The First Marquis of Daxuan

Who are you calling an ant?

With that sound, the waterfall of lightning in the sky vanished like a whirlwind, and the last wisp of lightning actually entered Su Mu's body.

Su Mu carried Luo Anning step by step, and this scene caused all the Celestial Venerables to subconsciously stop what they were doing.

"I--"

The Celestial Venerable who had just wanted to kill Dongfang Liuyun looked at Su Mu's expressionless face and felt an indescribable fear well up in his heart.

"Keep your eyes peeled and see who the real ants are!"

Before Su Mu could finish speaking, his figure had already vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Heavenly Venerable.

boom!
Su Mu landed a punch on the Heavenly Venerable's chest, and the Heavenly Venerable's chest visibly caved in.

The Heavenly Venerable roared and his figure shot backward.

He retreated extremely quickly, but Su Mu was even faster.

In the blink of an eye, countless bolts of lightning spread from Su Mu's body. The lightning, like chains, instantly bound the Heavenly Venerable's limbs and forcibly pulled him in front of Su Mu.

"No! Save me!"

The Heavenly Venerable roared.

Then his voice abruptly stopped.

A strange aura emanated from Su Mu, and then he struck the Heavenly Venerable on the head with a palm.

A visible vortex appeared in Su Mu's palm. Everyone only saw a point of light fly out from the top of the Heavenly Venerable's head and disappear into the vortex in Su Mu's palm.

Then the Heavenly Venerable completely lost his breath.

boom!
It wasn't until the Heavenly Venerable's corpse crashed heavily to the ground that the other Heavenly Venerables finally reacted.

Three tricks.

Su Mu killed a Celestial Venerable in just three moves?
Damn!

He Tianzun, Dao Tianzun, and other Tianzun cursed inwardly, "That bastard Su Mu has gotten stronger again!"
Although he had strength comparable to a Celestial Venerable before, he could never have killed a Celestial Venerable so easily.

How did that bastard manage to do that?
Even those who witnessed this scene firsthand couldn't figure out how Su Mu had done it.

All they saw was that Su Mu used some special method to extract the soul of the Heavenly Venerable.

If the soul is killed, leaving only the physical body, then death is inevitable.

But under normal circumstances, how stable is the Celestial Venerable's soul?
Who can shatter the Celestial Venerable's soul without harming his physical body?
Even the Great Celestial Venerable might not be able to do that.

How exactly did Shetland Sheepdog manage to do that?

In an instant, all the Celestial Venerables felt a sense of dread.

Although Su Mu had a record of killing a Heavenly Venerable in the past, there were too many accidental factors involved.

Moreover, all the Celestial Venerables have greatly increased their strength after joining the Great Chu Dynasty, and they do not think they can defeat Su Mu.

Before they came here, each of them was full of confidence.

This cannot be blamed on them; their strength has indeed increased significantly, and those Heavenly Venerables who have not joined the Great Chu Dynasty are no longer taken seriously by them.

But now, everyone's thinking has changed.

They have become stronger, but it seems that Su Mu has also become stronger, and by a greater extent than they have.

They couldn't even figure out how Su Mu had killed the Celestial Venerable.

Putting themselves in Su Mu's shoes, if they had faced that attack, they wouldn't have been very confident of withstanding it either.

The main problem is that they couldn't understand it at all.

This is the most deadly.

How can we respond if we don't know what the enemy's attack looks like?
"Aren't you leaving yet? Do you want to end up like him?"

Su Mu looked at He Tianzun and the others, and spoke coldly.

"I don't want to kill any more people today, consider yourself lucky."

Go back and tell the Great Celestial Venerable to know when to stop, otherwise, if everyone fights to the death, he might not even gain anything!

Su Mu took a step forward.

He Tianzun and the other celestial beings subconsciously took a step back, and everyone's expression turned extremely ugly.

Despite having so many people, they were so frightened by Su Mu that they took a step back.

If this gets out, where will these Celestial Venerables put their faces?

However, the enemy situation is unclear, and rashly taking action may not necessarily bring any advantage.

They also suspected that Su Mu was bluffing, but whether to gamble or not, that was the question.

The celestial beings exchanged glances, their eyes quickly conveying their message.

