Chapter 775: Dragon Pi Farming

"Summon all demigods from the Primordial Realm? Is Earth Mother Sovereign still alive?" Qin Mu felt a surge of unease.

The Primordial Realm, once the Ancient Primordial Capital, had long been sealed, folded like a hand fan. Now that the seal was broken, an unknown number of demigods were emerging.

Coupled with Earth Mother Sovereign as a powerful leader, what changes would this bring to the Great Ruins and Eternal Peace?

Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara knew nothing of this. During the Founding Emperor era, Earth Mother Sovereign had long vanished without a trace. No relics, records, or even legends about her could be found in the Great Ruins of the High Emperor.

By the time of Eternal Peace, knowledge of this ancient god was completely absent.

Qin Mu had only heard rumors about Earth Mother Sovereign from Heaven Duke and Earth Count. He had no way of knowing her personality or her attitude towards humanity.

Although Heaven Duke had told him that the High Emperor era was connected to Earth Mother Sovereign, the High Emperor was divided into North and South. Which High Emperor Heavenly Court did Earth Mother Sovereign support?

And where did the opposing High Emperor Heavenly Court receive its support?

The High Emperor era lasted for three hundred thousand years; why was it able to endure for such a long time?

"What do you know about Earth Mother Sovereign?" Qin Mu asked the Water Qilin demigod in the large pit, his voice gentle.

The Water Qilin hastily replied, "I've never seen Earth Mother Sovereign; I only sensed her call."

Qin Mu frowned slightly and continued, "Then do you know about the High Emperor era? How much do you know about it?"

The Water Qilin, pinned down and unable to move, said, "When I was born, there was already a war. I only heard that the Outer Heavens were attacking to kill Earth Mother Sovereign. The rest is unclear. My status isn't high..."

Qin Mu forced a benevolent smile and asked, "Are you willing to follow my sworn brother, Yu Tianzun?"

The Water Qilin cautiously probed, "What would happen if I refused to follow him?"

"You'll be served for dinner."

The Water Qilin immediately declared, "I am willing to serve you wholeheartedly!"

Qin Mu said to Yu Tianzun, "My brother, this Water Qilin can be your steed. I also have a Dragon Qilin. These demigods eat a lot and are gluttonous. You'll need to learn to refine some spirit pills. Once you've mastered the basic Buddhist runes, I'll teach you how to refine spirit pills."

Yu Tianzun wiped his mouth and hesitated, "We have to feed them? Isn't it simpler just to eat them directly?"

Qin Mu felt a headache coming on. He made the Water Qilin swear an oath to Qin Fengqing, establishing a 'Little Earth Count's Pact.' "Don't even think about betraying him," he warned. "If you betray him, my brother will appear before you and eat you."

In the Qin character continent, the large-headed doll currently beating Earth Count immediately felt a contract entwine around him, leaving him puzzled.

Earth Count stood up, his body reassembling from lava, and explained, "This is a soul pact. You are like my brother. Others can swear to you, and if they break their promise, the pact will activate, allowing you to directly seize and devour their primordial spirit!"

The large-headed doll was overjoyed and humbly asked, "Is that why you've grown so strong from eating?"

Qin Mu dispelled the Magnetic Five-Finger Mountain. The Water Qilin climbed out of the pit, glanced at the seemingly naive Yu Tianzun, and thought, "I've heard of Earth Count's Pact, but what's this 'Little Earth Count's Pact'? They're probably trying to trick me. I'll just swallow this boy when they're not looking and make a run for it. I doubt they'll be able to catch me..."

Just as he thought this, darkness suddenly enveloped him.

A massive head appeared in the darkness, with three eyes and a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth. The Water Qilin felt incredibly tiny and trembled before this enormous head!

Then, a deep voice echoed from the darkness: "You can't eat him yet. He only thought about it, he didn't act on it. You can only eat him if he makes a rebellious move."

The large head grumbled, "I can't eat him just for thinking about it? I think thinking about it is enough to start eating..."

"Earth Count must follow Earth Count's rules."

