The First Marquis of Daxuan

Shenhou Tianzun had a grudge against Su Mu.

Su Mu deceived them with a fake Five Elements Mountain. When that fake Five Elements Mountain exploded, it buried Shenhou Tianzun underground.

Although Shenhou Tianzun was not injured at the time, he lost face terribly.

From that moment on, Shenhou Tianzun harbored deep hatred for Su Mu.

When Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, promised not to launch an attack on the Yang Realm for three years, Shenhou Tianzun was one of the few Void Beast Tianzun who opposed it.

However, Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, desperately needed the Five Elements Mountain, so he forcibly suppressed these opposing opinions.

Although Shenhou Tianzun did not disrupt the deal with Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, he was always thinking about how to take revenge on Su Mu.

The Celestial Venerables of the Ruins looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Shenhou Tianzun, you mustn't do anything reckless."

Wu Ma Tianzun said, "If you break the rules, Zhu Tongtian will not be in a good position."

"Zhu Tongtian? When I gave him face, he was the ruler of the Void Beasts. What if I don't give him face?"
I, the mighty Celestial Venerable of the Void Beast, have no interest in playing house with it forever!

Shenhou Tianzun sneered.

"Conquering the Yang Realm is a matter of life and death for the Xu Realm. How can we let Zhu Tongtian alone affect the important affairs of the entire Xu Realm?"

"I've had enough! You can play along if you want, but I'm off to attack the mortal realm!"

"It was Shenhou Tianzun who said in a deep voice."

"Shenhou Heavenly Venerable, do you have any objections to my decision?"

Just then, the voice of Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, came from above.

Its body slowly descended, a sharp glint flashing in its eyes.

"So what?"

Shenhou Tianzun sneered, "Zhu Tongtian, since you escaped, look at what the Void Realm has become under your leadership."
We've lost territory and lost face beyond measure!

If you keep causing trouble like this, I'm afraid the Ruins Realm won't last long!

"Then what do you want to do?"

"The Lord of the Void Beasts, Zhu Tongtian, said expressionlessly."

"From this moment on, you go your way, and I'll go mine. My Shenhou tribe will no longer obey your orders; we will attack the Yang Realm on our own!"

"This is what Shenhou Tianzun said."

"Shenhou Tianzun, have you gone mad?"

Wu Ma Tianzun's expression changed, and he said in a deep voice, "Do you want our Void Realm to split apart? What's the difference between what you're doing and those humans who like to fight amongst themselves?"

The other Void Beast Celestial Venerables also spoke up to offer their advice.

"Shenhou Heavenly Venerable, you've gone a bit too far. Although Zhu Tongtian made some mistakes, it was only because it was injured and its strength was not at its peak. Now that it has recovered, the previous incident will not happen again."

"Take back what you said right now, and we'll pretend nothing happened."

"This is what the Celestial Venerable of the Ruins Beasts said."

“You can pretend nothing happened, but I can’t.”

Shenhou Tianzun said, "My Shenhou tribe is not Zhu Tongtian's servant. Now that I want to be independent, who can stop me?"

“Shenhou Heavenly Venerable, considering that you once fought bravely for the Void Realm, I will give you a chance. I will retract my order and forgive you this time.”

"Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, said coldly."

"I need your forgiveness? Zhu Tongtian, we're giving you face, and you really think you're the master of this Void Realm?"
Don't tell me you're just the reincarnation of the Void Ancestor. Even if the Void Ancestor were here, he wouldn't be able to do anything to the original!
"I am the Celestial Venerable!"

Shenhou Tianzun laughed loudly, "I gave you face, so you became the Lord of the Void Beasts. Now I don't want to give you face anymore, so what are you anyway!"

boom!
Before Shenhou Tianzun could finish speaking, Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, suddenly released a powerful aura.

"If I were to kill you with the Wutian Staff, you would certainly be dissatisfied. Today, I will not use the Wutian Staff."

Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, said coldly, "I will show you what true power is!"
Do you really think the Celestial Venerable is the supreme being? You're just a frog in a well, only seeing the sky from the bottom!

