She was drawn to the Gate of Heaven's Mandate and that book again. In truth, Qin Mu couldn't understand the text in the book either; he could only read the characters on the gate. He only knew one phrase of the Dark Underworld language, which was "Gate of Heaven's Mandate." For that single phrase, he'd nearly been killed by the Lord of All Heavens.
"You want to learn? I can teach you." Qin Mu said with a straight face, his heart beating steadily.
Li Tianxing's voice came from Grandma Si's mouth, a cold sneer in her tone. "Would I need you to teach me? You are the Cult Master and Holy Teacher, and so am I. Moreover, I am your senior. If you teach me, where would I put my face?"
Qin Mu smiled faintly. "But you don't know the True Art of the Earth Marquis of the Suppressing Star Lord."
Li Tianxing was speechless with anger, rolling her eyes at him with a feminine grace that wasn't annoying, but rather endearing. "I am the Cult Master and Holy Teacher. How could I not know it?"
Qin Mu ignored her, steadying his mind. That gaze was too powerful, nearly making his spirit waver. He activated the Nine Heavens Eye Opening Method, and layer upon layer of heavenly realms opened in his eyes. He looked toward the Emperor and saw only a pile of dilapidated divine repositories within the Emperor's body, like a shattered heaven and earth.
Qin Mu gave a low shout, and his forehead suddenly split open, revealing a third eye. This eye didn't seem like a mortal's eye from the human world, but rather one that came from a dark realm, emanating a gloomy, chilling yin energy that made the candlelight in the room dim instantly.
With this eye open, the entire room seemed to enter another world, no longer resembling the mortal realm!
Qin Mu looked with this eye and immediately saw Emperor Yanfeng's soul and primordial spirit, finding the source of the problem.
At the Celestial Being realm, one refines the primordial spirit. When qi and soul combine, they transform into the primordial spirit—that divine figure standing behind a Celestial Being realm expert. That is the primordial spirit: qi and divine soul combined.
Emperor Yanfeng's primordial spirit was standing atop the Divine Bridge, as if attempting to cross it and reach the realm of divinity. But his secret realm had collapsed, severely damaging his primordial spirit and soul. His soul was scattered, his primordial spirit could not be preserved, and the Three Souls and Seven Spirits were no longer an integrated whole. Moreover, terrifying forces continued to bombard his physical body, leaving his soul unable to stay within.
Therefore, even though Qin Mu had revived his body, his soul could not remain inside.
Li Tianxing's aura suddenly became subdued, and she said with some embarrassment, "That eye... I haven't learned that. Is this really the True Art of the Earth Marquis from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra?"
The eye on Qin Mu's forehead closed, dispersing the form of the Suppressing Star Lord. He frowned and paced back and forth, deep in thought. Li Tianxing held back her anger and waited quietly.
Suddenly, Qin Mu clapped his hands and laughed. "What can I see just looking from here? Better to enter the Emperor's body and examine it thoroughly! Cult Master Li, come with me!"
Li Tianxing was startled and asked suspiciously, "How can you enter his body?"
"Simple. In the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, there is a technique called the Demon Shadow Illusion Demon Technique, which hides a person in their shadow and conceals their physical form. There is also the Heaven-Reflecting Mustard Seed Technique, which allows the body to grow large or small. Activate both techniques together, shrink yourself, then transform into a shadow and infiltrate Emperor Yanfeng's body to examine his primordial spirit and divine repositories."
Qin Mu glanced at her. "You don't know how?"
Li Tianxing laughed in exasperation. "How could I not know?"
Qin Mu took a step back, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward Emperor Yanfeng. Both of them simultaneously activated the Demon Shadow Illusion Demon Technique and the Heaven-Reflecting Mustard Seed Technique. As they rushed toward the Emperor, their bodies grew smaller and smaller, until they became two black shadows pressed against the ground, drilling into the space between Emperor Yanfeng's eyebrows.
The Emperor stood frozen, unable to move. His five senses had been sealed by Qin Mu, but he could still feel two shadows burrowing around inside his body.
