Qin Mu pressed down on the teleportation rune and looked toward the depths of the blood sea. There, a great abyss split the blood sea apart, and a young woman dressed in emerald green slowly rose from within, the parted sea closing behind her as she ascended.
She wore a green dress embroidered with various leaves, her hair coiled up with dead branches resembling deer antlers, and behind her head was a halo containing a tender green sprout—like a seed just emerging from moist earth, sprouting two delicate leaves.
"Sister."
The teleportation array runes around Qin Mu shifted slowly, but he did not activate them. Smiling, he said, "How should I address you, Sister? For what reason has Earth Mother Primordial Lady invited me?"
The green‑skirted woman stopped in front of him and said, "My name is Grace Gongsun. I am the maidservant of Earth Mother Primordial Lady. Earth Mother asked me to invite you, honored guest, but did not explain the reason. Please, this way."
Qin Mu jumped down from Bruno the Dragon‑Qilin's head, signaling for Heaven‑Guide Venerable to stay on the water kirin's back and not get off. Smiling, he said, "Sister Grace, your dress is beautiful."
Grace Gongsun beamed, "Really? I worked so hard to cut and sew this dress myself—it took quite a bit of effort."
Qin Mu followed after her and said, "I've heard of Earth Mother Primordial Lady for a long time, but never met her. Sister Grace, how did Earth Mother come to know of me?"
Grace Gongsun led them across the blood sea and said, "I'm not sure. Maybe when Lady Umbral came to visit Earth Mother not long ago, she mentioned you. Lady Umbral was ambushed in the late Dragon‑Han Era, which made Earth Mother quite uneasy. But Lady Umbral survived and came to see Earth Mother. I was guarding the palace outside at the time, so I didn't hear what they talked about."
Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief.