The First Marquis of Daxuan

"Self-awareness?"

Su Mu looked at Du Rongcheng with a half-smile, "If you had any self-awareness, you shouldn't have come back."

As martial artists, shouldn't we be doing the impossible?

Fight against heaven, fight against earth, fight against man.

If I were to be self-aware, I would still be a vagrant.

If you have any self-awareness, you're probably just a spoiled brat in the Great Qian Dynasty.

"You are using strong words to make sense."

Du Rongcheng said irritably, "Is that what I meant?"

You should know better than I that we are no match for the Great Celestial Venerable right now, and the idea of ​​killing him is utterly absurd.

"Aren't you very clear about this?"

Su Mu said calmly, "Go back and tell your father and your emperor that the Great Celestial Venerable's cultivation is at least at the Dao Source Realm. In that case, your mission will be complete."

Du Rongcheng: "..."

That's right, his mission was indeed to test the Great Celestial Venerable's true strength.

But isn't this a bit too hasty?

"He might not be at the Dao Source Realm; what if he's at the Dao Extreme Realm?"

Du Rongcheng muttered.

"Then you should say he is at the pinnacle of the Dao realm."

Su Mu replied dismissively, "The stronger you portray him, the more powerful your Great Qian Dynasty will send to deal with him, right? Wouldn't that be a good thing for you?"

"It's not what you think."

Du Rongcheng said with a wry smile, "Although our Great Qian Dynasty has many experts, they are all on missions and cannot spare any manpower to deal with the Great Celestial Venerable."

Otherwise, do you think our Great Qian Dynasty would need me to test it again and again?

"We sent our strongest warriors to crush you long ago."

Although the Great Qian Dynasty had an infinite territory, a large territory also meant more enemies.

Dao Origin Realm and Dao Extreme Realm are considered powerful figures in the Great Qian Dynasty, and they are not so easily dispatched.

Although Du Rongcheng's words were vague, Su Mu still understood the meaning behind them.

The situation of the Great Qian Dynasty is probably not as good as he boasted.

However, this is actually a good thing for the Saha world.

If the Great Qian Dynasty could truly spare the resources to deal with the Saha World, that would be a real problem.

The Great Qian Dynasty may not be any good people, and they may not be any better than the Great Celestial Venerable.

"Only when I determine the Great Celestial Venerable's cultivation level can His Majesty decide who to send to help me."

Du Rongcheng said solemnly, "It's not something I can just say randomly. If I said that the Great Celestial Venerable is at the Dao Extreme Realm, His Majesty might just give up on this Saha World."

Wouldn't I end up with nothing after all my efforts?

"Is the Dao Realm very strong? Even the emperor of your Great Qian Dynasty is wary of it?"

Su Mu asked curiously.

"Isn't that obvious? You yourself possess the power of a Celestial Venerable-level expert. Do you think a Celestial Venerable is strong or not?"

Even a powerful Celestial Venerable is no more than a child in front of a Dao Origin Realm cultivator.

Even someone as powerful as the Dao Origin Realm is like a child in front of the Dao Extreme Realm.

How strong is the Extreme Realm?

"To tell you the truth, even our Great Qian Dynasty only has a mere nine Dao Realm experts, known as the Nine Extremes."

Du Rongcheng said, "To put it bluntly, even my father would bow and scrape like a grandson when he met the Nine Great Masters of our Great Qian Dynasty."

Du Rongcheng was quite adept at belittling his father.

Su Mu's face showed a thoughtful expression, and he gained a deeper understanding of the Dao Source Realm and the Dao Extreme Realm.

The Great Qian Dynasty possessed an infinite territory, yet with such resources, it could only support nine Dao Extreme Realm experts. One can imagine how terrifying an expert at this level must be.

"Du Rongcheng, how many Dao Origin Realm cultivators does your Great Qian Dynasty have?"

Su Mu asked curiously.

There are more people in the Dao Origin Realm than in the Dao Extreme Realm.

Du Rongcheng said, "Basically, the governors in charge of guarding a world are all at the Dao Origin Realm. Our Great Qian Dynasty now controls eighty-one worlds."

Every world is no less than your Saha world.

Su Mu nodded; that was exactly what he had thought.

The fact that Du Rongcheng's father sent him to subdue the Saha World is most likely to pave the way for Du Rongcheng to break through to the Dao Source Realm.

