Chapter 476: Desert Red Sunset Glow Rises

After the storm, Qin Mu crawled out from a thick sand dune. He looked around; the landscape was desolate and lonely, covered everywhere with scale-like sand dunes formed by the hurricane.

The colossal Sun Ship had been torn into pieces, almost completely disintegrated. Evidently, the Matriarch Zhen Tian's final blow was immensely powerful. Driven by the intent to destroy both herself and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace, she unleashed that attack, shattering even the Sun Ship.

The flames in the desert had vanished. Although the sand was still red, it no longer had the scorching fire that burned the abandoned people of the Great Ruins.

Qin Mu looked further into the distance but saw no flames whatsoever.

The Flame Desert had been extinguished.

He couldn't help but be stunned, then quickly raised his hand. The flame patterns on his hand had also disappeared.

He took out several mirrors and checked himself repeatedly, but still saw no flame patterns.

"Matriarch Zhen Tian is dead!"

Qin Mu's heart pounded twice. Matriarch Zhen Tian had set up flames in the Flame Desert specifically targeting the abandoned people of the Great Ruins. Any outcast entering the area would develop flame patterns on their face, and the purer their bloodline, the more patterns would appear.

For example, Qin Mu had flame patterns covering his entire body.

With Matriarch Zhen Tian dead, the flames in the Flame Desert had vanished, and along with them, the flame patterns on the outcasts' bodies would also disappear!

"Puff, puff!"

A sand dune in the distance split open, and the Dragon Qilin crawled out, spitting sand. Qin Mu called out to him from afar and limped towards the Sun Ship.

His injuries were severe, not from his fight with Ban Gongcuo, but from the terrifying impact of Matriarch Zhen Tian's final attack, which had gravely wounded him.

The Dragon Qilin met up with him, rushing ahead of Qin Mu and flattening his tail. Qin Mu stepped onto the tip of his tail, and as the Dragon Qilin lifted his tail, Qin Mu slid onto his back.

The Dragon Qilin galloped with him, arriving next to the Sun Ship.

Qin Mu sat down and called out loudly, "Imperial Preceptor, are you still alive?"

"I'm here."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace's voice drifted over. Qin Mu looked in the direction of the sound and saw the Imperial Preceptor leaning in the shadow of a large rock. Qin Mu slid off the Dragon Qilin's back and chuckled, "Wounded again?"

"Not too serious; much lighter than last time."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace squinted, feigning sleep, then opened one eye and glanced behind him, saying weakly, "Matriarch Zhen Tian is indeed formidable. With the power of the Sun Ship, her strength surpasses that of the Celestial Gods."

Qin Mu also looked in the direction the Imperial Preceptor was gazing but saw nothing, feeling surprised. He immediately treated his own injuries first, then tried to lift the Imperial Preceptor, but couldn't.

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace said with a half-smile, "Cult Master, you can't lift a god."

Qin Mu understood and treated him nearby, chuckling, "Imperial Preceptor, are you still planning to go to the Celestial Heavens?"

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace shook his head, saying, "In this fight with Matriarch Zhen Tian, she had the geographical advantage, and I almost couldn't defeat her. If I were to enter the Celestial Heavens, there are still gods there, and it's their territory, so it would be even more perilous. I need to wait until the Emperor completes the Divine Bridge and until other Cult Master-level beings in Eternal Peace become gods."

There were many powerful individuals at the Divine Bridge realm in Eternal Peace who had been stuck there for many years. Qin Mu's dissemination of the spatial arithmancy model for repairing the Divine Bridge gave them hope of becoming gods.

"You let the Great Master go?" the Imperial Preceptor asked.

Qin Mu meticulously checked his injuries and said, "I had an agreement with him not to take his life. Without harming his life, it would be difficult to detain him. The Great Master's ability to escape is unmatched in the world; I've never seen anyone so elusive. But fortunately, I managed to keep half of his leg."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace said gravely, "Letting him go will only lead to endless trouble. I can't block his Soul Worshiping Witchcraft either. Although few people know my true name, if one were to check in Jiangling, they could still find out what I'm called. The Emperor's name could also be found by him."

Qin Mu took out silver needles and pricked him all over like a large hedgehog. With the last needle piercing his glabella, he chuckled, "To me, the Great Master is no longer a concern. The god-demon behind him is called Kui Wu, who was ambushed by the Great Master and had his divine flesh stripped away. The Great Master hid Kui Wu's physical body in Yang Mountain of the Great Ruins and his primordial spirit in Yin Mountain of the Great Ruins. By simply destroying Kui Wu's primordial spirit, the Great Master's Soul Worshiping Witchcraft can be broken."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace glanced at him, his expression calm, and said, "What if the Great Master moves Kui Wu's primordial spirit before you do?"

Qin Mu froze for a moment, then slapped the Imperial Preceptor's thigh hard, causing the Imperial Preceptor's eyes to water from pain. Qin Mu quickly withdrew his hand, swiftly refined several batches of spirit pills, and said, "The Great Master's medical skills are superb, only slightly inferior to mine. Even without half a leg, he won't die. You stay here; I'll go to Yin Mountain first! Remember to take your medicine on time!"

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace took out the Black Tortoise Pearl and tossed it to him, saying, "Take the Black Tortoise Pearl, just in case!"

Qin Mu left behind several bags of water and food, then jumped onto the Dragon Qilin's back and swiftly departed.

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace leaned against the large rock, tried to struggle to his feet, but stumbled back down. He took several ragged breaths, then gave a wry smile, "Wounded like this again... Fortunately, when that little rascal Cult Master shoved the Black Tortoise Pearl into Matriarch Zhen Tian's hand, she didn't attack him directly, otherwise, he really would have gotten himself killed playing around like that..."

