Chapter 1017: Village Chief's Sword, Cripple's Leg

Lang Wo and Shu Jun exchanged glances, suppressed the shock in their hearts, and in their haste, entered the Gate of Bearing Heaven without thinking too much.

Qin Mu had Du Tian, Yan'er, Dragon Qilin, and others ride the Celestial Dragon Chariot into the Gate of Bearing Heaven. Just as he was about to follow, a paper boat suddenly sailed over. The old Yama official on board said, "Heavenly Venerate Mu, please wait."

Qin Mu stopped and asked, "What instructions do you have, Heavenly Venerate You?"

The old Yama official replied, "Earth Count asked me to inquire of Heavenly Venerate Mu why you've become entangled with the Creator Race. Earth Count says the Creator Race is utterly evil and has committed countless misdeeds. In earlier times, they plagued the universe, stopping at nothing. If you collude with them, you'd be aiding a tiger in its evil deeds and lose the support of the ancient gods."

Qin Mu nodded repeatedly and said, "Please tell Earth Count, Heavenly Venerate You, that my ability to obtain the title of Indestructible Master of Ten Thousand Calamities is entirely due to the strong support of Earth Count and Heaven Sovereign, so naturally, I wouldn't act recklessly. Regarding the Creator Race, I am merely borrowing their power to deal with Supreme Emperor; it's mutual utilization, and I have no intention of using their strength to oppose the ancient gods. I humbly submit to Earth Count's sacred judgment and am filled with immense trepidation."

The old Yama official stared at him with wide eyes. After a moment, he said, "That last sentence was a bit much, wasn't it? Earth Count isn't the Celestial Emperor; why such immense trepidation?"

Qin Mu said earnestly, "After all, Earth Count watched me grow up. As a junior, it's only natural to be respectful and filled with trepidation."

The old Yama official continued to look at him, couldn't help but shake his head, and said, "Go on. I'll speak with Earth Count."

Qin Mu thanked him and asked, "Is Heavenly Venerate Yu well?"

It was fine until he brought it up, but as soon as Heavenly Venerate Yu was mentioned, the old Yama official became furious and angrily said, "He was stolen!"

Qin Mu was startled and blurted out, "Heavenly Venerate Yu was stolen? Who would be so audacious as to sneak into Youdu and steal him? Didn't you keep a close watch on him?"

"I have to collect souls and guide the deceased everywhere, and my avatars number in the millions. How could I have time to constantly watch him?"

The old Yama official grumbled, "He's my brother, not my son. I could only have an avatar watch him and let him wander around Youdu. I never expected that a thief would sneak in and steal him, taking him away."

Qin Mu suspiciously asked, "Where did the thief who stole Heavenly Venerate Yu come from?"

"Where from? From your family, of course!"

The old Yama official sneered, "You better control your elder! Truly audacious, to dare to come to Youdu and commit mischief! I won't pursue this matter further; Heavenly Venerate Yu staying in Youdu indeed hindered his growth. However, your elder taking Heavenly Venerate Yu around to steal everywhere is ultimately not a good thing. Be careful not to be caught by the Heavenly Court."

Qin Mu affirmed and said, "I will certainly discipline Crippled Grandpa well and not let him commit mischief. Heavenly Venerate You can rest assured."

The old Yama official saw him off, then immediately piloted his boat back to Earth Count's third eye on his brow and relayed Qin Mu's words to Earth Count's primordial spirit.

Earth Count was surprised, "'I humbly submit to Earth Count's sacred judgment and am filled with immense trepidation'? Is that what he said?"

The old Yama official nodded, "His attitude was very sincere."

"It's rare for him to be so polite," Earth Count said. "So let's let today's matter go. Just add it to his ledger."

The old Yama official assented and asked, "Now that Heavenly Venerate Mu and Youdu Divine Son are separate, do we need to keep separate ledgers?"

Earth Count said, "Before, he and Youdu Divine Son were one entity. The evil deeds committed by Youdu Divine Son were also his evil deeds. We must act fairly. We cannot ignore his past wrongdoings just because they are now separate."

The old Yama official praised, "Earth Count is just and selfless."