An agreement was reached shortly thereafter.

There is no need to gamble.

Their Great Chu Dynasty held an absolute advantage, so there was no need for them to fight Su Mu to the death here.

We'll find a way to find out Su Mu's true background later, and then we'll have plenty of ways to wipe them out.

"let's go!"

"He Tianzun said in a deep voice, and took the lead in soaring into the sky."

The other celestial beings also rose up and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The Celestial Venerables were not hot-blooded young men; since they had already lost face, they naturally wouldn't utter any more harsh words.

Making threats now will only humiliate you and won't achieve anything.

Su Mu stood tall and proud until all the Celestial Venerables disappeared. Only then did he open his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood, his aura visibly weakening.

"Su Mu!"

Lei Tianzun, Qi Lingyun, Mao Jiu and the others changed their expressions and rushed to Su Mu's side.

They were all injured, but in their hearts, Su Mu's situation was more important.

The Heavenly Venerables of the Great Chu Dynasty were clearly there to sabotage Su Mu's breakthrough.

They fought desperately just now, all to protect Su Mu.

Everyone has given it their all, but it's still unknown whether Su Mu has successfully broken through.

If Su Mu is affected and his breakthrough ends prematurely, wouldn't all their efforts have been in vain?

"Are you OK?"

Everyone gathered around Su Mu and asked him questions.

At this moment, a whooshing sound came from afar, as people from the Great Xuan Dynasty arrived to provide support.

Seeing the army of the Great Xuan Dynasty arrive, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In this way, even if the Heavenly Venerables of the Great Chu Dynasty return, there is nothing to fear.

Even if Su Mu is unable to make another move, with a large army present, they can still put up a fight against the enemy.

"fine."

Su Mu shook his head and said slowly, "I barely managed to make a move just now, and I didn't control my strength well."

He took a few deep breaths, and his complexion regained its rosy hue.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"you--"

Zhu Tongtian was extremely anxious and couldn't help but ask, "Chaos Diagram, did you succeed?"

"The Chaos Diagram is profound and extensive, and I dare not say that I can fully comprehend it."

Su Mu shook his head and said, "I wouldn't dare call it a success, but I have indeed learned something from it, and I guess I've taken a small step forward."

"Took a step forward?"

Zhu Tongtian's face lit up with joy.

What would it mean for someone with Su Mu's cultivation level to take another step forward?
You must understand that once you reach their level of cultivation, it is extremely difficult to improve even the slightest bit.

Taking a step forward is not just a casual remark.

Only when groundbreaking progress has been made can one say that they have taken a step forward.

With Su Mu's current cultivation level, taking that first step would mean he has truly reached the Heavenly Venerable realm.

But Su Mu clearly did not achieve the status of a Celestial Venerable.

That can only mean that Su Mu has taken a step on a completely new path.

Not a Celestial Venerable, but comparable to a Celestial Venerable.

Furthermore, considering Su Mu's recent act of killing the Celestial Venerable, Zhu Tongtian was certain that Su Mu had definitely found a powerful path.

Isn't this exactly what they've been hoping for?

"Can we—"

Zhu Tongtian said somewhat impatiently.

"No."

Su Mu shook his head and said.

"The path I've come to understand is only suitable for myself. Even if I pass it on to you, you won't be able to cultivate it."

Zhu Tongtian and Li Tianzun both frowned.

"Is there really absolutely no possibility?"

Zhu Tongtian asked, unwilling to give up.

It didn't doubt that Su Mu was lying to it, because it had already suspected it.

Just as Li Tianzun cannot walk his path, Su Mu's path may also be one he cannot traverse.

But it was unwilling to accept it.

It tried to comprehend the Chaos Diagram, but it couldn't really understand anything.

"Although you can't follow my path, I have ways to help you improve your strength."

Su Mu said slowly, "Moreover, I can resolve the Heavenly Venerable missions that bind you."

The following sentence was spoken by Su Mu to Lei Tianzun, Li Tianzun, and others.

Lei Tianzun, Qi Lingyun, and the others immediately showed great joy on their faces.

They chose to stand by Su Mu's side because Su Mu promised to help them resolve the Heavenly Venerable mission they were burdened with.