He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

Qin Mu had repeatedly thrust either the Black Tortoise Pearl or the Azure Dragon Pearl into Matriarch Zhen Tian's hands to test her, completely unaware that the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace was not as strong as he had assumed.

This fellow was so full of confidence in him that even the Imperial Preceptor himself didn't have such confidence; being around Qin Mu, the Imperial Preceptor felt it was doubly dangerous.

"It's a good thing this kid left. Yin Mountain is dangerous, but following him is even more dangerous."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace lay down, closing his eyes to recuperate. Just then, behind the large rock he was leaning against, sand began to silently swirl and gather, slowly forming a giant sand dune.

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace was completely unaware, snoring softly, yet his eyes slowly opened.

He quietly raised his hand and extracted the silver needle Qin Mu had pricked into his glabella.

It wasn't a silver needle, but a sword—the Carefree Sword.

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace gripped the sword, squinted, and suddenly stabbed it into the rock behind him!

Behind the large rock, the sand dune giant revealed a smile and lunged forward. At that moment, the Carefree Sword burst out of the rock, piercing through the sand dune giant's heart. With a loud bang, eight thousand sword-lights from the Carefree Sword shot out in all directions, flying out from within the sand dune giant's body!

The Carefree Sword chimed, and eight thousand swords flew back, drops of divine blood dripping from their tips. The eight thousand swords merged, transforming into a sword pellet the size of an orange.

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace leaned against the rock, watching the sword pellet fly around the rock and come before him.

"Thanks."

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace smiled, flicked his finger, and the sword pellet whizzed away, disappearing into the distant desert.

Behind the large rock, the sand dune giant slowly disintegrated. Divine blood seeped out of the sand, increasing rapidly, gushing and spreading in all directions.

The Dragon Qilin galloped eastward with Qin Mu. Suddenly, Qin Mu raised his hand in a summoning gesture, and the sword pellet whistled over. He reached out and caught it, causing the Dragon Qilin's body to suddenly sink, making him stumble badly.

Qin Mu put the sword pellet into his Taotie pouch and chuckled, "Matriarch Zhen Tian is finally dealt with."

The Dragon Qilin was startled and blurted out, "Matriarch Zhen Tian is still alive? Didn't the flame patterns on your body disappear, and didn't the great fire in the desert go out? How could she still be alive?"

"That's her cunning. She made us think she was dead, and the Imperial Preceptor also pretended to believe she was dead. But the Imperial Preceptor gave me a wink, so while I was treating him, I turned the Carefree Sword into a silver needle and pricked it into his glabella."

Qin Mu laughed, "The Imperial Preceptor gave me the Black Tortoise Pearl because he was afraid it would fall into Matriarch Zhen Tian's hands, making her even more difficult to deal with, so he insisted I take it. Now, Matriarch Zhen Tian is truly dead. If you don't believe me, look back."

The Dragon Qilin quickly looked back and saw a crimson red sea rapidly spreading behind them. It was an ocean formed from divine blood, engulfing the desert, and surging towards them—a terrifying sight!

The Dragon Qilin immediately bolted, running for over a hundred *li* before the red sea finally stopped expanding.

The Dragon Qilin was aghast, saying, "Matriarch Zhen Tian bled so much?"

"Her divine blood reverted to mortal blood, so naturally, there would be more of it."

Qin Mu also looked back and saw streaks of colorful light above the red sea, and dense vegetation growing wildly along the shoreline. Even in a desolate place like the desert, there were many resilient forms of life.

"Humans are the same; no matter how harsh the environment, they will always find a way to survive!"

He opened his Danxiao Heavenly Eye and looked into the distance. The shattered Sun Ship had become islands in the red sea, and the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace had climbed onto one of them, not submerged by the red sea.

"Remember to take your medicine on time." Qin Mu waved from afar, urging the Dragon Qilin to hurry away.

Ban Gongcuo stemmed his wounds and sat on a cattail leaf. The cattail leaf, driven by fierce winds and lightning, sped towards the Great Ruins. By the time he reached the Great Ruins, three days had passed, and dusk was approaching.

Over those three days, he had healed his injuries, but his mobility was hampered by his right lower leg, which Qin Mu had severed.

Ban Gongcuo searched around, his eyes lighting up. He followed a group of strange beasts from the Great Ruins and finally arrived at a ruin before darkness fell.

*Swoosh—*

Ban Gongcuo raised his hand and severed the hind leg of a stag. The other strange beasts roared repeatedly, emitting threatening sounds.

Ban Gongcuo opened his Taotie pouch, and a swarm of soul worms flew out. Ban Gongcuo sneered, "You dare bully me? A bunch of beasts! I can't do anything to that Qin fellow, but killing you is effortless!"

The other strange beasts watched the soul worms flying everywhere and dared not approach easily.

"The Great Master is truly impressive."

Suddenly, a voice drifted from within the ruins, remarking leisurely, "To think that the Great Master of Loulan Golden Palace has stooped to bullying strange beasts. How ridiculous."

"Who's there!"

Ban Gongcuo quickly reattached the deer leg to his severed leg, not bothering with a meticulous connection, and stood up. He then saw a box flying out from the depths of the ruins.

The box opened, and two legs scurried out of it, followed by two arms and half a torso, which automatically pieced themselves together, forming a headless body.

The headless body rummaged inside the box, pulled out a head, and placed it on its neck.

"Great Master, don't you recognize an old acquaintance?" The strange body turned its head, revealing a young man with red lips and white teeth, displaying an eerie smile.

Ban Gongcuo's face turned ashen.