Chapter 1495: The Strongest Artisan
At the Ancestral Court, the mute watched the Dao Fire Ancestral Land, his heart surging with emotion. This Dao Fire Ancestral Land resonated with his aura, and suddenly layers upon layers of Dao fire blazed fiercely, shooting straight into the clouds!
His dantian was like a great furnace, and the Dao fire he had refined within his dantian resonated with the Dao Fire Ancestral Land, rising slowly from his dantian like a blazing sun!
After a moment, suddenly the sound of surging water came from his dantian. A heavenly river circled the sun, revealing the great Dao rules beyond pure yang. Fire and water stood in opposition, yet within his body they merged into one.
Qin Mu watched the mute, his heart stirring slightly. The mute's celestial palace was the Forging Celestial Palace, and his cultivation method was also one of the forging Dao. The artisan's work unlocked creation, with magnificent creative power.
However, the mute also cultivated the path of pure yang, the path of fire. But Qin Mu hadn't known that the mute had already cultivated to the stage where yang reached its extreme and yin was born!
"With the Dao Fire Ancestral Land, we still lack a place of ultimate yin."
The mute observed and sensed the Dao Fire Ancestral Land, then spoke: "Using so many treasures to forge your sword, the Dao fire can indeed melt them, but cooling them will be difficult. One forging, one quenching—between the quenching, the quality of the treasures will be greatly enhanced. The Heavenly Yin Realm has the Heavenly Yin Sea; its waters can be used for quenching."
Qin Mu said in a deep voice: "Then let us go to the Heavenly Yin Realm!"
The mute shook his head: "I also need all the Dao-entering artisans of Yan Kang to assist. Besides that, I need the best artisan in the world to help me forge."
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then tested: "Emperor Shitian Li Youran?"
The mute fell silent, unwilling to mention Emperor Shitian's name.
His surname was also Li—he was a descendant of Emperor Shitian Li Youran. Yet Emperor Shitian Li Youran's deeds weighed heavily on his heart, and he could not move past it.
Qin Mu pondered: "I will send someone to invite him to the Heavenly Yin Realm."
The mute said: "I also need formation masters to help imprint your great Dao runes, Dao patterns, and domains into the sword during the forging process. Blind can help me, but your cultivation is very strong—relying on Blind alone will be difficult. Even if all the formation masters of Yan Kang were combined, I fear they still couldn't accurately imprint your great Dao into the sword."
Qin Mu said: "Crown Prince Youming is skilled in formation cultivation, and Yan Yunxi is also a master of formations."
The mute added: "During quenching, I need the most powerful ancient gods to control the water vapor and help me master the quenching method."
Qin Mu's heart stirred: "The Black Tortoise Twin Emperors—perhaps I can invite them to assist."
"The Southern Emperor's Dao Fire Ancestral Land is settled, but the materials you're using are too astonishing—the metal qi is too strong."
"The Western Emperor White Tiger has a past connection with me. Inviting her to help refine the treasure won't be difficult."
The mute continued: "When imprinting your blood and qi into the divine sword, relying on our Yan Kang abilities alone, it will be hard to accomplish this step."
Qin Mu pondered: "Although the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon is arrogant, the Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird can persuade him to come and assist."
The mute mused for a moment, then said: "I also need the most powerful sword Dao masters in the world. When the divine sword is about to be completed, they must use their own sword Dao to hone the sword's edge!"
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and said in a deep voice: "Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye, unmatched in sword Dao; Village Chief Su Muzhe, the Sword God incarnate; Yan Kang National Preceptor Jiang Baigui, with a sword heart that penetrates all; plus King Yan's Fengdu Shura Sword, my father Qin Hanzhen's sword Dao, and the First Ancestor Human Emperor Qin Wu's Yuming Sword—is that enough?"
The mute shook his head: "The First Ancestor Human Emperor's swordsmanship is mediocre. He hasn't comprehended the sword Dao—he's just filling a seat. I need all the sword Dao masters of Yan Kang to come together."
Qin Mu said in a deep voice: "I will have Emperor Yanshou help me find these sword Dao geniuses. I will definitely bring them here!"
The mute set down the blacksmithing furnace he carried on his back, then lifted the Dao Fire Ancestral Land onto his back. Barefoot, carrying his box, he spoke in a voice like a great bell: "You may go now and make preparations. I need to walk on foot carrying this sacred land, letting my blood and qi and my great Dao connect and merge with it."
Qin Mu immediately turned and left to make preparations.
Blind walked over and accompanied the mute.
The mute said: "This is the last sentence I will speak before the divine sword is forged. In the coming days, I must keep my mouth shut, striving to communicate with the great Dao of the Dao Fire Ancestral Land, seeking unity of person, fire, and land. Don't deliberately try to make me talk, or all our efforts will be wasted! From now on, I am Blind—you lead me to the Heavenly Yin Realm."
Blind quickly nodded solemnly.
The mute closed his eyes, letting Blind guide him forward, entrusting himself completely to him.
Blind led the way, but saw that the mute's Dao heart had already begun to resonate with the great Dao of the Dao Fire Ancestral Land. Layers of Dao fire formed whirling rings of flame behind him, astonishing to behold.
