Chapter 907: West Lands Illusory Bloom

Western Territory.

A massive city sped past Qin Mu. Stunned, Qin Mu quickly shouted, "Is that Sister He Yiyi coming?"

The speeding city slowed its pace. Several deities stood on its ramparts, peering out. "This is White Emperor City's transport, not any 'sister.' Who are you?"

Qin Mu replied, "Heavenly Venerable Mu. May I ask if the Supreme Heaven Academy is now under White Emperor's jurisdiction?"

A deity on the city wall said, "Supreme Heaven Academy? Are you referring to Supreme Heaven? That is not within White Emperor City's sphere of influence. There's someone named Qi Jiuyi there, a disciple of Red Emperor Qi Xiayu. Red Emperor discussed with White Emperor and divided half of the Western Territory. Red Emperor also gave half of the Southern Territory to White Emperor… Who did you say you were just now?"

"Heavenly Venerable Mu," Qin Mu replied with a smile.

The deities on the city ramparts came to their senses and exchanged glances.

Qin Mu asked, "So, how do I get to Supreme Heaven Academy?"

After a moment of discussion, one deity said, "Venerable, please look. Those light blue heavens over there are Supreme Heaven. Once you arrive beneath Supreme Heaven, you can ask the people there for the precise location of Supreme Heaven Academy."

Qin Mu thanked them and directed the Dragon Qilin towards Supreme Heaven, saying, "I used to think Supreme Heaven was incredibly mysterious, monitoring the activities of the Great Ruins and Eternal Peace. Only now do I realize that Supreme Heaven is just one of the myriad heavens and worlds in the Primordial Realm, nothing extraordinary."

The Dragon Qilin said, "Cult Master, you were just a minor divine arts practitioner back then, and Supreme Heaven seemed like a terrifying behemoth. Now that you are Heavenly Venerable Mu, Supreme Heaven is nothing more than this."

Qin Mu smiled. "Fatty Dragon is becoming more insightful. You too have grown."

The deities watched them depart, then exchanged glances again. One deity asked, "Heavenly Venerable Mu has arrived in the Western Territory of the Primordial Realm. Should we notify White Emperor City?"

"He's going to Red Emperor. If our experts from White Emperor City were to intercept him, wouldn't that offend Red Emperor?"

A senior deity, being more experienced, said, "Moreover, he is a Heavenly Venerable. Who would dare to touch him? Let him go."

The deities agreed. The grand city then resumed its journey, billowing smoke as it sped away.

Along the way, Qin Mu encountered many such fast-moving terrestrial flying cities. They were vehicles used by the gods and devils of the Western Territory for travel, transporting armies, and suppressing rebellions, proving extremely convenient.

"This is a True Heaven Palace spell, but True Heaven Palace originates from the Outer Heaven Court," Qin Mu murmured. "True Heaven Empress is a True God from the Outer Heaven Court. Most likely, she is under White Emperor's command…"

Due to the presence of Supreme Heaven and True Heaven Palace, the Western Territory did not suffer warfare as horrific as Eternal Peace. The people here were still able to sustain their livelihoods.

When Qin Mu arrived in Red Emperor's territory, he found that it was better governed than White Emperor's territory. The people of the Western Territory lived in peace and contentment, seemingly no different from before.

Some girls from the Western Territory recognized him upon sight and greeted him proactively.

"There is no Supreme Heaven Academy anymore, only the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect. Its Sect Master is Xu Shenghua, the former Grand Libationer of Supreme Heaven Academy," the girls told him. "As for Qi Jiuyi, he's even more impressive. He doesn't even bother with the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect's master. He now lives in Red Emperor's temporary palace, acting as the Young Master of the Western Territory, controlling the gods and devils of half the Western Territory. He's quite powerful!"

The Dragon Qilin excitedly exclaimed, "Qi Jiuyi is my brother!"

"Xu Shenghua is indeed clever, transforming Supreme Heaven Academy into the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect, making it a proper sect," Qin Mu praised. "When someone like him dedicates his mind to cultivation, he makes rapid, courageous progress. When he focuses on emotions, he is deeply sincere and compassionate. And when dealing with social etiquette, he is exceptionally suave. He's not inferior to me at all—"

He inquired about the locations of the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect and Red Emperor's temporary palace, then bid farewell to the girls and set off for the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect.

The Supreme Heaven Divine Sect was the former Supreme Heaven Academy. It was located next to Red Emperor's temporary palace. Red Emperor's temporary palace was built in the sky, while the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect was established near True Heaven Palace.

