Chapter 865: Heard the Rooster Thief

Long Qilin yearned to be as calm and self-assured as Qin Mu, casually turning around, flicking his tail, and leisurely walking away from the place. However, his four legs trembled slightly, and his tail also became disobedient.

Normally, he could flick his tail with ease, but now his dragon tail felt numb, only half of it rising, the other half drooping to the ground.

He had carried Qin Mu on a long journey for three months, traveling from Jiangling to this place, yet just as they had gained a foothold, everything seemed to be over.

But was it truly possible to just turn back now?

Long Qilin's legs were still weak. A profound and oppressive silence surrounded them. The gods and devils encircling the Great Dark Palace stood tall, their bodies and faces radiating divine light in the darkness. Only heavy breathing could be heard; no one spoke.

Long Qilin finally turned around, trying his best to steady himself, determined not to miss a step and roll all the way down the mountain from the Great Dark Palace. Yet, he had no idea if he would truly manage to avoid a misstep.

On both sides of the stone steps stood tall figures of gods and devils, carved like colossal rocks, their muscular bodies appearing fierce. Their faces were even more menacing, their gazes fixed menacingly upon them.

Long Qilin lifted his foot, about to descend the stone steps.

"Or maybe I'll just roll down..." he thought to himself.

At that moment, a devil god standing to his left snorted smoke from its nostrils, its huge hand reaching for the divine weapon at its waist.

The other gods and devils also began to move, and the clanging sound of divine and demonic weapons resonated.

Long Qilin finally steadied his mind, his entire body's muscles slowly tensing, ready to explode with all his power to break through the encirclement at any moment.

A moment ago, he had been full of trepidation, but now that it was time to fight for his life, all other thoughts vanished. If he had to flee, he would do so with all his heart.

This was something he was good at.

Just then, a voice came from within the Great Dark Palace, saying, "Wait."

Hearing this, the many gods and devils of the Northern Heavens lowered their hands one after another.

Qin Mu patted Long Qilin's forehead, and Long Qilin immediately understood his meaning, stopping and turning around.

Qin Mu looked directly at the Demon Ancestor within the Great Dark Palace.

Inside the palace, Great Dark Heaven stood up and said, "The Hegemon Body of Yankang truly lives up to its reputation. The Northern Heavens have been utterly defeated and are utterly convinced."

Qin Mu smiled. "The gods of the Northern Heavens made a 'Little Earth Overlord' pact with Heavenly Masters Woodcutter and Zi Xi. If they break that pact and try to kill me, they would all be corpses right now."

The gods and devils surrounding the Great Dark Palace roared in anger, telling him to shut up.

Great Dark Heaven's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "You are the ones who should shut up!"

His voice immediately suppressed the gods' and devils' shouts, rendering the Northern Heavens' divine beings speechless.

Great Dark Heaven slowly walked forward, a black sun moving horizontally behind him, completely swallowing the light within the Dark Palace.

Soon, he arrived at the front of the palace.

Qin Mu observed this Demon Ancestor. He had heard something about Great Dark Heaven's origins.

Legend has it that Great Dark Heaven was the first devil god born in Youdu, the realm where the dead return. Youdu came into existence with death itself. Earth Overlord, born from the great Dao of heaven and earth, governs death, punishing evil and promoting good. However, Earth Overlord must also act according to Youdu's laws, not based on personal preferences. As souls in Youdu grew in number, negative emotions like resentment and greed from the deceased gave rise to Youdu's terrifying demonic nature. Incomplete remnant souls and spirits wandered in Youdu's darkness, deepening this demonic essence. Thus, Youdu's monstrous devils came into being. These devils had little self-awareness but were agglomerations of the foulest and dirtiest thoughts mixed with Youdu's demonic energy. They devoured one another, forming devil gods. Great Dark Heaven was such a devil god, and indeed Youdu's first. Like the Divine Son of Youdu, he possessed extraordinary peculiarities. He was born before the Dragon Han era, in a time when the Dragon Han Celestial Court had not yet been established – an extremely ancient and savage age. His appearance marked the beginning of the Devil race. Some say the true Devil race consists of Earth Overlord's daughters, and what the world calls the Devil race are merely false devils, though this view is not widely held. The Devil race revered him as the Ancestor of Demonic Paths, the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Devils, and the King of Devils. In reality, the true progenitor of the demonic path and the Devil race should be Earth Overlord. However, Earth Overlord had few descendants, so the Devil race instead proliferated from Great Dark Heaven and subsequent devil gods born in Youdu, having little direct connection to Earth Overlord. It was natural for the Devil race to elevate Great Dark Heaven to such a high status, as he was Youdu's first devil god.

Qin Mu noticed that he bore some resemblance to Earth Overlord, also having two long, curved bull horns. However, since Great Dark Heaven had not turned his back, Qin Mu couldn't tell if he had a bull's tail like Earth Overlord.

"You are all very bold,"

Great Dark Heaven looked around, a hint of pain in his voice. "To make a 'Little Earth Overlord' pact with someone and then plan to break it—that's truly audacious. Don't you know that Wen Tian Pavilion is one of the Kaihuang's Four Heavenly Masters, nicknamed 'The Chicken Thief'? If he proposes a gamble, the only way not to lose is to refuse to gamble at all. If you gamble, you're bound to lose. You schemed against Yankang, thinking it was easy pickings, but he was scheming against the Northern Heavens! What am I to do?"

Around the Great Dark Palace, there was dead silence.

Great Dark Heaven sighed, "The 316 Heavens of the North were painstakingly conquered by my soldiers. Yet, your greed for temporary gain would hand the Northern Heavens over to others. The Chicken Thief truly has cunning methods!"

"Can we break the pact?" a devil god stammered.

