Chapter 693: Wise Men Gather

Qin Mu stood in the darkness, scanning his surroundings. He saw famine ghosts, but their numbers were significantly reduced. As far as his eyes could see, only a few scattered famine ghosts drifted erratically in the gloom.

Of course, these famine ghosts remained extremely dangerous. Their speed was too great; any ordinary person entering the darkness would surely be devoured without a trace.

The darkness persisted, but the reduced number of famine ghosts indicated that the battle between the Heavenly Yin Empress and the Emperor of Heaven's Shadow had concluded. The Emperor of Heaven's Shadow had failed to successfully enter the Heavenly Yin Realm and slay the Empress. His weakened control over the Heavenly Yin Realm had led to the decrease in famine ghosts. Presumably, the other famine ghosts had been suppressed by the Heavenly Yin Empress within the Heavenly Yin Realm.

Qin Mu's spirits lifted. He said, "Wait for me here. I'll re-enter the Heavenly Yin Realm to assess the situation."

"Alright."

He Yiyi was about to speak, but Yan Jingjing interjected decisively, "Be careful."

Qin Mu soared into the air, flying towards the rift leading to the Heavenly Yin Realm. He Yiyi whispered, "Sister Jingjing, why let him go to such a dangerous place alone? You're a deity; wouldn't it be safer if you accompanied him?"

Yan Jingjing shook her head. "His abilities are exceptional; he can escape if he encounters danger. If we follow him, we'd only distract him. Besides, if we were truly to face the Emperor of Heaven's Shadow, a deity like me would be of no use."

He Yiyi looked at her thoughtfully, then gave her a deep gaze.

Qin Mu moved swiftly through the mountain fissure. After a long while, he arrived at the Heavenly Yin Boundary Stele. He circled around it and looked around, noticing a pagoda suppressing the space in mid-air, causing the Heavenly Yin Realm's dimension to slightly warp, like an iron ball pressing down on a taut bedsheet.

There were no longer any famine ghosts in the area suppressed by the pagoda. Countless famine ghosts had been forced to cower at the edge of the sky, trembling. The formerly dim sky had become much clearer, though it was still not bright.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and pressed forward quickly, finally finding the troubled Empress by the sea.

The Heavenly Yin Empress sat there, propping her chin in her hands, idly staring at the sea. Her feet were in the water, which barely covered her ankles. She wore no traditional clothes, only ribbons of divine light that covered her body, embodying the uninhibited and wild spirit of ancient gods.

Qin Mu approached and sat on the beach, imitating her by putting his feet into the sea. A large wave crashed over him, drenching the boy's head and face with seawater.

The Heavenly Yin Empress chuckled. "You're too small. Just now, I was dueling with the Emperor of Heaven's Shadow, which caused very large waves in the sea."

Qin Mu stammered, then smiled. "Empress, are you troubled by these famine ghosts and the darkness?"

The Heavenly Yin Empress lowered her arms, propping herself up behind her, and looked up at the sky. "I don't want to be all alone. I wish this place could be as lively as Xuandu. Xuandu is bustling; many gods and devils build homes on Heaven Duke's body, and countless beings live on the continents that make up his form, enjoying favorable weather and harmonious lives. Even Earth Count has countless souls residing within his horns. But my realm is destined to become a world of famine ghosts and darkness, and these famine ghosts are simple-minded, knowing nothing but to eat."

Qin Mu pondered this. Another large wave crashed in, and the boy quickly used his vital qi to defend himself, avoiding getting completely soaked again. "Empress," he said, "I think solving the Heavenly Yin Realm's predicament might require Heaven Duke's help."

He explained his temporary solution. The Heavenly Yin Empress shook her head. "If I were to steal a sun and hang it here, the Heavenly Yin would become part of Xuandu. If the Heavenly Yin Realm ceased to exist, how could I remain Heaven Duke's equal? Wouldn't I become his little maid? And if I were to bore a hole in the sole of his foot, he certainly wouldn't be pleased, nor would I; his smelly, bleeding foot would drip right into my realm."

Qin Mu chuckled in spite of himself. "I have a Scroll of Life and Death here. Perhaps, Empress, you could gain insight into the Emperor of Heaven's Shadow's divine abilities from it."

"The Emperor of Heaven's Shadow's divine abilities are also just a temporary solution, and they're not suitable," the Heavenly Yin Empress replied. She shook her head. "I want my Heavenly Yin Realm to have living beings. While the Emperor of Heaven's Shadow's abilities are good, he can't solve the problem of the famine ghosts."

