Chapter 1624: Hidden Murderous Intent
The next day, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu rose early, washed up, and Ling Yuxiu pinned her hair up in a married woman's bun while Qin Mu inserted the hairpin for her. The husband and wife finished their breakfast, and by then the household servants had already organized all the congratulatory gifts into a cataloged ledger and presented it to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu sat drinking tea together, heads close as they flipped through the ledger, reading through it item by item.
Aside from treasures and wealth, many of the guests' gifts were strange and curious things. For instance, Lan Yutian had sent the insights he had gained meditating beneath the World Tree over the years. Xu Shenghua sent a jar of tea leaves and a pot of fragrant orchids. Zhe Huali sent a hundred-child jade sculpture he had carved himself with his blade.
Lin Xuan Daozhu had copied out a volume of his mathematical equations researched over the years and sent it over. Zhankong Tathagata sent a prayer bead. Wang Muran sent a letter of challenge, inviting Qin Mu to the Lesser Jade Capital for a battle at the same cultivation realm.
Emperor Yanfeng gifted them a thick stack of small booklets, each page bearing Qin Mu's name at the top with rows of "tally" marks written beneath.
Yankang National Preceptor Jiang Baigui sent a branch, within which his sword dao was sealed—whether it was a challenge to Qin Mu or a hope that he might comprehend something from it to advance his own sword dao further, it was unclear.
The Woodcutter Sage sent a compilation of three hundred and sixty types of acquired great daos, indicating he was bequeathing his legacy to Qin Mu. Yan Yunxi sent a carrot that had been bitten into—it seemed the donkey Lü Zheng had been unable to resist taking a bite when delivering his gift.
Di Yueming gifted Ling Yuxiu a hairpin, which should still be of use. Tian Shu sent a jar of wine he had treasured for years, unable to bear drinking it.
Emperor Shitian Li Youran had personally transcribed a copy of his comprehended "Record of a Hundred Heavenly Works." Old Farmer Zhuo Cha sent a load of rice he had grown himself. Niu Sanduo also attached a load of rice. Fisherman Heavenly Master Han Tang sent them two small red kun—still juveniles, likely the offspring of his red fish.
Ling Yuxiu quickly dug through the pile of gifts and found them: in a small fish tank were two little red fish, each with a pacifier in its mouth, swimming back and forth.
"Don't touch them."
Qin Mu quickly stopped her, saying, "These are kun. They eat people."
The two little red kun stared at them innocently with pacifiers in their mouths.
The two continued flipping through the ledger. Ling Yuxiu laughed, "Ling Tianzun sent you a knot of eternal union. The things Heavenly Venerables send are truly unique."
Qin Mu pulled out the knot Ling Tianzun had sent. It was tied using the seal technique of red rope knotting, incorporating all sorts of exquisite dao patterns from the Miluo Palace, and he found himself unconsciously absorbed in studying it.
"Yue Tianzun sent you a lantern of one heart!"
Ling Yuxiu found a lantern, embroidered with two hearts on it, and said with a half-smile, "The things Heavenly Venerables send really are one of a kind."
"It was sent to both of us, meaning to wish us eternal unity of heart."
Qin Mu said calmly, "This lantern is quite formidable for traveling."
Ling Yuxiu then pulled out Langwan Shenwang's gift and said, "Sister Langwan sent you a flower."
Qin Mu looked at it, his heart skipping a beat. This flower was the one he had visualized back when he was in the Other Shore Void, when Langwan was guiding him. During their duel, on the final strike, Qin Mu had not counterattacked but instead visualized a vivid, dewy flower and gifted it to Langwan.
Langwan had planted that flower in the pool of Primordial Chaos Yuan Liquid, and it had survived to this very day.
Qin Mu laughed heartily, "Langwan's gift is also quite unique... mm, quite unique."
Ling Yuxiu said with a knowing smile, "Poison Master Mu Yingxue sent her family's geography charts."
Qin Mu quickly said, "Be careful of poison! Better burn them immediately!"
"Formation Master He Yiyi sent a painting of a white horse—you and her riding on the same horse. It's drawn very well, worthy of someone who studied under Deaf Grandpa for two years."
"There's a hidden killing formation inside—burn it!"
