Chapter 782: The Former Emperors and Nine Emperors

Qin Mu pressed the teleportation rune and looked into the depths of the blood sea. There, a chasm split the blood sea, and a woman dressed in emerald green rose slowly from its depths. The blood sea on either side of her closed behind her.

She wore a green dress embroidered with various leaves. Her hair was coiled up like dry, deer-like branches, and behind her head was a halo of light. Within the halo, a tender green sprout, like a seed just emerging from moist earth, had grown two delicate cotyledons.

"Sister."

The teleportation runes surrounding Qin Mu moved slowly but did not activate. He smiled and said, "What is your name, sister? Why has Earth Mother Yuanjun invited me?"

The green-clad woman stopped in front of him and said, "My name is Gongsun Yan, and I am Earth Mother Yuanjun's maid. Earth Mother Yuanjun asked me to invite the esteemed guest over, but she did not explain why. Please come this way, esteemed guest."

Qin Mu jumped off the Dragon Qilin's head and motioned for Imperial Preceptor to remain on the Water Qilin's back. He smiled and said, "Sister Yan, your dress is truly beautiful."

Gongsun Yan was delighted. "Really? I painstakingly cut and sewed this dress myself; it took a lot of effort."

Qin Mu followed her forward and said, "I have heard of Earth Mother Yuanjun for a long time, but I have never met her. Sister Yan, how did Earth Mother know about me?"

Gongsun Yan led them through the blood sea. "I'm not sure about that. Perhaps Heavenly Yin Empress mentioned you when she visited Earth Mother recently. Heavenly Yin Empress was ambushed in the late Dragon Han era, and Earth Mother was quite disturbed by this, feeling a sense of kinship. However, Heavenly Yin Empress revived and actively sought out Earth Mother. At that time, I was guarding outside the palace and couldn't go in to hear what they discussed."

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

After Heavenly Yin Empress's resurrection, she was indeed absent from the Heavenly Yin World for a period. Qin Mu had once gone to the Heavenly Yin World to find her, and the divine abilities practitioners there said she had gone out to visit an old friend. This must have been Earth Mother Yuanjun.

"Heavenly Yin Empress must have told Earth Mother that I was the one who revived her. This time, sending Gongsun Yan to greet me, she likely has an agenda."

Thinking this, Qin Mu smiled and said, "Sister Yan, along the way, I saw many gods and devils rushing here, and countless demigods also flooding in. The journey was quite dangerous. What is going on?"

Gongsun Yan led them to the opposite shore of the blood sea and landed on the bank, but instead of heading towards Jade Capital City, she circled around it. She said, "The forces in the Earth Mother Primordial World are complex. With the re-emergence of this primordial world, many forces are stirring, all wanting to fish in troubled waters. These gods and devils were originally from the various heavens under Earth Mother's command, but now they've infiltrated with ill intentions. Earth Mother is very angry about it. As for those demigods, they were not summoned by Earth Mother; someone used Earth Mother's name to call them here."

Qin Mu's heart leaped, and he blurted out, "Someone used Earth Mother's name to summon demigods?"

The Water Qilin was also startled and quickly said, "Impossible! After I awoke, I clearly felt that it was Earth Mother Yuanjun who summoned us! She is the world master of the Primordial World; that sensation of her summoning us could never be wrong! Brother Dragon Qilin, did you feel Earth Mother's summons?"

The Dragon Qilin said, "I did. But I was plowing the fields at the time, so I didn't pay attention."

Qin Mu pondered, "Since it wasn't Earth Mother Yuanjun who summoned the demigods, then who could use Earth Mother's name to make the demigods of the Primordial World come? How could that person summon the demigods of the Primordial World? To make all demigods hear that person's summons and be unable to distinguish its authenticity shouldn't be simple, should it?"

Gongsun Yan shook her head. "That is beyond my knowledge. Ever since Earth Mother passed away, I have been waiting quietly in the underground palace for the day of her revival, so I don't know much about outside affairs."

Jade Capital City was enormous and vast, and the High Heavens Hall was located within it. Terrifying fluctuations emanated from there, with powerful divine abilities erupting periodically, expanding outwards from the High Heavens Hall as their center.

Qin Mu looked towards it and thought, "The person using Earth Mother's name should be in the High Heavens Hall, but I don't know who it is. Who is so audacious as to impersonate Earth Mother and use demigods for their own gain? Imperial Advisor Zi Xi went there; I wonder if she'll encounter any danger?"

