Chapter 1101: The New Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign (Third Update!)
The Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign was furious beyond measure. Her losses this time were devastating. The primordial wood roots were the very foundation of her existence, yet now they had become Gongsun Yan's roots, and she had also lost all of her Hongmeng primordial liquid.
And this brat even dared to say she had gotten the better end of the deal!
Gongsun Yan woke up, shaking her head. Finding that her body was still intact, she was both startled and overjoyed. But when she saw the Heavenly Duke and the Earth Count, she grew timid and dared not speak.
Qin Mu stepped forward, took her hand, and walked over with her, smiling. "Earth Count, Heavenly Duke, allow me to introduce you. This is the new Earth Mother, Gongsun Yan."
The Earth Count and Heavenly Duke bowed in greeting. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Gongsun."
Gongsun Yan was at a loss, fidgeting nervously.
Qin Mu laughed. "Sister Yan, won't you return the greeting?"
Gongsun Yan had no choice but to bow in return.
The Heavenly Duke smiled. "The Yuan Realm and the Xuan Capital are one family. Fellow Daoist Gongsun should visit the Xuan Capital often in the future, to foster connections between the two realms."
Gongsun Yan looked bewildered but could only nod in agreement.
She had no idea of the weight behind the Heavenly Duke's words, but the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign was seething with rage.
The Heavenly Duke's meaning was clear: he acknowledged Gongsun Yan as the new Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign of the Yuan Realm, one who would rule the Yuan Realm in the future and sit as an equal to him. Hence, he addressed her as "Fellow Daoist" and invited her to the Xuan Capital.
This was undoubtedly casting the Earth Mother aside, effectively stripping her of her legitimate authority as the ruler of the Yuan Realm!
But the Earth Mother also knew that circumstances dictated actions. Gongsun Yan had obtained the primordial wood roots, and with such an abundance of Hongmeng primordial liquid nourishing her, her future achievements would be boundless.
Moreover, Gongsun Yan was not an ancient god, free from the many restrictions that bound them. Relying on the Yancheng Reforms, her accomplishments might not fall short of the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign's. That was why she had earned the Heavenly Duke's recognition.
As for the current Earth Mother, she had only a single primordial wood core and one bottle of Hongmeng primordial liquid left—far from enough to contend with Gongsun Yan for control of the Yuan Realm.
In essence, her life's work had all been poured into elevating Gongsun Yan.
Qin Mu had acted ruthlessly. His goal was not merely to eliminate the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign but also to forge a new one in her place!
If the Heavenly Duke and Earth Count had not stepped in, whether the Earth Mother survived or not would have been irrelevant, because Yancheng already had a new Earth Mother.
The Heavenly Duke smiled. "Can the Heavenly Sovereign Mu remove the traps he placed on the Earth Mother's earth soul?"
"What's so difficult about that?"
Qin Mu said magnanimously, "Since you two fellow daoists have pleaded on her behalf, I naturally have to grant you this favor."
His divine consciousness rippled, and the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign felt as though countless tiny insects were wriggling within her earth soul, as one minuscule rune after another flew out.
The Earth Count watched these incredibly fine runes fly toward Qin Mu, disintegrating and turning into vital qi and divine consciousness as they returned to his body. He asked, "What divine ability did the Heavenly Sovereign Mu use?"
"Very simple."
Qin Mu said modestly, "I merely used microscopic engraving to carve my runes onto each grain of soul black sand. The altar I used to summon the Earth Mother's soul had these rune imprints on it. When the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign was summoned and passed through the altar, the runes were branded onto every grain of her soul black sand."
Though he made it sound simple, the difficulty was obvious.
Soul black sand was arguably the finest of particles. Carving runes onto each grain of it was nearly an impossible task!
The Yancheng Reforms had begun to touch upon microscopic engraving and microscopic branding, but no other race across the myriad realms had ever ventured into this field!
"Besides the microscopic engraving on the soul black sand, I was also worried that I might not be able to make the Earth Mother's soul collapse at any time, so I used Ling Heavenly Sovereign's divine ability as well. Also very simple."