Rumble!
Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, threw a punch, and Shenhou Tianzun, enraged, slammed his long staff forward.

With a deafening roar, the two forces collided, and Shenhou Tianzun's body was sent flying backward.

All the Void Beast Celestial Venerables' expressions changed drastically.

Although they had considered that Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, would be very strong, they never expected that he would be this strong.

The Monkey King, it turns out, is really no match for it?
Also, what did Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, mean by what he just said?
It says that the Celestial Venerable is like a frog at the bottom of a well, only seeing the sky from the bottom of the well.

Could it be that Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, is at a higher level than the Heavenly Venerable?
As the Celestial Venerables of the Void Beasts were puzzled, they saw that Celestial Venerable Shenhou was being beaten back by Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, and was completely powerless to fight back.

In just a short while, Shenhou Tianzun's body was covered in wounds.

At this rate, it won't be long before Shenhou Tianzun really dies.

"Zhu Tongtian, show mercy. It's not easy for our Void Realm to produce a Celestial Venerable."

Wu Ma Tianzun shouted loudly.

"I'll give you face because you helped me get back the Five Elements Mountain."

Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, said coldly, "Shenhou Heavenly Venerable, do you submit or not?"

"Shenhou Tianzun, bow your head! It's not shameful to bow your head in front of a strong person!"

Wu Ma Tianzun and other Void Beast Tianzun spoke up to persuade him.

Shenhou Tianzun felt his face swell up, and finally, he couldn't withstand the pressure.

"I give up, I give up!"

boom!
Zhu Tongtian, the ruler of the Void Beasts, punched it, sending it flying back a hundred feet before it stopped.

"With your current strength, you're far from being able to challenge me."

Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, stood with his hands behind his back and said coldly, "This world is far more vast than you can see. The Heavenly Venerable Realm is not the pinnacle of martial arts. As long as you follow me obediently, I will show you the true world and make you true powerhouses!"

All the Heavenly Venerables of the Void Beasts turned solemn and bowed to Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts.

We are willing to follow in your footsteps!

…………

"I see."

Inside Yanmen Pass, Su Mu muttered to himself.

A ball of flame floated in front of him, and within the flame, a needle was bobbing up and down.

The needle was completely red, almost transparent, and through the flames, one could even see that its interior was filled with incredibly intricate patterns.

Streams of power flowed endlessly within those patterns, growing stronger with each cycle.

A tiny needle is like a complete system.

"This is quite different from the divine weapons of our Saha world."

Su Mu couldn't help but exclaim, "Although it's a different approach, it's still ingenious."

There are always people more capable than you, and there are always higher realms to conquer. I really don't know what kind of world this divine weapon comes from. If I have the chance, I would like to meet the weapon-smith of this world.

However, although it is wondrous, it is not a magical treasure.

This needle was the one Su Mu found inside Zhu Tianzun's corpse.

After the Celestial Venerables went to investigate the murderer, Su Mu began to go into seclusion to forge weapons.

He didn't rush to refine the Mind-Reflecting Mirror, but instead focused on studying the needle.

When Su Mu first discovered the needle, he knew it was a disposable weapon.

After being used once, its power will be completely depleted, and it will no longer have the strength to kill the Celestial Venerable.

Therefore, the murderer did not retrieve it after killing Zhu Tianzun.

Even if we take it back, it's essentially the same as taking back a piece of scrap metal.

The effort required to reforge it into a weapon would likely be greater than forging a new weapon of the same type.

What is scrap metal to others is a treasure to Su Mu.

Although Su Mu could not completely restore it to its unused state, he could use it to deduce the refining method.

At the very least, Su Mu could learn as much as possible about the principles of weapon forging contained within it.

"Who would have thought that such a tiny needle could be the culmination of weapon-making techniques?"

The more Su Mu studied this discarded needle, the more unfathomable it seemed.

"Although the method of crafting the Heart-Reflecting Mirror also comes from the same school, if this needle is a divine weapon, then the Heart-Reflecting Mirror is at most an ordinary weapon. The difference between the two is simply heaven and earth."

