Chapter 1300: Entering the Vein

Yan Tianfei’s gaze fell on Shujun. She said calmly, "Your adopted son’s head is quite large; it reminds me of an old acquaintance..."

Shujun lowered his head, not daring to speak.

The Empress had indeed known him, and quite well.

Qin Mu smiled gently and said, "Which old acquaintance has Her Highness Tianfei recalled? Perhaps I know them too."

Yan Tianfei shook her head: "He died a long time ago; you couldn’t possibly have known him. Heavenly Venerate Mu, your adopted son is quite good, but following you is a waste. You don’t have great abilities and can’t teach him much. Would you consider giving him to me?"

Qin Mu laughed heartily: "It’s not impossible to give him to you."

Shujun’s heart tightened. Qin Mu continued, "However, your white cat would get jealous, and if Heavenly Venerate Xiao found out, he’d probably beat me to death."

Yan Tianfei snorted, about to speak, when she suddenly looked towards the Heavenly Rift in the ancestral court.

Qin Mu also felt a premonition and looked in that direction, only to see a Heavenly Venerate’s carriage emerge from the rift, heading towards a fleet of ships flying towards the rift.

"Ancestral God King has arrived!"

Yan Tianfei said with a faint, unreadable smile, "In recent years, void behemoths have often appeared in swarms, attacking treasure ships carrying hoards and plundering the valuables mined from our respective territories. It seems the Ancestral God King intends to uncover the mastermind behind this."

Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat as he recalled Dragon Qilin riding the void mother beast on his patrols, instantly understanding Dragon Qilin’s actions over the past few years.

The Ten Heavenly Venerates each had their own territories in the ancestral court. Although only the Grand Beginning, Grand Ultimate, and Grand Initial ore veins fell into the hands of Heavenly Venerate Xiao, Heavenly Venerate Gong, and Yan Tianfei respectively, the other divine metal ore veins were also considerable.

Clearly, after gaining control of the void beasts, Dragon Qilin had been rampaging through the ancestral court. Whenever treasure ships laden with valuables departed the ancestral court from the Ten Heavenly Venerates’ territories, he would lead the void beasts to plunder them!

This time, it seemed the Ancestral God King had set a trap, luring Dragon Qilin to walk right into it!

"That chubby dragon, he’s still not mature enough!"

Qin Mu felt a secret surge of anxiety but said calmly, "Anyone capable of controlling void mother beasts to plunder the Ten Heavenly Venerates’ treasure ships must surely be the Grand Emperor. Your Highness, the Grand Emperor is hidden among us. This person is treacherous and cunning; they probably even plunder their own treasure ships to throw suspicion off themselves."

Yan Tianfei said indifferently, "With the Ancestral God King taking action personally this time, he will surely expose the Grand Emperor hidden among us."

Sweat beaded on the back of Qin Mu’s neck.

If the Ancestral God King captured Dragon Qilin, wouldn’t the Ten Heavenly Venerates then assume Qin Mu was the mastermind?

At that point, the Ten Heavenly Venerates could simply brand Qin Mu as the Grand Emperor, making his execution legitimate, couldn’t they? They might even claim that the Grand Emperor had possessed Heavenly Venerate Mu, and killing Qin Mu would be avenging Heavenly Venerate Mu himself.

By then, he would have no way to clear his name!

Suddenly, the Ancestral God King’s carriage did not meet his fleet but instead turned, heading directly towards a certain location in the ancestral court!

"The Ancestral God King has discovered Earth Mother Sovereign!"

Qin Mu and Yan Tianfei both felt a stir in their hearts simultaneously. Only Earth Mother Sovereign could make the Ancestral God King abandon his fleet!

The Ancestral God King’s forces in Xuandu had been entirely uprooted by Earth Mother Sovereign, practically annihilating his entire power base!

These forces had been cultivated by the Ancestral God King for countless years to reach their current scale, so his hatred for Earth Mother was immense.

Qin Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A hum—

A chasm appeared in the void. Yan Tianfei stepped into it, and the chasm vanished.

Qin Mu’s eyes flickered; Yan Tianfei must have gone to pursue the Ancestral God King.

Shujun also let out a sigh of relief, then glanced at Qin Mu, displeased. "Adoptive father?"

