-deprecatingly, "So that's it. Now that I know the secret of the Scripture Repository, I can no longer remain in this Heavenly Court. To survive, I must leave the Heavenly Court; otherwise, if this secret is exposed, I will surely die."

He gave a wry smile.

He had originally been fiercely loyal to the Heavenly Court, but now he was compelled to betray it.

The more secrets one knew, the greater the danger.

He now knew the secret of the Scripture Repository. If Dao Ancestor were to reveal this to the Heavenly Emperor, he would surely die; his death would be swift and certain!

The same applied to Qin Mu and Lin Xuan.

They had to keep this secret. If they didn't, Dao Ancestor wouldn't even need to kill them; others would naturally do the job.

Dao Ancestor had summoned them, perfectly resolving the issue of alignment.

He wouldn't side with Qin Mu, nor with Xiao Chunfeng. He merely needed to summon them both, thereby eliminating any distinction between their camps, making them stand together, perfectly aligned.

"This is truly the 'old fox' the Village Chief spoke of," Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh.

Only now did he understand how childish his plan to eliminate Xiao Chunfeng and force Dao Ancestor to take his side truly was.

Such experienced strategists could easily thwart their petty calculations.

"Senior Brother Xiao, what do you plan to do after we go back?" Qin Mu asked, smiling, as he looked at the somber Xiao Chunfeng.

"I plan to return to Azure Cloud Heaven, help Azure Cloud Heaven destroy the evidence and pin the blame on Earth Mother Sovereign. Earth Mother Sovereign won't mind this small additional charge anyway."

Xiao Chunfeng sighed, "After that, I will fake my death to get away and stay far from the Heavenly Court. I won't contact my mother; I'll hide as far away as possible... Dao Ancestor's tactic is too ruthless!"

Qin Mu laughed, "You'll hide away to research this Heavenly Court cultivation system? And in the future, when you have strength, plot your resurgence?"

Xiao Chunfeng said flatly, "My cultivation, strength, and intelligence are no less than yours. I naturally possess such ambition. Before Dao Ancestor sends us back, I need to record all the Great Dao runes on the jade slips here. Farewell!"

He hurried downstairs.

Lin Xuan Dao Master watched him descend and walk away, then said, "Cult Master Qin, the person in the jade pillar is your imperial brother."

Qin Mu nodded, "It's a long story. Let's put this aside for now. First, let's go downstairs and copy down the runes on the jade slips!"

Lin Xuan Dao Master sighed deeply, "Even if you told me, I wouldn't dare listen; I truly wouldn't. The things in this tower are frightening enough as it is."

He went downstairs with Qin Mu, whispering, "Xiao Chunfeng didn't realize you hadn't used your primordial spirit when you fought him."

Qin Mu glanced at him.

Lin Xuan Dao Master smiled, "Don't look at me that way. I know your true strength. Although you always say your strength is only a fraction higher than mine, I know that 'fraction' you speak of is a straight line, and quite possibly a vertical one."

Qin Mu was about to offer a modest reply, but Lin Xuan interjected, "Everyone thinks you're bragging, but they don't know you're actually too humble. With the Divine Dao Divine Treasure combined with the Demonic Dao Divine Treasure, the merging of fourteen Divine Treasures, and the Heavenly River flowing through them, your strength has long transcended that of a human. I wouldn't be surprised if you killed a demon god with your bare hands."

Qin Mu sighed, "You truly understand me, Dao Master Lin. My modesty is actually learned from the Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor. He always says he is a straight line, so as an Overlord Body, I must be a step ahead of my peers."

Lin Xuan was silent for a moment, then said wryly, "If you keep saying that, you'll get yourself beaten to death."