Chapter 899: The Annual Rings of the Earth Mother
From the stone coffin hanging upside down within the flower came the voice of the Earth Mother Primordial, weak but filled with indignation. She spoke harshly, "You knew it was the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor who struck me down? You knew he wasn't dead?"
Qin Mu's expression remained calm as he waited for her to calm down.
Seizing the opportunity, he carefully examined the stone coffin. It was the imperial coffin of the Northern Supreme Emperor, which he had seen before in the underground palace.
He wondered how the remnant soul of the Earth Mother Primordial had managed to escape from the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor and then find this imperial coffin.
When the catastrophe occurred, Heavenly Lord Hao controlled the most powerful weapon and fought a great battle against the Earth Mother Primordial. Qin Mu, through the Earth Mother's hands, had severely damaged that weapon. Afterward, Qin Mu took the opportunity to return to the Yuan Realm.
Later, he was discovered by the divine demon army of the Heavenly Court and fell into an encirclement. It wasn't until figures at the Imperial Throne level, like Qi Xiayu and the Nether Emperor, appeared that he was forced to abandon his soul and let his elder brother Qin Fengqing return to the Nether Realm.
After that, the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor descended, controlling the most powerful weapon, and inserted the Primordial Tree into the Yuan Realm. Only then did Qin Mu realize the Earth Mother Primordial had died.
He didn't know what had happened in between, but he could deduce that the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor had personally descended, driven away Heavenly Lord Hao, and killed the Earth Mother Primordial.
However, the fact that she could still escape with a remnant soul under such desperate circumstances was truly admirable.
The Earth Mother had lost everything. Her forces were either dead or fleeing. Countless of her remaining subordinates and heavens had been breached, turned into slaves or prisoners.
Yet even so, the Earth Mother still made him wary.
A centipede dies but never stiffens. As the most powerful ancient god born from the Yuan Capital, even with only a remnant soul left, she was still far beyond his ability to contend with.
The stone coffin hanging from the flower was the imperial coffin of the Northern Supreme Emperor. He didn't know if the corpse of the Northern Supreme Emperor still lay inside.
The Earth Mother in the stone coffin finally calmed down and said coldly, "Heavenly Lord Hao retreated, and then the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, controlling the most powerful weapon of the Heavenly Court, struck me down viciously. Although the techniques he used with that weapon were extremely powerful, killing me wasn't easy. In the end, he had to use the Heavenly Emperor's ultimate art. Only then did I realize it was him!"
She became agitated again. "Heh heh, back then, he reincarnated into the Yuan Realm and married that woman Jue Wuchen. Unexpectedly, Jue Wuchen was a member of the Heavenly Alliance, and they ambushed and killed him. I just watched and didn't intervene. Who would have thought he wasn't dead, that he was still alive! After he used his own ultimate art, I recognized him. He came for revenge, revenge against me!"
"The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's soul hadn't scattered. Later, he became one of the leaders of the Heavenly Alliance in the Heavenly Court. I only learned of this later."
Qin Mu stared at the stone coffin and said, "Earth Mother, you stopped me because you want me to revive you again? To be honest, I am no longer the Nether Realm Divine Son."
"But you are still the Wanjie Imperishable Grand Master."
The voice of the Earth Mother Primordial came from within the stone coffin. "Almost all ancient gods know your title. They know you have the ability to revive ancient gods. The Wanjie Imperishable Grand Master is you, not the Nether Realm Divine Son. You still have the power to revive me!"
Qin Mu shook his head, unconsciously revealing a desolate aura like falling leaves in the autumn wind, melancholic and detached, as if he had seen through the mortal world. "I have no soul or spirit left. I don't have the strength to revive you. Blocking my path is useless. My time is short. I only came out this time to find a scenic spot to bury myself."
Yan'er tilted her head and looked at Qin Mu. The chubby bird lifted a claw and rubbed the corner of her beak, thinking to herself, "The young master lies without changing his expression. Clearly, this isn't something achieved overnight."
The Earth Mother Primordial was silent for a moment, then the stone coffin opened.
Qin Mu's scalp went numb. Yan'er looked at his neck and immediately saw the skin on the back of his neck bristle, raising small bumps—clearly very nervous.
But what surprised her was that despite his nervousness, his breath and blood flow remained completely unchanged. He had clearly put in hard work to ensure he showed no flaws.
"Who did the young master learn this from?" she wondered.
Inside the stone coffin, a mass of cyan light flowed, like water, like light, extremely warm and moist.
That mass of cyan light didn't fall into the river but swirled within the stone coffin. Qin Mu could vaguely see a wisp of remnant soul soaking in the purple light.
