Chapter 441: Flame Desert

As the Grand Sacrificial Wine of Heavenly Saint Academy, Qin Mu gave instructions before leaving. Many scholars from Heavenly Saint Academy, and even many from the Imperial College, were from the Heavenly Devil Cult. He was confident that even in his absence, there would be no issues, so he felt very relieved.

He then taught the Dragon Herding Sutra to Si Yunxiang, asking her to arrange for someone to look after the flood dragons.

"These flood dragons only eat spirit pills, and different types require different kinds of pills."

Qin Mu instructed, "I've written down the daily types and quantities of spirit pills. Saintess, please don't forget. If they don't listen to you, call Ling'er; she can control these flood dragons."

Si Yunxiang chuckled, "With the Dragon Herding Sutra, how could I be inferior to the little fox? Aren't you taking a few flood dragons for protection this time? And isn't the little fox going with you?"

"Ling'er is learning spells from the Fox Immortal, so she won't be coming this time. Besides, this trip is just to scout the Western Earth; there's no real danger."

After giving his instructions, Qin Mu bid farewell to Granny Si and the others. As he was about to set off with the Dragon Qilin, he noticed a five or six-year-old girl standing beside the Dragon Qilin.

"Sister Qi'er, aren't you going to the Western Earth with Niu Kui?" Qin Mu asked, puzzled.

Xiong Qi'er shook her head. "Mother told me to go with you. She said she doesn't fully trust the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace. She believes he lacks humanity and can abandon anything to achieve his goals, which makes her uneasy."

Qin Mu remarked, "Your mother is quite thoughtful. It's good that you're with me; her and the Imperial Preceptor's group is too conspicuous. You'll be safer with me."

He picked up Xiong Qi'er, jumped onto the Dragon Qilin's back, and commanded, "Fat Dragon, let's go!"

The Dragon Qilin immediately took two bounding steps, then soared into the air on a cloud of fire. "Cult Master," it said, "I've been feeling that the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills taste strange lately. Did you change them?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "Fat Dragon, don't be so paranoid. If I changed the pills, wouldn't you be able to tell?"

The Dragon Qilin was half-convinced, half-skeptical. Xiong Qi'er exclaimed, "Fat Dragon runs faster than before, and his belly isn't as big as it used to be!"

The Dragon Qilin grew suspicious again. However, each time it ate a spirit pill, it would peel it open to see if Qin Mu had tampered with it, but it never found anything unusual.

Qin Mu smiled. He had improved the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill and the Fire Element Divine Essence Pill, combining the two into one. The taste was similar to the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill but slightly spicy. The Dragon Qilin could tell the taste was off, but it couldn't pinpoint the problem.

The Dragon Qilin's speed was much greater than before, and its stamina was long-lasting. After two or three days, they arrived at the Great Ruins. Qin Mu followed his memory to find the moon boat, and the village chief's stone statue was not far from it.

He was surprised to see two additional households there, clearly newly built houses. These families must have noticed the stone statue that could ward off the darkness and decided to settle nearby.

When these two families saw him riding a monster that was neither quite a dragon nor a Qilin, they grew nervous. Two young hunters stood guard outside their doors with steel forks, while young women peeked out from behind them.

Qin Mu stopped, dismounted the Dragon Qilin with Xiong Qi'er, and greeted the two men. The hunters returned the greeting, asking, "Are you a bandit or a robber?"

"I'm just a passerby, here to visit an old friend. Don't worry, I mean no harm."

Qin Mu approached the village chief's statue, placed offerings of cattle and sheep, and said, "This is an elder of my family. I've come specifically to pay my respects. If he could see that his broken body can still protect you, he would surely be very happy."

After offering his respects, he cast the Soul-Guiding Divine Art. Immediately, dark clouds gathered, and darkness surged. He activated the Soul-Guiding Art for a long while, and numerous walking skeletons appeared outside the village, but the village chief's stone statue remained unresponsive.

