The First Marquis of Daxuan

Two people and a cat were lying on their backs on the ground.

They turned to look at each other and burst into laughter.

He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

"That was exhilarating! It's been so many years since I've had such a satisfying battle."

Ning Hongchen spread his hands, looking relaxed, and said.

"Unfortunately, in the end, we still couldn't keep Li Tianzun."

Su Mu said with some regret, "If I could kill a Celestial Venerable, that would be something I could brag about for a lifetime."

"Dream on! Do you think the Celestial Venerable is so easy to kill?"

Cat Nine said, "Let alone Li Tianzun, even I, who just broke through to the Cat Tianzun level, can't be killed even if they wanted to, okay?"

After venting for a while, Su Mu gradually learned the whole story from Ning Hongchen and Mao Jiu.

Mao Jiu and Ning Hongchen had been secretly plotting to help Su Mu achieve the Heavenly Venerable status, but then the Heavenly Venerable suddenly died prematurely.

At that time, Su Mu could not be found, and Ning Hongchen's own condition was special, making it impossible for him to become a Celestial Venerable.

So they let Mao Jiu take over and seize the position of honor left by Bai Tianzun.

At that time, the sect leader of the Azure Sky Sect, Fu Canglan, the sect leader of the Martial Sect, Wu Zu, the sect leader of the True Saint Sect, Yang Hong, and others were not in the Yang Realm, so no one could compete with Mao Jiu.

However, Cat Nine's acquisition of the Heavenly Venerable position was like stirring up a hornet's nest.

The position of honor left behind by Bai Tianzun had long been regarded as a forbidden possession by those Heavenly Venerables, and Mao Jiu's actions were tantamount to snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

So those Celestial Venerables personally took action, all wanting to take advantage of Cat Nine's unstable footing to kill him.

Previously, Li Tianzun, together with two other Tianzun, blocked Mao Jiu and were about to kill him. Helpless, Ning Hongchen had no choice but to show up and help.

Ning Hongchen desperately entangled Li Tianzun, then Mao Jiu lured away the other two Tianzun before turning back to rescue Ning Hongchen.

What they didn't expect was that Su Mu would suddenly appear here.

The process was a bit complicated, but the result was good.

The three of them joined forces and actually managed to defeat Li Tianzun.

Of course, they also paid a price.

All twelve of Ning Hongchen's avatars perished in battle.

Su Mu was also seriously injured.

Even the newly promoted Celestial Venerable Cat Nine endured several heavy blows from Celestial Venerable Li.

Even so, Li Tianzun was not actually harmed. He was just frightened by their desperate actions, which is why he decisively left.

"It's quite shameful to be beaten like this, three against one, and yet you still managed to make such a mess of things."

Su Mu sighed and said, "I've never been this embarrassed since I debuted."

"You should be content; the other party is a Celestial Venerable."

Ning Hongchen said irritably, "Being able to repel a Celestial Venerable isn't enough for you to brag about?"

"That's not how it works. Don't we have a Celestial Venerable here too?"

Su Mu gestured to Mao Jiu with his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, I haven't even warmed my seat as a Celestial Venerable yet."

Cat Nine rolled her eyes and said, "Let me tell you, I'm on a sinking ship. This Heavenly Venerable position is really not easy to hold!"

"how do I say this?"

Su Mu asked with some doubt.

For this position of Celestial Venerable, even the Celestial Venerable behind the Azure Sky Sect personally came out to act as his henchmen.

What others would fight tooth and nail to get, in Mao Jiu's mouth, doesn't seem to be a good thing at all.

"We were too naive before, and that's why we were deceived by those celestial beings."

Cat Nine's eyes darted around a few times, then it clapped its paws, and an invisible force enveloped them before it spoke.

"Let me tell you, the Heavenly Venerable is nothing but a damn servant!"

"Heavenly Venerable One, servant?"

Su Mu frowned.

These two words are completely unrelated.

What is a Celestial Venerable? It is the pinnacle of martial arts, the most noble and powerful being in the world.

How could they possibly be servants?

Compared to them, servants are like heaven and earth.

