Chapter 998: Re-entering the Heavenly Emperor's Harem

Qin Mu felt deeply ashamed, believing he had fallen and couldn't resist temptation.

"If Dragon Fatty were here, he would surely tell me a few fables to keep me alert, preventing me from getting lost in the allure of beauty."

Goddess Lang Wo, however, had no other thoughts. She simply conjured a mirror to examine the willow leaf on her brow, checking if Qin Mu had placed it correctly.

This willow leaf was indeed beautiful, making her very happy.

After all, this willow leaf was crafted by the elders of Disabled Elderly Village. While they might not compare to a Goddess like her, they were rare masters in crafts like forging and painting. Naturally, the willow leaf was fashioned with exceptional aesthetic appeal.

Moreover, having been refined by Earth Count and Heavenly Duke, the willow leaf was truly extraordinary.

Worn on her brow, it gave her a unique charm.

Qin Mu glanced at the phoenix coronet on her head, hesitating. The coronet was magnificent, a symbol of a Goddess's status, and the jewels embedded in it were incredibly precious. Wearing it would surely draw attention.

"However, a woman this beautiful will draw attention wherever she goes."

He abandoned the thought of asking Goddess Lang Wo to remove the phoenix coronet: "It looks good on her anyway. As long as she doesn't appear to be a Creator, it's fine. There's deep-seated enmity between the Creators and the ancient gods. I need to be cautious, as many powerful ancient gods secretly support me. If Goddess Lang Wo's identity is revealed, it could lead to unnecessary trouble."

Goddess Lang Wo summoned the patriarchs of various tribes and gave them instructions. Qin Mu then sought out God King Shu Jun and asked, "God King, I plan to return to the Celestial Heavens. Do you want to come with me?"

Shu Jun hesitated, then replied, "Going back is fine."

Qin Mu was somewhat displeased: "Didn't you say you wanted to find your people? Now that you've found them, why do you still want to return to the Celestial Heavens? It's very dangerous there. You should stay here; you can also go to Unworried Village to learn about Emperor Kai's reforms, practice diligently, and open your Divine Treasures and Heavenly Palaces sooner."

"You're a hypocrite!" Shu Jun fumed. "You come here asking if I want to go with you, yet you secretly want me to stay!"

Shu Jun angrily retorted, "There's nothing much to learn in Unworried Village, and their cultivation methods aren't as good as yours. It's just some divine arts and spells. I'm not staying here. Don't forget, you still owe me a Creator hidden in the Celestial Heavens!"

Qin Mu stammered, "I was also thinking of your well-being. After all, I brought many people into the Void, but you weren't among them. If you come back with me, others will surely guess your origins when they see your large head..."

Shu Jun laughed, exasperated: "What about Goddess Lang Wo, then? If you take her back, won't people question her? Our agreement isn't over yet; don't think you can shake me off!"

Qin Mu was speechless. Suddenly, a realization dawned on him: "Deep down, I want Shu Jun to come along so I won't be tempted by Goddess Lang Wo, which is why I asked if he wanted to join. But at the same time, I don't want him to come, which is why I tried to make him stay. It's over, it's over, I need Dragon Fatty!"

They set off immediately.

A few days later, they arrived at the continent where the three rooms were located. They ascended the mountain peak and reached the three houses.

"I wonder if Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu have escaped from these three rooms," Qin Mu thought to himself.

Goddess Lang Wo opened the middle door and said, "Opening the door from here doesn't require the external steps; simply walking into the room leads directly to the Void Bridge."

Qin Mu and Shu Jun walked in. They stepped through the doorway, but inside was not a room; instead, it was the end of the Void Bridge!

They were standing directly in front of the middle door!

The Void Bridge was intermittent, with shimmering light. Qin Mu frowned slightly. Crossing this Void Bridge would not be easy. Previously, he had relied on cooperating with Celestial Venerable Xu and Celestial Venerable Huo, along with the Ark of Paramita, to safely arrive here.

If they were to exit via the Void Bridge, even with Goddess Lang Wo, they likely wouldn't have the strength.

At that moment, a terrifying fluctuation emanated from the central room. The figures of Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu flew out from the paintings on the wall!

These two Celestial Venerables had actually broken free from the cycle of life and death within the painted world!

Without hesitation, Qin Mu closed the door before the two Celestial Venerables could land. He then reopened it, and the scene inside was no longer Celestial Venerable Xu and Celestial Venerable Huo, but a vast expanse of palaces.

In his haste, Qin Mu couldn't tell where the world behind the door was. He quickly urged, "Let's go in quickly!"

Goddess Lang Wo quickly said, "Different door-opening procedures lead to different places. I know a safe spot..."

"No time!"

Without another word, Qin Mu pulled her hand and rushed into the room. Shu Jun also hurried inside.

The door burst open with a bang. Celestial Venerable Xu's twin horns shot skyward like raging flames, twisting and turning, resembling two long rivers of Youdu demonic fire.

She was covered in wounds. Looking around, she saw the Void Bridge's light flowing in broken segments, surrounded by collapsing spatial turbulence. Qin Mu and the others were nowhere to be seen. She let out a cold snort and abruptly turned around.

Celestial Venerable Huo also emerged from the room, facing her directly.

He too was severely wounded, his injuries not light, and unlikely to heal quickly.

Their five eyes met; Celestial Venerable Xu had an extra eye on her forehead, like Earth Count's third eye. They quickly averted their gazes.

Their injuries were inflicted by each other. When they had first crossed the Void Bridge, they had rushed into the central room before Qin Mu, falling into the cycle of reincarnation created by the Creators.

Both of them entered the cycle of reincarnation. Celestial Venerable Xu was reborn as a God King with millions of gods and devils under her command, and Celestial Venerable Huo was also reborn as a God King. A deep enmity arose between their two divine nations, leading them to wage brutal wars against each other.