Qin Mu's head began to ache from thinking, when he suddenly smiled. "Two heads are better than one, Empress. If you wait here for a few days, I can invite some exceptionally wise individuals. Perhaps they can find a solution for the famine ghosts and the black soul sand."

The Heavenly Yin Empress looked surprised. "Are there really people in this world smarter than you?"

Qin Mu became extremely serious, stating gravely, "Empress, you jest. Of course there are people smarter than me. I am rather dull-witted by nature; how could I dare boast of being the smartest in the world? There are one, two... hmm, four or five people who are smarter than me!"

The Heavenly Yin Empress lowered her head, looking at his serious expression, and burst into laughter. "Alright, go find them. I'd also like to see who these four or five people smarter than you are."

Qin Mu smiled. "They are the mainstays of the Reform of Eternal Peace, and also the King of Hell from Fengdu. Empress, you'll be quite surprised."

Just as he was about to project his primordial spirit, he suddenly remembered something. He stood up and took a few steps back before activating the Three Primordial Spirits Gathering Art. The Heavenly Yin Empress watched him with curiosity. She saw Qin Mu's primordial spirit leave his physical body and depart the Heavenly Yin Realm.

"He's so trusting? Isn't he afraid the famine ghosts will eat his body?" the Heavenly Yin Empress wondered to herself, as she dispelled the famine ghosts drawn by the scent.

At the Imperial College, in the Grand Hall, many primordial spirits arrived, invited, appearing within the hall.

"What is it, Cult Master?" Si Yunxiang asked.

"I need to find the Imperial Preceptor, Saint Woodcutter, Xu Shenghua, and the Human Emperor First Ancestor," Qin Mu said quickly. He continued swiftly, "Please, everyone, find them and ask them to set off immediately for the cliff at the source of the Surging River; there's an urgent matter! Also, please have them ask the King of Hell to bring a few powerful experts proficient in soul arts when they pass through Fengdu."

"Rest assured, Cult Master, we'll find them soon," they replied.

Everyone recalled their primordial spirits. Shortly after, Qin Mu's primordial spirit returned to his body, to find the Heavenly Yin Empress staring at him with curious, dark eyes.

"You've already contacted them?" the Heavenly Yin Empress asked, surprised to see him awaken so quickly.

Qin Mu smiled. "Don't worry, Empress, they will arrive here in a few days. Empress, I'm going outside to refine sword pellets; I'll return in a while."

The Heavenly Yin Empress nodded, and Qin Mu immediately departed.

Below the cliff, He Yiyi led the women of the He family in continuing to repair the road, while Yan Jingjing helped Qin Mu control the Xuandu Heavenly Flame to melt Buddha Essence Red Chromium and Heavenly Yin Gold.

Buddha Essence Red Chromium possessed a strong Buddhist nature; artifacts refined from it would emit brilliant Buddhist light, and most wielders of weapons made from this divine metal were monks. Heavenly Yin Gold, on the other hand, was a material for refining soul artifacts. This divine metal could contain souls and was highly compatible with primordial spirits, but activating such spirit weapons would inevitably imbue them with ghostly qi. The Heavenly Yin Empress had needed to steal Heaven Duke's Heavenly Flame to refine her pagoda, precisely to purge it of the dense ghostly qi.

However, Qin Mu used the Buddhist light of the red chromium to neutralize the ghostly qi of the Heavenly Yin Gold. This way, he wouldn't constantly resemble a monk, nor would his spirit weapons emanate chilling winds when activated.

He and Yan Jingjing first experimented with the ratio of the two divine metals. Besides neutralizing them, they also needed to find the optimal balance of hardness and flexibility. Qin Mu experimented hundreds of times, finally finding the perfect ratio. He immediately began smelting and refining his sword pellets.

Yan Jingjing watched him forge sword after sword, finding it very cumbersome. She couldn't help but wonder, "Brother Herder, I've seen you refine swords to the point where they flow like water and change shape at will. If that's the case, why are you still refining them one by one? Wouldn't it save you the trouble of refining eight thousand flying swords if you just refined the divine metal directly into that flowing-water state?"

Qin Mu focused intently on forging the flying sword in his hand. "Each flying sword is engraved with different runes, and the runes within must match my Three Primal Divine Arts of Overlord Body so they can perfectly synchronize with me. Therefore, I need to ensure the runes on each sword are flawless..."

He suddenly trembled slightly, stopped forging, and stared blankly into space. Yan Jingjing watched him curiously. She saw Qin Mu's expression gradually turn serious, then slowly shift from serious to relaxed joy, then to deep thought, changing through more than ten different expressions in a short time.

