Chapter 793: Long Han Suspicions Deepen, Kun Carries the Maiden Away
Long Qilin looked at him suspiciously, then suddenly a wave of bitterness surged in his heart, grief welling up: "Jiaozhu, you deceived me. I thought you were sacrificing yourself for righteousness, protecting us, letting us slip away. But you used us as bait, letting us lure away those young ladies..."
Qin Mu made a prompt decision: "Extra meal for you."
Long Qilin immediately stopped his grief and said to the bewildered Yu Tianzun and Gongsun Yan: "The Jiaozhu is wise and mighty, luring the tiger from the mountain, capturing this young lady to exchange for us. A brilliant tactic."
The Water Qilin rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: "This fellow's skill at being shameless far surpasses mine. With a few words he's secured himself a meal's worth of benefits. Truly the epitome of audacity. By the way, what was that scripture he had called? I need to flatter him a bit, borrow it to study, and in the future I can also get an extra meal..."
He had been injured protecting Yu Tianzun, but the most severely wounded was still Gongsun Yan.
This girl had been beaten terribly, and that horsetail whisk had also been snatched away by Yan Qiling's maidservants.
Those maidservants of Yan Qiling were formidable in cultivation and strength—one was at the Lingxiao realm, and the others were at the Yujing realm. Although Gongsun Yan was a true god, a demigod born from the core of the Diyuan Dao Fruit, and had mastered the Liuhe Hunyuan Sword, the power she could unleash was not strong.
After a bitter struggle, she was still injured and captured, and the little sapling in the halo behind her head had been beaten limp and listless.
Only when Qin Mu saw that everyone was unharmed did he relax, smiling: "Senior Sister Yan, the situation is now clear. You have fallen into my hands, so what should we do now?"
Yan Qiling struggled to suppress her injuries, her breath as faint as silk, speaking with great difficulty: "Release them."
Those women hesitated for a moment, but still obeyed and released Yu Tianzun and the others.
Yan Qiling's eyes were swollen into slits, her former beauty completely unrecognizable. She said in a low voice: "What now, Mu Tianzun?"
Qin Mu stuffed a few spirit pills into her mouth, saying: "These are healing medicines. Don't worry, they're not poisoned."
Yan Qiling held the pills in her mouth but dared not swallow.
Qin Mu smiled slightly and said: "Swallow them. I still have some things to ask you."
Yan Qiling kept her mouth shut and said nothing.
Suddenly Qin Mu pressed a spot on her throat, and Yan Qiling gulped, swallowing the pills, cold sweat beading on her forehead and back.
However, as soon as those pills fell into her stomach, she immediately felt the thousands of wounds all over her body begin to itch, the wounds slowly closing.
"This is a spirit pill I refined using Long Fatty's saliva combined with several other medicinal ingredients. Normally one pill sells for ten thousand Da Feng coins." Qin Mu laughed.
Long Qilin said nervously, in a low voice: "Jiaozhu, it's dragon saliva! Dragon saliva! If you say it's my spit, no one will want to buy it."
Yan Qiling snorted coldly. Her wounds no longer bled, allowing her to spare some of her cultivation. She said indifferently: "What do you want to ask?"
"First return the Liuhe Hunyuan Sword." Qin Mu said.
Yan Qiling looked at those women and said: "Give him back the whisk!"
One of the women came forward holding the whisk. Yu Tianzun quickly said: "Give the whisk to me!"
The woman hesitated for a moment, then handed the whisk to Yu Tianzun. Yu Tianzun held the whisk and stepped forward, handing it to Qin Mu, saying in a low voice: "Brother, these women are very powerful. I'm worried she might take the opportunity to ambush you."
Qin Mu accepted the whisk and praised: "Wise brother, you did well."
"Are you from the Outer Heaven Court?"
He turned to look at Yan Qiling, asking with concern: "Is the Heavenly Emperor well?"
Yan Qiling said coldly: "The Outer Heaven Court is merely a heaven court established by rebels and traitors. How could it be worthy of my loyalty? You guessed wrong. I have no connection whatsoever with the Outer Heaven Court. I never imagined that the Mu Tianzun who shook the heaven court a million years ago was actually a person of this era. If the Heavenly Emperor knew of this, he would certainly be extremely astonished. I'm very curious—how did Mu Tianzun travel to a million years ago? Was the Qin Tianzun who traveled with you the young Kaihuang of that time?"