Eighty-one worlds, at least eighty-one Dao Origin Realm cultivators—the Great Qian Dynasty is truly terrifyingly powerful.

Compared to the Great Qian Dynasty, his Great Xuan was simply a tiny, insignificant country.

"The Great Celestial Venerable is currently in seclusion, so figuring out his background is quite troublesome."

Su Mu pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, you help me deal with his Great Chu Dynasty."

If the Great Chu Dynasty could be brought to the brink of destruction, the Great Celestial Venerable would certainly intervene.

Wouldn't that have allowed us to find out his true colors?

"You want me to fight in your place?"

Du Rongcheng said irritably, "I was bossed around in the Great Qian Dynasty, and I'm still being bossed around in this world. What am I doing here?"
"Su Mu, don't even think about making me work like a slave for you!"

"The way you put it, we're at most in a cooperative relationship."

Su Mu smiled slightly and said, "If you don't mind, we can be considered friends. Isn't it only natural for friends to form alliances and help each other?"

"I'll help you probe the Great Celestial Venerable's true strength, and you help me deal with the Great Chu Dynasty. We each get what we want."

"I don't look down on you. With your talent, you're more than qualified to be my friend."

Du Rongcheng pursed his lips and said, "But even if I wanted to help you, it wouldn't make any difference."

You know my cultivation level; I'm just a Heavenly Fate Realm cultivator.

"Besides, I've already used up all the trump cards my father gave me. Now, at most, I can help you deal with one or two Heavenly Fate Realm cultivators."

"That's enough to deal with one or two people at the Heavenly Fate Realm."

Su Mu said with a smile.

Du Rongcheng is definitely not telling the truth. His father sent him here to break through to the Dao Source Realm, not to die. How could he not leave him some trump cards?
As long as Du Rongcheng is kept in Daxuan, he will naturally play a significant role in crucial moments.

Putting aside everything else, Su Mu would have had no idea about the concepts of Dao Origin Realm and Dao Extreme Realm if it weren't for Du Rongcheng.

"Originally, since you saved Dongfang Liuyun and the others this time, I should have thanked you properly."

Su Mu said seriously, "However, as you can see, our Great Xuan is currently in dire financial straits."

"Alright, I'll return the Heavenly Net Umbrella to you."

The Heavenly Net Umbrella was something Su Mu had previously obtained from Du Rongcheng.

By now, the Heavenly Net Umbrella can only offer limited help to Su Mu; it's more suitable for bribing Du Rongcheng.

"Furthermore, I promise you that if there is an opportunity in the future, I will personally forge a weapon for you that is no less powerful than the Heavenly Net Umbrella. It will be a divine weapon tailor-made for you, Du Rongcheng, and it will definitely make your father look at you in a new light!"

Su Mu made the promise without any hesitation.

"You know what, your weapon-forging skills are actually not much worse than my father's."

Du Rongcheng was overjoyed and said, "It's settled then, so don't go back on your word later!"

"By the way, speaking of the Heavenly Net Umbrella, I just remembered someone."

Du Rongcheng took the Heavenly Net Umbrella from Su Mu, then suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "If we want to deal with the Great Celestial Venerable, this person is a good helper."

My father once told me that if there is anyone in the Saha world who can break through to the Dao Source Realm, that person must be Jue Tianzun!

Of course, my father has never met you, otherwise he would definitely say that there are two people in the Saha world who can break through to the Dao Source Realm.

Even so, Jue Tianzun is definitely not to be underestimated.

When I first arrived in the Saha World, I originally wanted to persuade the Heavenly Venerable Jue Tianzun to help me, but unfortunately I encountered you—”

Speaking of which, Du Rongcheng first met Su Mu at Jue Tianzun's place.

It was also because Su Mu interfered that Du Rongcheng lost the Heavenly Net Umbrella that he originally intended to use to bribe Jue Tianzun.

Of course, all of this is in the past, and Du Rongcheng no longer resents Su Mu.

"If we can persuade the Heavenly Venerable Jue to help us, we will definitely have a better chance of facing the Great Heavenly Venerable in the future."

Du Rongcheng said with certainty.

"You couldn't persuade Jue Tianzun back then, so how can you be sure you can persuade him now?"

Su Mu pondered for a moment.

"Of course I can't, but you can."

Du Rongcheng said confidently, "If you want to, you can definitely persuade Jue Tianzun. I believe in you."