"You're right!"

Qin Mu suddenly clapped his hands and burst into laughter. "You're right! I was refining flying swords to precisely forge each one into its most perfect state and accurately engrave my cultivation art's imprint. Doing it this way is indeed too cumbersome. I really can just refine a single divine metal lump and turn that into a sword pellet!"

He suddenly embraced Yan Jingjing, intending to pick her up and spin her around, but he grunted, his waist nearly breaking. Yan Jingjing was a deity in the divine realm; her body looked petite but her actual weight was astonishing. Qin Mu was still in the Celestial Human Realm, so trying to pick up a deity and spin her around was, of course, a fool's errand.

Yan Jingjing's face flushed slightly. She secretly channeled her magic, making herself lighter, which allowed Qin Mu to continue his excited momentum and spin the girl around twice.

"Refining them one by one required me to meticulously consider the rune distribution for each sword and divide my cultivation art's imprint into eight thousand parts. I got so engrossed in studying numerical arts and calculations that I forgot the simplest method."

Qin Mu set her down and paced back and forth, exclaiming joyfully, "I'll just refine a single sword pellet... no, I'll just refine a single sword... no, that's not right, I'll just refine a single sphere! This sphere will be my sword, my blade, all my spirit weapons, which means it will be my Three Primal Divine Arts of Overlord Body..."

Overcome with excitement, he quickly took out all the Buddha Essence Red Chromium and Heavenly Yin Gold, melted these divine metals, and forged them into a massive sphere, approximately four hundred zhang tall.

Qin Mu waited for the massive divine metal sphere to cool, then tried to lift it. He found he couldn't budge it an inch; it was truly like an ant trying to shake a tree. Yan Jingjing stepped forward and also couldn't move it even slightly. They looked at each other in dismay.

Qin Mu's face flushed slightly. Yan Jingjing helped him by controlling the Xuandu Heavenly Flame to cut off a piece of the divine metal sphere. "Can you lift this piece?" she asked.

Qin Mu tried, then said, blushing, "Still too heavy."

Yan Jingjing controlled the Heavenly Flame to cut off another piece. Qin Mu lifted this piece of divine metal, still finding it a bit strenuous. He smiled and said, "This works for now. Once my cultivation improves and my physical body strengthens, activating it won't be difficult."

Yan Jingjing helped him smelt this piece of divine metal into a sphere. This divine metal sphere was about as tall as a small hill. Qin Mu activated his ten-zhang primordial spirit to hammer and temper it, continuously imbuing his cultivation art into it as runes, using the rune imprints as a hammer to forge the spirit weapon.

His primordial spirit tempered it for an entire day and night, yet the divine metal sphere showed no sign of being refined. Qin Mu also flew around the divine metal sphere, continuously imprinting various cultivation arts and divine abilities along with his primordial spirit. After two or three days of this, the divine metal sphere only slightly decreased in size.

"Brother Herder, perhaps we should just refine them one by one after all?" Yan Jingjing couldn't help but suggest, "This way of refining seems to be more time-consuming and labor-intensive instead."

Qin Mu shook his head. "Refining eight thousand swords would require mobilizing the Imperial Manufactory to smelt them quickly. Relying on me alone would actually be more time-consuming and strenuous. Moreover, the Imperial Manufactory in Eternal Peace, which I designed, still struggles somewhat with refining divine metals."

Just as he spoke, Saint Woodcutter's voice echoed, "The Imperial Manufactory has been redesigned by me; refining divine metals is no longer strenuous now."

Qin Mu looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Saint Woodcutter, the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace, Human Emperor First Ancestor, and Xu Shenghua emerge from the Grand Emperor Heaven Tunnel. Behind them, shadows shifted, and darkness enveloped and moved. The King of Hell, cloaked in a dark cape, was entirely shrouded in gloom.

Human Emperor First Ancestor looked up at the sword pellet, which was over thirty zhang tall, his eyes wide. He shook his head and said, "Who refines a sword pellet like this? It's too crude. Don't you already have your own sword pellet?"

"It was shattered by someone."

Qin Mu smiled. "Teacher, I've found the source of the darkness."

Everyone was deeply shocked. Saint Woodcutter's expression also drastically changed, and he blurted out, "You found the Heavenly Yin Realm? You've met the Heavenly Yin Empress?"

"I invited all of you here this time precisely to solve the ultimate dilemma of the Heavenly Yin Realm and the Heavenly Yin Empress." Qin Mu took out the skin of the Founding Emperor God-Man, unrolled this divine being, and said, "Teacher, you still recognize him, don't you?"