A short while later, Qin Mu's magical power was almost exhausted, and he was about to dispel the Soul-Guiding Divine Art. Suddenly, the village chief's stone statue stirred, opened its mouth, and spat out a few gold coins. It spoke, "Mu'er, on the Ghost Festival, on the night of the full moon, I'll be waiting for you at the Gate of Hell!" With that, it reverted to a statue.

Qin Mu picked up the gold coins, which turned out to be eight Fengdu coins.

The surrounding villagers were bewildered and uncertain.

Qin Mu turned, thanked the villagers, and left some money. "Please help me clean the statue regularly so it doesn't get too dirty," he said before turning and departing.

As the villagers watched his retreating back, a young woman stared in a daze. Suddenly, she said, "Does that young man's appearance resemble the Celestial God who drove the large ship that night?"

Another woman cried out, "He really does! That night, the big ship passed right by our village, and I saw that the Celestial God on board looked exactly like him!"

A hunter quickly interjected, "Don't talk nonsense! He's just a boy, younger than us. How could he be the Celestial God on the ship?"

Qin Mu, with Xiong Qi'er on the Dragon Qilin, continued westward, stopping to rest when night fell.

He then passed through the Western Celestial Palace basin, examining the ruins of the Western Celestial Palace before moving on. After more than ten days of long travel, they finally reached the westernmost edge of the Great Ruins, where a continuous range of snow-capped mountains also stretched, separating the Great Ruins.

"Are these the Divine Divide Mountains here too?"

Qin Mu rode the Dragon Qilin to the mountaintop when suddenly, a thick, beam-like arrow shot from a Profound Mechanism Crossbow. Instantly, a fierce snowstorm erupted. The Dragon Qilin raised a paw to swat the arrow down, startling itself. It exclaimed, "Cult Master, I've become stronger!"

Qin Mu looked at the surrounding mountaintops and saw gigantic Profound Mechanism Crossbows on each, automatically operating and rotating. He quickly shouted, "Fat Dragon, run!"

*Buzz—*

The Profound Mechanism Crossbows unleashed their power, instantly sending a barrage of snow and arrows showering down on them. The Dragon Qilin quickly leaped and flew, racing towards the other side of the mountain.

Enormous arrows landed behind them, turning into pillars of ice. More arrows rained down, and the Dragon Qilin let out a roar, its back enveloped in flames, forming dense clouds of fire. One after another, fire clouds burned fiercely against the crossbow bolts, but many unmelted ice arrows still shot towards them!

Qin Mu formed a sword incantation with his hand, shaking it suddenly. Immediately, eight thousand swords flew across the sky, severing countless ice arrows.

The Dragon Qilin dashed down the mountain, with arrows raining down behind them, embedding themselves with sharp clangs. The arrow attack finally ceased once they reached the foot of the mountain.

Qin Mu sighed in relief. Suddenly, a wave of heat washed over him. He looked ahead to see a vast desert stretching before him, meeting the horizon. Flames blazed across the desert, scorching the sky crimson.

Qin Mu looked back; behind him was the snowy mountain.

"Beyond this flaming desert lies the Western Earth."

Xiong Qi'er said crisply, "The Western Earth is behind the desert."

Qin Mu was puzzled. "Why is there such a flaming desert between the Western Earth and the Great Ruins? Where does the fire in this desert come from?"

"My mother said this fire was lit by a god to block the Abandoned People from the Great Ruins, to prevent them from leaving."

Xiong Qi'er suddenly jumped into the desert flames, startling Qin Mu. Xiong Qi'er ran around cheerfully, laughing, "This fire doesn't harm us; it only burns the Abandoned People from the Great Ruins to death. For us, this fire isn't hot at all, but for the Abandoned People from the Great Ruins, the fire is incredibly powerful! I heard Mother say that when Abandoned People enter the desert, a flame pattern will grow on their forehead, marking their identity. The higher their status as Abandoned People, the more flames they have on their bodies."

