Chapter 580: Imperial Throne Profound Art (Third Update, Asking for Monthly Votes!)
Qin Mu watched with great interest as Granny Si performed her divine abilities. Each of the Nine Elders of the Cripple's Village had their own strengths, and aside from her beauty, Granny Si was renowned for her exquisite and masterful spell techniques.
However, back then, Granny Si had been worried about cultivating the demonic path, so she was reluctant to teach Qin Mu many spells or techniques, leaving that to the Village Chief, the Butcher, and Old Man Ma.
Later, when Qin Mu became the Young Patriarch of the Celestial Demon Church, Granny Si passed the Great Nurturing Celestial Demon Sutra to him, but she only let him comprehend it on his own; she didn't teach him the techniques or divine abilities from the scripture.
This was mainly because she followed the demonic path herself and had some deviations in her understanding of the Great Nurturing Celestial Demon Sutra. She believed that since Qin Mu studied under the Deaf Elder, Old Man Ma, and others, and was well-versed in the classics, his comprehension of the sutra would be more correct.
Qin Mu had originally taken the so-called distinction between righteous and demonic very lightly. Later, he realized that both righteousness and demonism arose from the heart. If one's heart harbored evil, even the most righteous techniques became demonic; if one's heart was righteous, even the most sinister techniques were righteous. So, he essentially had no barrier between the two.
Even later, Qin Mu discovered that the struggle between righteousness and demonism was a conflict of the heart, while the struggle between gods and demons was a conflict of stance and survival. Thus, he regarded the dispute between righteous and demonic as even more trivial.
In the past, he had fought life-and-death battles with the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Daoist Sect, and other sects. Now, he had long since set aside all prejudices and no longer took the petty matter of the righteous-demonic conflict to heart.
Now, he had even opened his Demonic Path Divine Treasury, stepping halfway into the demonic path. His vision had broadened, and his heart had grown more tolerant.
This was growth.
A person often grows up without realizing it. They don't notice it themselves, but when they look back at the past, they find that they have unknowingly matured, their mindset becoming more stable.
Even though Lord Sang Ye had long been an exalted deity, his insight and experience might not necessarily surpass Qin Mu's.
Aside from personal talent and comprehension, it also had to do with one's experiences. Qin Mu had been nurtured by the Nine Elders of the Cripple's Village since childhood. Then, when he left the Great Ruins, it coincided with the Yan Kang Reformation. Coupled with his own background and his adventures in the Netherworld and Fengdu, his knowledge had unknowingly risen to an extremely high level.
Granny Si finally managed to extract the Wind Coupling Celestial Spirit from her body. The Wind Coupling Spirit was bound and unable to escape. If a deity's spirit managed to flee, it could still possess another person or even a plant or spirit.
—Possessing another person was called body-snatching; possessing a plant or spirit was called heterodox cultivation.
"Who among you will interrogate her?"
Granny Si turned back and asked the group, saying, "She definitely knows many secrets of the demon race. Extracting them might greatly benefit the Grand Supreme Heaven. My methods are too cruel; interrogating her isn't quite suitable, since she's a beauty after all."
Lord Sang Ye was just introducing himself to the Blind Elder and the others when he heard this and couldn't help shivering several times. He glanced at Wind Coupling Celestial Spirit's physical body and thought to himself, "Truly cruel. First, this woman flattened Wind Coupling Celestial Spirit's chest, then she flattened her face…"
His gaze fell on Granny Si's face and was hard to pull away. Suddenly, a thought arose in his heart about remarrying and finding a stepmother for Sang Hua. He quickly steadied his mind and averted his eyes, not daring to have any improper thoughts. He said, "It's better to leave the interrogation of Wind Coupling to True God Pang Yu. After all, Wind Coupling is a deity of my Grand Supreme Heaven and a leader of high rank. It would be excessive for us to interrogate her privately."
The Cripple chuckled and said, "Why make it so troublesome? Let the Medicine Master feed her some bugs, and I guarantee she'll confess everything within an hour."
Fox Ling'er grew excited and said, "We can also have Blind Grandpa use his Black Dragon Spear to separate her spirit's spiritual embryo and soul, turning her into a mortal!"