"Supreme Emperor White Sword God sent you a set of puppets."
Ling Yuxiu rummaged around and found the puppet: a box with four legs. Opening the box, inside were two little figures sitting back to back.
She was just about to take out the figures for a closer look when suddenly Qin Mu exclaimed joyfully, "Medicine Master Grandpa sent us a dual-cultivation technique! Wife, come quick!"
Ling Yuxiu closed the box, went over to look, spat, and blushed as she said, "Medicine Master Grandpa is a pervert, an old lecher!"
"Taichu sent me a dragon scale."
Qin Mu found the dragon scale, examined it for a moment, and laughed, "East Emperor Azure Dragon, long time no see? Taichu sending this dragon scale must mean Azure Dragon once told him that I owed Azure Dragon a favor when I revived Heavenly Duke. This dragon scale of his is interesting, very interesting..."
His eyes flickered as he said, "Taichu suspects I haven't truly retired, so he's using this dragon scale to test me. If I revive East Emperor Azure Dragon, then I'm not truly retired and still harbor grand ambitions. He's still being wary of me!"
He put the dragon scale away without reviving East Emperor Azure Dragon, saying, "The Ten Heavenly Venerables are the Ten Heavenly Venerables—Taichu and Hao Tianzun are birds of a feather. Reviving Azure Dragon can wait for another day!"
"Hao Tiandi also sent quite a few treasures."
Ling Yuxiu marveled, "He's quite generous. Heavenly Duke also sent gifts, in the name of both Tubo and Heavenly Duke."
"He's urging me to revive Ugly Tubo."
Qin Mu quietly tucked away the box of puppets Bai Qiong'er had sent, then visualized a puppet of himself and Ling Yuxiu to place in the original spot, saying, "He can't directly urge me, so he's using gifts to remind me."
"Long Pang sent a set of the Human-Rearing Sutra!"
Ling Yuxiu burst out laughing, "And it's the new edition! Long Pang really put thought into this—this must be for me!" She glanced at Qin Mu as she spoke.
Qin Mu let out a hollow laugh and turned his head away, his expression darkening.
"Taishi also sent a gift—a small piece of eggshell."
Ling Yuxiu said puzzled, "Why would he send an eggshell... Senior Brother Wei sent a pile of geography charts. Do you want to look at them?"
...
The husband and wife sorted through everything, finally reviewing all the guests' gifts. What should be kept was kept; what shouldn't be kept was sent directly to the Yankang national treasury or sold off.
By mid-morning, the couple went to pay respects to their parents and the Eight Elders of the Crippled Elderly Village. Granny Si had prepared several oxen for Qin Mu. Qin Mu's heart tightened, and he quietly looked at the oxen, only relaxing when he confirmed they were truly oxen.
"Mu'er, let's go back to the village!" Blind Man said with a laugh.
Yong River, Crippled Elderly Village—the chicken-dragon dragons had long since taken over the place, becoming the local tyrants. Everyone planned to clean the place up and drive the chicken-dragon dragons away, but Qin Mu laughed and said, "No need. I'm a retired Heavenly Venerable who still clings to power and prestige—how could I live in the old mountain village again?"
He visualized with his divine consciousness, and after a moment, a resplendent heavenly palace materialized above the Crippled Elderly Village—gorgeous, ornate, and magnificent. He took Ling Yuxiu's hand and walked into the palace together.
The heavenly palace floated among the clouds, and below, countless chicken-dragon dragons looked up at it with great envy.
The Heavenly River flowed past in the sky. Qin Mu used his great divine power to move a stretch of land beside the Heavenly River, placing the few oxen to graze along the riverbank. Green mountains, clear waters, drifting white clouds—it was all quite poetic and picturesque.
Ling Yuxiu placed the two little red kun from Fisherman Hantang into the Heavenly River. The two little red kun swam back and forth along the shore with pacifiers in their mouths, unwilling to leave.
No sooner had Ling Yuxiu walked away than she heard two loud cracks from the Heavenly River. Two enormous red kun, dozens of zhang long, leaped out of the water, opened their mouths, and swallowed the two oxen grazing by the shore. The remaining two oxen immediately bolted in panic.
