Chapter 235: Qin Mu Borrows a Boat

Thump, thump.

As Red Cloud Daoist and Shao Yuan Daoist’s bodies collapsed, Qin Mu sheathed his sword. He looked up and saw Long Jianan already gone, her red snake moving too fast to catch.

“Tonight, the Soul Ferryman will have more stray souls to collect. It’s a pity I couldn’t finish off Long Jianan. This woman is indeed more cunning than others; she also escaped the Battle of Tianbo City.”

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief. Long Jianan was now alone and would be easily defeated. If she dared to pursue him again, she would surely die.

The reason this battle was so swift and decisive lay mainly in their coordinated efforts. Red Cloud Daoist’s cultivation and strength were considerable, no less than Long Jianan’s.

Red Cloud Daoist carried a sword case, indicating his mastery of the sword. The Eight-Armed Heavenly Devil King blocked his sword, allowing Qin Mu to charge fearlessly towards Red Cloud Daoist.

The Demon Ape was powerful, and with the *Xi Qiluo Zen Staff* and the *Tathagata Mahayana Sutra*, its strength was enough to disorient Red Cloud Daoist, after which Qin Mu ended his life with a single sword stroke.

Long Jianan’s combat prowess primarily came from her large red snake, which she had refined almost to the point of transforming into a Flood Dragon. The Dragon Qilin, being its counterpart, overpowered the red snake, preventing Long Jianan from rescuing Red Cloud Daoist in time.

With Long Jianan unable to intervene, Red Cloud Daoist had no escape.

However, if Long Jianan fled, Qin Mu couldn't capture her. If he pursued her alone, he would certainly die, and the Heavenly Devil King, Dragon Qilin, and Demon Ape couldn't keep up with her speed, so he had no choice but to let her escape.

"Big fellow, did the Little Tathagata of Little Thunderclap Temple give you any trouble?" Qin Mu asked.

The Demon Ape shook its head, pointing to itself and saying, "I, name, Empty."

Qin Mu waited for a moment. The Demon Ape was saying its monastic name, but how could a monastic name be only one character? Was its name "Empty Something" or "Something Empty"?

The Demon Ape naturally assumed Qin Mu understood and said no more. This Demon Ape was truly a man of few words, not uttering a single unnecessary syllable.

"It's good that you're cultivating with the Little Tathagata. He also understands the *Tathagata Mahayana Sutra* and is an enlightened non-human, so he can guide your cultivation better."

Qin Mu waved his hand and said, "My elders are missing, and I still need to find them. I can't stay here. Come home when you have time; Ling'er misses you very much!"

The two parted ways.

Qin Mu walked in the direction indicated by the Soul Ferryman. This time, he no longer felt Long Jianan’s gaze, likely because the woman realized she couldn't kill him and had to retreat.

"I wonder how the battle between the Little Tathagata and Daoist Lingjing went?"

Although Qin Mu was concerned about the battle, finding the Village Chief and the others was more urgent. He sat on the Dragon Qilin's head, moving forward, while the Heavenly Devil King stood on the Dragon Qilin's back, his four faces turned in four directions, watching for any movement around them.

The deeper they ventured into the Great Ruins, the more powerful the exotic beasts became. The abilities of some beasts were no less than those of the Dragon Qilin or the big red snake. Fortunately, most exotic beasts had their own territories.

Qin Mu had lived in the Great Ruins since childhood and was skilled at identifying exotic beast territories. He avoided these territories, making his journey relatively safe.

"Further ahead lies the East Heavenly Gate," Qin Mu recalled from the geographical map of the Great Ruins he had seen. Besides the East Heavenly Gate, there were three other places also named after Heavenly Gates, forming the four gates of the cardinal directions: East, South, West, and North.

Just then, the Dragon Qilin stopped, sniffing the air. "There's the smell of blood."

"This fellow is a big dog, not a Dragon Qilin!" the Heavenly Devil King thought to himself.

Qin Mu’s heart stirred. "Blood? Let's go see."

The Dragon Qilin followed the scent of blood. After a moment, Qin Mu saw an old Daoist priest lying under a tree, gasping for breath.

"Daoist Lingjing!" Qin Mu exclaimed in surprise. He quickly called the Dragon Qilin to halt, saying, "He has set up restrictions around here. Don't step into them."

Daoist Lingjing weakly looked up, coughed, and suddenly had a violent coughing fit, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "The Sword God's disciple has extraordinary insight. I am injured, and to prevent being attacked by exotic beasts, I've set up a barrier around this area."

Qin Mu said, "Daoist, I am quite skilled in medicine. Do you need help?"

Daoist Lingjing raised his hand, withdrawing the barrier. He tried to get up but couldn't move, gasping, "Come over."

