Chapter 840: The Art of Raising Humans Reaches Great Success
Qin Mu's cultivation was nearly depleted, so he had to stop using teleportation divine abilities and let the Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin carry them as they hurried along the road.
Blind Elder gritted his teeth against the pain and said, "The Earth Dragon is still chasing us, and it's fast."
The tree roots inside his body were still squirming, though not as active as before, and their power had weakened considerably. Clearly, having been separated from the main body for too long, they were gradually losing their vitality.
However, as the Earth Dragon drew closer, the power of these roots was slowly strengthening again, and their activity was increasing as well.
Soon, Blind Elder was wrapped into a wooden cocoon.
Yu Chenzi quickly said, "These roots must be removed, or the Earth Dragon will track us through its connection with them!"
"How do we remove them?" Qin Mu asked.
"Our Qingyun Heaven has dealt with the Earth Dragon before. We clashed with it several times long ago."
Yu Chenzi took out a medicine bottle filled with some powder and said, "Back when the Earth Dragon attacked Qingyun Heaven, we suffered heavy casualties. The Earth Dragon's attack power is formidable, and its body is impervious to blades and spears—very hard to cut through and wound its main body. Many of our Qingyun Heaven cultivators were rooted inside by it, and countless died horribly. Fortunately, we obtained some of the Earth Dragon's limbs, trapped them with formations, and slowly studied how to counter it. This medicinal powder is the result."
Qin Mu quickly took the bottle, sniffed it, and said, "Isn't this a spiritual medicine?"
Yu Chenzi said, "Most medicinal ingredients are plants. Using spiritual medicine against it would just be feeding it nutrients. The Earth Dragon is formed from the roots of Mother Earth Primordial Lord, so it fears no plant-based poison. That's why we use metallic and mineral poison instead. It won't kill it, but it can force its roots out of the body. This powder is taken orally, and some should also be sprinkled into the divine repositories."
Qin Mu administered it to Blind Elder. Not long after taking the medicine, the roots began to stretch out and fall off one by one, pulling away from his body.
Qin Mu used his primordial energy to control these roots, making sure they didn't touch anyone, then tossed them far away.
The roots landed on the ground and transformed into root-dragons about six or seven feet long, croaking and squawking on the earth.
Dragon Qilin turned his head and spat a mouthful of sacred fire at them, but the root-dragons hopped around lively in the flames, completely unafraid of his Qilin sacred fire.
Dragon Qilin was startled and immediately sprinted away, putting distance between them and that place.
"This powder has some side effects on the human body—it can cause allergies—but after urination and defecation, the powder will be expelled. So you should drink plenty of water."
Yu Chenzi said, "The reason I dared to bring Captain Qu He along, planning to let the Earth Dragon swallow him, was precisely because I carried this medicine. If the Earth Dragon swallowed me, I would sprinkle this powder all over myself. The Earth Dragon would find me unpalatable and expel me from its body. Dirty, perhaps, but at least I wouldn't die."
"Senior Brother Yu Chenzi, your intelligence is wasted on Qingyun Heaven. I can see your scheme to clear Qingyun Heaven of suspicion—it's a chain of traps that completely exonerates them."
Qin Mu smeared dragon saliva on Blind Elder's wounds, glanced at him, and praised, "The captain of the Divine Capture Camp is at least a seventh-rank official among the heavenly court's divine officers. If he dies here, it will definitely draw the heavenly court's experts to fight the Earth Dragon. The Earth Dragon is doomed. Captain Qu was a capable man, and the Earth Dragon is an existence comparable to the Lingxiao realm, yet both will die by your hand. Your talents are trapped in Qingyun Heaven, your ambitions have nowhere to be realized—it will only leave you with lifelong regret."
Yu Chenzi smiled and said, "I am a Daoist. A Daoist should devote himself to Dao arts. Staying in Qingyun Heaven isn't so bad."
