Chapter 1165: Form a Good Relationship

On the altar of the Taiji mineral vein, black and white energies flowed around the divine egg, slowly rotating. Then, extremely peculiar patterns appeared on the outer shell of the egg, as if communicating with Qin Mu.

The patterns on the eggshell resembled writing, but each character was circular, clearly delineated in black and white. Some were predominantly black, others predominantly white, with different areas of negative space conveying distinct meanings.

Qin Mu smiled, bowing slightly. "Fellow Daoist," he said, "my knowledge is shallow; I do not recognize your script."

The divine egg vibrated slightly, and more patterns appeared on its shell. Qin Mu pondered them carefully but still struggled to grasp the profound intricacies of the script. "How about this," he suggested, "we can understand each other's thoughts by touching our divine consciousness."

His divine consciousness flew out, lightly touching the divine egg.

Instantly, a Taiji diagram formed in Qin Mu's mind, with yin and yang energies flowing within it. A man's voice resonated: "Greetings, fellow Daoist."

Qin Mu, leaning on his sword, bowed slightly. "As a stranger who has ventured here without permission," he said, "I deeply apologize for disturbing you, esteemed Daoist."

At that moment, a woman's voice also came from within the diagram. "The strange phenomena here are not our doing," she explained, "but rather the Taiji divine stones in this place twisting yin and yang energies, preventing outsiders and external objects from entering. We only suppressed the anomalies in this vein upon sensing your arrival, esteemed Daoist. Please understand this point."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly.

There were actually two ancient gods within this egg!

The female ancient god claimed they were not controlling the Taiji vein to attack Qin Mu and other intruders, which Qin Mu found somewhat believable, as the Taichu vein behaved similarly.

The Taichu vein was the earliest one to be mined. Entering it carried immense danger; it was evident that the vein attacked anyone who dared to enter, as seen when the Heavenly Emperor Taichu had eight ancient gods carry the coffin of God King Gong Jun into the vein, resulting in all eight dying.

This was a form of self-preservation for the Primordial mineral veins.

Countless Creators who mined the veins in ancient times also died this way.

Naturally, Qin Mu did not fully trust their words.

The Taiji vein was also extremely terrifying; even Qin Mu barely escaped death, ultimately relying on Ling Tianzun's divine abilities to flee the deadly peril.

If the two ancient gods in the egg truly wanted to save him, they could have done so the moment he entered the vein. Instead, they waited until the Taiji vein failed to kill Qin Mu before suppressing its anomalies to show goodwill.

In reality, whether they suppressed the Taiji vein's strangeness or not was irrelevant to Qin Mu; he had already gained full confidence in reaching this place.

Qin Mu was well aware of this.

As the Taiji diagram flowed, the male ancient god's voice came again. "Fellow Daoist from afar," he said, "there is something you might not know. In the Primordial Era, there were five great mineral veins, giving birth to five divine beings. Anyone who disturbs these five veins, no matter how powerful, will ultimately meet an unfortunate end."

The female ancient god's voice continued: "Although we are still in the egg, we know everything here intimately. We are not trying to frighten you; there is a reason for this. The Creators here mined the five veins, which led to the extinction of the Creator race from this world."

The male ancient god's voice resumed: "Even the Heavenly Emperor Taidi, despite his vast divine abilities, faced numerous tribulations and nearly died many times while mining the Taichu vein. What ultimately brought down his empire was the very Taichu he extracted."

Before Qin Mu could speak, the female ancient god's voice interjected: "This is a tremendous karmic consequence. Fellow Daoist from afar, are the Taiji divine stones and the Taiji primordial stones on the altar truly as useful to you as you imagine?"

"When Taidi returned to the Ancestral Court this time, he realized the terrifying nature of the five veins. Thus, the treasured mineral site he chose was not one of the five, but an extremely rare divine mine."

"In this world, besides the five great Primordial veins, there are other veins rich in divine gold, pearls, and jade. Those things should be more beneficial to you."

