Chapter 411: Success Achieved
In the mountain villa, large cauldrons were set up one after another, each guarded by a deer demon who continuously added firewood. Inside the cauldrons, various experts were being boiled, and the fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted through the air.
Besides the cauldrons, there were also enormous steaming baskets. Some experts were placed inside these baskets to be steamed. Qin Mu came to inspect them, checking the medicinal broth, replacing several herbs, and inserting needles for those whose divine apertures had been injured, using hollow silver needles to channel steam into their bodies.
Emperor Yanfeng was covered from head to toe with silver needles, his face dark as he stared at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu pressed the emperor down into the steaming basket, but Yanfeng sat bolt upright again, continuing to glare at him with a dark expression.
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, is something the matter?"
Emperor Yanfeng suddenly changed his expression, becoming amiable, and said, "Minister Qin, you have labored with great merit. Would you like a promotion?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. Yanfeng's expression grew even more kind, and he continued, "You are currently a fifth-rank official, yet you have accomplished so much: modifying the tower ships, creating the True Yuan Cannon and the Sun-Shattering Divine Cannon, accompanying the Crown Prince in developing water transport and roads, repeatedly saving me from danger, and now bringing the Tianyu people here. Your merits are too numerous. I cannot fail to reward you. Speak, what do you desire?"
Qin Mu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and tested the waters: "Your Majesty, treating your injuries this time cost a great deal for medicinal herbs. Buying the cauldrons, silver needles, and steaming baskets also cost a lot. I paid this out of my own pocket first. Could Your Majesty consider reimbursing..."
Emperor Yanfeng's face immediately darkened: "That is not a reward! The Ministry of Revenue has money now; go ask them! What I want to give you is something the Ministry of Revenue cannot provide! What do you want?"
Qin Mu calculated for a moment. Money? He had never been short of money. Official rank? He had little interest. Fame? As the fearsome Heavenly Demon Sect Leader, what more fame did he need?
Treasures?
He had plundered so many treasures, looted quite a bit from the Dragon Tamer, Fox Ling'er had also brought back a hundred heavy treasures from the Golden Palace, and he still had the Carefree Sword and the Sword Pellet. It seemed he lacked nothing.
Heavenly materials, earthly treasures, miraculous pills, and divine medicines? He didn't need those either, because Qin Mu himself was a divine physician.
Qin Mu shook his head, finally understanding the feeling of the Yan'kang National Teacher. When the emperor bestowed things one didn't value, naturally one didn't want any reward.
"Think again."
Emperor Yanfeng coaxed gently, "I surely have something you want here. It doesn't have to be an object, nor an official position. It could also be a person..."
Qin Mu suddenly understood and smiled knowingly, saying, "So Your Majesty wants to reward me with some palace maids. I travel constantly and don't need maids to serve me, but Granny lives here, surrounded by goblins and monsters that are quite ugly. If Your Majesty could bestow some palace maids to manage the villa, I certainly wouldn't refuse! I think the maids Jian Qi and Qin Qi by the Empress Dowager's side are quite good—beautiful, gentle, considerate, and understanding..."
Emperor Yanfeng was furious and lay flat in the steaming basket: "Get lost!"
"As you command."
Qin Mu covered the steamer and muttered, "Just a moment ago he was pretending to be generous, saying he wanted to reward me, but he can't even part with two palace maids. Such a miser..."
"What did you say? Say it again!"
From inside the steamer, Emperor Yanfeng roared in rage: "I'll have your head cut off!"
Then Yanfeng heard Qin Mu's voice from outside, complaining: "Yuxiu, you've come at just the right time. Your father said he wanted to reward me, but then he didn't, and now he wants to cut off my head."
Ling Yuxiu's voice came: "Why bother with him? He's been irritable these years, always wanting to cut off this one's head and that one's head, all because of the pressure of court affairs. In the end, he's talked about cutting off so many heads but actually killed very few. Don't mind him; he'll stop fussing after a while."
