Chapter 648: Friend or Foe Hard to Tell (Third Update, Asking for Monthly Votes!)
The tower ship tossed and turned like a tiny leaf in a vast storm, battered by waves that sent it rolling and pitching. Suddenly, window after window shattered, flying out of the ship with a whoosh.
Whoosh! A whole floor snapped off cleanly and flew horizontally. Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu quickly grabbed onto the building’s pillars, hearing a series of cracking sounds from the wood.
“Hold onto my waist!” Qin Mu shouted.
Ling Yuxiu didn’t catch it. “What?”
“Hold onto my waist!”
This time Ling Yuxiu finally heard him clearly. She immediately let go and wrapped her arms around his waist. Qin Mu felt two soft spots pressing against his back, quite pleasant, but he had no time to ponder what was so soft. He decisively activated the Heaven and Earth Seal Technique.
The heavens spin, the earth turns, but the heart remains unmoved!
As he executed this seal technique, the violent fluctuations were drawn by his palms and began to swirl around him. Qin Mu grunted, feeling the pressure between his hands nearly snap his arms, but he had no choice but to endure.
Suddenly, the pillar supporting the building snapped with a crack, and the entire structure flew up horizontally, crashing into the starry void.
Ling Yuxiu gasped in fright and clung tightly to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu pushed the Heaven and Earth Seal to its limit, struggling against the intensifying waves. The tower ship continued its mad tumbling. The phoenix head at the bow had already broken off, and the deck planks burst with sharp pops, flying out as the hull grew more and more battered.
Bang! The cabin door exploded open, and from inside the divine ship’s hold came Ban Gongcuo’s startled cry. Hearing this, Ling Yuxiu thought to herself, “Ban Gongcuo is truly clever, hiding in the hold so early. Can he foresee danger?”
Ban Gongcuo tumbled and rolled inside the cabin, crashing into walls, when suddenly the fluctuations ceased. The battered ship kept spinning, with no telling when it would stop.
Qin Mu switched his hands, shifting to the Heaven and Earth Seal’s technique of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and the Five Elements. The tower ship slowly stopped rotating. His face flushed red, his skin nearly splitting, but he finally stabilized it.
Qin Mu dispelled the Heaven and Earth Seal, his legs trembling and his hands twitching uncontrollably, unable to lift them. His waist muscles felt torn, and he hissed in pain as he sucked in cold air.
The ship was a wreck: three of the six wings were broken, the phoenix head was snapped off, the mast had fallen, the sails were riddled with holes, the building was gone, and air was leaking rapidly from every gap. The ship’s energy shield must have ruptured.
Qin Mu struggled to his feet and sprinted along the ship’s energy barrier, repairing the cracks. After a moment, he stopped and sighed in relief. “This should hold for a while. I wonder how the First Ancestor is doing… Xiu Mei, you can let go now.”
Ling Yuxiu quickly released his waist, her face flushed red.
When Qin Mu had run along the energy barrier earlier, she had held onto his waist and refused to let go, forcing him to drag her along for the whole circuit.
Qin Mu endured the aches in his body and tried to get his bearings. They were in an unfamiliar stretch of stars, with no sense of up or down, no distinction of the six directions. When he looked into the distance, he couldn’t even see the battlefield where the First Ancestor and the Great Sun Star Lord had clashed!
Not only was the battlefield invisible, but even the sun the tower ship had been circling was nowhere to be found!
Qin Mu’s heart turned cold. He grabbed the Wisdom Pearl around his neck, flicked it twice to steady his nerves, and said, “We shouldn’t move around recklessly now. It’s best to stay put and wait for the First Ancestor or Red Creek to find us.”
Ling Yuxiu looked around and murmured, “What if they can’t find us? What if…”
“If they can’t find us, our air will run out soon enough.”
Qin Mu took out a handful of medicinal herb seeds, then dug some soil from his Gluttonous Beast Pouch. He scattered the seeds in the dirt and activated the Creation Earth Origin Technique. The seeds sprouted and grew rapidly, soon forming a small garden on the remaining deck.
