Chapter 287: Dao Master
Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
Long Jiaonan's scalp split open, and the sound was hair-raising. With difficulty, a woman began crawling out from the split human skin.
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang screamed, then noticed that they were both hugging each other. The next second, they let go.
Qin Mu took out his 'Qin' jade pendant and put it on him. The jade pendant and Emperor's Disk were tied together and had been thrown in together into taotie sack by Long Jiaonan. One of these items was related to Qin Mu's parentage while the other was a treasure Cripple had given him to ward off evil.
The sight of Long Jiaonan crawling out from her skin was simply too terrifying, and it just so happened that Emperor's Disk could be used to ward off evil.
After a moment, a naked woman managed to pull her upper body out of Long Jiaonan's skin and some shattered bones jutting out from the skin were also squeezed out.
This woman was naked and had disheveled hair. She had difficulty crawling and coughed up blood as she did so.
Ling Yuxiu then came to her senses from the shock and immediately urged Qin Mu, "Turn around, don't look!"
"It's not like I've never seen this before…" Qin Mu muttered but he still turned around.
Not long later, Long Jiaonan finally managed to crawl out from her skin. She was at her last gasp and had no strength, and her appearance had become slightly older; she was no longer a woman in her prime age. She now looked a dozen years older.
Si Yunxiang fetched a shirt to cover her body, and while she did that, she secretly pinched the body of this woman, and her gaze flickered. She told Ling Yuxiu in a low voice, "There are still some shattered bones in her body, she didn't spit all of them out."
Long Jiaonan sat up with difficulty and wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. She said weakly, "My injuries were too severe, so this shedding could only heal the injuries of my heart and some of the bones. If I wanted to recover completely, I would have to shed a few more times. Every time I shed my skin, I become a dozen years older, losing much of my lifespan. You guys can be at ease, I am of no threat to you anymore."
Ling Yuxiu looked at the two halves of the red snake's body and suddenly gave a shudder, "Could this huge snake also…"
Long Jiaonan's expression turned sorrowful, and she shook her head. "Xiao'hong has already been severed into two halves and its head was destroyed, there's no way it can recover…"
"That's good!" Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu sighed in relief.
Qin Mu turned around and revealed a smile. "Sister Long, may I ask where your esteemed father is? Where is he hiding? Who is with him? Why does he want to meet me?"
Long Jiaonan didn't speak a word.
Qin Mu kept smiling as he stretched out his index finger. A strand of vital qi flew out and sliced a piece of the snake, then moved it to roast it over the bonfire. Fats started dripping off the snake meat, and it gave off smoke as it sizzled.
Long Jiaonan's gaze landed on that piece of snake meat and her pupils contracted.
"There are three hundred and sixty-one halls in my Heavenly Saint Cult, and one of them is called Justice Hall. They rigorously carry out cruel laws and have thousands of ways to make one confess."
Qin Mu's face was sometimes bright and sometimes dark under the illumination of the bonfire. "Eternal Peace Empire also has a Ministry of Justice and you should have heard of their ways. The government minister of Ministry of Justice is the emperor's man, but the assistant minister is the Justice Hall Master of my Heavenly Saint Cult. If I wanted your answers, I would just have to trouble him. Will you take the initiative to speak or shall I force it out of you?"
Long Jiaonan sneered, "Eternal Peace Empire and Heavenly Devil Cult have such deep ties with one another, it's truly founding an empire by the means of the devil. Cult Master Qin, even though there was a threat in inviting you this time, I was still courteous, wasn't I? I didn't cause trouble for you guys; otherwise, chopping off Cult Master's legs, the princess's hands, and blinding the saintess wouldn't have been too difficult for me. I would like for you to treat me the way you've been treated. Now that I'm in your hands, I hope to receive deferential treatment as well."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "I can give you deferential treatment and not give you trouble on the way as well. However, since you have rebelled and caused chaos, it's only natural for me to hand you over to Ministry of Justice for questioning. You had an official position in the past, so it also a possibility for me to hand you to Supreme Court; however, there are people of my Heavenly Saint Cult in Supreme Court, too."
Long Jiaonan's expression wavered, but she still didn't speak a word.
Qin Mu couldn't ask anything out from her, so he flicked his fingers to seal her souls and spirits with Heavenly Devil Creation Technique. He then said to the two girls, "Fan Yunxiao's ship is fast and he shouldn't find it difficult to find his way here. He should come tomorrow. If not, five days is the longest he may take. Let us stay on the island for a few days and see if the Solomon's seals can be brought back to life."
