Chapter 849: Heavenly Sovereign's Decree

"Where did you get this item?" Qin Mu asked, shifting his gaze from the box.

Young Xing Han breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "When the Primordial World was unsealed, I saw a very ancient ruin enveloped in divine radiance. I went inside to search and found this item."

Godly Son Chi Ming, the Butcher, and others stepped forward, but the box was already closed, preventing them from seeing what was inside.

However, there were few treasures in the world that could move Qin Mu. Even ordinary Emperor's Throne cultivation methods rarely piqued his interest, so the item inside the box had to be extraordinary.

The Dragon Qilin approached, rubbed against the box, and whispered, "Good brother, what's inside? Can I see?"

Hu Ling'er tried to pry open a crack in the box, but it remained tightly shut, refusing to reveal its contents.

"Where is the ruin where you found this item?" Qin Mu asked gravely. "This item isn't of much use to me; only that ruin is crucial. If you want me to save you, tell me where it is."

"There's a map inside the box," Xing Han said. "If you save me, both the item and the map are yours. In fact, if you're uneasy, I can personally lead you there."

Qin Mu gave him a deep look, nodded, and then said to Chancellor Ba Shan, "Senior Brother, lend me a space. I will perform a ritual to reshape his soul."

Chancellor Ba Shan immediately cleared the main hall, Lijiang Hall. Qin Mu picked up the box, entered the hall, and placed it beside him.

Xing Han walked into the hall and glanced at the box. The box could move on its own, yet Qin Mu insisted on carrying it, clearly indicating that the item he had found was extremely important to Qin Mu. This confirmed that bringing the treasure to Qin Mu had been the right decision.

Inside the hall, the Gate of Heaven's Mandate appeared behind Qin Mu, and he began the ritual to gather Xing Han's scattered souls.

Although Xing Han was a saint who emerged once every five hundred years in a previous era, possessing extraordinary intelligence, he was limited by his time and could not become a god.

Unlike Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang, a contemporary saint who poured his heart into Yan Kang's reforms and transformation, pursuing his ambitions without regard for his own life, Xing Han had dedicated all his efforts to prolonging his existence.

He took an unconventional path, killing many near-god experts and piecing together their divine-level physical body parts to maintain his youth.

Later, his research advanced further. He even dissected his own primordial spirit and soul, taking others' spirits and souls to piece together his primordial spirit.

Over time, Xing Han became lost, no longer knowing which part was truly himself.

The souls and bodies of others would ultimately limit his achievements. In this era of rapid Daoist magic development, if he couldn't return to his true self, he would be eliminated.

For Qin Mu, reshaping Xing Han's soul was a familiar and effortless task, as Xing Han was not a being like Earth Mother Primordial Lord or Heavenly Yin Empress.

Furthermore, he wasn't worried that Xing Han could learn his Soul-Guiding spell. Without the identity of the Son of Youdu, one could never truly master the Gate of Heaven's Mandate.

More importantly, without good relations with Heaven Duke and Earth Count, attempting to steal their power to reshape a soul would likely result in being killed by these two ancient gods.

Not long after, the ritual concluded. Xing Han sat in the lotus position, carefully sensing his soul, filled with indescribable emotion.

Qin Mu, meanwhile, opened the box. Inside, the physical bodies of numerous divine beings were neatly arrayed, standing within the box's spatial confines. Many of these divine beings were demigods who had cultivated to the God Realm.

Additionally, many primordial spirits were fixed in place by Xing Han using peculiar methods. These primordial spirits varied wildly in form and belonged to different races.

However, what caught Qin Mu's eye wasn't Xing Han's collection, but a jade token—a token similar to the Revered Celestial Mu's token.

The box ejected this token, which landed in Qin Mu's hand. Qin Mu turned it over, and on it, the ancient divine script for "Qin" was engraved.

It was the token of Revered Celestial Qin.

Back when he and Niu Sanduo returned to the early years of the Dragon Han era, they encountered Kai Huang on the Celestial River. Their great battle at the Jade Pool Assembly had shocked the Heavenly Court.

