Chapter 1336: Nightmare in the Night

Qin Mu and the Apothecary became engrossed in the zither music, but soon regained their composure.

Accompanied by the zither's melody, Qin Mu assisted the Apothecary, lighting the furnace and controlling the heat, while the Apothecary placed the already prepared spirit herbs into the alchemical cauldron.

In the great hall, the zither's rhythm was captivating, celestial flames blazed fiercely, and the large, round alchemical cauldron spun above the fire.

Beneath the flames, Qin Mu held the celestial fire in his palm, activating the cauldron and controlling the heat.

As the second person in the world to "cultivate" an Illumination Medical Palace, his medical expertise was arguably second only to the Apothecary. Of course, his Illumination Medical Palace had been "seeded" by the Apothecary using spirit pills, so his actual medical skill was far inferior to the Apothecary's.

The Apothecary strode forward, his wide sleeves billowing, moving like a meteor under the flickering light of the celestial flames. The profound techniques of alchemy transformed endlessly in his hands.

His primordial spirit emerged, hovering above the cauldron. The Medicine King Primordial Spirit stood tall, clad in a dark green wide robe with long sleeves, positioned atop the God Slaying Platform. His physique was imposing, and two streams of baleful energy coiled around him like dragons!

The Medicine King Primordial Spirit's ten fingers danced, as vital qi transformed into intricate interwoven Dao patterns. The exquisite artistry of his alchemy was truly breathtaking.

Soon, five types of spirit pills were refined. The Apothecary flicked his wide sleeve, retracting the cauldron.

Qin Mu clenched his five fingers tightly, and the celestial fire vanished.

The Apothecary raised his hand, and the screen concealing Heavenly Venerate Yue flew up, landing to one side and revealing Heavenly Venerate Yue playing the zither.

Qin Mu and the Apothecary exchanged glances, then positioned themselves to the left and right of Heavenly Venerate Yue. The Apothecary took out the first spirit pill. As it flew up, a stream of vital qi shot skyward from the top of Qin Mu's head, and his Illumination Medical Palace appeared behind him.

His Medicine King Primordial Spirit emerged within the palace, also clad in a wide robe with long sleeves, exuding an air of Daoist wisdom and immortal grace.

Both of their Medicine King Primordial Spirits acted simultaneously to activate the spirit pill's medicinal power. This time, the Apothecary took the lead in dissolving the medicinal power, with Qin Mu assisting, mainly out of concern for the Apothecary's insufficient cultivation, ready to take over at any moment.

Although the Apothecary had stabilized his cultivation at the God Slaying Platform realm, in terms of the profundity of his vital qi cultivation, he was still far inferior to Qin Mu.

The Dao patterns within the spirit pill flew out like a magnificent epic poem, soaring towards Heavenly Venerate Yue. The pill also emitted a marvelous Daoist melody, harmonizing with the zither music.

The spirit pill's Dao patterns reached the crown of Heavenly Venerate Yue's head, touching the Dao injury left by Ancestral God King. The might of the Heavenly Dao immediately burst forth, vast and imposing. However, in the next instant, the Dao patterns from the spirit pill filled the Heavenly Dao patterns.

The Heavenly Dao patterns within the Dao injury inflicted by Ancestral God King, upon touching the spirit pill's Dao patterns, rapidly solidified, clotted, and decayed, as if blood had encountered snake venom.

Upon witnessing this, Qin Mu felt his hair stand on end, his scalp tingle, and even his bones tremble with dread.

This spirit pill was not a spirit pill at all; it was a deadly poison, capable of dissolving another's hard-earned cultivation, a potent Dao-dissolving toxin!

"Don't worry, this spirit pill only targets the Dao injury left by Ancestral God King," the Apothecary's voice timely reassured him, dispelling his fear.

Qin Mu composed himself. Just then, the Apothecary took out two more spirit pills. These two pills flew up: one went to Heavenly Venerate Yue's back, where Heavenly Venerate Hao had left a Dao injury, and the other went to Heavenly Venerate Yue's face, where Heavenly Venerate Huo had left a Dao injury.

From Qin Mu's head, another two streams of vital qi shot skyward, transforming into two Heavenly Palaces: one a Pre-celestial Heavenly Palace, and the other a Creation Heavenly Palace.

He used the Creation Heavenly Palace to reshape Heavenly Venerate Yue's face, restoring her former appearance. The Pre-celestial Heavenly Palace was prepared as a backup, in case the Apothecary's spirit pills did not work as expected, due to the extreme power of Heavenly Venerate Hao's Dao of Returning to the Ruins and the Primordial Qi of Pre-celestial.