Qin Mu had the Dragon Qilin walk forward. He jumped off the Dragon Qilin's head under the tree and examined Daoist Lingjing's injuries. The old man's injuries were severe, likely inflicted by the Little Tathagata.

Crucially, Daoist Lingjing was quite old, and his physical body was not as resilient as before, which exacerbated his injuries and made them difficult to heal naturally.

Qin Mu pondered, taking out Dragon Saliva to treat his external wounds, and then a few Spiritual Buddha Pills to repair Daoist Lingjing's spiritual damage. Qin Mu looked through his *Taotie Bag*; he had bought some medicinal herbs from the Imperial College for emergencies. The quantity wasn't large, but it should be enough to refine healing elixirs for Daoist Lingjing.

Qin Mu immediately began refining elixirs. His technique was swift and masterful. Before long, a batch of elixirs was refined, and he gave them to Daoist Lingjing to take.

Daoist Lingjing looked a little better and said in surprise, "The Sword God's disciple actually possesses such profound medical skill! Little friend, would you like to be my apprentice? I have many enemies, and if you stay by my side, you can ensure my safety. Don't worry, although the Old Sword God is powerful, what I can teach you is also quite good."

Qin Mu shook his head. "I am the Cult Master and Holy Teacher of the Heavenly Saint Cult; I cannot become your disciple."

"Oh, so you're the Devil Cult Master."

Daoist Lingjing struggled to get up, his expression solemn. He bowed and said, "I thought I was a generation above you, but I didn't expect to be a fellow senior brother. Lingjing greets the Devil Cult Master."

Qin Mu quickly returned the bow. "Senior Brother Lingjing, you are too kind. Although your injuries are no longer critical, you still need to recuperate to completely eradicate the hidden ailments."

Daoist Lingjing chuckled, "It seems I was right to give you two Fengdu Coins. The Old Sword God still owes me two Fengdu Coins, but I doubt that scoundrel will ever repay them. That fellow is very stingy. He even chopped off one of my fingers back then."

He held out his right hand, saying, "Look."

His right ring finger was severed, a sword wound.

"If it weren't for this broken finger, how could the Little Tathagata of Little Thunderclap Temple have gravely wounded me? But he's also severely injured this time, hehe. That kid doesn't have a divine healer by his side, so he'll probably have to hobble back to Little Thunderclap Temple and suffer for two or three years before he recovers."

Daoist Lingjing sighed with relief. "That fellow is younger than me and has a better constitution. He was a disciple of the previous Tathagata and is a senior brother to the current Old Tathagata. Before he died, the previous Tathagata passed his position to his senior brother. He was resentful, thinking the previous Tathagata didn't pass the position to him because he was of the demon race. So he stormed out of Thunderclap Temple and established Little Thunderclap Temple. By the way, why are you traveling alone deep within the Great Ruins?"

Qin Mu prepared several kinds of herbs and brewed a medicinal decoction. "My elders from the village are missing, so I came out to find them."

"Elders from the village?" Daoist Lingjing was puzzled.

"It's the Old Sword God and several other elders, including the Jade-faced Poison King, the Divine Thief, Horse God, and the Patriarch of my Heavenly Devil Cult. Senior Brother, have you met them?"

Daoist Lingjing was taken aback, then burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face. His recently healed wounds reopened, causing the old man to gasp in pain. "The Old Sword God and the Heavenly Devil Patriarch lost themselves? Those two old scoundrels, they actually managed to get lost!"

He laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. Qin Mu quickly said, "Stop laughing, your wounds have reopened. Senior Brother, have you seen them?"

"No," Daoist Lingjing shook his head.

Qin Mu took out portraits of Old Master Ma, Granny Si, and the others. "Then what about them?"

Daoist Lingjing looked them over, then pondered. "I've seen this blacksmith carrying a box. He's very fast, and his abilities are not weaker than mine. When I met him, I even competed with him in speed. He didn't say a word, and his temper was very strange. Such a powerful expert is rare, but I've never heard of such a master."

Qin Mu's spirits lifted. "That's Grandpa Cripple from our village! Senior Brother, do you know where he went?"

Daoist Lingjing said, "He went to a forbidden zone in the Great Ruins. It's very dangerous, one of the desolate lands in the Great Ruins. I chased him to the edge of that desolate land and stopped, not daring to enter. He's a mute? No wonder he was so unresponsive when I spoke to him."

"Grandpa Cripple went to the Great Ruins' forbidden zone?" Qin Mu felt anxious again. He thought for a moment, then asked, "Senior Brother, have you heard of Carefree Village?"

"Carefree Village?" Daoist Lingjing shook his head. "Never heard of it."

