Chapter 859: Heavenly Alliance Elders

Qin Mu led the Dragon King's massive head into another ruin, which was littered with bones, with blood oozing from the cliffs and ground, giving off an ominous aura.

As they delved deeper, more and more white figures appeared around them.

These white figures initially appeared one or two at a time, then their numbers grew, some suddenly materializing on mountaintops, others on flat ground. They stared blankly at Qin Mu and his companions, making no unnecessary movements.

Qin Mu looked at them but couldn't discern their faces.

"Young Master, there's a person in white riding on your neck," Yan'er whispered.

Qin Mu quickly turned his head but saw nothing, which sent shivers down his spine.

He quickly pulled out a mirror and looked into it. Sure enough, a white figure was riding on his neck, its faceless head peering out from behind, seemingly examining the mirror.

Qin Mu's scalp tingled. He looked at Dragon Qilin, on whom several faint white figures were also clinging, though he hadn't noticed when they got there.

He looked at Yan'er, and a white figure was actually clinging to her back, making a sucking motion towards the back of her head.

Qin Mu then looked at the Dragon King's massive head, which had even more white figures clinging to it.

"We shouldn't stay here long!"

Qin Mu made an immediate decision, opening the Gate of Perpetuation. Dragon Qilin leaped into the gate with them, escaping the ruin and arriving in Youdu.

The moment they stepped into Youdu, Qin Mu vaguely heard faint yet shrill cries coming from behind them. He quickly looked up and saw the area outside the Gate of Perpetuation crowded with white figures, all reaching out towards Youdu.

Qin Mu dispelled the Gate of Perpetuation, and severed arms fell from where the gate had disappeared, plummeting into the darkness.

"The ruins in the Primordial Realm are truly bizarre..."

As Qin Mu recovered from his fright, Dragon Qilin and Yan'er flailed wildly as they began to fall into Youdu's darkness. Qin Mu inverted his divine treasures, transforming them into demonic divine treasures, and used Youdu's divine arts to pull them back.

Qin Mu chuckled, "You can't use your magic power here, so I'll have to guide you. Let's not rush to leave. We'll wait for someone to pick us up and hitch a ride."

Yan'er was quite puzzled. She looked around curiously and asked, "Where is this ride?"

Qin Mu was quite confident, smiling, "It'll be here soon!"

After a moment, his expression darkened. He grumbled, "Is Heavenly Venerate You being lazy today? He still hasn't shown up. Usually, his small boat would arrive to pick me up as soon as I opened the Gate of Perpetuation..."

"Usually, Cult Master stands on my head. Can I stand on Cult Master's head this time?" Dragon Qilin asked, both surprised and delighted.

Qin Mu removed the willow leaf from between his brows, sending his divine consciousness into the Qin Character Continent, where it materialized into his image. He asked, "Earth Count, why didn't Heavenly Venerate You come to pick me up today?"

Earth Count (of Lava) sensed his true form and replied, "A myriad of heavens has been destroyed, and there are too many deceased. Heavenly Venerate You went there to guide the spirits."

"I see. Earth Count, could you send a master to escort me to Lijiang Academy?" Qin Mu asked.

Earth Count (of Lava) stared at him. Qin Mu's gaze was sincere, and he said without batting an eyelid, "If I travel from Youdu, I don't know the way to Lijiang Academy."

Earth Count (of Lava) was silent for a moment, then said, "How about I escort you there myself?"

Qin Mu was overjoyed, repeatedly saying, "How can you do that?"

He withdrew his divine consciousness, feeling a touch of pride, and humbly told Dragon Qilin and Yan'er, "Earth Count said he'll personally escort us to Lijiang Academy."

Dragon Qilin was a little disappointed. Just then, a fierce gust of wind suddenly roared from the depths of Youdu, sweeping up Qin Mu, Dragon Qilin, and Yan'er. They were carried away at lightning speed, tumbling and rolling, flying an unknown distance in an instant.

The three were dizzy and disoriented. After the gale subsided, Dragon Qilin was seen facing a cliff, embedded in the cliff face outside Lijiang Academy. Yan'er, transformed into a green bird, was hanging upside down from a treetop on the cliff edge, belly facing the sky. Qin Mu, meanwhile, was headfirst in the Lijiang River.

A moment later, the three tidied themselves. Qin Mu's expression was grim, and he growled, "Only the three of us know what happened today. If anyone dares to speak of it, I'll kill them! Understand?"

Dragon Qilin and Qing Que nodded repeatedly.

Qin Mu stared at Dragon Qilin and said pleasantly, "Do you know how the Great Sun Star Lord died, Fatty Dragon?"

Dragon Qilin quickly replied, "Cult Master, I'm the most tight-lipped. Look, I've never spoken about Grandmaster's embarrassing moments!"

Two months later, Qin Mu picked up Heavenly Venerate Yu and arrived at the source of the Surging River. He saw that the Surging River no longer flowed from the cliffs of the Great Ruins but now passed through various heavens.

The Celestial River flowed out from the myriad heavens suspended in the sky, cascading downwards like falling jade, a truly magnificent sight.

He waited for half a day at the source of the Surging River, sitting on the water. However, the mist in the river never appeared.

"Heavenly Venerate Ling must have cut off the Celestial River here, simultaneously casting a divine art to replace the river's substance with herself, unleashing that astonishing divine art."

Qin Mu stood up and sought out the Celestial Yin Realm.

In the Celestial Yin Realm, sand-carrying ships laden with Celestial Yin Gold were sailing out, following the Celestial River to Eternal Peace.

Qin Mu boarded a sand-carrying ship and inquired. The divine arts practitioner guarding the ship replied, "The Imperial Preceptor ordered us to transport Celestial Yin Gold. He said that Eternal Peace is currently divided, and various cities and regions are difficult to defend, so he instructed us to collect Celestial Yin Gold to forge Sun-Shooting Divine Cannons, with every major city needing to be equipped with one."

