Chapter 264: The Twin Heroes of Yankang
Qin Mu bid farewell to Granny Si, and set off on foot with the Emperor, letting the Dragon Qilin follow behind. He taught the Great Nurturing Demon Sutra’s Art of Creation and Transformation to Emperor Yanfeng, and also taught him his own Overlord Body Three Dantian Art. “Practice both techniques together, and practice while walking. It will greatly benefit your injuries, and at the very least, it will strengthen your body.”
Emperor Yanfeng was skeptical at first, but tried practicing the Overlord Body Three Dantian Art and the Art of Creation and Transformation. Unconsciously, his complexion improved a little. He laughed, “This technique is good. I can actually cultivate while walking. I feel my strength returning somewhat.”
“Keep practicing. Once you achieve some initial success, your physical injuries will heal, and your body will become strong. Then I’ll teach you the Art of the Ghost and God of Creation to refine your soul, which will stabilize it. Combined with medicine to treat the soul, attacking on both fronts, the injuries to your soul will heal.”
Qin Mu suddenly became lost in thought. “I’ve passed on the techniques from the Great Nurturing Demon Sutra to the Emperor. Does the Emperor need to join my Heavenly Saint Cult? What position should I give him?”
He glanced at Emperor Yanfeng with a hint of ill intent. “I’m still short one Heavenly King. If I could get the Emperor to join and become the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Saint Cult, then the entire Yankang Kingdom would be the Heavenly Saint Cult…”
Emperor Yanfeng practiced diligently, and his body grew a bit stronger. He also managed to cultivate some primal energy, but without his divine apertures, his cultivation was truly limited.
Qin Mu was also cultivating unhurriedly. As he activated the Overlord Body Three Dantian Art, five beams of light shone down from the sky. These were the Five Luminaries within his body connecting with the Five Luminaries stars, drawing their power to enhance his cultivation.
Emperor Yanfeng was slightly startled. “He’s still at the Five Luminaries realm?”
He had always thought Qin Mu was already a Six Harmonies realm ability user, given that Qin Mu’s strength was enough to rival ability users, and his cultivation was even comparable to theirs. He never expected Qin Mu was still at the Five Luminaries realm.
“The Great Nurturing Demon Sutra of the Heavenly Demon Cult is indeed extraordinary.”
Emperor Yanfeng praised inwardly, unaware that Qin Mu’s primal energy mainly came from the Overlord Body Three Dantian Art, the very technique he was now practicing.
Qin Mu’s cultivation had indeed reached the peak of the Five Luminaries realm, not far from the Six Harmonies realm. Once the Five Luminaries Lords in his divine apertures stabilized, he could attempt a breakthrough.
The two traveled for four days, sleeping in the open and eating simple meals, until they reached the next city. Qin Mu led Emperor Yanfeng into the city and bought some medicinal herbs. It was the first time Emperor Yanfeng had endured so much hardship; both his feet were blistered and raw.
At the inn, Qin Mu soaked him in a wooden tub of medicinal water overnight. The Emperor fell asleep in the tub, and when he woke the next day, he found all the blisters on his feet had vanished. He felt much lighter and marveled at the effect.
They continued their journey. When they reached Qizhou territory, they saw many ability users driving villagers away, whipping and berating them.
“This land belongs to our Qishan Sect!”
Those ability users were likely disciples of the Qishan Sect, practicing lightning techniques. They summoned a series of random lightning strikes, herding villagers from miles around together, and shouted, “By the Emperor’s decree, restoring the old system! The sect’s land belongs to the sect! From now on, you don’t need to pay taxes to the court, only tribute to the Qishan Sect!”
A village headman refused to comply and barely argued a few words before being struck dead by a bolt of lightning.
Qin Mu stopped to watch, frowning slightly. Emperor Yanfeng’s face turned ashen, and he said coldly, “Going against the natural order!”
As they passed through other prefectures and counties, they saw sect forces reviving everywhere, seizing territory, looting wealth, and carving up land, adding chaos to the disorder.
The snow disaster had already caused massive destruction, and the resurgence of sect power, grabbing land and capturing people as their tenant farmers, only poured fuel on the fire.
Meanwhile, the local governments had been providing disaster relief, but now that had stopped. The number of people frozen or starved to death was incalculable.
Emperor Yanfeng remained silent, training even harder, trying to repair his divine apertures and restore his cultivation.
When they reached Yongzhou, Qin Mu went straight to the city lord’s mansion. The Yongzhou prefect hurried out to greet him, glanced at Emperor Yanfeng without recognizing him, then turned his gaze to Qin Mu. “Cult Leader…”
“Let’s talk inside.”