He immediately shook his head. Although the scholar's strength wasn't the highest among the Four Imperial Advisors, her overall combat power was. Even Imperial Advisor Wu Dou had suffered losses at her hands multiple times and was convinced that she deserved to rank above him.

Imperial Advisor Wu Dou was an Emperor's Throne realm existence, yet he admitted inferiority to her, so Imperial Advisor Zi Xi should not be in danger.

They circled for a long time and arrived before a small mound.

On the small mound stood a dilapidated temple, with a plaque stuck in the mud bearing a few characters.

Qin Mu pulled the plaque from the ground, brushed off the dust, and saw that the characters were extremely ancient.

He looked at Imperial Preceptor, who said, "Brother, it says 'Earth Mother Yuanjun Temple'."

Gongsun Yan walked into the broken temple and urged, "Hurry up!"

Qin Mu hesitated, then put the plaque into his Gluttony Bag, thinking, "I'll keep it for now; it might be useful."

They entered the temple. The broken temple was not large but was clean, clearly swept often. There were also a few wing rooms with their doors closed.

"Is that where sister lives?" Qin Mu asked.

Gongsun Yan nodded. "I usually live here. There are also a few acres of land behind the temple where I grow vegetables and fruits. The fruits I grow are delicious, but unfortunately, we're in a hurry and don't have time for you to taste them. After we see Earth Mother, I'll pick some for you."

Qin Mu thanked her.

This woman was somewhat naive and not very cunning, which made her seem particularly easy to get along with.

Gongsun Yan entered the main hall of the temple. Qin Mu looked up and saw a statue of a female deity directly in front of him. The statue had a full forehead and a round chin, with a smile on its lips.

Behind the statue was an ancient tree sculpted from bronze, and the statue stood beneath the tree.

Gongsun Yan bowed to the statue. Suddenly, the temple floor cracked open, revealing a path that led deep underground. Faint light emanated from the darkness.

Qin Mu scrutinized the seal on the ground, thinking, "This seal is a bit crude."

Gongsun Yan smiled. "You're so distracted, what's so interesting about the ground? Let's go down!"

Qin Mu followed her. The Dragon Qilin quickly positioned itself behind Qin Mu, inseparable, nervously looking around. The Water Qilin, however, was bolder, carrying Imperial Preceptor with steady steps.

Qin Mu felt that the ground beneath his feet was not steps. He looked down and saw an incredibly thick tree root.

This tree root was thicker than the path from Yankang to the Western Lands and was covered in moss. As they walked on the root, with each step, the soft moss lit up with a footprint, like fluorescence. After walking about a dozen steps, the footprints behind them gradually faded.

The Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin were very surprised, jumping around on the tree root and leaving strings of hoof prints.

Imperial Preceptor also jumped down and was playing happily with them when he suddenly lost his footing and fell off the tree root, letting out a desperate scream.

Qin Mu shook his head. A strand of hair grew rapidly with the wind, curling downwards, coiling tightly around him and pulling him up.

Imperial Preceptor, his fright now settled, became much more obedient.

These tree roots branched out in all directions, and the underground didn't seem like an underground space at all; instead, it resembled an incredibly vast area, though the surroundings were dim, preventing Qin Mu from seeing its layout clearly.

He followed Gongsun Yan deep underground. The tree roots reached the edge of the subterranean space, and only then did he see ancient marble walls with very old textures.

But as they continued to go deeper, the height of these walls left him somewhat dumbfounded.

They moved from one tree root to another, still not reaching the bottom.

Suddenly, the Dragon Qilin shrieked, hiding behind Qin Mu and trembling.

Qin Mu looked and saw many incredibly ancient tree roots crisscrossing nearby, forming a knot.

And at the center of that knot, a huge black stone coffin lay silently. A terrifying divine might faintly emanated from within the coffin.

In front of the stone coffin, there were six pairs of stone statues: qilin, lion, camel, horse, white elephant, and xiezhi, making twelve statues in total, standing on the tree roots before the stone coffin.

"The specifications of an emperor's mausoleum?"

Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. "Could Earth Mother Yuanjun be inside this stone coffin?"

That black stone coffin was sixteen zhang high, eight zhang wide, and forty-nine zhang long. Clearly, the person lying within the sarcophagus must have been extremely stout and tall!

