Chapter 597: The Bound Sun in His Eyes
The mute gestured a few times, and the deaf man, seeing this, said, "This is simple—just don't look in a mirror. It's not like you're a young bride. That's what the mute said, not me."
The pharmacist took out a mirror and shone it at Qin Mu, observing his reaction. Qin Mu's eyes immediately went rigid, as if a figure was walking toward him from within them. The pharmacist quickly put the mirror away and said, "Not looking in a mirror is simple enough. But what about washing his face? Or if someone else shines a mirror at him? They could arrange for a demon or a spy to use a mirror on Mu'er, and he'd fall for it with just one glance. There must be plenty of cultivators in the Grand Imperial Heaven who've defected to the demons, not just Tian Feng Gou!"
The butcher snatched the mirror from him and shone it at Qin Mu. Qin Mu's eyes went straight again, staring fixedly at the mirror, with a figure of Bound Sun walking toward him, closer than before.
The butcher was startled and quickly flipped the mirror over, and only then did the Bound Sun in Qin Mu's eyes disappear.
"Impressive!"
The butcher couldn't help but praise, "Bound Sun's divine ability is truly bizarre—it can actually manifest from Mu'er's eyes! Why not lure him out, set up a dozen or so gods and demons, and with a true god's help, hack him to pieces with random blades? Let's see how he stirs up trouble!"
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "It's useless. He won't actually appear. The mirror only triggers his divine ability; once triggered, it will pull me to his side. He won't show up before us at all."
The butcher praised again, "To achieve such a feat? Truly remarkable!"
The mute snatched the mirror and shone it at Qin Mu. Qin Mu couldn't help but stare straight at it again, and the Bound Sun in his eyes drew another step closer.
The mute quickly flipped the mirror over and said gravely, "Ah bah!"
The blind man immediately took the mirror and was about to shine it at Qin Mu when Granny Si flew into a rage and gave him a sharp knock on the head, fuming, "You old bastards, if you keep shining it, Mu'er will be taken by that three-faced freak!"
The blind man was furious: "Granny, they all shone it—why did you only hit me?"
Granny Si snatched the mirror away. The lame man, who had been itching to try, held back when he saw Granny Si protecting her charge.
Granny Si also wanted to shine the mirror at Qin Mu, but since he was the child she had raised, she restrained herself, though she felt an itch she couldn't quite scratch.
In the Village of the Crippled, the most playful aside from the lame man was her.
"If he can't look in a mirror and we can't pull Bound Sun over, then this divine ability will be forever lodged in Mu'er's eyes?" Everyone was at a loss.
Though they were all immensely powerful, Bound Sun's divine ability was truly unfathomable, leaving them without a clue on how to break it.
The Grand Imperial National Teacher and True God Pang Yu approached and said, "Friends, you've returned? We were just organizing the military supplies and couldn't come to your aid. Please forgive us."
"National Teacher, you've always had good ideas—maybe you can think of something!"
Everyone quickly explained the situation to the Grand Imperial National Teacher. He exclaimed in surprise, "Is that so? Let me take a look!" He then took a mirror from his bosom and prepared to shine it at Qin Mu.
The butcher, the blind man, and the others exchanged odd looks. Though the Grand Imperial National Teacher was a middle-aged man, he was handsome and dignified, clearly someone who cared about his appearance, so he carried a mirror with him.
Granny Si clenched her fist, ready to knock the Grand Imperial National Teacher's head.
Seeing this, the Grand Imperial National Teacher put down the mirror and laughed, "Fellow Daoist Si, if I don't draw out the divine ability from his pupils, how can I devise a way to break it? Please set aside your hostility."
Granny Si said, "Don't shine it for too long."
The Grand Imperial National Teacher shone the mirror at Qin Mu and saw the shadow of Bound Sun walking out from his pupils. Startled, he quickly covered the mirror and mused, "Excellent divine ability! This ability is imprinted in Lord Qin's eyes; one glance at him and you're ensnared. Is Bound Sun truly this powerful?"
Granny Si quickly asked, "National Teacher, have you found a solution?"
The Grand Imperial National Teacher paced back and forth, hesitated, and then said, "How about I shine it one more time?"
