Chapter 543: Psychic Confrontation at Qianqiao

On the altars, stone statues were slowly reviving. Layers of formation patterns spun in Qin Mu's eyes as he gazed, feeling a sense of doubt.

Each of these divine statues had unique characteristics: human figures with turtle shells, leopard tails, bird heads, dragon heads, and many other forms. Twenty-four altars displayed twenty-four different divine figures.

However, Qin Mu felt that he had seen some of these statues somewhere before.

"The statues from the Great Ruins!"

He finally remembered that the familiar statues were from the ruins of the Great Ruins!

This meant that these statues very likely originated from the Great Ruins!

These reviving statues were about to become gods, implying that all statues in the Great Ruins could potentially revive in the future and become living gods, thus confirming his previous speculation!

There were twenty-four statues entering the High Emperor's Heaven, which meant High Emperor's Heaven would gain twenty-four gods as reinforcements. These gods were likely friends of the Sacred Teacher Qiaofu, and their power should be extraordinary.

Yet, the Sacred Teacher Qiaofu still claimed they couldn't stop the demon race, only delay them for a while.

Where did the demon race come from? How could they possess such terrifying power?

He voiced his doubts. The Sacred Teacher Qiaofu looked at the reviving statues, paused for a moment, and said, "The origin of the demon race is very mysterious; I'm not entirely clear on it either. However, there are rumors that they originated from Youdu, as creatures of Youdu. They later separated from Youdu, but whether that's true, I don't know. The demon race controls many worlds and is inherently extremely powerful, so it's only natural that High Emperor's Heaven cannot withstand them."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. "What is the relationship between the demon race and that so-called true Heavenly Court that destroyed the Kaihuang era? Zhe Huali came from that place, and his master, Luo Wushuang, was the leader of the Heavenly Court's Lingxiu Army. Luo Wushuang sent his disciple to experience training among the demon race; that Heavenly Court must have some connection with the demon race!"

"There's a connection, but it's not a subordinate relationship."

The Sacred Teacher Qiaofu knew much about this but spoke vaguely: "They are more like a relationship of mutual exploitation. That so-called Heavenly Court often uses the demon race to do things that are inconvenient for them to do themselves, and the demon race, for the sake of survival, is happy to be utilized by them. For years, my primordial spirit has roamed the void, searching for the origin of this Heavenly Court, but I haven't found much useful information."

He took a step, treading on air, and walked towards the altars, saying, "Since you've come to High Emperor's Heaven, stay here and gain some experience. I have other things to do."

Qin Mu was about to follow, but saw the Sacred Teacher Qiaofu moving further and further away. A thousand li under his feet seemed but an inch, making him impossible to catch up to. Qin Mu hastily called out, "Sacred Teacher, I still have something to ask!"

However, the Sacred Teacher Qiaofu was already too far away; Qin Mu's cultivation was simply not enough to carry his voice that far.

"Little Tiger, stay by his side."

The Sacred Teacher Qiaofu's voice echoed, "Don't let him cause trouble everywhere."

The Black Tiger God immediately agreed, stepping behind Qin Mu, his enormous shadow engulfing him.

Qin Mu chuckled, "The Sacred Teacher misunderstands me. I am, after all, the Holy Cult Master, not a child. How could I go around causing trouble?"

The Black Tiger God's face darkened as he looked down at him. "Aren't you clear in your own heart whether you cause trouble everywhere?"

Qin Mu looked up. The Black Tiger God was simply too tall, making it difficult to talk to him. So he said, "Senior Brother Tiger, can you shrink a bit?"

"Senior Brother?"

The Black Tiger God's expression immediately changed, becoming amiable. His two ears perked up in front of his head, catching the wind, and he chuckled, "Since you called me Senior Brother, I won't look down on you. As you can see, I am actually not a mount, but my master's disciple. By seniority, you should indeed call me Senior Brother."

His body gradually shrunk. After a moment, he became the same height as Qin Mu, resembling a burly, tiger-headed young man, though his two furry ears remained remarkably lively, occasionally twitching.

Qin Mu said earnestly, "Senior Brother Tiger, the Sacred Teacher said not to cause grave harm, not merely to cause mischief. There's a significant difference between the two; they shouldn't be confused."

The Black Tiger God didn't fall for this. He shook his head and said, "My master told me to keep an eye on you. I won't let you out of my sight."

Qin Mu got a headache and had no choice but to let him follow. He thought, "I originally intended to ask the Sacred Teacher for help designing a world bridge to connect Eternal Peace and High Emperor's Heaven, but the Sacred Teacher has other things to do. It seems I'll have to complete it alone."

Li City was now bustling with activity. He knew no one here, so he decided to temporarily settle in the city gate tower. He took out a stack of papers and various calculation tools, continuing to compute and design the world bridge.

The Black Tiger God stood behind him, watching for a long time, then suddenly asked, "What are you calculating?"

Qin Mu didn't lift his head. "I'm calculating the Spirit Energy Conversion Equation and the Spirit Energy Transference Equation between two worlds. These two equations can determine the conversion ratio of spirit and energy for cultivators in different worlds, as well as the transference ratio between different worlds."

What he said was rather profound, but the Black Tiger God understood. He chuckled, "The Spirit Energy Conversion Equation is the key to flesh and blood sacrifices, and the Spirit Energy Transference Equation is the key to teleportation abilities, isn't that right?"

Qin Mu looked up, staring at him in disbelief.

These two equations required an enormous amount of calculation and involved a vast range of knowledge, including the conversion of soul, body, mass, and energy, as well as calculations for spatial teleportation and jumps. Any cultivator from High Emperor's Heaven would surely be bewildered by this, yet the Black Tiger God pinpointed the crucial aspect in a single sentence!

