Chapter 905: Xitu’s Virtual Life Flower
The Western Lands.
A massive city galloped past Qin Mu, who was startled. He quickly called out, “Is that you, Sister He Yiyi?”
The running city slowed its pace. Several deities stood atop its walls, leaning out to look down. “This is the White Emperor City’s chariot, not some sister. Who are you?” one asked.
Qin Mu replied, “Mu Tianzun. May I ask if the Supreme Heaven Academy has been placed under the White Emperor’s command?”
A deity on the wall said, “Supreme Heaven Academy? You mean Supreme Heaven? That’s not part of our White Emperor City’s territory. There’s a fellow there named Qi Jiuyi, who is a disciple of the Red Emperor, Qi Xiayu. The Red Emperor discussed it with the White Emperor and split the Western Lands in half. The Red Emperor also gave half of the Southern Lands to the White Emperor… What did you say your name was?”
“Mu Tianzun,” Qin Mu said with a smile.
The deities on the tower came to their senses and exchanged glances.
Qin Mu asked, “So, how do I get to the Supreme Heaven Academy?”
After a brief discussion, one deity said, “Tianzun, look. That pale blue heavenly realm over there is Supreme Heaven. Once you arrive beneath Supreme Heaven, you’ll meet people there. Ask them for the exact location of the Supreme Heaven Academy.”
Qin Mu thanked them and directed Dragon Qilin to head toward the Supreme Heaven realm. He mused, “I used to think Supreme Heaven was so mysterious, monitoring the Great Ruins and Eternal Peace. Now I realize it’s just one of the myriad heavenly realms of the Yuan Realm—nothing special.”
Dragon Qilin said, “Chief, back then you were just a minor cultivator, and Supreme Heaven seemed like a terrifying behemoth. Now you’re Mu Tianzun, so looking at it again, it’s nothing much.”
Qin Mu chuckled. “Fat Dragon, you’re becoming quite insightful. You’ve grown too, just like that.”
The deities watched them depart, exchanging another round of glances. One said, “Mu Tianzun has come to the Western Lands of the Yuan Realm. Should we notify White Emperor City?”
“He’s heading to the Red Emperor’s territory. If our White Emperor City’s strongmen intercept him, wouldn’t that offend the Red Emperor?”
An older, more experienced deity said, “Besides, he’s a Tianzun. Who would dare touch him? Let him go.”
The others agreed, and the great city resumed its march, rumbling off with billowing smoke.
Along the way, Qin Mu encountered many such flying land-cities, moving at incredible speeds. They were the Western Lands’ divine and demonic vehicles for travel, used to transport armies and suppress rebellions with great efficiency.
“These are techniques from the True Heavenly Palace, which itself originates from the Outer Heaven’s Celestial Court,” Qin Mu murmured. “True Heavenly Matriarch is a true god of the Outer Heaven’s Celestial Court. She’s likely one of the White Emperor’s subordinates…”
Because of Supreme Heaven and the True Heavenly Palace, the Western Lands had not suffered the same devastating warfare as Eternal Peace. The common folk here could still barely make a living.
When Qin Mu entered the Red Emperor’s territory, he found it even better governed than the White Emperor’s. The people lived in peace, seemingly unchanged from before.
Some local girls recognized him and even greeted him voluntarily.
“There’s no Supreme Heaven Academy anymore, only the Supreme Heaven Sect. The sect master is the former Supreme Heaven Academy’s Grand Sacrificial Officer, Virtual Life Flower,” they told him. “As for Qi Jiuyi, he’s even more impressive. He looks down on the Supreme Heaven Sect’s master position. Now he lives in the Red Emperor’s traveling palace, acting as the young master of the Western Lands, commanding half the region’s gods and demons—quite the authority!”
Dragon Qilin grew excited. “Qi Jiuyi is my sworn brother!”
“Virtual Life Flower is clever indeed, turning the Supreme Heaven Academy into the Supreme Heaven Sect, making it a sect,” Qin Mu praised. “A man like him—when he focuses on cultivation, he advances fiercely; when he focuses on emotions, he’s utterly devoted; when it comes to worldly affairs, he’s smooth and adaptable. He’s not inferior to me—!”
He asked for directions to the Supreme Heaven Sect and the Red Emperor’s traveling palace, bid the girls farewell, and set off for the Supreme Heaven Sect.
The Supreme Heaven Sect was the former Supreme Heaven Academy, located near the Red Emperor’s traveling palace, which was built in the sky, while the sect was established near the True Heavenly Palace.