"How is the issue of medicinal stones being resolved?" Qin Mu asked.

"I don't know about that," was the reply.

Qin Mu asked again, "Is the journey safe?"

The divine arts practitioner said, "The Dragon Herder leads the River Dragon Kings to guard the sand ships along the way, so it's relatively peaceful. There are just occasional river monsters causing trouble and destroying a few ships."

Qin Mu nodded, allowing them to depart.

In the Celestial Yin Realm, in front of the Celestial Yin Empress's palace by the sea, Qin Mu looked towards the shore. He saw many divine arts practitioners working diligently, dredging sand from the sea to retrieve Celestial Yin Gold and transport it elsewhere.

Along the coast, there were also some towns where people from Eternal Peace and the Great Ruins lived, avoiding the chaotic outside world. Many divine arts practitioners were also teaching there, making the place less desolate.

"I never expected the Celestial Yin Realm to transform into this state," a voice said.

Behind Qin Mu, black sand swirled, forming the body of a majestic man. He spoke, "Eternal Peace is indeed extraordinary. If given enough time, how powerful would you become? You make even me feel fear."

Qin Mu turned around and chuckled, "I should have realized long ago that Your Majesty's soul, transformed into black sand, was hidden in the Celestial Yin Realm. It was because Your Majesty's soul was here that the Celestial Yin Empress died. Emperor Yin wanted to control the Celestial Yin Realm not to deal with the Celestial Yin Empress, but to guard Your Majesty's scattered soul. Unfortunately, the Celestial Yin Empress didn't realize this and was consequently ambushed by Emperor Yin."

A faint figure was visible within the surging black soul-sand. As it spoke, the black sand expanded outwards due to the vibration, but it remained bound.

"Heavenly Venerate Mu can revive the Celestial Yin Empress, and he can also revive me. After you revived the Celestial Yin Empress, I realized my opportunity had come. Unfortunately, Heavenly Venerate Mu is truly Heavenly Venerate Mu—extremely troublesome, always frustrating me."

The figure in the black sand said, "But you are right. After all, I am a deceased ancient god. You indeed have the right to bargain with me, and the right to form an alliance with me."

Qin Mu scrutinized him, then suddenly asked, "Who gathered your soul?"

The figure in the black sand paused slightly, then chuckled, "My dear minister, why do you ask that?"

"The art of soul revival was created by me. I can tell at a glance whether someone gathered your soul."

Qin Mu said calmly, "In this world, there are few with the power to revive an ancient god—only one, and that is me. However, there are many who can gather souls. Back then, I invited five individuals here to organize the Celestial Yin Realm's rune system: Yama of Fengdu, Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace, Xu Shenghua, Human Emperor First Ancestor, and Saint Qiao Fu. They perfected the Celestial Yin Realm's rune system and imprinted the runes on the cliffs by the sea. Even with the Celestial Yin Realm's rune system, deducing the art of soul gathering is not something an ordinary person can accomplish. To gather the soul of the Heavenly Emperor requires a master among masters. Who is this person?"

The Heavenly Emperor in the black sand did not answer.

Just then, a figure walked out from within the Celestial Yin Palace and chuckled, "It was I. Heavenly Venerate Mu, long time no see. Do you remember when you fiddled with my compass?"

Qin Mu widened his eyes, looking at the figure. He saw a scruffy old Daoist walk out, his hair messy and unkempt, holding a compass in his hand.

Although he looked ancient and disheveled, his eyes were remarkably bright, containing boundless wisdom.

Qin Mu took a long breath and smiled, "Dao Ancestor, long time no see."

The scruffy old Daoist stepped forward and bowed, "This old Daoist of the Heavenly Alliance greets Heavenly Venerate Mu."

Qin Mu's heart jolted, his eye twitching. He blurted out, "Dao Ancestor, you are also part of the Heavenly Alliance?"

The scruffy old Daoist chuckled, "Heavenly Venerate Mu, I assume you've already met the old monk? He's also one of the elders of the Heavenly Alliance."

Qin Mu felt dizzy.

Grand Brahma Heavenly King Buddha is also part of the Heavenly Alliance?

A manifestation of this great Buddha had always been residing in the Qin Character Continent within his glabella. Although seemingly sleeping, nothing that happened in the Qin Character Continent could escape his notice!

Could it be that they also had a hand in controlling the Celestial Court?

The Celestial Yin Empress walked over and said, "Everyone, please come into the palace and rest."

Qin Mu composed himself and followed her into the Celestial Yin Palace. He turned back and said, "Fatty Dragon, Sister Yan'er, you two stay outside. Younger Brother Yu, you... you come in!"

Heavenly Venerate Yu, still somewhat bewildered, followed behind him into the palace. Everyone took their seats without any distinction between host and guest.

Qin Mu's mind calmed. He thought to himself, "Worst case scenario, I'll just break ties. I'll directly merge with my brother to become a mini Earth Count, transform this place into Youdu, and bring Earth Count in to take them all down!"

As he thought this, he smiled and said, "Dao Ancestor, you led me to the Archives Pavilion, which was truly eye-opening. So, when did Dao Ancestor realize that the Celestial Yin Realm's rune system was established? And when did you find this place? Training a disciple like Yan Qiling isn't something that can be done in just a year or two. Even if you revived the Heavenly Emperor, he couldn't cultivate such an outstanding disciple in such a short time."

The scruffy old Daoist chuckled, "The Heavenly Emperor still has a scattered soul, hidden in the Celestial Court. That soul is also one of the Heavenly Alliance's elders, and naturally, he has taught many disciples."