Chapter 1479: 御天尊与蓝御田

Wei Suifeng and the others didn't know what Qin Mu had encountered inside the Perfumed Palace, but his gritted teeth clearly showed he had suffered a significant setback.

Qin Mu told them the direction to Jade Capital City. While examining the Cripple's injuries, he said, "Go ahead first. Take the Perfumed Palace into Jade Capital City. As soon as you trigger the seal above it, leave immediately. Do not linger."

"Don't worry," Shu Jun said quickly, "I've been there before. Although I couldn't reach the deepest part, I know a fair bit about its layout."

"With me leading the way," he added, "there shouldn't be any mishaps."

Wei Suifeng put away the Perfumed Palace and departed swiftly with him.

Qin Mu took out medicinal herbs, refined pills, and gave them to the Cripple. The Cripple's aura was weak; carrying Qin Mu through the Perfumed Palace's seal had damaged his life force and injured his origin. Only after Qin Mu's treatment did he start to recover.

However, it would take some time for him to fully recover to his peak state.

Qin Mu then refined more pills, categorized them, and handed them to Granny Si, instructing her on when to administer them to the Cripple.

Granny Si was surprised. She saw Qin Mu then take out the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Banner and give it to Yan'er. He also released the souls of Southern Emperor, Emperor Ming, and others from his vertical eye, entrusting them to Lan Yu Tian and Xu Shenghua's care.

Granny Si was startled and quickly pulled Qin Mu aside, saying with concern, "Mu'er, don't scare me. Did you suffer an incurable injury inside the palace?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "I was targeted. Granny, for the next few days, I'll need to stay in a dream state to use Buddhist teachings to resist the invasion of the Primordial Saint of the Miluo Palace. You must protect me. If you see all versions of me in my dream chanting scriptures..."

He hesitated, then took out a divine bow and handed it to Granny Si, gritting his teeth. "Then shoot down my primordial spirit!"

Granny Si's expression changed dramatically, and she threw the divine bow aside.

Qin Mu quickly said, "Even if my primordial spirit is shot down, I won't die. I can regenerate my soul; at worst, I'll just lose my primordial spirit cultivation and have to re-cultivate. If that Primordial Saint of the Miluo Palace uses my power to escape the Perfumed Palace, even the combined might of the Ten Celestials might not be able to stop him! Granny, if necessary, you must shoot down my primordial spirit. Don't hesitate!"

Granny Si's expression was complex. She silently picked up the divine bow and handed it to the Blind Man. The Blind Man took the bow, pondered for a moment, and shook his head. "I can't do it."

He tried to hand the divine bow to the Mute Man, but the Mute Man also shook his head. "I cannot harm the child I raised..."

"I'll do it then."

Granny Si snatched the divine bow back, took a deep breath, and declared resolutely, "Mu'er was brought back by me all those years ago. It's better if I do it myself. I'm hard-hearted!"

She exhaled roughly a few times, clearly indicating that her heart was not as ruthless as she claimed.

Qin Mu said to Lan Yu Tian, "Whether to merge with your own remnant soul is a decision you must make yourself. No one else can decide for you."

Lan Yu Tian hesitated, then nodded.

Yan'er took the soul of the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird. The mother and daughter were finally reunited and naturally had much to say.

Only the soul of Emperor Ming drifted over this unfamiliar land, somewhat bewildered. "Where is this? Am I not dead?"

He looked around, and this world was so strange. He didn't even know how long he had been dead, nor why he had come here.

"Don't leave here!"

A little girl blocked his way, looking up at him with a clear and pleasant voice. "This is the Hundred Thousand Holy Mountains, a place Youdu cannot reach. You are a ghost. If you leave here, Earth Count will take you to Youdu! You were imprisoned in the Perfumed Palace; you must have done many bad things in your life, right? Earth Count will whip your backside fiercely!"

Emperor Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He stopped and asked, "Who are you? Why are you blocking me?"

"My name is Hua Xuanxiu, and this is Wen Yuan, my senior brother," the girl said.

The girl pulled over a handsome young man and smiled, "He is the Young Cult Master of my Heavenly Saint Cult. After a few years of assessment, he can inherit the position of Cult Master. Of course, our Old Cult Master is still alive, and our Heavenly Saint Cult's rule is that the Young Cult Master should ideally eliminate the Old Cult Master to rightfully succeed. I'm afraid Wen Yuan won't have that chance; our Old Cult Master is very strong..."

Patriarch Wen Yuan sighed helplessly. "That was a bad custom passed down by previous Cult Masters who misunderstood Patriarch Wei's teachings. Now that Patriarch Wei has returned, that rule no longer applies. Emperor Ming, you currently lack a physical body and are in a ghost state, so it's best to stay here. Once the Cult Master awakens, he can find fragments of your former body and rebuild it for you, allowing you to be resurrected."

Emperor Ming found the two children adorable and felt an urge to be close to them. He said, "I am now just a lonely wandering ghost, without any possessions. Perhaps I can teach you my ultimate skills as compensation..."

Hua Xuanxiu and Wen Yuan exchanged glances, then both looked up and said in unison, "Is it the Flawless Creation Mystic Art?"

Emperor Ming was stunned, then nodded, wondering, "Even children know my Flawless Creation Mystic Art? What era is this? Has even my secret, untaught technique become common knowledge?"

"We've all practiced it," said Patriarch Wen Yuan, after a moment's thought. "That's right," he continued, "when the Cult Master mentioned you before, he said you were killed because your Flawless Creation Mystic Art couldn't be cultivated to the primordial spirit, preventing your primordial spirit from transforming into three heads and six arms along with your physical body. Since you can't leave right now, we'll teach you the Red Emperor's Immortal Divine Consciousness of Three Primordial Spirits."