As the purple light appeared, Qin Mu immediately felt an unparalleled life force rushing toward him, making his spirit involuntarily invigorate!
Even his soul seemed to be cheering and jumping, very excited.
"My original body is the Primordial Tree. When I was born, I took root in this kind of light liquid. I didn't know its name, so I called it Primordial Chaos Source Liquid."
In the vortex of purple light, the Earth Mother's remnant soul seemed somewhat reluctant. "The reason I could survive two great calamities of destruction is precisely because of the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid. From the ancient times until now, the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid has been consumed a lot. This is all that's left."
A drop of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid flew out from the stone coffin. The purple light shone, and there were fish swimming in the river. Those fish leaped from the river surface, extremely joyful. As the fish jumped out of the water, they grew at a visible rate, becoming larger. Before they even fell back into the water, they had grown more than ten times in size, becoming massive creatures!
Suddenly, a large fish grew to several tens of zhang in length. In that short time, demonic energy surged from within its body, thick and intense!
That demon fish rode the demonic energy and pounced toward the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid. Before it even got close, it had grown to a hundred zhang in length. Long bone spurs grew from its body, like spears. When it flew next to the Source Liquid, it exploded with a bang, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.
Other demon fish on the river surface also exploded one after another. The scene was extremely bloody and terrifying!
Even the riverbanks of the Yong River emitted the aura of gods and demons. The corpses of gods, demons, and dragons sunk in the river were also rapidly mutating and reanimating. They opened their eyes, green light shining, and rose from the riverbed, pouncing toward the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid!
For a time, this section of the Yong River was extremely lively.
Those divine, demonic, and dragon corpses didn't even touch the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid before their bodies grew to a terrifying extent, eventually exploding from the pressure!
A stench of blood filled the river surface.
That drop of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid flew in front of Qin Mu. The Dragon Qilin was the first to be unable to bear it. His body began to grow wildly. His dragon claws grew to six or seven zhang in length, his scales became even larger and reflective, and his mane grew wildly, getting longer and longer!
Yan'er could still control herself, but her eyes were fixed on the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid, as if she very much wanted to swallow that drop of Source Liquid.
Qin Mu sealed all the pores on his body and tried his best to control his flesh, but his blood, flesh, and bones were all growing wildly. Even his hair was growing rapidly. Even with his mastery of creation techniques, he couldn't suppress it!
That drop of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid flew into his brow, drilling into his Embryo Divine Treasury. Although it was only a tiny drop, it turned into a lake-sized pool in his Embryo Divine Treasury. Purple light rippled, settling at the feet of his embryo.
Qin Mu immediately felt his embryo brimming with vitality. His soul was still very weak, but at this moment, it was rapidly growing by absorbing the energy of the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid.
His primordial spirit leaped with joy, greedily absorbing the power within the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid. Qin Mu tried to activate the Overlord Body Three-Dan Technique, and the growth rate of his primordial spirit became even more astonishing!
"The Primordial Chaos Source Liquid can keep the soul imperishable. I used the Source Liquid to protect my remnant soul. Mu Tianzun, although you no longer have a soul, you can use the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid to strengthen your spirit, making it an imperishable primordial spirit!"
The Earth Mother Primordial's remnant soul said, "This way, you won't die from lacking a soul, and you won't need to find a scenic spot to bury yourself."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He looked at the remaining Primordial Chaos Source Liquid in the stone coffin and said, "Earth Mother, even so, I still don't have the strength to revive you. I'm too weak now. To be honest, I only have one-fifth of my original cultivation base."
The Earth Mother Primordial was silent for a moment. Another drop of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid flew out from the stone coffin, still flying into his Embryo Divine Treasury. She said, "This drop of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid is for you to recover your cultivation."
Qin Mu sighed. "Earth Mother is still stingy. What use is recovering my cultivation? I am no longer the Nether Realm Divine Son. Lord Earth and Lord Heaven have also abandoned me, thinking I have no more use. My abilities are low. They won't lend me their power. Without their power, I cannot revive you. Earth Mother, why not give me more Source Liquid so that my strength can match that of the Nether Realm Divine Son? Then they will think I have value, and I can borrow their power."
The Earth Mother's remnant soul sneered, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but you simply can't withstand the energy of the Source Liquid. These two drops of Primordial Chaos Source Liquid have already exceeded the limit of your Embryo Divine Treasury. These two drops will take you decades, even a hundred years, to digest! If I gave you more, your Embryo Divine Treasury wouldn't be able to seal it. If the power of the Source Liquid invaded your blood vessels, a single wisp of its aura would make you explode and die!"