Qin Mu laughed: "I ask you questions, yet you try to pry information from me instead. Sister, you're quite naughty. You mentioned Dao One and Dao Twenty-Two earlier—how is this division made?"
Yan Qiling's complexion improved slightly, and she said: "The great Daos of the world are divided according to their different affiliations. Yuandu has thirty-six Daos—the first great Dao is Dao One, the second is Dao Two, and so on. Youdu has sixty-four Daos, Xuandu has seventy-two Daos, and the Zhou Tian star mansions have three hundred and sixty Daos. Each of these Daos has its own number. Whichever Dao's principles a divine power embodies, it belongs to that Dao's category of divine powers. For example, when you use heavenly fire, it belongs to Dao Two of Xuandu."
Qin Mu pondered, thinking: "This method of division reminds me of the Dao Gate... Do you know a slovenly Daoist?"
"You mean the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Gate?"
Yan Qiling shook her head: "I've heard of him, but never seen him."
Qin Mu carefully observed her expression and continued asking: "Have you seen the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Gate?"
Yan Qiling said: "I haven't... I HAVE seen the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Gate! What did you feed me?"
She showed a look of terror. Her consciousness and thoughts were almost beyond her own control. She clearly wanted to say she had never seen the Dao Ancestor, but under Qin Mu's second questioning, she involuntarily spoke the truth.
"Long Fatty's spit."
Qin Mu said kindly, in a gentle voice: "With some other medicinal ingredients added. It's a holy medicine for healing wounds. But this kind of spirit pill has a side effect—it affects consciousness and thinking, causing the user's thoughts to involuntarily follow others. If combined with certain demonic divine powers of Youdu that affect the user's soul, it's quite effective for interrogation. Was the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Gate the one who helped you establish these Dao numbers?"
Long Qilin said smugly, to the Water Qilin: "This is the use of dragon saliva."
The Water Qilin was full of admiration and said: "Brother, you must teach me when you have time!"
"This is a natural talent—you can't learn it!" Long Qilin grew even more pleased with himself.
The cold sweat on Yan Qiling's forehead turned into beads the size of beans, mixing with golden blood as it flowed down her cheeks. But she closed her mouth and refused to speak no matter what.
"Even if you don't say it, I know it was him. The Dao Ancestor loves mathematics and numerology, believing that the essence of all things in heaven and earth is mathematical principle. If the Heavenly Emperor invited him to rank the Daos of all realms, he would certainly go happily."
Qin Mu's voice grew even softer as he pressed: "Was it the Dao Ancestor who compiled the various Daos for the Heavenly Emperor? You've read all the Dao methods he compiled, haven't you? Then, where is the Dao Ancestor of the Dao Gate now?"
Yan Qiling clenched her teeth, her face flushing red, her body trembling—clearly resisting the demonic sound that was affecting her soul.
Qin Mu frowned slightly. If Yan Qiling refused to speak no matter what, he had no way to force her to open her mouth.
This woman had a strong spirit, and she was proficient in the Dao methods and divine powers of the three realms of Yuandu, Youdu, and Xuandu. Controlling her soul was not easy.
"You said earlier something about Sword Dao being Dao One, and Martial Dao being Dao One—what's that about?" Qin Mu asked.
Yan Qiling was relieved and said hoarsely: "In this world, there was originally no Sword Dao, nor Martial Dao. These Daos were formed later, created by later generations—they are not among the naturally existing Daos. The Dao Ancestor said that if a single technique could directly enter the Dao, it would belong to Dao One. The Dao Ancestor..."
"Where is the Dao Ancestor?" Qin Mu asked rapidly.
Yan Qiling's body trembled violently. She suddenly opened her mouth, about to bite off her own tongue.
Qin Mu frowned and immediately stuffed the handle of the whisk into her mouth, preventing her from actually biting off her tongue. He coughed and said: "Don't worry, I won't ask that question again."
Yan Qiling spat out the whisk handle and said coldly: "You're too cunning—I don't trust you! The esteemed Mu Tianzun, yet you resort to such despicable tricks, even drugging me!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily, not without pride.
Yan Qiling sneered: "Yu Tianzun is still missing some fragments of his soul, isn't he? I know where his remnant soul is hidden. You and I share a common enemy—we should cooperate."
"The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend."
Qin Mu shook his head and said: "I don't know your true purpose, nor do I know if we could be friends. As for Brother Lan's remnant soul, I also know where it is."
