Chapter 717: 君臣一体

Qin Mu and his companions arrived at the Grand Tutor's residence, but the Grand Tutor of Yankang was not there. His wife was teaching their child to read. She hurried out, leading the child, and said, "My husband went to see the Emperor and hasn't returned for quite some time. Yunjian, quickly greet your godfather!"

The child, only three or four years old, called out "godfather" to Qin Mu in a childish voice.

Qin Mu's face flushed red, and he stammered, "My dear sister-in-law, I'm not even married yet. How can I be a godfather?"

The Grand Tutor's wife chuckled, "Yunjian had a godfather sworn in when he was born. Surely, you won't deny him now, Cult Master?"

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then pulled a large wing from his Taotie Pouch. He plucked a fiery feather from it and said, "This is a Vermilion Bird feather, from a powerful being of the God-Slaying Platform. Let Yunjian play with it for now. I can't give him the whole wing; it's too heavy and dangerous. But the feather is very light. Wait a moment, I'll suppress the Vermilion Bird Sacred Fire within this feather."

He sealed the Vermilion Bird Sacred Fire with Celestial Fire Dao runes before handing the three-foot-long Vermilion Bird feather to Jiang Yunjian. The child, holding the feather, went to hack at the stone lion at the entrance. With a flash of fire, the stone lion was cut in half.

The Grand Tutor's wife was startled and quickly snatched the Vermilion Bird feather away, saying, "You can play with this when you're older!"

Qin Mu, along with the Woodcutter, Emperor Yi Yue, and the First Ancestor, arrived at the Imperial Palace. The Empress said, "His Majesty was 'abducted' by the Grand Tutor. They said they were going to the Imperial Academy, but they haven't brought His Majesty back for several days. The Crown Prince is currently overseeing state affairs."

They then went to the Imperial Academy, where Gu Linuan shook his head and said, "His Majesty and the Grand Tutor aren't here either. They were here for a while, gathering scholars to build sun and moon ships. Then they took many scholars to the manufacturing plants in Jiangling, and His Majesty went with them."

Emperor Yi Yue chuckled, "This Emperor actually doesn't stay on his throne; he's constantly running around."

They then arrived in Jiangling, the Grand Tutor of Yankang's hometown, which had the most manufacturing plants—over a hundred of them.

Upon arriving, before even seeing Emperor Yanfeng and the Grand Tutor, they saw numerous large ships sailing back and forth on the water, transporting enormous, precisely cut components to Jiangling's largest manufacturing plant.

Those components were likely for the sun and moon ships.

During the Kaihuang Era, sun and moon ships were forged from stone, but here, they were being forged from metal, which was very costly.

Qin Mu also saw many women from the True Heavenly Palace of the West Land helping out. The leading young girl was someone he knew: Xiong Qier, Xiong Xiyu's daughter.

After several years, Xiong Qier had grown. She was now casting spells at the Jiangling manufacturing plant, activating each component and making these massive objects float and assemble themselves automatically.

"Cult Master Brother!"

Xiong Qier was delighted to see him, and even more so to see Dragon Qilin. She rushed over, cast Qin Mu aside, and happily hugged Dragon Qilin's whiskers.

Qin Mu was momentarily taken aback by the little girl, only to see her jump onto Dragon Qilin's tail. Dragon Qilin curled its tail, and the girl slid all the way from the tip of the tail to Dragon Qilin's forehead, giggling incessantly.

"It seems every component of the sun ships forged by the Grand Tutor and the Emperor looks like it was cast from a mold. Each manufacturing plant produces only a dozen or so parts, which are then assembled."

Qin Mu was surprised. He stepped forward to examine the components, noting that the runes on them interlocked perfectly, making them extremely precise. Coupled with the West Land's animism magic, they could be assembled quickly.

"This is an excellent method for mass-producing sun and moon ships!" Qin Mu exclaimed repeatedly.

