Chapter 814: Old Hand

"This decrepit ship is truly bizarre!"

Qin Mu, Dragon Herder, and the Village Chief felt their hair stand on end. They had never heard of such a phenomenon: a living being inexplicably growing together with a hall. It was horrifying, yet it was unfolding before their very eyes!

While it was possible for different species to grow together into a single entity, those instances always involved living creatures merging with other living creatures. Here, however, a living being was merging with an inanimate object.

Most terrifying of all, even a powerful being like the Upper Emperor's corpse couldn't escape, becoming a part of the great hall!

The Village Chief led the way back into the hall, whispering, "Let's take a look, but be careful. If there's danger, Mu'er, immediately activate your teleportation divine art. Don't worry about us; just escape yourself!" Qin Mu shook his head, saying, "My teleportation art is fast enough to take all of us." The Village Chief shook his head again, knowing he couldn't persuade him.

They returned to the hall. Inside, everything was orderly, just as before, except for the people who had merged with the hall.

"Feng Qiuyun escaped." Qin Mu looked around but couldn't find Feng Qiuyun. The Village Chief stared at the murals in the hall, shaking his head. "She didn't escape either. Look here."

Qin Mu looked at the mural, which depicted the Imperial Forest Guard suppressing a rebellion. Gods and devils clashed in a brutal scene, with the Imperial Forest Guard proving exceptionally valiant and powerful. In terms of artistic skill, the art of painting during the Dragon Han Celestial Heavens era was only in its infancy, not as refined as the painting arts of the Founding Emperor or Eternal Peace eras. The Imperial Forest Guard in the painting appeared flat, whereas the Deaf Mute could create worlds within and beyond his paintings. The art of painting was also a Post-celestial Great Dao. The Heavenly Saint Church had 360 trades and 360 halls. After Qin Mu became the sect master, he added more academies. In fact, many professions within the Heavenly Saint Church could function as Post-celestial Great Daos, not inherent in the Pre-celestial, but rather paths forged by Post-celestial beings. However, within this painting, which Qin Mu found quite crude, there was a vividly lifelike phoenix with flapping wings, completely out of place among the flat Imperial Forest Guard soldiers. That was Feng Qiuyun. She had also been affected while escaping. It was likely that when she flew to the edge of the hall, the space-time reset trapped her within the painting.

"Where is the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword?" Qin Mu blinked, his gaze sweeping around. Feng Qiuyun had revealed her true form as a phoenix, clutching the sword in her talons. After all, this sword was forged by the Earth Mother Primordial Monarch; its power was immense. Its golden light rotated continuously, somehow resisting the space-time reset, making it possible for it to leap out of the mural! Qin Mu tried to grasp the sword but couldn't, silently lamenting the missed opportunity. Feng Qiuyun's eyes could still move, and she glared at him angrily.

Qin Mu ignored her, walking over to the imperial coffin. Inside was the Northern Upper Emperor's Heavenly Emperor corpse, already stiffened and struggling to roar, attempting to break free from the assimilation, but unable to escape. "Mu'er, this imperial corpse still possesses imperial might; don't go near it," the Village Chief warned. Qin Mu also felt an exceptionally terrifying imperial might from the corpse. This imperial corpse was extremely powerful, showing signs of resisting the assimilation, which made him feel awed.

The three of them looked around. The eight divine dragons had petrified again, still guarding the Empress's coffin, which had now closed. Apart from them and the sealed demigods and gods, there was no one else in the hall. Chimu Divine Son, Ancestral Dragon King, Divine Blade Luo Wushuang, Autumn Hades Prince, and others were no longer there, presumably having escaped.

The Village Chief made an immediate decision: "Mu'er, Feng Qiuyun and the imperial corpse will break free soon, and there's no guarantee they won't attack us. This ghost ship is enormous. Let's leave here quickly and explore other areas to see if we can find a way to escape!" Qin Mu shook his head and walked towards the Empress's coffin, saying, "I want to take another look at the Empress and Jue Wuchen."

The Village Chief frowned, then suddenly felt a little relieved. "Mu'er has grown up; he likes looking at pretty women now. The pig I raised has learned to root for cabbage! Grandma and the others were always worried about this kid not understanding things these past few years, but now he finally gets it."

Qin Mu cast his spell again, opening the Empress's coffin. Inside the coffin, the Empress and Jue Wuchen lay side-by-side.

Qin Mu took a deep breath, activated his Three Elixir Overlord Body Art, and behind him, a Gate of Heaven's Will suddenly appeared! "Mu'er, what are you doing?" the Village Chief asked, alarmed. "I'm summoning the souls of the Empress and Jue Wuchen to get some answers!" Qin Mu immediately began casting, stating solemnly, "Village Chief, don't worry. I'm not resurrecting them; I'm just summoning their souls to question them. After asking, I'll send them back to their respective places; I won't keep them." The Village Chief breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. But sending the Empress's soul back is fine; keeping Jue Wuchen's soul wouldn't be an issue..." Qin Mu paused, glancing at him. The Village Chief's old face flushed slightly, and he quickly added, "I just feel that this woman is too pitiful. If you think it's better to send them away, then send them both away. I'm old now, and you're not often home. Sometimes I feel quite lonely and need a companion..."

