Chapter 797: Fortune or Misfortune (Please Vote for Monthly Tickets!)
Ahead, the capital city was in sight. Many cultivators were expanding the city and renovating the city walls. The walls were being built very high by the cultivators, who were using beast blood to imprint defensive runes on them.
Qin Mu arrived at the city gates and inquired. The cultivators responsible for renovating the capital were disciples of the Heavenly Workshop Hall. One of them said, "Not long ago, a demigod transformed into a divine beast and attacked the capital, damaging a section of the wall. So the Imperial Preceptor ordered us to expand the capital, reinforce the walls, and raise them higher. These runes were designed by the Array Hall. Patriarch, do you think they’re adequate?"
Qin Mu took the array talisman from his hand and examined it closely. He saw that the formation was exquisite, and the patterns and textures were quite aesthetically pleasing. He smiled and said, "Not bad at all. The Array Hall’s mastery of formations has already surpassed mine. I’ll need to study for a while to catch up to you."
"Patriarch flatters us."
That disciple laughed and said, "These days, the Spear God has been teaching formations everywhere, and the Woodcutter Sage has compiled many formations from the Kaihuang era for him. The Spear God passes them on to us, and we’ve benefited greatly."
The Spear God he referred to was Blind.
While Qin Mu traveled far and wide, Blind, Deaf, and others were teaching their knowledge and insights at various academies and schools. Combined with the Woodcutter Sage, the Fisherman Celestial Master, Di Yiyue, and others passing down knowledge from the Kaihuang era, the progress of cultivation in Yenkang was astonishingly fast.
If things had followed their normal trajectory, Yenkang would surely have flourished. However, this time, the Primordial Realm had broken free from its seal and reappeared in the world, causing Yenkang to split apart.
Now, Yenkang’s control over its original territory was very weak.
Before long, they arrived at the Imperial Preceptor’s residence. The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor had just returned from the imperial palace not long ago and was exhausted, resting. The Imperial Preceptor’s wife woke him up and said to Qin Mu, "My husband was out suppressing rebellions earlier, and after returning, he was summoned by the emperor and stayed in the palace for dozens of days. He’s truly worn out."
Qin Mu apologized, "I’m sorry for disturbing my junior brother’s rest. I feel very uneasy about it."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor said, "Second Senior Brother, you’re too polite. In times of national crisis, this is only right. The emperor has also grown thin, nothing but skin and bones. If the sovereign can endure this, how can I complain? You never come without a reason. This time, you must have something important."
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then explained his purpose. "I’ve come to ask you how to have a child."
The Imperial Preceptor’s wife had initially thought he was going to discuss serious matters. Her face flushed red, and she hurriedly stood up to leave. But then she turned back, took Gongsun Yan by the hand, and said with a smile, "Let the two men talk. We sisters will go have a chat."
After they had gone far, the Yenkang Imperial Preceptor suddenly flew into a rage. "In the midst of a national crisis, you still have the mood to have children? Qin Mu, I respected you as my senior brother, but you’re being absurd and reckless!"
Qin Mu quickly explained, "I’ve already asked the Martial Combat Celestial Master to destroy my Divine Bridge divine storage. I want to reopen the Divine Bridge and find a way for the people of Yenkang to completely solve the problem of the broken Divine Bridge. The reason I thought of having a child is to see if the seventh divine storage I open can be inherited by my descendants. If it can be inherited, then the worry about the Divine Bridge for the people of Yenkang can be completely resolved."
"I wronged you."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor stood up and bowed deeply to him, saying sincerely, "I thought Second Senior Brother was indulging in debauchery, but I didn’t realize you were truly bearing the weight of the world, moving forward with heavy burdens, with noble integrity and righteousness! You took the initiative to destroy your Divine Bridge divine storage—I don’t have that kind of courage! As my senior brother, I am fully convinced! I thank you on behalf of the world!"
Qin Mu quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "You flatter me too much. Junior Brother, so how do you have a child?"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor had been serious, but now his face suddenly turned red. He coughed a few times, looking a bit uncomfortable.
Qin Mu looked at him suspiciously. "You know, but you won’t say. You’re definitely holding out on me!"