Qin Mu took out several bottles of fresh dragon saliva, intending to have Blind Elder drink it internally.
Blind Elder shook his head and said, "I won't drink it. It's the drool of your big dog."
Qin Mu quickly said, "It's not drool, it's dragon saliva. Your internal organs were pierced by the Earth Dragon's roots in many places. If you don't drink it, all your wounds will burst open and you'll bleed out in no time."
Dragon Qilin chuckled and said, "Blind Elder, I'm not a big dog. I'm a Dragon Qilin, with the bloodline of both dragon and qilin. Drink it—the Sect Master just collected it recently. It's fresh."
Blind Elder clamped his mouth shut. Qin Mu grew fierce, pried his mouth open by force, and poured it down the old blind man's throat.
Blind Elder trembled with rage and shouted, "You brat! When I recover, I'll make sure no one can save you!"
While he was speaking, Qin Mu poured a few more bottles down his throat and said to Yu Chenzi, "Aren't you being disingenuous? People say Daoists descend the mountain in times of chaos and ascend in times of peace. Descending in chaos is for the peace of the world; ascending in peace is to keep the mortal world from disturbing the Dao heart. This is a time of chaos—there's a place for your talents."
Yu Chenzi shook his head and said, "If chaos truly arrives, Qingyun Heaven still has the twenty-four divine nations under its jurisdiction. There's a place for me to use my abilities there."
Qin Mu smiled ambiguously and said, "What level are the twenty-four divine nations? You know better than I do. When we first met, you said the Yankang nation was small and weak, rude and greedy. But for the twenty-four divine nations to develop to Yankang's level would take several hundred years. And even then, you'd need an Emperor Yanfeng, a Jiang Baigui, a Qin Mu, countless universities, academies, and schools, and countless people contributing their wisdom and talent."
Yu Chenzi was silent for a moment, then said, "I am a Daoist. I won't join your Heavenly Sage Sect."
Qin Mu burst out laughing and clapped him firmly on the shoulder, saying sincerely, "Daoist friend, I'm asking you to go to the Yankang nation! You have talent and ability—the Heavenly Sage Sect can't contain you, and there's no place there for you to display your skills. Only the Yankang nation has such a platform. If you agree, I'll write a letter of recommendation. Go see the Yankang National Preceptor—he will surely put you to great use! Think of everything you've learned and realized in your life! Think of your ambitions! Are you willing to just wait to inherit the position of Qingyun Sect Leader, or do you want to carve out your own career and world?"
Yu Chenzi finally made his decision and bowed, saying, "I request Sect Master Qin's letter!"
Qin Mu immediately took out paper and brush and wrote a letter.
Yu Chenzi accepted the letter and smiled, saying, "Then I'll go see the Yankang National Preceptor. If I can move him with my talent, I won't need to use your recommendation letter. If I can't, then I'll present it."
Qin Mu was momentarily stunned.
Yu Chenzi laughed heartily, took his leave, and drifted away.
"That Yu Chenzi may be young, but he's an old hand at the game."
Blind Elder's injuries had basically healed. He grabbed the Dragon Tuo Divine Spear in his hand and said with a grin, "Boy, it's been a long time since we two had a spar. I don't know how far your cultivation has progressed. Since we're reunited, why don't we have a little match?"
Qin Mu's expression shifted slightly.
Explosive sounds of divine ability collisions rang out. Dragon Qilin, Water Qilin, and Imperial Lord Yu looked up to see the two of them fighting high in the sky, then dropping back to the ground, then battling across two mountain peaks, fighting across the mountains.
Imperial Lord Yu asked worriedly, "Is my brother okay?"
"He's fine. The Sect Master is used to being beaten."
Dragon Qilin suddenly stood upright on his hind legs and transformed into a stalwart youth with a qilin head and dragon whiskers. He began circulating his cultivation technique to temper his body and refine his primordial spirit. His Qilin Pearl and Dragon Pearl orbited around him, radiating brilliant light. The two treasures absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth, purified and refined it, then fed it back to nourish his flesh and primordial spirit.