The Blind Elder patted her little head and said with a smile, "My spear is called Dragon Tuo, not the Black Dragon Spear."
"That's right."
Suddenly, the Black Dragon Spear behind him came to life, slowly swimming around the little fox. The skeletal black dragon said slowly, "My name is Dragon Tuo, and I am a dragon king from the demon race. But you're not wrong about one thing: my master and I can indeed peel her soul and spirit apart, though it will be extremely painful."
Fox Ling'er curiously examined the Dragon Tuo Divine Spear, then suddenly thought of another idea. She quickly raised her hand, her eyes sparkling: "And another! I just thought of another! We can have the Mute Grandpa use his furnace to refine her, melt her spirit into liquid, and pour molten iron into her to see if she talks!"
"This little fox spirit is no easy mark either!"
Lord Sang Ye shivered again and quickly said, "It's better if I take her away for interrogation. Gentlemen, I'll take my leave first. Please help guard the Wu Wang City watchtower for two days!" With that, he grabbed Wind Coupling Celestial Spirit's physical body and spirit and hurried away.
Qin Mu quickly asked, "Grandma, Grandpa Medicine Master, why have you all come to the Grand Supreme Heaven?"
Granny Si raised her hand, wanting to touch his head. Qin Mu quickly lowered his head, and she patted it, smiling, "You've grown a bit taller, catching up to the Medicine Master. Grow a little more, and the Blind Elder will only reach your waist."
The Blind Elder was displeased and said, "Grandma, I'm still growing. Look at Lord Sang Ye just now—over twenty thousand years old and terrifyingly tall. It shows that the longer you live, the taller you get!"
Granny Si rolled her eyes at him and said, "Blind man, your intelligence is about as high as that. Mu'er, we came here to see you and also to look into the cultivation methods here, to see if we can find a way to break through. We've all hit a bottleneck. Those Grand Supreme Heaven cultivators you sent to the Celestial Sage Academy really have some insight. We've seen and learned some things, but to cultivate systematically, we need to come to the Grand Supreme Heaven to find more advanced techniques."
Qin Mu had indeed discussed with the Yan Kang National Teacher and True God Pang Yu about sending some young cultivators to Yan Kang to learn Dao techniques and divine abilities, while also introducing the Grand Supreme Heaven's techniques to Yan Kang to fill the gaps in their cultivation methods.
The mutual exchange of cultivators could indeed lead to astonishing improvements in the strength of both sides.
However, that was only for cultivators. For someone like Granny Si, who had already completed the Divine Bridge and entered or was about to enter the Celestial Palace, it was somewhat insufficient.
After all, the Grand Supreme Heaven cultivators who went to Yan Kang to study were often not very advanced in their cultivation realms, while Granny Si and the others needed a divine-level cultivation system.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and asked, "So, who is in charge of the Celestial Sage Academy now?"
"Heavenly King Shi and Heavenly King Yu are in charge. There are also a few elders there."
Granny Si smiled and said, "Those Grand Supreme Heaven scholars are terribly stupid, pitifully so. They can't learn arithmetic no matter what. Let the elders and heavenly kings of the Celestial Demon Church deal with the headache. Just now, Lord Sang Ye asked us to help guard the Wu Wang City watchtower. Let's go over there."
Qin Mu nodded. The group chatted and laughed, and Qin Mu quickly forgot about his bloody backside, joking around with the Blind Elder, the Mute Elder, and the Cripple.
The Green Ox saw Dragon Qilin's four short legs moving and his eyes lit up. He trotted over to Dragon Qilin, stood on his hind legs, and circled him again and again.
Dragon Qilin's face darkened, and he said nothing, continuing to walk forward.
The Dragon Tuo Divine Spear transformed into a black dragon skeleton, swimming through the air with a clatter. It came to Fox Ling'er's side, nudged her with its head, and lifted the little fox onto its skull. It asked curiously, "Do those two have a grudge?"
Fox Ling'er whispered, "A grudge? It's more like a wife-stealing hatred!"
She recounted what she knew. The feud between Dragon Qilin and the Green Ox dated back to when Qin Mu first entered the Grand Academy. The Green Ox was a lecherous fellow, but unfortunately blind. At the Grand Academy, he thought Dragon Qilin was female and would harass him every day as he passed the mountain gate, even giving him flowers and grass.
