Chapter 1654: The Heavenly Shepherd's Legs

Qin Mu, with a half-smile, tucked the Dafeng coin back into the hand of the god-demon. "No need," he said. "I have plenty of money. Keep these two Dafeng coins for now; if it's not enough, I'll make up the difference next time I come."

The god-demon was stunned, staring blankly as Qin Mu, "standing" on a door panel, floated into the light stream of the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge.

The moment Qin Mu and the door panel entered the Spirit Energy light stream of the teleportation bridge, the stream suddenly roared and expanded, becoming several times thicker. The entire Star Source Heavens trembled violently; the earth shook, and the stars wavered!

The altar of the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge was exceptionally tall, like a mountain thousands of ren high, entirely forged from divine metal. It was divided into different layers, which rotated in various directions when in operation. Runes on these layers constantly pulsed, enduring the immense pressure generated during spirit energy teleportation.

The original Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge, created by Qin Mu and the Black Tiger God, had only one main altar and one ordinary altar. At that time, Qin Mu and the Black Tiger God's mastery of numerology was not very high, so the bridge they built was still quite rudimentary.

However, after more than a century of development in Yankang, the current Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge boasts greatly increased transmission efficiency. Both ends now feature main altars, capable of simultaneously sharing the pressure generated by spirit energy teleportation.

Yet, as Qin Mu entered the teleportation bridge, the light stream expanded so rapidly that the runes on the main altar of the Star Source Heavens instantly accelerated to their maximum operational speed!

The god-demon's eyes widened; the layers were spinning like tops, so fast that the runes shifted too quickly, causing the entire altar to glow incandescent red, as if being forged in the sun.

"Quick, summon the Water Gods!"

The god-demon frantically shouted, "Cool down the altar!"

It was standard procedure for every Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge to be equipped with Water Gods and River Gods. This was a precaution against the altar overloading and causing catastrophic failure, bridge destruction, and loss of life, when powerful beings passed through the bridge.

When the Celestial Heavens migrated from beyond the Primordial Realm to the Ancestral Court years ago, they commanded Yankang to construct numerous colossal teleportation bridges. These bridges transported the entire Celestial Heavens into the Ancestral Court. At that time, the spirit energy fluctuations were even more intense, forcing the Celestial Heavens' divine and demonic armies to use the Celestial River to cool the altars!

Several Water Gods flew over, desperately channeling nearby river water in an attempt to cool the altar, but ordinary river water proved useless.

The rotation speed between the altar's layers continued to increase, making the altar glow even hotter. Immediately, someone nearby shouted, "Bring water from the Celestial River to cool it down!"

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. The Celestial River flowed through the Northern Pole Heavens, passing through the territory of the Northern Emperor Xuanwu. Although the Star Source Heavens were also built near the Celestial River, they were quite far from the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge. Who possessed the magical power to draw water from the Celestial River?

Just then, a young man suddenly flew into the air and performed a ritual. Water from the Celestial River cascaded down majestically, like a long water dragon, continuously circling the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge!

Everyone cheered in unison. Suddenly, someone recognized the youth and exclaimed in surprise, "It's Celestial Venerable Mu's younger brother, Lan Yutian!"

Lan Yutian controlled the Celestial River's flow, but the altar's temperature continued to rise, on the verge of exceeding its limit, when suddenly the intensity of the spirit energy teleportation stopped increasing.

Lan Yutian paused slightly, immediately understanding the reason: "Brother must have realized his teleportation speed was too fast for the bridge to handle. So, he's controlling his speed, allowing the Primordial Realm and the Star Source Heavens enough time to balance their spirit energy."

Qin Mu was too powerful; if he had charged straight to Yankang without restraint, the teleportation bridge would undoubtedly have exploded!

Therefore, he deliberately slowed his speed within the spirit energy light stream to preserve the teleportation bridge.

However, doing so would likely delay his arrival in Yankang by several days.

The Ruler of the Star Source Heavens also rushed over upon hearing the news. Relieved to see that the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge had not been destroyed, he thanked Lan Yutian in the air. Then, he immediately grabbed the god-demon guarding the bridge, lifting him by his collar, and fuming, "What is going on here?"