He spread his five fingers, and a ball of fire rose from his palm—a miniature sun made of pure Yang energy. He used its light to shine on the lush herbs. His pure Yang energy was far denser than others’, thanks to the divine energy gifted to him by the gods and demons of the Upper Emperor Era when he crossed the forty-thousand-year gap: one pure Yang, one pure Yin.
Qin Mu held up a small moon in his other hand and said quietly, “Hopefully, this will buy us a little more time.”
Ban Gongcuo crawled out of the cabin and saw that Qin Mu had even packed soil in his Gluttonous Beast Pouch. He exclaimed, “Chief Qin, you even have dirt in your pouch?”
“Better safe than sorry.”
Qin Mu released his hands, and the tiny sun and moon began to orbit the garden. “I was worried I might not be able to grow herbs in a desert or something, so I prepared some. Never thought I’d use it here.”
Ban Gongcuo’s expression twisted. He sighed, “Now I know why I can never kill you.”
Qin Mu smiled through the pain. “You’ve never beaten me, so how can you talk about killing me?”
Ban Gongcuo’s face darkened, and he said nothing, not daring to make a move.
Qin Mu mused, “Three of us consuming air is slower than two. So…”
Ban Gongcuo’s face changed drastically, and he was about to flee, when suddenly the tower ship lurched downward. The three of them spun around and turned pale as death. There stood the Great Sun Star Lord at the stern, his body riddled with holes, his wings broken, his leg lame, covered in wounds. Two of his three eyes seemed blinded, a gruesome sight.
“Cough, cough!”
He coughed violently, spitting out a fiery phlegm that ignited the deck on contact, setting a patch of the divine ship ablaze.
“Such formidable Kai Emperor divine abilities!”
The Great Sun Star Lord winced in pain as blood flowed from his wounds. He chuckled darkly, “Almost took my life, but not quite… What was I saying? Ah, yes. You’re already dead.”
His single eye opened wide, and within it, a sun seemed to brew divine fire!
Qin Mu quickly grabbed the small box and, without hesitation, opened it. Two beams of red light shot toward the Great Sun Star Lord!
The Star Lord’s tattered wings suddenly wrapped around his body. The two bloody lights circled him, severing countless feathers and drawing blood.
“That hurts!” came the Star Lord’s furious voice from within the feathers.
Qin Mu’s heart sank. The God-Slaying Mystic Blades couldn’t even kill this severely wounded Great Sun Star Lord. Even more despairing was the thought: if the Star Lord was here, had the First Ancestor of the Human Sovereign fallen?
The two red lights returned fruitlessly, and the box snapped shut with a click.
“Without the God-Slaying Platform, mere God-Slaying Mystic Blades can’t do much to me.”
The Great Sun Star Lord spread his wings, blood pouring from them. Where his blood hit the deck, it immediately ignited, and the stern was soon engulfed in divine fire.
The air was rapidly consumed, and soon Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu struggled to breathe.
The Star Lord strode forward, panting. “To kill a Throne-level head, you need a Throne-level God-Slaying Platform to unleash a one-hit kill. Too bad you didn’t get that divine mountain. Now, you can die…”
Suddenly, the tower ship shuddered slightly. The Great Sun Star Lord froze, then twisted his neck to look behind him. From the divine fire at the stern, a tall, slender figure walked through the flames, holding a divine sword with its tip scraping the deck.
Where the sword tip passed, the divine fire extinguished, leaving only pools of golden blood.
“You’re still alive?”
The Great Sun Star Lord’s single eye filled with terror. He backed away slowly, then suddenly flapped his wings, letting out a pained shriek as he shot away like a streak of light.
The First Ancestor of the Human Sovereign, his face sallow, suddenly raised his hand and slapped down, murmuring, “Creation Azure Essence!”
The tower ship, as if touched by spring, had its wooden structure sprout and take root. In the blink of an eye, towering trees burst forth in all directions, quickly forming a dense primeval forest!
The ship transformed into a small planetoid covered in trees, drifting lonely through the stars.
