Chapter 784: Earth Mother's Blessing
Qin Mu's heart pounded wildly like a giant warrior furiously beating a war drum, his blood and qi surging violently as his entire body's vitality suddenly blazed up, roaring like tidal waves.
"Earth Mother may not know, but this technique of mine requires forcibly elevating blood and qi to maximize its power!"
Qin Mu's body swelled, growing taller and more imposing, his aura intensifying as he spoke in a deep voice: "This technique exacts a heavy toll on the user. When I resurrected the Nether Lady back then, I nearly exhausted myself to death. Afterwards, the Nether Lady felt somewhat guilty and gifted me many treasures as compensation."
The woman within the light understood and smiled, saying, "Rest assured, I won't be stingier than the Nether Lady. How much did she give you? I'll give you ten times that."
Qin Mu was overjoyed and began to fully exert the Soul-Guiding Incantation, but inwardly he was secretly lamenting.
He had originally believed that the Earth Mother Primordial Lord had died at the hands of the Outer Heaven Celestial Court. Resurrecting her would pose no problem—it would add an enemy to the Outer Heaven Celestial Court, allowing him to form alliances and unite the Eternal Peace Kingdom with the Earth Mother, which would greatly benefit the current situation of the Eternal Peace Kingdom.
However, the Earth Mother Primordial Lord had died at the hands of the Heaven Alliance!
The Heaven Alliance, of course, was not the Heaven Alliance of the Eternal Peace Kingdom.
It was the one from the early Dragon Han Era a million years ago, founded by Qin Mu himself!
When Qin Mu returned to the present, he had told Ling Tianzun about founding the Heaven Alliance. At that time, three people joined: Qin Mu, the Founding Emperor, and Ling Tianzun!
What happened to the Heaven Alliance afterward, Qin Mu did not know.
Now it seemed that the Heaven Alliance had survived the Dragon Han Era and had not been destroyed by the Outer Heaven Celestial Court in subsequent eras. Instead, it grew stronger. By the Supreme Emperor Era, the Heaven Alliance had even slain the Earth Mother Primordial Lord!
He did not know why the Heaven Alliance had killed the Earth Mother Primordial Lord, nor was he clear about the grudges involved. If he resurrected the Earth Mother Primordial Lord, what impact would it have on the Heaven Alliance?
Was the Heaven Alliance of today still the one he had founded back then?
Had the Heaven Alliance become corrupted over a million years? Did it still retain the original aspirations he had when founding it?
His original vision for founding the Heaven Alliance was to gather geniuses and righteous individuals from the lower races of the Dragon Han Era, to fight for the survival rights of humans and other lowly races.
However, even if his intentions were good, once power was obtained, it was easy to forget the original aspirations and become corrupt.
If the Heaven Alliance had not become corrupt, then the Earth Mother Primordial Lord's death was deserved, and resurrecting her would undo the Heaven Alliance's efforts and cause great trouble for their strategies.
He was now caught in a dilemma.
If he did not resurrect the Earth Mother, he would surely be killed by her. Resurrecting her would bring many variables.
The Soul-Guiding Incantation summoned the shattered soul particles of the Earth Mother Primordial Lord, like the finest black sand, surging from all over the Primordial Realm into this underground palace, flowing into the light.
The woman within the light was emotionally stirred, the sea of light surging with radiance. She had retained one of her three souls—the Earth Soul—while the Heavenly Soul and Divine Soul were shattered. The Heavenly Soul was the Celestial Light, the Earth Soul the Clear Spirit, and the Divine Soul the Ethereal Essence.
Innate deities only had three souls, not seven spirits. The seven spirits belonged to acquired beings and demigods.
The Heavenly Soul was pure yang, symbolizing the Celestial Capital; the Divine Soul was yin and impure, symbolizing the Nether Capital; and the Earth Soul, the Clear Spirit, bore yang on its back and faced yin, symbolizing the Primordial Capital.
The Earth Mother Primordial Lord could retain her Earth Soul mainly due to her identity.
She was the Earth Mother, the embodiment of the Primordial Capital's great dao. Eliminating her Earth Soul was extremely difficult.
The Earth Mother Primordial Lord's soul was many times more powerful than the Nether Lady's. The surging black sand of her soul particles rushed like a torrent, vast and mighty, befitting her status as a being equal to the Heavenly Duke and the Earth Lord.
