Chapter 905: When False Becomes True, True Also Becomes False

Yan Shaoqing looked around, a chill running through him. Not far away, a prison guard was busy transporting the precious blood of gods and devils, replacing a large wooden basin.

From the adjacent blood river, monsters were emerging from the foul blood, crawling out and stealthily climbing onto a prisoner to suck blood.

Yan Shaoqing averted his gaze. Qin Mu was right by his side, speaking with the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng, a wide smile on his face, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

The Dragon Qilin lay prostrate at Qin Mu's feet, fast asleep. A plump green sparrow perched on his head, idly preening its feathers.

Yan Shaoqing narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Heavenly Venerable, visiting hours are over. It's time for you to leave!"

Qin Mu replied, "Your Majesty, junior brother, remain here safely. The day will come when you can leave. I must depart now."

"Take care!" Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace bid farewell.

Qin Mu returned the gesture. Yan Shaoqing followed closely behind him, maintaining a vigilant watch to prevent any further tricks.

Outside the prison gate, Yan Shaoqing re-examined the runic lock on the wooden door, even more meticulously. He found nothing unusual.

He didn't linger to escort Qin Mu out of the city. Instead, he immediately flew to the Judge's Divine Temple and frantically flipped through the official records. Only when he saw that all the writings were still there did he breathe a sigh of relief and then proceeded to escort Qin Mu out of the city.

Once outside the city walls, Qin Mu turned and smiled, "Left Vice Minister, you may stop here. There's no need to escort me any further."

Yan Shaoqing bowed and said, "Farewell, Heavenly Venerable..."

He froze, startled. The words he had just uttered were precisely the same as those he'd spoken when Qin Mu had last fooled him with his divine consciousness ability!

Cold sweat broke out on Yan Shaoqing's forehead. His divine ability burst forth, and he roared, "Break!"

The world once again lost its color, turning black and white. As the monochrome faded, the real world reappeared. Yan Shaoqing opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He found himself still standing inside the great prison. Not far off, the prison guard was replacing the wooden basin to collect blood, and monsters were still being born in the blood river, stealthily crawling onto the prisoners in their cells to suck blood.

The Dragon Qilin was still in a deep slumber, the fat green sparrow was still preening its feathers, and Qin Mu was still speaking with the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng.

Large beads of sweat appeared on Yan Shaoqing's forehead, and he said hoarsely, "Jiang Baigui! Does the Three-Prime Immortal Divine Consciousness you taught me contain any flaws?"

Inside the cage, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace turned his head. His eyes were blank and hollow, like a walking corpse, and his mouth opened and closed like a puppet's. "The Heavenly Court's divine arts are too outdated. The flaw isn't just in the Three-Prime Immortal Divine Consciousness; it also originates from you, Left Vice Minister. You were born early, Left Vice Minister, and the Daoist arts and divine abilities you learned in the past are now considered flawed. Take the Divine Treasures, for instance."

In another cage, Emperor Yanfeng turned his head, his eyes equally blank and hollow, his mouth opening and closing: "The Divine Treasures you previously cultivated were Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, Seven Stars, Celestial Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge. However, the Divine Treasures under Eternal Peace's reforms are vastly different. You have already cultivated to the Numinous Sky realm, and your realm is fixed. You cannot alter your foundational Divine Treasures, nor do you need to, given your extremely high realm. Nevertheless, this has left a significant flaw in your cultivation technique."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace continued woodenly, "The Crimson Emperor's Three-Prime Immortal Divine Consciousness is no different. This cultivation technique is also practiced through the Divine Bridge, which represents a massive vulnerability when compared to contemporary Eternal Peace cultivation methods."

Emperor Yanfeng offered a guileless smile: "The Imperial Preceptor didn't tamper with the Three-Prime Immortal Divine Consciousness he taught you. However, the immortal divine consciousness he imparted to you is the Crimson Emperor's version, not the Celestial River Divine Treasure's."

"A shaky foundation leads to tremors and collapse!"