Emperor Ming's eyes widened. His mind was muddled, and he nodded instinctively. Suddenly, he came to his senses and asked, "Little Daoist friends, what era is this?"

"Yan Kang!" Hua Xuanxiu and Patriarch Wen Yuan exclaimed in unison.

Lan Yu Tian, meanwhile, looked at another version of himself: Celestial Venerable Yu. At this moment, Celestial Venerable Yu was a remnant soul carrying his memories from a million years ago. Whether to merge with this remnant soul and become Celestial Venerable Yu made Lan Yu Tian hesitate.

Celestial Venerable Yu was also looking at him. The two youths looked almost identical, though Lan Yu Tian was a bit plumper; with Yan'er around, it was hard for him to lose weight.

Lan Yu Tian still had a youthful innocence on his face, while Celestial Venerable Yu appeared much more mature, despite his ethereal form, lack of a physical body, and severely fragmented soul.

Lan Yu Tian gazed at this former self in confusion. Although their souls were the same, and he was an consciousness born from that body, he felt he was not Celestial Venerable Yu.

Celestial Venerable Yu seemed to perceive his confusion and smiled gently. "Could you tell me about your experiences over the years?"

Lan Yu Tian hesitated, then nodded.

One person and one remnant soul sat by a cliff, as Lan Yu Tian slowly recounted his experiences over the years.

He spoke of losing all his memories upon resurrection, then Celestial Venerable You taking him back to Youdu, sending him out again, and entrusting him to Qin Mu. After that, Qin Mu took him on travels to various academies and schools to learn fundamental runes.

He then recounted Qin Mu entrusting him to the elders of Cripple's Village to study, the outbreak of the Yan Kang catastrophe, his return to Youdu, and finally, the Cripple smuggling him out of Youdu after the catastrophe.

Only then did he realize that his experiences over the years had been incredibly colorful and unique.

As he spoke of wandering around to comprehend the Dao, taking many disciples, and making many friends, he couldn't help but smile, stammering as he explained his various strange divine arts and thoughts to his remnant soul.

He also spoke fondly of his many disciples and his interactions with friends, such as Shu Jun, the big-headed one, being captured by the Apothecary and being soaked in a medicinal vat for research;

Xu Shenghua, who was expressionless but had a burning heart;

Dao Master Lin Xuan, who was shrewd despite his maturity; Wang Muran, the Immortal King of Little Jade Capital, who was stubbornly persistent; Yan'er, the Southern Emperor's princess, who always enjoyed serving others; Emperor Kai Huang Qin Ye, who was devoted to the Way of the Sword; and Qin Fengqing, whose mind was solely on food and who often discussed with him the best ways to eat...

He had met so many interesting people that he couldn't help but burst into laughter as he spoke.

He didn't know why he had so much to say. Although Celestial Venerable Yu was his remnant soul, he felt like a beloved elder brother.

Celestial Venerable Yu listened with a smile. Lan Yu Tian spoke until sunset, still not finishing his story, then continued from sunset until the sunrise.

The eastern sky began to whiten.

Celestial Venerable Yu asked, "Did you not encounter any dangers?"

"My brother bore them for me," Lan Yu Tian murmured, looking back at Qin Mu, who was in a dream state. "He carried it all. No matter how great the danger, he shouldered it alone. He wants me to focus on comprehending the Dao, not to be disturbed by conflicts, and not to get involved in them. I know his intentions..."

"Do you know?"

Celestial Venerable Yu propped his hands on the ground, leaning back diagonally. He looked at the whitening sky, then turned his head to look at his other self, smiling faintly. "My experiences were different from yours. Before the Dragon Han era, humanity faced immense suffering and struggled to survive. I once wished that someone, a hero, would bear all the hardships of humanity, but later I realized no one would step forward. So I stood up. If no one else would be that hero, then I would be."

His gaze was full of spirit. Though it was a period of great hardship, he spoke of it with incredible ease. He said softly, "I had to exhaust all my efforts, constantly thinking about how to make humanity stronger while simultaneously cultivating my own power, and how to find a glimmer of life amidst countless dead ends. I always felt very tired, both physically and mentally. For this ideal, I had to abandon my own path of seeking the Dao and wait for more human powerhouses to rise."

He stood up, facing the rising sun, and spread his arms. "You are luckier than I. This era has more people standing up. They are heroes, valiant figures, and they bear the heavy burdens for you, moving forward under the weight. Lan Yu Tian, the seeker of Dao, you are the true Lan Yu Tian!"

His form slowly became transparent, and his memories drifted away like fleeting smoke.

He turned back, looked at Lan Yu Tian, and a pure smile appeared on his face.

"I am not the true Lan Yu Tian. I am merely the Lan Yu Tian who was suppressed and changed by his era. Celestial Venerable Yu is, after all, just a fragment of Lan Yu Tian's memory."

He waved to Lan Yu Tian, bidding farewell to the self of this era.

Lan Yu Tian quickly stood up, only to see Celestial Venerable Yu rapidly vanishing, leaving behind only a kind and gentle voice.

"This memory will hold you back and make you become the me of the past. Let the memories of the past disappear with history..."

Lan Yu Tian reached out to grasp him but caught nothing but a few wisps of his own remnant soul.

The wisps of remnant soul sensed his spirit, burrowed into his body, and merged with him.

Lan Yu Tian looked at the rising sun, tears streaming down his face without him realizing it.

He felt as if he had lost something, yet also gained something.

He walked towards the sun. As the sunlight became increasingly dazzling, he raised a hand to shield his eyes and saw Qin Mu sitting on the ground, layers of dreams expanding outward from him.