The First Ancestor walked over to Qin Mu and the others and said calmly, “Brother Red Creek, how long will you hide? If you had struck just now, you could have killed the Great Sun Star Lord instead of letting him escape.”
After a moment, Red Creek appeared at the bow, holding the Heaven-Suppressing Tower. His three faces and six eyes fixed on the First Ancestor. “I am also severely wounded. I could have killed him, but it would have cost me my life. Since he’s fled, he won’t dare return, and even if he does, he can’t catch us. We’ve achieved our goal; there’s no need to take risks. How are your injuries?”
There was a hint of concern in his tone, but Qin Mu’s heart tightened. “Red Creek asking that now is ill-intentioned! If he kills the First Ancestor, the Red Ming Dynasty can devour Yan Kang effortlessly! Red Creek is contemplating murder!”
The reason Red Creek had allied with Yan Kang was because of the First Ancestor’s presence, giving Yan Kang the strength to form an alliance with the Red Ming Divine Dynasty.
If the First Ancestor died, there would be no need for an alliance—they could simply annex Yan Kang!
The First Ancestor said calmly, “How severe my injuries are, you can find out by trying.”
Qin Mu grabbed the small box and smiled. “Senior Red Creek, we’re still allies. Falling out would be unwise.”
Red Creek stared at the box in his hand, then suddenly laughed. “True. I was just showing concern, no ill intent. Disciple, come here.”
Ban Gongcuo walked over and whispered, “The First Ancestor’s injuries are very serious. If we can snatch the God-Slaying Mystic Blades, they’ll be at our mercy!”
Red Creek shook his head. “I know he’s badly hurt, but so am I. I’m not confident I can withstand the God-Slaying Mystic Blades. I’ll wait until I’ve recovered a bit more.”
The First Ancestor sat down heavily. Qin Mu carefully examined his wounds and frowned.
The First Ancestor’s injuries were severe, like a porcelain vase about to shatter, likely caused by the Heaven-Toppling Three Styles.
The Heaven-Toppling Three Styles were divine abilities with a strong self-destructive tendency. Qin Mu didn’t know how many moves the First Ancestor had used, but the damage to his physical body and primordial spirit was immense, with cracks even in his divine hideaways and the heavenly palace at the end of the Divine Bridge.
The worst injury Qin Mu had ever treated was the Yan Kang National Master’s wounds from his battle with the Upper Firmament Jade Lord. But back then, the National Master hadn’t damaged his heavenly palace. Now, the First Ancestor’s heavenly palace was injured.
How to deliver medicinal power to the heavenly palace and heal its damage was uncharted territory for Qin Mu.
“I’ll have to treat this like a last resort. First, heal his other injuries, then figure out the heavenly palace later.”
Qin Mu handed the small box to Ling Yuxiu and taught her how to open it to release the God-Slaying Mystic Blades. He whispered, “If Red Creek starts walking this way, open the box immediately. Don’t hesitate!”
Ling Yuxiu nodded firmly, clutching the box as she practiced the opening technique Qin Mu had taught her.
Qin Mu took a deep breath and immediately began preparing herbs and refining elixirs!
—The third update is here, asking for monthly votes!
Three chapters have been posted. I’m filled with mixed emotions. Zhai Zhu has finally become a Platinum author.
Hmm, I don’t know what to say. Let me gather my thoughts and words…
Alright!
When my editor-in-chief told me I was signing a Platinum contract, I didn’t believe it. I asked several times, “Really? Really?”
To be honest, I lack confidence. I don’t interact much with people; I just bury myself in writing, studying how to improve. The success of “The Legend of the Shepherd God” is all thanks to the support of new and old readers. Everyone can see that I’m a pig who just writes and doesn’t like to socialize.
I can still clearly see my own writing flaws. I want to settle down, improve, and grow. I feel that being called Platinum is an overstatement, too much praise.
This Platinum status is really thanks to all of you, my new and old readers, for lifting me up! Thank you for your support!
My heart surges with emotion, turbulent, with a thousand words and ten thousand feelings, but I’m at a loss for words, unable to express it all. All I can say is…
Thank you all!
I’ve always been grateful!