In fact, Su Mu had done it before.

By using chaotic divine weapons to obscure the secrets of heaven and make the Heavenly Dao forget their existence, the Heavenly Venerable's mission would naturally be eliminated.

However, that method has serious flaws.

Once they use the Chaos Divine Weapon, they will lose the power of the Celestial Venerable.

Later, Su Mu continued to search for the Chaos Record, one of his purposes being to perfect the Chaos Void Heaven Law.

Lei Tianzun, Qi Lingyun, Mao Jiu, and others all knew this.

Now that Su Mu says he can resolve the Heavenly Venerable mission on them, it's naturally not using the flawed methods of the past.

This means that Su Mu has perfected the Chaos Void Heaven Technique!
This was the first time Li Tianzun had heard of the existence of the Chaos Divine Weapon, and he looked at Zhu Tongtian with some surprise.

"Zhu Tongtian, you said the Path of the Celestial Venerable has flaws, so what do you say now?"
With Su Mu's help, I will no longer be subject to the will of Heaven!

Li Tianzun said excitedly, "There is never a wrong path. Even if there is, it's only because you're too incompetent!"

"Look, now, hasn't our path become the right one?"

Zhu Tongtian looked somewhat dazed.

This was indeed unexpected.

The biggest flaw of the Path to Heavenly Venerable is that it is subject to the Heavenly Dao. If Su Mu can really solve this problem, it will be equivalent to solving the biggest flaw of the Path to Heavenly Venerable.

No wonder Heaven sent down a lightning tribulation to destroy Su Mu.

Su Mu has really undermined the Heavenly Dao.

“Even if you can resolve the Celestial Venerable’s mission, it will be a dead end for you. You will not be able to become stronger,” Zhu Tongtian said.

“Su Mu, you tell him whether we can continue to grow stronger on this path. He Tianzun and Dao Tianzun can do it, so there’s no reason why we can’t.”

Li Tianzun said confidently.

"Continuing to become stronger is certainly possible."

Su Mu said slowly, "Didn't I just say that I have a way to further improve your strength?"

Zhu Tongtian: "..."

It was a little resentful, but ultimately it was a good thing.

"No wonder even the Heavenly Dao couldn't stand it anymore. Just how much have you comprehended from the Chaos Record?"

Zhu Tongtian couldn't help but say.

"Not much, but enough for now."

Su Mu smiled faintly and said.

…………

"No, Su Mu is definitely bluffing. Even if he has made a breakthrough, he still can't possibly defeat so many of us. If we had all rushed at him, we would have definitely killed him!"

The Heavenly Thief stopped and couldn't help but speak.

"What you're saying is all nonsense."

He Tianzun also stopped and said, "We all know that Su Mu is bluffing, but do you dare to make a move?"

That's right. With so many of us Celestial Venerables working together, we'll definitely be able to kill him in the end.

But undeniably, with his abilities, he could certainly drag one or two of us down with him.

Would you like to be one of those one or two?

All the celestial beings fell silent.

That's why they chose to stop just now.

Nobody wants to be the unlucky one who dies at Su Mu's hands.

The Heavenly Venerable cherishes life.

"What is certain now is that Su Mu, like Zhu Tongtian, possesses the strength to kill a Heavenly Venerable."

He Tianzun said in a deep voice, "We have already missed the best opportunity to kill him."

It's no longer realistic to behead the Great Xuan Dynasty. What we can do is annihilate it completely. Once only one he's left, he won't be able to cause any more trouble.

Su Mu may be strong on his own, but the struggle for the world cannot be won by the strength of one person alone.

Even a powerful Celestial Venerable had to recruit them in the end.
Su Mu alone could not possibly support the Great Xuan Dynasty.

"The Great Xuan Dynasty has formed an alliance with the Azure Sky Sect and the Void Beast Royal Court. If we attack one, the other two will not stand idly by."

One of the Celestial Venerables said in a deep voice, "If we want to unify the Saha World before the Great Celestial Venerable emerges from seclusion, we still need to plan carefully."

"Let's send out the main force to test the waters first. If we can defeat their three-way alliance in one fell swoop, then we won't have to worry so much."

