Chapter 785: Local Dao Fruit

The Water Kirin carried Qin Mu past several imperial tombs. Finally, they spotted Dragon Kirin, who was fraternizing with a group of dragons and kirins, boasting endlessly.

"I keep a human who specifically refines elixirs for me..."

The dragon kings and kirins were highly envious. As Dragon Kirin was speaking, he spotted Qin Mu and the others approaching and quickly stopped talking.

Imperial Heavenly Venerable called Dragon Kirin over. Dragon Kirin was startled to see Qin Mu so weak and exhausted and hastily said, "Let me carry the Cult Master instead. I walk very steadily; I won't let the Cult Master feel any bumps."

Imperial Heavenly Venerable lifted Qin Mu onto Dragon Kirin's back. Dragon Kirin secretly glanced at Qin Mu's grim face, feeling uneasy. "I wonder if the Cult Master heard what I just said..."

The dragon kings and kirins watched enviously as he carried Qin Mu away. After they had gone, they all remarked, "He's talented and promising, truly talented and promising."

"Although Long Pi is young, his vision and insight are extraordinary. To keep a human to refine elixirs for himself—why didn't I think of this idea in my early years?"

Dragon Kirin carried Qin Mu out of the underground space and into the dilapidated temple hall. The phoenix also followed, looking around.

Gongsun Yan hastily went to prepare rooms, saying, "I usually live in the Yuanjun Temple, and I've only tidied the few rooms I use. Let me clear out a few more rooms for Sister Feng and Brother Qin."

The phoenix took out a golden bird's nest and said, "I'm not used to sleeping on other people's beds. Please set up my nest."

Gongsun Yan assented and took the bird's nest.

Not long after, she finished tidying. Qin Mu sat on the bed, looking much better. "Sister," he said, "I'm much better now; you don't need to look after me anymore. The Earth Mother's fruit is indeed effective. I feel my vital qi has recovered somewhat, and I'm fine."

Gongsun Yan examined him carefully, noticing his complexion had indeed improved significantly. Enviously, she said, "This fruit is extraordinary. It's a fruit from the Primordial Wood, called the Earth Essence Dao Fruit. The Primordial Wood is the root of heaven and earth in Yuandu, drawing in its spiritual energy and power, combined with the Earth Mother's own Grand Dao cultivation. Therefore, it is exceedingly rare. I heard the Earth Mother say she rarely gives Earth Essence Dao Fruits to others; she only picked some in the early years of Long Han to give to the Heavenly Emperor for feasting ancient gods. But even then, when the Long Han Heavenly Court was established, only a few ancient gods were qualified to eat the Earth Essence Dao Fruit."

Qin Mu turned his head, and the halo behind it rotated with him, remaining steadfastly in place, giving him a feeling of unease.

The Earth Essence Dao Fruit, though shriveled, was situated within the halo formed by Earth Mother Yuanjun's blessing. Its energy was truly astonishing, making it impossible to simply bite into and taste.

However, what made him uneasy was not the Earth Essence Dao Fruit, but Earth Mother Yuanjun's blessing.

He had met most of the Seven Heavenly Venerables, each of whom had halos behind their heads—those were ancient god blessings.

Ancient god blessings offered various effects: longevity, prosperity, agelessness, immortality, indestructibility, and many more. Yet, Imperial Heavenly Venerable, who had received all ancient god blessings, was still assassinated, his soul scattered.

It wasn't until a million years later that Qin Mu revived him, only for him to have lost all his memories and become rather foolish.

Clearly, blessings couldn't genuinely guarantee safety.

"This halo I received as a blessing, I'm afraid it's more like surveillance. Even if I escape this place, Earth Mother Yuanjun can sense my location through this halo. I wonder if I can get rid of it?"

He was dispirited and yawned.

Gongsun Yan immediately stood up. "Brother Qin, rest first," she said.

She left the room, closing the door. Qin Mu immediately stood up, looking refreshed and full of spirit, completely devoid of his previous listlessness.

He activated the Creation Profound Art, transforming into a three-headed, six-armed form. With three heads, the halo couldn't stay behind his head.

He carefully observed the halo, noting the various extremely detailed runes flowing within it. The halo itself was composed of these runes, which were the finest particles of light.

Qin Mu examined it for a while and frowned.

Besides prime magnetic runes, these runes also included various other types, making them much more complex than he had imagined.

Prime magnetic runes were easy enough to understand; Granny Si had already deduced over 1,900 of them. If the runes in the halo formed a prime magnetic divine art, he could still find a way to break it.

However, the other runes in the halo proved more troublesome for Qin Mu. Some displayed the structural lines of rivers, lakes, and oceans, while others took the form of plants and flowers, and still others were mysterious patterns whose specific functions were indiscernible.

Clearly, the Grand Dao possessed by Earth Mother Yuanjun was extremely complex.

The halo was a divine art form constructed from these runes, and Qin Mu was at his wit's end trying to figure out how to break it and escape Earth Mother Yuanjun's tracking and sensing.