Si Yunxiang hesitated. "Cult Master feels tenderness for the lives of these Solomon's seals, but if Long Jiaonan was to escape, she might find her way here again and trample on these Solomon's seals once more. Cult Master cannot lust for her charm just because she's pretty…"
"Lust for her charm?" Qin Mu sized up Long Jiaonan and asked in puzzlement, "She isn't pretty so where's the charm?"
Si Yunxiang was astonished. Even though Long Jiaonan had a weird temper, she was still considered a beauty. Even though she had become slightly older after shedding her skin, she was still a beautiful woman. For the sacred cult master of Heavenly Saint Cult to not find her beautiful, wasn't he a little too slow?
She probed, "What's Cult Master's definition of beautiful?"
"Someone who looks like granny." After a moment, he added without thinking, "Or someone plump like Sister Yuxiu. Granny Si said that plump girls look nice, but I must be careful of doxies."
Ling Yuxiu was very pleased and gave Si Yunxiang a glance. Her heart already secretly considered the cowherd boy to be her intimate friend.
Si Yunxiang felt indignant and said, "I'm from the same family as the previous cult mistress, and in terms of seniority, I should be calling her aunt. Does Cult Master thinks I'm pretty?"
"You're too skinny and you're still young, you must be even younger than me, right?" Qin Mu sized up Si Yunxiang and shook his head. "Granny said that skinny girls are not that pretty. Being a little plump is okay, since they can bear children. Granny Apothecary also said that it's good for girls to be a little plump, but all the people in the village said he's an old rogue. Don't be sad though, you will be pretty if you eat more, but don't get too plump. Grandpa Apothecary said that being too plump isn't beautiful, either."
Si Yunxiang was stunned. According to Qin Mu's beauty standards, Long Jiaonan was indeed not considered beautiful, and even she herself was not considered beautiful. No wonder then that when she had taken off her clothes just moments ago and was left with only her undergarments, this fellow had not even taken an extra glance at her. It turned out that he had been brought astray by the rogues in his village!
The young sacred cult master was good at everything. His wisdom, capability, aptitude, comprehension, and even resolution were all outstanding. It was just that there was something wrong with his beauty standards.
Qin Mu purposely didn't lower his voice and said, "Leaving this Sister Long alive is mainly to lure the dragon king out. The dragon king's abilities are high and he has even raised a flood dragon. He's a sect master after all, so if I don't get rid of him, it will be hard for me to be at ease. I have to be very scared and on the edge every time I walk in the streets, fearing I will be killed. By handing Sister Long to the crown prince and requesting the help of the left and right guardians and cult protector elders, as long as the dragon king dares to come, he will die with an intact corpse."
He had a grave expression as he continued, "He must die without an intact corpse, his brain must be smashed into smithereens; otherwise, no one will know if he will come back to life! Speaking of it, I wonder why this dragon king is looking for me… but this isn't important. The important point is that he must die!"
Long Jiaonan shuddered. Qin Mu's plan was too vicious. As long as the dragon king came to save her, he would certainly die. There was no chance that he could defeat the guardians and cult protector elders of Heavenly Devil Cult!
"Cult Master Qin, there's a reason why my father invited you over!" she suddenly said.
Qin Mu looked at her and smiled. "Sister Long is finally willing to speak?"
Long Jiaonan sighed and said, "Someone found my father and said that it wasn't good for him to show himself, but that he still wanted to meet with Cult Master Qin and negotiate peace."
Qin Mu was astonished. "May I ask who this person is?"
"Dao Master."
Long Jiaonan continued, "Of so-called three religions and nine schools, Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Heavenly Devil Cult are considered the three religions, while our Dragon Rider Sect is only considered a sect of the nine schools. Cult Master is simply too powerful and not only did he rescue the emperor, he even killed so many experts of Dao Sect and Great Thunderclap Monastery at the Temple of Heaven in Imperial City.
"Dao Master is flustered now and fears that Emperor Yanfeng and Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor will ally with Heavenly Devil Cult to deal with Dao Sect. It isn't convenient for him to meet you personally, so as to prevent any misunderstandings between you and the emperor he found my father and requested him to invite you to Heavenly Dragon Island for a meeting."
Her expression turned cold. "I was courteous to you on the way here, but do you really think I didn't want to kill you? You killed countless disciples of my Dragon Rider Sect in Heaven Wave City and the emperor even seized our properties and executed our entire family, so my grudge with you guys is deeper than the sea! However, Dao Master is my father's benefactor and had saved his life before. I don't dare to go against his words."
