The Imperial Capital loomed ahead. Countless cultivators were busy expanding the city and rebuilding its walls, raising them high and inscribing defensive runes with beast blood.
Qin Mu arrived at the city gates and asked around. The disciples of Heaven-Craft Hall were in charge of repairs. One of them said, "Not long ago, a demigod transformed into a divine beast and attacked the capital, damaging a section of the wall. So the Imperial Preceptor ordered us to expand and reinforce the city, raising the walls higher. These runes were designed by Array Hall. Cult Master, would you like to inspect them?"
Qin Mu took the array talisman from his hand and examined it carefully. The formation was exquisite, its patterns elegant. He smiled, "Impressive. Array Hall's mastery of formations has surpassed mine—I’ll need to study for a while just to catch up."
"Cult Master flatters us."
The disciple grinned, "These days, the Spear God has been teaching formations everywhere. The Woodcutter Sage organized many arrays from the Pioneer Era and gave them to him. The Spear God passed them on to us, and we've benefited greatly."
The Spear God he mentioned was Grandpa Blind.
While Qin Mu roamed far and wide, Grandpa Blind, Deaf, and the others traveled from academy to academy, sharing their knowledge and insights. With the Woodcutter Sage, Fisherman Celestial Teacher, and figures like Emperor Yiyue passing down Pioneer Era wisdom, Everpeace's magical advancement had accelerated rapidly.
If things had followed their natural course, Everpeace would surely have flourished. But this time, the unsealing of the Origin World shattered the realm, leaving Everpeace fragmented.
Now, Everpeace's control over its original territories was already minimal.
Soon, they arrived at the Imperial Preceptor’s Manor. The Imperial Preceptor had just returned from the palace, utterly exhausted and resting. His wife roused him and said to Qin Mu, "My husband was out quelling rebellions, then summoned by the emperor to the palace for dozens of days. He’s truly worn out."
Qin Mu apologized, "Sorry to disturb your rest, junior brother. I truly feel uneasy."
The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire replied, "Second senior brother, you’re too polite. With the nation in crisis, this is how it must be. Even the emperor has grown thin, nothing but skin and bones; if the sovereign is like this, how much more so for me? You never come here without urgent business—so what brings you today?"
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then explained his purpose: "I’ve come to ask you how to have children."
The Imperial Preceptor’s Wife had expected a serious topic. At his words, her face flushed and she quickly rose to leave. She returned a moment later, took Grace Gongsun’s hand, and said with a smile, "Let the men talk—we ladies will have our own conversation."
Only after they’d gone did the Imperial Preceptor burst out angrily, "The nation is in peril, and you’re thinking about having children? Qin Mu, I respected you as my senior brother, but this is sheer nonsense!"
Qin Mu hurried to explain, "I already asked Warfist Celestial Teacher to destroy my Divine Bridge Treasury, so I could pioneer a new Divine Bridge and find a way to permanently solve the problem of broken bridges for Everpeace’s people. The reason I thought of having a child was to test whether my Seventh Divine Treasury could be inherited by descendants. If it can, then the Divine Bridge crisis for Everpeace’s people will be solved once and for all."
"I misjudged you."
The Imperial Preceptor rose and bowed deeply, saying sincerely, "I thought you were being wanton, but it turns out you truly bear the weight of the world, pressing forward for the sake of all. You destroyed your own Divine Bridge Treasury—I would never have had that courage! You are the true senior brother; I am convinced! On behalf of the common folk, I thank you!"
Qin Mu quickly helped him up, smiling, "You’re too kind. So, junior brother—how does one have children?"
The Imperial Preceptor, who had just regained his composure, suddenly blushed and started coughing, clearly uncomfortable.
Qin Mu eyed him suspiciously, "You know, but you won’t say? So you really are keeping secrets!"
"It’s not that I’m keeping secrets—it’s just hard to say out loud."
The Imperial Preceptor quickly added, "Even primary school students know this. There are classes on it in elementary school; just go and listen."
Qin Mu shook his head, "I never attended primary school. I came straight from the Great Ruins to the Imperial Academy."
The Imperial Preceptor frowned, glanced around, and whispered, "I’ll fetch something—just look at it and you’ll understand." With that, he hurried off.
A moment later, he rushed back, flustered, and pulled a scroll from his sleeve, thrusting it into Qin Mu’s hands. "I didn’t know much about men and women either. When the emperor told me to marry, I was clueless. The emperor gave me this manual, and only after reading it did I understand. Take it—this will answer your questions."
Qin Mu glanced at the cover: Capital Pleasures Illustrated Manual. Opening it, he found pictures—men and women, and the images even moved. The artistry was extraordinary, so lifelike it had reached the first realm of painting dao, just as the scholar had described. Remarkable indeed.
Qin Mu took one look, his face turning crimson. He slammed the book shut. "How could anyone do this? It’s shameful! I give up on having children!"
The Imperial Preceptor said, "I used to think it was shameful and dirty, a disgrace to sages. But after trying it, I found it wasn’t so bad—there’s even a bit of pleasure in it."
