916 Eventual Reunion Under the Moonlight at the Jade Pool (2/2)
”Sister Yan'er, you don't need to be so careful. I'm well versed in medicine. Poisoning someone by poisoning their food isn't an easy feat.”
Qin Mu laughed. ”Besides, the celestial heavens don't need to resort to poison to get rid of me. They have all sorts of ways to do that.”
The eyes of Qi Jiuyi flashed as he sized up the environment around him before he commented, ”Cult Master Qin, you know that this is the place that the head of the Nine Celestial Venerables, Celestial Venerable Yu, was harmed?”
Qin Mu gently nodded before he said, ”This place is also the source of countless calamities from Dragon Han to Eternal Peace.”
Qi Jiuyi continued, ”I heard that the Heaven Alliance originated here. Celestial Venerable Ling, Celestial Venerable Yun, and Celestial Venerable Yue set up the Heaven Alliance here before joining forces with Celestial Venerable Mu and Celestial Venerable Qin to form the Five Founding Elders of the Heaven Alliance.”
Qin Mu's eyebrows twitched before he corrected him. ”By then, I had already left.”
Qi Jiuyi glanced at him before saying, ”I also heard that later on, when the Heaven Alliance was successfully formed, the heads of the Heaven Alliance would come here frequently to discuss matters. Thus, this place can be considered a headquarters of the Heaven Alliance.”
Qin Mu asked with interest, ”Who are the heads of the Heaven Alliance?”
”Today, the Heaven Alliance has 10 heads, all of whom are conferred the title of Celestial Venerable by Celestial Emperor. It's just that the ancient gods refuse to recognize them, choosing to only recognize the original Nine Celestial Venerables.”
Qi Jiuyi said, ”The first is Celestial Venerable Hao, the second is Celestial Venerable Huo, the third is Celestial Venerable Xiao, the fourth is Ancestral God King, also known as Celestial Venerable Zu. The fifth is God Emperor Lang Xuan, Celestial Venerable Lang. The sixth is Heavenly Lady Qiang, conferred with the title of Celestial Venerable Qiang. The seventh is Heavenly Lady Yan, conferred with the title of Celestial Venerable Yan. The eighth is Celestial Venerable Hong, the ninth is Celestial Venerable Xu, and the tenth is Celestial Venerable Gong.”
Qin Mu frowned. Out of these 10 Celestial Venerables, he only recognized Celestial Venerable Hao and Celestial Venerable Huo, along with Ancestral God King, somewhat. However, he had only battled Ancestral God King's Celestial Venerable Yu weapon and hadn't met him before.
As for the other Celestial Venerables, he hadn't met any of them before.
”What about Celestial Venerable Yue and Celestial Venerable You? Why are they not among the 10 Celestial Venerables?” Qin Mu asked.
Qi Jiuyi shook his head before he said, ”I have heard that Celestial Venerable Yue and Celestial Venerable You decided to hide in seclusion since a long time ago. With a lacking reputation, when Celestial Emperor decided to reform the Celestial Venerables' ranks, he excluded them. In contrast, the new Celestial Venerables have great power in the celestial heavens. Nevertheless, the new Celestial Venerables fail at pleasing the crowd.”
He looked around him and, suppressing the noise, said, ”Someone once said that except for Celestial Venerable Qin, all of the previous Nine Celestial Venerables had a great amount of merit for they affirmed the cultivation system of divine treasure and the cultivation system of celestial palaces, a great achievement that benefitted generations to come. Even Celestial Venerable Qin, who battled at the Jade Pool then, had God Eyes, which affected countless after him and by some accounts, achieved a great amount of merit. However, today's Celestial Venerables all relied on their power and combat prowess without leaving behind legacies that affect future generations. Thus, within the celestial heavens, many people are dissatisfied and refer to the original Nine Celestial Venerables instead of the current ten when talking about the Celestial Venerables.
Qin Mu laughed. ”So, even you think I have great merit and am worthy of the title Celestial Venerable Mu?”
Qi Jiuyi was initially very angry before he laughed and said, ”Although I don't like you, ever since I learned that you were the Celestial Venerable Mu who imparted the technique to become a god, my respect for you has gradually risen. It's just that every time I see you, I can't help but feel disgusted.”