Qin Mu had a pensive look as he rubbed his chin. Another few stubbles had popped out on his chin which was really irritating.
'Dao Master wants to meet me to negotiate peace, yet Dao Sect is negotiating peace with my Heavenly Saint Cult but not with Eternal Peace Empire.'
He pondered over it.'Dao Master is worried about my Heavenly Saint Cult allying with Eternal Peace Empire to attack Dao Sect, since he's already old and doesn't have many years left to live. He can still protect Dao Sect if he negotiates peace now; otherwise, once he dies, Dao Sect is going to be eradicated."
The snake meat was very fragrant, and the fish was also not bad. However, Long Jiaonan only ate a few pieces of fish and didn't even try the snake meat. Qin Mu politely offered it to her twice, but seeing how she simply didn't want to eat her snake, he could only drop this thought.
The next day, Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu had woke up early, yet they saw Qin Mu already moving around on the island, his footstep neverending. Sometimes he was walking through the beach, and at other times he was walking over the sea. He would even leap up into the clouds at times.
'His aptitude and comprehension are higher than that of others yet he's still so hardworking!' Si Yunxiang gritted her teeth and thought to herself, 'If it wasn't so that I wouldn't have a chance to kill you, would there be a need to be so hardworking?'
Qin Mu had no other thoughts in his mind as he executed Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique while walking. He operated the technique, trying to merge all kinds of techniques into one to comprehend Unity Technique of Six Directions Realm.
Si Yunxiang was wrong. Qin Mu's aptitude was definitely the lowest tier. Back then, the people of Disabled Elderly Village had tested it, and he wasn't even a Spirit Body, but merely an ordinary person.
Qin Mu should have lived his whole life ordinarily, yet who would have expected that an Overlord Body from Village Chief would ignite Qin Mu's fighting spirit, as well as the fighting spirit of everyone in Disabled Elderly Village, pushing all kinds of spirit pills and miraculous medicines onto him.
Furthermore, Qin Mu was indeed hardworking and could even be the most hardworking person in the world. There was also an invincible belief in him that he was the Overlord Body that surpassed others. If he was inferior to others, that could only mean that he wasn't working hard enough.
His current cultivation and abilities were not entirely due to the grooming of Village Chief, Granny Si, and the rest or gained by chance encounters, but mostly his hard work.
If an ordinary person was willing to use their brain and work hard, it was hard to imagine how big their potential would be.
No one could find someone extraordinary based on hard work before they succeeded. Only after success would others find the person extraordinary, when they looked at a legend, yet they would all be overlooking the person's hard work.
Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu saw this situation and began to cultivate diligently as well. The two girls cultivated by themselves and didn't disturb each other. Long Jiaonan laid under the tree and breathed in and out, trying to shed her skin again. However, since her injuries were too severe and the energy consumed would be too great, she couldn't do it.
If she shed her skin once more, she would become a middle-aged woman. After shedding a few more times, she would become an old woman.
When it was late in the morning, Qin Mu returned to the spring, planning to fetch some spring water for the Solomon's seals at the side of the spring. Yet he stopped in his footsteps when he saw an old Daoist in a washed Daoist robe that was slightly gray beside the spring. The man was currently using a leaf to fetch water while walking carefully among the Solomon's seals, watering them. Beside him was also a youth that was helping to water as well.
The old Daoist saw a leaf sprouting from a Solomon's seal's head, and his wrinkled face beamed. He squatted down and gently touched the leaf. "These Solomon's seals can still be brought back to life after dying, what a wonderful life. Isn't that so, Cult Master Qin?"
Each and every action from the old Daoist seemed to go according to the course of nature. It was as if this sea, this island, this spring, this sky, and these Solomon's seals were one and had no distinction between what is one's own and what is that of another.
"What Senior Brother says is extremely right." Qin Mu walked forward and said, "It's just that I don't know if these Solomon's seals will still be the Solomon's seal from before when they are brought back to life. Heavenly Saint Cult Master, pays his respects to Dao Master."
The old Daoist immediately returned the greeting. "It's still the first time we have met, this Old Dao pays his respects. Lin Xuan, quickly pay your respects to the human emperor of the current generation!"
Beside him, Daozi Lin Xuan was bewildered, but he didn't ask any question and did a disciple rite to Qin Mu while saying, "Daozi pays his respect to Human Emperor."