Qin Mu reached out to touch the flames, but suddenly felt a sharp pain and quickly withdrew his hand. His fingertips began to burn.

He quickly extinguished the flames, frowning.

This flaming desert was indeed an extremely dangerous place for the people of the Great Ruins; entering it would surely lead to death by burning.

"Qi'er, come up!"

Qin Mu's vital qi flew out, sweeping up the little girl who was running around, and placing her on the Dragon Qilin's back. "The Imperial Preceptor and Palace Lord left a few days before us," he said. "We shouldn't delay any longer, Fat Dragon..."

Xiong Qi'er suddenly said, "Big Brother, what's wrong with your face?"

Qin Mu wondered, "What about my face?"

"You have many patterns on your face!"

Xiong Qi'er exclaimed, "The patterns are still twisting and getting more numerous! Are you sick? Oh, right, Big Brother, you're an Abandoned Person from the Great Ruins, but you have a bit too many flame patterns on your face!"

Qin Mu was startled. He quickly pulled out the mirror the apothecary had given him and looked into it. Indeed, many blue and red patterns had appeared on his face, twisting and distributed across his features!

He pulled open his collar and saw that his chest also had many intertwined blue and red patterns!

He extended his palm and saw the patterns growing from his wrist, spreading towards the back of his hand and into his palm.

With a rip, Qin Mu tore off his clothes. Several more mirrors flew out of his Taotie Pouch. He looked into these mirrors and saw patterns constantly growing all over his front and back. It was as if his body was covered in blue and red flames!

Xiong Qi'er stared at him blankly. The shirtless boy stood on the Dragon Qilin's back, flame patterns almost covering his entire body!

"Mother said that the higher the status of an Abandoned Person, the more flame patterns they have," the little girl explained. "Ordinary Abandoned People only have one flame pattern on their forehead, but Big Brother has flame patterns everywhere on his body."

The little girl was stunned: "What is his status then...?"

"Is it the effect of the great fire here?"

Qin Mu mused, "I just touched the flames, and the fire seeped into my body, forming these strange patterns... Fat Dragon, retreat to the snowy mountain!"

The Dragon Qilin didn't understand, but it carefully retreated from the flaming desert to the foot of the snowy mountain. Qin Mu looked into the mirror and saw the patterns gradually dimming. By the time they reached the base of the snowy mountain, the patterns had completely disappeared.

He put away the mirror, put on his clothes, and said calmly, "Fat Dragon, keep moving. It's fine now. These patterns are likely just symbols of the Abandoned People."

The Dragon Qilin immediately rushed into the flaming desert. Qin Mu's patterns began to reappear and grow rapidly, but the young man paid them no mind. The scenery in the flaming desert was unique, with fire whirlwinds everywhere, roaring and sweeping everything away. The Dragon Qilin, being naturally fire-attributed, loved to ride great fires and excitedly charged into a whirlwind. Qin Mu was nearly burned to death by the whirlwind and quickly stopped it.

The Dragon Qilin was startled to see Qin Mu's face blackened by the fire and then obediently continued on their way. The fire had no effect on the Dragon Qilin, but for Qin Mu, it was a deadly threat.

"Big Brother, there's an oasis ahead!"

Xiong Qi'er said excitedly, "There's water there!"

Qin Mu was stunned and blurted out, "There's water in a place like this?"

Then, he saw the oasis in the flaming desert. Many olive trees grew beside a beautiful lake, and several snow-white sheepskin tents were pitched near the shore.

The Dragon Qilin quickly ran towards it. Upon reaching the lakeside, Qin Mu jumped down and said, "A traveler from afar has disturbed you all."

A sheepskin tent opened, and a young man walked out, smiling. "No disturbance at all. I am cultivating unusual techniques here and am in need of someone to sacrifice... It's you, boy!"

The young man's expression drastically changed. Without a word, Qin Mu drew his sword, and eight thousand swords flew up at once, engulfing the young man!