Chapter 783: Earth Mother Primordial Lord
Qin Mu smiled slightly, leaving Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin outside. "Virtuous brother, let's go in."
Gongsun Yan led the way, and Imperial Heavenly Lord, looking dazed, followed Qin Mu into the underground palace.
Outside the hall, Water Qilin trembled, lowering his head, not daring to look at the old dragon, let alone raise his head to examine the phoenix.
The phoenix stood before them, leisurely preening its feathers, while the old dragon coiled around a pillar, lowering its head, its bleary old eyes fixed on them like a guard watching for thieves. Its head was larger than Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin combined.
Water Qilin's heart pounded even more fiercely. Beside him, Dragon Qilin rustled about, pulling out a few spirit pills from somewhere and offering them to the old dragon. "Do you want some?"
Water Qilin inwardly groaned, but saw the old dragon stretch its body, descend from the pillar, and transform into an old man with a dragon head and human body. He took the spirit pill, tasted one, and praised, "Quite refreshing! Little one, why haven't you taken human form? You're still following the primitive demigod path, growing by eating. That path has already been proven unworkable. Only by taking human form can you open your divine treasuries and heavenly palaces and begin cultivation."
Dragon Qilin sought guidance, "The Sect Leader taught me the Ancestral Dragon Supreme Profound Art, saying it's a technique at the Imperial Throne level, but I always feel something's off when I practice it. The Sect Leader said I have Qilin bloodline, so the technique doesn't suit me well."
The old dragon replied, "I see. Dragons are born from dragon veins, and I too was born from one. The Ancestral Dragon Supreme Profound Art is already the pinnacle of ultimate techniques. But since your bloodline contains Qilin blood, it's indeed difficult to cultivate it. I don't have any Qilin techniques, but there are many Qilin here. You can go ask them for some superior techniques. Follow me!"
Dragon Qilin followed him away.
Water Qilin stared wide-eyed. "That easy to talk to?"
The old dragon led him to a royal tomb and bellowed, "Lu Shouyi! Lu Shouyi!"
A stone Qilin slowly shed its stony exterior, transforming into a majestic Fire Qilin. "Dragon King, why do you call me?"
"This junior here has both dragon and Qilin bloodlines but lacks Qilin cultivation techniques. Pass on some techniques to him."
The old dragon said, "I ate his spirit pills, so I need to give him something in return."
The Fire Qilin looked at Dragon Qilin. "So you're that young fellow. Got any more spirit pills?"
Dragon Qilin hastily produced some spirit pills. "I saw how fierce you were earlier, brother, so I didn't dare approach to speak."
The Fire Qilin said with some pride, "We're tasked with guarding the royal tombs, so naturally we need to be fierce."
Suddenly, other Qilin before the tombs awakened one after another, stepping on auspicious clouds and landing around Dragon Qilin. "How fragrant, how fragrant!"
Dragon Qilin took out more spirit pills and gave them away. "I passed by here earlier and was scared out of my wits by you brothers."
The Qilin were quite pleased and laughed, "We were just scaring you to keep little thieves from sneaking in."
Dragon Qilin took out all his spirit pills, and the old dragon also got a share. Everyone called each other brothers, becoming very chummy.
Dragon Qilin felt an inexplicable warmth in his heart. "Thankfully, the Sect Leader, knowing I have both dragon and Qilin blood, made the spirit pills to suit both races' tastes, so I could strike up a conversation with them."
"Brother, having both dragon and Qilin bloodlines is a bit troublesome. No wonder you have trouble transforming."
A Qilin demigod said, "If you try to cultivate both techniques at once, it's hard to master both. Let us help you modify them."
Before the palace, Water Qilin watched as those demigod giants gathered around Dragon Qilin, personally teaching him how to cultivate, and couldn't help but feel envious. "We're both mounts, so why did he instantly mingle with the upper echelons of the demigods, while I have to stay here being stared at by this phoenix..."
The phoenix was still staring at him. Suddenly, it spoke in a soft voice, "Do you have any spirit pills?"
Water Qilin answered honestly, "No."
The phoenix ignored him and kept staring.
Water Qilin felt dejected. "When will Master Blue learn to make spirit pills?"
The underground palace was enormous, and even entering through the doorway took a while, making Qin Mu feel as if he had returned to the wild, barbaric era of the Dragon Han era.
Imperial Heavenly Lord looked at the palace, somewhat lost, murmuring, "I feel like I've been here before... It's familiar somehow..."
Qin Mu slowed his pace, looking expectant. "Virtuous brother, can you remember anything?"
Imperial Heavenly Lord grew even more confused, tapping his head, then shook it. "I can't remember anything... Brother, I feel like I'm not your real brother!"
His expression was serious.
Qin Mu chuckled. "What are you saying? Your surname is Blue, mine is Qin. Of course we're not blood brothers."
He quickly caught up with Gongsun Yan, examining the hall's layout. The decorations were simple, with no murals on the walls, only some drawings on the smooth floor.
Qin Mu's primordial spirit emerged behind him, looking down from above to get a clear view of the floor drawings.
These drawings were enormous. One depicted the world's first opening, a giant tree rooted in ancient land, stabilizing the surging earth, water, wind, and fire.
Beneath the tree lay a woman, waking from a dream, while beside her, a man reached out as if to pull her up.
In the sky, there was a giant made of light, and underground, a strange figure with ox horns and a tiger head.