A weaponsmith capable of forging a mirror that reflects the mind would find it nearly impossible to forge this needle.

On the contrary, a weaponsmith who can forge this needle can easily forge the Heart-Reflecting Mirror.

The weapon-making techniques used in this mirror are less than a fraction of those used in this needle.

Su Mu's hands moved in a series of hand seals, and as the flames flickered, he learned more and more about the weapon-forging technique contained within the needle.

"A completely different path, treating weapons as human bodies, constructing meridians similar to those in the human body inside the weapons, and then imprinting special techniques onto the weapons. Theoretically, it's possible to let the weapons cultivate. It's truly a maddening idea."

But they succeeded, anyway.

Su Mu sighed inwardly.

If you understand one principle, you understand all principles.

His weapon-forging skills have reached their pinnacle. The Chaos Void Heaven Method is a weapon-forging method he comprehended from the Chaos Diagram, and it can be called the most advanced weapon-forging method in this world.

But now, Su Mu has a knack for drawing inferences from one instance to another, and his skill in weapon forging is improving rapidly.

The Chaos Divine Weapon he originally forged had many flaws and could not completely break the confinement on the Celestial Venerable's body.

But now, he has a solution.

Replacing the physical body with divine weapons, conversely, one can also transform the human body into a weapon.

One crazy idea after another kept flashing through Su Mu's mind.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Mu finally raised his hand.

"A mirror reflecting one's heart."

Su Mu muttered to himself, "Let me use this new weapon-forging technique to forge a Heart-Reflecting Mirror."

"I'd like to see if the Thousand-Faced God dares to accept my Heart-Reflecting Mirror."

Su Mu waved his hands, and the flames surged instantly. Then, one after another, rare and precious materials flew into the flames.

…………

Just as Su Mu was in seclusion forging his weapon, a figure he knew very well staggered out of the void.

"Let me do it again! What can I do if I come? Do you think I can single-handedly pacify this world?"

You have no idea how despicable that bastard Su Mu is!

Du Rongcheng muttered under his breath, "In war, envoys are not to be killed, but that bastard Su Mu may not follow that rule."

"You sent me to issue a challenge? Su Mu would be more likely to kill me!"

Du Rongcheng was on the verge of tears. He had finally managed to escape back to the Great Qian Dynasty, but after being punished, he was sent to this mortal world, supposedly to make amends for his past mistakes.

Last time he came, he failed to subdue the Heavenly Venerable Jue Tian and even lost the Heavenly Net Umbrella. This time, he has only one mission: to issue a challenge to the Saha World.

“Order them to submit to the Great Qian Dynasty, otherwise the Great Qian Dynasty’s army will descend and leave no one alive in this world.”

Du Rongcheng muttered to himself, "Isn't this just blatantly provoking them?"

I don't know about others, but that bastard Su Mu definitely wouldn't agree.

"Those guys in the imperial court have really lost their minds; how could they come up with such an idea!"

Looking around, Du Rongcheng felt a headache coming on.

This Saha world is different from their Great Qian Dynasty; it is not a unified dynasty.

As far as he knew, the Yin and Yang realms of the Saha world were the two major forces, and in addition, the Yang realm alone had countless forces.

In other words, there is no one who has the final say in this world.

To whom should he send this challenge?

Although Su Mu is the Lord of Yang, he cannot decide the fate of the Saha World.

I've heard that there's another Ruins Lord in the Ruins Realm, but even he can't decide what happens in the Yang Realm of the Saha World.

"It's really troublesome."

Du Rongcheng muttered, "I must have been crazy back then. Why did I want to get involved in the affairs of this world?"

Our Great Qian Dynasty rules countless worlds. Wouldn't it be easier for me to simply choose any world and become its ruler than to expand our territory like this?

"Forget it, I might as well just send this challenge to everyone."

Du Rongcheng's eyes darted around, and he came up with a brilliant idea.

Soon after, news spread throughout the region.

The Great Qian Dynasty has issued an order that the Saha World must submit within a limited time, or the Great Qian Dynasty's army will descend and leave no one alive in the Saha World!
Some people dismissed this news as nonsense, while others thought it was a prank.