"Oh right, Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi!"

His eyes lit up. As the scholar among the Four Heavenly Teachers, her knowledge, though not as vast as the Woodcutter Sage's, was incomparably higher in cultivation than his. Perhaps she would have a way to break the halo.

Thinking this, Qin Mu reached out to grab the fluctuating Earth Essence Dao Fruit within the halo. He managed to grasp it, but encountered a problem trying to remove it from the halo.

When he tried to take out the Earth Essence Dao Fruit, countless rays of light, like fine threads, surged around the halo, connected to the Dao Fruit. He could only move it slightly before encountering unimaginable resistance!

"Others engage in forced buying and selling, but Earth Mother Yuanjun is forcibly bestowing blessings, shoving the Earth Essence Dao Fruit on me, and I can't refuse!"

Qin Mu's heart was filled with indignation. The Dao Fruit and the halo seemed to be embedded behind him, impossible to shake off!

For others, Earth Mother's blessing and the Earth Essence Dao Fruit were highly coveted treasures. But for Qin Mu, they were a burden and a danger, something he wished to discard far away.

Streams of energy from the Earth Essence Dao Fruit continuously flowed into his divine treasure, absorbed by his primordial spirit and then refilled into the divine treasure, strengthening the continent within it, making it deeper and vaster.

"The benefits of the Earth Essence Dao Fruit are still extremely astonishing. Unfortunately, it most likely also contains Earth Mother Yuanjun's divine consciousness, which can sense my location."

Seeing that he couldn't remove the Earth Essence Dao Fruit, Qin Mu had to give up. "If I just absorb all the energy from the Earth Essence Dao Fruit," he thought, "won't I be able to get rid of the surveillance within it?"

The vital qi in his body circulated according to the Hegemon Body Three Elixir Technique, continuously drawing energy from the Dao Fruit and transforming it into incredibly pure magical power. The technique then used vital qi to nourish his primordial spirit, moisturize his physical body, and strengthen his divine treasure.

His cultivation and magical power rapidly increased. If he continued cultivating at this speed, it wouldn't be long before he had enough immense magical power to break through the life-and-death divine treasure barrier.

"Huh, the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge in my continent is actually also absorbing the Dao Fruit's energy, even faster than I can refine it with the Hegemon Body Three Elixir Technique!"

Qin Mu was greatly surprised. The Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge was an idea proposed by Xu Shenghua, and after its initial creation, he and Xu Shenghua had perfected it together.

This Jianmu had a similar miraculous effect to Earth Mother Yuanjun's divine tree, which stood in the center of the Primordial Realm.

And now, the Jianmu was frantically absorbing the Dao Fruit's energy, strengthening itself!

Qin Mu paused, startled. The Jianmu rooting itself in the continent, this scene, bore a resemblance to the ancient Primordial Realm!

The Primordial Realm also had a divine tree rooted, standing in the center of heaven and earth!

"Xu Shenghua truly lives up to being second only to me. The Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge he created secretly aligns with the Grand Dao of heaven and earth—remarkable!"

Qin Mu exclaimed, "The name 'Fake Hegemon Body' is well-deserved! With the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge drawing energy from the Dao Fruit, I can certainly refine the Dao Fruit faster, depriving the Earth Mother of one means of surveillance!"

However, he realized he was still too naive. Although a lot of energy surged from the Earth Essence Dao Fruit, and he refined it desperately, and the Jianmu was becoming more real, the energy in the fruit showed no sign of diminishing at all!

The energy he had consumed during this time was not even one ten-thousandth of the Earth Essence Dao Fruit's energy; it was probably one ten-millionth, or even one hundred-millionth!

"Earth Mother Yuanjun is truly generous..."

Qin Mu had a splitting headache. He pushed open the door and walked out. At the doorway, Dragon Kirin was leaning against the wall, legs splayed, sitting on the ground, practicing in a strange posture.

Seeing him come out, Dragon Kirin quickly scrambled up and, overjoyed, asked, "Cult Master, is it mealtime?"

"Mm."

Qin Mu took out some elixirs and poured him a full basin. Casually, he asked, "Fatty Dragon, what volume and chapter is your 'Human-Rearing Sutra' on now?"

Dragon Kirin lowered his head to eat. "The sixth chapter of the second volume isn't finished yet..." he mumbled.

He suddenly realized, and goosebumps rose.

Qin Mu sneered, "You write too slowly!"

Dragon Kirin tucked his tail between his legs, daring not to speak.

Qin Mu continued to sneer, making Dragon Kirin sweat profusely. Just then, Gongsun Yan and Imperial Heavenly Venerable walked over from behind the temple, carrying a fruit platter. Seeing Qin Mu emerge from his room, Gongsun Yan joyfully said, "Brother Qin, I picked some fruits for you. They're all grown by myself; they're very fresh!"

Qin Mu quickly thanked her, tasted one, and praised the large, sweet fruit, its fragrance lingering on his lips.