A few days later, the Dragon Qilin arrived at the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect. He immediately abandoned Qin Mu and dashed towards Red Emperor's temporary palace in the sky, shouting, "Cult Master, I'm going to visit my sworn brother!"

"Be careful not to provoke Qi Jiuyi, or he might roast and eat you!" Qin Mu called out loudly.

The Dragon Qilin shouted back, "Don't worry, we made an oath to the Earth Count – not to be born on the same day, but to die on the same day. Sister Yan'er, are you coming?"

Yan'er immediately flew over, saying, "Young Master, I'll go watch Fatty Dragon, just in case he really does get eaten!"

Qin Mu shook his head and entered the Supreme Heaven Divine Sect. Xu Shenghua, hearing the news, immediately came to greet him with a smile. "Cult Master, it's been years! You've become much thinner! Is Eternal Peace doing well?"

Qin Mu replied, "It's a long story. I came to see if you and the Western Territory had survived. Seeing that the people of the Western Territory are relatively safe and you are unharmed, I feel relieved."

"This time, it's all thanks to Qi Jiuyi. Without his connections, the Western Territory would have certainly faced a great catastrophe," Xu Shenghua explained. "Although the Western Territory has connections with Supreme Heaven and True Heaven Palace, if the Celestial Heavens wanted to destroy the Western Territory, they wouldn't care about those connections at all. Qi Jiuyi is Red Emperor's disciple, and it was his intervention that saved the Western Territory."

Upon hearing the name Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, Qin Mu fell silent.

When the Celestial Heavens besieged him, Qi Xiayu was among them. The Four Emperors acted together, pushing him to the brink of despair and forcing him to separate from his brother.

He had never spoken to anyone about the pain he endured from severing his soul, but that feeling was a hundred times more agonizing than a blade scraping bone!

But what pained him the most was that by severing his soul, he was separated from his brother Qin Fengqing. He was no longer even a brother, nor the son of Qin Hanzhen and Princess Zhen.

He was merely a walking corpse.

And this Red Emperor Qi Xiayu had a part in it.

Xu Shenghua was unaware of Qin Mu's ordeal, nor did he know how immense and terrifying the suffering Qin Mu had endured was.

The people of the Western Territory also did not know how much suffering Eternal Peace had endured. During this catastrophe, Eternal Peace's population plummeted from billions to hundreds of millions. Some died while fleeing, some were captured by celestials as food, some were harmed by demons and monsters, and many more were enslaved.

Less than one in ten survived; that was the current state of Eternal Peace's populace.

A once immensely prosperous nation had nearly perished.

And this was the result of the divine arts practitioners and gods of Eternal Peace fighting desperately and protecting with all their might. If they hadn't resisted and saved, even more Eternal Peace people would have died. Even those who survived would have become nothing more than captive livestock, with only slavery or being devoured as their fate.

This was also why Qin Mu had to appear in the Eternal Peace capital and confront the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heavens and the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, no matter what.

He absolutely had to establish his title as Heavenly Venerable Mu; otherwise, Eternal Peace would face more than just annihilation!

"I came to see you because I am leaving the Primordial Realm to go to the Celestial Heavens and find a way for Eternal Peace to survive," Qin Mu smiled. "You haven't returned to Eternal Peace in recent years, the roads are cut off, and communication is impossible. You haven't been exposed to the achievements of Eternal Peace's reforms. Before the catastrophe, I happened to travel through various academies and learned the results of the reforms. I don't know if I'll survive this journey, so I want to impart Eternal Peace's achievements to you first."

Xu Shenghua was startled, then smiled faintly. "The Celestial Heavens? I will go with you."

Qin Mu was touched but shook his head. "You cannot go. Eternal Peace's reforms cannot be allowed to cease. If I die in the Celestial Heavens, you will be there to continue the reforms. Although your Overlord Body is female and slightly less formidable than mine, with you in Eternal Peace, our wisdom will not be severed."

Xu Shenghua was about to say more, but Qin Mu bowed deeply. "My dao brother, I beg of you!"

Xu Shenghua quickly helped him up, saying, "I won't go, then. You... take care."

Qin Mu smiled. "I will be careful. Brother Xu, do you remember our wager from back then? Whoever first solves the problem of opening the Seventh Divine Treasure will be the victor."

Xu Shenghua smiled faintly. "Coincidentally, not long after you left, I comprehended methods to open various Seventh Divine Treasures. Ultimately, I chose the optimal one. I had been waiting for you to find me, but unexpectedly, the catastrophe struck and severed our connection with Eternal Peace."