"The mute let Blind lead the way—aren't you afraid I'll lead you into a ditch?" Blind grumbled inwardly.
He had always been a fast-talking, gossipy person, and the mute was also someone who couldn't keep his mouth shut—and full of mischief at that. So in daily life, Blind and the mute could chat well together.
Now the mute didn't say a word. For the first few days, Blind could endure it, but later he was stifled into listlessness, utterly spiritless.
On the other side, Qin Mu and Granny Si arrived at the Heavenly Court above the Ancestral Court. The Ten Venerables had not yet returned, and the Heavenly Court's garrison generals dared not be negligent when they saw Qin Mu. They all bowed and addressed him as Venerable.
In the Xuan Du War, although Qin Mu had worn a mask, most people knew that it was Venerable Mu who had stirred up trouble in the Xuan Du War, and many Heavenly Court soldiers had died because of him.
Qin Mu didn't mind. There were quite a few people in the world who could deal with him, but no one in the current Heavenly Court could.
He went directly to his Venerable's mansion, contacted Yan Kang, and asked Yan Kang's deities to cross the Spirit Energy Bridge to the Zaofu Palace, then from the Zaofu Celestial Palace to the Spirit Energy Bridges leading to the North Pole Heaven and West Pole Heaven, to invite the Western Emperor and Northern Emperor.
Ling Yuxiu received his message and immediately gathered all of Yan Kang's artisans, formation masters, and sword Dao experts, rushing to the Heavenly Yin Realm.
Meanwhile, Granny Si hurried to the Land of No Worries to invite Emperor Shitian and Yan Yunxi. Qin Mu stood on the Heavenly Court's observatory platform searching, and the Observatory Department dared not speak, standing obediently to the side watching.
Qin Mu located Jiang Baigui and Emperor Yanfeng and immediately set out to find them.
Jiang Baigui and Emperor Yanfeng had already arrived at the back of the Ancestral Court, passing through the North Heavenly Gate, sensing the great Dao laws within the gate. This was the fourth Heavenly Gate. When the two walked out of the gate, Jiang Baigui let out a long cry. One celestial palace after another rose from the ground, halls vying for radiance—the perfect and complete Great Heavenly Court had finally formed!
He felt the Heavenly Court was now stable, with no possibility of wavering!
Jiang Baigui exhaled a long breath of true essence, which transformed into sword qi, becoming a long rainbow in the sky.
Emperor Yanfeng saw this and felt both surprise and envy. Jiang Baigui's path was different from his own—he could not cultivate it.
The two walked out of the Ancestral Court's North Heavenly Gate and saw Qin Mu standing outside waiting.
Qin Mu explained his sword-forging plan. Jiang Baigui said: "My foundation is not yet complete. I need to go to the Jade Terrace. Will I make it in time?"
Qin Mu said: "I await your arrival! Three months from now, we meet at the Heavenly Yin Realm."
The two departed.
Only then did Qin Mu hurry to the Heavenly Yin Realm to meet the Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird and explain his plan.
The Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird hesitated, then said: "My relationship with the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon was a fleeting romance. Back then, I could barely protect myself. Wanting to join forces with the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon, I muddled through and had a tryst with him, giving birth to Yan'er. I don't really want to see him. But little brother is my benefactor. Since you've asked, I will definitely bring the Azure Dragon here to assist."
Qin Mu bowed in thanks. The Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird called for Yan'er and said: "Come with me to see your heartless father." The two women hurried away.
In the Heavenly Yin Realm, Lady Tianyin sat by the sea, chin resting on her hand, staring at the sea surface in boredom. Occasionally she grabbed a mountain peak and tossed it into the sea.
Her body was too large—mountain peaks were just pebbles to her.
In recent days, her Heavenly Yin Realm had become increasingly lively. Strange-dressed fellows from Yan Kang and the Ancestral Court kept arriving at her Heavenly Yin Realm, noisy and boisterous, making her somewhat uncomfortable.
Some of these fellows were deities, some were cultivators at the Heavenly River realm. The blacksmiths liked to go shirtless, with booming voices and strong muscles. The formation cultivators liked to run around everywhere, measuring things. Others stared at her, planning to measure the Heavenly Yin runes on her body.
As for those sword Dao cultivators, they were even more detestable—swinging their swords every day, streaks of sword light disturbing her peace.
By now, the Yan Kang gods and demons who had come to her Heavenly Yin Realm numbered thirty to fifty thousand, and more kept streaming in without end.
After a few more days, King Yan arrived. Lady Tianyin finally perked up—after all, King Yan had fought alongside her before. He was an old acquaintance, and finally someone she could chat with to pass the time.
But King Yan was not a talkative person. He stayed hidden under his cloak all day, speaking little with her.
A few days later, Emperor Shitian Li Youran arrived. Lady Tianyin glanced at this handsome man and felt his looks were on par with Lord Yin's. She immediately found his face detestable and couldn't be bothered with him.
Then Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye arrived. Lady Tianyin had quite a good impression of this Human Venerable of the human race. However, Emperor Kaihuang's sword Dao was too powerful—she felt uncomfortable before even getting close, so she had to stay some distance away from the emperor.