The god-demon complained bitterly, "I don't know either. I just saw a legless cripple sitting on a door panel enter the teleportation bridge, and then this happened. Following your orders, I only charged him one Dafeng coin as a toll..."

The Star Source Ruler choked, stammering, "A toll of *one* Dafeng coin..."

The god-demon quickly added, "But he insisted on giving me two, saying he'd make up the difference later if it wasn't enough..."

"Could he possibly make it up?"

The Star Source Ruler put him down, staring nervously at the continuously spinning altar, muttering, "Yankang finally managed to build this bridge, and we've prospered a bit from trade with them. If it collapses, everything will be ruined..."

He paced around the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge, then suddenly realized something and grabbed the god-demon again. "Who was the person who entered the teleportation bridge?"

The god-demon struggled, "It was a cripple without legs..."

"What did he look like?"

The god-demon hastily used vital qi to draw Qin Mu's likeness. The Star Source Ruler was stunned, taking a moment to recover before putting the god-demon down. He waved his hand and said, "Forget about this matter. Don't think about him making up the toll anymore."

The god-demon did not understand his meaning.

The Star Source Ruler stroked the beard on his face, thinking to himself, "That person is Celestial Venerable Mu, the Alliance Leader of the Celestial Alliance! I met him at the last Celestial Alliance meeting! How did he come to my small Star Source Heavens? And what happened to his legs..."

He looked up at the continuously surging spirit energy, feeling a sense of dread. "Celestial Venerable Mu is truly powerful; so much spirit energy surged forth as he teleported! How could a being of such strength lose his legs?"

Six or seven days later, the Star Source Ruler was even more astonished. The Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge had been operating at full capacity for so long, yet the teleportation had not ended—this was almost impossible!

Even if a ruler like himself entered the bridge, with such intensity of spirit energy teleportation, he would likely reach Yankang in just an hour!

"As expected of Celestial Venerable Mu!"

After another two or three days, the incoming spirit energy suddenly slowed down. Soon after, the teleportation bridge returned to its normal state; the rotation speed of the altar's layers decreased, eventually rotating only occasionally after a while.

The Star Source Ruler sighed in relief and waved his hand, indicating that the merchant caravans could now enter the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge.

For over ten days, merchant ships had formed a long queue around the altar, waiting to enter the bridge. However, due to the intense spirit energy fluctuations from the teleportation, they had been blocked by the god-demons guarding the area.

The Star Source Ruler watched Lan Yutian descend from the sky and quickly stepped forward to greet him. After a careful look, he felt a sense of awe and bowed, asking, "Are you Celestial Venerable Yu?"

Lan Yutian waved his hand and smiled, "My name is Lan Yutian; Celestial Venerable Yu is a former title."

The Star Source Ruler immediately bowed respectfully, saying, "By creating the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure and the path to godhood, Celestial Venerable, you have blessed countless beings for generations!"

Lan Yutian held his arms, shaking his head. "Blessing all beings? Not necessarily. While I created the path to godhood, ordinary beings haven't benefited much. Instead, gods and demons have benefited too greatly, allowing them to lord over the common people."

The Star Source Ruler remained silent for a moment, then said, "Celestial Venerable's lesson is absolutely correct. Ziman has learned much and will surely remember it."

His name was Ziman, but because he was the Ruler of the Star Source Heavens, few people called him by his given name, usually referring to him respectfully as the Star Source Ruler.

He was also a member of the Celestial Alliance. Within the Alliance, apart from the Ten Celestial Venerables, the Rulers of the various Heavens held power.

Lan Yutian said, "My brother might not be coming over. His energy is too immense; your Star Source Heavens' teleportation bridge would need to be expanded a hundredfold to withstand his power. But you can rest assured, he will send someone to bring the money."

The Star Source Ruler quickly replied, "Why would such a small amount of money concern the Alliance Leader of the Celestial Alliance so much?"

Lan Yutian smiled, "My brother is a stickler for rules. The more he deals with ordinary people, the more he adheres to rules. And the smaller the matter, the more important it seems to him. That's why he's so beloved."