Another Celestial Venerable spoke.

…………

The Great Xuan Dynasty.

Su Mu frowned.

"Is this all there is in the Great Xuan's treasury?"

He looked at Emperor Xuan, Li Chuan, and the others, and spoke.

"That's already quite a lot."

Emperor Xuan, Li Chuan, said with a wry smile, "You don't know the cost of firewood and rice when you're not in charge of the household. The situation of our Great Xuan Dynasty is not good at all right now."

We migrated from foreign lands, and after years of recuperation and building up our strength, we encountered the Great Chu Dynasty.

After a series of battles, the national treasury was already empty.

Although our territory still spans tens of thousands of miles, we can only truly control seven or eight thousand miles of it.

Emperor Xuan, Li Chuan, gave Su Mu a breakdown of the costs and benefits.

The Great Xuan Dynasty now has three million troops, and the daily consumption of food and supplies for its people and horses is an astronomical figure.

The Great Xuan Dynasty is now scrimping and saving from top to bottom, which is barely enough to maintain its three million-strong army.

Unfortunately, these three million troops cannot be disbanded.

They are currently locked in a standoff with the Great Chu Dynasty, and their three million troops are still not enough.

If they had the financial resources, they would actually want to expand their army.

Su Mu's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

This was truly the first time he had seriously studied the financial situation of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Previously, he had entrusted these matters to Emperor Xuan, Li Chuan, and Dongfang Liuyun.

In fact, he had brought back considerable wealth on several occasions, which truly made the Great Xuan Dynasty live a prosperous life.

But Su Mu alone could not possibly support such a large country.

In addition, Su Mu had previously consumed a large number of rare and precious materials in order to refine three hundred and sixty divine weapons of destiny.

"If all else fails, we can borrow from the Azure Sky Sect and the Void Beast King's Court."

Tu Shan Hanyu said, "I've calculated that the situation of the Azure Sky Sect and the Void Beast King's Court should be a little better than ours."

"It's not much better."

Su Mu shook his head and said, "If our three-party alliance really reaches a point where we can't make ends meet, then we can ask them for help. But it's not that time yet."

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Where is Du Rongcheng?"

"He's been waiting for you, saying he has something important to discuss with you."

"Dongfang Liuyun said."

They were saved by Du Rongcheng's sudden appearance.

Therefore, this time they brought Du Rongcheng back to the Great Xuan Dynasty as a distinguished guest.

"You guys go ahead and get busy. I'll figure out the resources. Liu Yun, call Du Rongcheng over here."

Su Mu waved his hand and said.

Emperor Xuan, Li Chuan, Tu Shan Hanyu, and the others withdrew in response.

A moment later, Du Rongcheng came to Su Mu's side.

Without saying a word, he slapped a storage bracelet in front of Su Mu.

"What do you mean by this? Are you trying to bribe me?"

Su Mu glanced at the storage bracelet and immediately saw that it was filled with all sorts of rare and precious materials, worth at least ten million high-grade spirit stones.

"If you can be bribed, forget about all this, I'll give you ten times more."

Du Rongcheng said, "Consider these a small gift."

"This isn't the first time we've met, so why are you suddenly giving me a gift?"

Su Mu said calmly.

"I'm just saying that the situation in your Great Xuan Dynasty isn't very good, isn't it?"
Moreover, I obtained these things from the Void Beasts by tricking them into following your instructions.

These were the things I promised to give you.

Du Rongcheng waved his hand with an air of grandeur and said.

"Alright, you didn't come back all of a sudden just to bring me a gift, did you?"

Su Mu put away the storage bracelets. These could indeed solve the urgent problem for the Great Xuan Dynasty, so he didn't refuse them out of politeness.

Since I already owe Du Rongcheng a favor, it doesn't matter if I owe him a little more.

Su Mu was confident that he could afford to pay it back.

"Speak, you've already returned to Daqian, so why have you suddenly come back now?"

Su Mu slowly said, "You can see my current situation. I am no longer the Lord of the Yang Realm, and the Great Xuan Dynasty is now just barely clinging to life."

"I saw."

Du Rongcheng nodded, "I saw with my own eyes that you killed a Celestial Venerable in just three moves!"