Granny Si could no longer hold back and gave him a sharp knock on the head. Everyone was shocked—even Emperor Yanfeng wouldn't dare knock the Grand Imperial National Teacher's head, yet Granny Si did!
The Grand Imperial National Teacher accepted it calmly and said, "Fellow Daoist Si, with just one look, I can't fully understand Bound Sun's divine ability. If I could look a few more times, I might find a way to break it."
Granny Si said coldly, "And if you can't break it?"
The Grand Imperial National Teacher replied solemnly, "If I can grasp the truth in the morning, I'd gladly die by evening!"
Granny Si wasn't familiar enough with him, or she would have kicked him away like she did the blind man. She glanced at True God Pang Yu and said patiently, "True God, you're immensely powerful—surely you have a way to break it?"
True God Pang Yu hesitated. He wanted to shine the mirror at Qin Mu but felt he wouldn't escape the woman's fist either. He shook his head and said, "If the National Teacher can't do it, I can't either. I have great respect for the National Teacher's techniques. Bound Sun's divine ability surpasses mine, especially this eye-based one, which is even harder to break. If anyone can match Bound Sun in divine ability, it would be the Celestial Master. You should seek him out."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. The Woodcutter Sage was indeed immensely powerful and might have a way to break Bound Sun's divine ability.
"The Celestial Master is currently in the demon race's Luofu Heaven. Finding him shouldn't be hard."
True God Pang Yu hesitated and said, "In theory, I should take you there, but with the two armies facing off and the demons not retreating, I need to stay here."
The Grand Imperial National Teacher was quite tempted and wanted to meet this sage, but he was also tied down and couldn't spare the time to go to Luofu Heaven.
The world barrier between Luofu Heaven and the Grand Imperial Heaven was already very thin. Going to Luofu Heaven wasn't difficult. When the demons attacked the Grand Imperial Heaven, the demon gods had directly torn open the world barrier, allowing an endless stream of demons to pour into the Grand Imperial Heaven.
Granny Si was delighted and laughed, "I'll go with Mu'er to meet the first sage of my Heavenly Saint Cult!"
She could barely contain her excitement. The Woodcutter Sage had transmitted teachings under a tree and passed down scriptures on a stone, teaching the founding patriarch, who then established the Heavenly Saint Cult. Every subsequent cult leader had been a disciple of the Woodcutter Sage and had to undergo the stone scripture transmission once.
For the disciples of the Heavenly Saint Cult, the Woodcutter Sage was an exalted being, someone to look up to and worship!
Meeting this legend was a great wish for every cult member!
Qin Mu hesitated, looked at the excited Granny Si, and ultimately decided not to tell her the truth.
"The Woodcutter Sage is the founder of the Heavenly Saint Cult, but he's never even heard of it. The stone scripture transmission was just a whim, passed down to the founding patriarch… If Granny finds out, she'll be devastated," he thought to himself.
True God Pang Yu said, "The Grand Imperial Heaven once counterattacked Luofu Heaven, and I was the commander. The attack failed, but I know the geography there. Luofu Heaven is full of swamps and mirror-like surfaces formed by space fragments. You need to be careful—Lord Qin might see a mirror at any time."
Granny Si took a white silk ribbon and blindfolded Qin Mu, saying, "That should do it. Mu'er, you can release your primordial spirit and see through its eyes!"
The Grand Imperial National Teacher quickly said, "No! Bound Sun's divine ability is also reflected in his primordial spirit. If the primordial spirit sees a mirror, it will also trigger Bound Sun's ability!"
Granny Si exclaimed in surprise, "Bound Sun has such skill? Mu'er, release your primordial spirit!"
Qin Mu complied, and his primordial spirit emerged, standing on a cloud of auspicious energy behind and above his head. Granny Si shone the mirror at it, and the primordial spirit's eyes fixed on the mirror, with Bound Sun's figure appearing in its pupils, walking outward!
By now, Bound Sun was almost at the edge of Qin Mu's pupils!
Granny Si examined it carefully, satisfied, and put the mirror away, finally putting that matter to rest. She laughed, "True God Pang Yu, how do we get to Luofu Heaven?"
"I'll tear open the space and send you there!"