Qin Mu, deeply pained, retorted, "Junior brother, you’ve fallen!"
The Imperial Preceptor protested, "This is human ethics—how is it depravity? If you refuse to read it, give it back! I won’t lend it to you."
Qin Mu was about to return it, then snatched it back. "Let me look first. I need to critique this sort of thing... Hm, this brushwork looks familiar. Who’s the author of the Capital Pleasures Illustrated Manual?"
The more he looked, the more suspicious he became. He checked the title page, then the last page, but found no signature.
"This brushwork... this level of artistry..."
Qin Mu grew furious and stammered, "Deaf Grandpa, have you really fallen this far?"
The Imperial Preceptor coughed repeatedly. "It really is the work of the Heavenly Diagram Painting Sage—otherwise I wouldn’t have kept it for myself. The emperor has asked for it back countless times, but I always claimed I lost it. This is the only copy; the Sage painted just this one, and only when he was destitute. Now that he’s wealthy, he refuses to paint another. You must return it after reading."
Qin Mu flipped through it, face burning, heart pounding, then hastily returned the Capital Pleasures Illustrated Manual.
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
The Imperial Preceptor carefully smoothed every page, stowed the book away, and asked, "I forgot to ask—which woman are you planning to have a child with?"
Qin Mu’s mind went blank. He stood there, silent for a long moment, before finally venturing, "I hadn’t considered that. These past months I’ve been focused on deducing the Seventh Divine Treasury. I’ve come up with twenty-six methods, and planned to test each one. My original plan was to have a child for every successful method. Only now do I realize it’s not so simple—I’d need twenty-six different women..."
"Get out!"
The Imperial Preceptor’s face darkened. He pointed toward the manor gate.
Qin Mu protested, "I’m your senior brother—how can you speak to me like that?"
"Afu! Afu! Quick, come throw this scoundrel out!"
The Imperial Preceptor shouted angrily, "Debauched and shameless—how dare you call yourself second senior brother!"
Qin Mu quickly said, "Let’s set aside the matter of having children for now. I’m busy and don’t have time anyway—it’s too much trouble. I came to ask you something else. Look at the halo behind my head—this is a blessing from Earth Mother Yuanjun. She wants me to resurrect her, so she gave me her blessing and a Geoyuan Dao Fruit. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have reached the Life-and-Death Realm so quickly. Reviving the Earth Mother is no small matter. She uses these two things to monitor me, and she’ll find me again sooner or later. Can you help me figure out how to break her blessing?"
The Imperial Preceptor’s expression softened. He carefully examined the halo behind Qin Mu’s head, his face growing grave as he scrutinized it from all angles. After a long while, he paced back and forth, deep in thought.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light swept the room, stabbing toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu stood motionless as the sound of clashing steel rang out. In an instant, the Imperial Preceptor struck with countless sword thrusts, each one exquisitely precise, piercing the halo behind Qin Mu’s head. Every sword tip landed exactly on the runes within the halo!
In that moment, sword light crisscrossed the courtyard, darting like startled swans and swimming dragons.
Yet the halo behind Qin Mu’s head burst into multicolored light with each sword stroke, dyeing it in brilliant hues. The halo spun rapidly, blocking every sword strike.
The Imperial Preceptor withdrew his sword, and the spinning halo behind Qin Mu’s head slowly came to a stop.
"Earth Mother’s blessing is extremely powerful; it’s also a means of self-preservation. If you can activate its power, you could easily fend off attacks from true gods—perhaps even celestial gods couldn’t harm you."
The Imperial Preceptor inspected his divine sword and found a tiny notch at its tip. "This blessing is quite useful—are you sure you want to erase it?"
Qin Mu nodded. "A blessing can also be a curse. Earth Mother was gravely wounded by Celestial Teacher Zixi; she’ll return sooner or later. If she captures me, I’ll be forced to resurrect her. Once revived, she could easily destroy Everpeace, Chiming, and Kaihuang."
The Imperial Preceptor pondered for a long time before replying in a deep voice, "Then we must invite Woodcutter Teacher and all the wisest minds of Everpeace, as well as Granny Si—she’s an expert in geomagnetic runes. They’re all elsewhere, so it’ll take some time for them to arrive."
Qin Mu’s expression shifted. "Is Warfist Celestial Teacher in the capital?"
"He originally went to the South Sea to negotiate with Chiming’s divine son. Chiming’s son was intimidated and won’t rebel for now. Recently, he went to the grasslands to visit the Great Black Heaven. By now, he should be returning soon."
The Imperial Preceptor sighed. "There’s unrest beneath the East Sea, in the heavens above, in the North Sea, the ice fields, and among all the ruins within Everpeace. Forces are stirring everywhere. We’ve lost contact with the Great Ruins and Western Lands. Months ago, we built teleportation portals, but now we can only protect the twenty or thirty most vital cities. These are troubled times—I wish I could split myself into a billion bodies."
Qin Mu’s eyes brightened. "Why not transform the capital into a celestial city? Make it fly through the sky—a show of force, and a way to boost Everpeace’s morale."