Chapter 689: Heavenly Fire
In the Qinzi Continent, Heaven Duke, Red Emperor, and Old Buddha all wore grave expressions. After a moment, Old Buddha sighed, "The Great Way has changed. Through the transformation of laws, the Dao of Heaven and Earth has shifted by one step. A turbulent era, a time of great upheaval, is about to arrive."
His eyes gradually dimmed, and he sank into a deep sleep.
Heaven Duke's avatar sighed, "It has come so quickly. It seems I should make preparations early. Red Emperor, you are fortunate to be free of burdens after death."
Red Emperor snorted coldly.
"Are we all inside the belly of a corpse fiend?"
Qin Mu's heart shook violently, his expression shifting between light and dark. If that were the case, then the darkness enveloping the Great Ruins was also this corpse fiend, unimaginably vast in size.
This corpse fiend's body could fill the entire Great Ruins, could cram into every heavenly realm within the broken cliffs.
Most critically, did this corpse fiend possess its own consciousness?
Corpse fiends could have consciousness. He had realized this at the Happy Village by the sea. Corpse fiends could retain memories, could possess thoughts. If the Heavenly Yin Realm had truly been turned into a corpse fiend by the Nether Emperor, then even if the Heavenly Yin Empress revived, the situation would be far from optimistic!
"The Heavenly Yin Realm has become a colossal corpse fiend. For the Heavenly Yin Empress, this is an incredibly fearsome opponent. She can barely handle herself—how could she possibly look after the Great Ruins?"
He held little hope for the Heavenly Yin Empress's situation.
The Heavenly Yin Empress held him in her palm, curiously examining him. She saw Qin Mu's expression shifting between light and dark.
"This great mage's skills are extraordinary, but his Dao heart seems somewhat lacking. In just this short time, his face has changed through a dozen shades, as if there's a color-changing lantern beneath his skin."
Her physical form was slowly recovering, mud and seawater transforming into flesh, blood, and bone. This was an ability others could only envy.
For instance, although Qin Mu had cultivated both the Red Emperor's Indestructible Divine Consciousness and the Bright Emperor's Leakless Creation Sutra, achieving remarkable skill in the art of creation, if his flesh were to dissolve, leaving only skin, he would surely die, unable to rebuild his body.
That the Heavenly Yin Empress could do this was not only due to her profound and unfathomable power but likely also a gift of her innate talent.
"This tower is a treasure I refined to suppress these corpse fiends. But the corpse fiends allied with the Nether Emperor and ambushed me."
The Heavenly Yin Empress's body was immense, and she waded through the seawater toward the ocean, her steps churning up massive waves. She said, "Back when the corpse fiends of the Heavenly Yin Realm rebelled, I wanted to forge a weapon that could permanently solve the corpse fiend problem. But I was born of Heaven and Earth and was not proficient in the divine arts and Dao methods of other systems. I secluded myself to refine the treasure but could never complete it. Then the Nether Emperor came to the Heavenly Yin Realm, offering to help me forge it. His techniques and divine arts were astonishing, profound, following the path of the Netherworld, which exactly compensated for my shortcomings. With his help, I was able to complete this tower. However…"
She reached the center of the sea, her expression darkening.
"However, it was all a trap. His help in refining the treasure was ill-intentioned. After the treasure was completed, he hid a divine technique inside it."
The Heavenly Yin Empress gritted her teeth. "He used that technique to ambush me, wounding me. Then the corpse fiends took the opportunity to burrow into my body through the wound, gnawing at my flesh. Meanwhile, he brought many powerful beings to attack me. More and more corpse fiends drilled into my body, surging like black sand…"
Qin Mu could imagine that terrifying scene.
The wounded Heavenly Yin Empress had to resist both the Nether Emperor and the many powerful attackers while countless corpse fiends, transformed into black sand, madly burrowed into her wounds, devouring her flesh and soul!
At that time, the Heavenly Yin Empress must have been besieged from within and without, utterly despairing.
"Empress, why did you trust a stranger?" he asked, puzzled.
If the Heavenly Yin Empress had been wary of the Nether Emperor, she wouldn't have fallen so quickly and so miserably. To her at that time, the Nether Emperor was a foreign visitor. Trusting him so completely was rather reckless.
