Chapter 1624: Hidden Kill
The next day, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu rose early, washed up, and Ling Yuxiu styled her hair in a married woman’s bun while Qin Mu inserted her hairpin. After the couple finished breakfast, servants had already organized all the congratulatory gifts into a ledger and presented it to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu sipped tea, their heads together as they flipped through the ledger, reading each entry one by one.
Besides treasures, many guests had sent peculiar items. For instance, Lan Yutian sent insights he had gained over the years meditating beneath the World Tree; Xu Shenghua sent a jar of tea and a pot of fragrant orchid; Zhe Huali sent a jade carving of a hundred children he had painstakingly chiseled.
Lin Xuan, the Sect Master, copied out the mathematical equations he had studied over the years and sent them over. Zhan Kong Tathagata sent a single prayer bead. Wang Muran sent a challenge letter, inviting Qin Mu to a battle at the same cultivation level in Little Jade Capital.
Yanfeng Emperor sent them a thick stack of small booklets, each bearing Qin Mu’s name, with rows of tally marks underneath.
Yan Kang’s National Teacher, Jiang Baigui, sent a tree branch imbued with his sword dao—whether as a challenge to Qin Mu or a hope that he could glean insights to advance his own sword dao was unclear.
The Woodcutter Sage sent a tome compiling three hundred and sixty types of acquired great dao, signifying the passing of his mantle to Qin Mu. Yan Yunxi sent a carrot with a bite taken out of it—likely the donkey Lu Zheng couldn’t resist nibbling when delivering the gift.
Di Yiyue sent Ling Yuxiu a hairpin, presumably still useful. Tian Shu sent a jar of wine he had treasured for years, unable to bear drinking it.
Di Shitian, Li Youran, personally transcribed his own *Record of a Hundred Heavenly Creations*. Old Farmer Zhuo Cha sent a load of rice he had grown himself, with Niu Sanduo adding another load as a bonus. Fisherman Heavenly Master Han Tang sent them two small red kun, still infants—likely offspring of his red fish.
Ling Yuxiu quickly dug them out from the pile of gifts. In a tiny fishbowl, two small red fish swam back and forth, each with a pacifier in its mouth.
“Don’t touch them.”
Qin Mu quickly stopped her. “These are kun. They eat people.”
The two small red kun gazed at them innocently, pacifiers still in place.
They continued browsing. Ling Yuxiu laughed. “Ling Tianzun sent you a ‘forever united’ knot. A gift from a Heavenly Sovereign is truly unique.”
Qin Mu pulled out Ling Tianzun’s knot. It was tied using the seal technique of red string knots, incorporating the exquisite dao patterns of the Miluo Palace. He found himself lost in admiration.
“Yue Tianzun sent you a ‘same-heart’ lantern!”
Ling Yuxiu found a lantern embroidered with two hearts, smiling knowingly. “A Heavenly Sovereign’s gift is truly distinctive.”
“It’s for both of us, wishing us eternal unity of heart.”
Qin Mu kept his composure. “This lantern is excellent for traveling.”
Ling Yuxiu then unearthed Lang Huan’s gift. “Sister Lang Huan sent you a flower.”
Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat. This flower was the one he had visualized and given to Lang Huan during their duel in the Other Shore void, when he had refrained from counterattacking and instead imagined a vivid, dewy bloom for her.
Lang Huan had planted that flower in the Primordial Chaos Liquid Pool, and it had survived to this day.
Qin Mu laughed heartily. “Lang Huan’s gift is quite unique… yes, very unique.”
Ling Yuxiu smiled knowingly. “Poison Master Mu Yingxue sent her family’s geographical map.”
“Be careful—it might be poisoned!” Qin Mu quickly said. “Better burn it!”
“Array Master He Yiyi sent a painting of a white horse, with you and her riding it together. It’s beautifully done—no wonder she studied under Deaf Grandpa for two years.”
“It hides a killing array! Burn it!”
“Shanghuang White Sword God sent you a set of dolls.”
Ling Yuxiu rummaged and found a box with four legs. Opening it, inside were two small figures sitting back-to-back.
Just as she was about to take out the dolls for a closer look, Qin Mu exclaimed joyfully, “Medicine Grandpa sent us a dual cultivation technique! Wife, come quickly!”
Ling Yuxiu closed the box, leaned in to look, spat, and blushed. “Medicine Grandpa is a rogue, an old lecher!”
“Taichu sent me a dragon scale.”
Qin Mu found the scale, examined it for a moment, and laughed. “East Emperor Azure Dragon, how have you been? Taichu sending this scale must mean Azure Dragon once told him I owed him a favor when I revived the Heavenly Duke. This scale is an interesting gift… very interesting.”
His eyes flickered. “Taichu suspects I haven’t truly retired, so he’s using this scale to test me. If I revive East Emperor Azure Dragon, it means I’m not really retired and still have ambitions. He’s still wary of me!”
He put the scale away without reviving the dragon. “The Ten Heavenly Sovereigns are all the same—Taichu and Hao Tianzun are birds of a feather. Reviving Azure Dragon can wait!”
“Hao Tian Emperor also sent many treasures.”
Ling Yuxiu marveled. “He’s quite generous. The Heavenly Duke also sent gifts, in the names of both the Earth Lord and the Heavenly Duke.”
“He’s urging me to revive Ugly Earth Lord.”
Qin Mu discreetly stashed away the box of dolls from Bai Qiu’er, then visualized a pair of dolls of himself and Ling Yuxiu to replace them. “He can’t directly urge me, so he’s using the gift as a reminder.”
“Fatty Dragon sent a copy of the *Art of Raising People*!”
Ling Yuxiu chuckled. “And it’s a new edition. Fatty Dragon is thoughtful—this must be for me!” She glanced at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu laughed it off, turning away with a dark expression.