Qin Mu paid him no mind, activating his Soul-Guiding Incantation. He chanted Youdu demonic tongue, occasionally switching to Xuandu divine tongue, mixing various languages, and the power of his divine art grew increasingly potent. A moment later, Qin Mu suddenly stopped. "Strange!" He paced around the Empress's coffin, muttering to himself, "No soul? How is that possible? It's impossible for her to have no soul! Even if Celestial Venerable Mu's soul had shattered and dispersed for a million years, I could still gather his fragmented soul. This woman must have a soul..." The Village Chief asked, "Mu'er, what's wrong?" "Jue Wuchen has no soul." Qin Mu was puzzled, explaining, "I just used the Soul-Guiding Incantation to gather her soul. No matter where her soul fragments were scattered across the cosmos, they couldn't escape my divine art's perception. Yet, when I cast the spell, I couldn't sense her soul at all, not even a single soul particle! Her body itself is an empty shell!"

"Are you saying..." The Village Chief's expression was strange. "Jue Wuchen might still be alive? She just abandoned this body, but she's living in the world with a different face." "No, even if she changed her physical body or her appearance, she couldn't change her soul. My Soul-Guiding Incantation attracts souls. Even if she completely transformed, her soul would be summoned by my divine art, or even if it couldn't be summoned, I'd still be able to sense its location." Qin Mu's expression became even stranger, and he suddenly declared with certainty, "This woman, Jue Wuchen, was artificially created!"

The Village Chief gasped in shock, "Such a beauty, artificially created?" Qin Mu stopped, looking at the breathtakingly beautiful woman in the coffin, and said, "It's not impossible to create a perfectly beautiful person. This would require the art of creation to reach an extremely high level of mastery to produce such a woman. However, the art of creation cannot create a brand new soul. Therefore, Jue Wuchen has no soul." The Village Chief looked at the woman in the coffin, and a weight suddenly lifted from his heart. That woman had previously affected his Dao heart, but now, looking at her again, he was no longer swayed.

"Mu'er, are you saying someone created this beauty to tempt a Heavenly Emperor to descend and reincarnate, and then eliminate him?" The Village Chief continued, "But how powerful is a Heavenly Emperor? Would he not be able to tell that this beauty had no soul?"

Qin Mu pondered, "This would require someone to have their primordial spirit leave their body and enter Jue Wuchen's body, becoming Jue Wuchen."

The Village Chief thought for a moment and said, "And this person would need to know the Heavenly Emperor extremely well, cater to his preferences, and make sure the Heavenly Emperor wouldn't suspect them, wouldn't even think it was them. So, the person hidden inside Jue Wuchen's body must be someone close to the Heavenly Emperor." They exchanged a look.

The Village Chief suddenly said, "Mu'er, try to summon the Empress's soul. I just had an idea." Qin Mu immediately understood his idea but didn't voice it. Instead, he followed the Village Chief's suggestion and once again activated the Soul-Guiding Incantation, attempting to summon the Empress's soul.

"If my guess is correct, then summoning the Empress's soul will certainly be dangerous. I will protect you!" The Village Chief drew his sword, closed his eyes, and unleashed his aura. The sword in his hand grew brighter and brighter, like a startled dragon, ready to soar at any moment! He pushed his sword Dao to its absolute limit!

Qin Mu chanted the Youdu divine tongue. Behind him, the Gate of Heaven's Will opened, exuding a chilling demonic aura.

A moment later, he finally sensed the Empress's soul! It was a complete soul! The Empress's soul was undamaged; all three souls were present and immensely powerful. To Qin Mu, it felt like a majestic deity standing high above the nine heavens! The instant Qin Mu sensed the Empress, she also sensed him. Her phoenix eyes opened, looking at him across infinite space.

Qin Mu's vision suddenly turned black, as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. His soul twisted, seemingly on the verge of leaving his body and plunging into eternal descent! *Clang!* The Village Chief's sword soared, its light piercing through, cutting towards the void. The brilliant sword light severed Qin Mu's connection with the Empress in an instant. After the sword light faded, the Village Chief's body trembled, and blood gushed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Qin Mu's vision immediately brightened with sword light. His primordial spirit instantly returned to his body, which was now soaked in sweat and trembling. "She's alive! The Empress is still alive!" Like a drowning person surfacing, he greedily gulped air, his voice hoarse. "The Empress is not dead!"

The Village Chief's hand, still gripping the divine sword, trembled. The sword hummed and vibrated, then suddenly, with a *snap*, it exploded into countless specks of dust! The Village Chief opened his hand, and the hilt also turned to dust, slipping from his palm.

"An old hand, a true old hand!" The Village Chief coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura weak and dispirited. His body slumped as he sat down, chuckling weakly. "This Empress is truly an old hand! Mu'er, when you left the village, I told you the world was dangerous. Do you see it now?" Qin Mu immediately began treating his injuries, stating solemnly, "Mu'er understands."

Dragon Herder, completely bewildered and still not understanding, quickly asked, "Didn't the Empress die? How is she still alive? And how is she 'an old hand'?" Qin Mu and the Village Chief did not answer.

On the Qin character continent, Heavenly Duke, Earth Count, Crimson Emperor, and Grand Brahma Heavenly King Buddha were all wide-eyed, speechless for a long time. The large-headed infant Qin Fengqing suddenly pounced, shattering the lava Earth Count, snatching the Killing Cauldron, and running off. Piece by piece, the lava automatically restored itself, and Earth Count's body returned to normal, but he didn't pursue to reclaim the Killing Cauldron, remaining lost in thought.

"An old hand, indeed." He sighed, saying, "Truly an old hand. So, the Empress was Jue Wuchen all along!"