Qin Mu narrowed his eyes and said, "Write down your Seventh Divine Treasure, and I'll write down mine. Let's see whose is better."

Xu Shenghua agreed. They turned their backs to each other and each wrote down the Seventh Divine Treasure they had opened.

They turned around simultaneously. Qin Mu had written "Heavenly River Divine Treasure," while Xu Shenghua had written "Surging River Divine Treasure."

The Heavenly River is also the Surging River, so Xu Shenghua was not wrong to write "Surging River Divine Treasure."

They stared at each other. Qin Mu grumbled, "You definitely opened your Heavenly River Divine Treasure later than I did. When I opened mine, there were anomalies in heaven and earth!"

Xu Shenghua said, "When I opened the Surging River Divine Treasure, I felt the Great Dao of heaven and earth subtly fluctuate and change. Though it was very faint, the changes in the Great Dao could not escape my notice."

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. When he had opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasure, he had not felt the Great Dao of heaven and earth change with it!

This indicated that Xu Shenghua had indeed opened the Surging River Divine Treasure before him!

"I tested over twenty types of divine treasures one by one at that time, searching for the best one, which cost me a lot of time," Qin Mu thought. "But this guy Xu Shenghua just chose the optimal one without experimenting with other divine treasures!"

Qin Mu finally understood why he was a step behind, but he didn't change his expression and chuckled. "It's likely we opened them at the same time. The phenomena when I opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasure were terrifying! This round is a draw; we'll compete again next time!"

Xu Shenghua smiled faintly, not arguing with him. He turned to Jing Yan, who had arrived, and said, "My dear, Cult Master Qin and I will be going into secluded cultivation for a while. During these days, you only need to bring us food; please do not disturb us with anything else."

Qin Mu bowed. "We'll be troubling you, Sister-in-law."

Jing Yan smiled. "Bringing food isn't difficult. Just don't overwork yourselves."

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, your husband won't get tired."

The two entered a grand hall. Xu Shenghua's hands moved swiftly, and countless runes flowed down from the ceiling like streams of light. They sealed the hall as if a giant bell had been inverted over it. He said, "Jing Yan knows my divine arts and can enter, but no one else can. Cult Master Qin, you can now impart the techniques to me."

Qin Mu yawned and chuckled. "I'll impart it to you in a dream." With that, he lay on his side and fell into a deep sleep.

Xu Shenghua was surprised and chuckled. "Is this the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's cultivation method? I've heard of it for a long time but have never seen it."

He also lay down beside Qin Mu and soon fell into a deep sleep.

The darkness before Xu Shenghua's eyes was like a curtain, drawing open from left to right. Bright sunlight shone through.

Xu Shenghua raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling light, lowering it only when his eyes adjusted. He stepped into this sun-drenched world, where Qin Mu walked towards him with a smile. "Brother Xu, you're here. Let's begin the transmission of techniques."

"We?"

Xu Shenghua was startled. Then he saw Qin Mus approaching, quickly numbering over a hundred. Behind them, vast swarms of Qin Mus sat at tables, furiously writing down the achievements of Eternal Peace's reforms.

Xu Shenghua was horrified and exclaimed, "How long will this take to learn?"

"I learned seventy to eighty percent of Eternal Peace's reform achievements, which took me two to three years," one Qin Mu looked up and said. "You will also need two to three years. However, in my dream, you only need to sleep a few times. Let's begin now!"

Xu Shenghua calmed his mind and began to learn diligently.

Meanwhile, Jing Yan came to deliver food and entered the hall. She saw the two men lying on the floor, deeply asleep, and couldn't help but shake her head. She placed the basket of food beside them and quietly withdrew.

Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua woke up, ravenously hungry. They quickly ate the food from the basket.

Qin Mu was about to wash the dishes. Xu Shenghua, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, said, "Cult Master, you don't need to push yourself so hard. Just leave the dishes here, my wife will clean them up. Let's continue our dream."

Qin Mu nodded.

The two lay down. A moment later, Xu Shenghua suddenly sat up and said, "I can't sleep without washing the dishes. Let's get up and wash them."

Qin Mu also couldn't fall into the dream state. He immediately sat up, chuckling. "I can't sleep either. My mind keeps thinking about the unwashed dishes."

Using creation techniques, the two conjured clean water and washed the dishes. Xu Shenghua then mopped the floor of the grand hall, wiping it clean. Only then, with their minds at ease, could they finally sleep soundly.

"I really wonder how the Imperial Preceptor and Emperor Yanfeng managed in that prison; it was so filthy…" Qin Mu mumbled, and then his snores gradually began.