Sun and moon ships were designed by the Woodcutter Sage, but during the Kaihuang Era, the manufacturing of these heavy instruments was not as precise. Consequently, the ships varied in size, and their production was slower.

However, the manufacturing plants in Jiangling could produce sun and moon ships very quickly!

When they found the Grand Tutor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng, both were asleep in the manufacturing plant. Members of the Earth Elementals were busy forging various components, and god-race individuals, none taller than five feet, flew around the parts.

"Are you looking for the bumpkin Emperor?"

Lady Earth stroked her beard, her voice booming like thunder, and loudly declared, "He's over there, flat on his back!"

Qin Mu, the Woodcutter, and the others followed her gaze and saw two large men sprawled out in a corner of the manufacturing plant. Despite the deafening sounds of forging inside the factory, both men were sleeping soundly.

Both the Grand Tutor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng were handsome men, and though middle-aged, they were usually meticulous about their appearance.

Yet, at that moment, both were unshaven, and their clothes were old and messy. The Grand Tutor of Yankang had his foot resting on Emperor Yanfeng's face, while Emperor Yanfeng was sleeping soundly, clutching the Grand Tutor's leg.

Nearby, many court officials and Imperial Academy scholars were also sprawled out in the factory corners, sleeping deeply.

Emperor Yi Yue was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "I understand now why the Great Heavenly Master has such high expectations for them. An Emperor and a Grand Tutor like these are indeed the perfect leaders for reform."

The Woodcutter Sage asked, "Should we wake them?"

"No need," Emperor Yi Yue replied. "They are gods, and yet they're this exhausted. It's clear they've been working extremely hard these past few days."

Emperor Yi Yue continued, "I never imagined an Emperor would personally oversee such trivial matters, nor did I think a Grand Tutor leading reforms would be so hands-on. This Grand Tutor is even better than you were back then."

The Woodcutter Sage laughed, "Back then, I just tinkered with a few things and had others carry them out. To be honest, I was afraid of trouble and rarely did things myself."

Emperor Yi Yue said, "You were a sage, too distant from the common people."

The Woodcutter Sage fell silent, then said hoarsely, "The Heavenly King's lesson is very true. When the natural disaster erupted back then, I led the resistance, and we were defeated utterly. It was then I realized I was too far removed from the people and the army. As a Heavenly Master, one must certainly have a broad perspective, but also integrate into the army and the mortal realm. My detachment and rash actions led to that great defeat. In truth, I was not even as good as Prince Qin Wu."

The First Ancestor Human Emperor paused, looking at him with an expression of disbelief.

The Woodcutter Sage continued, "Although I haven't wanted to see him for twenty thousand years, I've always admired him. In that chaotic era, even though he became a deserter, when he saw people suffering, he resolutely took on the burden, protected them, fought desperately, and used his own life to guard them all the way to Yankang. Without Prince Qin Wu, there would be no later Yankang."

Tears welled up in the First Ancestor Human Emperor's eyes. He turned his head away and quietly wiped them.

The Woodcutter Sage saw this and said, "However, he later succumbed to despair, constantly blaming himself, unable to escape the shadow of being a deserter. That's why I looked down on him. But now that he has overcome it, I'm very relieved. In truth, during the disaster, he always did better than I did."

Emperor Yi Yue smiled, "No need to disturb them. Let's go."

They exited the manufacturing plant. Outside, after playing for a while, Xiong Qier began working diligently again and finally completed a large ship.

The little girl took out a White Tiger Pearl and gently touched it. The gigantic land ship slowly rose, shaking the ground continuously.

Inside the manufacturing plant, Emperor Yanfeng and the Grand Tutor of Yankang were startled awake. They rushed out and, upon seeing the massive ship come to life, were overcome with joy, embracing each other, crying and laughing.