"It’s not that I’m holding out, it’s just hard to say directly."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor quickly said, "Even elementary school students understand this. There are courses on this in elementary school. Go listen and you’ll know."
Qin Mu shook his head. "I never attended elementary school. I came straight from the Great Ruins to the Grand Academy."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor frowned, looked around, and lowered his voice. "I’ll go get something. Take a look and you’ll understand." With that, he hurried off.
After a moment, he rushed back, pulled a scroll from his sleeve, and stuffed it into Qin Mu’s hand. "I didn’t really understand either. I knew very little about matters between men and women. Later, when the emperor ordered me to marry, I was completely at a loss. So the emperor gave me this scroll. After reading it, I understood. Take a look—it will definitely clear up your confusion."
Qin Mu looked at the cover. It read "Tales of the Capital’s Splendor." He opened it and saw illustrations of men and women, and they were even moving. Clearly, the artistry was superb, not only achieving lifelike realism but also reaching the first realm of painting that Scholar had mentioned. It was quite remarkable.
Qin Mu glanced at it, his face turning red, and quickly closed the book. "How can this be? How shameless! I don’t want to have children anymore!"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor said, "I used to think it was shameful and dirty, a disgrace to the sages. But after trying it, I found it wasn’t so bad. There’s some enjoyment in it."
Qin Mu was pained and disgusted. "Junior Brother, you’ve fallen!"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor argued, "This is human nature. How is it falling? If you don’t want to look, give it back! I won’t lend it to you anymore."
Qin Mu was about to return it, but then he pulled it back. "Let me take a look first. I need to critique this behavior... Hmm, this painting style looks familiar. Who is the author of ‘Tales of the Capital’s Splendor’?"
The more he looked, the more suspicious he became. He flipped to the title page and then to the last page, but found no signature.
"This brushstroke, this level of painting mastery..."
Qin Mu was furious and stammered, "Grandpa Deaf, have you fallen to this extent?"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor coughed repeatedly. "It is indeed the work of the Heavenly Painting Sage. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have kept it. The emperor has asked me for it many times, but I said I lost it and didn’t return it. This is a unique copy. The Heavenly Painting Sage only painted this one, and it was when he was poor and down-and-out. Now that he’s wealthy, if you ask him to paint another, he won’t. After you’ve read it, you must return it to me."
Qin Mu flipped through it, his face reddening and his heart pounding. He quickly handed "Tales of the Capital’s Splendor" back to him.
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor carefully smoothed out each page, put it away, and said, "I forgot to ask. Which woman are you going to have a child with?"
Qin Mu’s mind went blank. He stood there for a long time without speaking. After a moment, he tentatively said, "I hadn’t thought about that. For the past few months, I’ve been thinking about opening the seventh divine storage. I came up with twenty-six types of seventh divine storage. Over eight months, I also organized twenty-six methods, planning to test them one by one. My original plan was to have a child for each successful method. Now I realize it’s not as simple as I thought. I’d need to find twenty-six women..."
"Get out!"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor’s face darkened as he pointed at the gate of the residence.
Qin Mu stammered, "I’m your senior brother. How dare you speak to me like that?"
"Afu! Afu! Come quickly and throw this scoundrel out!"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor roared, "Shameless and depraved! You’re not fit to be the Second Senior Brother!"
Qin Mu quickly said, "Let’s set aside the matter of having children for now. I have too many things to do. I really don’t have time to have children, and it’s too troublesome. I came to you for another matter. Look at the halo behind my head. This is the blessing of the Earth Mother. She wants me to revive her, so she bestowed this blessing on me and also gave me an Earth Origin Dao Fruit. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to reach the Life and Death realm so quickly. Reviving the Earth Mother is no small matter. She uses these two things to monitor my movements. She will eventually find me again. Help me figure out how to break this Earth Mother blessing."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor’s expression softened. He carefully examined the halo behind Qin Mu’s head, his face growing serious. He paced back and forth, examining it repeatedly, deep in thought.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light filled the room, striking toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu stood still, and a series of clanging sounds rang out endlessly. In an instant, the Imperial Preceptor struck countless times, each sword strike perfectly aimed at the halo behind Qin Mu’s head, the tip of each sword precisely hitting the runes within the halo!