Qin Mu's gaze was sincere. "It was just the simple Unchanging divine ability. On that altar, before I reshaped the Earth Mother's three souls, I had already cast the Unchanging ability on her soul in its black sand form. This provided a double safeguard. With either measure, I could make the Earth Mother die without any hesitation."
The Earth Count and Heavenly Duke fell silent.
The Heavenly Duke coughed, reached out to pick up the primordial wood core, and smiled. "Primordial Sovereign, you are in a weakened state now. It would be best for you to come to my Xuan Capital to recuperate for a while. Staying in the Yuan Realm, you will be in danger day and night. My Xuan Capital has a celestial pond where you can restore your physical body. Though it won't bring you back to your peak, it will still be no small matter."
The Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign said, "I'll trouble you, fellow daoist."
The Heavenly Duke bowed to Qin Mu and then departed with the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign.
Qin Mu returned the bow, watching them ascend into the sky.
The Lava Earth Count stood quietly, watching Qin Mu. After a moment, he said, "You are no longer the innocent Qin Mu of the past."
Qin Mu smiled. "Doesn't the Earth Count wish for me to grow?"
The Lava Earth Count shook his head. "I naturally wish for you to grow, but it reminds me of the time when the Heavenly Duke and I were in your eyes. That era will never return."
Qin Mu sighed. "It cannot return."
The Lava Earth Count bowed, then sank into the ground.
Qin Mu bowed in farewell, not straightening up until the Earth Count had vanished.
Long Qilin and Yan'er hurried over. Qin Mu wiped the sweat from the back of his neck and sighed. "Even when sitting as equals with beings like the Heavenly Duke and Earth Count, I still feel a bit nervous."
Yan'er quietly crept behind him and peeked. Sure enough, goosebumps had risen on the back of Qin Mu's neck—he had only been putting on a brave front.
Gongsun Yan was still dazed and at a loss. Seeing Qin Mu about to leave, she quickly grabbed his sleeve.
The girl was on the verge of tears, her voice filled with panic as she begged, "Young master, please don't go just yet. My heart is racing. The Earth Mother is my mother, and she tried to take over my body. The Heavenly Duke and Earth Count call me 'fellow daoist' and talk about the Yuan Realm and the Xuan Capital... I, I..."
She bit her lip, crying like a pear blossom in the rain. "I just wanted to plant trees here and attract phoenixes and vermilion birds to make their nests! If you're short on water, I can water you, and I can even fertilize and catch bugs for you. I've never encountered anything like this..."
Qin Mu patted her on the back, waiting for her to finish crying, then smiled. "Yan'er, don't you understand yet? You are no longer who you were. You are now the new Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign of the Yuan Realm! What you haven't realized is that all the ancient gods under heaven are envious of you!"
Gongsun Yan looked up, tears still glistening in her eyes, and stared at him in confusion.
Qin Mu laughed. "Whether it's the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Count, the Earth Mother, the Four Emperors of the ancient gods, or the myriad other true gods, they are all bound by their own great dao and cannot break through their limitations. The Earth Mother tried to take over your body to escape the shackles of being an ancient god. Now, you are not an ancient god, yet you possess strength like theirs. You can still cultivate and strive for even higher realms. How could they not envy you?"
Gongsun Yan clutched his clothes tightly, tugging to keep him from leaving. "I don't understand anything. Teach me..."
"Let go first. I'll have Granny come and teach you. Granny's yuan magnetic divine abilities and other techniques are all at the level of entering the dao. She is the most suitable teacher for you. With her help, you can quickly master your power."
Qin Mu tried to pull free but couldn't.
At this point, Gongsun Yan was definitely an adult demigod, with combat power comparable to a top-tier Emperor Seat powerhouse. The only thing she lacked was cultivation realm.
Her realm was still very low—she had only reached the Divine Bridge stage. The girl had never been serious about cultivation. Her strength came from her bloodline, the Earth Mother's roots, and the Earth Mother's hoarded Hongmeng primordial liquid.
Being held by such a terrifying existence, Qin Mu couldn't escape at all!
Qin Mu smiled. "I think that in a while, when the Heavenly Court learns of your existence, they will summon you in the name of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor and appoint you as something like the Primordial Sovereign of Yancheng. I'll have the Emperor teach you the etiquette for the Heavenly Court... Let go first! Don't pull my pants!"