Chapter 692: Gathering of the Wise
Qin Mu stood in the darkness, sweeping his gaze around. He could see starving ghosts drifting in the gloom, but their numbers had dwindled. As far as his eyes could reach, only a few scattered starving ghosts flickered uncertainly in the dark.
Of course, these starving ghosts were still extremely dangerous. They moved too fast; if an ordinary person entered the darkness, they would surely be devoured without a trace.
The darkness remained, but the number of starving ghosts had decreased. This indicated that the battle between Heavenly Yin Empress and the Yin Emperor had ended, and the Yin Emperor had failed to enter the Heavenly Yin Realm to slay the Empress.
Her weakened control over the Heavenly Yin Realm had led to the reduction in starving ghosts.
The remaining starving ghosts, presumably, had been suppressed by the Heavenly Yin Empress within the Heavenly Yin Realm.
Qin Mu’s spirits lifted. He said, “Wait for me here. I’ll enter the Heavenly Yin Realm again to see how things stand.”
“Alright.”
He Yi Yi was about to speak, but Yan Jingjing cut her off decisively: “Take care of yourself.”
Qin Mu soared into the air, flying toward the rift leading to the Heavenly Yin Realm. He Yi Yi murmured, “Sister Jingjing, why let him go alone to such a dangerous place? You’re a deity—wouldn’t it be safer to accompany him?”
Yan Jingjing shook her head. “His skills are exceptional. If he encounters danger, he can escape. If we follow him, we’ll only distract him. Besides, even if we truly face the Yin Emperor, I, as a deity, would be useless.”
He Yi Yi fell into thought, casting a deep glance at her.
Qin Mu sped through the mountain rift. After a long while, he finally reached the Heavenly Yin Boundary Stele. He circled around it, looked around, and saw a pagoda suspended in midair, pressing down on the space of the Heavenly Yin Realm until it warped, like an iron ball pressing on a taut bedsheet.
The area beneath the pagoda was now free of starving ghosts. Countless ghosts had been suppressed, cowering and trembling at the edge of the sky. The originally dim sky had become much clearer, though still not bright.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and sped forward. At last, by the seaside, he saw the Empress again, still looking troubled.
Heavenly Yin Empress sat there, propping her cheeks with both hands, staring listlessly at the sea. Her feet were dipped in the water, which only reached her ankles.
She wore no traditional clothing, only divine-light ribbons draped over her body, embodying the untamed wildness of an ancient god.
Qin Mu approached, sat down on the sand, and imitated her by dipping his feet into the seawater. A large wave crashed over him, drenching the young man’s head and face.
Heavenly Yin Empress chuckled. “You’re too small. My duel with the Yin Emperor stirred up big waves in the sea.”
Qin Mu smiled sheepishly. “Empress, are you troubled by these starving ghosts and the darkness?”
She lowered her arms, propping herself up behind her, and looked up at the sky. “I don’t want to be left alone. I want this place to be as lively as the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court is bustling—many gods and demons build houses on the Heavenly Lord’s body, and countless beings live on the continents atop him. The weather is favorable, and everyone is happy. Even the Earth Lord has countless souls living in his horns. But here, it’s turning into a world of starving ghosts and darkness. Those ghosts are mindless, only knowing how to eat.”
Qin Mu thought for a moment. Another wave came, and he quickly used his primal energy to shield himself, avoiding another drenching. “Empress, I think solving the Heavenly Yin Realm’s predicament might require the Heavenly Lord’s help.”
He explained his temporary solution. Heavenly Yin Empress shook her head. “Stealing a sun to hang here would make the Heavenly Yin part of the Heavenly Court. If the Heavenly Yin Realm ceases to exist, how could I stand as an equal to the Heavenly Lord? I’d become his little maid. He wouldn’t want a hole punched through his sole, and neither would I—blood from a stinky foot would all flow into my realm.”
Qin Mu laughed softly. “I have a volume of the Book of Life and Death here. Perhaps you can comprehend the Yin Emperor’s divine abilities from it.”
“The Yin Emperor’s abilities are also just a temporary fix, not suitable.”