"Hey, you didn't expect that, did you?"

Cat Nine chuckled and said, "I never imagined that the Heavenly Venerables, so high and mighty, would have someone riding on their heads."

"Cat Nine, you're going to get beaten up if you keep me in suspense like this."

Su Mu said irritably.

"To be precise, it's not even a person."

Cat Nine's plump body trembled. It was not in good condition and might not be able to beat Su Mu. It would be embarrassing if it got beaten up.

"The Celestial Venerable is less a martial arts realm and more a symbol of authority."

It said with a serious expression, "To put it simply, you can think of this world as a great Xuan Dynasty, and the authority is the government office that manages the operation of this world."

And the Celestial Venerable is none other than the Minister of the Six Ministries of your Great Xuan Dynasty.”

"You mean to say that there is an emperor in this world?"

Su Mu's face showed a thoughtful expression.

"To be precise, this place has a master."

Mao Jiu said in a deep voice, "It is the universe itself."

"The way of heaven?"

Su Mu's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly.

"That's right, it's this thing."

Mao Jiu said, "The Heavenly Dao has divided the authority of this world into several parts and then given them to us. Whoever picks them up will be the Heavenly Venerable and can act on behalf of Heaven."

With every gain comes a price: becoming a servant of Heaven's will, doing whatever it commands.

Ning Hongchen had obviously heard Mao Jiu talk about these things before, and his expression was very serious as he continued on Mao Jiu's behalf.

"What Mao Jiu said is actually a bit of an exaggeration. The Heavenly Dao doesn't have a clear self-awareness as you think."

Ning Hongchen said, "Although I haven't experienced it myself, I guess that what Mao Jiu said about being a slave is more like a mission than an order directly given to the Heavenly Venerables by the Heavenly Dao."

"To become a Celestial Venerable and wield the power over heaven and earth, one must then complete the mission that comes with it; this is the law of the Heavenly Way."

Su Mu nodded. Although Mao Jiu and Ning Hongchen said different things, the general meaning was the same.

That is, while the Celestial Venerable gains power, he still has to do certain things.

"Cat Nine, what is your mission?"

Su Mu asked curiously.

Cat Nine's position as Heavenly Venerable was left behind by Heavenly Venerable. Theoretically, Cat Nine's mission should be the same as Heavenly Venerable's mission.

Su Mu had a brief encounter with Bai Tianzun, and even now, he still has many doubts about some of Bai Tianzun's actions.

If he could know Bai Tianzun's mission, then perhaps he could guess the purpose behind Bai Tianzun's arrangements before his death.

"You might not believe it, but my mission is to kill."

Cat Nine said with a hint of helplessness, "I am a peace-loving cat, why did I have to be assigned this mission?"

It sighed and groaned.

Su Mu suspected that Mao Jiu was just lazy.

However, this mission to kill was beyond Su Mu's expectations.

If the will of Heaven wants to kill someone, why would it need to use the Heavenly Venerable's hand? Wouldn't a single bolt of heavenly lightning be enough to strike them dead?

If Bai Tianzun's mission in the past was also to kill, then what was the purpose of the things he did before his death?

Su Mu became increasingly confused.

"kill……"

Su Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Who should we kill? We can't just kill anyone we see, can we?"

"do not know."

Mao Jiu shook his head and said, "I don't know who I should kill. Anyway, this idea has been in my mind since I became a Heavenly Venerable. It's not certain who I should kill, but as long as I encounter them, I will naturally know who they are."

Su Mu: "..."

"Is this a job that sends you all over the world to find a target to kill?"

Su Mu asked.

"Who says it's not?"

Cat Nine sighed and said, "I have to travel the world and kill those who deserve to die. I can't even slack off."

Who is the person who deserves to be killed?

Su Mu pressed for an answer.

"do not know."

Cat Nine looked like she was about to die, "If only I knew, it's because I don't know that I have to run all over the world."

"Was this also Bai Tianzun's mission before?"

Su Mu pondered for a moment.

