Chapter 409: Roaming Seventy Thousand Miles
Emperor Yanfeng suddenly felt like his own cabbage patch had been ravaged by a wild boar, and then the boar came back for a second round. He hurriedly struggled to get up, intending to stop the young man and woman, but several deer demons walked over and pressed him down, forcing him to sit still.
A female deer demon held a few flowers, gesturing for the Emperor not to move, and placed the blossoms on his head, a riot of purple and red.
Then a mermaid approached, distributing a noisy batch of red fruits. A group of fruits clamored and squabbled on the platter, quite startling.
The tree demons patrolled the sickbeds with dark faces, whipping anyone who misbehaved on the backside. For a time, the various martial arts veterans, the Emperor, and the Empress Dowager all quieted down considerably.
Once the demons finished their inspection, the Emperor was about to rush over and stop the young pair, but the Empress Dowager said lazily, "Emperor, save yourself the worry. Children have their own blessings. If you fret so much, aren't you afraid that Xiuer will never marry?"
Emperor Yanfeng quickly replied, "Mother, you don't understand. Primordial Spirit dual cultivation carries immense risks; it is not meant for those who are not husband and wife. If Xiuer undergoes Primordial Spirit dual cultivation with him, their spirits will resonate and ascend to bliss together. If she later marries someone else, she won't be able to resonate with the consort's Primordial Spirit, and their souls won't harmonize. Without harmony, there’s no sensation! If she loses the joy of Primordial Spirit resonance, even if she marries, she’ll be divorced and sent back home!"
The Empress Dowager chuckled, "Then just make him your son-in-law. Is that worth all this fuss? Besides, who would dare divorce a princess of the royal family?"
Emperor Yanfeng was silent for a moment, then said, "Mother, he is the Celestial Demon Cult Leader and also the Human Sovereign. I am not at ease."
The Empress Dowager fell silent as well, understanding his meaning.
The Celestial Demon Cult Leader wielded immense power.
The Emperor was the most powerful man in the court, while the Celestial Demon Cult Leader was the most powerful in the martial world. The Celestial Demon Cult’s influence had spread to every corner of the martial world and even the court. Especially after Qin Mu became the current Cult Leader, the cult had flourished even more, surpassing its historical peak.
Both the Dao Sect and the Great Thunderclap Monastery had been crippled by Qin Mu and the court, unable to contend with the Celestial Demon Cult. Meanwhile, the court’s reforms required the cult’s personnel, so many experts from the cult entered the government.
From the lowest ranks to the highest, the Eternal Peace Kingdom was saturated with the Celestial Demon Cult’s power.
Moreover, Qin Mu was far more enlightened than the Dao Lord or the Tathagata. He reformed the cult, established schools, and adopted the National Teacher’s reform methods, continuously cultivating talent for the cult.
In just two years as Cult Leader, Qin Mu had sparked such massive changes, inevitably worrying the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
Even more concerning was that Qin Mu had many experts around him and held the identity of Human Sovereign. If he produced the Human Sovereign Seal, even the Dao Sect, the Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Little Jade Capital would have to obey his commands!
That was truly terrifying!
From this perspective, Qin Mu was far from the ideal candidate for a consort.
If Qin Mu became the consort, seizing power through the maternal relatives would be effortless!
This was Emperor Yanfeng’s deep concern. While he himself reigned, Qin Mu couldn’t seize power, but when he was gone, the kingdom could change hands in an instant!
Unknowingly, the simple child who had arrived in the Eternal Peace Kingdom two years ago had grown into a striped tiger, capable of battling dragons—truly fearsome.
Even if Qin Mu had no intention of seizing power, what about the next Celestial Demon Cult Leader?
Who could guarantee that the next Cult Leader, wielding the immense power Qin Mu left behind, wouldn’t covet the throne?
"As an emperor, you indeed shouldn’t entrust royal authority to others’ mercy. You’ve done right."
The Empress Dowager said, "But why do I still see hesitation in you? You guard against Cult Leader Qin, yet you indulge him. That’s not your style. To reform alongside the Eternal Peace National Teacher, you even allowed him to poison me, keeping me bedridden for years so I couldn’t meddle in court affairs. Such ruthlessness is the true emperor of our Ling family."
Emperor Yanfeng was filled with guilt and said, "Fu Yuanqing poisoning you was indeed something I tacitly allowed. Without it, your influence in the court would have been too great, and the National Teacher and I would have struggled to control power. I was unfilial, so I had to ask you to step back for a time. Even without Minister Qin’s appearance, once I fully grasped power, I would have had Fu Yuanqing lift the poison from you."
The Empress Dowager sighed, "You did well. You are my true son, even more ruthless than I was in my day. So why haven’t you moved against Cult Leader Qin?"
Emperor Yanfeng was silent, then said hoarsely, "I’m afraid. I fear that the National Teacher and I will fail, and failure means death without a burial place. The fate of the nation, the lives of the people—they cannot rest entirely on my shoulders, nor solely on the Ling family’s. I need a successor, someone to continue the reforms if the National Teacher and I fail. The Ling family has no such person, but the Celestial Demon Cult Leader does."
The Empress Dowager studied his face carefully and sighed, "I never imagined my son would be such a man. I underestimated you. Emperor, let Xiuer go with Minister Qin. If you believe he can carry on, then let her be with him. Even if you and the National Teacher fail, our Ling family won’t be wiped out."
Emperor Yanfeng’s heart stirred. He pondered her words and nodded silently.