Great Dark Heaven glanced at him, and the devil god's face turned ashen.

"Breaking the pact means directly confronting the Little Earth Overlord."

Great Dark Heaven said calmly, "While I do not fear him, such an act would surely ruin my reputation. Others would mock me for being untrustworthy. I have come from ancient, barbaric times, and under my rule, the Devil race has grown, yet it has never truly prospered. I later reflected that perhaps it was because I was too cunning in the past, always going back on my word. Now that I have achieved success, it is time for some changes."

His gaze fell upon Qin Mu, and he smiled. "Hegemon Body of Yankang, I propose a gamble to you. Do you dare to accept?"

Qin Mu looked up at the exalted Emperor's Throne expert and cautiously asked, "If I don't accept your gamble, Great Dark Heaven, what will you do?"

"I absolutely cannot abandon the 316 Heavens of the North. I would have no choice but to let the Little Earth Overlord devour them."

Great Dark Heaven stated decisively, "By sacrificing the lives of these fools, I can cultivate other gods and devils to rule the Heavens."

Qin Mu smiled. "If it were me, I would do the same. These Lords of the Heavens are merely servants tasked with guarding the Heavens for you, Great Dark Heaven. Their deaths are inconsequential. Population, however, is paramount. Only with a vast population can there be a constant stream of geniuses, allowing for the cultivation of more powerful individuals, and thus ensuring the stability of your rule, Great Dark Heaven."

Great Dark Heaven chuckled. "Do you wish to accept?"

Qin Mu said frankly, "How do you wish to gamble, Great Dark Heaven?"

"We gamble that I will not break the pact. If you win, the 316 Heavens will belong to your Yankang."

Great Dark Heaven continued, "If I win, the previous pact will be nullified."

Qin Mu chuckled, "I won't gamble."

Great Dark Heaven frowned. "Why not gamble?"

"If I win, you, Great Dark Heaven, would still break the pact without hesitation if you wished to. And if I lose, the favorable situation that the two Heavenly Masters secured for Yankang would be completely ruined."

Qin Mu smiled. "Which is more important: the 316 Heavens or Great Dark Heaven's reputation?"

Great Dark Heaven stared at him for a moment, then said, "The 316 Heavens are important. My reputation is utterly useless. For millions of years, my reputation has been utterly trashed!"

Qin Mu's face was full of smiles. "Therefore, I won't gamble."

Great Dark Heaven's brow furrowed. Then, he suddenly asked politely, "May I ask who the Hegemon Body of Yankang's master is?"

Qin Mu replied earnestly, "The Chicken Thief."

Great Dark Heaven's expression subtly changed, then he burst out laughing. "It truly is him! No wonder even my small scheme was seen through by you at a glance. In that case, let's change the terms of the gamble. We'll gamble with your life."

He said faintly, "If you win, I will allow you to leave the Great Dark Palace's ten-thousand-mile radius alive. Once you are outside that range, I will permit the gods and devils of the various Heavens to pursue and kill you. If you lose, then you will be buried alongside the 316 Lords of my Heavens."

As soon as he uttered these words, the faces of all the Lords of the Heavens changed dramatically.

Great Dark Heaven was ruthless and decisive. He held a deep grudge against them for making the 'Little Earth Overlord' pact with Wen Tian Pavilion without his authorization, and now he was determined to use their lives to violate that very pact!

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then looked around, unable to discern anything in the darkness.

Great Dark Heaven chuckled. "Are you looking for that old chicken thief, Wen Tian Pavilion? They haven't entered the Great Dark Palace's range. The moment they step into the darkness, I will sense them."

Qin Mu smiled broadly. "Are you planning to personally make a move against me, Great Dark Heaven?"

Great Dark Heaven shook his head. "Logically, I should personally act against you, but I still have some reputation to uphold. Those who fight you will only be chosen from my disciples or individuals no older than yourself. You can rest assured."

Qin Mu let out a breath and said in a deep voice, "Then, Great Dark Heaven, please lay down the terms!"

Great Dark Heaven burst into laughter, flicked his sleeve, turned around, and declared loudly, "Excellent! Hegemon Body of Yankang, why not stay for a few days and see the elites of my Great Dark Palace!"

Qin Mu dismounted from Long Qilin's head and followed Great Dark Heaven into the Great Dark Palace, smiling as he said, "Great Dark Heaven, you are a senior..."

Great Dark Heaven shook his head. "Senior? I am certainly not your senior. I already know your origins. You probably don't know that Youdu's Four Military Governors are all my juniors."

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he narrowed his eyes.

"This means Great Dark Heaven knows my identity as the Divine Son of Youdu. So why does he insist on gambling with me?"

Long Qilin followed behind him, trembling with fear, cautiously glancing towards the sides of the Great Dark Palace. He saw sparse lights, and in the shadows, an unknown number of demonic creatures seemed to be lurking.

"I'll give you an extra meal later," Qin Mu said.

Long Qilin's fear immediately vanished. His courage swelled, and he strode forward with his head held high and chest puffed out, looking majestic.

Great Dark Heaven summoned a demoness and instructed, "First, invite the Hegemon Body to stay in the back of the palace. Treat him well."

The demoness assented and led Qin Mu towards the back of the palace, arranging a side room for him. Her eyes conveyed affection as she said, "Young Master Qin is a distinguished guest. You may command me if you need anything at all. I can do anything..."

She was beautiful, her eyes alluring, and her gaze somewhat fervent.

Qin Mu's eyes lit up. "Sister, you can do anything?"

The demoness, shy and bashful, nodded softly.

Qin Mu handed her a pill recipe. "Sister, please help me refine a few hundred batches of spirit pills. Fatty Dragon, you're in luck!"