Qin Mu laughed heartily. When he was about to inquire about the origins of the new Celestial Venerables like Celestial Venerable Xiao and Celestial Venerable Zu, a palace maid suddenly entered the Slow Winding Pavilion, presented an invitation card, and proclaimed, ”Celestial Venerable, there's a visitor.”
Qin Mu had to calm himself down and receive the invitation card. He laughed and said, ”I knew that someone would actively seek me out, I just didn't expect it to be so soon. Please invite him in.”
The palace maid withdrew.
Qin Mu opened the invitation and only saw that the person who sent it was named Yun Jianli. He asked, ”Who is this Yun Jianli?”
Qi Jiuyi paled before replying, ”Yun Jianli is a person from the Yun family.”
Qin Mu curiously asked, 'Yun family? Which Yun family?”
”The descendants of Celestial Venerable Yun.”
Qi Jiuyi continued, ”According to others, when Celestial Venerable Yun died, the Yun family survived, but with few members left. Every generation only has one son, barely maintaining the bloodline. However, every generation of the Yun family is filled with outstanding and extraordinary talent. Mysteriously though, when they cultivate to the Divine Bridge Realm, before they enter the celestial palace, they suddenly die. Hence, the Yun family usually only has one adult male, with the rest of the Yun family being widows. Yun Jianli is this generation's male heir, the celestial heavens' rising star, nicknamed the sickly master. His talent, however…”
The corners of his eyes trembled before he continued, ”Prior to following the orders to eliminate you from the lower bounds, I was once here and fought with the celestial heavens' young experts, and he is very powerful.”
Qin Mu laughed slightly before saying, ”You were Red Deity and Black Deity's disciple then, cultivating two Emperor's Throne grand techniques. When I fought you, your power was astonishing and impressed both Zhe Huali and me. It was just that you borrowed Red Deity's technique to enter the path, which made your divine art's reaction time slower than mine and Zhe Huali's. How did you fare against this sickly master Yun Jianli?”
”I lost pretty convincingly.”
Qi Jiuyi could only admit it. ”Even now, I don't think much of you, and I believe that I can win against you, but I admit defeat to him, and I admit how lacking my abilities are compared to his. However, I have experienced the baptism of Eternal Peace's reform, and if we were to fight again today, the outcome would be uncertain.”
Qin Mu's expression changed.
Qi Jiuyi was originally already very powerful. Adding how he had always stayed in the lower bounds to help Xu Shenghua establish the High Heavens Academy, his experience had improved a long time ago.
Xu Shenghua also epitomized Eternal Peace's reform and possessed unmatched talent. Qi Jiuyi's power today was definitely much greater than before. Yet, he only dared to say that the outcome of the battle would be uncertain. That provided a great clue as to how badly Qi Jiuyi lost then!
At this very moment, the palace maid from before led a male and a female up the Slow Winding Pavilion. The young leader was skinny and tall. He wore a simple and elegant white shirt, and while he was somewhat pale, he was handsome.
Although he was in high spirits, there lingered some black aura in the heart of his eyebrows, as if it was permanent and beyond cure.
The sickly master Yun Jianli bowed down to Qin Mu and respectfully greeted him, saying, ”Son of Yun, here to pay my respects to Celestial Venerable Mu.”
Just as Qin Mu was about to hold him by the arm, he saw the lady behind Yun Jianli bowing to him as well, greeting him by saying, ”Yun Chuxiu, here to pay my respects to Celestial Venerable Mu.”
As Qin Mu observed Yun Chuxiu's features, he couldn't help but have his mind shaken.
Yan'er, who followed behind him, immediately observed the dense amount of goosebumps on the back of his neck. It was clear that Qin Mu felt that great danger was present and was extremely nervous.
'Young Master, why are you so nervous about the lady named Yun Chuxiu?'
Yan'er looked in the direction of the lady and couldn't help but be fascinated as she silently thought, 'Her robe is a cloud, and her face is a flower. Such a pretty girl is rare in this world. She would hardly be inferior to the young master's Granny Si.'
That lady had a lucid, elegant, and refined appearance, as if she was the world's most beautiful goddess who had walked out of legends, out of paintings. Her every frown, every smile, every action, and every word were natural and faultless.
Yet, Qin Mu felt a chill down his spine.
He had seen this lady before.
The cold air from the bottom of his heart uncontrollably rose to the top as he wondered, 'Shouldn't she be buried together with Celestial Empress in the coffins of the ghost ship? How has she escaped?'