Chapter 1145: Intuition (Third Update!)
Further away, Lady Nghiên also raised a rare treasure—a supreme-level treasure she had refined. Multicolored light rose from it, sealing off the void and the earth, securing her foothold.
Tần Mục frowned, searching around, but Lady Tường, Lord Cung, and the others had each already claimed prime locations, leaving him with few options.
Long Kỳ Lân still couldn't accept that Lord Hỏa hadn't helped Tần Mục during the Dao Trì battle—instead joining the faction trying to kill him. He remained dazed and confused.
"Lord Hỏa was devastated by Lord Ngự's death. From the day Lord Ngự was assassinated, he changed."
Tần Mục led Long Kỳ Lân and Yên Nhi as they continued searching, saying: "Back then, among the seven lords of Long Hán, six of them admired Lord Ngự immensely. The one with the deepest bond, besides Lord U, was Lord Hỏa. Lord Ngự was their role model, an insurmountable mountain. After Lord Ngự died, Lord U fell into a million-year seclusion. But Lord Hỏa's thinking should have changed at that moment too. He resented the ancient gods, yet also wanted to become one."
He stopped, staring blankly into the distance, then said: "Lord U also said he had changed. Lady Nguyệt's words also hinted that he couldn't be trusted. But I've always held him in high regard—perhaps that was wishful thinking on my part. Maybe only if Lord Ngự were reborn could he wake from this dream."
Long Kỳ Lân laughed: "Lord Ngự has already been reborn! As long as we steal back the remnant soul in Phi Hương Điện, Lord Ngự will no longer be simple-minded. Lord Hỏa will surely change his mind! When that happens, the human race will be saved!"
Tần Mục smiled: "I hope so."
His divine consciousness erupted, forcing back a void beast that had suddenly appeared.
"These old foxes have each chosen a foothold—all the good spots are taken!"
Tần Mục's eyes flickered as he looked around, trying to find an excellent location. But the eight lords had each already found a prime spot and settled there.
How could Tần Mục compete with them?
Moreover, each of these lords had their own supreme-level treasures suppressing the void, keeping void beasts at bay. Before long, they would each have established their own strongholds.
Then they would come to ask Tần Mục to send them out, so their disciples could come manage the sites, drive out void beasts, and mine various treasures.
"Even if I found a good spot, I don't have a treasure capable of suppressing void beasts."
Tần Mục blinked, thinking to himself: "I can't take out the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng. Using it to suppress the void would work—it could kill any void beast. But if the other lords saw it, they would definitely try to seize it. Even more terrifying is the ancient god egg inside the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng..."
"Besides, I can't be trapped here forever guarding a mining site. If I went to invite the First Ancestor and the successive human emperors of the Nhân Hoàng Điện to guard it, even the First Ancestor might not be a match for the void mother beasts..."
Tần Mục pondered back and forth, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. The vertical eye on his forehead opened, looking around.
"Last time I came to the Thái Sơ mineral vein, void beasts couldn't enter the vein. That means all five major veins are places void beasts dare not tread. But I only know about the Thái Sơ vein, and it's already occupied by Lord Hiểu. Where the other four veins are—only Lady Tường and Lord Cung would know."
In the Tần Tự continent within his vertical eye, the two giant ancient god eggs were communicating with each other. Suddenly, the ancient gods inside seemed to sense the outside situation, and their dao sounds ceased.
Both eggs trembled slightly—they seemed agitated!
Tần Mục surveyed his surroundings, thinking: "I don't know where the other four veins are, but these two ancient god eggs definitely do! Rather than wandering around blindly, better to let them tell me."
The two ancient god eggs fell silent.
Tần Mục blinked, waiting for a moment. Still no movement from the eggs.
Tần Mục gritted his teeth, his divine consciousness rippling outward. Soon, the sky suddenly split open, revealing a giant eye.
The eye rolled around, then its gaze fell upon Tần Mục. Next, an enormous void beast squeezed out from the void and crashed to the ground.
Yên Nhi and Long Kỳ Lân cried out in alarm, quickly going on guard.