Ling Yuxiu stared dumbfounded as the two red kun shifted their bodies, slowly retreating into the Heavenly River, transforming back into two little red fish swimming around with pacifiers in their mouths.
"Husband doesn't know about this yet... well, I'll just buy two more oxen to replace them. He won't notice..."
Ling Yuxiu hurried away, bought two oxen, and mixed them into the herd to make up the numbers.
She then planted the flower Langwan had sent by the Heavenly River's edge, and also planted Yan Yunxi's carrot. The carrot, once planted, suddenly grew where Lü Zheng had bitten it, quickly restoring itself to full form, then transformed into a naked baby who jumped out of the soil and leaped into the river to bathe.
"Be careful, there are kun in the river..."
Just as Ling Yuxiu said this, she heard another crack as the two red kun leaped out of the water—but then she saw the naked baby clench his fists and give both red kun a thorough beating.
Only then did Ling Yuxiu relax.
Qin Mu studied the scriptures and texts among the gifts, reading through them one by one. Ling Yuxiu had also brought various achievements of Yankang's reforms, which were very beneficial to him, and he couldn't help but marvel at the development of Yankang's divine powers and dao techniques over the years.
He pulled out the three hundred and sixty great dao atlas that the Woodcutter Sage had sent, compared it against his own understanding, and frowned slightly.
"Teacher Woodcutter formulated three hundred and sixty types of great daos—this is also the prototype of the Heavenly Sage Cult's three hundred and sixty halls. But after over a hundred years of Yankang's reforms, how many acquired great daos are there now? Far more than three hundred and sixty!"
Qin Mu closed the volume and stood up. Yankang's reforms continuously gave birth to new professions, and each new profession represented the birth of a new acquired great dao.
The dao has no end—this doesn't mean the path of seeking the dao is endless, but rather that acquired great daos are inexhaustible, never fully discoverable.
He absorbed the fruits of Yankang's reforms while enjoying his newlywed bliss with Ling Yuxiu, and also visited with the elders of the Crippled Elderly Village. Time passed quickly.
He rarely had the chance to calm his mind like this. These days he quietly contemplated, organizing his techniques and divine powers, his dao heart growing ever more profound and unfathomable. What Lan Yutian had sent was very enlightening to him, and Yankang's reforms along with the Woodcutter Sage's three hundred and sixty acquired great daos gave him deep insights as well.
Emperor Yanfeng and National Preceptor Jiang Baigui handled Yankang's government affairs, while Yu Chenzi was responsible for negotiations with the Heavenly Court. None of these trivial matters disturbed his dao heart.
Gradually, he felt his dao techniques and divine powers were at a bottleneck, on the edge of a great breakthrough. He sensed he was about to contend for an entirely new realm, yet the path forward remained shrouded in chaos and ignorance.
Qin Mu paced back and forth, unconsciously arriving at the Heavenly River's edge. He saw a flock of chicken-dragon dragons had somehow flown up to this floating land in the sky and were foraging for insects in the woods.
Nearby were a few oxen, lying in the shade of trees, swishing their tails and chewing their cud, utterly at ease.
Qin Mu sat down on the grass and sank into deep thought.
Who knew how long passed before a voice suddenly came: "The former Mu Tianzun, now a cowherd—you make me, the Emperor... make me feel such emotion, such sighs."
Qin Mu turned his head and saw Hao Tiandi in plain clothes, having arrived at some point without his notice.
Qin Mu rose and forced a smile, saying, "Your Majesty mocks your humble servant."
Hao Tiandi came to his side and looked around, saying, "When I first heard that Mu Tianzun had lost his dao heart, I couldn't believe it. Now seeing you so dispirited, I believe it—but a pang of sorrow rises in my heart."
He looked up at the sky and murmured, "Without an opponent like Mu Tianzun, what use is all this martial power of mine?"
Two clear tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.
The official account is about to announce the ranking of the Ten Heavenly Venerables from strongest to weakest!
Many readers are curious about which Heavenly Venerable is stronger or weaker. Today on Pig's official account, I'll tell everyone which of the Heavenly Venerables is the weakest!
Follow the WeChat official account "Zhai Zhu," and at ten o'clock tonight, you'll get the answer!
Can you guess correctly?