“Taishi also sent a gift—a small piece of eggshell.”
Ling Yuxiu was puzzled. “Why would he send an eggshell… Senior Brother Wei sent a pile of geographical maps. Want to see them?”
…
The couple sorted through everything, reviewing all the guests’ gifts. They kept what was worth keeping and sent the rest to the Yan Kang national treasury or sold them off.
By mid-morning, they went to pay respects to their parents and the eight elders of the Crippled Village. Granny Si had prepared several oxen for Qin Mu. His heart tightened as he glanced at them, but relaxed when he confirmed they were real oxen.
“Mu’er, let’s go back to the village!” Blind Man laughed.
At the Crippled Village by the Yong River, chicken-dragons had long since taken over, becoming the local tyrants. The group planned to clean up and drive them away, but Qin Mu laughed. “No need. I’m a retired Heavenly Sovereign who still clings to power—how could I live in the old mountain village?”
With his divine consciousness, he visualized a magnificent heavenly palace floating above the Crippled Village, resplendent and opulent. Taking Ling Yuxiu’s hand, they walked into the palace.
The palace drifted among the clouds, with countless chicken-dragons below gazing up in envy.
The Heavenly River flowed through the sky. Qin Mu used his great power to move a piece of land beside the river, grazing the oxen on its banks. Green mountains, clear waters, drifting white clouds—it was picturesque.
Ling Yuxiu released the two small red kun from Fisherman Han Tang into the Heavenly River. The little fish swam near the shore, pacifiers in their mouths, reluctant to leave.
No sooner had Ling Yuxiu turned away than two loud crunches echoed from the river. Two massive red kun, dozens of feet long, leaped out, swallowing two of the grazing oxen in one gulp. The remaining two oxen bolted in panic.
Ling Yuxiu stared, dumbfounded, as the red kun wriggled slowly back into the river, reverting to two small red fish sucking on pacifiers.
“Husband doesn’t know about this yet… I’ll buy two more oxen to replace them. He won’t notice…”
She hurried off, bought two oxen, and mixed them into the herd.
She then planted Lang Huan’s flower by the Heavenly River and also sowed Yan Yunxi’s carrot. The carrot, once bitten by Lu Zheng, suddenly grew back to its original form, transforming into a naked baby who leaped out of the soil and jumped into the river to bathe.
“Careful—there are kun in the river…”
Before she could finish, another crunch sounded as the two red kun leaped out. But the naked baby clenched its fists and gave them a thorough beating.
Ling Yuxiu finally relaxed.
Qin Mu studied the gifts’ texts, reading them one by one. Ling Yuxiu also brought various achievements from Yan Kang’s reforms, which greatly benefited him. He marveled at the progress of Yan Kang’s divine techniques and dao over the years.
He pulled out the Woodcutter Sage’s tome of three hundred and sixty great dao illustrations, compared them, and frowned slightly.
“Teacher Woodcutter proposed three hundred and sixty types of great dao, which was also the prototype for the Heavenly Saint Sect’s three hundred and sixty halls. But after over a hundred years of reform, Yan Kang has far more than three hundred and sixty acquired great daos?”
He closed the book and stood up. Yan Kang’s reforms constantly birthed new professions, each representing a new acquired great dao.
The saying “the dao has no end” didn’t just mean the path of seeking the dao was endless, but that acquired great daos were infinite, never fully discoverable.
As he absorbed the fruits of Yan Kang’s reforms, he also enjoyed his new marriage with Ling Yuxiu, visiting the elders of Crippled Village. Time flew by.
He rarely had such peace of mind. In these days of quiet contemplation, he organized his techniques and divine abilities, his dao heart growing ever more profound and unfathomable. Lan Yutian’s gift inspired him greatly, and Yan Kang’s reforms along with the Woodcutter Sage’s three hundred and sixty acquired great daos deepened his insights.
Yanfeng Emperor and National Teacher Jiang Baigui handled Yan Kang’s governance, while Yu Chenzi negotiated with the Heavenly Court. None of these trivial matters disturbed his dao heart.
Gradually, he felt his techniques and divine abilities were at a bottleneck, on the verge of a major breakthrough. He sensed he was about to reach an entirely new realm, but the path forward was shrouded in chaos and ignorance.
Pacing back and forth, he unconsciously arrived at the Heavenly River. A flock of chicken-dragons had somehow flown onto this floating land, foraging for insects in the woods.
Nearby, a few oxen lay in the shade, swishing their tails and chewing their cud, utterly at ease.
Qin Mu sat on the grass, lost in thought.
After an unknown time, a voice suddenly broke the silence. “Once the Shepherd Heavenly Sovereign, now a cowherd. You make me… sigh with emotion and melancholy.”
Qin Mu turned. Hao Tian Emperor, in plain clothes, had arrived unnoticed.
Qin Mu stood up, forcing a smile. “Your Majesty mocks this humble subject.”
Hao Tian Emperor came to his side, looking around. “When I first heard that Shepherd Heavenly Sovereign had lost his dao heart, I couldn’t believe it. Now, seeing you so dispirited, I believe it, but a pang of sorrow rises in my heart.”
He looked up at the sky, murmuring, “Without an opponent like Shepherd Heavenly Sovereign, what use is all my martial power?”
Two lines of clear tears slid down his cheeks.
The official account will soon announce the ranking of the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns by strength!
Many readers are curious about which Heavenly Sovereign is the strongest and which is the weakest. Today, on my official account, I’ll reveal which Heavenly Sovereign is the weakest!
Follow the WeChat official account “Zhai Zhu,” and at ten o’clock tonight, you’ll get the answer!
Can you guess correctly?