But they saw this void beast covered in void patterns all over its body. Six thick, powerful legs strode forward, each claw gripping the ground as it circled them a few times. Its eyelids rolled up, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Yên Nhi let out a light shout, her primordial spirit manifesting, ready to strike at any moment.
"Do you still recognize me?" Tần Mục laughed.
The void beast's eyelids drooped, its mouth disappeared, and it lowered its head toward Tần Mục.
Tần Mục raised his hand, and the void beast gently nuzzled his palm. Yên Nhi let out a sigh of relief. Hearing her exhale, the beast leaped to a distance, watching her warily.
Long Kỳ Lân asked in surprise: "Giáo chủ, is this the void beast you tamed all those years ago?"
Tần Mục nodded, smiling: "A million years, and it's still alive—even more powerful than before."
He soared into the air, landing on the bone ridge behind the void beast's head, standing tall against the wind.
Long Kỳ Lân and Yên Nhi quickly flew up and landed on the bone ridge as well. Seeing this, the void beast rolled its eyelids up and turned its head, letting out a threatening growl.
Tần Mục took out the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng, using this supreme treasure as his walking staff, and tapped it on the bone ridge.
The void beast finally suppressed its ferocity, leaping up and charging wildly across the mountains.
Tần Mục stood against the wind, leaning on the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng. Though the treasure was eye-catching, the various lords were all busy organizing their own territories and had no time to pay attention here.
He gave the void beast free rein, letting it run wherever it pleased, with no destination in mind.
Long Kỳ Lân and Yên Nhi stood beside him, curiously looking around. But they noticed that the void beast Tần Mục had tamed wasn't traveling in a straight line—it seemed to wander aimlessly. They felt anxious inside: "If the giáo chủ (young master) doesn't find a good spot soon, all the treasures will be claimed by the lords!"
The void beast traveled for most of the day, still moving without purpose. But in its simple mind, an "intuition" told it that this wasn't where its master wanted to go.
This "intuition" came from the ancient god egg inside the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng!
In terms of discernment, Tần Mục certainly couldn't match the seasoned judgment of old-timers like Lord Hiểu, Lord Hồng, or Lady Tường, nor was he as knowledgeable as half-gods like Lord Hạo or Tổ Thần Vương.
But the celestial sphere of the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng was an ancient god egg born in the ancestral court's mineral veins. Its vision and experience were absolutely not inferior to Lord Hiểu, the ancient god Heavenly Emperor!
Tần Mục knew the two ancient god eggs he'd obtained were both wary of him, so he simply summoned the void beast he had tamed, let it roam freely, and allowed the ancient god egg in the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng to lead him to a treasure site.
The void beast traveled for three days at incredible speed, a blur of motion. Other void beasts couldn't even see it clearly before it had already rushed past. Finally, on this day, the void beast arrived at a desolate wasteland and stopped.
Tần Mục stood at a high vantage point, looking around. He saw broken, ruined mine shafts all around—like black holes burrowing deep into the earth, winding and twisting into an ancient mountain range.
From those mine shafts, faint rays of multicolored light rose, and treasure aura filled the air.
Prehistoric creators had left traces of mining here. But now, only tall skeletons remained—the bones of those creators.
In the distance, the ground split open, revealing several large eyeballs rolling around—nearby void beasts secretly observing them.
Tần Mục paid them no mind. He put away the Lưu Ly Thanh Thiên Trượng and was about to walk into the camp the creators had left behind, when suddenly he saw a tall, slender woman emerge from the camp. They came face to face, both startled.
"Lady Cung." Tần Mục greeted her with a bow.
"Lord Mục."
Lady Cung returned the greeting, saying: "Your kindness—I already repaid it during the Dao Trì battle. Lord Mục, we owe each other nothing now. This is my Nữ Tân clan's mineral vein. I won't yield it to you."
Hearing her personally admit that she was one of the three lords who had saved him during the Dao Trì battle, Tần Mục still felt a pang of disappointment: "So Lord Hỏa really wasn't among them."
"Sorry to disturb you."
Tần Mục bowed, patted the void beast, and said: "I'll go find another spot."