Qin Mu did indeed feel that his Embryo Divine Treasury was on the verge of being unable to bear it. If there was one more drop, the energy of the Source Liquid would burst through the space of his Embryo Divine Treasury and seep into his body.
The aura of this Source Liquid could even make gods and demons explode, let alone him.
"Then..."
Qin Mu flipped his palm, five small jade bottles appearing between his fingers. He poured out the dragon saliva inside. "Can I store it in bottles?"
The Earth Mother fell silent again. After a moment, her voice came from the stone coffin. "Your small bottles can't withstand it."
Qin Mu's hands flew, countless runes imprinting on the jade bottles. "What about this seal?"
"No."
Qin Mu applied dozens of seals in succession, a look of hope on his face. "And now?"
"No!"
Qin Mu was troubled. He turned to look at Yan'er. Yan'er immediately used her magical power to imprint a Green Dragon Seal on the bottle's surface. A green dragon coiled around the bottle, and she added a Vermilion Bird Seal at the mouth.
Qin Mu looked hopeful. "What about now?"
The Earth Mother fell into silence again. After a long time, she said, "One bottle."
Qin Mu looked disappointed and was about to speak. The Earth Mother said coldly, "One bottle. No bargaining!"
Qin Mu had no choice but to use his Yuan Qi to control a jade bottle, which flew into the coffin. The bottle filled with Primordial Chaos Source Liquid and flew out. Qin Mu quickly put it away carefully.
"How long will it take you to return to your peak state?" the Earth Mother asked.
Qin Mu said, "About a hundred years."
Suddenly, a roar came from within the imperial coffin. From the darkness behind the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid, a majestic imperial corpse walked out, roaring incessantly.
"At least ten years!" Qin Mu said decisively.
That imperial corpse of the Supreme Emperor stared at him coldly. The Earth Mother's remnant soul in the Source Liquid snorted. "I'll give you ten years. If you don't revive me in ten years, I'll have my son bathe the Yan Kang in blood!"
The stone coffin slammed shut with a bang, sealing the Supreme Emperor's corpse and the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid inside. The large flower began to close.
"Wait!"
Qin Mu quickly said, "Earth Mother, my cultivation hasn't recovered yet. If someone kills me, wouldn't all your efforts be in vain? Please bestow upon me a suitable weapon."
The large flower stopped closing. The Earth Mother's angry voice came from the stone coffin. "You're half-dead now. If you don't hide away and refine the Primordial Chaos Source Liquid, are you planning to go out and court death?"
Qin Mu said seriously, "Now that I no longer have to worry about dying, I plan to go to the Heavenly Court and cause some trouble..."
Bang—
The stone coffin suddenly opened. From inside, a head the size of a mountain, belonging to the imperial corpse, poked out. It opened its bloody mouth and roared at Qin Mu. Qin Mu, the Dragon Qilin, and Yan'er couldn't even fill the gaps between its teeth!
Qin Mu was blasted by the foul-smelling airflow, his face wrinkled. He couldn't stand steady. The Yong River behind him exploded, almost cut off!
After roaring, the head shrank back, staring at him viciously.
"You plan to go to the Heavenly Court?"
The Earth Mother was furious. "Why don't you just go die?"
Qin Mu's expression didn't change. "I must go to the Heavenly Court. As Earth Mother said, I am the Wanjie Imperishable Grand Master. Although going to the Heavenly Court is dangerous, the ancient gods there will protect me. Coupled with my identity as Mu Tianzun, a founding elder of the Heavenly Alliance, it should be safe. But open attacks are easy to dodge while hidden arrows are hard to defend. I still don't have a suitable weapon. My sword pellet is only a spirit weapon, not a divine weapon..."
The imperial corpse retracted into the coffin. After a moment, it walked out, holding a straight wooden staff, three zhang in length.
"Just this wooden staff?" Qin Mu showed a disappointed expression.
The imperial coffin slammed shut. The Earth Mother said coldly, "This is the core of the Primordial Tree, one of the most powerful divine weapons in the world. Take a good look at the annual rings!"
Qin Mu looked at the top of the wooden staff. He saw that it had countless circles, extremely dense. He was about to count them when the large flower closed, and the imperial coffin sank into the roots of the Primordial Tree. Then the roots spanning the Yong River rapidly contracted and disappeared without a trace!
"So stingy, afraid I'll ask for more treasures..."
Qin Mu shook his head and began to carefully count the annual rings. After a long time, he still hadn't finished.
The Dragon Qilin couldn't help but ask, "Chief, how many have you counted?"
"Five million rings, and I've counted less than ten percent..."
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