Chapter 1084: A Fleeting Acquaintance (Second Update!)
With the help of the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy, Dragon Qilin and Yan'er led the six heavenly dragons and quickly escaped from the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace. Looking back, they saw that the mist within the palace still hadn't dispersed.
Dragon Qilin and Yan'er hugged the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy, jumping and dancing with joy, celebrating wildly. The six heavenly dragons also surrounded this number one supreme treasure of the world, singing and dancing in delight.
Suddenly, Dragon Qilin stopped and said, "It seems like we're missing someone... Oh no, the Sect Leader is still in the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace!"
Everyone exchanged blank looks.
The six heavenly dragons coughed repeatedly, looking around and whistling.
Yan'er stomped her foot and said, "We were so focused on beating up the Dark Heavenly Son and stealing things that we forgot the young master was still in the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace! Now that he's severely injured and can't use his divine consciousness, what do we do?"
Dragon Qilin's expression shifted uncertainly as he paced back and forth, saying, "The reason we stole the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy was because the Sect Leader was badly hurt. We wanted to use this treasure's miraculous power to protect us. Now we've stolen the thing, but we've lost the Sect Leader..."
The young heavenly dragon stopped whistling and whispered, "Stop whistling, I'm about to pee myself from fear..."
The whistling stopped.
Everyone froze on the Heavenly River. Beneath the river's surface, a large black fish swam leisurely past their feet, letting out strange croaking sounds.
"The Sect Leader will definitely be fine."
Dragon Qilin looked toward the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, where many Black Tortoise clan members were chasing out of the palace and charging toward them. He made a quick decision: "The Sect Leader has always been clever. He's the one who takes care of us; we rarely take care of him. Let's go first—he'll definitely turn misfortune into fortune on his own!"
Yan'er and the six heavenly dragons nodded repeatedly.
The group hurriedly fled.
"Did you leave the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree for the Sect Leader?"
"Yeah."
"Are there lanterns on it?"
"Yeah."
"Good. At worst, he can extinguish the lantern and return to the ghost ship."
...
Meanwhile, in the guest room of the Jade Capital, Qin Mu heard the commotion outside and felt puzzled. "What's going on? Could it be that Long Pi and Yan'er are stealing the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy?"
A moment later, Qin Mu wondered, "Why haven't Yan'er and Long Pi come back yet?"
After a long while, Qin Mu finally confirmed: "These guys stole the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy and then abandoned me and ran off! Two ungrateful wretches!"
He couldn't fight anyone in his current state. If he ran out and was discovered, he'd definitely be caught as a thief, so he had no choice but to endure.
The Dark Underworld Prince finally woke up from his hangover. When he learned that the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy had been stolen, he was stunned, blurting out, "Who stole it?"
When he heard it was the Loose Cultivator of Dragon Mountain and the princess of the Southern Emperor's household, he was even more dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long time.
He was silent for a moment before coming to his senses and giving orders: "Tell the clan members not to pursue. Let them return to the palace. Although the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy is precious, the lives of the clan members are more important. We must return to the Northern Pole Heaven immediately—no more delays!"
The Black Tortoise clan members returned to the palace. The Dark Underworld Prince steadied his mind and focused entirely on driving the palace along the Heavenly River toward the Northern Pole Heaven. But whenever he thought of the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy—a rare treasure forged with his parents' life's savings—his heart ached as if twisted.
"That pair of scoundrels!" the Dark Underworld Prince cursed, seething with resentment.
Qin Mu carefully adjusted the light, staying where he was, continuing to cultivate the Overlord Body Three Dan Technique to restore his divine consciousness. He used the Primal Chaos Primordial Stone to help himself recover to his peak state as quickly as possible.
During this time, several Divine Serpent Priestesses came to clean the room. Qin Mu had no choice but to use his divine consciousness to deceive them, barely managing to fool them.
However, every night, light would automatically emanate from the guest room, which drew the attention of more Black Tortoise clan members.
But when they went inside to check, they couldn't see anything, nor could they tell where the light was coming from. This naturally stirred up unease among the people.
Gradually, rumors of the guest room being haunted spread among the clan.
More than ten days later, Qin Mu finally felt that his divine consciousness had stabilized, and the Primordial Chaos Primordial Liquid within him had been mostly consumed.