Yan Qiling fell silent, then suddenly said: "Do you really not care about the title of Mu Tianzun?"
"Mu Tianzun?"
Qin Mu laughed loudly and shook his head: "The Heavenly Emperor conferred upon me the title of Mu Tianzun—what did he give me? Just a plaque bearing the name Mu Tianzun and an imperial edict. I never even looked at that plaque or the edict. The other Tianzuns at least received blessings from the gods, but I only got a plaque. At most, he can take it back."
Yan Qiling was silent for a moment, then said: "The Heavenly Emperor's blessing is inside the plaque and the edict. All this million years, you didn't know?"
Qin Mu was stunned.
Yan Qiling looked at him with a half-smile. Qin Mu suppressed the urge to immediately rummage through his Taotie pouch, coughed, and said: "I'm done asking. You may go. Rest well and recover—don't worry about Yu Tianzun. He's with me, and I'll take good care of him. If you truly want to join forces with me, bring his remnant soul to see me."
Yan Qiling moved her steps with great difficulty, passing by him. Suddenly she stopped and said in a low voice: "Don't trust the Earth Mother. Beware of the Heavenly Duke and the Earth Count. And the Heaven Alliance—they are not good people either."
Qin Mu was momentarily startled, then his expression suddenly changed drastically. He immediately took out a willow leaf and was about to stick it to his forehead.
Suddenly he stopped again, not directly sticking the willow leaf to his forehead. Instead, he silently put it away and laughed: "What a clever woman."
Yan Qiling moved her steps, walking more than ten paces. Those women quickly came forward to support her, whispering: "Miss, should we..."
Yan Qiling shook her head: "He didn't kill us, and he even healed my wounds. We must maintain some propriety. Let today's matter end here. I'll reclaim my dignity myself in the future—I don't need your help! Let's go!"
One of the women's body shook, and suddenly she transformed into a great Kun. The other women helped Yan Qiling onto the Kun's back.
The great Kun shook its head and wagged its tail, about to fly away, when Qin Mu's voice came from behind: "Sister Ling, is the Heavenly Emperor dead?"
On the Kun's back, Yan Qiling's delicate body shook violently. She clenched her teeth, her voice bursting through her teeth, shouting hoarsely: "Go——"
The great Kun vibrated its fish fins like wings and flew off into the air.
Qin Mu watched them go, sinking into thought.
Gongsun Yan and Yu Tianzun quickly came to his side. Qin Mu snapped back to reality and said with a gentle smile: "Sister Yan, you're injured. Let me treat you, so we don't leave any scars."
Gongsun Yan hummed in acknowledgment and stood there obediently, allowing him to undo her clothes to reveal her wounds.
Qin Mu carefully applied medicine to her wounds, squeezing out the blood from the injuries, his fingerwork very delicate.
The girl's skin was very white.
"The Heavenly Emperor is dead."
He suddenly stopped his hands, staring blankly into space: "That ancient god Heavenly Emperor of the Long Han Heaven Court is dead."
Gongsun Yan was somewhat confused, not understanding why he was staring into space, or why he suddenly said this seemingly nonsensical sentence.
Qin Mu snapped back to reality again and continued applying medicine to her wounds, saying softly: "I always thought the Heavenly Emperor of the Outer Heaven Court was the ancient god Heavenly Emperor of the Long Han Heaven Court. But from what Yan Qiling inadvertently revealed, the Heavenly Emperor should be dead. The Heavenly Emperor of the Outer Heaven Court is not him—it's someone else."
He stood before Gongsun Yan, his hands very gentle, gathering her clothes for her, carefully straightening her garments. But Gongsun Yan could tell that the young man's mind was elsewhere at this moment, thinking about other things.
Her clothes were already neatly arranged, yet Qin Mu was still fussing over them.
After a moment, Qin Mu suddenly let out a long sigh and said in a low voice: "Heavenly Duke, Earth Count, we should have a serious talk. Don't you think?"
Gongsun Yan was somewhat baffled, not understanding why he suddenly said this.
But in the Qin Character Continent, the white-bearded old man and the molten rock Earth Count looked at each other, silent and speechless.
Whoosh——
In the sky of the Qin Character Continent, an indestructible divine consciousness descended from the heavens, transforming upon landing into Qin Mu's form, looking at the avatars of these two ancient gods.
——Last day of June, begging for monthly tickets! Monthly tickets refresh every month—June's tickets expire at midnight tonight!