At that moment, sword light crisscrossed, darting through the courtyard like startled swans or swimming dragons.
However, the halo behind Qin Mu’s head emitted various colors with each sword strike, dyeing the halo in a riot of colors. The halo kept spinning, deflecting the sword strikes.
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor sheathed his sword, and the spinning halo behind Qin Mu’s head slowly came to a stop.
"The Earth Mother’s blessing is extremely powerful. It’s also a means of self-preservation. If you can activate the power of the blessing, you can easily block attacks from true gods, and even celestial gods might not be able to harm you."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor examined his divine sword and saw a small notch on the tip. "This blessing is very useful. Do you really want to remove it?"
Qin Mu nodded. "What is called a blessing could also be a curse. The Earth Mother was severely wounded by Celestial Master Zixi. She will eventually make a comeback. If she captures me, I’ll have no choice but to revive her. After she revives, wiping out Yenkang, Chiming, and Kaihuang would be effortless!"
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor pondered for a long time before speaking solemnly, "Then we need to invite the Woodcutter Sage and all the wise and brilliant people of Yenkang. Also, Granny Si must be invited. She is proficient in magnetic runes. They are all in other places, so it will take some time for them to arrive."
Qin Mu’s expression shifted slightly. "Is the Martial Combat Celestial Master in the capital?"
"The Martial Combat Celestial Master went to the Southern Sea to negotiate with the Chiming Divine Son. The Chiming Divine Son was subdued and won’t rebel for now. Not long ago, he went to the grasslands to visit the Great Black Sky. By my calculations, he should be back soon."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor sighed. "There are also unusual movements at the bottom of the Eastern Sea, disturbances in the heavens above, and stirrings in the Northern Sea, the Ice Plains, and various ruins within Yenkang. We’ve lost contact with the Great Ruins and the Western Lands. A few months ago, we built teleportation portals, but now we can only protect the twenty or thirty most important cities. These are troubled times. I wish I could split myself into a million pieces."
Qin Mu’s mind stirred. "Why not turn the capital into a divine city in the sky? Turning the capital into a flying divine city would serve as a deterrent and also boost the confidence of the Yenkang people."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor said, "This time, I spent dozens of days at His Majesty’s place discussing the design and construction of the divine city. But the national treasury is empty. There’s no money. And now trade is cut off. We don’t have enough divine metals and materials to build a sky city."
Qin Mu smiled. "There are many ruins in Yenkang with plenty of divine weapons and artifacts. Maybe we can collect them, melt them down, and use them to build the sky city."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor laughed. "You don’t need to worry about these troublesome matters. Your most critical task now is to open the seventh divine storage! Do you have a place to stay in the capital? Why not stay here for now? Once everyone gathers, we can deal with your Earth Mother blessing."
Qin Mu shook his head. "I have a few properties in the capital. Ling’er manages the finances. She said real estate in the capital will definitely appreciate, so she bought several houses to hold onto. Staying here with you would be inconvenient. Besides, you don’t have much money, and even basic necessities are a problem."
The Yenkang Imperial Preceptor was dumbfounded.
Qin Mu took his leave, called over Imperial Lord Tian, who was sneaking pills from the Water Qilin’s elixir stash, and then summoned Gongsun Yan.
Gongsun Yan hurried over and whispered, "Did you find out how to have a child?"
Qin Mu’s face reddened slightly as he nodded lightly.
Gongsun Yan lowered her voice even more, afraid others might hear. "Actually, I already knew. You could have just asked me. When we bloom, we just need to pollinate the flowers to have children."
Qin Mu was stunned.
Gongsun Yan used her whisk to stir the water in the Imperial Preceptor’s pond, then lifted it and sprinkled water over Qin Mu’s head. She said seriously, "You need to water yourself diligently. Then you’ll grow faster. When I bloom and you bloom, you can use your male flower to pollinate my female flower."
Qin Mu stood there dumbfounded. After a moment, he came to his senses and urged, "Fatty Dragon, are you leaving or not? Lan Yutian, are you still eating? When the Saint King entrusted you to me, you were light and slender. Now you’ve eaten yourself into this state. How will you face him later? He’ll definitely blame me. He gave me an Imperial Lord Tian, and I’m returning a Blue Fatty!"