"I've attacked you precisely through the flaws in your cultivation technique!"

"If the cultivation technique is flawed, then the divine abilities will be riddled with weaknesses!"

"If you wish to break my divine ability, you can. Simply abolish your Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, establish the Celestial River Divine Treasure, and re-cultivate everything from scratch!"

Inside the two cages, the Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng, speaking alternately, explained the matter clearly.

Yan Shaoqing's divine consciousness burst forth, and he roared, "You want me to destroy my own cultivation? I am a Numinous Sky realm existence, only half a step from the Emperor's Throne! My cultivation and magic power far surpass yours. With my cultivation alone, I can crush all your divine abilities! No matter how exquisite your divine abilities are, you cannot trap me!"

"Break—!"

Boom!

A violent tremor came, and the world faded again.

Yan Shaoqing was drenched in sweat as if he'd just been pulled from water. He found himself still standing before the cage, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng still inside, the Dragon Qilin still asleep, and Qin Mu still talking to them. It was as if time had rewound to that exact moment, and nothing had changed.

"Break!"

Yan Shaoqing repeatedly activated his divine consciousness ability, roaring, "I'd like to see whose divine ability is faster, yours or mine!"

He frantically channeled his divine ability, causing the world to fade repeatedly. Each time, before a new world could fully form, it was hit by another impact, leading to chaotic space and an increasing number of cracks appearing on the fading world.

Finally, Yan Shaoqing activated his divine ability hundreds, if not thousands, of times in an instant, pushing beyond the world's limits, and the entire world splintered into fragments!

Yan Shaoqing panted heavily, looking around.

He saw Qin Mu standing before the cage, his face aghast, staring at him in terror. Within the vast prison, an unknown number of monsters and guards had been knocked unconscious by the powerful impact of Yan Shaoqing's divine consciousness ability.

The Dragon Qilin at Qin Mu's feet was also affected by the divine consciousness impact, lying unconscious. Only the plump green sparrow was still awake.

Yan Shaoqing reached out and grabbed Qin Mu, his anger flaring. He shouted, "You are a Heavenly Venerable, so I won't kill you. Please leave immediately!"

He used his vital qi to sweep up the Dragon Qilin and charged outside. The green sparrow flapped its wings, following him and squawking, "Put down Young Master, or I'll get rough with you!"

Yan Shaoqing ignored it, escorting Qin Mu out of the great prison and out of the White Bone Divine City. Only then did he set Qin Mu down, saying coldly, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, let us part ways here, never to meet again!"

Qin Mu chuckled, "You, my friend, truly cannot take a joke. You imprisoned Heavenly King Tian Shu within the Divine Blade of the Emperor's Palace for millions of years, and I was trapped there for several years myself. Yet, did you ever see me get angry?"

Yan Shaoqing's face darkened. He turned and returned to the great prison, arriving at the Judge's Divine Temple. He picked up a brush and recorded Qin Mu's visit.

He breathed a sigh of relief, yet a nagging unease lingered in his heart. He rose again and walked towards the prison's wooden door, thinking, "Did I truly break through his immortal divine consciousness? I must double-check; there's no room for error..."

He reached the depths of the great prison when his body suddenly stiffened. He saw several prison guards dragging out wooden basins full of divine blood, replacing them with new ones. Beside the blood river, demonic creatures were being born, crawling into the cages to suck blood.

Yan Shaoqing's body felt cold. He walked forward with difficulty, seeing the Dragon Qilin prostrate in deep sleep before the cages of the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng. On the Dragon Qilin's head, the green sparrow was idly preening its feathers.

And Qin Mu was standing in front of the cage, talking to the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng.

Yan Shaoqing shook his head, feeling dizzy. His legs also grew heavier and heavier, so he had to lean on the cage for support.

"What on earth is going on?"

He felt unable to breathe and slumped to his knees, muttering, "Why are you still here? Why... My cultivation far surpasses yours, so why can't I break your divine ability..."