Suddenly, Qin Mu and Li Tianxing stopped. They had arrived at the Spirit Embryo Divine Repository. The two stood at the edge, looking forward. Emperor Yanfeng's Spirit Embryo Divine Repository was in a state of collapse. The Spirit Embryo and the Spirit Platform were both destroyed, the sky riddled with holes, and startlingly deep fissures appeared in the heavens and on the ground, revealing the snow-white skull beneath.
Fresh blood was pouring in, flowing into the Spirit Embryo Divine Repository like great waterfalls.
Besides that, Qin Mu also saw a sword light flying back and forth within the Spirit Embryo Divine Repository, wantonly destroying this divine repository.
"The Dao Master's Dao Sword!"
Li Tianxing was surprised. "This old Daoist is remarkable. He's sent his sword intent inside!"
"Can you collect this sword intent?" Qin Mu asked.
Li Tianxing giggled. "Why would I help you?"
Qin Mu smiled. "You've seen so much of my true teachings in the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra. It's time for some return. Even if you don't help me, I could ask Grandma Si to do it tomorrow."
Li Tianxing snorted, flew forward, pressed her ten fingertips together, and then spread them wide. Instantly, threads of qi connected between her fingers, interweaving and forming a spatial sealing cage. The cage's diagonals connected, forming another spatial sealing cage within this one, and then another formed inside that one, and so on, nearly infinite.
Li Tianxing tossed this angular sphere out, and it lightly touched the sword intent. The sword intent instantly disappeared, absorbed into the sphere.
Li Tianxing reached out and grabbed the cube, tossing it in her hand as she looked at Qin Mu with considerable pride.
"Multi-Faceted Space Sealing Technique."
Qin Mu praised. "Indeed quite ingenious."
"You recognize it, but you may not know how to use it," Li Tianxing said with a smile.
Qin Mu smiled faintly, casually performing the spatial sealing technique. "My cultivation is weak, so I cannot seal the Dao Master's sword intent. However, I have some knowledge of mathematics, and I understand how to set up spatial seals. It's just that my cultivation isn't as strong as yours. We are both Cult Masters and Holy Teachers. What I know is no less than yours—only more."
Li Tianxing snorted, a feminine sound that didn't provoke annoyance but rather felt endearing.
Qin Mu marveled inwardly at her power as they transformed into two tiny shadows, leaving the Spirit Embryo Divine Repository and entering the Five Planets Divine Repository.
Within the Five Planets Divine Repository, five great Buddhas sat in the shattered sky, replacing the Five Planets. Li Tianxing flicked her fingers, and five streams of demon qi transformed into five lotus flowers, flying out and landing beneath the five great Buddhas. In an instant, the Buddhas experienced the Five Decays of the Celestial Being, their flesh withering as fierce demon fire erupted. The five great Buddhas immediately turned into wisps of ash. Li Tianxing sneered, "Do you know this one too?"
Qin Mu said, "This is the Red Lotus Demon Heart Incantation of the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra. It's my first time performing this incantation, but it's no worse than yours!"
His qi transformed, performing the Red Lotus Demon Heart Incantation. He flicked a finger, and a red lotus flew out.
Li Tianxing looked closely. It was indeed the Red Lotus Demon Heart Incantation, though it was actually more skillful than her own. What she had flicked out was demon qi, transforming into a demon fire lotus, which was not as pure as Qin Mu's red lotus karma fire. Due to his realm limitations, the power of Qin Mu's Red Lotus Demon Heart Incantation was much weaker.
The two then arrived at the Six Harmonies Divine Repository. Emperor Yanfeng's Six Harmonies Divine Repository was also in ruins, porous all around, and there were half-remaining celestial beings besieging this repository, shattering the Six Harmonies.
Li Tianxing couldn't help but say, "This Emperor is beyond saving. His divine repositories are broken layer by layer. Even if you revive him, he'll be a cripple. Is he worth all your effort?"
Along the way, she had come to recognize Qin Mu as a fellow Cult Master and Holy Teacher, and her impression of him had improved considerably. She felt that Qin Mu's painstaking efforts to save Emperor Yanfeng were somewhat wasteful, only to bring back a cripple.
Qin Mu shook his head. "For the sake of the Heavenly Saint Sect, I must save him."