Qin Mu said gravely, "Be careful; Yan Tianfei might not have gone far."

Shujun’s heart jumped. He had no choice but to hold himself back, not erupting. "A little advantage won’t kill me. So be it."

After a moment, Qin Mu’s expression darkened, and he sneered, "Old Brother God King, you’re far too careless! If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead by now! First Earth Mother Sovereign, then Yan Tianfei—it’s bad enough you weren’t careful yourself, but you almost dragged me into it too!"

Shujun quickly offered a placating smile, "I know I was wrong, but didn’t you also take advantage of me? I even called you 'Godfather'!"

Qin Mu’s expression softened. "Don’t let it happen again."

Shujun nodded repeatedly, then suddenly realized, "I was originally going to confront him, but he distracted me and I forgot! That scoundrel is getting harder and harder to deal with!"

Qin Mu asked, "Were you also alerted by that Dragon Ao, and that’s why you rushed here?"

Shujun nodded: "That’s King Boyang’s mount. Although, it’s not quite accurate to call it a mount; Dragon Ao’s combat strength is actually much more formidable than Boyang’s. He’s the progenitor of all behemoths, essentially an ancient god among them. This behemoth was a guardian god from the primordial era; even ancient gods feared him. I can’t believe he’s still alive. I, too, got greedy. As soon as I saw him, I rushed over to see if there was a chance to subdue him."

Qin Mu shook his head, "Subdue him? Even the Grand Emperor might not be able to do that. With your current spiritual consciousness attainments, you still can’t subdue him."

Shujun sighed, clearly reluctant to give up on Dragon Ao.

"However, Dragon Ao’s appearance has made me somewhat vigilant. I wonder what else is hidden on the flip side of these worlds. If Earth Mother were to summon the behemoths from the dark side, I’m afraid it would lead to a bloody war in the ancestral court, using the power of these behemoths to destroy the Ten Heavenly Venerates’ territories and seize the treasures they use to suppress their fortunes..."

Qin Mu shivered slightly as he spoke.

The deaths of countless behemoths, if their blood was used in sacrifices by powerful beings from the previous epoch to steal something, could loosen the Grand Beginning’s seal!

At that point, the Grand Beginning might be in a fix again, and perhaps even powerful beings from the previous epoch might escape!

"Such matters, let the Grand Beginning worry about them."

He couldn’t help but shake his head and said, "Old Brother God King, go through the void and inform chubby Dragon that the Ancestral God King has arrived in the ancestral court. Tell him not to cause any trouble."

Shujun departed.

Qin Mu quieted his mind, pondered for a moment, and then stepped out of the void himself.

"Now that Yan Tianfei has gone to see the Ancestral God King and is not at the Grand Initial ore vein, I’ll take this opportunity to retrieve the Grand Initial origin stone from the vein!"

Not long after, he returned to the Grand Initial ore vein. Xiu Hongsu asked in surprise, "In just a few days, Heavenly Venerate, you’re fully confident in countering the strangeness of the mining area?"

Qin Mu shook his head and sighed, "I have no confidence whatsoever. But even so, I must try, or I won’t be able to rest in peace!"

Xiu Hongsu smiled, "Heavenly Venerate, there’s no need to be so pessimistic. If you can’t get in, you can always retreat."

She escorted Qin Mu into the mining area, saying, "Although this mining area doesn’t look large, it’s actually vast and extremely dangerous, Heavenly Venerate, so be careful. The treasures within are sentient, especially the divine stones here. They have form but no substance and often wander about, making them difficult to excavate. The origin stones are even more elusive. I was ordered to guard this place and have seen the origin stone three times, but each time it escaped."

Qin Mu thanked her, and Xiu Hongsu withdrew.

Qin Mu walked deeper into the mining area. Ahead, he saw a thick mist, with several figures standing within it. They had form but no substance, likely miners who had been assimilated by the mining area while excavating divine stones.

Qin Mu continued forward, observing individual figures standing in the mist, their mouths agape, uttering silent cries towards him.

Qin Mu paid them no mind and pressed on. Suddenly, as he passed through a patch of mist, he paused and smiled, "Little Seven, you came along too? Are you seeing me into the mining area?"

Behind him, a white cat silently approached, appearing behind him.