Fishing Elder chuckled, "A fellow who leaves a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes."
With that, he flicked the strand of pure yin qi, and it slithered like a tiny dragon with no body, burrowing straight into Crystal Blaze’s brow.
Crystal Blaze took a careful breath, sensing nothing unusual—just a cool sensation at her brow. "Fishing Elder, is this pure yin qi actually useful? I don’t feel any benefit at all."
Fishing Elder shook his head, half laughing, half exasperated. "This isn’t your clan chief’s magical, all-purpose dual cultivation technique. Of course it doesn’t work instantly. Pure yin qi changes your solitary yang constitution, but it’s a slow, subtle process—it doesn’t show results right away."
Overhead, the crimson kun let out a long, melodious cry, soaring across the sky above the Great Ruins, drawing ever closer to High-Emperor Heaven.
Fishing Elder explained, "You have a pure yang body—only pure yang qi inside you. With the solar essence refined by Deity Sister Qing, the pure yang qi is even stronger and more volatile. As Sun Warden, you lack pure yin qi, so when the sun ship’s raging yang qi merges into you, it accumulates. Without a trace of yin to temper it, your vital energy dries out and burns up. What does that mean?"
Quinn Shepherd jumped in, "My Grandpa Apothecary once used a metaphor for that. He said it’s like arranging cut flowers: you trim and place fresh blooms in a vase, and they burst with color—but after a few days, they wilt and die. Grandpa Apothecary said, when your vital energy dries out and burns too bright, you might die at your most beautiful moment."
Fishing Elder looked surprised. "Your Grandpa Apothecary’s got some wisdom. That’s exactly it—solitary yang leads to vital energy burning up. Even when it’s about to dry out, it flares up all the more, which means death isn’t far off. That pure yin qi I just gave you is a remedy—much better than dual cultivation! Of course, dual cultivation helps a bit, but it can’t solve the root problem."
A little female fish poked her head out of the basket, giggling softly, "Master’s destined to be lonely forever."
The crimson kun glided to the border between High-Emperor Heaven and the Great Ruins, when suddenly the magnetic forces went haywire. It was as if they’d entered a realm with no magnetism at all—people floated in midair, no need for flight techniques or cultivation.
This happened because the magnetic fields of the Great Ruins and High-Emperor Heaven were interacting here. With equal force coming from both sides, people simply floated in midair.
For cultivators, it wasn’t a big deal—there was still air to move, so anyone with flying divine arts could just soar away.
"The Pure Yin Qi Quinn Shepherd gave you isn’t ordinary. It’s the protective divine essence refined by a Jade Pool Realm divine spirit in their Spirit Embryo Treasury."
Fishing Elder glanced at Quinn Shepherd. "Even if you absorbed an entire sun made by Deity Sister Qing, this strand of protective essence would be enough to neutralize it."
Crystal Blaze jumped in surprise, blurting out, "It’s really that valuable?"
"Of course it’s precious."
Fishing Elder’s big eyes narrowed, his tone leisurely and wise. "Quinn must’ve gone through hell to get something like this—maybe even braved life and death before some ancient god took notice and gave him both yin and yang qi. And without a second thought, he handed the Pure Yin Qi straight to you."
Crystal Blaze was over the moon. She sneaked a glance at Quinn, then shyly lowered her head, cheeks burning.
Quinn scratched his head. "It wasn’t that hard, honestly. In a desert pocket realm, I met a general from the High Sovereign Era. I woke him up, built tombs for his soldiers, and buried them properly. He was grateful and gave me the yin and yang qi."
Fishing Elder trembled with rage.
The little female fish poked her head out of the basket again, giggling, "Master, this Quinn Shepherd is a lot like you—destined for a lonely life."
Fishing Elder replied dryly, "Fish soup for dinner tonight."
The little fish instantly shrank back into the basket, not daring to say another word.
"Strange. When I plucked out the Pure Yin Qi from your Spirit Embryo Treasury earlier, I noticed something else at your brow—not hidden in the treasury itself."
Fishing Elder sized up Quinn Shepherd, his gaze settling on the slowly shifting Golden Willow Leaf at Quinn’s brow. "What’s under that leaf? I can’t see through it. Can you take it off?"
Quinn said, "Under the Golden Willow Leaf is my third eye. My brother lives inside—it’s best not to remove the leaf. Living with him in my eye are the Great Brahma King Buddha, Heaven Duke, the Crimson Emperor’s consciousness from the Chiming Era, and Tu Bo, the Earth Sovereign."
Fishing Elder jumped, eyes wide. "Are you pulling my leg? Now I’m even more curious about your eye. Take off the leaf—maybe I can drop a hook in and fish your brother out."
Quinn hurriedly said, "The Great Brahma King Buddha, Heaven Duke, and Crimson Emperor are all in there to keep him sealed! There’s even Tu Bo’s seal! How could I let him out?"
Fishing Elder was torn between shock and curiosity, growing even more fascinated by Quinn’s eye.
Quinn thought warily, "Are all Celestial Teachers this nosy?"
The crimson kun beat its wings as it soared over High-Emperor Heaven, banking sharply. But what seemed fast to Quinn and the others was leisurely and unhurried for the great fish itself.
Once above High-Emperor Heaven, Quinn saw the Great Ruins rising up, standing perpendicular to the heavenly realm—sky and earth had flipped at a right angle.