As the medicinal power of the Apothecary's two spirit pills took effect, Qin Mu's body flickered, revealing his three heads and six arms. He intently monitored every change in the Dao patterns.

At this moment, the Apothecary took out yet another spirit pill, to treat the Dao injury caused by Heavenly Venerate Xiao!

Qin Mu frowned and whispered, "Apothecary Grandpa, Heavenly Venerate Yue isn't as robust as I am. Are you truly going to alarm all the Heavenly Venerates at once?"

The Apothecary activated the spirit pill's medicinal power and said in a deep voice, "If we alarm the other Heavenly Venerates, it will certainly not escape Heavenly Venerate Xiao's notice. Rather than waiting for him to make the first move, it's better to simply alarm all of them."

Qin Mu frowned deeply. His body swayed, and behind him, Heavenly Palaces emerged one after another, forming a celestial court that radiated divine light.

His primordial spirit split into eighteen, standing within each Heavenly Palace, closely observing the changes in the Dao patterns within Heavenly Venerate Yue's Dao injuries.

That spirit pill had already begun to erode Heavenly Venerate Xiao's Dao patterns, and the first one shattered.

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched. The instant the Dao pattern shattered, he sensed something awakening in the Primordial Realm!

It was like an immensely terrifying demonic monster opening its eyes in the dead of night!

Heavenly Venerate Xiao had been alarmed!

The Apothecary then took out the fifth spirit pill. Veins bulged on Qin Mu's forehead, but he endured, not disturbing the Apothecary, allowing him to focus entirely on healing Heavenly Venerate Yue.

Heavenly Venerate Yue's zither music remained leisurely and slow, as if idly plucking strings and slowly placing chess pieces. As Qin Mu and the Apothecary healed her, the Dao injuries on her body would also retaliate, causing her greater pain. Yet, her fingers remained steady, each one plucking the strings with remarkable strength!

At this moment, the Daoists living in the Dao Sect and the people in the city at the foot of the mountain suddenly witnessed a bizarre sight.

They saw the entire peach forest glowing with various colors. The light seemed to float above the forest, and hundreds of light strings within the peach forest vibrated with the zither's melody, harmonizing with the music. This made the vast peach forest, spanning thousands of miles in the dark night, appear like pulsating musical notes bathed in light!

Even stranger, with each pulsating note, the peach forest seemed to leap from one space to another, and another world unexpectedly emerged in the dark night sky, connected to the peach forest!

While the Primordial Realm was currently in darkness, those strange worlds were not all nighttime. Some were experiencing sunrise; people near the Dao Sect saw a vast ocean, with three seemingly smaller suns slowly rising from the surface.

The radiance of the rising sun spilled from the night, washing over the ocean, then over the coastal peach forest, and from the peach forest, it spread across the Kunlun Ruins mountains of the Dao Sect, like a beautiful scroll slowly unfolding!

However, as the peach forest's notes pulsed, the scenery changed again. They saw a dark world descending, with obsidian mountain ranges resembling fins on a monster's back—a sight both astonishing and terrifying.

The notes pulsed, and suddenly it was daytime again: a clear, boundless, deep blue sky, with giant continents floating within it, and numerous divine beings with bird heads, human bodies, and wings flying through the heavens.

Then, it shifted to a world bathed in sunset: the setting sun was crimson, and evening clouds stretched across the sky, a truly magnificent sight.

The vast peach forest, spanning thousands of miles, seemed to be within a pulsating space, continuously leaping through myriad worlds and heavens. The musical notes, composed of light strings and melodies, formed hundreds of constantly shifting spatial layers, mesmerizing the people near the Dao Sect.

Suddenly, an elder from the Dao Sect looked towards the distant darkness. In the far-off distance, the Primordial Tree stood like a monster in the shadows, at the center of the Primordial Realm.

And there, two long, narrow eyelids were slowly opening!

Those two eyes were so colossal that they were clearly visible even from such a great distance!

The Dao Sect elder's heart jolted. He hastily rang a bell, summoning the Dao Sect disciples, and said in a solemn voice, "The Dao Master is not here. All of you, quickly descend the mountain and go to the nearby cities and towns. Restrain everyone there; they must not leave their houses, nor must they leave the city! Everyone must close their doors and windows, and under no circumstances go outside!"

The numerous Dao Sect disciples dispersed. The Dao Sect elder himself also went down the mountain to restrain the nearby common folk, casting another glance at the eyes gradually brightening in the darkness. Just then, he noticed that the stars in the sky had grown significantly larger at some unknown point, and he couldn't help but worry, "The Peach Forest—there might be a great upheaval!"