"That's right, he's the Sacred Teacher's mount. The Sacred Teacher's Great Creation Demonic Scripture contains profound mathematical arts, so he must have learned a lot through prolonged exposure."

Qin Mu probed, "Senior Brother Tiger, how profound is your mastery of mathematics?"

The Black Tiger God picked up a piece of paper from the ground and said, "I just saw a flaw in your calculations; this part is incorrect."

Qin Mu looked at the paper, then hastily recalculated using his tools, and indeed, there was an error.

Qin Mu was greatly impressed. "Senior Brother Tiger, your mathematical skills are profound, faster and more accurate than mine. Your junior brother is truly impressed. These two equations are difficult to calculate and require solving too many variables. I wonder if Senior Brother Tiger could lend a hand?"

The Black Tiger God chuckled, "As long as you don't cause trouble, why wouldn't I help you? What's your calculation approach? What are the Spirit Energy Conversion Equation and Spirit Energy Transference Equation meant to structure?"

Qin Mu explained his idea of constructing a world bridge, then took out his designed altar and teleportation flag. "I used this method to replace a demon general and teleport him to High Emperor's Heaven. However, this time I want to build a world bridge to connect Eternal Peace and High Emperor's Heaven. This bridge needs to be very stable, unlike the altars, which allow people to travel between two worlds."

The Black Tiger God pondered for a moment, then said, "So that's a spatial spirit energy transference bridge. This type of spatial spirit energy transference bridge could be designed in a funnel shape. Once the space is opened, the spirit energy of both worlds will be in a flowing state. If someone from High Emperor's Heaven goes to Eternal Peace through the spatial bridge, Eternal Peace would then need to lose some energy, which would flow from Eternal Peace to High Emperor's Heaven. The reverse would also be true... You have some great ideas, Junior Brother!"

He heavily clapped Qin Mu on the shoulder. Qin Mu's face changed drastically; he silently reset his dislocated arm, utterly submitting to the Black Tiger God.

A flash of inspiration struck the Black Tiger God. He clapped his hands and chuckled, "I have a solution! There's no need to design an altar; my master has a ready-made grand altar that can be used directly. There's also a similar grand altar in the Great Ruins, which my master left as a fallback, so that if High Emperor's Heaven is breached, he can return to the Great Ruins through that altar. Both of these altars are used for sacrifices and summoning true gods; they can be connected to the world bridge without worrying about energy congestion or collapse. Now, the only challenge is to calculate those two equations!"

Qin Mu grew excited. Not only was the Black Tiger God fast, but his mastery of mathematics was also unfathomable, far more profound than Qin Mu's own. With his help, the spatial energy transference bridge spanning two worlds could surely be built much faster, connecting High Emperor's Heaven and Eternal Peace!

Suddenly, he thought of the Dragon Qilin, and an inexplicable pang of sadness hit him: "Both are mounts, but comparing Fat Dragon to Brother Tiger... Brother Tiger runs faster than him, has a higher cultivation realm, isn't picky about food, and his mathematical skills are even superior to mine..."

He quickly discarded the bitterness in his heart and, with the Black Tiger God, fully immersed himself in the calculations.

The Black Tiger God's mathematical prowess was indeed astonishing. Qin Mu needed to use spirit weapons for calculation like the Taiji Disk and Bagua Disk, forming a massive heterogeneous computing tool, just to keep up with his calculation speed.

Qin Mu simply handed over his calculation spirit weapons to him, letting him handle the computations while he himself provided the problem-solving approach.

"You've prepared too few calculation spirit weapons; I'll forge a few more!"

After saying this, the Black Tiger God rapidly forged a large pile of calculation spirit weapons, multitasking as he simultaneously operated six large-scale heterogeneous computing tools.

"Fat Dragon doesn't even know how to forge spirit weapons..." Qin Mu felt another pang of bitterness in his heart.

As Qin Mu spoke his problem-solving approach, the Black Tiger God could immediately provide the answer, with extreme speed.

The man and the tiger worked ceaselessly, calculating day and night in the east gate tower of Li City. Eight days later, the tower was filled with thick piles of manuscripts.

Suddenly, Sang Hua's voice came, saying, "Brother Thresher, what are you two doing here?"

Qin Mu lifted his head from the piles of paper, his eyes bloodshot. He saw Sang Hua, Yu He, Shu Yao, and several other young cultivators outside the tower, peeking in curiously.

Everyone was startled. They saw manuscripts piled up more than a person high, arranged neatly in rows, not a single sheet out of place. In the midst of the papers, Qin Mu and the burly, tiger-headed young man both had dark circles under their bloodshot eyes, scruffy beards, and an unkempt appearance.

"So it's you all."

Qin Mu averted his gaze and continued writing and drawing on the paper. "Please wait a moment. Brother Tiger and I have finished calculating the two equations. We're using them to derive the spatial spirit energy conversion runes and are currently designing the spatial structure of the world bridge."

Yu He, Shu Yao, and the other cultivators looked dazed. After a moment, Shu Yao cautiously asked, "Junior Sister Sang Hua, did you understand any of that?"

Sang Hua shook her head blankly.

Qin Mu and the Black Tiger God each used their vital qi to form incredibly precise measuring tools, drawing on paper for a long time, marking each dimension, before finally standing up.

The Black Tiger God excitedly said, "Let's go! We'll immediately build this world bridge and see if it can connect the two worlds!"

Qin Mu hesitated. "The Sacred Teacher told me not to cause grave harm. This world bridge hasn't been verified yet. If we build and test it now, I'm afraid it might..."

The Black Tiger God was even more excited than him. He vigorously patted his chest, declaring proudly, "This isn't 'causing grave harm'; at most, it's 'causing trouble.' It's fine! If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"