These two treasures had been refined by him to be crystal clear, containing immense power.
Dragon Qilin's primordial spirit stood atop a surging heavenly river, breathing clouds and mist. When his primordial spirit breathed, the Qilin Pearl and Dragon Pearl outside his body breathed in tandem, expanding and contracting.
Water Qilin was startled and quickly said, "Brother Pi, when did you learn to take human form? And you've opened the Heavenly River Divine Repository! When did you manage that?"
The qilin-headed youth said smugly, "You only see me shamelessly tagging along beside the Sect Master for free meals, but you don't know how hard I work. When I was in Mother Earth's underground palace, I curried favor with those big shots around her—they were all at the Yujing or Lingxiao realm. They helped me fuse the Ancestral Dragon Supreme Profound Technique with the Qilin clan's techniques. That's when I was already able to transform."
Water Qilin was awestruck.
Dragon Qilin continued, "After I transformed, I consecutively opened various divine repositories. As the saying goes, 'a waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first.' Staying by the Sect Master's side, I witnessed him consecutively open twenty-six types of seventh divine repositories. Even if I were stupid, I'd have learned by now. So I cultivated in secret. By the heavenly river, while you were shamelessly begging your master for spiritual pills to eat, I had already used the power of the heavenly river to open the Heavenly River Divine Repository."
Water Qilin was dumbfounded, unable to speak.
"Do you know why the Sect Master values me more and more?"
Dragon Qilin continued cultivating as he spoke, "It's precisely because I'm strong enough! Spiritual pills aren't just tasty treats for you—they can also be used to curry favor with other experts. Look at me: when I met Demon King Lü Zheng of Master Zixi, I offered him spiritual pills as tribute. After eating my pills, he naturally guided me in cultivating divine abilities. When I met Senior Brother Niu Sanduo of Martial Combat Heavenly Master, I also offered him spiritual pills and smoked water pipes with him. Naturally, he guided me in martial arts cultivation. I've also curried favor with Red Kun of Fisherman Heavenly Master and Black Tiger God—they've all guided me."
Water Qilin was stunned, admiring him with the utmost respect.
"And the experts around the Sect Master are even more numerous. When the Sect Master discusses things with those experts, all you have to do is listen carefully and comprehend with focus, and you can secretly learn countless incredibly exquisite divine abilities and techniques."
Dragon Qilin smiled and said, "For example, when Blind Elder was teaching your master and the Sect Master formation dao on the road, you could have learned hundreds of powerful killing formations! Did you learn any?"
Water Qilin shook his head in confusion.
Dragon Qilin sighed in frustration at his failure, then spat out a precious scroll and said, "This is a scripture I created. Take it and study it first. Don't embarrass our Qilin clan."
Water Qilin hastily transformed into human form, his body over ten zhang tall, letting Imperial Lord Yu sit on his shoulder. He held the Art of Raising Humans scripture and studied it intently, feeling that every word was like a pearl—truly mysterious and unfathomable.
Imperial Lord Yu stole a glance at it. Water Qilin quickly covered it and said with an apologetic smile, "My lord, this is for mounts to cultivate. You can't practice it."
Before long, Blind Elder returned, full of pride and satisfaction. Dragon Qilin looked up and saw Qin Mu hanging from the tip of the Dragon Tuo Divine Spear, head drooping, swaying in the wind.
"Ha! Blind Elder is still the superior one!" Water Qilin closed the Art of Raising Humans scripture and exclaimed in admiration.
Qin Mu glanced at him weakly and said, "Tonight we're having a full qilin feast."
Water Qilin quickly shrank his head and thought to himself, "This Art of Raising Humans is profound and mysterious. I haven't mastered it yet, so I'd better not use it for now—otherwise my flattery might land on the wrong foot."