But some people realized that danger was approaching.

A middle-aged man walked through the bustling city, talking to himself in a voice only he could hear.

"Has the Great Qian Dynasty finally lost its patience? Unfortunately, my current strength is still a bit lacking. It seems I need to speed things up."

He muttered to himself, "Perhaps I should put more pressure on that kid."

He looked up at the city before him.

"The Nine Gates of the Yang Realm are a bit too much of an eyesore."

He whispered, and lightly stepped down.

Boom!

In an instant, the sky collapsed and the earth cracked, and a huge fissure appeared on the ground.

Amidst the earth-shaking tremors, the massive pass, built with countless manpower and resources, collapsed in full view of everyone.

In an instant, angry shouts and screams echoed throughout the city.

The middle-aged man had already disappeared.

On almost the same day, earthquakes struck all nine gates of the mortal realm, causing the destruction of cities and the loss of lives.

By the time the Celestial Venerables of the Yang Realm arrived, all nine gates of the Yang Realm had been reduced to ruins.

"Who is it?"

Lei Tianzun stared at the ruins, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

Qi Lingyun, Gu Tianzun, Zeng Tianzun, and the others also looked extremely grim.

They split into two groups to track down the murderer who killed Zhu Tianzun.

As expected, they all came up empty-handed.

Unexpectedly, not only was the murderer not found, but their home was also ransacked.

They absolutely do not believe that the person who destroyed the Nine Gates of the Yang Realm has no connection with the murderer who killed Zhu Tianzun.

Even they hadn't expected the other party to be so arrogant, directly destroying all nine gates of the Yang Realm.

What is his motive for doing this?

Ancient Celestial Venerable said in a deep voice, "Celestial Thief, you know the Thousand-Faced Buddha best. Tell us, what is his purpose in doing this?"
If Zhu Tianzun was killed because he discovered some secret of his, then what did the Nine Gates of the Yang Realm have to do with him?
What benefit would he gain from destroying the nine gates of the mortal realm?

"Who am I asking you to ask me?"

The Thief Celestial said helplessly, "I did fight the Thousand-Faced Buddha before, but I've never even seen his true face. How would I know why he did this?"

"Although I don't know why he did this, logically speaking, if the Nine Gates of the Yang Realm are destroyed, who will benefit the most?"

He Tianzun pondered.

He has made a lot of progress recently and has started to use conspiratorial thinking to consider problems.

"You mean, the Ruins Realm?"

Qi Lingyun said, "The nine gates of the Yang Realm were built to defend against the Void Realm. Their destruction benefits the Void Realm the most. Without the nine gates to defend it, the Void Realm can easily invade the Yang Realm."

Could it be that the Thousand-Faced Buddha has colluded with the Void Realm?

"But didn't Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, deny it before? Didn't he deny that the death of Zhu Tianzun was related to them? Given Zhu Tongtian's status as the Lord of the Void Beasts, there's no need for him to lie to us, is there?"

"That's what the Heavenly Thief said."

"I don't know, I'm just saying it's possible."

He Tianzun shook his head and said.

"It's useless to just speculate here."

Su Mu spoke slowly.

He had already emerged from the pass when the nine passes were destroyed.

However, he was disturbed when he left the seclusion, and the Mirror of the Heart was only half-forged.

"Whether he is the Thousand-Faced Buddha or not, we'll find him and ask him."

Su Mu said in a deep voice, "The opponent has already made their move; now is the time for us to retaliate."

From this moment on, all of you will protect me.

Once I have crafted the Mirror of the Heart, the Thousand-Faced God and Buddha will have nowhere to hide!

"We just received news that Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts, has emerged from seclusion and has even forcefully killed Shenhou Tianzun."

Ning Hongchen leaned closer to Su Mu and whispered, "I'm worried that it might break the agreement and send out troops ahead of schedule."

Now that we've lost the Nine Passes and our brothers in the Taiping Division have suffered heavy casualties, shouldn't we put the weapon forging on hold for now?"