"That was just a coincidence. The Celestial Venerable is not so easy to kill."

Su Mu replied noncommittally.

"I didn't want to come back either. I came back this time on orders. Our Emperor wants me to investigate the current strength of the Great Celestial Venerable."

"How could I possibly be qualified to test the Great Celestial Venerable's abilities? I have no choice but to ask you for help."

Du Rongcheng sighed and said.

"Du Rongcheng, I've always been curious. With your family background, you should have plenty of good jobs in the Great Qian Dynasty. Why do you keep risking your life to come to our world?"

And why would your dad let you take on a mission that's clearly just cannon fodder?
Could it be that the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty has a problem with your father?

Su Mu asked in confusion.

Testing the Great Celestial Venerable's strength is not just courting death, it's certain death.

Even Su Mu is not confident that he can test the strength of the Great Celestial Venerable. Du Rongcheng is just a minor Celestial Fate Realm cultivator, yet the Great Qian Emperor sent him to carry out this mission. Isn't this deliberately trying to kill him?

"You don't understand the situation of our Great Qian Dynasty."

Du Rongcheng sighed and said, "His Majesty has no problem with my father. This mission was secured for me by my father."

If I can conquer the Saha World, then I can enter the Dragon Vein of my Great Qian Dynasty to cultivate. At that time, let alone breaking through to the Heavenly Venerable Realm, even the realm above the Heavenly Venerable Realm will be within my grasp.

Countless people are eyeing this opportunity, so no matter how difficult it is, I have to do it.

"The Great Qian Dragon Vein?"

Su Mu's face showed a thoughtful expression.

"Don't ask about the specifics, I can't tell you even if you do."

Du Rongcheng said, "I can only tell you that it is an unparalleled holy land for cultivation. As far as I know, every Dao Source Realm expert above the Heavenly Venerable level in our Great Qian Dynasty has cultivated in the Great Qian Dragon Vein."

"Su Mu, with your talent and strength, if you were willing to bring the Saha World to join the Great Qian Dynasty, His Majesty would certainly grant you permission to cultivate within the Dragon Vein."

"Dao Yuan? That's a realm above the Heavenly Venerable?"

Su Mu neither agreed nor refused, but instead pondered and asked.

"That's right. In our Great Qian Dynasty, above the Heavenly Venerable is the Source of the Dao, and above the Source of the Dao is the Ultimate Dao."

However, I have never seen such a powerful person.

Du Rongcheng casually said, "How about it? Why don't you join Daqian? Bringing you into Daqian would be a great achievement for me."

"Then we'll cultivate together in the Dragon Vein. Once we break through to the Dao Source Realm, what will a mere Great Celestial Venerable be? We can annihilate him with a flick of our wrist!"

Du Rongcheng looked on with anticipation.

"The source of the Dao, the ultimate Dao..."

Su Mu pondered for the first time, realizing the realms above the Heavenly Venerable.

In fact, it seems he skipped the Celestial Venerable Realm and directly reached the Dao Source Realm.

Su Mu glanced at Du Rongcheng and understood why Du Rongcheng, who was only at the Heavenly Fate Realm, was sent by his father to carry out the mission.

Presumably, his father also wanted him to break through directly from the Heavenly Fate Realm to the Dao Source Realm.

So, the Great Qian Dragon Vein can allow martial artists to advance directly from the Heavenly Fate Realm to the Dao Source Realm?

Su Mu thought about it more and more and felt that this was possible, otherwise Du Rongcheng's father would not have let him take the risk.

"We'll talk about joining the Great Qian Dynasty later. After all, I'm all alone now, so there's not much point in joining the Great Qian Dynasty. If I can unify the Saha World and bring the entire Saha World to join the Great Qian Dynasty, then I can show my greatest value."

Su Mu said slowly, "If you can help me defeat the Great Celestial Venerable..."

"Help you defeat the Great Celestial Venerable? You think too highly of me."

Du Rongcheng jumped up and interrupted Su Mu, saying, "I just wanted you to help me determine the strength of the Great Celestial Venerable, and you actually want me to help you defeat him?"
Su Mu, can't we be so lacking in self-awareness? (End of Chapter)