Chapter 1170: The Art of Life Transformation (Fourth Update!)
The Heavenly Yin Empress shrank her body, but even when reduced to her smallest size, she was still much taller than Qin Mu. She led him to her palace, saying with a smile, "It's been quite some time since you last came to see me. You're a Celestial Venerable now. I've heard some of your old acquaintances mention you, and they are full of admiration."
Qin Mu replied, "It's a long story. Empress, why have you been cultivating so quickly? You've already reached the Imperial Throne realm, haven't you?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress was very pleased and said happily, "You noticed that too? Ever since I came back to life, I've felt that no matter what I cultivate, it's exceptionally fast. Within a few years, I had already formed the Divine Bridge. But then Xuansheng Hua came running to tell me that he had opened up the Heavenly River Divine Treasury and made me discard the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury. He also taught me how to open the Heavenly Palace, and I found it very easy to cultivate as well."
Qin Mu's face darkened. How difficult was his own cultivation?
It was nothing like the Heavenly Yin Empress, who had sailed through smoothly all the way to the Imperial Throne realm.
But it wasn't surprising. After her resurrection, the Heavenly Yin Empress had no realm, but her cultivation base and strength were already comparable to the Netherworld Emperor.
With such a vast foundation, it was only natural for her to reach the Imperial Throne realm in just ten or twenty years.
Moreover, she had a pure and simple mind, free from distractions. The Woodcutter, Xuansheng Hua, and others had organized the foundational Dao runes of the Heavenly Yin Realm. Once she understood her own Heavenly Yin Dao, comprehending divine abilities and realms became incredibly easy for her.
Furthermore, her prior experience as an ancient god gave her an innate advantage, making her unparalleled in her mastery of the Heavenly Yin Dao.
"The Empress has turned misfortune into good fortune," Qin Mu said with a smile. "I have an impertinent request. Could you pass on your Imperial Throne cultivation technique to me?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress was extremely generous and laughed heartily. "What's impertinent about that? You are my benefactor. What is a mere cultivation technique worth?"
Qin Mu said seriously, "Empress, you must never be so generous with others. If someone else learns the secrets of your technique, they could study it to devise methods against it, potentially leading to your downfall."
The Heavenly Yin Empress was startled. "You're not going to learn my technique just to use it against me, are you?"
She then tilted her head, thought for a moment, and smiled. "You're not that kind of person."
She laughed joyfully and said, "I've already been deceived by the Netherworld Emperor once. Don't worry, I won't be fooled by him a second time. My technique is called the Art of Life Transformation. It's a very wondrous technique that can bestow a soul upon a soulless life."
Qin Mu was stunned for a moment, then humbly asked, "What are the powers of this Art of Life Transformation?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress was also stunned. After a long pause, she said regretfully, "I haven't thought about that yet. Ah!"
She exclaimed in surprise, "When I created this technique, I never once thought about using its divine abilities to kill anyone!"
Qin Mu was silent for a long time, then bowed deeply and praised, "Thank you for your guidance, Empress. It is precisely because your Art of Life Transformation was never intended to create abilities that destroy life that you could wholeheartedly pursue the Dao and cultivate to the Imperial Throne realm that others only dream of."
The Heavenly Yin Empress was flustered and quickly helped him up, saying, "I don't know if this technique will be of any use to you. At the time, I was only focused on cultivation, delving deeper into the Dao of the Heavenly Yin Realm. Before I knew it, I had reached the Imperial Throne realm and forgot to create a few powerful offensive abilities. Your words are too kind; they embarrass me."
Qin Mu straightened up and said with a smile, "Empress, rest assured. Your technique is very useful to me. Because you never created abilities that take life, you became the true Heavenly Yin Empress. But as I learn your technique, I will inevitably have to take life. I will create my own path of killing."
The Heavenly Yin Empress taught him the Art of Life Transformation, explaining in detail her understanding of each step of the technique, leaving nothing out.
Qin Mu listened quietly to her explanation, gradually becoming completely absorbed.
In his view, as the Heavenly Yin Empress explained the various realms of the Heavenly Yin Dao, there were countless opportunities to unleash the sinister and terrifying aspects of the Art of Life Transformation, turning them into incredibly fierce divine abilities.
Yet the Heavenly Yin Empress seemed completely unaware of how terrifying her technique was, focusing solely on bestowing souls upon soulless life.
He had to admire the purity and clarity of the Heavenly Yin Empress's mind. However, while she didn't lean towards the path of killing, he had to consider it. Various divine abilities, astonishingly powerful and sinisterly terrifying, began to take shape in his mind.
After a few days, Qin Mu thoroughly comprehended the Art of Life Transformation. The Heavenly Yin Empress picked out some difficult points to test his understanding.
Qin Mu answered them one by one, but his answers were quite different from what the Heavenly Yin Empress had in mind, even going in the opposite direction.
The Heavenly Yin Empress said indignantly, "You seem very clever, but you're actually quite stupid! Everything you said is wrong! Yet it sounds very reasonable... How strange!"
She tilted her head again, still unable to figure it out.
Qin Mu laughed heartily. "Empress, the Art of Life Transformation is your creation, and you have your own insights. But after you taught it to me, the Art of Life Transformation I comprehended became my own understanding, no longer exactly what you taught me. I very much hope you can keep this pure heart forever and never set foot in the realm I have entered. But in the future, you may still have to walk this path."
He stood up and said, "Empress, the purpose of my visit is to go to Fengdu. I ask for your help."
The Heavenly Yin Empress was still pondering his words. Upon hearing this, she said disappointedly, "I thought you came specifically to see me."
Qin Mu quickly said, "I did come specifically to see you, Empress. But since I'm here, I still need to go to Fengdu to see some old friends."
The Heavenly Yin Empress became happy again and said with a smile, "When you come out of Fengdu, I'll show you a few divine abilities. I'm sure you'll be very pleased."
Qin Mu agreed.
The Heavenly Yin Empress led the way, saying, "Yama came to me with the Heavenly Yin Pearl, asking for my protection. He has also been kind to me, so I hid Fengdu away. The divine demon armies of the Heavenly Court searched everywhere but couldn't find them. The Woodcutter, Wen Tian, told me about what happened in Yankang. He sighed for a long time and said he felt sorry for you all."
Qin Mu followed closely behind her and said calmly, "I understand the choices made by the Kai Emperor and Fengdu, and I can sympathize with them. I no longer blame them."
"Actually, Wen Tian has gone out many times to gather news about you. He cares about you very much."
The Heavenly Yin Empress glanced at him and said softly, "When he heard that you had dug out your own soul and gouged out your own eyes, he sat there woodenly for a long time. He even asked me to create a new soul for you. But I didn't know if you would still be you after creating a new soul, so I refused. This place is small, with few people. I've seen men cry before, but I've never seen someone like Wen Tian cry."
Qin Mu was stunned. "I know."
The Heavenly Yin Empress led him to the rear palace. She reached out and gently pressed her palm against the wall. A white door appeared on the clean, white wall, barely visible if one didn't look closely.
The Heavenly Yin Empress pulled open the door, revealing a gray mist inside. "Go in. Inside is Fengdu."
Qin Mu steadied himself and stepped through the door.
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—Next week, Pig will be traveling back and forth between Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing. Updates might be delayed. I'm letting you all know in advance.