Chapter 1156: Real and Fake, Taiji
Qin Mu's divine consciousness rippled and probed into the void of this black desert but all he saw was black sand flying everywhere in the many layers of the void. Even void beasts didn't dare step into this place!
He raised a barrier of divine consciousness to block the sandstorm, but it was soon turned into a sieve.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
The grains of black sand passed through their bodies and riddled them with holes!
Qin Mu, Yan'er, the dragon qilin, and the void beast under their feet were all drenched in blood. However, this void beast seemed to be possessed as it walked towards the black desert without stopping.
Qin Mu immediately changed the barrier and used vital qi to form it, and before long, numerous small holes appeared on it.
He pulled out the broken sword that he had forged and poured his power into it. The broken sword shone brightly as it cleaved towards the sandstorm. With a series of clanging sounds, the microscopic runes that he had imprinted on the broken sword were all extinguished!
Qin Mu's heart leaped with fear. This broken sword was forged from the rare treasures of Ancestral Court and was made from the best materials. Even Mute couldn't stop praising Qin Mu's forging methods, thinking that he had already learned the basics and could build a Forging Celestial Palace.
However, faced with the black sand of the desert, even this broken sword couldn't withstand it!
He immediately erected the Glassy Sky Pagoda and mobilized the 28 heavens. The various heavens rotated continuously to protect them and the void beasts. However, the 28 heavens were also broken by the black sand.
Violent wind and sand swept through the 28 heavens. Even the treasures within the 28 heaven were hit and scattered into pieces.
It was unknown what the grains of sand were, but they were extremely terrifying. They were simply the hardest divine metal.
Qin Mu leaned on the Green Sky Pagoda and tried his best to maintain the 28 heavens to protect them and the void beasts.
The void beast welcomed the black sand that filled the sky and walked into the depths of the desert.
"This desert is also a treasure land. The black sand can be used to refine treasures, but this place is too dangerous and hard to enter."
The dragon qilin caught a grain of black sand that had fallen down. He saw that the black sand had a metallic lustre, but he couldn't see any metal markings. The sand was very heavy.
The void beast moved forward with difficulty. There was no sun or moon here, and after walking for an unknown period of time, the sandstorm suddenly weakened, and the sky gradually lit up.
Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief. He supported the Glassy Sky Pagoda and looked forward, only to see a white desert in front of him!
Sandstorms swept through the white desert, and it was incomparably astonishing!
In between the black desert and the white desert, a long and winding mountain range stood there, infused with a simple and plain lustre.
Beside this mountain range, there were many ancient ruins that belonged to the masters of creation's village.
Some masters of creation must have used some unknown method to cross the desert and come here. They must have built some villages here to settle down.
There were no sandstorms near the mountain range, so when the void beast came to the bottom of the mountain range, it stopped. Qin Mu jumped down and raised his head to look up. The cliff was as steep as a wall, but there were mountains and rivers here. There were all kinds of vegetation, and it wasn't as desolate as other places.
Suddenly, Qin Mu saw the forest in the mountain shake, and a huge beast popped its head out.
That huge beast wasn't a void beast, but another huge beast from the primordial era. It was hiding here and actually avoided the massacre of the void beasts!
"The huge beasts of Ancestral Court aren't extinct!" Qin Mu was surprised and delighted.
There were tall houses in the nearby village, but the houses were already empty. There were no masters of creation.
Qin Mu searched the village and found the skeletons of a few masters of creation. One of them was holding onto a gemstone.
Qin Mu went forward and pried open the bones in his hand. He saw that the gemstone was like the simplest taiji diagram. It was black on one side, white on the other, cold on one side, and hot on the other. In the centre, there was a curved black and white dividing line. Yin and Yang were harmonious, and it was very beautiful.
Qin Mu wiped off the dust on it. Suddenly, the taiji gem[1] started to transform and floated on his palm. Yin and Yang flowed and intersected.
When the gemstone flowed, it seemed to have no normal shape or form. It changed continuously, and Qin Mu was entranced by it. Unknowingly, he entered a mysterious and marvellous state.
The Yin-Yang Taiji diagram of the gemstone was different yet equally brilliant as the Yin-Yang Taiji diagram[2] of his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. When he saw the Taiji Divine Stone, he subconsciously connected it to his own Taiji diagram.
After an unknown period of time, he came to his senses and put away the taiji divine stone. With a smile on his face, he let out a long sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Looks like this is the true taiji mine. The place that God Sovereign Lang Xuan occupied seems to be a taiji diagram as well, but it should be a fake land! No wonder he couldn't dig anything out from there!"
"Young Master is awake!" Yan'er's voice rang out.
Qin Mu looked towards the source of the voice and saw Yan'er transforming into a woman. She was cooking while the dragon qilin was meditating to cultivate his qi. He placed a Grand Creation Divine Stone in the heart of his brows to cultivate his divine consciousness.
Qin Mu was astonished and asked, "How long have I been standing here?"
"It's already been ten days."
Yan'er arranged the dishes and said, "This place is quite shabby. Luckily, I brought some vegetables, fruits, and spirit herbs. Fatty Dragon has already cultivated several acres of barren land and is planning to plant some spirit herbs here."
She brewed a pot of tea and served it, "Pi, time to eat."
The dragon qilin woke up and was delighted to see Qin Mu, "Cult Master is awake."
The three of them sat down. Yan'er picked up the little Earth Count and placed him on the table. She placed a plate in front of him, and on the plate was a spirit pill.
"Don't get it on your body," Yan'er instructed Tiny Earth Count.
She carried two more plates of spirit pills and used the tender leaves of the spirit herbs to stir-fry them. She placed them in front of the dragon qilin and said, "I've added some cool snow spirit mushroom for you, helps reduce internal heat."
The void beast sat on the ground with its four front legs propped up on the ground, watching them eat.
Qin Mu visualized some flesh and blood, and the void beast immediately rushed over to eat.
After Qin Mu finished eating, he slowly drank his tea and leisurely looked at this mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles. He saw all kinds of rare and strange herbs in the forest, and there were numerous huge beasts roaming around. He suddenly laughed out loud.
The dragon qilin hurriedly swallowed the spirit pill and asked just in time, "Why is Cult Master laughing?"
Qin Mu pointed at the mountain range and said leisurely, "I'm laughing at God Sovereign Lang Xuan for failing to recognise the true treasure land. He thought he had occupied the taiji mine, but he didn't expect it to land in my hands!"
He laughed loudly. "The masters of creation have never dug out anything from the mine he occupied because they dug the wrong place! Even if Lang Xuan has remarkable abilities and digs the whole place up, he can forget about digging out the real Grand Extremes[3] Divine Stone! Eat quickly. After we eat, let's go find out where the mine is!"
The dragon qilin picked up the plate and poured it into his mouth. The tiny Earth Count also stuffed half of the spirit pills into his mouth, but he almost choked to death. Yan'er hurriedly patted him before he could swallow.
Everyone was ready to go. Qin Mu pointed at the void beast and said, "Stay here."
The void beast sat down obediently and drooled as it stared at the various huge beasts that appeared and disappeared unpredictably. Its long tongue kept sticking out from its chin and rolled up the drool that was flowing down from its mouth.
[1] The raw did not use the term divine stone or origin stone, and used the term gem.
[2] When he separated with his younger brother, Qin Fengqing, his corporeal body was without a soul. He later used the backlash of destroying his celestial palace and seven divine treasures to create his own Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure.
[3] Following the convention with "Grand", Tai ji will be translated as "Grand Extremes" with the two extremes being Yin and Yang. Check TL note for more info.