Chapter 1038: War Ancient God

The West Deity had changed out of her battle attire. Previously, clad in armor, her face was hidden, only her large eyes visible. Now, Qin Mu could finally see her complete appearance.

She wore a white garment embroidered with tiger heads in gold thread. On her head was a winged crown (Yi Shan Guan), also adorned with a pattern of two tigers holding an embroidered ball, all in gold thread.

A typical winged crown usually has two 'ears' folded from black gauze, resembling small wings. However, her winged crown had two actual ears protruding directly from it.

Her pair of tiger ears had nowhere to be hidden, so they simply poked out from either side of the crown's top. The fluffy ears occasionally twitched, appearing very lively.

This ancient god had a round, slightly chubby face, giving her a baby-faced appearance. Her sleeves were wide and long, concealing her hands. Her skirt, however, was short, reaching only seven inches above her knees, and she wore nothing on her legs except for a pair of tiger-head shoes on her feet.

Qin Mu finally understood why her skirt was so short: she had a tail that had nowhere to go. It would occasionally perk up from behind her, sometimes even extending over her shoulder, proving very agile.

If that tail had eyes, it would surely be peeking and looking around everywhere.

It was the first time Qin Mu had seen such an adorable ancient god, especially one who was among the Four Emperors of the ancient gods.

Ancient gods held extremely high status; even the minor deities by Earth Mother's side in the Primordial Realm commanded frighteningly high respect. The Four Emperors of the ancient gods held an even higher position!

Even though the status of ancient gods was not what it once was, they still remained supreme beings ruling the four cardinal points of the universe.

Qin Mu had met three of the Four Emperors of the ancient gods: the Azure Dragon possessed the demeanor of an emperor, the Black Tortoise was restrained yet remarkably majestic, and the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, despite her fondness for prying into others' privacy, always displayed the grace of a great ancient god in public and private.

Only this West Deity resembled an ungrown girl.

Qin Mu's expression was peculiar as he thought to himself, "The West Deity is probably the 'little sister' in the hearts of all ancient gods..."

The West Deity approached, smiling. "It's much more comfortable without the armor. Heavenly Venerate, please come this way."

When she smiled, a pair of fangs became visible.

Qin Mu followed her, observing that her tail remained restless, sometimes curling around her waist, sometimes climbing onto her shoulder, and occasionally even sweeping nearby branches and flowers.

"I didn't see her tail when she was wearing armor. Where was it hidden then?"

Qin Mu stared at the white tiger tail, thinking, "What if I could touch it..."

He found himself increasingly wanting to touch it, but after all, this was an Emperor among the ancient gods, and directly reaching out might not be appropriate.

Yet, Yan'er had no such reservations. She bounced forward and petted the West Deity's tail.

The West Deity giggled, her tail playfully lifting Yan'er's chin. She chuckled, "Little girl, I am your aunt, yet you dare to tease me."

Yan'er transformed into a small green sparrow, flew to the tip of the tail, and perched there, asking curiously, "Auntie, you recognize me?"

"Of course, I recognize you. Your bloodline is unique; I could tell at a glance."

The tip of the West Deity's tail brought Yan'er to her shoulder and placed her there. The tail gently rubbed the little green sparrow's head, and Yan'er, feeling very comfortable, sat on her shoulder, tilting her head to doze.

The West Deity led them to a viewing platform to admire the scenery. The platform at the White Tiger Celestial Palace was unlike what Qin Mu had imagined; it was surprisingly filled with numerous refining platforms, arranged in rows along the Jade Pool. The colossal furnaces here burned day and night, making the air quite hot.

Qin Mu surveyed the refining platforms and exclaimed in surprise, "These are crafted to the specifications of the Heavenly Works of the Kaihuang era. Has Kaihuang been here?"

"Yes, he has."

The West Deity spotted a huge wooden post and immediately darted towards it. Her two hands emerged from her wide sleeves, revealing sharp tiger claws, which she rapidly scraped against the post twice. After stretching lazily while still perched on the post, she finally climbed down and said, "Kaihuang brought a charming young man named Li Youran, who was incredibly captivating and enchanted all the girls in my palace. He designed these refining platforms. I told them not to forge by the Jade Pool, but those girls kept pestering me until I had no choice but to let them."

She sounded quite helpless. "My Western Extremity Heavens abound with divine metals and precious jades. As an ancient god who presides over warfare, building these refining platforms is not bad; they serve some purpose. Li Youran was sent by Qin Ye to learn forging and refining from me, but my cultivation method involves absorbing metal qi, which he couldn't learn. However, I did learn some methods for crafting divine weapons from him, though my skill is not as exquisite as his."

Li Youran was none other than the King Buddha Di Shitian, the War King of the Kaihuang Celestial Heavens.

Li Youran's power was not strong among the Four Heavenly Kings; in fact, he could be considered the weakest. However, his title of War King was well-deserved.

In the Way of Forging, Grandpa Deaf was hard-pressed to surpass him. However, now Grandpa Deaf and Blind were collaborating, attempting to combine the divine consciousness abilities of the Creators to pioneer the craft of microscopic forging.

If their research succeeded, they could surpass Li Youran in the Way of Forging.

The female Heavenly Artisans who had gone to repair the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage brought it back, placing it by the Jade Pool, and began drafting its structural designs.

Qin Mu and the West Deity stepped forward to inspect. They saw that these female Heavenly Artisans were robust and spirited women, highly skilled and nimble-handed, clearly having inherited the true teachings of King Buddha Di Shitian, Li Youran.

Qin Mu was very pleased. "Grandpa Deaf would surely like them if he saw them."