Qin Mu's primordial energy steamed, his blood and qi growing more turbulent, like a vast ocean caught in a storm. Words of the Celestial Capital divine language and the Nether Capital divine language burst from his mouth. Various ancient languages carried profound and far-reaching meanings, like obscure, cryptic, and tongue-twisting divine and demonic poetry. Closing one's eyes to listen to his dao tones gave a sense of absurd distortion, as if witnessing the creation of life at the dawn of heaven and earth, with gods and demons dancing wildly in a boiling primordial world.
"Truly a Great Master!"
The Earth Mother Primordial Lord felt her three souls becoming increasingly complete. The scattered soul particles from all over the world were being drawn in. Qin Mu only needed to reshape her Heavenly Soul and Divine Soul, and she would have all three souls intact, allowing her to rely on her own powerful vitality to be reborn!
Qin Mu chanted without pause. Suddenly, faint cracking sounds came.
The woman within the light, Imperial Lord Tian, and Gongsun Yan quickly looked over. They saw Qin Mu's skin constantly bursting open, blood streaming out, instantly evaporated by his violent primordial energy, turning into clouds of blood mist swirling madly around him!
All three were startled. Qin Mu's technique consumed a great deal of energy, so much so that even his physical body could not withstand it!
"I am too powerful. Resurrecting me is countless times harder than resurrecting the Nether Lady."
The woman within the light felt a bit uneasy: "At this intensity of casting, I wonder how much longer he can hold on, and whether he can reshape my two souls..."
Qin Mu's condition was extremely dire and worsening. Not only was his body surface riddled with holes like sand piercing through, spurting blood, but even his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were bleeding profusely. Especially his nostrils—with each heartbeat, two streams of nosebleed shot out, sometimes near, sometimes far, reaching several zhang away.
Imperial Lord Tian hurriedly said, "Brother, stop! If you keep bleeding, you'll run out of blood!"
Qin Mu ignored him, focusing entirely on casting the spell.
Gongsun Yan could not bear it and called out, "Earth Mother, his cultivation is insufficient. Let him rest for a while."
The woman within the light was tense and said, "Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. He is a cultivator after all, with strong cultivation and plenty of blood in his body. His blood and qi are vigorous; he can hold on..."
Gongsun Yan hesitated, then stopped speaking, pacing anxiously.
Qin Mu had already begun to summon the Gate of Bearing Heaven, stealing the Heavenly Duke's power to shape the Heavenly Soul. A beam of heavenly light shone down from the Gate of Bearing Heaven. Suddenly, Qin Mu's body stiffened, and with a thud, he fell flat on his back, crashing to the ground and passing out!
Imperial Lord Tian panicked and rushed over. He saw that Qin Mu's nostrils were still bleeding, but the blood columns were getting shorter. After two small fountains, they finally stopped.
Imperial Lord Tian hastily checked Qin Mu's breath. Suddenly, Qin Mu's nostrils shot out two more small fountains, startling him, then he joyfully said, "My brother is still breathing!"
Gongsun Yan also hurried over and felt Qin Mu's heartbeat. She found it weak, with both blood and qi depleted. His life hung by a thread, extremely dangerous.
Gongsun Yan gritted her teeth. The small green sprout in the halo behind her head flew out, landing on Qin Mu's forehead. Light flowed, continuously entering Qin Mu's body to sustain his life.
After a moment, Qin Mu's breath gradually stabilized, but the small green sprout appeared much more wilted. Its two remaining leaves closed together, shrinking slightly.
Gongsun Yan's face was somewhat pale. She withdrew the small green sprout and placed it back in the halo to nurture it.
Qin Mu's spellcasting was interrupted. The Gate of Bearing Heaven dissipated, the Heavenly Duke's power vanished, and the heavenly light no longer shone.
The woman within the light quickly restrained her soul particles, feeling that her Heavenly Soul had recovered somewhat but was far from complete. She sighed inwardly at the pity.
Qin Mu slowly regained consciousness. Supported by Imperial Lord Tian, he stood up, coughed up the blood in his throat, and said weakly, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I can continue casting..."
"Great Master, there's no need to rush."
The woman within the light said gently, "You cast too fiercely just now, exceeding your physical limits. Now both blood and qi are depleted. If you cast again, you will die from exhaustion. If you die, where would I find another Great Master capable of resurrecting me? I can wait. Great Master, rest and recuperate at ease."
She smiled, saying, "I see that your cultivation has reached the peak of the Heavenly Human Realm. The next step is to open the Nether Capital and enter the Life and Death Realm. I imagine that once you reach the Life and Death Realm, you can cast the spell calmly and reshape my two souls."