Dragon Qilin knew he couldn't beat Ba Shan, so he endured the brute ox's advances and even tempted Qin Mu to drug the Green Ox and cook him. Qin Mu concocted a sleeping incense, which the Medical Hall's doctors learned and caused quite a stir.
Later, the Green Ox found out Dragon Qilin was male, was quite heartbroken for a while, and then happily went off to court female cows. Of course, the two beasts had held a grudge ever since.
"The Green Ox thought Fatty Dragon was female, but Fatty Dragon is male—isn't that a wife-stealing hatred?" Fox Ling'er said matter-of-factly.
The Black Dragon shook its skeleton, amazed, and said, "So there's such a twisted history?"
Dragon Qilin kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, appearing calm, but he twitched his ears.
The Green Ox sneered, "What are you twitching your ears for? You fatso, you used to be slim, like a female. How did you get so fat? I can't even tell if you're walking upright or rolling forward. Look at me!"
He flexed his arm, muscles bulging, and sneered, "This is called brawn! That's just fat on you! When I fight, I'm fierce—fist to flesh, punch after punch, powerful!"
Dragon Qilin narrowed his eyes, opened his wide mouth, and spat out a two-foot-square Qilin Pearl. It blazed with fiery light in midair, illuminating the surroundings.
The Green Ox shivered, crouched down, and turned back into a large green ox. He turned tail and slunk back to Ba Shan's side.
Dragon Qilin opened his mouth to retract the Qilin Pearl and sneered, "Fat? Do you know how much effort I put into this fat? Without this fat, could I have refined such a large Qilin Pearl?"
Fox Ling'er whispered, "Fatty Dragon, take the win and stop while you're ahead. If it really comes to a fight, you might not beat that brute ox! The Green Ox has fought more battles following Ba Shan than you've eaten elixirs. Be careful he doesn't see through your bluff."
Dragon Qilin felt a chill and knew that this ox, like Ba Shan, was a battle maniac. He was faster and had better stamina than Dragon Qilin. If it came to a real fight, he probably wouldn't be a match.
"I need to step up my cultivation of the Ancestral Dragon Grand Profound Art. If this ox realizes I'm not his match, he'll definitely come to beat me up!"
He activated the Ancestral Dragon Grand Profound Art and trained diligently. Qin Mu saw this and felt a sense of relief, smiling, "Fatty Dragon finally doesn't need me to worry and knows how to cultivate on his own. By the way, Ox Two!"
The Green Ox quickly ran over and said with a flattering smile, "Young Master, your instructions! Young Master, you've forgotten—I'm Ox Three. Ling'er is the Big Sister, Fatty is Dragon Two, and I'm ranked third. But I'll soon take down Dragon Two and move up to second."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "You have Azure Dragon bloodline, right? I recently obtained a profound art, even more advanced and powerful than the Overlord Body Three Dan Art. It's the best technique I've ever seen. Since you have dragon bloodline, I'll teach it to you as well."
The Green Ox was overjoyed and said with a sob, "Young Master is so good to this little ox. I have nothing to repay you with but to serve you with all my heart and soul!"
Qin Mu laughed and said, "You saved my life in the Golden Palace. I haven't even thanked you for that. This little matter is nothing."
He explained the Ancestral Dragon Grand Profound Art. Not only did the Green Ox listen intently, but even the Butcher, Granny Si, and the Blind Elder were captivated.
"Excellent technique!"
The Butcher exhaled a turbid breath and said in a deep voice, "A divine art like none I've ever seen! Mu'er, this should be a technique that leads directly to the Celestial Palace's Lingxiao Hall and allows one to ascend to the Imperial Throne, right?"
Dragon Qilin felt a strong sense of crisis and thought to himself, "Damn it! If this dead ox learns the Ancestral Dragon Grand Profound Art, that'll be trouble! He'll definitely beat me to death! No, I need to cultivate. I need to eat Water Element Divine Origin Pills!"
—Hehe, this is the third update today, already over 10,800 words. I'm asking for monthly votes, dear passersby!