Gongsun Yan was very happy. "Brother Lan," she said, "please take some to Sister Feng and let her try them too."

"No need to send any."

From the temple roof, the phoenix's voice came. Qin Mu looked up and saw the brightly dressed woman, transformed from the phoenix, standing there, gazing intently at Jade Capital City as if facing a great enemy, radiating a strong will to battle.

Qin Mu's heart stirred. He leaped onto the temple roof, but the phoenix displeasedly said, "Get down! This isn't a place for you to be!"

Qin Mu quickly said, "I refined some elixirs. I came to ask you to try them and see if they suit your taste. If they don't, I'll revise the formula."

The phoenix's expression softened. "Don't call me 'sister'; it sounds too sweet and familiar," she said. "My name is Feng Qiuyun; you can just call me Venerable Qiuyun."

She tasted an elixir. "The fire essence is a bit too strong," she said. "I am a phoenix myself, cultivating the Grand Dao of Sacred Fire. The fire essence in these elixirs, because of its low quality, doesn't suit my taste. You go down first; this is not a place for you to stay. And don't bother with the elixirs for now; the Earth Mother's matter is more important. Just focus on your cultivation!"

Qin Mu smiled. "Sister Qiuyun," he said, "my daily cultivation doesn't require seclusion. In fact, I've been accustomed to traveling since childhood, always cultivating while on the move. When I'm fighting, my cultivation speed is even faster. What are you looking at, Sister Qiuyun?"

Feng Qiuyun frowned upon hearing him still call her "sister," but she could only let him. "You cultivate faster when you fight?" she asked.

Qin Mu nodded.

"Then I'll take you to fight!"

Feng Qiuyun said, "Yan'er, you all stay here. I'll take him to Jade Capital City to fight!"

Gongsun Yan hastily said, "How can this be? Brother Qin just suffered severe injuries. How can you take him to fight? If anything goes wrong, how can we explain it to the Earth Mother?"

The phoenix on the temple roof was restless, pacing back and forth.

Qin Mu was puzzled. "Sister Qiuyun," he asked, "what's on your mind?"

Feng Qiuyun didn't answer. She stopped pacing and continued to stare at Jade Capital City.

Gongsun Yan said, "Brother Qin, come down and eat some fruit; there's still a lot!"

Qin Mu had no choice but to leap down from the temple roof and fill his stomach with fruit. After finishing the fruit on the platter, Gongsun Yan was about to go to the backyard to pick more. Qin Mu smiled, "Sister Yan, I'm already full. Oh, by the way, Sister Yan, what's that little green sprout behind your head?"

He reached out and touched the small tender sprout in the halo behind Gongsun Yan's head.

Gongsun Yan gasped softly, her face blushing with bashfulness, and whispered, "Don't touch... you can't touch it."

Qin Mu was puzzled. "Why can't I touch it?" he asked.

Gongsun Yan's face turned even redder, and she dared not speak.

"Idiot!"

Feng Qiuyun jumped down from the temple roof and sneered, "That's Yan'er's primordial spirit. Why are you touching her primordial spirit? It's too stimulating for her. You might as well just touch her body! Her primordial spirit is very weak. She was originally a small seedling that grew from the core of an Earth Essence Dao Fruit. The Earth Mother told me to gather Heavenly Yin Water to nurture her, which is how she developed consciousness and became able to cultivate. But since the core had no pulp, her primordial spirit didn't absorb nutrients and is therefore very weak."

Qin Mu's face turned red, and he stammered, "Sister Yan used her primordial spirit to save me; I have no way to repay her..."

"Marry her then!" Feng Qiuyun said impatiently, pacing back and forth, appearing extremely agitated.

Qin Mu's eyes lit up. "Would the Earth Essence Dao Fruit be helpful to Sister?" he asked. "Can I use its energy to strengthen her primordial spirit?"

Gongsun Yan hastily declined. "How can this be? The Dao Fruit was given to you by the Earth Mother for your cultivation to the life-and-death realm. I..."

Qin Mu smiled. "There's too much energy in the Dao Fruit," he said. "Cultivating to the life-and-death realm will be easy, and I won't use it all up."

He held Gongsun Yan's hand, trying to transfer some of the Dao Fruit's power to her. Gongsun Yan was about to decline, but as the power of the Earth Essence Dao Fruit surged in, she immediately felt an incomparable comfort, making her feel as if she had returned to the womb, to that fruit core, extremely comfortable.

The small tender sprout behind her also slowly split open, its two cotyledons gently swaying.

"No!"

Feng Qiuyun suddenly flew into a rage, phoenix fire igniting around her body. "I must go find that little hussy and teach her a harsh lesson!" she shouted.

Qin Mu paused, startled. "Who are you talking about, Sister Qiuyun?" he asked.

"Qi Xiayu!"

Feng Qiuyun could not conceal her fury, gritting her teeth. "This little slut," she snarled, "she betrayed the Phoenix Clan! Come, you all follow me to Jade Capital City; we'll beat this little hussy to death!"