"You seem to have a lot of confidence in me."

Su Mu chuckled to himself.

However, he also began to seriously consider this issue.

Jue Tianzun was once known as the number one Heavenly Venerable in the Yang Realm. Even Lei Tianzun, who was as proud as he was, admitted that his strength was inferior to that of Jue Tianzun.

Before the appearance of the Great Celestial Venerable, the Absolute Celestial Venerable was recognized as the number one in the Yang Realm, and could even be said to be the number one in the Saha World.

If they could get Jue Tianzun to stand on the side of the Great Xuan Dynasty, they would indeed have more confidence when facing the Great Chu Dynasty.

"Back then, your father asked you to invite Jue Tianzun to help you. Why did he think Jue Tianzun would help you?"
He doesn't actually think that the mighty Jue Tianzun would become your ally for a mere Heavenly Net Umbrella, does he?

Su Mu pondered for a moment and asked.

"of course not."

Du Rongcheng shook his head and said, "The Heavenly Net Umbrella is just a greeting gift. My father's real condition is to help him break through to the Dao Source Realm."

"understood."

Su Mu said thoughtfully.

This makes sense.

Convincing someone like the Celestial Venerable is no easy task, but if it's someone who has broken through to the Dao Source Realm, then it's completely understandable.

The martial arts of the Saha World only go up to the Heavenly Venerable Realm. Previously, the Absolute Heavenly Venerable had always wanted to comprehend a new path from the Chaos Diagram, but it is clear that he has not succeeded over the years.

If someone promised to help him break through to the Dao Source Realm, then Jue Tianzun would probably be willing to do anything.

To be honest, why was the Great Celestial Venerable able to subdue so many Celestial Venerables?
It wasn't just his unparalleled strength that mattered, but also his ability to help those Celestial Venerables improve their strength.

Who among those who can cultivate to the Heavenly Venerable realm wasn't a chosen one of their own era?

If there is no path above the Heavenly Venerable, that's one thing, but knowing that there is a path above the Heavenly Venerable, who wouldn't want to go further?
"If you can't persuade Jue Tianzun, then defeat him by beating him. I think with your current strength, you should be able to beat him, right?"

Du Rongcheng said, "Let's gamble with him!"
My dad won a bet against him back then, and he even promised to do my dad a favor later.

Do you know where the Celestial Venerable Jue is?

Su Mu nodded and asked thoughtfully.

Since meeting Jue Tianzun atop Nanheng Mountain, Su Mu had not heard any news of him.

Even after the Great Celestial Venerable appeared in the world, there has never been any news of the Absolute Celestial Venerable appearing.

If Du Rongcheng hadn't mentioned Jue Tianzun today, Su Mu would have almost forgotten about Jue Tianzun's existence.

"I know!"

Du Rongcheng chuckled, looking confident, "The Supreme Celestial Venerable is located in the deep mountains three thousand miles away from here."

Su Mu glanced at Du Rongcheng with some surprise, suspecting that Du Rongcheng hadn't thought of Jue Tianzun because of the Heavenly Net Umbrella.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Du Rongcheng has always wanted to turn the Saha World into a vassal of the Great Qian Dynasty, and Jue Tianzun is the person he chose. It's normal for him to pay so much attention to Jue Tianzun's whereabouts.

"There's no time to lose, let's go now."

Su Mu said in a deep voice.

...On an unnamed, desolate mountain.

A middle-aged man sat cross-legged on the mountaintop, his breath completely gone.

He didn't even react when birds landed on his head.

Just then, two figures suddenly descended from the sky.

Hula la.

Birds flew about in a flurry.

Su Mu and Du Rongcheng stopped a few feet away from Jue Tianzun.

"Junior Su Mu greets Heavenly Venerable Jue. I apologize for disturbing your meditation."

Su Mu cupped his hands in greeting and said loudly.

"If you know it's a disturbance, why did you come in the first place?"

Jue Tianzun slowly opened his eyes, and a sharp aura suddenly emanated from him. He slowly spoke.

"The Great Celestial Venerable has appeared in the world and now wants to unify the Saha World. As far as I know, he wants to use the Saha World as a sacrifice to break through to a higher realm. We want to stop him, but our power is limited at the moment, so we would like to ask the Celestial Venerable Jue for help."

Su Mu got straight to the point.

"not interested."