Revered Celestial Yu observed their immense divine powers, recognizing them as extraordinary, surpassing both the human race and the ancient gods and demigods of that time. He then submitted a memorial to the Ancient Celestial Emperor, requesting rewards for them.

Consequently, the Ancient Celestial Emperor bestowed upon them the title of Revered Celestial. Qin Mu adopted the alias Mu Qing, thus becoming Revered Celestial Mu. Kai Huang Qin Ye adopted the alias Qin Kai, thus becoming Revered Celestial Qin.

Qin Mu and Kai Huang, along with the Seven Revered Celestials, were collectively known as the Nine Revered Celestials.

The Ancient Celestial Emperor's conferment included an imperial decree and a token, with each receiving one.

This was precisely why he had immediately agreed to reshape Xing Han's soul upon seeing this token!

Qin Mu examined the Revered Celestial Qin token several times, then placed it into his Gluttonous Bag. He glanced at Xing Han, who, with his soul weakened from the reshaping, was currently activating a profound art to strengthen it.

Qin Mu took out the map from the box and looked it over. It was a map of the current Primordial World, containing so many unfamiliar places that he could barely make sense of it.

"Even with the map, I'll need Xing Han to accompany me there," Qin Mu mused. He put away the map and walked out of Lijiang Hall.

Outside the hall, the Butcher transformed into a streak of blade light and flew elsewhere, laughing, "Mu'er, aren't you going to learn the reforms and achievements of Lijiang Academy? I'll be waiting for you at the Heavenly Blade Institute!"

Qin Mu set aside his thoughts and chuckled, "Grandpa Butcher, I'll beat you to death."

The Butcher burst into laughter, his blade light descending into a cluster of palace buildings within the academy—the Heavenly Blade Institute.

Godly Son Chi Ming's purple robes swirled as he flashed away, his voice echoing back, "Son of Youdu, I await your esteemed presence at the Creation Institute!"

The old farmer walked away, calmly stating, "Martial Arts Institute, come find me for a beating!"

Qin Mu's face darkened. Yu Zhaoqing smiled sweetly and said, "Nature Institute, I await the Cult Master's esteemed presence."

Ban Gongcuo, filled with heroic spirit, laughed heartily, "Cult Master Qin, I look forward to your challenge at the Shamanic Arts & Sky-Roaming Institute!"

In front of Lijiang Hall, many powerful individuals returned to their respective institutes, awaiting Qin Mu's challenge. Hu Ling'er also grew excited, riding a gust of demonic wind as she left, cheerfully exclaiming, "Young Master, I'll be waiting for your challenge at the Demonic Institute!"

Qin Mu scratched his head. "Ling'er seems to have misunderstood. I'm here to learn divine arts; I can't learn demonic arts... But since she's so enthusiastic, after I've challenged the other institutes, I'll go sit with her for a bit, so the little girl doesn't get sad. Still, these institutes at Lijiang Academy seem to be full of formidable characters, except for the Grand Cult Master, of course..."

Lijiang Academy had over twenty institutes in total, including the Sword Dao Institute, Demonic Dao Institute, Divine Dao Institute, and others, each with its unique strengths. Qin Mu challenged them one by one.

His goal was to learn the achievements of Lijiang's reforms, so he used Lijiang Academy's cultivation methods and divine arts to duel with each institute. There were wins and losses. The most devastating defeat was at Ban Gongcuo's Shamanic Arts & Sky-Roaming Institute, where Qin Mu utterly lost to Ban Gongcuo in a contest of escape techniques.

Qin Mu, losing face, wanted to compete in shamanic arts, but Ban Gongcuo refused to engage him. After winning, he simply fled and disappeared without a trace.

The easiest victory was at Godly Son Chi Ming's Creation Institute. In the art of creation, Godly Son Chi Ming was indeed inferior to him, even if his cultivation strength far surpassed Qin Mu's.

The most relaxed experience was at Hu Ling'er's Demonic Institute. After a brief playful skirmish with Hu Ling'er, Qin Mu got utterly drunk with Hu Xian and a group of other demons.