A few days later, several large ships from Yankang sailed out of the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge. Their cabins were piled high with gleaming Dafeng coins, a sight that dazzled everyone.

The Star Source Ruler had never seen so much money either; he was startled and quickly said, "Alliance Leader merely borrowed passage; why so much money? It's too much, far too much!"

"Of course it's too much!"

Si Yunxiang stepped out of the cabin, clapped her hands, and said with a smile, "This money isn't just Celestial Venerable Mu's toll; it also covers the tolls for billions of people and demonkind, so I prepared extra. Congratulations, Star Source Ruler, your Star Source Heavens are about to get rich."

The Star Source Ruler's mind was reeling, completely baffled. "Why do you say that, Court Attendant?"

The Devil King of the Capital Heavens stepped forward, took out the Heavenly Gourd Bottle, and raised it. It transformed into an expanse of Heavens in the sky.

Yankang's gods and demons immediately began to relocate the Yankang people residing within the Heavenly Gourd Bottle, guiding them onto the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge to travel to Yankang.

They proceeded in an orderly and well-coordinated manner, keeping the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge functioning optimally, and the migration was perfectly smooth.

Seeing this, the Star Source Ruler was filled with immense admiration.

"Ruler, there are a total of ten billion Dafeng coins on the ships."

Si Yunxiang approached him and said, "Ruler, have you ever considered how to use so much money?"

The Star Source Ruler's mind hummed; he stammered, "Ten billion... when will this ever be spent?"

Si Yunxiang chuckled. "Ruler, spending money is easy, but earning it is hard. If you think ten billion Dafeng coins are too much, you're gravely mistaken. The Star Source Heavens suddenly becoming wealthy isn't necessarily a good thing for them; it might make the people lazy and lead to greed. Making money generate more money — that is the true path. If you don't know how to make money generate more money, I can teach you."

The Star Source Ruler bowed respectfully and said earnestly, "Please enlighten me, Court Attendant!"

"With this money, you can establish more manufacturing plants, produce more goods, and trade among the various Heavens. When people work in these plants, the money they earn comes from their own labor, preventing any ill intentions."

Si Yunxiang continued, "You also need to enlighten the populace by establishing schools and more academies and palaces of learning. When the people's knowledge increases, their wealth will naturally grow, and overall prosperity will also increase."

The Star Source Ruler hesitated for a moment, then said, "To be frank, my Star Source Heavens is not as rich as Yankang, nor do we have as many talented individuals. It would be difficult to establish manufacturing plants and academies here."

Si Yunxiang beamed. "Yankang can help you. We have plenty of skilled artisans and many academies. We can send them here to help you build more manufacturing plants and establish more academies. In just a few decades, the Star Source Heavens will have sufficient human and financial resources. However, Yankang won't do this for free."

She added meaningfully, "Ruler, you will still need to spend the necessary money."

Several months later, Si Yunxiang transported the ships full of Dafeng coins back to Yankang. However, the benefits to the Star Source Heavens were evident: with Yankang's manufacturing plants and academies, this frontier region was destined to become the most powerful and prosperous of the Northern Heavens!

At Yongjiang Heavenly Palace, the Village Chief, Butcher, Mute, Blind Man, and others repeatedly scrutinized Qin Mu. Suddenly, the Butcher couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

Qin Mu's expression darkened, and he coldly snorted, "What are you laughing at, Grandpa Butcher? I'm much better off than you were back then; I have legs and feet!"

From his upper thighs, two slender lower legs had grown, with tender little feet at the bottom. Standing there, Qin Mu's height only reached everyone's waist.

Of course, even so, he was still about as tall as the Blind Man.

Since returning from the Star Source Heavens, he had diligently cultivated for four or five months just to get his lower legs to barely grow out.

"He won't be able to share a bed with his wife anytime soon."

Granny Si sounded a bit regretful, sighing, "I was hoping to hold a baby sooner..." With that, she took out a pair of tiny baby shoes and measured them against Qin Mu's feet.

Qin Mu ignored her, propped up the door panel, and began studying it intently.