891 The Arrival of Darkness (1/2)

What was Ah Chou?

Ah Chou was just a man who had lost everything.

For the Ah Chou that was transformed by Earth Count, his parents were killed as part of the celestial heavens' plot against him. At that time, Earth Count's power prevented him from seeking revenge.

Ah Chou and Earth Count were two consciousnesses of the same life. Earth Count was restrained by rules, while Ah Chou wanted to break them. In the end, Ah Chou was beaten back to Youdu by Celestial Emperor. He was suppressed by Earth Count at Youdu's Jade Lock Pass, lonely and miserable.

Now, Qin Mu was also Ah Chou. They were similar—both appendages of the original bodies. Ah Chou was Earth Count's reincarnation, while he was Qin Fengqing's second consciousness, born from his baby body after he was sealed.

Ah Chou didn't have a soul of his own, and neither did he.

Ah Chou was a guardian and an avenger. He fiercely wanted to protect his family but failed, ultimately falling into the hands of the ancient Celestial Emperor.

Qin Mu also wanted to protect Eternal Peace and wanted to avenge the people who suffered and died from this calamity.

In the end, Ah Chou was suppressed at Jade Lock Pass, subjected to endless hellfire and powerless to do anything.

In the end, Ah Chou became a sinner under the rules of Youdu.

He should have been Earth Count, impartial and possessing god nature. Instead, he developed humanity.

Qin Fengqing was Little Earth Count. Qin Mu, who was his other consciousness born from his shell, should have had god nature as well. Instead, Qin Mu had Little Earth Count's humanity.

Because of their similar predicaments and encounters, he was Ah Chou—a man who wanted to protect and avenge but was powerless to retaliate.

Qin Mu laughed, his hand clutching Celestial Venerable Ling's peachwood hairpin tightly. He pointed at the space between his eyebrows, which used to house his third eye but had now become a deep, empty socket.

”Ancient Celestial Emperor, you have been waiting instead of making a move. Are you waiting for me to grow desperate and ultimately submit to you?”

Fresh blood was still flowing out of his third eye socket, streaming down on both sides of his nose. Even so, his hands were steady as they inserted the peachwood hairpin into his empty eye socket. He laughed softly. ”I am left with nothing without Eternal Peace. Once I activate Celestial Venerable Ling's hairpin, water from the celestial river will gush out to destroy my body and consciousness. You will have no chance of coming back to life!”

A powerful consciousness surged from the sky and thundered within his head. The ancient Celestial Emperor's voice was cold and emotionless. ”You shouldn't have dug out your eye. You are now left with no soul and are useless, with no power to solve Celestial Venerable Ling's divine art. Why should I help you when you can't retrieve my corporeal body?”

His voice became colder. ”You thought that you could control everything—giving my imperial decree to a black demon boar, negotiating with me, making me your arm and your pawn. However, you were ultimately short a move. Do you remember Wei Suifeng?”

Qin Mu was stunned.

”My Right Commander of the Feathered Forest Guards, Wei Suifeng. He used to command the right regiment of the Feathered Forest Guards on my behalf. He is like you, full of himself.”

Celestial Emperor's voice was filled with mockery. ”He is as arrogant as you. He thought he could infiltrate the Heaven Alliance and deceive everybody. He believed he could do something for the lower bound. However, he was unable to fool me because I was the one who appointed him as an official! I saw through him the moment he entered the Heaven Alliance and arrested him immediately. He also comprehended Celestial Venerable Ling's divine art, and I have ordered the Green Deity of the Eastern Sky to drown him in the river, in exchange for the Ghost Ship.”

He laughed heartily. ”If I can exchange for the Ghost Ship, I can trade for the corporeal body locked under the celestial river by Celestial Venerable Ling. I can then coerce Celestial Empress with her body. Also, I have the help of Dao Ancestor, and I can make things difficult for Earth Count's daughter as a way to threaten Earth Count!”

”Why do I have to rely on you? I made use of you to reconstruct my souls, now my three souls are complete. I also used you to severely injure Celestial Venerable Hao, forcing him to return to the celestial heavens and be unable to interfere with the Primordial Realm. I even utilized Celestial Venerable Hao to get rid of Mother Earth and obtained her corporeal body. With it, the entire Primordial Realm is mine. Half of this universe is under my control!”

”Celestial Venerable Mu, do you think you are qualified to negotiate with me?”

He was the biggest winner of the battle for the Primordial Realm!

Be it Qin Mu, the living beings of the Primordial Realm, the great army of gods and devils of the celestial heavens, the four deities of the celestial heavens, or even Mother Earth and Celestial Venerable Hao—they were all his pawns!

He planned to make a comeback, and half of this universe would be his!

In the past, he failed because he was above board, out in the light. Everyone was plotting against him. Be it half-gods, lifeforms after the beginning, or the ancient gods, they all wanted him dead.

Now that he was in the dark, who could plot against him?

He was the winner, the sole and biggest winner of the battle for the Primordial Realm!

Qin Mu said indifferently, ”The Green Deity of the Eastern Sky? He is just behind me. Why doesn't Your Majesty ask him the outcome of the exchange?”

The voice of Celestial Emperor disappeared as his consciousness left. He was apparently going to ask the Green Deity of the Eastern Sky, who was approaching Qin Mu from the east, how it went.

After some time, Qin Mu felt a consciousness returning to his mind.

This was Celestial Emperor's consciousness. However, it didn't have the arrogant, incessant chatter of a victor like before.

Instead, he fell silent.

Qin Mu spoke coldly, ”Wei Suifeng is my big senior brother. He is the most paranoid person under the heavens, as well as the wiliest. He has been unrestrained for a million years, there is no way you can keep him.”

The four deities of the celestial heavens were approaching—they could capture Qin Mu at any moment, or kill him at will.

The voice of Celestial Emperor rang out again. However, it wasn't within Qin Mu's mind but from afar. ”Four deities, stop.”

Qi Xiayu, Son of Heaven Yin, and the rest stopped. They raised their heads and saw a lush Primordial Tree descending from the sky, stabbing into the heart of the Primordial Realm.

The other Celestial Venerable Yu descended together with the Primordial Tree, looking majestic and dignified as his body radiated ten thousand rays of light.

The ball of Primordial Tree roots gently relaxed, the gigantic roots extending and burrowing deep into the ground.

As the roots burrowed beneath the earth, mountain ranges that measured over 10,000 miles rose on the surface.

A majestic-looking scene of mountains was created. The life force contained within the Primordial Tree filled these mountain ranges with lush flora and dense forests, like a beautiful painting.

This strange phenomenon demonstrated Mother Earth's power. However, it wasn't Mother Earth who controlled this power but the ancient Celestial Emperor.

That Celestial Venerable Yu walked over and told the four deities of the celestial heavens, ”You are dismissed. He is already not the Son of Youdu.”