A few days later, Dragon Qilin arrived at the Supreme Heaven Sect. He immediately abandoned Qin Mu and dashed toward the Red Emperor’s palace in the sky, shouting, “Chief, I’m going to visit my sworn brother!”
“Be careful not to anger Qi Jiuyi, or he might roast and eat you!” Qin Mu called out.
Dragon Qilin yelled back, “Don’t worry! I made an oath with him before the Earth Lord—not to be born on the same day, but to die on the same day! Sister Yan’er, are you coming?”
Yan’er flew after him immediately. “Young master, I’ll keep an eye on Fat Dragon, so he doesn’t actually get eaten!”
Qin Mu shook his head and walked into the Supreme Heaven Sect. Virtual Life Flower, hearing the news, came to greet him with a smile. “Chief, it’s been a few years. You’ve grown thinner! Is Eternal Peace faring well?”
“It’s a long story,” Qin Mu said. “I came to see if you and the Western Lands have survived. Seeing that the people here are still safe and you’re unharmed, I’m relieved.”
“This time, we owe it all to Qi Jiuyi. Without his connection, the Western Lands would have faced a great calamity,” Virtual Life Flower said. “Although the Western Lands have ties to Supreme Heaven and the True Heavenly Palace, if the Celestial Court wanted to destroy us, they wouldn’t care about those ties. Qi Jiuyi is the Red Emperor’s disciple, and it was his intervention that saved the Western Lands.”
At the mention of the Red Emperor, Qi Xiayu, Qin Mu fell silent.
When the Celestial Court had besieged him, Qi Xiayu had been among them. The Four Emperors had joined forces, pushing him to the brink, forcing him to part from his brother.
The pain he endured from severing his soul—he had never spoken of it to anyone. But that agony was a hundred times worse than scraping bone with a knife!
What hurt most, however, was that after severing his soul, he was no longer brother to Qin Fengqing, no longer the son of Qin Hanzhen and Princess Zhen. He was just a walking corpse.
The Red Emperor, Qi Xiayu, had a hand in that.
Virtual Life Flower knew nothing of his ordeal, nor how heavy and terrible his suffering was. The people of the Western Lands also didn’t know the immense pain Eternal Peace had endured. In that catastrophe, Eternal Peace’s population had plummeted from billions to mere hundreds of millions. Some died fleeing, some were captured by celestial gods as food, some were ravaged by demons and monsters, and more were taken as slaves.
One in ten survived—that was the reality for Eternal Peace’s people.
A once-thriving nation had nearly been wiped out.
And this was only thanks to the desperate resistance and rescue efforts of Eternal Peace’s cultivators and gods. Without that resistance, without that rescue, even more would have died, and those who lived would have been reduced to livestock, either enslaved or eaten.
That was why Qin Mu had to show his face in Eternal Peace’s capital, defy the Eastern Heavenly Green Emperor, and defy the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. He had to establish his name as Mu Tianzun, or else Eternal Peace would face not just disaster but annihilation!
“I came to see you because I’m leaving the Yuan Realm for the Celestial Court, to find a way for Eternal Peace to survive,” Qin Mu said with a smile. “You haven’t returned to Eternal Peace in recent years. The roads are cut off, news doesn’t flow, and you’ve never encountered the fruits of Eternal Peace’s reforms. Before the catastrophe, I traveled to various academies and learned those reforms. I don’t know if I’ll survive this journey, so I want to pass on Eternal Peace’s achievements to you first.”
Virtual Life Flower paused, then smiled faintly. “The Celestial Court? I’ll go with you.”
Qin Mu was moved but shook his head. “You can’t go. Eternal Peace’s reforms must not be severed. If I die in the Celestial Court, you must carry them on. Your ‘dominant physique’ may be female, slightly inferior to mine, but with you in Eternal Peace, our wisdom won’t be lost.”
Virtual Life Flower tried to argue, but Qin Mu bowed deeply. “My friend, I entrust this to you!”
Virtual Life Flower quickly helped him rise. “I won’t go then. You… take care.”
Qin Mu smiled. “I’ll be careful. Brother Virtual, do you remember our old bet? Whoever first solved the problem of opening the seventh divine storehouse would be the dominant one.”
Virtual Life Flower smiled. “Coincidentally, not long after you left, I figured out multiple ways to open the seventh divine storehouse and chose the best one. I’ve been waiting for you to come find me, but the catastrophe struck and cut off contact with Eternal Peace.”