Heavenly Yin Empress shook her head. “I want my Heavenly Yin Realm to have living beings. The Yin Emperor’s skills are good, but he can’t solve the starving ghost problem.”
Qin Mu racked his brain, then suddenly smiled. “One person’s wisdom is limited. Empress, wait here for a few days. I’ll go invite a few exceptionally wise people. They might find a way to solve the starving ghosts and the soul-black sand.”
Heavenly Yin Empress was surprised. “Are there people in this world smarter than you?”
Qin Mu looked serious and spoke solemnly, “Empress, you jest. Of course, there are those smarter than me. I’m quite dull by nature and wouldn’t dare claim to be the world’s best. Those smarter than me number one, two… hmm, four or five!”
Heavenly Yin Empress looked down at his serious expression and giggled. “Alright, go find them. I’d like to see who these four or five people smarter than you are.”
Qin Mu smiled. “They are the pillars of the Yan Kang Reformation, as well as the King of Fengdu. Empress, you’ll be very surprised.”
He was about to send his soul out of his body when he remembered something. He stood up, stepped back a few paces, and then activated the Three Primordial Spirit Meeting Technique.
Heavenly Yin Empress watched him curiously as Qin Mu’s soul left his physical body and departed the Heavenly Yin Realm.
“He’s so trusting? Not afraid the starving ghosts will eat his body?” She drove away the ghosts drawn by the scent, thinking to herself.
In the Imperial Academy, the Grand Study Hall, many souls arrived as invited, appearing in the hall.
“What does the Sect Leader need now?” Si Yunxiang asked.
“I need to find the National Teacher, the Woodcutter Sage, Xu Shenghua, and the First Ancestor.”
Qin Mu spoke rapidly. “Please find them and ask them to set off immediately for the cliff at the source of the Yong River. It’s urgent! Also, ask them to stop by Fengdu and invite the King of Fengdu to bring several experts in soul arts.”
“Rest assured, Sect Leader. We’ll find them soon.”
Everyone withdrew their souls. Before long, Qin Mu’s soul returned to his body. He saw Heavenly Yin Empress staring at him with wide, curious eyes.
“You’ve contacted them already?” she asked, surprised at how quickly he woke up.
Qin Mu smiled. “Empress, rest assured. They’ll arrive in a few days. I’ll go outside to forge my sword orb and return later.”
Heavenly Yin Empress nodded, and Qin Mu left.
At the base of the cliff, He Yi Yi led the He family women in continuing to repair the road. Yan Jingjing helped Qin Mu control the Heavenly Court’s heavenly fire, smelting the Buddha Essence Red Chromium and Heavenly Yin Gold.
The Buddha Essence Red Chromium had strong Buddhist properties; when forged into treasures, it emitted a brilliant Buddha light. Most weapons made from this divine metal were used by monks. The Heavenly Yin Gold was a material for soul artifacts, capable of containing souls and being very compatible with the primordial spirit, but activating such spirit weapons often carried ghostly energy.
When Heavenly Yin Empress forged her pagoda, she needed to steal the Heavenly Lord’s heavenly fire to burn away the dense ghostly aura.
However, Qin Mu used the Buddha light of the Red Chromium to neutralize the ghostly aura of the Heavenly Yin Gold. This way, the result wouldn’t look like a monk’s tool nor stir up eerie winds when activated.
He and Yan Jingjing first tested the proportions of the two divine metals, aiming not only to neutralize them but also to find the optimal balance of hardness and flexibility.
After a hundred trials, Qin Mu finally found the perfect ratio. He then began smelting and forging his sword orb.
Yan Jingjing watched him forge one flying sword after another, finding it tedious. She asked, “Cowherd brother, I’ve seen you forge swords before, making them flow like water and change at will. Why forge them one by one? Why not just smelt the divine metal into a flowing state and skip making eight thousand swords?”
Qin Mu focused on forging the sword in his hand. “Each flying sword has different runes imprinted on it. The runes must align with my Overlord Body Three Dan Technique to perfectly match me. So, I need to ensure each sword’s runes are correct…”
He suddenly paused, his body trembling slightly, and stared blankly into space.
Yan Jingjing watched him curiously as his expression shifted from serious to relaxed and joyful, then to deep thought. In a short while, he cycled through over a dozen expressions.