"It's a cold statement from the Supreme Celestial," said the Heavenly Venerable.

Su Mu and Du Rongcheng exchanged a glance.

Just as they had expected, the Heavenly Venerable Jue was completely unyielding.

It seems that we have no other choice but to use that method.

Su Mu raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said slowly, "In that case, I, Su, wish to challenge the Supreme Celestial."

"I have long heard that the Supreme Celestial Venerable is the foremost Celestial Venerable in the Yang Realm. I, Su, previously gained some insights from the Chaos Record, and now I believe my strength is no less than that of a Celestial Venerable. Today, I would like to seek guidance from you, senior."

Swish!
A glint of light flashed in Jue Tianzun's eyes.

He looked at Su Mu, a strong fighting spirit rising from his body.

Chaos Atlas!

Back then, the Celestial Venerable Jue placed a Chaos Chart on the summit of Mount Nanheng, promising that whoever could comprehend anything from it would be given an opportunity.

Jue Tianzun has always been very interested in the Chaos Record.

Under normal circumstances, he might not even pay attention to Su Mu's challenge.

But when Su Mu mentioned the Chaos Record, the Celestial Venerable Jue immediately became interested.

"Take action."

Without saying a word, Jue Tianzun stood up.

The next moment, a soaring aura emanated from him.

Su Mu chuckled to himself.

He's definitely decisive; he'll start a fight if he says he'll.

He waved to Du Rongcheng, signaling him to step back.

Then Su Mu slowly walked forward.

With each step, the earth trembled and shook.

Followed by.

A ray of light burst forth from beneath Su Mu's feet, spreading rapidly across the earth. Wherever it passed, the earth seemed to instantly experience the changing seasons.

Flowers bloom and fade, flowers wither and flowers bloom again.

This incredibly bizarre scene made Jue Tianzun's eyes light up instantly.

"it is good!"

He shouted and raised his hand to blast forward.

Rumble!
The deafening roar echoed through the air.

Du Rongcheng had already retreated several miles away.

He watched Su Mu and Jue Tianzun from afar.

In his eyes, Su Mu and Jue Tianzun stood several feet apart, and did not fight as he had imagined.

The two men simply raised their hands repeatedly, and then a burst of light and a sound rang out between them.

It looked like they were fighting, but this was the first time Du Rongcheng had ever seen a fight like this.

He couldn't even quite understand what the two of them meant.

"Could it be that the two of them are really here to have a friendly martial arts contest? I already said that to deal with someone like Jue Tianzun, you have to beat him into submission."

"If you're too polite, he won't think you're courteous; in fact, he'll look down on you."

Du Rongcheng sighed inwardly.

Although he couldn't understand it, he felt that Su Mu must have held back.

How domineering were those three moves that Su Mu used to kill the Heavenly Venerable?
They should have used those three moves right from the start; even if they couldn't kill Jue Tianzun, they would have scared him to death.

…………

Du Rongcheng couldn't understand Su Mu's move, but Jue Tianzun saw it clearly.

His eyes gleamed with a strange light, and bursts of power constantly erupted from his hands.

The power surged forward like ocean waves, colliding with the power released by Su Mu.

As their forces continued to annihilate each other, it seemed that Su Mu had gained the upper hand.

But instead of showing any sign of frustration, Jue Tianzun became increasingly excited.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Mu suddenly stopped moving.

Jue Tianzun had already formed hand seals and was preparing for another clash of power when Su Mu suddenly stopped.

This made Jue Tianzun feel so uncomfortable that he felt like he was going to vomit blood.

"Why didn't you fight?"

Jue Tianzun looked at Su Mu and frowned.

"The outcome is already decided; there's no need to continue fighting."

Su Mu smiled faintly and said.

Jue Tianzun remained silent for a moment.

"That's right, you won."

"It is the Supreme Celestial Venerable," he said slowly.

An expert can tell whether it is good or not at a glance.

Both of them are among the world's top experts, so they naturally know who will win.

Jue Tianzun was not the kind of shameless person, so naturally he would not refuse to admit defeat after losing.

"You came to find me, not just to defeat me, right? With your current cultivation level, the empty title of number one in the world means nothing to you."

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

"Your insight is truly remarkable."

Su Mu smiled faintly and said, "As I just said, I'm here to invite you to come out of seclusion, senior."

We would like to ask our seniors to join us in fighting against the Great Celestial Venerable.

