Chapter 261: Li Tianxing and the Emperor
Qin Mu studied Emperor Yanfeng, observing that this emperor resembled a tattered sack stuffed with grain—except the sack leaked grain, while he leaked blood from all directions. His condition was dire.
His vital energy and blood were rapidly withering away, and as they drained, tremors echoed from his divine repositories within, like the rumbling of collapsing heavens and earth. With his primordial qi and blood flowing out, compounded by the collapse of his divine repositories, if not treated in time, this emperor would be dead within an hour.
"So it's the Court Gentleman for Consultation."
Emperor Yanfeng forced his eyes open, speaking weakly: "Is there still hope for me?"
Qin Mu carefully examined his injuries, his ten fingers flying as he swiftly used the Creation Demon Heavenly Art to seal his soul, trapping his spirit within his body. Emperor Yanfeng immediately lost the ability to speak, and even his eyeballs could not move.
Qin Mu took some dragon saliva and applied it to his wounds. Looking up, he saw that Blind and Horse had not lingered but had directly left.
"Are they leading away the pursuers?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. He said to the Dragon Qilin, "Return to Granny's courtyard."
The Dragon Qilin turned around. Qin Mu sat on the back of this Dragon Qilin, made Emperor Yanfeng swallow some dragon saliva, massaged his body to squeeze out stagnant blood, calculated for a moment, and took out a few spiritual pills.
Back when he had comprehended the Great Unification Art, due to its major drawbacks causing both qi and blood deficiency and mental decline, he had refined two types of spiritual pills to save himself: one was the Spirit Buddha Pill to replenish the mind, and the other was the Blood Glory Pill to replenish qi and blood. Finally, he used the Spirit Return Pill to consume a Red Dragon Carp King, completing the restoration of his body's deficiencies.
The pills in his hand were the Blood Glory Pills.
Qin Mu hesitated. Currently, Emperor Yanfeng's qi and blood were withering, but there was still hope. If he took the Blood Glory Pill, causing his qi and blood to surge suddenly, it would likely collapse his already precarious and crumbling divine repositories all at once!
Emperor Yanfeng's cultivation was heaven-reaching and earth-shattering. If the energy within his divine repositories suddenly erupted with nowhere to vent, this emperor would explode entirely, and even Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin would be blown to pieces by the out-of-control energy.
Yet if he did not replenish Emperor Yanfeng's qi and blood, his current condition would be extremely dangerous.
"I must first channel the energy out of his divine repositories, then replenish his qi and blood."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment. The best method would be to use silver needles to guide out the violent energy, but the silver needles inserted into his divine repositories would likely dissolve instantly, unable to draw out the dissipating energy in time.
The second option was to use a seal to trap the energy within Emperor Yanfeng's divine repositories inside his body. However, Qin Mu did not have the immense magical power needed to seal Emperor Yanfeng's cultivation.
The third option was to use a "spiritual pill," or rather a poison that dissolves cultivation, to remove Emperor Yanfeng's power. But such pills were often refined from highly toxic substances, and one misstep could dissolve even Emperor Yanfeng's body!
Qin Mu decided on the second option. He lacked the strength to seal Emperor Yanfeng, but Granny Si should have it.
"However, even if I save him, he will only be a cripple."
Qin Mu felt a pang of sympathy. Emperor Yanfeng was in his prime, with a good body that could live another two or three hundred years, but after this ordeal, he would become like an ordinary person, with only a few decades of life left.
A once-mighty ruler reduced to an ordinary man—Emperor Yanfeng would surely find it hard to accept. Qin Mu wondered how lost he would feel upon waking.
"The second option might be the best. If I seal the energy in his divine repositories within his body, perhaps he might be able to repair them..."
Qin Mu shook his head. That possibility was very slim.
The Dragon Qilin returned to Granny Si's courtyard in the forest. Qin Mu burst forth his primordial qi, lifting Emperor Yanfeng within it, steady and without jostling.
Granny Si heard the noise and came out, surprised: "Mu'er, what are you up to now? The Emperor? Are you planning to peel his skin and become emperor yourself? You brat, you're getting more ambitious!"
Granny Si was delighted, but then worried: "But the Emperor's harem of three thousand beauties are all little fox spirits. Be careful they don't enchant you to death."
Qin Mu said helplessly, "I'm not going to peel his skin and become emperor. Granny, please seal the energy in the Emperor's divine repositories so he doesn't explode. I'll go buy some medicinal herbs. Don't you go processing the Emperor!"
Granny Si looked worried: "You must be back before dark, or else that little wretch Li Tianxing will happily put on the Emperor's skin and go out to play emperor!"
Emperor Yanfeng woke up and heard their conversation, thinking to himself: "Who is this granny of the Court Gentleman for Consultation? So ferocious. And isn't Li Tianxing dead? Why is she here too..."
His injuries were too severe, and he fell back asleep.
Qin Mu rushed out quickly, identified the direction, and sprinted toward the nearest city.
The nearest city was Yan City, not large. Due to the disaster, the medicinal herb shops in the city were also incomplete in their stock. Qin Mu visited several shops before gathering enough herbs to replenish qi and blood, then immediately sped back.
Arriving at the courtyard before dark, Qin Mu sighed in relief. He checked and found that Granny Si had already sealed the energy in Emperor Yanfeng's divine repositories within his body, hidden in his flesh. The Emperor was still alive, but his bodily functions were beginning to disintegrate, though his soul was unharmed.
"If you undo the Creation Demon Heavenly Art, his body won't be able to hold his soul, and he'll die for sure!" Granny Si said.
"He won't die!"
Qin Mu said solemnly: "I can keep his soul in the mortal world. As long as his body still has a breath of life, I can save him!"