“You’re right!”
Qin Mu suddenly clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “You’re right! Forging each sword to perfection and accurately imprinting my technique’s marks is indeed too tedious. I can just forge a lump of divine metal directly into a sword orb!”
He grabbed Yan Jingjing, trying to lift her and spin her around, but grunted as his waist nearly snapped.
Yan Jingjing was a deity in the divine realm. Her body looked delicate but was incredibly heavy. Qin Mu, still at the Heavenly Being realm, trying to lift a god and spin her was, of course, a pipe dream.
Yan Jingjing’s face flushed slightly. She quietly used her magic to lighten herself, allowing Qin Mu to continue his excitement and spin the girl around twice.
“Forging each sword one by one requires me to painstakingly consider the rune distribution for each one, splitting my technique’s marks into eight thousand parts. I got so caught up in mathematical calculations that I forgot the simplest method.”
He set her down and paced back and forth, delighted. “I’ll forge a sword orb directly… no, I’ll forge a single sword… no, I’ll forge a ball! This ball will be my sword, my blade, all my spirit weapons—essentially my Overlord Body Three Dan Technique…”
He was so excited he could barely contain himself. Soon, he took out all the Buddha Essence Red Chromium and Heavenly Yin Gold, melted them together, and forged them into a large ball about four hundred zhang high.
After the divine metal ball cooled, Qin Mu tried to lift it but found he couldn’t budge it at all—like an ant trying to move a tree.
Yan Jingjing stepped forward but also couldn’t move it. They stared at each other.
Qin Mu’s face reddened. Yan Jingjing used the Heavenly Court’s heavenly fire to cut a piece off the ball. “Can you lift this?”
Qin Mu tried and, blushing, said, “Still too heavy.”
Yan Jingjing cut another piece with the heavenly fire. Qin Mu lifted this piece, still struggling a bit, but smiled. “This is fine now. As my cultivation and physical strength improve, it won’t be so hard to wield.”
Yan Jingjing helped him forge this piece into a ball. It was about the size of a small hill. Qin Mu summoned his ten-zhang primordial spirit to hammer and refine it, continuously imprinting his technique’s runes into the metal, using the rune marks as hammers to temper the spirit weapon.
His primordial spirit refined it for a full day and night, but the divine metal ball showed no sign of being smelted down.
Qin Mu flew around the ball, working with his spirit to imprint various techniques and divine abilities. After two or three days, the ball shrank only slightly.
“Cowherd brother, maybe we should just forge them one by one?”
Yan Jingjing couldn’t help but suggest. “This method is even more time-consuming and labor-intensive.”
Qin Mu shook his head. “Forging eight thousand swords would require mobilizing the Imperial Foundry to smelt them quickly. Doing it alone is actually more effort and time. Besides, the Yan Kang Imperial Foundry, which I designed, still struggles with smelting divine metals.”
Just then, the Woodcutter Sage’s voice rang out: “The Imperial Foundry has been redesigned by me. Now, smelting divine metals isn’t difficult.”
Qin Mu looked over and saw the Woodcutter Sage, the Yan Kang National Teacher, the First Ancestor of the Human Sovereign, and Xu Shenghua emerging from the Taihuang Heaven Tunnel. Behind them, shadows shifted, darkness spread, and moved.
The King of Fengdu, clad in a dark cloak, was shrouded in gloom.
The First Ancestor of the Human Sovereign looked up at the thirty-zhang-tall sword orb, somewhat stunned. He shook his head. “That’s no way to forge a sword orb. Too brute-force. Don’t you already have your own sword orb?”
“It was shattered by someone.”
Qin Mu smiled. “Teacher, I’ve found the source of the darkness.”
Everyone was shocked. Even the Woodcutter Sage’s expression changed dramatically. “You’ve found the Heavenly Yin Realm? You’ve met the Heavenly Yin Empress?”
“I’ve invited you all here to solve the ultimate problem of the Heavenly Yin Realm and the Heavenly Yin Empress.”
Qin Mu took out the skin of the Ka Huang Deity and spread it out. “Teacher, do you still recognize him?”