Qin Mu returned to the world of the living, only to see the Celestial Dragon Chariot parked not far away, with Divine King Lang Wo and others waiting there. Divine King Lang Wo and Shu Jun's faces were still somewhat pale.

"Sister Divine King," Qin Mu asked, puzzled, "you don't fear Heavenly Venerate Qin, nor any other Heavenly Venerate, so why do you specifically fear Earth Count?"

"Earth Count is the natural enemy of the Creator Race."

Divine King Lang Wo shook her head and said, "Even your brother, Little Earth Count, has utterly defeated our Creator Race, let alone Earth Count himself?"

Qin Mu was stunned. In the world beyond the shore, Carefree Village had always been on the defensive until the arrival of Qin Fengqing changed the situation.

Although the Creators in the world beyond the shore had unparalleled divine consciousness, when facing Youdu Divine Son Qin Fengqing, they suffered heavy casualties, and many were devoured by the big-headed baby.

The Grand Dao of Youdu indeed seemed capable of countering the Creators.

Shu Jun said, "We are strong in divine consciousness, but weak in primordial spirit. If the primordial spirit is weak, then the soul is weak. It's easy for Qin Fengqing to directly strip away and devour our souls. Qin Fengqing is Little Earth Count. When facing the true Earth Count, the Creators' weaknesses become even more pronounced. Earth Count killing Creators is incredibly simple. In the great wars of the Primordial Era, far more Creators died at Earth Count's hands than at the hands of Celestial Emperor, Heaven Sovereign, and Earth Mother Primordial Monarch combined!"

Divine King Lang Wo said, "I haven't witnessed the great wars of the Primordial Era, but I've heard the elder spirits speak of Earth Count's formidable reputation. When I led the Creators of the world beyond the shore in reforms, drawing from the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system, and began cultivating primordial spirits, it was precisely an attempt to eliminate the Creators' weaknesses. However, when facing Little Earth Count Qin Fengqing, there was still a huge gap."

Qin Mu laughed, "What you've learned are merely the primordial spirit cultivation methods of Carefree Village, which are already far behind those of Yankang. At the same cultivation realm, Yankang's divine arts practitioners and gods/devils have stronger primordial spirits. For example, between me and Emperor Kai, at the same realm, my primordial spirit could beat his primordial spirit by *this* much!"

He held out a hand and gestured.

Lang Wo and Shu Jun both didn't believe him.

Especially Shu Jun; he had seen Qin Mu and Emperor Kai fight. Although Qin Mu was slightly stronger, it was only by a small margin, not significantly more powerful than Emperor Kai.

They didn't know that Qin Mu wasn't bragging this time.

Emperor Kai's strength lay in his combat power; his Sword Twenty and thirty-fourth heaven of Sword Dao were incredibly powerful in attack, compensating for his relatively weaker cultivation.

Qin Mu, on the other hand, was strong in primordial spirit and magic power. His primordial spirit cultivation was incomparably profound; the magic power from a single Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure and his primordial spirit alone could rival a Celestial God at the Jade Platform Realm. After cultivating to the Venerate God Realm, his magic power directly pursued masters at the God Slaying Platform Realm.

The reason his fight with Emperor Kai seemed evenly matched was mainly because Emperor Kai's Sword Dao was too strong, greatly surpassing his own.

But in terms of primordial spirit alone, Emperor Kai was far inferior to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu looked around, frowning slightly. He had originally planned to travel from Fallen God Valley to Jiangling, but now, having entered and exited Youdu, the geography had changed significantly. This place was further from Jiangling but very close to Bazhou.

"Since that's the case, let's go to Heavenly Saint Academy first to see Granny Si and the others."

He, Divine King Lang Wo, and Shu Jun took their seats. He instructed Demon King Du Tian to set off for Heavenly Saint Academy. Inside the chariot, Qin Mu took out the jade bottle containing Supreme Emperor's sealed divine consciousness and said, "When refining Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness, I don't want his cultivation base in divine consciousness; I only want his memories to obtain his Grand Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness. His divine consciousness belongs to both Divine Kings."