Granny Si shook her head: "I'll go make dinner first. After we eat, you need to be careful. The old demon will come out."
Qin Mu felt a chill and immediately gave Emperor Yanfeng some Blood Glory Pills and Spirit Buddha Pills, using his primordial qi to help the Emperor dissolve the medicinal power. He then inserted silver needles all over Emperor Yanfeng's body to guide the medicinal effect, and refined some more spiritual pills.
Granny Si finished cooking dinner and called Qin Mu to eat.
After they finished dinner, Granny Si turned and walked into the room. Qin Mu continued to care for Emperor Yanfeng. After a moment, a rustling sound came from outside, and Granny Si's voice cooed: "Mu'er, how is His Majesty?"
Qin Mu was unsettled by the voice but remained composed: "Chief Li, you are also the chief of our Holy Religion. Why must you act like this?"
The voice immediately turned old and rough, laughing heartily: "I am already dead, no longer part of the Heavenly Saint Religion. The Great Cultivation Demon Scripture has been passed to you. Now I do as I please—why should you interfere? Hand over the Emperor. I want to become emperor, then abdicate and pass the throne to myself. I want to be a female emperor!"
Qin Mu did not reply.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Granny Si burst in, sneering: "If you won't give me the Emperor, I'll take him myself!"
She stared, momentarily stunned, to see Qin Mu had planted the Emperor in the soil. Emperor Yanfeng stood straight as a pine tree.
Qin Mu was walking around the Emperor, activating his art, striking palm after palm toward him.
"Creation Earth Origin Art? Creation Spirit Art? Huh, and Creation Ghost God Art!"
Granny Si watched, seeing Qin Mu's techniques change in a thousand ways, each move and stance clear and precise. He was activating the Creation chapter of the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture to treat the Emperor's injuries.
This was a last resort. Without sufficient miraculous pills and medicines, Qin Mu could only use the Creation Art to reverse creation, seize the opportunity, and heal the Emperor.
"Chief Qin, your Creation Earth Origin Art is wrong!"
Granny Si's voice came out in Li Tianxing's rough tone, sneering: "That's not how it's done! You're messing up a perfectly good demonic art, making it look like righteous cultivation. How embarrassing for our Heavenly Saint Religion!"
After a moment, she couldn't help adding: "The Creation Spirit Art is also wrong. Is the Creation Spirit Art meant to save people? You're using it to alter his physical structure... Damn it, is that how you perform the Creation Ghost God Art? A perfectly good art used to stabilize his soul... Huh, wait! That's interesting, quite interesting..."
The more she watched, the more fascinated she became. Qin Mu's Creation Art took a completely different path from hers. Though it was a demonic art, it was grand and dignified; though it should be used to harm, he used it to heal.
Qin Mu used the Creation Earth Origin Art to gather the mother qi of the earth and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nourishing Emperor Yanfeng's primordial spirit. He used the Creation Spirit Art to refine away the hidden ailments in his body, and the Creation Ghost God Art to consolidate the Emperor's soul.
Li Tianxing, as a former chief, had also cultivated these arts, but she followed the demonic path, plundering the creation of heaven and earth and others. Granny Si's cultivation had been infused with the demonic path, all taught by her.
Her eyes were extremely sharp, and she could see that Qin Mu's path was the opposite of hers. She took from the outside; he took from within. If one cultivated using Qin Mu's method, the speed might be slower, but one's soul, primordial spirit, and physique would become extremely stable, with a firm body and strong will!
The most wonderful point was that the word "creation" in the seven Creation chapters would qualitatively improve his soul, physique, primordial spirit, and divine repositories. For example, talent—a person's talent is innate and hard to change, but by cultivating this way, Qin Mu could use the Creation Art to alter his own talent, making it better and better.
Li Tianxing was a master, otherwise she wouldn't have become the Holy Chief of the Demon Religion. Seeing the same art take a different path immersed him in it, making him obsessed.
Every change in Qin Mu's techniques held immense attraction for her. She wanted to kill Emperor Yanfeng right then and take his skin to become emperor, but she kept wanting to see more variations of the Creation Art.
Unconsciously, suddenly the rooster crowed, and a ray of sunlight streamed through the window lattice. Li Tianxing sighed: "You dodged me for one night, but tomorrow night, I'll kill you all..."
Her body swayed, and Granny Si woke up, quickly asking: "Mu'er, did the old demon harm you?"
Qin Mu also sighed in relief, drenched in sweat, shaking his head: "She was too busy watching my Creation Art. I managed to fool her. Granny, I need to rest. Tonight, I'll use other arts from the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture to muddle through."
When night came again, Emperor Yanfeng's injuries had improved greatly, and he woke up. Qin Mu sighed in relief and said: "Your Majesty, I will undo the Creation Demon Heavenly Art on you to see if your body can hold your soul."
As soon as he undid the Creation Demon Heavenly Art, Emperor Yanfeng's body suddenly became hollow, and he fell to the ground with a thud. Two of his three souls and two of his seven spirits flew out of his body, about to enter the Netherworld.
Qin Mu quickly used the Soul-Pulling Art to draw his soul back and push it into his body, frowning.
Now, Emperor Yanfeng's body was too weak to hold his soul.
Suddenly, a coquettish laugh came from outside: "Chief, your wife is here again! If you don't show me something new today, I'll kill the Emperor!"
Emperor Yanfeng said weakly: "What demon speaks so seductively..."
Qin Mu quickly sealed his five senses, shook his body, and manifested the form of Earth Star Lord, with the Gate of Undertaking appearing behind him. Granny Si burst into the room, exclaiming in surprise: "Earth Star Lord's Earth Marquis True Art? What are the words on the gate? Your Earth Marquis True Art has a book too? Different from mine."