Chapter 979 - 64: Huan Yue God Emperor’s Summons

Chapter 979: Chapter 64: Huan Yue God Emperor’s Summons

The next day, Mu Qingge and Li Chao and the others boarded the airboat together and returned to the Huan Yue Domain along the original route.

Si Mo told her to first return to the Huan Yue Domain to cultivate in peace. Once Mu Tianyin’s whereabouts were confirmed, he would immediately notify her to rush over.

What he meant by confirming the information was that the people from the black market, following the requirements of the Tianlu cultivator, would obtain the Divine Status of the Little Divine Emperor of the Burning Sea Divine Domain’s sacred scene in the South Divine Land, then return to the West Divine Land for the trade.

By that time, they would be able to follow the trail and track down Mu Tianyin’s exact whereabouts, and then resolve everything.

By the time they returned to the Huan Yue Domain, half a month had already been delayed.

When Mu Qingge and the others returned to Young Palace Mountain, they were stopped from going up to the Divine Emperor Palace by an imperial decree from the Huan Yue God Emperor.

The Huan Yue God Emperor said that now that they were back, they should hurry into seclusion and carefully digest all they had gained and comprehended within the Dao Light. As for everything else, they need not worry.

"Eldest Young Master, with the God Emperor acting like this, could it be he already knows what happened in the Zhong Shan Domain?" Zhuang Shan asked Li Chao.

Li Chao’s brows furrowed, and he finally said, "Since the God Emperor has already spoken, we shouldn’t go to the Divine Emperor Palace anymore. Let’s each return to our own Young Palace to cultivate, and talk after we come out of seclusion. I’m guessing Divine Emperor Zhong Shan has already told our God Emperor everything that happened back then. Besides, what happened later in Zhuoyu Domain’s Spring City has nothing to do with us, so we have nothing to explain."

"Mm, that’s right."

"Indeed."

"Then let’s each return to our Young Palace. This time, relying on Third Brother, I really gained a lot."

"Same for me."

"This time we really have Third Brother to thank."

They all voiced their opinions one after another, their attitude toward Mu Qingge growing even more amicable.

Mu Qingge smiled faintly, without showing any hint of arrogance or complacency because of it.

"Third Brother, you should focus on your seclusion. The half year after bathing in Dao Light is extremely important; many people make breakthroughs during this period. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Realm you’ll reach in half a year." Li Chao said to Mu Qingge in all seriousness.

"Alright." Mu Qingge nodded slightly, her gaze still calm.

After a few simple words, everyone returned to their own Young Palace Mountains, seizing the time to enter seclusion and cultivate.

Standing where they were, only Mu Qingge and Zhuang Shan remained.

Mu Qingge looked at him and asked with a smile, "Senior Brother Zhuang Shan, you’re not in a hurry to enter seclusion?"

"Aren’t you the same?" Zhuang Shan replied with a smile.

The two of them looked at each other and, in unison, both laughed.

Then, as if by tacit agreement, the two headed toward a certain cave dwelling within the Huan Yue Domain.

On the way, Mu Qingge asked, "I’ve never asked this before—among so many disciples in the Huan Yue Domain, why do you get along especially well with Senior Brother Feng Xing?"

Zhuang Shan smiled faintly and said to her, "Feng Xing is someone I happened upon by chance while training outside. I brought him into the Domain. Since I was the one who brought him here, I naturally have to pay more attention to him."

As they spoke, the two had already landed outside the cave dwelling of Tong Teng and Feng Xing.

The moment they landed, Feng Xing happily ran out of the cave, his face still carrying that shy smile.

"Senior Brother Feng Xing, why are you running?" Tong Teng’s voice arrived before he did. When he saw Mu Qingge and Zhuang Shan standing outside, his expression immediately turned excited as well.

With one leap, he rushed to stand in front of Mu Qingge, crying and laughing as he said, "Boss, you finally came back!"

Mu Qingge nodded with a smile. "Just arrived."

On the other side, Feng Xing was also ’talking’ with Zhuang Shan. Warmth always lingered in Zhuang Shan’s gentle eyes as he patiently told Feng Xing about his experience this time.

"Boss, hurry and tell me. What’s the Zhong Shan Domain like? Is it the same as our Huan Yue Domain? And, and, was the Four Divine Domains Dao debate exciting? Did my Boss shine brilliantly and amaze everyone?" Tong Teng rattled off a whole string of questions, every sentence full of longing for the outside world and curiosity about the Divine Land.

Once he finished, Mu Qingge said with a smile, "When you get the chance, you can also go out and temper yourself a bit. You don’t have to stay in the Huan Yue Domain all the time."

"I’m still too weak right now." Tong Teng scratched his head in embarrassment.