He looked inward at his physical body and saw that this newly reborn body had muscles and bones like jade, blood a rich red, and both qi and blood were flourishing. With the slightest movement, multicolored light steamed from various parts of his body. Nearly two thousand ancient god shadows emerged from his flesh, accompanied by the resonance of Dao sounds.
"Senior Brother truly has extraordinary insight. Using so much Primordial Chaos Primordial Liquid to reshape my body has greatly improved my physique!"
He was overjoyed: "Truly worthy of being Senior Brother—an old hand with far more experience than me. In my daily cultivation, I dare only use a single drop of Primordial Chaos Primordial Liquid. I wouldn't dare use a whole vat of the raw liquid to rebuild my body like he did!"
Qin Mu then examined his Embryonic Spirit Divine Treasury. He saw that the reforged sun, moon, and stars were even brighter. The sky hung like a mirror, the stars dazzling, while the Netherworld was dark and deep, its depths hard to fathom.
Each heavenly palace shone like new, filled with lingering Dao rhythms. Various Dao sounds converged into a harmonious symphony of the Great Dao, containing countless wonders.
"Senior Brother really is knowledgeable!"
Qin Mu praised again. After this narrow escape from death, his Embryonic Spirit Divine Treasury had become much larger than before. The divine treasury had expanded outward once more, his primal energy surging like a blazing wildfire sweeping across the wilderness, like a vast flood flooding heaven and earth—mighty and overwhelming.
His divine consciousness hadn't increased much, but it had become tougher than before.
Qin Mu let out a breath, stood up, withdrew his divine consciousness that had been lodged in the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree, and then walked to the window. He opened it and looked outside.
It was daytime.
His divine consciousness rippled as he stored the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree and the lantern into his brow, hiding them in the Qin Continent. He opened the door and walked out, thinking, "After the Heavenly Emperor's death, the Heavenly Venerables will fight over his body. I need to go see that, and also meet Cloud Heavenly Venerable..."
He quietly left the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace and arrived at the Heavenly River. Suddenly, he saw that beneath the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, the current was swift. A dragon-headed black tortoise was carrying the palace on its back as it moved up the river.
Qin Mu laughed heartily and called out, "Dark Underworld Prince, do you recognize Mu Qing?"
That black tortoise was none other than the Dark Underworld Prince. Feeling he had lost the treasure, he had taken it upon himself to punish himself by carrying the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace on his back as he headed to the Northern Pole Heaven. Hearing this, he quickly slowed down and blurted out, "Mu Qing? Could it be Mu Heavenly Venerable?"
Qin Mu smiled and nodded, saying, "Indeed. I was pursued by an enemy and borrowed your esteemed residence to hide and recover from my injuries. I didn't inform the master of this place. Please forgive me."
The Dark Underworld Prince quickly said, "Heavenly Venerable, don't blame yourself. If I'm being honest, I should call you my teacher! If it weren't for you passing down the method of becoming a god, how could I have achieved what I have today? Heavenly Venerable, allow me to transform, and we can go to the palace. I'll have the servants treat you with great hospitality!"
Seeing his warm hospitality, Qin Mu shook his head and said, "My enemy is formidable, so I cannot show myself in your Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, lest I bring trouble upon you."
The Dark Underworld Prince probed, "May I ask who this enemy of the Heavenly Venerable is?"
"The Primordial Emperor!"
Qin Mu's expression grew serious, and he said in a deep voice, "You may not have heard of him, but if you meet the Northern Emperor later, they will tell you about the Primordial Emperor's origins."
The Dark Underworld Prince hesitated for a moment, then said, "Heavenly Venerable, I've lost my family's treasure. I'd like to ask you to stay for a few days and plead my case before my parents, so they won't punish me too harshly..."
Qin Mu gave a faint smile and said, "Prince, if I stay, I will only harm you, as well as the Northern Emperor and his wife. As for you losing the treasure and facing punishment, when we meet again in the future, I will plead for you."
The Dark Underworld Prince dared not insist. He saw him off from the Black Tortoise Heavenly Palace, waving as he watched him disappear into the distance, calling out, "Heavenly Venerable, don't forget—you must plead for me!"