"That is the Upper Emperor's stone coffin. The first Upper Emperor is inside."

Gongsun Yan respectfully bowed to the stone coffin and whispered, "The first Upper Emperor has a bad temper. Let's not disturb him; we'll walk past quietly."

The Dragon Qilin's hair stood on end. It tucked its thick dragon tail between its legs and tiptoed forward, muttering, "Bad temper? He wouldn't jump out of the coffin, would he..."

They passed by the stone coffin. The stone statues suddenly turned their heads, their faces stern and fierce, staring intently at them, moving as their figures moved. Once they had passed, the statues slowly turned their heads back, still facing each other.

They walked some more distance, then saw another huge stone coffin entwined by tree roots, suspended in a place neither touching the sky nor the ground.

In front of this stone coffin, there were also twelve stone statues. These statues all had bird heads and human bodies, with wings on their backs and standing on one leg. Some bird heads were Vermilion Birds, some were phoenix heads, and some had dragon heads with bird beaks. Moreover, some bird heads had different numbers of heads.

"This is the tomb of the second Upper Emperor."

Gongsun Yan whispered, "He also has a bad temper, so be quiet."

The bird-headed stone statues stared at them. Qin Mu, Imperial Preceptor, Dragon Qilin, and Water Qilin tiptoed past under their gaze.

Then, they saw a third black stone coffin and two rows of stone statues.

Qin Mu couldn't help but ask, "Sister Yan, just how many Upper Emperors were there in the Upper Emperor Era?"

"Fourteen."

Gongsun Yan lowered her voice. "Nine of them are buried here. The other Upper Emperors died in battle outside; their bodies couldn't be recovered and were stolen to be refined into treasures."

Qin Mu's expression was peculiar. After a moment, he cautiously asked, "Do all these Upper Emperors have bad tempers?"

"Yes."

Gongsun Yan nodded. "It's not just their bad tempers; the tomb-guarding beasts also have bad tempers. Every time I pass by, they look at me like I'm a thief."

Qin Mu could only continue tiptoeing forward. Finally, they passed nine black coffins. Several Upper Emperors chose this place for their imperial tombs, their sarcophagi entwined by tree roots, a custom from the Upper Emperor Era that Qin Mu didn't understand.

"Aren't deities immortal? Why did these Upper Emperors fall and die?" Qin Mu asked.

"They were beaten to death."

Gongsun Yan whispered, "Lower your voice, they'll hear you. If they hear you, they'll jump out and hit people! Their souls were retrieved from Youdu by Earth Mother and are imprisoned in their coffins."

Qin Mu was startled and lowered his voice. "Who could have killed successive Upper Emperors?"

"Even Earth Mother herself was beaten to death, let alone the Upper Emperors?"

Gongsun Yan said, "The Upper Emperor Era was very chaotic... We've arrived at Earth Mother Yuanjun's palace!"

Bright light shone ahead. A palace was held aloft by roots branching in all directions, and the light emanated from that palace.

When they arrived before the palace, they could appreciate its enormous size and grandeur. Stone dragons were carved on the palace's huabiao columns and pillars, along with some bird-headed divine stone statues. The ridge of the hall also bore various oddly shaped divine beast stone statues, and above the entrance were water dragon sculptures, while the window lattices featured phoenix bas-reliefs.

Qin Mu followed Gongsun Yan to the front of the hall when he suddenly saw the stone dragons slowly rotating and wriggling. Then, their stone surfaces transformed into flesh and blood, and suddenly, a massive dragon head lowered itself before them!

It was an old dragon, its eyes dim, its whiskers flowing. It rumbled, "I smell strangers."

"They are Earth Mother's esteemed guests."

Gongsun Yan quickly said, "Excuse me, Dragon King, please let us pass."

From the window lattices, a flapping sound suddenly came, and a phoenix flew out, landing in front of Qin Mu and the others. Flames enveloped its body, several zhang high. It folded its wings and sternly stared at Qin Mu and the others, saying, "The Yuanjun's esteemed guests? Could they be spies from that old Emperor of Heaven?"

At this moment, obscure divine sense fluctuations came from inside the palace: "He is someone this palace invited... Oh, Imperial Preceptor!"

The divine sense fluctuations expressed immense surprise, as if seeing a ghost.

Imperial Preceptor looked bewildered.