Imperial Heavenly Lord's expression grew even more gloomy. He muttered softly, "I knew I was adopted. Where are my real parents?"
Qin Mu looked at the drawing on the floor beneath his feet and nearly stumbled at the words. He shook his head. "What kind of nonsense is filling Imperial Heavenly Lord's little head?"
He looked at the second drawing. This one showed the woman and the giant tree standing tall between heaven and earth, the leaves transforming into various great and small heavens. In those heavens, many demigods and ancient gods lived happily. Beneath the tree, its roots extended through the land, forming various mountain ranges, rivers, and all kinds of dragon veins.
Several dragon veins, over time, gained sentience and transformed into divine dragons, undergoing metamorphosis.
"Real parents?"
Just then, the Earth Mother Primordial Lord's divine sense rippled, confused. "Imperial Heavenly Lord, your parents have long since passed away. Don't you remember?"
Imperial Heavenly Lord was stunned for a moment, then turned his head away, quietly wiping his tears.
Qin Mu stopped looking at the floor drawings and followed the sound. He saw that the source of the divine sense was a patch of light. Unlike the bright light emitted by the palace, this light was very gentle, seeming to contain the power of life.
Within the light, an ancient divine sense rippled like waves, and within those waves, a woman swam back and forth.
Behind the woman was a heart formed from condensed, solid light, with an iron sword stuck in it, covered in rust.
Qin Mu observed carefully, making out the woman's face. She looked the same as the statue in the temple, with a full forehead and a square jaw.
He also noticed that many tree roots, like blood vessels, extended from that heart.
"Could those be the tree roots in the underground world? And that heart is..."
His mind stirred. The heart in the light was enormous, as if hidden in a vast space. It appeared to be inside the hall, yet was unreachable.
"You must be Imperial Heavenly Lord. I sense my blessing."
The woman swam before the heart, looking at them through layers of light. Her ancient divine sense rippled gently, but when it reached Qin Mu and the others' minds, it turned into a thunderous roar: "When you opened the Embryonic Divine Treasury, I descended with other ancient gods and bestowed my blessing upon you. Your body still carries my blessing; I wouldn't mistake it. But why don't you recognize me, don't remember the past?"
Qin Mu said, "Earth Mother Primordial Lord, his soul is incomplete. He has lost his memory."
"I see."
The woman in the light said gloomily, "When did Imperial Heavenly Lord die? Was it during the Jade Pool Gathering a million years ago, when he was ambushed? Later, during the era of the Three Heavenly Courts, I heard that Imperial Heavenly Lord was active in the world, so I went to investigate. I saw that Imperial Heavenly Lord—though peerlessly elegant—could not compare to the one I remembered, and he bore no blessings from the gods. At the time, I suspected that Imperial Heavenly Lord was not the real one."
Qin Mu said, "Imperial Heavenly Lord was indeed assassinated at the Jade Pool Gathering."
The woman in the light said, "So that's it. Then how did you preserve his physical body until now and reshape his soul?"
Qin Mu's expression remained unchanged as he smiled. "Why does the Primordial Lord say that? It wasn't me who preserved his body. The yamas from the Netherworld invited me, saying they wanted me to revive someone, so I acted to resurrect Imperial Heavenly Lord."
The woman looked at him through the light. After a moment, she laughed. "I thought you might have been at the Jade Pool Gathering too."
Qin Mu was stunned, then chuckled. "The Primordial Lord is joking! The Jade Pool Gathering was a million years ago. How could I have been there?"
The woman said, "At the Jade Pool Gathering, when Imperial Heavenly Lord was killed, my divine sense enveloped the Jade Pool. I saw someone whose aura resembled yours, though his face was different. That's why I asked. Heavenly Yin Empress has mentioned you to me. You should know why I invited you here, right?"
Qin Mu said solemnly, "The Primordial Lord must have seen Heavenly Yin Empress return from the dead and thus invited me to perform a ritual to revive you!"
The woman smiled. "Heavenly Yin Empress praised you highly, calling you an unparalleled great ritual master. That's why I invited the great ritual master here."
Qin Mu stepped forward, carefully examining the woman in the light. After a moment, he shook his head. "Primordial Lord, you no longer have a physical body. Even if I can gather your three souls, you probably cannot be revived. Where is your physical body?"
The woman in the light said, "Those traitors and rebels chopped it up. The sword in my heart was also their doing. Fortunately, they underestimated me, not knowing my astonishing vitality, so my Earth Soul managed to escape by hiding in my heart's cavity. But my other two souls were shattered by them. Don't worry. As long as you gather my other two souls for me, I have my own means to be reborn."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. "If it's just gathering two souls, though it will be strenuous, I should be able to manage. But your cultivation and power surpass Heavenly Yin Empress's. I'm not sure if my current cultivation realm can handle it."
He removed the willow leaf from his brow, slowly channeling his divine power, and a Gate of Heavenly Fate formed behind him. "Who were those traitors and rebels who killed you? How did they possess such terrifying strength to plot against an existence like you?"
The woman in the light gritted her teeth, her hatred overwhelming, and said coldly, "The Heavenly Alliance!"
Qin Mu's heart twitched violently.
The woman in the light's gaze was like lightning, landing on him. "Great ritual master, why did your blood energy suddenly surge violently and your heartbeat quicken when you heard the words 'Heavenly Alliance'?"