Qin Mu walked into the mansion, told the Dragon Qilin to find a spot to lie down, glanced at the starving Emperor, and said, “Pure Robe Hall Master, give this bald… give this senior brother a bowl of rice.”
The Yongzhou prefect was Duanmu Jing, the hall master of the Pure Robe Hall of the Heavenly Saint Cult. He waved a hand, sending someone to take the Emperor to eat, and laughed, “Cult Leader, why are you bringing a big monk along?”
Qin Mu didn’t elaborate and asked, “How are things in the capital?”
“Not good in the capital.”
Duanmu Jing said, “Many Taoists and monks from the Dao Sect and the Great Thunderclap Monastery have gone to the capital. The Dao Lord and the Tathagata each issued decrees, appointing the Crown Prince as the Pure Emperor, who will ascend the throne on the third day of the third month. Now, the Crown Prince’s spies are everywhere, looking for anyone who resembles the Emperor and killing them on sight.”
Qin Mu nodded calmly, matching his expectations.
Duanmu Jing continued, “Also, the Crown Prince is acting as regent with immense power. Many great families have been controlled by the Buddhist and Daoist sects. Some of the major families in the capital have already switched sides, while others have monks and Taoists living in their homes, refusing to leave. These families don’t dare to fall out with them and can only let them stay. Now the capital is a mix of all sorts, a real melting pot. You could say it’s no longer the Emperor’s domain.”
“The Crown Prince also issued a decree to restore the old system, promulgating a tribute law that returns land to the sects, while other land belongs to Yankang. And…”
Duanmu Jing hesitated, then said, “An envoy from the Wolf Ju Xu Kingdom came to discuss border affairs and made peace with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yunlu to the Wolf Ju Xu Kingdom. Envoys from the barbarian tribes have also arrived, discussing land cessions and reparations…”
“It’s so easy to ruin a family.”
Qin Mu laughed. “The Crown Prince is a pathetic excuse for an Emperor.”
Duanmu Jing was puzzled. Qin Mu showed no anger at all, acting as if nothing had happened. He didn’t realize that Qin Mu had never considered himself a citizen of Yankang. From start to finish, he was a forsaken child of the gods from the Great Ruins, so there was no anger to speak of.
“Ascending the throne on the third day of the third month—that’s indeed an auspicious day. Suitable for killing.”
Qin Mu asked, “Have you found any news of the National Teacher?”
“Yes, we have.”
Qin Mu’s spirits lifted. He took out a few sheets of paper and said, “Hall Master, prepare the medicinal herbs listed on these pages and have them ready in Qinzhou City.”
Duanmu Jing acknowledged the order.
Qin Mu called for Emperor Yanfeng and the Dragon Qilin. “Let’s leave the city.”
Emperor Yanfeng hurriedly said, “I haven’t finished eating yet.”
Qin Mu laughed, “I’ll take you to find the National Teacher. We’ll get you some food on the way.”
Emperor Yanfeng quickly put down his steamed bun, his expression solemn, and silently followed behind him. After a moment, he said, “I want to ask him where he’s been all this time!”
Qin Mu lifted him up, placed him on the Dragon Qilin’s back, then leaped up himself, standing on the Dragon Qilin’s head.
The Dragon Qilin stepped on fiery clouds and galloped away. Emperor Yanfeng was hit by a few gusts of cold wind and sneezed repeatedly. Suddenly, Qin Mu’s body burst into blazing flames, and Emperor Yanfeng finally felt warmer.
The Dragon Qilin ran for two days. Qin Mu signaled the beast to descend into a mountain range. Here, the air was steaming hot, and rays of light rose from a valley, evaporating upward and scattering into the air.
“Divine light!”
Emperor Yanfeng’s expression turned serious. He sniffed the air and said, “The smell of blood. There’s divine blood in this valley!”
Qin Mu led him into the valley, and sure enough, they saw a lake of blood. Beside the blood lake was a wooden cabin, and behind the cabin was a small river, its water warmed by the divine blood. A woman in a snow-white marten fur coat stood by the river, her belly slightly swollen.
At her feet was a middle-aged man holding a wooden mallet, pounding clothes on a stone slab. Beside the man was a bamboo basket filled with washed laundry.
Qin Mu jumped down from the Dragon Qilin’s back. Emperor Yanfeng also dismounted, but he lost his footing and fell flat on his face with a thud, spread-eagled.
The couple heard the noise and turned to look. Qin Mu smiled and walked forward.
“You didn’t help me up!” Emperor Yanfeng scrambled to his feet and hurried after him.
The middle-aged man put down his mallet, wiped his wet hands on his clothes, stood up, and stood beside the woman. His face was pale, but he smiled as he watched Qin Mu and the Emperor approach.
“National Teacher!”