It looked impossible, but it was all due to the yuan magnetic force—the power of geomagnetic fields at work.
"There’s yuan magnetic divine arts in the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra too. Granny Sue knows them well, but these techniques are pretty rare."
Quinn drifted off, thinking how yuan magnetic divine arts might be worth developing—maybe the students at Heavenly Saint Academy could specialize in them.
Who knows, maybe they could create an entire new system of grand divine arts!
Fishing Elder glanced over, puzzled. "This Quinn Shepherd seems to zone out a lot—even with a pretty girl nearby, he’s always drifting off to think about something else."
Quinn pulled out his notebook, jotting down his ideas, then carefully blew the ink dry. He thought, "When I get back, I’ll have Granny Sue lead the students to focus on yuan magnetic divine arts!"
Crystal Blaze watched his earnest expression and couldn’t help but find him charming.
"There’s no saving this girl either."
The mother fish in the basket shook her head. "She’s totally smitten by that silly boy."
Quinn looked down and saw that High-Emperor Heaven’s waves of molten rock had cooled and frozen, forming sweeping, wave-like mountain ranges—truly spectacular.
With the temperature dropping, all sorts of spirit beasts had started moving in, and birds had brought seeds of many plants. Quinn even spotted a hint of green sprouting up.
He watched as exotic beasts from the Great Ruins migrated toward High-Emperor Heaven. The heights meant sunlight reached even at night, so they didn’t have to fear the darkness devouring them. Even the beasts of the Great Ruins loved this place.
"Twenty thousand years… The descendants of the gods and demons of the old Heaven Court have all turned into ignorant beasts. What a pity." Fishing Elder shook his head.
Quinn was shaken to the core, murmuring, "Master, you mean all these beasts are…"
Fishing Elder replied, "Descendants of the gods of the Kaihuang Heaven Court—but they’ve degenerated badly."
Quinn’s voice trembled, "So even the Brood-Hen Dragon is a Heaven Court descendant…"
He remembered how he’d eaten Brood-Hen Dragon every holiday and felt a pang of guilt.
"Brood-Hen Dragon?"
Fishing Elder shook his head. "When the Heaven Court fell, these creatures didn’t all die out. The Brood-Hen Dragon isn’t a godly descendant—it’s what you get when a divine dragon and a chicken hook up during the Kaihuang Era. Those dragons had wild private lives… Eventually, folks realized Brood-Hen Dragon tasted pretty good, and since dragon liver and phoenix brains were off the menu, they started raising Brood-Hen Dragon as poultry."
Quinn finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They skirted around Luofu Heaven, and after a day or two, reached the western edge of the Great Ruins.
Quinn let out a surprised sound. The place where High-Emperor Heaven had fallen was close to the source of the Yong River. The vast canyon there was now deeper and steeper, with more cracks in the cliffs—cracks that glowed with light, casting their radiance on the underside of High-Emperor Heaven.
It was here, years ago, that he’d ridden his Box, with Dragon-Qilin and Bangongcuo, fleeing Star Sovereign’s pursuit—traveling back forty thousand years to the Upper Sovereign Era!
But these cracks weren’t paths through time—they were gateways to strange worlds.
Back then, he and Bangongcuo had entered a desert world, and when darkness fell over the sands, they were suddenly whisked away to an age forty thousand years past.
And the Yong River held even more mysteries—he’d once glimpsed the Kaihuang himself along its waters!
"Master, is there something special about the source of the Yong River?" Quinn suddenly asked.
"Plenty. More than you’d think."
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Fishing Elder clearly knew this place well—he moved through the ruins as if he’d been here many times before.
The Moonwell was a scene of utter devastation—rubble and shattered buildings everywhere, the ground littered with countless skeletal remains. Quinn knew what had happened here: invaders had stormed the Moonwell, and the Moon Warden abandoned his people, fleeing alone on the Lunar Ark all the way to the Nether City.
His people died defending the Moonwell, while the Moon Warden, having betrayed them, was spurned by King Yama and could only dock the Lunar Ark at the edge of Nether City.
To make matters worse, a demon god followed him into Nether City and took up residence outside. That demoness nearly captured Quinn—if not for the Village Chief’s intervention, she might have succeeded.
Later, Quinn replaced him as the new Moon Warden, and the Lunar Ark devoured the traitor. Poetic justice, in a way.
Quinn carefully stepped around the bones of the Moon Shepherds. He whispered to Dragon-Qilin, "These Moon Shepherds were the guardians of the Great Ruins—they deserve our respect. Don’t step on them."
Dragon-Qilin, terrified of bones and such, tucked his tail and nearly leapt into Quinn’s arms. He stammered, "Step on them? Cult Master Quinn, they’re still alive?"
"I’ll wake them up soon, so they can dig their own graves and lay themselves to rest."
Quinn’s expression was calm. "Brave guardians of the Great Ruins shouldn’t be left without a proper burial."
Fishing Elder set down his little stool at the well’s edge, grinning. "You’ve got a compassionate heart. The Tea-Farmer Celestial Teacher would like you a lot."
"The Tea-Farmer Celestial Teacher?" Quinn asked.
"One of the four Celestial Teachers of the Kaihuang Heaven Court—a farmer, always seen with an ox."
Fishing Elder set aside his fishing line. The little mother fish leapt from the creel and swam into the Moonwell. "He’s the martial Celestial Teacher among us—by far the strongest fighter."
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