"Did you come to find me for dual cultivation?"
"Yes. Our cultivation technique is almost complete. These past two days, you've been busy treating their injuries and delayed it. We need to strike while the iron is hot and finish it quickly. Otherwise, in a few days, when Father's injuries heal, he'll take me back to the capital, and then who knows when we'll be able to complete the technique..."
...
The two walked away. Emperor Yanfeng in the steamer slumped in defeat, thinking to himself, "Xiu'er, this is all your father can do to help you. This boy doesn't get the hint; I can only rely on you to handle it yourself."
A few days later, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu finally finished compiling the complete Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit technique. Both were a bit uneasy, unsure if this technique could successfully allow others to cultivate a primordial spirit at the Six Harmonies realm.
"Let me try! I'm exactly at the Six Harmonies realm!" Si Yunxiang said eagerly.
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "This technique is actually two techniques combined into one set, divided into male and female versions. There are subtle differences between the male and female techniques. Moreover, two people must cultivate together, and they must be completely without defenses toward each other, unable to harbor any crooked thoughts, for both to successfully cultivate a primordial spirit. If successful, both will achieve it together."
Si Yunxiang quickly said, "Sect Leader, you cultivate with me."
Qin Mu emphasized, "Holy Maiden, it requires intimacy and mutual trust, no crooked thoughts!"
Si Yunxiang giggled, "You're the Sect Leader; what crooked thoughts could I possibly have toward you?"
Qin Mu gave her a sidelong glance. No crooked thoughts? This little woman always took Granny Si as her role model, constantly thinking about the Sect Leader losing virtue so she could take over, but she never learned Granny Si's good qualities.
However, Si Yunxiang did have a side similar to Granny Si. Every time danger arose, she was always the first to rush out without hesitation to save people. It showed that Si Yunxiang's family upbringing was poor, but her nature wasn't bad.
"If she had a good upbringing like mine, she wouldn't have gone astray."
Qin Mu sighed inwardly. Although Si Yunxiang had some crooked thoughts, he still needed to verify whether the technique he and Ling Yuxiu had created could succeed. He nodded and said, "Even if you have crooked thoughts, you can't do anything to me. I'll trust you this once, but I'll only cooperate with you once. If it doesn't succeed, then find someone else you can trust."
Si Yunxiang eagerly asked Ling Yuxiu for the female version of the technique, and Ling Yuxiu taught it to her completely. Yan Jingjing also came over, and Ling Yuxiu smiled and said, "Sister Jing, do you want to cultivate a primordial spirit with the cowherd?"
Yan Jingjing shook her head and said, "I've already cultivated a primordial spirit. You go ahead; I'll watch."
"Primordial spirit dual cultivation feels wonderful!" Ling Yuxiu said earnestly.
Yan Jingjing was quite tempted but also a bit shy. Si Yunxiang asked curiously, "Jingjing, what is your cultivation level now? How did you cultivate a primordial spirit so early?"
"It should be the Divine Bridge realm."
Yan Jingjing was a bit embarrassed and said softly, "I didn't cultivate my cultivation myself; I relied on the Sun Ship. I am a Pure Yang Spiritual Body, and because I constantly operated the Sun Ship, borrowing its power, I used the Sun Ship's power to open all my divine apertures. Originally, when I left the Sun Ship, the apertures would close, but after using it many times, they stopped closing."
Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu were stunned. Qin Mu also widened his eyes, finding it hard to believe.
Yan Jingjing was about the same age as them, but she was already a Sect Leader-level expert!
They hadn't even realized it before; Yan Jingjing was actually the strongest among them!
Qin Mu had also piloted the Sun Ship and the Moon Ship, but after leaving the divine ships, his divine apertures would all close and seal again. He hadn't expected that piloting them many times could actually have the effect of opening the divine apertures!
"Does that mean we could use the Sun Ship to quickly create a large number of Sect Leader-level existences?" Si Yunxiang suddenly said.
