Chapter 388: The Divine Spear Awakens
Qin Mu had teleported him not far away, less than a li from Mishui Pass, with the Great Ruins behind him.
For Blind, disrupting Qin Mu's teleportation was not difficult; at most, Qin Mu could only send him this far.
Blind silently returned to Mishui Pass to find Qin Mu. Without a word, he unsealed the divine storage seals on Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang, then, leaning on his bamboo staff, he tapped and poked his way along and left alone.
Qin Mu was stunned. "Grandpa Blind..."
"Grown up, grown up..."
Tears of murky sorrow slid from the old blind man's hollow eye sockets. The faster he walked, the more tears fell. The child he had raised had finally grown up, yet a sudden sense of loss and bitterness welled up in his heart. Qin Mu would probably never return to the Crippled Elder Village with him again; he was no longer that little boy who used to practice punches and skills on his back.
This foundling now had his own thoughts and the ability to protect himself. His heart had wandered; having seen the outside world, he would no longer want to stay in the Crippled Elder Village, that place of only a bunch of old men and women.
Blind walked very fast. Qin Mu rushed to the top of the city wall of Mishui Pass and could only see his distant figure by the river, appearing somewhat lonely and forlorn.
The young man also felt a touch of melancholy. He raised his hand but said nothing. Blind, walking away with his back to him, seemed to sense the raised hand and raised his own in return, without looking back.
Qin Mu saw Blind lower his hand, as if wiping his eyes, like he was brushing away tears.
Blind hurried along the riverbank. After a long time, he finally arrived at the Crippled Elder Village.
No one else was in the village; it had become the domain of the chicken-dragons. Many hens had hatched numerous broods of chicken-dragons, moving into the rooms of the village chief, Blind, and the others. Seeing Blind return, a haughty young chicken-dragon charged at him to fight, intending to drive this old blind man out of its territory.
A moment later, a plucked chicken-dragon was skewered on the bamboo staff and set over a campfire. The other chicken-dragons cowered in the corners, trembling in terror as they stared at the old blind man.
Blind then went to the Butcher's room, dug out a few jars of wine from under the bed, roasted the chicken-dragon, and ate and drank his fill.
After eating and drinking his fill, he threw down a pile of chicken bones, stood up, and reached for his bamboo staff. The staff had already been burned to ashes by the campfire.
Blind was stunned for a moment. He brushed the ash off his hands and strode out of the village toward the Surging River outside.
"How many years has it been..."
He muttered to himself as he walked: "Old friend, how many years have you accompanied me? Back when I was defeated, I carried you here. The village chief said my heart was broken, that I was no longer worthy of you, and told me to let you rest, to bury you in this Surging River. He said that in the Crippled Elder Village, I would no longer need you."
On the Surging River, waves began to rise one after another. A faint rumbling sound came from the riverbed, and ripples spread outward in a very regular pattern.
Blind walked toward the river surface, his tattered clothes rustling in the wind.
"Back when I abandoned you, my heart was as dead as ashes, with no trace of life or vitality. In the past, when you followed me, it was because of my strength, my invincibility, my arrogance that looked down on everything!"
He stood on the river surface. From his small frame suddenly erupted an incredibly terrifying battle intent. An awe-inspiring aura shot straight into the clouds, twisting the clouds in the sky into a giant tortoise-snake coiled form of the Black Tortoise and Serpent. The Xuan was the dark tortoise, with a dragon's head and tortoise body; the Wu was the soaring serpent, with a thousand wings in flight!
Suddenly, a whispering sound came from the riverbed. It was a peculiar noise, like a dragon's roar, and like the murmurs of the dead, containing both dragon language and voices from another realm.
Hearing this sound gave one the feeling of a long, soft body slowly rising from the river, circling and coiling around Blind's small, thin frame.
"Sato, Mobasa, Xiqu Mituo (You have failed, you are blind, you are unworthy of me)..."
"I failed."
Blind stood upright. He was short in stature; except for the village chief and the former Butcher, he was shorter than everyone else in the village. Though his body was small, the feeling he gave off was one of extraordinary height, grandeur, and uprightness!
A shadow of gloom passed over Blind's face, and he said in a low voice: "My divine eyes were gouged out, my Dao heart was also broken. I was not worthy of you. Rather than saying I abandoned you, it's better to say you abandoned me. At that time, I was utterly defeated, unworthy of possessing you."
The waves on the river grew larger and larger. The water swirled, and a huge whirlpool formed in the center of the river. From within the whirlpool came that strange voice, carrying a terrifying majesty: "Xiqu Mituo, Yihe Su Posuo! (Unworthy of possessing me, why have you come then?)"
"I have retrieved my Dao heart!"
Blind's brows and hair flew upward, his clothes puffed outwards. His voice rumbled like thunder, shaking the heavens. His battle intent became incredibly sharp and powerful, like a deity reappearing in the mortal world: "In the past, what I pursued was the ultimate in divine eyes, seeing through everything but failing to see through the human heart! But now, I have someone I need to protect. For the sake of this child, I have retrieved my fighting spirit, my faith, and my Dao heart!"
He reached out one hand towards the river surface, his voice booming: "My Longtuo, I abandoned you in the past. Are you still willing to follow me now? Do you still long for the glorious days of old, for the times of blood-soaked battles by my side? If you wish it, if you are willing, then I shall grant your wish! Let you experience battles you have never known, a ferocity you have never seen! One man, one spear, slaying gods who stand in the way, slaying demons who oppose!"