Divine King Lang Wo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "A large part of Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness was not cultivated, but gained through the sacrifices of ancient Creators. His divine consciousness isn't pure, which limited his achievements. There's a rumor among the elder spirits of the Grand Void Creators that the reason Supreme Emperor lost in the war against the ancient gods was precisely because his cultivation was boosted by sacrifices, leading to a weakness. Had his cultivation been entirely from his own arduous practice, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to defeat the Celestial Emperor and sweep away all ancient gods."

Shu Jun's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "You don't want Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness, but I do. Divine King Lang Wo, do you want Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness?"

Divine King Lang Wo hesitated for a moment, then said, "The Divine King and I will each take half. Having cultivated to my current level, it's extremely difficult to advance another step. Even if Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness isn't pure, I must still try. However, I propose we divide the divine consciousness into three parts. We each take one part, leaving one-third for the Holy Infant."

Qin Mu didn't understand her meaning.

Divine King Lang Wo said softly, "If in the future you reach a bottleneck in cultivation and can no longer progress, you can then refine Supreme Emperor's divine consciousness to boost your cultivation. Our Creator Race can also collectively sacrifice to you to augment your power."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The three immediately activated their divine consciousness refining divine arts and focused on refining it. The Celestial Dragon Chariot continued its journey towards Heavenly Saint Academy.

In Yankang's capital, Emperor Kai bowed, asking Sword God Su Muzhe to stop seeing him off. "After so much consultation, Ye Kai has gained a lot," he said. "Elder, there's no need to accompany me further."

The Village Chief insisted on accompanying him. He said, "What I've learned from you is a hundred times what you've learned from me. Brother Ye's talent is one of only two sword path geniuses I've ever seen; I must see you off."

Emperor Kai asked, surprised, "Elder, have you seen someone else's sword path talent that can compare to mine? May I ask if this person is Heavenly Venerate Mu?"

The Village Chief shook his head and laughed, "Although Mu'er's sword path is very brilliant, his personality is too restless, making it hard for him to sit down and thoroughly study the sword path. His sword heart isn't pure. The sword master whose sword heart can rival yours is Yankang's former Imperial Preceptor, Jiang Baigui from Jiangling."

Emperor Kai was moved and asked, "May I ask where this Imperial Preceptor is?"

"He was captured and suppressed by the Heavenly Court and is imprisoned in the great jail along with the Grand Emperor."

The Village Chief said, "Jiang Baigui's sword heart is incomparably pure. His sword path holds the profundity of the universe's creation and the birth of ten thousand paths; he uses the sword path to evolve the ten thousand paths. His sword heart is transparent and brilliant, truly unique among those I've seen. He is also the creator of Sword Fifteen, Sword Sixteen, and Sword Seventeen. If you meet him, you will surely have a very pleasant and long conversation with him."

Emperor Kai pondered for a moment, then sighed, "It's a pity he's in the great jail, and I don't know when I'll be able to see him again. I still need to visit other academies to witness Yankang's reforms; I don't have the time to go to the great jail to find him. If we are fated in the future, then we shall meet again! Farewell, please don't see me off further."

The Village Chief watched him leave and did not return to the Imperial College for a long time.

Cripple and Mute came looking for him. Mute, with a voice like a great bell, said, "Village Chief, have you met that person called Ye Kai? What a genius! Such a talent is precisely what Yankang needs. Why didn't you keep him?"

The Village Chief shook his head and said, "Emperor Kai is indeed a genius. How could I possibly keep him?"

Cripple and Mute were startled and exchanged bewildered glances.

"When he came to see me, I didn't actually look at him. Just by sensing his aura, I felt a Sword Dao monarch standing above the thirty-fourth heaven. At that moment, I knew the foremost person in Sword Dao had arrived."

The Village Chief said faintly, "Those who cultivate the sword, after achieving something in the sword path, will feel an insurmountable peak before them. That peak is Emperor Kai, forever standing ahead of them. His visit this time was to gift Sword Twenty to Yankang."

—Translator's Note: The author (Zhai Zhu) mentioned being 36 years old and experiencing wisdom tooth pain for days, with a swollen cheek. The tooth hasn't fully emerged, and there are still three or four more to come.