The Heavenly Yin Empress's face flushed slightly. "He was very handsome, making it hard to be on guard."
Qin Mu's expression turned strange.
The Heavenly Yin Empress quickly added, "I don't judge by appearances, but he was truly good-looking, and I couldn't see through his hypocrisy. He helped me refine the treasure, and I did need his assistance, so I fell into his trap. It wasn't until I met the great mage that I realized a handsome face doesn't mean a good person, and an ordinary-looking one can be a great person."
She looked at Qin Mu in her palm, offering an encouraging smile.
Qin Mu grunted, not wanting to dwell on the matter of his ordinary appearance. He said, "Then why didn't the Nether Emperor take this tower of yours? Why did he leave it here?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress reached for the massive hourglass. "He wanted to, but my tower was refined from Heavenly Yin Gold. After tempering, it became mine. I merged this treasure with the Heavenly Yin Realm itself, so of course he couldn't move it. Although I died once, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Before, I couldn't comprehend the granular form of the soul and was helpless against the black sand. But after I shattered into soul particles, my previous confusion became clear."
She removed the hourglass. "This hourglass is a treasure he refined to control the black sand of the Heavenly Yin Realm. He used it to manipulate the black sand and attack your world."
The hourglass the Nether Emperor had refined represented his achievement in the system of souls. With just this hourglass, he could control the soul black sand of the Heavenly Yin Realm.
That the Heavenly Yin Empress could remove this hourglass showed that she had indeed turned misfortune into fortune. Her death and rebirth had granted her a profound understanding of souls.
Having died and been reborn, she now differed from beings like Earth Lord and Heaven Duke, who were born sacred. She now had the ability to learn other divine arts and comprehend other Dao methods.
This change was quite peculiar. Qin Mu felt it was worth studying, so he took out a small notebook and jotted down notes, thinking, "Researching this might solve the problem of born sacred beings being unable to adapt to changes in Dao and law. But I doubt the Heavenly Yin Empress would be willing to let thousands of skilled mathematicians climb all over her to study and record… Probably not."
"The hourglass is called the Heavenly Dipper."
The hourglass was enormous, but in the Heavenly Yin Empress's hands, it seemed like a small toy. She toyed with it between her fingers, a faint smile playing on her lips. "His treasure-refining skills far surpass mine. This Heavenly Dipper is exquisitely made, but now that it's in my hands, he can't take it back. And the Heavenly Dipper will become my means of dealing with the greatest corpse fiend of the Heavenly Yin Realm."
Qin Mu could tell that the Heavenly Yin Empress had little worldly experience before, only managing the Heavenly Yin Realm. She likely paid little attention to schemes and intrigues, or had encountered very few of them.
Now, however, she had learned to use tactics. This gave him some reassurance.
The reborn Heavenly Yin Empress probably wouldn't be so easily defeated by the Netherworld Black Emperor again.
He jumped down from her hand and walked to the ruined palace, picking out a few relatively intact Netherworld divine weapons to collect, including the Heavenly Mourning Bell.
"Great mage, you should leave now."
The Heavenly Yin Empress toyed with the hourglass. "I can sense from the Heavenly Dipper that the Nether Emperor will soon try to come here. When he ambushed me, his strength was already considerable. Now, he must be even more powerful. If you stay, I won't be able to protect you."
Qin Mu's heart tightened. He looked up and asked, "Empress, can you match him?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress replied, "My physical form is unstable right now, so it's hard to defeat him. But I have the means to hold him off. I'll block him outside the Heavenly Yin Realm, preventing him from entering. As long as he can't get in, I'll be safe. However, he will surely control the corpse fiends of the Heavenly Yin Realm to attack me. When that happens, the Heavenly Yin Realm will erupt in chaos. If you stay, you won't be able to protect yourselves."
Qin Mu nodded solemnly. "Empress, take care!"
He was about to leave with the Kai Emperor divine being when he suddenly remembered something and stopped. "Empress, to save you earlier, I was attacked by the corpse fiend you had become, and my sword pellet was destroyed. I have no weapon now. Do you have any leftover scraps of Heavenly Yin Gold from refining the tower? Could you spare me some?"