Qin Mu narrowed his eyes. “Write down your seventh divine storehouse, and I’ll write mine. We’ll see whose is better.”
Virtual Life Flower agreed. They turned their backs to each other and wrote down their respective methods.
When they turned around simultaneously, Qin Mu had written “Heavenly River Divine Storehouse,” while Virtual Life Flower had written “Yong River Divine Storehouse.”
The Heavenly River was the Yong River, so Virtual Life Flower’s “Yong River Divine Storehouse” was correct.
They stared at each other. Qin Mu said grudgingly, “You definitely opened the Heavenly River Divine Storehouse later than I did! When I opened it, there were celestial phenomena!”
Virtual Life Flower said, “When I opened the Yong River Divine Storehouse, I sensed a faint fluctuation in the world’s great Dao. The Dao was changing—slight, but it didn’t escape my notice.”
Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat. When he had opened the Heavenly River Divine Storehouse, he hadn’t felt the world’s great Dao change at all!
This meant Virtual Life Flower had indeed opened his divine storehouse earlier!
“At the time, I tested over twenty types of divine storehouses one by one, looking for the best, which wasted a lot of time. This guy Virtual Life Flower just chose the optimal one without testing the others!” Qin Mu realized why he had been slower. Unfazed, he laughed. “We probably opened them at the same time. When I opened the Heavenly River Divine Storehouse, the phenomena were terrifying! This round is a draw—we’ll compete again next time!”
Virtual Life Flower smiled without arguing. He turned to Jing Yan, who had arrived, and said, “Wife, Chief Qin and I will be in seclusion together for a while. Just bring us meals these days. Don’t disturb us for anything else.”
Qin Mu bowed. “Sorry for the trouble, sister-in-law.”
Jing Yan laughed. “Bringing meals isn’t hard. Don’t overwork yourselves.”
“Don’t worry, sister-in-law. I won’t tire out your husband.”
The two entered a great hall. Virtual Life Flower’s hands flew, and countless runes cascaded like streams of light from the ceiling, forming an inverted bell that sealed the hall. “Jing Yan knows my techniques and can enter, but no one else can. Chief Qin, you can now pass on the teachings to me.”
Qin Mu yawned. “I’ll teach you in a dream,” he said, lying down and falling asleep.
Virtual Life Flower was surprised. “Is this the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha’s technique? I’ve heard of it but never seen it.”
He lay down beside Qin Mu and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The darkness before Virtual Life Flower’s eyes parted like a curtain from left to right, and bright sunlight streamed in.
Virtual Life Flower raised a hand to shield his eyes, then lowered it once they adjusted. He stepped into this sunlit world and saw Qin Mu approaching. “Brother Virtual, you’re here. Let’s begin the teachings.”
“We?”
Virtual Life Flower was taken aback, then saw more Qin Mu’s approaching—soon over a hundred. Behind them, countless Qin Mu sat at tables, writing furiously, recording the fruits of Eternal Peace’s reforms.
Virtual Life Flower was horrified. “How long will this take to learn?”
“I learned about seventy or eighty percent of Eternal Peace’s reforms in two or three years,” one Qin Mu said, looking up. “You’ll need two or three years too. But in my dream, you’ll only need a few naps. Let’s start now!”
Virtual Life Flower calmed himself and focused on learning.
Meanwhile, Jing Yan came to deliver meals. Entering the hall, she found the two lying on the ground, snoring loudly. She shook her head, placed the food basket beside them, and quietly withdrew.
When Qin Mu and Virtual Life Flower woke up, they were ravenous and quickly ate the food.
Qin Mu started to wash the dishes, but Virtual Life Flower laughed helplessly. “Chief, you don’t have to force yourself. Leave the dishes here; my wife will clean them. Let’s go back to the dream.”
Qin Mu nodded.
They lay down again, but after a moment, Virtual Life Flower sat up abruptly. “I can’t sleep without washing the dishes. I’d better get up and do it.”
Qin Mu couldn’t fall asleep either and immediately got up, laughing. “I can’t sleep either. I keep thinking about those unwashed dishes.”
Using creation techniques, they conjured clean water, washed the dishes, and wiped them dry. Virtual Life Flower also mopped the hall floor and wiped it clean. Only then, with no lingering concerns, could they sleep.
“I wonder how the National Teacher and Emperor Yanfeng managed in that filthy prison…” Qin Mu muttered, his snoring gradually rising.