Chapter 1357: Summoning Shu Jun (Second Update)
"Leaves from the Dao Tree?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he silently lamented his misfortune. He had been just a hair's breadth away from catching that leaf.
Tai Yi's Dao Tree must be incredibly powerful, and the leaves upon it surely possessed unimaginable abilities. If he could obtain one, he could definitely refine it into the most profound treasure.
"But why does that leaf look familiar?"
Qin Mu pondered. He had seen such leaves in Tai Di's Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven, but not only there—he had also seen them in the small iron bucket that Tai Yi often carried!
It was when Tai Yi was lazy and would hand them a branch, telling them to use it to sprinkle water from the bucket onto the cracked Great Black Mountain to repair it. The leaves on that branch were exactly the same as the one Yan Er had just been holding!
"In other words, we've often been holding branches and leaves from the Dao Tree to sprinkle water?"
Qin Mu's vertical eye on his forehead suddenly opened with a gurgling sound, and he inwardly regretted: "If only I had secretly plucked two leaves back then... If those branches and leaves came from Tai Yi's Dao Tree, then what kind of water was in his bucket?"
Why could a single drop of that water suppress the chaotic energy in his eye, allowing his vertical eye to even see through the Dao structures within the Primordial Spirits of Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord?
His curiosity about the water in that small iron bucket grew stronger and stronger.
Heavenly Lord said, "Pastoral Celestial Venerable, try testing your new vertical eye again and see its power and might."
Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he once again surged his Yuan Qi and divine consciousness, activating his vertical eye.
But the moment he activated it, chaotic energy surged from the depths of his pupil, quickly turning his vertical eye into a blur of chaos, unable to see anything clearly!
He hurriedly stopped, and the chaotic energy automatically retreated back into the depths of his pupil, disappearing.
This vertical eye had no power at all!
However, when he looked at Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord, he could still see the structure of their Primordial Spirit Dao.
This eye was too strange.
Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord were also baffled. Earth Lord had seen the power of Qin Mu's vertical eye before. Qin Mu had once used this eye to seal Xiao Tianzun, even sealing Xiao Tianzun's divine artifact, Yu Tianzun, which had quelled Xiao Tianzun's arrogance.
Otherwise, in the battle of the Peach Forest, it was uncertain whether Yue Tianzun, You Tianzun, and Earth Lord could have escaped unscathed, let alone exile Xiao Tianzun!
Logically, the materials used to forge this new vertical eye far surpassed the previous one. Earth Lord's Origin Horn was stronger than the earlier Qin Character Continent, Heavenly Lord's Heavenly Dao Crystal was something Qin Mu's previous eye lacked, and with Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord personally refining and empowering it with their respective Daos, its power should have surpassed the old one. Yet now, the new eye clearly had no power at all!
"The problem most likely lies with the chaotic eggshell."
Both divine beings understood. Qin Mu was overly ambitious, always piling on the best materials, but good things weren't necessarily useful.
If Qin Mu had used the eggshell of Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu, this eye's power would have been immeasurably stronger than before. But by switching to Tai Yi's eggshell, he had instead failed to activate the eye's power.
What they didn't know, however, was that even though Qin Mu couldn't unleash the eye's power, relying solely on the eye's own strength, he could still see through their Primordial Spirits.
If it were any other Dao technique or divine ability, even if used by a Celestial Venerable, Qin Mu could see through it with a single glance!
That was the true terrifying power of this eye!
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable, we have fulfilled our promise to you. This place is extremely dangerous and not suitable for a long stay. We should each return now."
Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord took their leave, and Qin Mu escorted them out of the Ten Thousand Black Mountains. Only then did the two divine beings depart separately.
They couldn't leave directly from within the Ten Thousand Black Mountains; they had to walk out before they could return to their respective worlds.
Before leaving, Earth Lord said earnestly, "This Black Mountain range is an ominous place, not fit for dwelling. In the ancient era, countless bizarre events occurred here. Moreover, it is one of the few places where we cannot descend directly or leave directly. A wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. Pastoral Celestial Venerable, think thrice."