The Heavenly Yin Empress scooped her hand toward the seabed. As the seawater flowed away, her palm was filled with many blue-glowing sea sands. "This is Heavenly Yin Gold. Do you have something to carry it?"
Her palm covered several hundred acres, and the Heavenly Yin Gold in it looked like a blue desert.
Qin Mu's heart pounded wildly. He silently praised her generosity and took out his glutton sack. "My glutton sack is full of Buddha Essence Red Chrome and Buddha Mother Tree, but there are still some gaps I can fill with sand."
"Your two bags are too small. They won't hold much."
The Heavenly Yin Empress shook her head and told him to jump into her palm to collect the Heavenly Yin Gold himself. Qin Mu immediately activated his glutton sack, drawing the Heavenly Yin Gold into it. Soon, the sack was full.
There was still a small portion of Heavenly Yin Gold left in the Heavenly Yin Empress's palm.
Qin Mu sighed regretfully. He struggled to lift the two glutton sacks, intending to tie them to his waist, but they nearly snapped his belt. He had to carry them with both hands.
"Melting Heavenly Yin Gold must require special methods. What fire did you use when refining the tower, Empress?" Qin Mu looked up and asked.
"Heavenly Fire, stolen from Heaven Duke in the Celestial Capital."
The Heavenly Yin Empress turned over her other hand, and a flame appeared in her palm. "I took this from Heaven Duke when he wasn't paying attention. It's useless to me now, so I'll give it to you."
Qin Mu looked at the flame in her palm. It burned like angular crystals, but it was enormous—a sea of crystalline fire!
"Empress, I don't need this much."
Qin Mu said sheepishly, "I have no place to store it…"
The Heavenly Yin Empress gently broke off a piece of the crystalline Heavenly Fire with two fingers and handed it to him. "Hold this first. The name 'Heavenly Fire' sounds intimidating, but it isn't hot. It only unleashes its all-consuming power when activated."
Qin Mu hugged the piece of Heavenly Fire, which was as thick as his waist and taller than him. Combined with the two glutton sacks, it was quite a burden.
"You should go now!"
The Heavenly Yin Empress stared ahead, her expression grave. "The Nether Emperor will be here soon!"
Qin Mu immediately took his leave, leaping from her palm. The Kai Emperor divine being quickly followed him. With a splash, the Kai Emperor divine being was stunned to see Qin Mu plunge headfirst into the sea, neither standing on the water nor flying.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Yin Empress scooped him out of the water. She gently blew on them, and Qin Mu and the Kai Emperor divine being were sent flying like clouds and mist, hurtling back the way they came. In an instant, they traveled tens of thousands of miles, soon arriving before the Heavenly Yin Realm boundary marker before landing.
The Kai Emperor divine being was about to cross the boundary marker when Qin Mu quickly said, "Senior, wait!"
The Kai Emperor divine being looked puzzled as Qin Mu set down the glutton sacks and the Heavenly Fire crystal pillar. He took out a dozen small jade bottles and poured out the dragon saliva inside.
The Kai Emperor divine being didn't understand what he was doing. Qin Mu muttered an incantation and performed a peculiar divine art. Black sand swarmed over, drilling into the small jade bottles.
Qin Mu screwed the lids tight and set a series of strange runic seals around the bottles. He opened the Kai Emperor divine being's clothing pocket and placed the bottles inside. "Once you're outside, you can't be exposed to light. When day comes, the black sand will leave your body. I'm afraid you'll die, so I've collected some soul black sand. Once we're outside, I'll help you refine a treasure. During the day, the black sand can be stored in the treasure, and at night, it can enter your body."
The Kai Emperor divine being showed a look of gratitude.
Just then, a violent tremor shook the Heavenly Yin Realm.
"The Nether Emperor has arrived!" Qin Mu's heart tightened as he looked back.
— Tomorrow, I need to go to Nanjing for the Jiangsu Online Writers Association meeting. As a council member, I have to attend for the first time. I've already written the chapters in advance, so there won't be any interruptions. Rest assured! I might be busy these next few days, so please help me with likes. Thank you!