Emperor Kaihuang brought a young man whose face wasn't as detestable as Li Youran's. Lady Tianyin chatted with him for a while and learned that this young man was called Qin Hanzhen—Venerable Mu's father.
Talking with him, Lady Tianyin always felt something strange.
After another ten-plus days, a lively, tiger-headed, tiger-brained big girl came bounding into the Heavenly Yin Realm with great excitement. Lady Tianyin finally relaxed—this girl was the Western Emperor, cheerful and fast-talking. Finally, she could relieve her boredom.
A few days later, the Northern Emperor Black Tortoise and his wife arrived. Lady Tianyin became happy—old friends had come, and naturally there was much to talk about.
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon also arrived, his face covered with a black cloth. Lady Tianyin's face immediately darkened. The Azure Dragon was arrogant and lecherous by nature—she had never liked him.
The Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird's expression was also somewhat unpleasant. Clearly, inviting the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon to assist had not been without its indignities.
"I'm only here to help."
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon looked around, greeted the Black Tortoise Twin Emperors and the Western Emperor, then finally greeted Lady Tianyin. He said with displeasure: "We who came to assist have all arrived. Has the sword-forger not come yet? What kind of nonsense is this!"
Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye walked over. The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon felt a chill in his heart, stepped forward to greet him, and said politely: "When did Venerable Qin arrive?"
Emperor Kaihuang said indifferently: "A month earlier than you. This place is quite nice."
"Yes."
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon smiled: "This place is indeed not bad."
After a few more days, a great monk and a Daoist arrived, sitting down silently without a word. The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon didn't recognize the two, but he saw many people from Yan Kang go up to greet them warmly, showing great respect. He was puzzled: "Could this monk and Daoist be Great Brahma and the Dao Ancestor? No, that doesn't seem right—I've seen them before... I thought Venerable Mu only invited me to help forge his sword, but he's actually invited so many prominent figures!"
Everyone waited another ten-plus days. Blind, leading the mute with closed eyes, finally arrived belatedly.
Behind the mute was the Dao Fire Ancestral Land. At this moment, the Dao fire of the ancestral land blazed fiercely, burning through the void, extremely intense. Even the Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird's heart skipped a beat at the sight: "This man's Dao fire Dao realm—his cultivation is extremely high!"
Blind led the mute to the Heavenly Yin Sea of the Heavenly Yin Realm. Suddenly, the mute opened his eyes, and the power of the Dao Fire Ancestral Land surged explosively, burning through the Heavenly Yin Realm, revealing the Xuan Du world!
The mute set down the Dao Fire Ancestral Land. The ancestral land spread out, the Nine Heavens twisting the universe and void, making all the myriad worlds seem to hang upon the Nine Heavens—indescribably mysterious!
The mute's body shook, his upper body's muscles bulging. Gone was his usual shabby, eccentric old blacksmith appearance—he now stood like a giant who used the world as his furnace and the earth as his anvil to reshape all things!
At the same time, Qin Mu, bare-chested, walked across the sea surface, stepping into the Dao fire together with the mute.
Qin Mu's divine consciousness erupted, driving the ancestral land's Dao fire, elevating the power of the Dao Fire Nine Heavens to another level. He then took out divine weapons of powerful beings from past universes, offering them into the Dao fire.
The mute was like a giant within the flames, drawing channels in the earth, letting the molten metal of melted divine weapons flow along the channels. He hammered the earth into seas, letting the blazing slurry in each channel flow into the rolling sea.
Ten thousand Yan Kang artisans walked into the Dao Fire Nine Heavens, all bare-chested burly men. Though there were women among them, the women also displayed their strength, their clothing simple and practical.
Within the Dao Fire Nine Heavens, the giant artisans of the human race worked with fiery enthusiasm, scooping up scalding iron slurry, golden juice, and copper liquid, hammering and forging without cease.
Another ten thousand formation masters, led by Blind, controlled the heaven and earth formation, opening the Netherworld, connecting to Xuan Du, drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, imprinting Qin Mu's various great Dao runes and Dao patterns into the forging of the artisans!
The Four Ancient God Emperors watched, dazzled and shaken, unable to help but admire this earth-shattering power.
Emperor Kaihuang watched this scene, then turned to look at Emperor Shitian Li Youran, unable to hide his pride as he said: "Only an era with hot blood can gather such magnificent power, to change heaven and earth, using one's own spirit and essence to forge the strongest divine weapon! Back then, the Kaihuang Era had this same drive. At that time, you were the strongest artisan of the Kaihuang Heavenly Court! The Worry-Free Sword, the Ark of the Other Shore, the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Heavenly Courts, even the Land of No Worries—all were personally forged by you! And now, the spirit of the Land of No Worries has declined, yet Yan Kang is showing these very signs."
Li Youran removed his robes, folded them neatly and set them aside, then walked barefoot into the Dao fire. His voice came from within the flames: "And now, I am still the strongest artisan!"
—Four-thousand-word chapter, begging for subscriptions, begging for monthly votes!