Quinn Shepherd took his leave of Granny Sue, traveling on foot with Emperor Evan while the Dragon-Qilin followed behind. Along the way, Quinn taught Emperor Evan the Creation Spirit Art from the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra, as well as his own Overlord Three-Core Art. He said, "Practice these two arts together as we walk. They'll do wonders for your injuries—at the very least, you'll grow stronger and healthier."
Emperor Evan, half convinced and half skeptical, tried cultivating both the Overlord Three-Core Art and the Creation Spirit Art. Before he knew it, his complexion had improved, and he laughed, "This is good stuff—who knew you could cultivate while walking? I even feel my strength coming back."
"Keep practicing. Once you reach a decent level, your physical wounds will heal and your body will grow strong. Later, I'll teach you the Creation Ghost-God Art to refine your soul—this will stabilize your spirit. With the right medicine for the soul, working both inside and out, even the injuries to your soul will recover."
Suddenly, Quinn drifted off in thought: "I've just passed on techniques from the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra to the emperor—does that mean he's joining my Cult of the Heavenly Saint? What position should I give him?"
He shot Emperor Evan a sly look, not entirely well-intentioned: "I'm still short one Heavenly King. If I could rope the emperor in as a Heavenly King of the Cult, then the whole Everpeace Empire would basically become Holy Cult territory..."
Emperor Evan practiced diligently, gradually regaining some vigor and even a bit of yuanqi, though without his Divine Treasuries, his cultivation remained limited.
Quinn, too, cultivated at a leisurely pace. When he activated the Overlord Three-Core Art, five beams of light shone down from the sky—his Five Luminaries within resonating with the Five Luminaries stars above, drawing in their power to boost his cultivation.
Emperor Evan was slightly taken aback. "He's still at the Five Luminaries Realm?"
He had always assumed Quinn was already a Six Directions Realm adept—after all, Quinn's strength was enough to match those experts, and his cultivation felt comparable to theirs. Who would've thought Quinn was still at the Five Luminaries Realm?
"The Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra of the Holy Cult really is extraordinary."
Emperor Evan couldn't help but marvel inwardly, unaware that Quinn's yuanqi mainly came from the Overlord Three-Core Art—the very art Evan was now learning.
Quinn's cultivation had indeed reached the peak of the Five Luminaries Realm, not far from breaking through to the Six Directions Realm. Once the Five Luminaries within his Divine Treasury stabilized, he could attempt the next breakthrough.
The two traveled for four days, eating in the wind and sleeping under the stars. When they reached the next city, Quinn took Emperor Evan inside and bought medicinal herbs. For the emperor, it was the first time he'd ever suffered such hardship—his feet were rubbed raw, covered in blisters.
At the inn, Quinn soaked his feet in a wooden tub filled with medicinal water for an entire night. The emperor slept in the tub, and when he woke the next morning, all his blisters were gone. He felt lighter and more agile, clicking his tongue in amazement.
They pressed on, and when they entered Qizhou Prefecture, they saw many adepts driving villagers off their land, whipping and shouting at them.
"This land belongs to the Qishan Sect!"
The adepts were clearly disciples of the Qishan Sect, practicing lightning arts. They whipped up a storm, herding villagers from all the surrounding hamlets together, shouting, "By imperial decree, the ancestral system is restored! Sect lands return to the sect! From now on, you owe no grain tax to the crown—just tribute to Qishan Sect!"
A village headman tried to protest, but after only a few words, a lightning bolt struck him dead.
Quinn stopped to watch, frowning slightly. Emperor Evan's face turned grim and cold as he muttered, "Utterly lawless!"
As they passed through other prefectures, they saw sect power reviving everywhere—grabbing land, looting wealth, dividing territory. Chaos piled atop chaos.
Quinn brightened, pulling out several sheets of paper. "Hall Master, have these herbs prepared according to the list, and stock them in Qin Prefecture," he said.
"Understood," Damon replied.
Quinn called Evan over, beckoned to the Dragon-Qilin, and said, "Let’s head out."
Evan hurriedly protested, "But I haven't finished eating yet!"
Quinn grinned, "I’ll take you to find the Imperial Preceptor. I’ll get you more food on the way."
Evan quickly put down his bun, his face turning solemn. He silently followed behind Quinn. After a moment, Evan said, "I want to ask him where he’s been all this time!"
Quinn scooped Evan up and set him onto the Dragon-Qilin’s back, then vaulted up himself, landing atop its head.
The Dragon-Qilin galloped off, treading on clouds of fire. Evan was buffeted by cold wind, sneezing repeatedly, until Quinn suddenly ignited a blaze around himself. Only then did Evan feel warm again.
After two days, Quinn signaled the beast to descend. They landed in a mountain valley, steam rising everywhere, with radiant mist billowing upward and evaporating into the air.
"Divine light!"
Evan’s expression grew grave. He sniffed the air and said, "There’s a scent of blood. There’s god-blood in this valley!"
Quinn led Evan into the valley, and sure enough, they saw a lake of blood. Beside it stood a wooden house, with a small river running behind. The river water was warmed by god-blood, and a woman in a white fur coat, her belly slightly rounded with pregnancy, stood by the riverside.
At her feet was a middle-aged man, pounding clothes on a stone slab with a wooden mallet. Beside him sat a bamboo basket filled with freshly washed garments.
Quinn jumped off the Dragon-Qilin’s back; Evan followed, but lost his balance and crashed to the ground, landing flat on his face.
The couple turned at the sound. Quinn smiled and walked forward to greet them.
"You couldn’t even help me up!" Evan complained, scrambling to his feet and hurrying after.
The middle-aged man set down his mallet, wiped his wet hands on his coat, and stood beside the woman, his face pale but smiling at Quinn and Evan as they approached.
"Imperial Preceptor!" Evan exclaimed.
Evan quickened his pace, about to rush forward and demand an explanation, but stopped short when he saw blood seeping from the Imperial Preceptor’s chest and his pallor. Shocked, Evan burst into tears, "My Preceptor—how did you end up like this?"
The Imperial Preceptor stepped up to meet Evan, noticing the emperor’s lost cultivation. He felt a pang of sympathy. “Your Majesty, you’re no better off yourself.”