Qin Mu, having called Dragon Qilin and Emperor Yi Yue, had already departed. Emperor Yanfeng, catching a glimpse of Dragon Qilin in the distance, wondered, "When did beloved Minister Qin arrive? And why did he leave so soon? The Grand Tutor and I were here, and he didn't even say hello before leaving! Someone, bring me a brush and ink! Today is a joyous occasion, and I feel refreshed. I shall write a big 'Upright' character for him!"

The Woodcutter quickly bade farewell and left, saying, "I'm still looking for the Farmer and contacting others. I can't stay here. Fisher, let's go."

The Fisherman left with him.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor also bid farewell, saying, "I have important matters to attend to," and then hurried away.

Qin Mu blinked, watching them leave, and thought to himself, "It's understandable that Teacher Woodcutter has things to do, but why does the First Ancestor have so many tasks? What exactly is he busy with?"

Emperor Yi Yue looked at him and smiled, "Little brother, do you have something to do? If not, why don't you come with me to find Heavenly King Tianshu and help King Yama reshape Fengdu? Then we can go meet Heavenly Mother Tianyin, and after visiting her, I can take you around to meet Heavenly Duke, Earth Count, and other Emperor Seat experts. It would be very beneficial for you!"

Qin Mu was greatly tempted.

If he could follow an Emperor Seat expert like Emperor Yi Yue to visit innate divine beings and other Emperor Seat masters, it would certainly broaden his horizons!

"I still have a sword pellet to refine..."

Qin Mu hesitated, then said, "Sister, perhaps you should go see Heavenly Mother Tianyin first. Once I've finished refining my sword pellet, I'll come find you in Fengdu."

Emperor Yi Yue chuckled, "Very well. I'll go find that fellow Tianshu first; he's timid and probably hiding somewhere now. Once you've refined your sword, if you can't find us in Fengdu, then go to the Heavenly Yin World."

Qin Mu nodded, and Emperor Yi Yue gracefully departed.

"Fatty Dragon, let's go to the Tujian Manufacturing Plant!"

Qin Mu leaped onto Dragon Qilin's forehead, and Dragon Qilin immediately galloped towards the Tujian Manufacturing Plant.

At the Tujian Manufacturing Plant, the sword pellet, originally over thirty zhang in size, had been hammered down to just over ten zhang. At this point, even the gigantic mechanical giants couldn't refine it any smaller.

Qin Mu took out the Vermilion Bird wing and used the Vermilion Bird Sacred Fire to refine the sword pellet. He and his primordial spirit personally worked on it, tempering it countless times, continuously imprinting his runic divine abilities into the sword pellet with the power of the Vermilion Bird Sacred Fire.

After more than ten days of refining, the sword pellet had shrunk to three feet in size, but it still couldn't flow like water.

Qin Mu put away the Vermilion Bird wing and used his Celestial Fire divine ability to continue refining the sword pellet for another half a month, until it was one foot in size.

He tried to activate it, but his vital qi circulated with great difficulty, requiring immense mental effort to transform the sword pellet into flying swords to strike down enemies.

"I cultivate both divine and demonic arts, so perhaps I need to refine it with demonic fire..."

A thought stirred in Qin Mu's mind: "What would happen if I used demonic cultivation to activate Celestial Fire?"

He blinked, immediately planning to test it. Suddenly, he remembered something: he moved the sword pellet out of the manufacturing plant, chose a sparsely populated area, then took out the Celestial Fire Prism. He reversed his divine treasures, and instantly, his body was filled with surging demonic qi.

Qin Mu activated the Celestial Fire Prism, unleashing the power of the Celestial Fire.

Outside the manufacturing plant, Dragon Qilin was sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard an earth-shattering roar. He quickly lifted his head, reluctantly opened his eyes for a glance, and saw black flames rising into the sky dozens of miles away from the plant.

Dragon Qilin yawned, shakily stood up, took two steps forward, then plopped back down, eyes squinting, and snored loudly, muttering, "The Cult Master probably won't die..."