"You are a good emperor, and the National Teacher is a good National Teacher."
The Empress Dowager gazed calmly at the distant mountains shrouded in mist, and said softly, "I won’t oppose you anymore. Change this world as you please, reform these laws as you will. I’ll retire to these woods and contend with these little vixens and hussies who want to steal my beloved!"
Emperor Yanfeng’s face darkened again, and he stammered, "Mother, the royal dignity..."
The Empress Dowager basked lazily in the sun, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Are you a filial son? Won’t you consider your old mother’s happiness in her later years? I lay on that sickbed for so many years, knowing it was you and the National Teacher’s doing, yet did I ever complain once? This is my only wish now, so let me be. Fighting these little vixens and hussies is my final joy."
Emperor Yanfeng was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Does Mother need me to help eliminate rivals?"
"I climbed to my current position through countless trials in the harem. Do I need your help? You underestimate me."
...
By the lake of the mountain villa, Qin Mu took out a stick of incense and planted it on the shore, lighting it. Ling Yuxiu sniffed the strange fragrance and asked curiously, "What’s this incense for?"
"This is soul-guiding incense."
Qin Mu smiled. "I refined the runic marks of the Soul-Tugging Art into this incense, and added over a hundred spices. Though it lacks the power of the Soul-Tugging Art, it can guide the way. If our Primordial Spirits get lost, once this incense burns out, the runic power will activate, and our bodies, smelling this fragrance, will pull our spirits back. This way, we don’t need a guardian."
Ling Yuxiu took his hand. Qin Mu raised his other hand, and the two clasped all four hands together, their eyes meeting. They smiled at each other, and instantly their Primordial Spirits left their bodies.
Both Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu had experience with their spirits leaving their bodies to roam the void, and each had tried cultivating their Primordial Spirits before, but with little success.
Now, they attempted to turn their accidental achievement of the Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit into a certainty, which was naturally extremely difficult.
Back then, Qin Mu had encountered Xu Shenghua by chance, believing him to be another Overlord Body. In his emotional turmoil, he had accidentally experienced the Primordial Spirit leaving the body and roaming the void with Ling Yuxiu.
After their spirits returned, they suddenly realized they had cultivated their Primordial Spirits—a remarkable coincidence. Turning that coincidence into a certainty was crucial.
Now, the young man and woman once again let their spirits leave their bodies, roaming together, trying to find the pattern. They felt their spirits intertwine and their souls resonate, but this time it was different from the unintentional dual cultivation before.
The Primordial Spirit is composed of the spiritual embryo and the soul. This time, as their spirits left their bodies, their souls resonated, and the Primordial Spirit itself was in a state of resonance. A thrilling, numbing sensation spread through every corner of their spirits.
This feeling was both enduring and unforgettable.
They floated and roamed through the void, seeing flowers as large as mats—unknown what kind—and grasses like sharp swords—unknown what kind. In the air, there were swimming fish and jellyfish, a magnificent landscape vastly different from the Eternal Peace Kingdom.
They wandered through it, feeling very small.
"Is this real, or an illusion?" Both were reluctant to leave.
Just then, they suddenly smelled a strong, strange fragrance, and felt an invisible force pulling them. Ling Yuxiu quickly grabbed a small fish and said, "We’ll know if it’s real or an illusion when we return to our bodies and wake up!"
Swish—
The endless scenery before them shifted, and suddenly the visions vanished. They returned to their bodies, their hands still clasped, their eyes still locked.
Ling Yuxiu let go of Qin Mu’s hand, only to find a small fish in her palm, flopping about energetically.
"It’s real. How wonderful."
She bent down, cupped the fish in both hands, and placed it in the water. The fish swam and struggled, but after a moment, it flipped belly-up, nearly drowning.
Ling Yuxiu quickly splashed some water, scooped the fish back up, and saw it cough forcefully, expelling water from its belly. Then it flapped its mismatched fins and flew into the air.
Ling Yuxiu was astonished. The little fish flew over, suddenly spat water from its mouth, spraying Ling Yuxiu’s face.
Ling Yuxiu was furious and reached out to grab it, but the little fish flapped its fins and flew away.
"Stupid fish!"
Ling Yuxiu washed her face, turned back, and asked curiously, "Cowherd, where did we go?"
Qin Mu pondered. "It should be the Eastern Sea of the Great Ruins. That was once a sea, but later became a basin. The seawater vanished, but the sea creatures survived. Many fish can fly, and flowers can too."
"The Eastern Sea of the Great Ruins? How far is that from here?"
"Over seventy thousand miles."
Ling Yuxiu was startled and exclaimed, "We went seventy thousand miles away in the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, roamed around, and came back?"
Qin Mu nodded, staring into the distance, and said, "Roaming the void for seventy thousand miles in one incense stick’s time—truly incredible. Why can’t the physical body move that fast? If only the body had the speed of the Primordial Spirit!"
Ling Yuxiu laughed. "You’re too greedy. The Primordial Spirit has no weight, so it moves fast. The physical body has weight, so it’s slower. Do you have more soul-guiding incense? We were too busy playing this time to focus on finding the technique for cultivating the Primordial Spirit. We need to try again."
Qin Mu savored the beauty of the Primordial Spirit resonance, feeling addicted, and quickly nodded. "We must try again! This time, no playing—business first!"
After one incense stick’s time, their spirits returned. Qin Mu scratched his head and ventured, "How about one more time?"
Ling Yuxiu nodded firmly. "This time, we definitely won’t play!"