Boom——
The river surface exploded. A dragon's roar rumbled. From the whirlpool at the river's bottom, a pitch-black great dragon slowly rose. It was a dragon's body composed of black bones, slowly swimming out of the water. Countless bone joints crackled and vibrated incessantly as it coiled around Blind's small frame.
Those pitch-black bones vibrated continuously, clanging louder and louder. Amidst the vibrations, flashes of blood light burst forth, the aura terrifying beyond measure, exuding a world-dominating, fierce might.
Blind's hand clenched heavily. The black bone dragon suddenly contracted its body. The sections of bone collided with each other, sparks flying everywhere, and transformed into a black dragon spear in his hand!
"Longtuo, you have finally awakened! And I have awakened too!"
Blind slung the black dragon spear over his back, his heart filled with boundless joy. He walked away without looking back, leaving the Crippled Elder Village: "This village, I will never return to! Come with me to relive the blood-soaked years!"
At Mishui Pass, Qin Mu sensed a terrifying aura erupting in the Great Ruins. He looked up for a moment, then withdrew his gaze. All sorts of strange phenomena occurred in the Great Ruins, erupting from time to time; this was a common occurrence in the Great Ruins.
"I plan to go to the Sun Well. Are you two really going to follow me?"
Qin Mu looked around, his gaze falling on Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, and Hu Ling'er. He said, "I am going to fulfill my promise. And I don't know if the Sun Well will welcome you."
He showed an apologetic expression, saying, "You are different from us. You are people from the outside world, while we are the abandoned people of the Great Ruins."
Hu Ling'er transformed into a little fox and jumped onto Qin Mu's neck, driving away the ink dragon coiled there, hanging like a scarf. She said, "I am also an abandoned person of the Great Ruins. I will go with the young master!"
Si Yunxiang said shyly, "A wife follows her husband wherever he goes. I am already the cult leader's wife. Wherever the cult leader goes, the cult leader's wife naturally follows."
Ling Yuxiu sneered, "Even for the title of cult leader's wife, there must be a first-come, first-served basis, right?"
Si Yunxiang said with a smile, "Does the former cult leader's wife have anything to say?"
Ling Yuxiu feigned anger, then suddenly chuckled and said, "I won't argue with you about this. If you don't go, then don't. Grandpa Blind kidnapped me; my father must be worried sick. I should go back early to report my safety. This wedding ceremony was just Grandpa Blind's obsession; it doesn't count. If Saintess Xiang takes it seriously, then you can be the cult leader's wife. By the way, Cowherd, what promise are you going to fulfill?"
"I made an agreement with the Sun Guardian to help her reignite the extinguished sun on the Sun Ship."
Qin Mu stroked the little fox's head on his neck and said, "After I obtained the Sun Jade Eye, I've been running around and haven't had time to keep the appointment. The longer I delay, the more her life force is consumed. Since I'm here at Mishui Pass, I might as well make a trip to the Sun Well. Perhaps I can help her resolve her predicament."
Mishui Pass was very close to the Constellation Sea, and from the Constellation Sea, one could go to the Sun Well. Qin Mu very much wanted to see that Sun Guardian again, wondering if her legs had been devoured by the Sun Ship.
Neither Ling Yuxiu nor Si Yunxiang had heard of the Constellation Sea or the Sun Well, but Ling Yuxiu had seen the Sun Ship. She pretended to be casual and asked, "Last time when the Sun Ship came to Xianglong City, I missed it and didn't get to see this Sun Guardian. By the way, is this Sun Guardian male or female?"
"A girl. Her name is Yan Jingjing."
Qin Mu answered honestly, "About the same age as you two."
Ling Yuxiu smiled gently and said, "Since she's about our age, she must be able to get along with us. I'll go and see too, to get to know this Sister Yan."
Si Yunxiang's eyes rolled, and she laughed, "I was brought here in a daze by Grandpa Blind, forced to go through the wedding ceremony, but the cult leader doesn't show any pity for the fairer sex. Since we're already here, it's good to go see the Sun Guardian and broaden our horizons."
Qin Mu nodded and said, "The Sun Guardians hold a very high status. They are a divine race, of a higher standing than us abandoned people of the Great Ruins."
"Divine race?" The two girls were astonished.
Qin Mu summoned a flood dragon. The flood dragon immediately changed its form, revealing its true body. Qin Mu led them onto the dragon's back. The qilin also wanted to jump up, but Qin Mu kicked it off with one foot, saying gently, "Fatty Dragon, you still need to exercise more. Ling'er, you supervise him."
Hu Ling'er acknowledged the order.
The qilin blinked its eyes, looked at Qin Mu's warm, spring-breeze-like smile, and couldn't help but shiver. It shouted, "Cult leader, I won't be picky about food anymore!"
"Not picky anymore?"
Qin Mu said kindly, "Then why do you still have the Fire Element Divine Essence Pill hidden in your cheek pouch without swallowing it?"
The qilin was startled and exclaimed, "How did you know I hid the Fire Element Divine Essence Pill in my cheek?"
Qin Mu took out a mirror and said with a pained expression, "Look at yourself in the mirror! Where else would you hide it but in your cheeks? And you hid so many!"
The qilin quickly looked into the mirror and saw that its cheeks were bulging, as if it had stuffed two large balls into its mouth.