The most brutal beating came from the old farmer's Martial Arts Institute. As soon as Qin Mu entered, he began taking hits until he couldn't stand.

The most heartwarming, however, was still the Heavenly Blade Institute. The two, grandfather and grandson, fought and stopped, with the Butcher earnestly guiding Qin Mu's blade cultivation, hoping he could achieve enlightenment through the blade. This made Qin Mu feel as if he was back in the warm days of Disabled Elderly Village.

When the Butcher wasn't in his "mad" state, he exuded the warmth of an elder.

On this day, Xing Han emerged from Lijiang Hall and said to Qin Mu, "Cult Master Qin, we can depart now."

Qin Mu bade farewell to everyone, then said to the Butcher, "Grandpa Butcher, this journey of mine will likely be fraught with danger. Please keep Lan Yutian here for now and let him learn Lijiang's Daoist arts. Grandpa Butcher, you must look after him well. You don't need to teach him cultivation methods, but do urge him to cultivate."

The Butcher glanced at Xing Han. "I don't trust this little Hanzi. He's ruthless. If you travel alone with him, I fear he might harm you. Mu'er, a leopard can't change its spots. The way he looks at you isn't right. I suspect he desperately wants your body!"

Qin Mu calmly stated, "Xing Han cannot harm me in the slightest."

The Butcher still seemed somewhat uneasy.

Qin Mu called for the Dragon Qilin and Yan'er, then set off with Xing Han.

Xing Han took a dragon from his box, blew a breath upon it, and the divine dragon instantly came to life, soaring through the clouds and mist at an astonishing speed.

Qin Mu sat on the Dragon Qilin's head. The Dragon Qilin, riding a fiery cloud, galloped furiously to catch up with the divine dragon.

"Cult Master Qin's brute here cultivates quite fast," Xing Han remarked, looking back in surprise. "Cult Master Qin, you're traveling with me this time without any experts. You seem quite trusting of me."

Qin Mu calmly replied, "Xing Han, you were once incredibly brilliant. In the battle at Heavenly Saint Academy, nearly all the experts from my Disabled Elderly Village and Yan Kang perished. However, times have changed, and your abilities are no longer as stunning as they once were. When traveling with you, I don't need other experts."

Xing Han replied indifferently, "You underestimate me. Although I realize I chose the wrong path, it's still hard to find my match among my peers in this world. Even Sword God Su would be a shade or two inferior to me. You should have brought some experts, because you are very appealing to me. When you saw the contents of my box, you should have known that I haven't entirely abandoned my old ways."

Qin Mu burst into laughter. Taking advantage of his open mouth, Yan'er fed him a Crimson Flame Spirit Pill.

Qin Mu's face darkened, and he was about to spit it out, but then he unexpectedly found the Crimson Flame Spirit Pill quite tasty and, by some strange impulse, swallowed it. "No wonder Fatty Dragon always likes to eat Crimson Flame Spirit Pills; it turns out they taste so good... Pfft, pfft, this was for Fatty Dragon!"

With Yan'er by his side, his courage was boundless.

Even with the Dragon Qilin running at full speed, traveling day and night, it still took them two months to reach the ancient ruins Xing Han had spoken of.

The Dragon Qilin descended, and the divine dragon beneath Xing Han's feet also slowly landed. The divine dragon gradually shrank and flew into the open box.

Xing Han carried the box and softly said, "This is the place. I barely survived here; I almost didn't make it out alive."

Qin Mu looked forward and saw intense divine radiance erupting from a shattered divine mountain, dazzling to the eye.

Within that divine radiance, a bright light was moving. Just as he was about to look closer, he saw a round, glowing orb fly out from the shimmering light, with sword light erupting from it, extending for dozens of miles!

"Does it resemble your sword technique?" Xing Han asked from beside Qin Mu. "It was here that I found the 'Qin' token, and also saw a sword technique similar to yours, which is why I believed this treasure could impress you."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and his Carefree Sword hummed softly once more.