In the cage beside him, the demon god imprisoned there suddenly opened its eyes. Its expression was blank, like a controlled puppet, and its mouth opened and closed stiffly: "Because your foundation is wrong. Eternal Peace's reforms fundamentally altered the cultivation system, from basic runes to core divine abilities and foundational techniques. You are entirely mistaken! If you wish to break this mental divine ability, you must first abolish your own cultivation!"

Yan Shaoqing was furious. He reached out and crushed the demon god into dust!

In the cage in front of him, the god imprisoned there suddenly opened its eyes and said woodenly, "Yan Shaoqing, I was trapped in the Divine Blade of the Emperor's Palace for several years. You've only been trapped for a few days, and you can't bear it anymore?"

Yan Shaoqing was incandescent with rage and slew the god.

A prison guard passing by him suddenly stopped, looked up, and said blankly, "Yan Shaoqing, my divine ability is not just the immortal divine consciousness; I also have the Boundless Kalpa Scripture. If you think everything is an illusion created by my divine consciousness, then you are greatly mistaken."

Yan Shaoqing shattered the prison guard with a single punch and walked towards Qin Mu in front of him.

Another prison guard's face was eerie, staring straight at him: "Yan Shaoqing, I saw the flaw in your foundation and planted the Boundless Kalpa Scripture within you. Breaking it is actually simple; you just need to abolish the Divine Bridge."

Yan Shaoqing's face was ashen. He grabbed the prison guard's head and slammed it to the ground, leaving the guard a bloody mess.

Qin Mu looked up and said woodenly, "What you're doing is useless."

Yan Shaoqing tore the Qin Mu in front of him to shreds, and the world once again turned black and white, still the same scene as before, with no changes.

Yan Shaoqing slumped, sitting down on the ground, muttering, "There must be a way to break it, a way that doesn't require abolishing the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure..."

He closed his eyes and concentrated, falling into deep contemplation.

He sat there for an unknown number of days, his hair turning gray, yet he still couldn't devise a way to break free.

Suddenly, a prison guard's voice came from outside: "Judge Yan, the envoy from Mingdu has arrived!"

Yan Shaoqing's heart skipped a beat, and a look of wild joy spread across his face. He burst into uproarious laughter, "So that's it! That's it! I couldn't break your divine ability by myself, but it will shatter on its own once it encounters an external force! Heavenly Venerable Mu, even if your divine ability can restrain me, any new arrival from outside will become a variable within your spell! The more people there are, the more riddled with flaws your divine ability will become!"

He looked in Qin Mu's direction and saw that Qin Mu, the Dragon Qilin, and the plump green sparrow had vanished, having slipped away at some unknown time.

However, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng were still in their cages.

Yan Shaoqing felt a little relieved and scoffed, "As expected, he escaped!"

He walked out, preparing to greet the Mingdu envoy. However, the Mingdu envoy had already entered the great prison. His voice came, saying, "Left Vice Minister, disciples from the various Heavenly Palaces came here, saying they were going to deal with Heavenly Venerable Mu. They haven't returned for a long time, so I was ordered to come and investigate."

Yan Shaoqing went forward to greet him and saw that the newcomer was Lou Yunqu, a disciple of the Heavenly Son of Yin. He quickly said, "So it's you, Brother Lou. The disciples from the various Heavenly Palaces have all met with misfortune and died at the hands of Heavenly Venerable Mu."

He was very familiar with Lou Yunqu.

Heavenly King Tian Shu of Mingdu and the Heavenly Son of Yin were sworn enemies. The Heavenly Son of Yin had personally tried to deal with Tian Shu, but Tian Shu managed to escape. Later, after Tian Shu severed Earth Count's horn, his physical body was held by Earth Count, leaving only his primordial spirit. It was the Heavenly Son of Yin who then requested Yan Shaoqing to trick Tian Shu into the Divine Blade of the Emperor's Palace for his suppression.

Lou Yunqu's expression subtly changed, and he exclaimed, "The disciples from the various Heavenly Palaces are all dead?"