With his eyes covered, Qin Mu could only rely on his senses to perceive his surroundings. He couldn't see anything with his physical eyes and was led by Granny Si, who held his hand and pulled him forward.
True God Pang Yu tore open the space, revealing another world, and said, "Luofu Heaven is not like the Grand Imperial Heaven. It's full of dangers—you must be careful."
Granny Si, holding his hand, eagerly stepped into the rift. Dragon Qilin and Fox Ling'er wanted to follow, but True God Pang Yu had already closed the space rift, so they had to give up.
The pharmacist said solemnly, "Let's go to the Fengdu of the Great Ruins and find the village chief. We'll think of something together. Ling'er, you often go to Fengdu through the space between life and death—lead the way."
Fox Ling'er agreed and said to the dejected Dragon Qilin, "Young master has gone to Luofu Heaven. Fatty Dragon, come with us to Fengdu."
Dragon Qilin felt empty inside and shook his head, saying, "I'll stay here and wait for the cult leader to return. He left in such a hurry that he didn't have time to make my rations…"
Fox Ling'er laughed, "With Grandpa Pharmacist here, how could you go without rations? Young master learned his medical and alchemical skills from Grandpa Pharmacist!"
Dragon Qilin was overjoyed and immediately shook his body, revealing his forty-zhang true form. He said ingratiatingly, "Gentlemen, please climb onto my back. I'm quite fast and can take you all to Fengdu! I've been to Fengdu before!"
The lame man, the butcher, the blind man, and the others climbed onto his back. The butcher laughed, "I once said we should put this fatty and the village's chicken-dragons on the table for New Year's—a big feast. But he's turned out more sensible than those chicken-dragons. Those chicken-dragons have gone wild; last time I went back to the village, they pecked my face bloody."
The pharmacist laughed, "Fatty Dragon, what pills do you eat? How many?"
Dragon Qilin quickly said, "I eat Crimson Fire Pills, Fire Element Divine Pills, and Water Element Divine Pills. One meal… one dou!"
"One dou per meal?"
The pharmacist was startled and exclaimed, "Three types of pills means three dou! Three meals a day makes nine dou! You've got quite an appetite! How hasn't Mu'er gone broke feeding you?"
Dragon Qilin was also startled, both shocked and delighted. He had originally aimed high, hoping for one dou of pills a day, but now it had turned into nine dou.
The pharmacist calculated for a moment and said, "Nine dou of pills is a bit much, but luckily I'm rich and have plenty in stock—I can afford it…"
The blind man was very envious. There were many wealthy people in the village. The pharmacist treated high officials and nobles, earning a fortune daily, and many noble ladies came to him. The deaf man's paintings were also in high demand. The butcher sold meat daily, and the mute worked as a blacksmith—they all got by. The lame man went without saying, and Granny Si's Si family controlled the Heavenly Saint Cult's treasury, so they naturally lacked nothing.
Only the blind man, who made a living by fortune-telling, had a somewhat hard life, so he harbored some resentment toward the village's rich. He thought to himself, "At least the village chief was poorer than me… too bad he's dead…"
Fox Ling'er's eyes darted around, but she didn't tell the truth, thinking, "Fatty Dragon eating so many pills a day—young master will be shocked when he returns. I can't wait to see how fat he'll get…"
In Luofu Heaven, Qin Mu quietly raised his hand to lift the golden willow leaf covering his third eye on his brow. Granny Si slapped his hand down with a smack and scolded, "That eye of yours is strange—don't mess with it!"
Qin Mu pleaded, "Granny, I can't see anything now, and it's hard to move around. I can't always have you leading me. If we run into danger, I'll only be a burden."
"Still not allowed!"
Granny Si thought for a moment and then laughed, "But you have a point. Not being able to see does make things difficult. I'll take it off for you, but you must not activate the Overlord Body Three Dan Art." With that, she pinched the golden willow leaf and peeled it off.
On Qin Mu's brow, his eyelids parted to the sides, revealing his third eye, which rolled left and right, surveying the surroundings.
—Lalala, tomorrow marks the tenth anniversary of Zhai Zhu's writing career! There's a big event on Qidian for Zhai Zhu's ten-year writing anniversary—stay tuned!