"West Deity, now that Yan Kang considers forging as its national foundation, it urgently needs these Heavenly Artisans. If you could send Heavenly Artisans from the Western Extremity Heavens to assist, I would be eternally grateful!"

The more Qin Mu looked at these women, the more he liked them. He added, "Yan Kang also has considerable achievements in the Way of Forging and many skilled craftsmen. If the West Deity sends some female Heavenly Artisans, they can complement each other's strengths."

The West Deity shook her head and chuckled. "You're trying to deceive me again! I've heard of Yan Kang; your Yan Kang crafts divine weapons and artifacts for the Celestial Heavens. If I send Heavenly Artisans from my Western Extremity Heavens to Yan Kang, wouldn't that strengthen the Celestial Heavens' power? That's aiding the enemy!"

Qin Mu scoffed lightly. "West Deity, this is where your insight falls short. For two millennia since the fall of the Kaihuang era, your Western Extremity Heavens' forging has made no progress. In terms of scale, your forging capacity is equivalent to only three or four of Yan Kang's manufacturing facilities. As for skill, there have been no advancements whatsoever, merely relying on the legacy of the Kaihuang era. Yan Kang can forge divine weapons for the Celestial Heavens, but also for itself. As it continues to develop, its scale will only grow, and its skills will only become stronger!"

He smiled slightly. "I can make a wager with Your Majesty: the ones who can refine the Way of Forging to be imprinted upon the void and become an eternal Great Dao will surely be people from Yan Kang, absolutely not Li Youran or anyone from the Western Extremity Heavens!"

The West Deity was half-convinced, half-skeptical. "No one can compare to Li Youran's Way of Forging. What capability does Yan Kang possess?"

Qin Mu reached out, and a divine hammer flew into his hand. "Yan Kang's Way of Forging is no longer just about crafting divine weapons and artifacts; it can also alter physics and become a path of offense. Please, Your Majesty West Deity, bring forth a divine weapon."

The West Deity clapped her hands, and a female Heavenly Artisan brought forth a divine weapon.

Qin Mu swung the hammer towards the female Heavenly Artisan. Startled, she hastily raised the divine weapon to block it. There was a deafening clang, and divine light diffused around them.

The female Heavenly Artisan was greatly astonished. She quickly dropped the divine weapon and checked herself, relieved to find she hadn't sustained any injury.

The West Deity's expression turned solemn. She walked forward and picked up the divine weapon that had been dropped. To her surprise, the weapon was no longer divine but an ordinary iron artifact.

With a single strike of his hammer, Qin Mu had actually altered the structure of the divine metal, transforming it into ordinary iron!

She shivered involuntarily. In truth, the combat strength of Heavenly Artisans was not weak, but compared to deities specialized in combat, they were inferior in both divine abilities and adaptability.

The female Heavenly Artisans of the Western Extremity Heavens were especially precious, and she would never dare to let them go to the battlefield.

However, Qin Mu's single hammer strike revealed the immense power of a Heavenly Artisan: they could refine and forge divine weapons, and also, in one strike, destroy an enemy's divine weapon!

When the Kaihuang era fell, Li Youran led the Divine Artisan race, intending to seek refuge in Wuyou Township aboard the Ark of the Other Shore. However, they encountered a massacre by the Celestial Heavens, and the Divine Artisan race was almost completely annihilated.

If the Divine Artisan race had possessed skills like Qin Mu's, that war would not have been a one-sided slaughter.

"If the Western Extremity Heavens had such an army of Heavenly Artisans, they would surely be invincible in every attack and victorious in every battle, dominating the world with no equal," the West Deity thought to herself.

Qin Mu put down the divine hammer and said, "This is one of the achievements of Yan Kang's reform, a method created by my two elders. It is not yet perfected. West Deity, your people can also go to Yan Kang to learn this method, or even help Yan Kang perfect it. This is what it means to be a true War King, truly dominating warfare!"

The West Deity pondered for a moment, then said gloomily, "This is reform... reform will weaken us ancient gods..."

She suddenly burst into tears, sobbing, "I am the ancient god of war. I feel that if you master this Way of Forging and dominate warfare, I will be the first one you kill! I feel like I'm going to die..."

Qin Mu looked at her calmly and patiently coaxed, "My dear sister... my good older sister, you almost died at the hands of Heavenly Venerate Hao just now. It was I who saved you. If I intended to harm you, would I have rescued you?"

The West Deity hugged her tail and cried aloud.

Qin Mu felt a headache coming on and snapped, "Stop crying!"

The West Deity looked up, still hugging her tail, her eyes blurred with tears. Qin Mu's heart immediately softened. He gently said, "Don't worry, I am the Grandmaster of Indestructibility through Myriad Calamities. Even if you die, I have a way to bring you back to life. Rest assured, rest assured. Perhaps if you die once, you can break free from the ancient gods' constraints and gain freedom! By then, you too can master the Way of Forging. Who could possibly kill you then?"

"Swear it!"

"I swear by Earth Count!"

The West Deity's sorrow turned to joy, and she became cheerful again.

Divine King Lang Wo, observing from the side, sneered and said flatly, "Holy Infant is quite good at coaxing girls."

Qin Mu softly said, "Sister Lang Wo..."

"It's useless on me!"

Divine King Lang Wo turned and walked away. "I don't believe a great ancient god could possess such a naive mind!"

Qin Mu's heart tightened. The conflict between the ancient gods and the Creators was indeed his biggest challenge at the moment.

There were conflicts among the Ten Heavenly Venerates, but none were as deep as the hatred between the ancient gods and the Creators!

He was now treading on thin ice; a single misstep could lead to eternal damnation!