The Void Realm is already worrying enough; to provoke the Thousand-Faced Buddha at this time is really not a good choice.

Su Mu shook his head and said, "It's not us who choose to provoke him now, it's him who is provoking us."

All nine passes have been destroyed. If we don't do something, others will think we're easy to bully.

"However, there have been recent reports that the Great Qian Dynasty has issued an ultimatum to us, saying that if we do not submit within a specified time, they will send troops to our world."

Ning Hongchen said with a worried expression.

"I think if you insist on forging weapons, you might as well forge the Heavenly Weapon first. When the time comes, we can awaken the Great Celestial Venerable and have a powerful ally."

Ning Hongchen said.

He still hadn't forgotten his mission to awaken the Great Celestial Venerable.

Su Mu glanced at Ning Hongchen, hesitated for a long time, but still did not tell Ning Hongchen the fact that the Thousand-Faced Buddha might be the Great Celestial Venerable.

He feared that Ning Hongchen's Dao heart would be shattered if she found out.

Of course, Su Mu doesn't know what the Thousand-Faced Buddha's relationship is with the Great Celestial Venerable.

All of this can only be confirmed after he finds the Thousand-Faced Buddha.

"My mind is made up, you don't need to say anything more."

Su Mu said slowly, "As long as I master the Mirror of the Mind, my strength will also improve. At that time, I will not be weaker than Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts."

As he spoke, a system panel that only he could see appeared before Su Mu's eyes.

Even Su Mu himself couldn't remember how long it had been since he last used the system panel.

Perhaps it was after he achieved the Great Perfection of his Eight-Nine Mysterious Skill.

In fact, Su Mu had not only not used the system panel for a long time, but he had also not fought anyone for a long time.

After achieving the Great Perfection of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Techniques, his combat power was comparable to that of a Heavenly Venerable.

There are very few forces in the world that can threaten him.

Furthermore, he currently maintains a good relationship with all the Heavenly Venerables in the Yang Realm, so he doesn't usually need to take action.

Moreover, after achieving the Great Perfection of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Techniques, Su Mu's cultivation had reached the peak of the Heavenly Fate Realm.

The next step is the Celestial Venerable Realm.

The Celestial Venerable Realm is not a state that can be reached through cultivation; it is more like a position.

There are only so many Heavenly Venerables in the Yang Realm; for every one who dies, one more is added.

There is currently a vacancy for the position of Heavenly Venerable in the Yang Realm. If Su Mu wants to become a Heavenly Venerable, he can do so at any time.

However, Su Mu has been suppressing his cultivation level and has not improved.

The reason for this is the restriction placed on the Celestial Venerable.

Once one becomes a Celestial Venerable, one will be subject to the constraints of the Heavenly Dao and bear the mission of a Celestial Venerable.

This is a fact that Su Mu cannot accept.

He has cultivated for so long in order to be able to control his own destiny, so how could he possibly hand over his destiny to the so-called Heavenly Dao?
He cultivated diligently not to serve the Heavenly Dao like a slave.

Freedom was priceless to him.

He has been seeking a new path to enhance his strength.

He had previously pinned his hopes on the Chaos Catalogue.

Unfortunately, he never managed to collect all nine pieces of the Chaos Diagram.

Therefore, breakthroughs in cultivation levels have remained stagnant for a long time.

Until Zhu Tianzun died this time.

He discovered the needle on Zhu Tianzun's body and deduced a new weapon-forging technique from it.

This new weapon-making technique also brought him unexpected joy.

He actually managed to comprehend a martial arts technique from it.

This martial arts technique allows him to advance his cultivation, which has been stagnant for a long time, and bypass the constraints of the Heavenly Dao.

That's why Su Mu was able to confidently say that after his breakthrough, he wouldn't be weaker than Zhu Tongtian, the Lord of the Void Beasts.

"The system panel hasn't been updated in a long time. The points I've accumulated over this long period of time can finally be put to good use."

Su Mu thought to himself, "Now let me see what kind of realm this self-comprehended 'Unity of Heaven and Man' technique can take me to!" (End of Chapter)