Ling Yuxiu shook her head and said, "Impossible. To become a Sun Guardian, one must be a Pure Yang Body. Even the Muyu Tribe can't find a second Pure Yang Body, let alone elsewhere."
"The Sect Leader could do it!"
Si Yunxiang immediately looked at Qin Mu and said, "The Sect Leader can control the Sun Ship; he could probably borrow the Sun Ship's power to open all his divine apertures in one go!"
Qin Mu was quite tempted, but Yan Jingjing quickly said, "Borrowing the Sun Ship to open divine apertures can easily lead to unstable cultivation realms. Grandfather said that taking shortcuts like this isn't as solid as cultivating step by step. I came out this time to see how you all cultivate and whether I can make up for it."
Qin Mu had to give up the idea.
Cultivating step by step indeed had many joys and surprises. If he hadn't cultivated step by step, he wouldn't have discovered the divine transformation form of the Five Radiance realm, nor the Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit of the Six Harmonies realm.
For someone like Yan Jingjing, who had opened all her divine apertures with the Sun Ship's help, she would probably need to cultivate again from the beginning, carefully experiencing the meaning of each realm and understanding its mysteries.
And standing too high to see the details below often made it hard to see clearly.
Si Yunxiang thoroughly comprehended the female technique and consulted Ling Yuxiu a few more times, clarifying all the issues in the technique, before beginning to cultivate the primordial spirit with Qin Mu.
In the distance, the blind man, covering his eyes, said to Emperor Yanfeng, "Emperor, your daughter is very generous, letting the Holy Maiden enjoy the consort."
Emperor Yanfeng snorted coldly, "Xiu'er doesn't understand the meaning of primordial spirit dual cultivation; she has no such concept. If she knew that primordial spirit dual cultivation is something only husband and wife can do, she wouldn't be so generous."
The blind man asked curiously, "Aren't you going to remind her?"
"No need."
Emperor Yanfeng shook his head and said, "Only one pair can achieve primordial spirit dual cultivation. Once their primordial spirits resonate, they cannot resonate with a third person's primordial spirit. Even if the Holy Maiden cultivates with him, she won't achieve resonance and won't cultivate a primordial spirit. They are still children, fond of playing and unaware of the implications."
He sighed and said, "It's often said that an emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem, but they don't know that an emperor also has his troubles. Only the Empress can resonate with the emperor's primordial spirit. Loving others in the harem but failing to resonate means it's hard to reach ultimate bliss. This is also why the imperial family isn't very large."
The blind man smiled and said, "Being with other consorts isn't as enjoyable, so the imperial offspring are fewer."
Emperor Yanfeng nodded and said, "So I'm not worried about Xiu'er at all. Xiu'er has already taken the lead. Even if Minister Qin has other women, he will eventually return to her side. Because he cannot resonate with other women's primordial spirits..."
"I've cultivated a primordial spirit!"
Suddenly, Si Yunxiang's cheers came. Emperor Yanfeng's expression froze, and he stared blankly as Si Yunxiang ran around wildly in joy. Ling Yuxiu was also ecstatic, running along with Si Yunxiang, and Qin Mu was celebrating the success of the technique with them.
Emperor Yanfeng was stunned for a long time.
"But you forgot that Mu'er is a Sovereign Body. Ordinary spiritual bodies, once their primordial spirits resonate, cannot resonate with others. However, the Sovereign Body can."
The blind man leaned on his cane, looking serene, and said, "Emperor, your expression is quite enjoyable. It's a pity I'm not a painter, or I would draw your current appearance and enjoy it from time to time."
"I've already drawn it." The deaf man's voice came.
The two old men chuckled, quite pleased with themselves.
"Sect Leader, Princess Xiu, what name will you give this technique you've created?" Si Yunxiang's voice came.
"This method of primordial spirit dual cultivation shall be called Primordial Spirit Attraction." Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu said in unison.