"Who knows? Only each Celestial Venerable knows their own mission. You must understand that the Celestial Venerable's mission is their greatest weakness. If they fail to fulfill their mission, it will cost them their lives."

Mao Jiu said, "I only told you about my mission because I trust you."

"Everyone thought that the Celestial Venerables were high above and carefree. Who would have thought that they actually had such a layer of restraint on them? If Cat Nine hadn't broken through to the Celestial Venerable level, we would have had no way of knowing this secret."

Ning Hongchen sighed.

Back then, the seventy-two sages risked their lives to become Heavenly Venerables. If they had known back then that Heavenly Venerables had this tight headband, they probably wouldn't have been so eager for the position.

To be honest, becoming a Celestial Venerable might actually make it more comfortable to stay in the Heavenly Fate Realm.

Su Mu fell into thought. The Heavenly Venerable's mission was top secret. Even Mao Jiu didn't know if it was the same as the Heavenly Venerable's mission.

It is difficult to speculate on Bai Tianzun's behavior based solely on this one mission.

"If we knew what Li Tianzun's mission was, we could simply disrupt it, and he would be punished without us even lifting a finger..."

Cat Nine chuckled as he spoke.

"You said it yourself, the Celestial Venerable's mission is their greatest weakness, how could they easily reveal their weakness?"

Ning Hongchen shook his head and said.

"Let's not talk about that now."

Su Mu pondered for a moment and said, "You used to want me to break through to the Heavenly Venerable Realm so you could do some things for me. Now that Mao Jiu is already a Heavenly Venerable, you don't need me anymore, right?"

"Although Cat Nine is a Celestial Venerable, it does not know how to forge weapons."

Ning Hongchen said, "The matter of the Ruins Realm—"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Before, we didn't understand the truth about the Celestial Venerable, so we wanted to transform the entire Saha World into a Pure Yang World. Now, I think we need to stop and take a look."

Ning Hongchen's tone was somewhat listless.

Over the years, he has been working towards a single goal.

Now he suddenly felt that there was something wrong with his goal. It was only because Ning Hongchen had experienced enough ups and downs that he realized that anyone else would probably have collapsed by now.

"I now suspect that the Heavenly Mandate Divine Weapon Chart left behind by the Great Celestial Venerable may also be problematic."

Ning Hongchen said in a deep voice.

"correct."

Su Mu suddenly spoke, and with a flick of his wrist, two square stone slabs appeared in his palm.

"This is--"

Ning Hongchen was taken aback. He remembered that he had only given Su Mu one Primordial Stone Tablet. How come there were two now?
"The Primordial Stone Tablets, though during the day they are respectfully called the Chaos Charts."

Su Mu said seriously, "According to Bai Tianzun, there are nine pieces in total. You didn't know that before?"

Ning Hongchen shook his head, indicating that he really didn't know.

Cat Nine licked its lips, barely managing to suppress the urge to possess the two stone slabs. It loved collecting all sorts of treasures.

"There are nine pieces in total, and only two have been found. Where are the other seven?"

"Cat Nine asked with great interest."

Su Mu is one of us, so we can't take these two stone slabs. But if they're newly found, then we can keep them.
"Are you asking whether this Primordial Stone Tablet, or the Chaos Record—whatever you want to call it—has anything to do with the Great Celestial Venerable?"

Ning Hongchen said in a deep voice, understanding Su Mu's meaning.

Su Mu nodded.

Neither of them paid any attention to Mao Jiu's question.

Cat Celestial Venerable truly held no status in their eyes.

"I've always been curious, why are you so obsessed with resurrecting the Great Celestial Venerable?"

Su Mu said, "Back then, you seventy-two people paid such a great price to transform the Saha World into a Pure Yang World, why don't you give up?"

Su Mu had asked Ning Hongchen a similar question before, but Ning Hongchen had never given him a direct answer.

Now that Su Mu has enough strength, and Mao Jiu has also become a Heavenly Venerable, Su Mu once again asked the question that had been bothering him.

In fact, even if the Seventy-Two Sages had succeeded back then and truly transformed the entire Void Realm into a Yang Realm, turning this Saha World into a pure Yang World, this pure Yang World still wouldn't be able to support the existence of the Seventy-Two Celestial Venerables.