Qin Mu thanked him and saw Earth Lord off.
"How could I not know the dangers of the Great Black Mountain?"
He murmured, "But the greater the danger, the greater the opportunity—that's a truth I've known since childhood. The dangers of the Great Black Mountain may be unmatched anywhere else, but the opportunities it holds are also unparalleled!"
That was why, despite knowing the risks, he chose to stay!
Qin Mu summoned Wei Suifeng, Granny Si, You Ming Crown Prince, Yu Chudu, and others, along with Long Qilin, Yan Er, Blind Man, and Mute Man. He said, "Shu Jun led the First Ancestor, Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and the others into the reverse side of the Ancestral Court. It's extremely dangerous there. I will use a summoning divine ability to see if I can call them back."
"Can people be summoned too?"
Yu Chudu asked in confusion, "Summoning giant beasts is already incredible. Summoning people—wouldn't that be even more astonishing?"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Junior Disciple Nephew, the subtlety of application lies in the mind. When you learn a divine ability, you must also know how to draw inferences. People and giant beasts aren't much different; both are living beings. The summoning divine ability is about establishing a connection with the summoned target, using powerful divine consciousness to pull them from another space into our current space."
Yu Chudu listened with a mix of understanding and confusion, nodding repeatedly.
Qin Mu said to Wei Suifeng, "Don't let your disciple teach Hua Xuanxiu anymore. If you do, she'll be ruined."
Yu Chudu's face flushed with shame, and Wei Suifeng, also seeing that his disciple had significant shortcomings in adaptability, laughed and said, "Then I'll teach her myself."
Qin Mu shook his head. "You're no different from your disciple."
Wei Suifeng's face turned red, and he said angrily, "You're so capable—you teach her!"
But Qin Mu found it troublesome and glanced at Granny Si. She understood and said with a smile, "I'm already teaching Little Wen Yuan and You Ming Crown Prince, but having Xuanxiu join me wouldn't be a problem. You Ming Crown Prince is too old, and Little Wen Yuan is too young, so she'll be a good companion."
Wen Yuan Patriarch's face reddened, and he stammered, "Call me Patriarch, don't call me Little Wen Yuan... Mu'er..."
Qin Mu's face darkened. "Don't call me Mu'er! Call me Old Sect Leader!"
Wen Yuan Patriarch was at a loss whether to laugh or cry and asked, "Old Sect Leader, if you can summon Shu Jun and the others back, why did you call for us? Do you think there will be danger during the summoning?"
Qin Mu silently praised him: "As expected of the Young Patriarch—still sharp-minded..."
He focused his mind, surging his Yuan Qi and divine consciousness, and shouted softly, "Rise!"
His magical power activated, and he immediately visualized a massive altar, with Yuan Qi imprints forming various summoning runes on it!
The altar rapidly materialized, spreading beneath everyone's feet.
Earth Mother Yuan Jun also knew the summoning divine ability, but when she used it, she needed to control roots and trees to form the altar.
Qin Mu, however, didn't need to do that. He directly visualized the object with his powerful divine consciousness, simple and efficient.
With a shout from Qin Mu, a second altar, even larger, rose beneath this massive altar. Everyone stood on the first altar and looked down to see the second altar two or three times larger than the first.
Suddenly, a third altar emerged from below, even larger than the second.
Qin Mu visualized nine altars in succession, stacked one on top of another, towering like a mountain!
"The reason I called you all here is that the reverse side of the Ancestral Court is filled with countless giant beasts of immense power, and there's also Long Xiao, a being capable of contending with a Celestial Venerable."
Qin Mu activated the nine-tiered altar, and the summoning divine ability erupted, his voice deep: "I'm afraid Long Xiao will seize this opportunity to pull me into the reverse side of the Ancestral Court! Everyone, link your divine consciousness with mine. I'll take your consciousness across to the reverse side of the Ancestral Court!"