Yan Shaoqing nodded.

Lou Yunqu stomped his foot, exclaiming, "How will this be explained? The disciples from the various Heavenly Palaces died here, and you are in grave trouble! Among those who perished here are some of my junior brothers, favored disciples of Teacher Black Emperor!"

Yan Shaoqing remained unfazed: "The Heavenly Court has never possessed a complete Emperor's Throne cultivation technique for divine consciousness. As long as I don't cultivate to the Emperor's Throne realm, who among the Heavenly Palaces would dare lay a hand on me? Brother Lou, did you happen to see Heavenly Venerable Mu on your way here? He just escaped from this place."

Lou Yunqu shook his head and said, "I haven't seen him."

Yan Shaoqing's eyes flickered, and he suddenly said, "Since Brother Lou came by order of the Black Emperor, you must have the Black Emperor's written decree, right? Please show me the decree, Brother Lou."

Lou Yunqu chuckled, "When did Left Vice Minister become so cautious? Could it be that you think I'm Heavenly Venerable Mu in disguise?"

Despite his words, he still took out the Heavenly Son of Yin's written decree.

Yan Shaoqing inspected it carefully. It was indeed the Heavenly Son of Yin's handwriting, which somewhat relieved him.

Lou Yunqu said, "I have clashed with Heavenly Venerable Mu a few times and know how formidable he is. Since he came here, he most likely broke into the prison to rescue the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng. Are those two still here?"

Yan Shaoqing said, "They are still in prison."

Lou Yunqu went to check, standing outside the cage for a long time without moving. Yan Shaoqing looked at the cage, seeing Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace inside, and couldn't help but chuckle, "Brother Lou, what's wrong?"

Lou Yunqu's face was pale, and he said hoarsely, "These two cages are empty. Can't you see? Those two major criminals have escaped!"

Yan Shaoqing's heart pounded. He carefully examined Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace, but he couldn't see anything unusual.

He quickly opened the cage and reached out to touch them. Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace were indeed flesh and blood, and he felt no abnormality.

Yan Shaoqing's mind reeled: "The fine wine I transformed with my divine consciousness ability could intoxicate a Numinous Sky realm prodigy like Tian Shu. Heavenly Venerable Mu's mental divine ability is rooted in my divine treasures, making me feel as if I'm touching a real person even when I touch air... I've fallen, I've truly fallen..."

It took him a while to regain his senses. He looked back and saw that Lou Yunqu had already left at some unknown point, clearly having gone back to report to the Heavenly Son of Yin.

Yan Shaoqing was utterly disheartened. He locked himself in a cage and waited in silence.

Not long after, divine beings descended from the Heavenly Palace within the Primordial Tree's canopy and took him into custody. At the God-Slaying Platform in the Heavenly Palace of the Primordial World, Yan Shaoqing was beheaded. The Heavenly Emperor personally oversaw the execution, wielding the weapon "Heavenly Venerable Yu."

A flash of blade light, and the God-Slaying Profound Blade severed his head.

Yan Shaoqing's head rolled down, his primordial spirit gradually withered, his three eyes slowly closed, and the world plunged into darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, he seemed to awaken from a dream. Qin Mu's voice reached his ears: "Left Vice Minister, Left Vice Minister!"

Yan Shaoqing abruptly opened his eyes. He found himself lying on the ground. Not far away, the prison guard was dragging a large wooden basin full of precious blood and replacing it with another to continue collecting blood.

In the blood river, a monster was born, drilling into a cage and clinging to a prisoner to suck blood.

Before him, the Dragon Qilin was in a deep slumber, the plump green sparrow was preening its feathers, and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng were in their cages, bidding farewell to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu said with concern, "Left Vice Minister, why did you fall asleep? I've finished my visit and am quite satisfied. It's time for me to leave."

Yan Shaoqing sat woodenly on the ground, then suddenly let out a harsh, half-sobbing laugh: "Fake! Everything is fake! Even now, it's fake!"