In other words, no matter what, it is impossible for all seventy-two sages to become celestial beings.

Much of what they did back then was futile.

“Everything we have done is not just about resurrecting the Great Celestial.”

Ning Hongchen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The reason we did so many things is because of the Great Celestial Venerable's description of the Pure Yang World."

Su Mu looked at Ning Hongchen but did not press the matter further.

Because he knew that Ning Hongchen would no longer keep him in suspense.

Because Su Mu already has the strength to sit at the table, he is qualified to access certain secrets.

This is something he just proved with his abilities.

Su Mu played a crucial role in the battle against Li Tianzun.

If it weren't for him, Ning Hongchen would probably have died at Li Tianzun's hands.

"Back then, by a stroke of luck, we seventy-two of us obtained the primordial stone tablet and the chart of destiny left behind by the Great Celestial Venerable."

"Of course, we named the Primordial Stone Tablet ourselves. Bai Tianzun called it the Chaos Record. The name isn't important; it's just what it is."

Ning Hongchen said, "Besides these two things, the Great Celestial Venerable also left behind a message back then."

I won't go into detail, but the gist is that in a world of pure Yang, everyone is like a dragon.

"In a world of pure Yang, everyone is like a dragon... what does that mean?"

Su Mu asked in confusion.

"If the Saha world were to become a pure Yang world, everyone would be strong and healthy, and live out their natural lifespan."

Ning Hongchen said, "None of us seventy-two came from noble backgrounds, and we suffered a lot of hardships on our journey of cultivation."

We've been through the rain, so we want to hold an umbrella for future generations.

Ning Hongchen remained calm, but Su Mu could sense the power in his words.

They paid the ultimate price—their lives—to protect future generations.

Even Ning Hongchen, though still alive, is practically dead, his cultivation level can no longer be improved.

He is now living a difficult life carrying the hopes of others.

Living may be more painful than dying.

Su Mu subconsciously looked at Mao Jiu. If the Seventy-Two Sages had sentimentality, then Mao Jiu definitely did not.

For Mao Jiu, nothing is as real as a treasure.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I only helped them because I owed them a favor."

Mao Jiu said, "Everyone is like a dragon, what does that have to do with me? I'm not human!"

"Ok."

Su Mu was too lazy to argue with it and got back to the main topic, saying, "The Pure Yang World is a bit far from us, but this Chaos Record is right in front of us."

This Chaos Diagram indeed contains profound martial arts principles. If one could collect all nine pieces, perhaps one could comprehend a new path.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find it!"

Cat Nine eagerly said, "Don't blame me for not warning you, we've taken the position of Heavenly Venerable, and those people like Heavenly Venerable Li won't let it go. They even want to kill me so that the position of Heavenly Venerable will be vacant again."

"Back then, we traveled all over the world, but we never found any other Chaos Records."

Ning Hongchen said.

"Bai Tianzun had a disciple who made a deal with me before he died, asking me to protect his disciple to a certain place."

His disciple possessed a natural ability to pinpoint the location of the Chaos Diagram.

Su Mu gave a brief explanation.

"The reason I am here is because she sensed that there is a Chaos Chart nearby."

Su Mu said solemnly.

"here?"

Ning Hongchen and Mao Jiu were both taken aback. "What a coincidence?"

They both found it somewhat unbelievable.

They had been chased by the Celestial Venerable and fled here in a panic, where they were stopped by the Celestial Venerable.

In other words, their encounter with Li Tianzun here was purely accidental.

Ning Hongchen looked around. "Are you sure there's a Chaos Record here?"

The place where the Seventy-Two Sages discovered the Chaos Diagram was an ancient ruin.

Now, there is absolutely no trace of ancient ruins in this place.

According to Ning Hongchen, this place is just an ordinary desolate mountain wilderness, where even spiritual energy is scarce.

You can tell just by looking at the fact that no sect has occupied this area.

In the mortal realm, any place with abundant spiritual energy will become the headquarters of major sects.