Qin Mu pondered for a moment. Daoist Lingjing often roamed the Great Ruins and knew many untold secrets. If even he didn't know where Carefree Village was, Qin Mu's chances of finding it were surely slim.

Qin Mu thought back and forth, then suddenly said, "Senior Brother, could I ask you for one more favor? I'd like to visit the Realm of the Living Dead again."

Daoist Lingjing chuckled. "That's simple. When night falls, I'll take you there."

Qin Mu calmed himself to treat his injuries. By nightfall, Daoist Lingjing was mostly recovered and out of danger. He immediately led Qin Mu through the dark Great Ruins, saying, "The Realm of the Living Dead is the territory of King Yama. This world is very mysterious, only appearing when the two worlds overlap at night. To enter the Realm of the Living Dead, one needs Fengdu Coins. I made a pact with King Yama; after death, I cannot enter Youdu, only Fengdu."

He looked around, took out a token, and shone it into the darkness. "The origin of Fengdu is very strange. It has no fixed abode and has been drifting through the Great Ruins, forming its own mysterious realm. I have a Fengdu token. As long as I activate it, an envoy from Fengdu will come to greet us."

As he spoke, a light shone from between two large mountains in the darkness. Daoist Lingjing immediately led Qin Mu towards it. The light flickered, guiding them forward.

Unbeknownst to them, they passed through several large mountains and approached the light, which suddenly vanished.

The jade pendant on Qin Mu's chest emitted a faint glow, slowly floating up, guiding the way.

Daoist Lingjing led Qin Mu and the others forward. As if passing through an invisible barrier, the scenery ahead suddenly changed. The vast and mysterious Realm of the Living Dead appeared before them, countless mountains of white bones shrouded in a boundless mist. A small skiff slowly approached.

Daoist Lingjing led Qin Mu and the others onto the boat. The skeleton on board propelled the small boat deeper into the mist. After a long time, they reached a dock.

The stele of the Realm of the Living Dead was straight ahead.

Daoist Lingjing asked curiously, "Devil Cult Master, what are you doing here? Your cultivation is too weak; even if you sold your soul, Fengdu wouldn't accept it."

Qin Mu walked forward, passed through the now deserted village, and crossed the mountain in front. He gazed at the enormous moon boat lying before Fengdu, like a three-legged giant toad carrying a massive hull, and said in a deep voice, "I've come to borrow the boat!"

"Borrow the boat?"

Daoist Lingjing was startled. Qin Mu quickly ran forward. Not long after, he shot into the air, landing on the moon boat after a few leaps.

The jade pendant, which he had worn since childhood, floated up from his chest, its light growing brighter.

The Heavenly Devil King looked around, utterly astonished, muttering, "Is this a divine creation?"

"Visitor from Carefree Village..."

On the dilapidated moon boat, fragmented stars in the sky continuously fell like fireballs, making it very dangerous. A strange, trembling voice echoed: "You are from Carefree Village! What are you doing here? I am not a traitor! I just ran away! Their deaths are not my fault, hehe, not my fault, I was just a coward..."

Qin Mu followed the voice to the core of the moon boat. Between several huge pillars, a face several acres in size was pressed against the ground, looking at the jade pendant floating from Qin Mu's chest with terror.

"It's not my fault, I didn't betray my people—" the face shrieked.

Qin Mu hesitated, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and reached out to touch one of the pillars. Daoist Lingjing frowned, "I've been here before. There's nothing else here but this madman. I've also checked these pillars; there's nothing unusual about them."

"Don't touch it!" the face cried out in despair.

Qin Mu's hand touched the giant pillar. Suddenly, an incredibly terrifying power surged into his body, pouring in frantically. Crackling sounds erupted from within his body, and he grew taller and larger. The surging divine power came rushing, causing earth-shattering changes to his physique!

He felt his tailbone growing wildly, and soon a third leg grew behind him, firmly planting him on the ground. Bones and flesh rapidly grew from his armpits, transforming into arms.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qin Mu extended hand after hand, grasping the other giant pillars. Everything around him seemed to shrink rapidly, but in fact, the surroundings weren't shrinking; he was growing larger and taller.

Thundering impacts echoed from within his body. It was the divine power within the moon boat reshaping his body. The roaring sounds were the sounds of divine treasures opening one by one. In the blink of an eye, the Six Directions, Seven Stars, Celestial Being, Life and Death, and other divine treasures all opened. Then, the Divine Bridge divine treasure opened, and a divine bridge directly reached the other shore!

Qin Mu couldn't help but roar. Amidst his roar, the enormous moon boat slowly stood up, the crescent moon suspended in the sky, drifting into the distance.