The most terrifying aspect of the reincarnation world was that when one entered it, the Creators' powerful divine consciousness would alter the memories of those trapped within. Even Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu, due to a momentary lapse, had their memories changed by this world of reincarnation.

The two Celestial Venerables, their memories tampered with and filled with hatred for each other, fought fiercely, shaking heaven and earth.

When Emperor Kai first arrived here years ago, he also fell into the world of reincarnation but forced his way through by relying on his Dao heart.

Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu were somewhat luckier than Emperor Kai. As two Celestial Venerables, the power they unleashed in their battle exceeded the reincarnation world's limits. The two, in their battle frenzy, suddenly noticed that the millions of gods and devils fighting alongside them had frozen in place!

Not only were the millions of gods and devils frozen, but even the inhabitants of their respective divine nations were paralyzed, and all flying beasts and roaming animals were similarly fixed.

What was incredibly bizarre was that birds in the sky hung suspended, wings outstretched as if soaring; a running leopard remained mid-leap, defying gravity; even individual water droplets from a frozen waterfall hovered in place!

Even stranger, when they stopped fighting, everything in the world began to operate with a sputtering sound, yet its movement was still rather clunky.

The gods and devils fighting alongside them on the battlefield swayed erratically, left and right, and some even had their upper and lower bodies separated, yet they continued to valiantly charge at their opponents, a truly horrifying sight!

They witnessed an even more bizarre scene: as birds flew, their two wings detached and flew away, leaving the bird bodies suspended in place—a sight both unspeakably terrifying and ludicrous!

At this point, they realized this world was not real. However, because the Creators had altered their memories, neither could recall who they were, so they worked together to find a way to break out of this world.

Their diligent search yielded no results, so they finally decided to wage a grand battle to utterly crush this bizarre world.

It was this battle that left both Celestial Venerables severely wounded, but it also finally allowed them to escape the reincarnation world.

The moment they leaped out of the reincarnation world, both instantly regained their memories. However, before they could rush out of the room, they saw Qin Mu outside directly close the door, sending shivers down their spines!

Fortunately, after opening the door, they could finally exit the strange room. Yet, Qin Mu and the two people with him were nowhere to be found.

"Could Celestial Venerable Mu have entered Unworried Village while we were trapped?"

Celestial Venerable Xu said indifferently, "He has a man and a woman with him. Before we entered the room, he clearly only had Luo Wushuang. Where did these two people come from?"

Celestial Venerable Huo shook his head, "I don't know. We'll only know if we ask him. He must have gone into the room."

Their gazes fell upon the three rooms at the end of the Void Bridge, their eyelids twitching. These three rooms truly made their hearts pound, and they were unwilling to step into them again.

The Creators' power might not necessarily exceed theirs, but this method of divine consciousness attack left them completely defenseless!

Celestial Venerable Xu frowned, "With our current strength, I'm afraid we won't be able to explore Unworried Village. Since Celestial Venerable Huo encountered Emperor Kai here before, Unworried Village must be hidden somewhere here. Now, the question is how do we get back?"

Suddenly, Celestial Venerable Huo's heart stirred. He closed the door, then opened it again. A different world appeared within the doorway—a dark world, filled with chaotic demonic essence.

A massive demonic eye appeared in the depths of the darkness, incredibly huge, and it swiveled with a gurgling sound, sweeping its gaze over them!

Celestial Venerable Huo's eyelid twitched. Just as he was about to close the door, Celestial Venerable Xu pushed his hand aside and stepped into the room, calmly stating, "Celestial Venerable Xu of the Celestial Heavens pays respects to Earth Count."

Celestial Venerable Huo hesitated, then reluctantly followed her in. The door closed behind them.

Meanwhile, Qin Mu, now on solid ground, had barely taken a few steps when he saw birds fluttering, grass growing tall, and green willows providing shade ahead. A crystal-clear lake appeared before his eyes.

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched. He secretly thought, 'This isn't good,' and quickly turned, wanting to return to the end of the Void Bridge, only to see that the door had automatically closed at some point.

Cold sweat beaded on Qin Mu's forehead. Just then, a melodious voice rang out, chuckling, "I heard some time ago that Celestial Venerable Mu shamelessly spied on His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor's concubines bathing. This consort didn't believe it at the time, but who would have thought I'd actually encounter Celestial Venerable Mu!"

Qin Mu turned around and saw a noble consort approaching. She wore a large red and white gown that exposed her shoulders, her cloud-like hair was piled high, her cleavage was partially revealed, and her boots were Cloud-Ascending Boots with very high soles, about four inches, making a clacking sound as she walked.

Qin Mu's heart stirred. This woman was Consort Qiang, also Celestial Venerable Qiang, one of the Ten Celestial Venerables. He had once suspected this consort to be either Empress or Madam Yuanmu.

Behind Consort Qiang, ribbons slowly swirled and fluttered. Her eyes were bright and sharp. Her gaze first landed on Qin Mu, then was immediately drawn to Goddess Lang Wo, staring intently, unable to look away.

Goddess Lang Wo felt puzzled by her stare. She took out her mirror and checked her reflection, finding no difference from her usual appearance.

"Jue… Jue Wuchen!"

Consort Qiang was startled, her face pale, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Jue Wuchen, you dare to show yourself again?"

"Celestial Venerable Qiang is neither Madam Yuanmu nor the Empress. Madam Yuanmu is Jue Wuchen, and the Empress knows this. If Consort Qiang were one of them, she wouldn't say such a thing."

Qin Mu suddenly froze: "So, who is Consort Qiang? Could she be...?"

A bizarre thought formed in his mind.