Emperor Yanfeng quickened his pace, about to charge forward and demand an explanation, when he suddenly noticed blood seeping from the Yankang National Teacher’s chest. His expression was also terrible. Shocked, the Emperor’s tears fell. “My National Teacher, how did you end up in such a state?”
The Yankang National Teacher met the Emperor’s gaze and also noticed that he had lost all his cultivation. His heart ached. “And Your Majesty, are you any different?”
The woman quickly said, “You’re injured too. Don’t let your mind be disturbed.”
Qin Mu was stunned. The two strongest figures in Yankang were both severely injured!
“The Heavenly Saint Cult Leader pays respects to the National Teacher’s wife.” Qin Mu bowed to the woman.
The National Teacher’s wife saw the Emperor’s bald head and was puzzled. She quickly said, “Don’t just stand there. Come inside and sit.”
“After I left Little Jade Capital, I tried to investigate the source of the natural disaster, and then I encountered a god holding a gourd.”
In the small wooden cabin, the Yankang National Teacher said calmly, “The disaster came from his gourd. He was injured, but I was hurt worse. Plus, my wife is pregnant, so we stayed here for a while.”
He spoke lightly, but it was easy to imagine that battle must have been extremely perilous!
Emperor Yanfeng looked at his wounds, then at Qin Mu, with a questioning expression.
Qin Mu examined him and shook his head. “These are wounds left by a god, containing divine intent. I can’t cure them completely. To do that, I’d need to go back to the village and ask Grandpa Medicine to step in.”
The Yankang National Teacher said, “I knew you couldn’t fully heal them, so I didn’t seek you out. My injuries are too severe now. I can’t return to the capital, or I’ll die for sure. I can’t let anyone know I’m hurt. I never expected you, Your Majesty…”
The two middle-aged men looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter. The Yankang National Teacher laughed until he coughed.
Emperor Yanfeng looked outside. “That blood lake out there?”
“Left by that god. He was strong, but only suffered a minor flesh wound.”
The wound on the Yankang National Teacher’s chest split open again. Qin Mu applied some dragon saliva, but the injury immediately tore apart again due to the residual divine techniques embedded in the wound by the god.
This kind of injury was beyond the reach of medicine or even miraculous pills that could revive the dead, as they couldn’t remove the god’s lingering techniques.
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then took out the sword pellet the Mute had given him. He gently activated it, and beams of sword light grew from the pellet. Qin Mu pressed it forward, stabbing it around the Yankang National Teacher’s wound.
The National Teacher’s wife gasped. The Yankang National Teacher and Emperor Yanfeng both remained still.
Qin Mu extended his index finger, and primal energy swirled at his fingertip like a spinning cloud. He lightly tapped the sword pellet. With a *chi* sound, another beam of sword light shot out from the pellet, passed through the cabin, and embedded itself in the blood lake.
*Boom!*
The blood lake shook violently, erupting with a deafening roar that echoed three times. The sword light from the pellet shattered, and the pellet itself shrank slightly.
“A divine physician and national hand, truly ingenious.”
The Yankang National Teacher praised, “Using the power of divine blood to cancel out the god’s residual techniques.”
Qin Mu applied more dragon saliva, and this time, the wound finally stopped bleeding. He said, “I can’t draw out the other techniques inside your body. Your Majesty, National Teacher, there are two paths now. One is for me to take you to the Great Ruins for treatment. The other is to head to the capital. Choose one.”
The Yankang National Teacher looked at Emperor Yanfeng. The two middle-aged men understood each other’s thoughts and said in unison, “The capital!”
Qin Mu pulled out his butcher knife and pressed the Yankang National Teacher’s head onto the table. The National Teacher’s wife exclaimed, “Cult Leader Qin, what are you doing?”
Emperor Yanfeng touched his own bald head and said, “Madam, just look at me and you’ll understand.”
Qin Mu’s knife skills were nimble, and in the blink of an eye, he had shaved the Yankang National Teacher’s head bald. Then he took some incense and burned a few scars onto his scalp. After that, he pulled a yellow monk’s robe from his gluttonous bag, moving with practiced ease. He laughed, “I made an extra set, just in case for the National Teacher. Wait a moment, I’ll also paint half a face of blue birthmark on the National Teacher…”
After finishing with the Yankang National Teacher, he looked at the National Teacher’s wife. The Yankang National Teacher quickly said, “Cult Leader, my wife is pregnant. It’s freezing cold, and without hair…”
“Then let’s make her a Taoist nun.”
Qin Mu took out a Taoist robe and handed it to the National Teacher’s wife. Suddenly, he winked and laughed, “By the way, would the three of you like to join the cult? My Heavenly Saint Cult offers good food and drink. If you have no skills, we can teach you some crafts. I guarantee you won’t starve.”