Li Tianxing asked no more questions, reaching out to remove the residual power of the Tathagata's divine techniques from the Six Harmonies Divine Repository.
"Although I am no longer the Holy Master, after all, I once was. For matters beneficial to the Holy Sect, I am willing to do them," she said in a low voice.
Qin Mu was surprised and nodded silently.
The two then arrived at the Seven Stars Divine Repository, where the sun and moon hung in the sky, both already destroyed. Two divine swords hung there, vibrating from time to time, sending sword qi piercing in all directions!
Qin Mu couldn't help but wonder, muttering, "Seven Stars Divine Repository—from the name, there should be seven stars..."
"The Seven Stars Divine Repository has the sun and moon as two stars. Combined with the Five Planets from the Five Planets Divine Repository, that makes seven stars."
Li Tianxing pointed this out to him. "Look down, and you can see the Five Planets Divine Repository."
Qin Mu looked down and felt a slight shock. Beneath their feet was the Five Planets Divine Repository. The Five Planets and the sun and moon here together formed the Seven Stars. However, Emperor Yanfeng's Five Planets Divine Repository was already destroyed, and startling fissures had appeared beneath their feet as well. From time to time, sections of the sky would collapse—a truly perilous sight.
"These two divine repositories are connected. When you cultivate to the Seven Stars Divine Repository, you can see the Five Planets and Seven Stars forming one body. If you reach the Celestial Being realm, you can see the Six Harmonies surrounding the Spirit Embryo, the Five Planets distributed across the sky, and the Seven Stars' sun and moon hanging above. This is the Pinnacle of Heaven and Earth."
Li Tianxing instructed him. "When you reach the Life and Death realm, darkness will appear beneath the ground under your Spirit Embryo—the path leading to the Dark Underworld. At the Divine Bridge realm, a divine bridge stretches straight to the Celestial Court! Then, you won't be far from becoming a god."
Her smile turned somewhat cruel. "But at that point, you'll discover that this bridge to the Celestial Court is broken! Heh, broken! All your life's cultivation, your lifetime's persistence, your ideals and philosophies—all useless. When your time comes, everything is empty. It's all for nothing!"
"Cult Master Li, calm down," Qin Mu said.
Li Tianxing gave him a very feminine glare and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you disappointed?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. "Why be disappointed when I can live a vibrant life?"
Li Tianxing was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "So in this life, I must live vibrantly and become the most beautiful woman in the world!"
Qin Mu felt his scalp tingling, unsure whether the former Holy Master had been provoked by Grandma Si or if practicing the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra had made her a bit addled.
They walked into Emperor Yanfeng's Celestial Being Divine Repository. Qin Mu finally saw the Pinnacle of Heaven and Earth that Li Tianxing had described, with the Spirit Embryo, Six Harmonies, Five Planets, and Seven Stars all interconnected.
At the Life and Death Divine Repository, Qin Mu saw the dark Dark Underworld appear beneath his feet.
Finally, they arrived at the last divine repository—the Divine Bridge Divine Repository.
A divine bridge spanned across the heavens, crossing over life and death, sun and moon, Five Planets, and Six Harmonies. It seemed that at the end of the bridge, there was an incomparably brilliant and glorious Celestial Court, where the gods awaited their arrival.
Emperor Yanfeng's bridge had broken into who knew how many pieces. From time to time, broken sections would fall with terrifying force, piercing directly through layer after layer of divine repositories and crashing into the Spirit Embryo Divine Repository!
Li Tianxing looked around. "The Emperor is truly beyond saving—a cripple. Give me his skin, and I'll become the Emperor. Yankang will then belong to our Heavenly Saint Sect!"
Qin Mu shook his head. "You're not fit to be an Emperor. You're only suited to torment the common people."
Li Tianxing was angrily pouting, glaring at him with puffed cheeks. "If this concubine becomes Empress, I'll grant you the position of Noble Consort!"
Qin Mu rolled his eyes upward, showing two whites at her.
Li Tianxing stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly burst into giggles.
"You demon!" Qin Mu hastily sealed off his five senses to avoid her influence.