"If you are willing to come out of seclusion, I am willing to impart to you all the methods of achieving unity between heaven and man that I have comprehended from the Chaos Record."

He has just shown the Dao Source Path to the Supreme Celestial.

Others may not understand it, but someone like Jue Tianzun, who has reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Venerable realm, will definitely be able to understand it.

In fact, with Jue Tianzun's talent, if he had been born in a place like the Great Qian Dynasty, he would probably have already broken through to the Dao Source Realm.

Unfortunately, he was born in the Saha World, where martial arts only go up to the Heavenly Venerable Realm. In a sense, the Heavenly Venerable Realm is both a shortcut and a wrong path.

In the Great Qian Dynasty, only those martial artists with no hope of advancement would choose to become Heavenly Venerables.

True prodigies, after reaching the Heavenly Fate Realm, will skip the Heavenly Venerable Realm and directly choose to break through to the Dao Source Realm.

This is exactly the path that Jue Tianzun is missing.

Now that Su Mu has presented this path to Jue Tianzun, he believes that Jue Tianzun will absolutely not be able to refuse him.

As expected, the Celestial Venerable fell silent.

Su Mu didn't urge him, but just stood there quietly.

Even Du Rongcheng, who was some distance away, was stopped by his eyes when he tried to approach.

The Celestial Venerable remained silent for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before slowly speaking, "You want to kill the Great Celestial Venerable?"

"This choice is not mine, but the Great Celestial Venerable's."

Su Mu shook his head and said in a deep voice.

"The Great Celestial Venerable has made contributions to the martial arts of this realm. If you want to kill him, I will not allow it."

Jue Tianzun said, "If you only want to stop him from sacrificing the Saha World, then I can help you."

This is my hometown, and I don't want to see it destroyed.

"I don't like fighting and killing either."

Su Mu said with a smile, "If the Great Celestial Venerable hadn't been so forceful, I wouldn't have wanted to be his enemy."

"You have already forged your own path."

Jue Tianzun continued, “This path is different from the path of the Great Heavenly Venerable, but I can sense that your path is the truly correct one. Given time, your achievements will surpass those of the Great Heavenly Venerable.”

But right now, even with me included, your strength is still far behind that of the Great Celestial Venerable.

"You've fought against the Great Celestial Venerable?"

Su Mu asked curiously.

He hadn't heard of a battle between the Great Celestial Venerable and the Absolute Celestial Venerable, so he figured it was a private fight between the two of them, witnessed by no one else.

"I've submitted it."

Jue Tianzun said, "He defeated me with just one move. I'm certain that his cultivation has surpassed the Heavenly Venerable Realm."

Su Mu gasped. Although he was somewhat prepared, he was still surprised when it was actually confirmed.

To defeat Jue Tianzun in a single move, one must be at least at the Dao Source Realm, and not just any ordinary Dao Source Realm cultivator.

Jue Tianzun was right; even if they were all combined, they probably wouldn't be a match for Da Tianzun.

"If you want to stop the Great Celestial Venerable, you must become stronger."

"It's Venerable Jue Tian," he said slowly.

"I know too."

Su Mu sighed and said, "Senior, I won't hide it from you now. Although the Unity of Heaven and Man technique that I comprehended on my own allowed me to break through to the Dao Source Realm, it is too difficult to improve further."

To achieve further breakthroughs, it would likely require centuries of arduous cultivation.

"If you continue to stay in this world, even if you cultivate diligently for thousands of years, you may not be able to make any further progress."

The Supreme Celestial said solemnly, "Even a genius like the Supreme Celestial took tens of thousands of years to reach his current level, and he almost drove himself insane."

If you want to improve your strength quickly, you must rely on external forces.

"external force?"

Su Mu said thoughtfully.

“You came with Du Rongcheng, so you should know that I have some connections with Du Rongcheng’s father.”

Jue Tianzun said, "Du Rongcheng's father still owes me a favor. I can let you go to the Great Qian Dynasty to cultivate for a period of time. Once you have completely stabilized your Dao Source Realm cultivation, you may have a better chance of winning when you face the Great Heavenly Venerable again."

"Senior wants me to go to the Great Qian Dynasty to cultivate?"

Su Mu chuckled to himself. He had come to subdue Jue Tianzun, but somehow the conversation had turned into one where Jue Tianzun was trying to persuade him. (End of Chapter)