Qin Mu suddenly coughed violently, panting, and said dejectedly, "I am dull-witted by nature. Who knows how long it will take me to cultivate to the Life and Death Realm? And now I am severely depleted. I'm afraid I will disappoint the Earth Mother's expectations..."
The woman within the light laughed, "I am the Earth Mother, and the Primordial Capital is the source of life. Your depleted blood and qi are a trivial matter to me. Since you are reshaping my two souls, I cannot shortchange you."
Within the light, a dried-up fruit flew out and came before Qin Mu.
This fruit looked like a sun-dried orange, shriveled and without moisture.
The woman within the light said, "This is a fruit from the divine tree behind me. Although it has withered, the power within it is like a vast ocean. Keep it for now. Don't try to eat it directly. Slowly dissolve it with your primordial energy. It will help you improve your cultivation faster and open the Life and Death Divine Treasury. The energy in the fruit is too strong; eating it directly would be too much for you to bear."
Qin Mu's body swayed as he struggled to bow in thanks.
The woman within the light waved her hand and said, "I give you treasures because you are healing me. If you were useless to me, I wouldn't even glance at you. Great Master, go rest now. When you have cultivated the Life and Death Divine Treasury, come back to cast the spell."
A streak of arc light flew from within the light, landing behind Qin Mu's head, forming a halo. The dried fruit fell into the halo.
"I once bestowed blessings upon several of the Seven Heavenly Lords, but I have not yet blessed you. Now I grant you my blessing, bestowing upon you endless fortune, agelessness, and immortality."
The woman within the light smiled, "With my blessing, refining this fruit will also be easier."
Qin Mu felt a stream of pure energy from the halo behind his head pouring into his divine treasury, slowly restoring his blood and qi. He quickly expressed his thanks.
"Yan'er, escort the Great Master down to rest. Do not neglect my guest."
Gongsun Yan acknowledged the order and, together with Imperial Lord Tian, helped Qin Mu out of the palace. The palace was so vast that it took them a long time to finally exit the underground palace.
Once outside, the Water Qilin hurriedly greeted them. Seeing Qin Mu covered in bloodstains, it was startled. Imperial Lord Tian hastily said, "Ah Shui, where is Long Fatty?"
The Water Qilin said with some jealousy, "He's off frolicking with those qilins and dragons."
Qin Mu said weakly, "I'm too weak to call him now. One of you, go fetch him."
The Water Qilin was about to shout loudly for the Dragon Qilin when Gongsun Yan quickly said, "Be careful not to disturb the Supreme Emperor corpses in the coffins. Let's walk over and call him."
Imperial Lord Tian supported Qin Mu and placed him on the Water Qilin's back. The Water Qilin thought to himself, "How did Lord Dragon Qilin's master end up looking like he's been drained a thousand times? So weak?"
As they walked out, the phoenix transformed into a woman with phoenix eyes and followed behind them.
Qin Mu glanced back and said weakly, "Sister, why are you following us?"
The phoenix said expressionlessly, "The Earth Mother ordered me to protect your safety."
Qin Mu thanked her and said, "Sister, do you eat spirit pills? When I recover, I'll refine some for you."
The phoenix's eyes lit up, and she smiled, "You're much more sensible than this water-logged one."
The Water Qilin grunted, silently complaining that Imperial Lord Tian couldn't refine pills.
The phoenix said casually, "Are you planning to go out?"
Qin Mu said cautiously, "This underground palace has too much yin energy, with so many imperial corpses parked here. I'm too weak now and need to go outside to recuperate."
The phoenix said, "You can go out, but don't go far."
Qin Mu's mind began to race, thinking, "I wonder what cultivation level Sister Phoenix has reached. If she's too strong, I won't be able to poison her... How can I get out of here..."
He coughed repeatedly and suddenly asked, "There are many gods and demons outside, and someone is impersonating the Earth Mother Primordial Lord. Sister Phoenix, how strong are you? Can you defeat those scoundrels?"
The phoenix said, "I am already at the Lofty Sky Realm. I am not afraid of those degenerates. But the Earth Mother said to let them make a fuss first. Once she is resurrected, she will settle accounts with them one by one!"
Qin Mu's face darkened, thinking, "Such high cultivation... I'm afraid I can't poison her. If only Grandpa Medicine were here..."
——The college entrance exam results are out. Fellow daoists who took the exam, welcome back to reading. Did you achieve the scores you hoped for?