"Are Bai Tianzun's disciples trustworthy?"

Ning Hongchen asked.

"It should be believable."

Su Mu thought for a moment and then said.

Qi Lingyun was just a little girl of seven or eight years old, and she didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.

If all of this was performed by Qi Lingyun, then her acting skills are simply too incredible.

"Where are Bai Tianzun's disciples?"

Ning Hongchen said, "I can't see anything unusual here, but perhaps he can."

"I just discovered that there were Celestial Venerables fighting here, so I left her at a distance."

Su Mu said that he had looked around but found no trace of the Chaos Record.

This will probably fall on Qi Lingyun's shoulders.

Su Mu also wanted to see if Qi Lingyun could really find the Chaos Record.

"You guys come with me."

Su Mu said, and flew back in the direction he had come from.

Mao Jiu and Ning Hongchen didn't think much of it. They had both regained some strength and got up to follow.

A moment later, the two people and the cat appeared on a small hill.

On that small hill, a little girl of about seven or eight years old, with delicate features, was squatting there, drawing and writing on the ground with a small twig in her hand.

"She is Bai Tianzun's disciple."

Su Mu introduced them to Ning Hongchen and Mao Jiu.

suddenly.

Su Mu sensed a dangerous aura rising from beside him.

He turned his head and saw that Mao Jiu was hunched over with all the fur on his body standing on end.

It stared wide-eyed, breathing heavily, and uncontrollably released the aura of a celestial being.

The powerful aura caused a sudden gust of wind to rise in the air.

Click click click.

The trees within a radius of several hundred feet were knocked down by Mao Jiu's aura.

A light curtain suddenly rose around the little girl Qi Lingyun's body.

That was a formation set up by Su Mu.

The formation was automatically activated upon being stimulated by the power.

Qi Lingyun looked up somewhat blankly and immediately saw Su Mu in the distance. She smiled and waved to Su Mu.

"Uncle Su!"

She shouted loudly, completely unaware of the danger approaching.

"Cat Nine, you—"

Su Mu looked at Mao Jiu, his expression changed, and he said in a deep voice.

"is her!"

Mao Jiu's voice was icy as she said, "She is the person I want to kill."

"The Celestial Venerable's mission?"

Su Mu's heart sank; that bad feeling had become a reality.

He never expected that Qi Lingyun would be Mao Jiu's target!
Ning Hongchen also looked surprised.

"Cat Nine, could there be a mistake? The other party is just a little girl of seven or eight years old, who has never even practiced martial arts."

Ning Hongchen spoke.

"It can't be wrong."

Cat Nine shook his head and said, "You are not Celestial Venerables, so you don't know this feeling."

This feeling is absolutely certain; she is the person I must kill.

As he spoke, Mao Jiu had already taken a step forward.

Without hesitation, Su Mu moved swiftly and stood between Mao Jiu and Qi Lingyun.

"Cat Nine, calm down."

Su Mu said in a deep voice.

"I can't calm down."

Mao Jiu said, "If I don't kill her, I'll be the one who dies."

Su Mu, our friendship of so many years is not as good as your friendship with a little girl you've only known for a short time?
You want me dead?

Mao Jiu's eyes had turned blood red, and the murderous aura emanating from him was almost tangible.

"I did not mean that."

Su Mu shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I'm not trying to stop you, I just want you to calm down so we can discuss this further and see if there's any room for reconciliation."

"Cat Nine, how long do you have?"

Ning Hongchen also spoke up, "How long will it take before you are punished if you don't kill her?"
If I had the time, I think Su Mu's words make sense.

Indiscriminate killing is not the act of a hero. If you were to kill this defenseless little girl, you would truly become a slave to the ways of Heaven.

"If I hadn't seen her, that wouldn't be a problem."

Cat Nine said, panting heavily, "But now that I've seen her, I have to kill her."

I only have ten days. Within ten days, either she dies, or I die. Don't force me.

"Cat Nine, give me ten days. Within ten days, I will definitely find a solution to this problem. Otherwise, if you want to kill her, I will not stop you!"

Su Mu said decisively. (End of Chapter)