The two ancient gods spoke in turns, explaining everything. Whether it was true or false was for Qin Mu to judge himself.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment. "Revered Daoists," he said, "I should not have disturbed your peaceful cultivation. I am also grateful for your guidance. However, I am quite curious about your path of Yin and Yang, as well as the functions of the Taiji divine stones and Taiji primordial stones. If..."

He hesitated, then continued, "If you could grant me one primordial stone and a hundred divine stones, I would depart immediately."

As the two ancient gods were about to speak, Qin Mu quickly added, "This is a loan; I will certainly return them to you in the future."

The Taiji diagram in his mind suddenly dissipated, and the ancient gods in the egg withdrew their divine consciousness.

Two voices, one male and one female, spoke from within the divine egg, using an extremely ancient and obscure language whose meaning was unclear.

Qin Mu sat quietly on the altar, waiting for their discussion to conclude.

After a moment, strange patterns appeared on the divine egg.

Qin Mu released his divine consciousness, making contact with the divine egg.

Another Taiji diagram manifested in his mind, and the male ancient god's voice spoke: "We are still far from emerging, so we can lend you one primordial stone and one hundred divine stones. However, you must return them to us in the future."

"If you do not return them, you will certainly face tribulation in the future."

The female ancient god added, "As for our path of Yin and Yang, you need not ask us; comprehend it yourself. The Taiji primordial stone will allow you to discern the profound mysteries of Yin and Yang's transformation and creation."

Qin Mu expressed his gratitude. Among the eight primordial stones encircling the divine egg, one suddenly loosened and rolled before him.

Qin Mu picked up the primordial stone and examined it closely.

Unlike other Primordial mineral veins, this vein surprisingly contained many primordial stones, whereas the Taichu vein had only one Taichu primordial stone.

Qin Mu paused thoughtfully. "Since you both know the Ancestral Court so well," he said, "I imagine you know which other veins, apart from the five great ones, are the most valuable? Please inform me."

The Taiji diagram slowly rotated. After a moment, the male ancient god said, "When you leave this star field..."

"Star field?" Qin Mu asked, surprised.

"Yes, this is the Taiji Star Field."

The male ancient god continued: "You will understand when you depart. After leaving this star field, head north. At your speed, it should take about ten days. After ten days, you will see a vast piece of black wood. Beneath the black wood lies an extraordinary treasure, the best in the Ancestral Court apart from the five great veins."

Qin Mu thanked them, then asked, "Since you both know so much about the Ancestral Court, may I ask where the ancient god from the Chaos vein has gone?"

The two ancient gods in the egg spoke simultaneously, their voices filled with envy as they chuckled. "He has achieved Dao," they said, "liberated. He has transformed into the Great Dao of heaven and earth, formless and bodiless, colorless and odorless, neither male nor female, everywhere and nowhere at once."

"He was the most talented among us. From birth, he transcended the limitations of form, freely existing and coexisting with heaven and earth. He can transform into anyone, appear anywhere, and manifest in any era. We, however, still need to absorb the vein's power while in our egg and undergo tribulations before shedding our shells and becoming like him."

Qin Mu was greatly shocked. "What kind of realm is that?" he wondered.

He composed himself and asked, "May I ask, do you know which of the Celestial Venerables who entered the Ancestral Court is Grand Empress?"

"She is not here."

The ancient gods in the divine egg said, "Grand Empress is not here. Fellow Daoist from afar, before you depart, we offer you one more piece of advice: you carry the aura of Daoists from other veins. Do not get entangled in too much karma, and you may preserve your life."

Qin Mu thanked them, turned, and left the altar, walking towards the exit of the mining area. As he reached the central part of the area, Taiji divine stones suddenly began to detach from the mine walls.

He picked up the divine stones and counted them. There were exactly ninety-nine, no more, no less. Combined with the one Taichu divine stone he had found earlier, he now had precisely one hundred.

"These two Primordial divine eggs on me are treasures, but also hot potatoes!"

Thinking of the Glazed Green Sky Pagoda and the Taishi egg, Qin Mu felt a great headache. How should he deal with these two divine eggs?