The deep voice in the darkness patiently explained, "If you don't follow the rules and just start eating, who will come to you next time to swear an oath? Look at me: people always come to me to swear oaths, and many who break their vows become my sustenance. I act fairly, so more and more people seek me out. If I just ate indiscriminately, others wouldn't willingly offer themselves up."

The large head blinked its three eyes, delighted. "So that's how it works! I understand now. If we act fairly, others will willingly offer themselves up for us to eat! Good, good, this is a good method... Can I just lick him without eating?"

"No. You're scaring him to death."

"Just a tiny lick!"

"No! Think about the future benefits!"

The darkness before the Water Qilin dissipated. Sweating profusely from fright, he dutifully served as Yu Tianzun's mount, thinking, "This Little Earth Count's Pact is even more dangerous than Earth Count's Pact! Earth Count's Pact at least operates on reason, but the Little Earth Count's Pact depends on the Little Earth Count's mood. He'll eat you if he's in a good mood, and he'll eat you if he's in a bad mood..."

Qin Mu looked ahead, thinking, "The direction these demigods are heading seems to be near the Ox-Fighting Realm."

They continued their journey. With the Water Qilin, their speed greatly increased. Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara continued to teach Yu Tianzun Buddhist rune knowledge. The Water Qilin listened, surprised, "This young bald boy's knowledge is incredibly profound. His explanations of Buddhist doctrines are logical and easy to understand, yet the principles are deep. He must be a great master! I had originally planned to eat them; it seems I underestimated them!"

The Water Qilin's speed was extremely fast, no less than the Dragon Qilin's. However, even with the Water Qilin as their steed, it took them over a month to reach the vicinity of the Martial Master's small mountain village.

Along the way, Qin Mu encountered several more incidents of demigods traveling and some even attacking them.

Qin Mu could fend off ordinary opponents himself, but demigods varied in strength. Some adult demigods were even more formidable than true gods; they even encountered adult demigods comparable to experts of the Numinous Sky Realm!

Their aura was so terrifying it warped the sky!

When the passing demigod saw Yu Tianzun riding on the Water Qilin's back, he was about to act out. Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara's aura fully unleashed, startling the adult demigod away.

Only then did the Water Qilin realize how terrifying the "young bald boy" beside him truly was, leaving him with lingering fear.

On their journey, Qin Mu and the others also saw some destroyed small villages, settlements in the Great Ruins that had been ravaged by demigods. The villagers had been devoured by the demigods, leaving no trace of their remains.

Qin Mu frowned deeply and took a long breath.

However, they encountered a few other small mountain villages that had not been destroyed by demigods.

Qin Mu inquired, and a villager said, "The stone statues in the village suddenly came to life and killed the demons and monsters that came to cause trouble. After killing them, they turned back into stone statues."

"So, the King of Hell in Fengdu has reacted, allowing the gods of Fengdu to return to their physical bodies and protect the people of the Great Ruins." Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. With the protection of the Fengdu gods, the people of the Great Ruins should be able to defend themselves.

The gods of Fengdu were a legacy of the Founding Emperor. When the Founding Emperor era collapsed, the gods of the Founding Emperor's Heavenly Court transformed into stone statues in the Great Ruins, while their primordial spirits resided in Fengdu, awaiting their resurgence.

Their stone statues became the sole hope for the people of the Great Ruins to resist the encroaching darkness.

This time, the revival of the statues could protect most villages, unless they encountered an adult demigod.

The power of adult demigods was truly terrifying.

Rice fields came into view, and Qin Mu relaxed. Seeing these few acres of rice paddies meant the Martial Master's village was not far.

The rice fields were still the same few acres. By the fields stood a large willow tree, beneath which a Dragon Qilin sat, leaning against the tree. Its hind legs were spread, its rear on the ground, and its forearms held a water pipe. Its eyes stared blankly at the rice fields, then it lowered its head, took a gurgling puff from the pipe, and exhaled a large, perfect smoke ring.

Qin Mu watched from a distance, feeling suspicious. "Is that my Cripple Dragon? It doesn't quite look like him..."

The Dragon Qilin under the tree shade lifted a paw and scratched the dragon scales on its belly, making a rustling sound. A pot of coarse tea was placed nearby.

The Dragon Qilin put down the water pipe, turned sideways, poured itself a large bowl of strong tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

This Dragon Qilin was lean, with powerful muscles, though its spirits seemed low.

Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara laughed, "If that wasn't a Dragon Qilin under the tree but an ox, I'd turn around and leave right now! This Dragon Qilin's demeanor is exactly like that ox! If it were the ox, the farmer would be nearby. That farming fellow is all muscle and quite displeased with me for entering Buddhism."

The Dragon Qilin heard the sound and turned its large head to look their way. Its vacant eyes lacked focus, and it took a moment for it to clearly see Qin Mu approaching. It suddenly froze.

Tears welled up in its eyes, and the Dragon Qilin let out a gurgling sound, wiping its tears as it watched Qin Mu draw near.

"Cult Master..."

His voice trembled, and he suddenly burst into tears, "I'm so hungry—"

The Water Qilin tilted its head, looking at the Dragon Qilin with disdain. "This fellow is my kin, and quite promising, but he's utterly spineless! What's there to be afraid of hunger? Just eat people!"

Qin Mu hastily took out spirit pills. The Dragon Qilin swiftly placed a large basin in front of him, and Qin Mu filled it to the brim.

The Dragon Qilin was overjoyed, saliva dripping as it stared at the overflowing basin of spirit pills. After a moment, it tearfully ate just one, then carefully put the rest away.

"Eat, eat."

Qin Mu smiled, "Next time, I won't leave you alone for so long."

"Swear it!"

"I swear. Now eat, eat."

Just then, a deep, cold voice resounded: "You abducted my ox, and now you want to abduct my horse. Even if your surname is Qin, you can't act so recklessly!"

Qin Mu looked in the direction of the voice and saw many farmers, men and women, ushering an old farmer to the edge of the field. The old farmer's face was angry as he shouted, "You, Qin! Where's my ox?"

Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara's expression drastically changed, and he quickly turned to leave. The old farmer saw him, paused slightly, then suddenly roared like thunder, "Flowery Monk, Li Youran! You scoundrel! You ran off to become Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara in the middle of the war! Take three punches from me!"

Boom—

A violent tremor surged through the air. The first wave reached them from a hundred miles away. The farmers rushed to Qin Mu's side, bracing against the terrifying shockwave to protect him from harm.

However, the second shockwave arrived from a thousand miles away, twisting space and stretching mountains, braiding them like rope.

Before the twisted space could recover, the third shockwave arrived, after which the space quieted down, slowly expanding, and the mountains returned to their original state.

"Alright, alright, it's safe now."

The many farmers laughed, "Young friend Qin, you took away the Martial Master's ox, and he's been sulking about it. He said you're as despicable, shameless, and vulgar as the woodcutter for tricking Brother Ox San Duo away. Just go explain to him later; the misunderstanding can be cleared up."

Qin Mu's eye twitched. He tentatively asked, "Can the misunderstanding really be cleared up?"

The crowd surrounded them, walking towards the small mountain village, saying, "The Martial Master is very reasonable. Don't worry, just admit your mistake and his anger will subside."

Just as they reached the village entrance, there was a sudden thud. The old farmer landed, short in stature but holding a battered and bruised Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara. With a flick of his hand, he tossed Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara into a foul ditch and roared, "Whoever dares to pull him out, I'll beat them to death! This scoundrel, a traitor who colluded with the enemy's women!"

Qin Mu leaned in to look into the foul ditch and saw Emperor-Buddha Dīpankara lying in the gutter, his eyes vacant.

"You said your old acquaintances were strangers to me..."

He mumbled, "This isn't a scapegoat..."

Qin Mu pretended not to hear and quickly bowed to the old farmer. "Brother San Duo is currently in Fengdu, helping the King of Hell establish Fengdu and solidify its destiny! Although your humble nephew did not intentionally take Brother San Duo away, Brother San Duo, having learned from you, Master, is a righteous man of immense courage and insisted on staying in Fengdu to help. He is truly as honorable as you, Master! Your humble nephew feels uneasy about this matter and apologizes to you!"

The old farmer stared at him, then a smile suddenly bloomed on his face. He quickly took hold of Qin Mu's elbows and laughed heartily, "What offense have you committed? Worthy nephew, please, come inside."