In truth, his talent was very good, and his cultivation speed was fast. Among the disciples, he was already considered outstanding. It was just that standing beside him was Mu Qingge; compared to her heaven-defying cultivation speed, Tong Teng felt he was simply a useless burden, which was why he had no confidence in his own cultivation.

"Cultivation isn’t something you can keep improving at just by shutting yourself away. Besides raising your Cultivation Realm, you also have to focus on improving real combat experience." Mu Qingge reminded him.

Tong Teng froze for a moment, then nodded. "Boss is right. After a while, I’ll leave the Divine Domain and go wander around."

After that, he asked, "Boss, will you go?" His eyes carried a look of expectation, clearly hoping Mu Qingge would nod.

However, Mu Qingge was about to start closed-door cultivation, and after that she still had to wait for Si Mo’s information about Mu Tianyin and go settle this matter.

So she shook her head and said to Tong Teng, "I’m about to go into seclusion and won’t be going out for the time being. You don’t have to wait for me. You can go with companions, or you can train alone; just make sure you take good care of yourself."

With that, she took out an Elixir Bottle and handed it to Tong Teng, instructing, "Inside are some Elixirs for treating injuries and preserving your life. Remember, if you encounter someone you can’t beat, don’t force a fight. A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years."

She thought very highly of Tong Teng, because he was loyal and righteous. With someone like that, she didn’t have to worry about betrayal when she used him. She had a feeling that, in the future, Tong Teng would become one of her supports on the Divine Demon Continent.

"Got it, Boss." Tong Teng took the elixir bottle without the slightest awkwardness.

After the four of them briefly caught up, Mu Qingge and Zhuang Shan left.

Only, she hadn’t expected that on the way back to Young Palace Mountain, she would run into another acquaintance.

Seeing Qian Shui blocking her path, clearly having waited here specifically for her, Mu Qingge’s eyes flickered slightly as she was just thinking about how to greet him.

The two of them couldn’t be called enemies, but they weren’t friends either.

"I heard you achieved very good results this time, even broke records." While she was considering, Qian Shui spoke first.

Mu Qingge was slightly taken aback, not knowing where he had gotten the news, but she still nodded.

These things didn’t need to be hidden.

"It seems that after this time you came out of seclusion, the distance between you and me is getting farther and farther." Qian Shui suddenly said.

Mu Qingge pressed her lips together and said nothing, not sure what Qian Shui meant by that.

Qian Shui’s lips hooked into a smile, a dimple appearing on his cheek. "I want to follow you."

"Follow me?" Mu Qingge was stunned.

No matter how fox-like her wits, she had never imagined Qian Shui would stop her here just to say this one thing.

Qian Shui nodded and said seriously, "Following you is so that I can defeat you. If I’m by your side, it’s convenient for me to challenge you at any time. When the day comes that I defeat you, I’ll leave and completely end my identity as your follower. But don’t worry, since I’ll be a follower, I’ll have the awareness of a follower. Before I’m sure I can beat you, before I have truly bested you, I’ll handle every task you assign me properly. This life of mine will also belong to you."

"..." Mu Qingge was left speechless.

She and Qian Shui had only met a grand total of three times. The first two had both been battles to vie for the third Young Palace Mountain, and this time, he seemed to have taken another path entirely, actually wanting to follow her.

And his reason for following her was very straightforward: simply to make it convenient for himself to challenge her at any moment.

Mu Qingge felt a bit of a headache; she understood Qian Shui’s thinking.

But she really didn’t have the time or energy to get tangled up in this kind of win-or-lose. However...

Mu Qingge’s gaze flashed as she began to calculate in her heart. ’Qian Shui’s abilities are obvious to all, and his talent is outstanding. If she took him under her command, he would indeed be a help. In the future she wants to lead the Mu Clan to rise, and the enemies she’ll face will be incomparably powerful. So she needs to cultivate her own forces, to gather capable people.’

After weighing it in her heart, Mu Qingge raised her eyes to look at Qian Shui and slowly nodded. "Alright, I accept."

As soon as her voice fell, a streak of white light was tossed toward her.

Mu Qingge lifted a hand and caught it; the sensation in her palm was warm and smooth, like flowing water. She opened her hand and saw that what Qian Shui had thrown her was an oval jade talisman, its edges hollowed out, exceedingly delicate.

"This is my communication token. If there’s anything you need me to do, you can directly use the token to summon me," Qian Shui said.

Mu Qingge’s eyes lit up. This seemed to function similarly to the communication jade token she had equipped Dragon Teeth with when she entered the Middle Ancient Realm. Only, the jade talisman in her hand now appeared more advanced, able to directly transmit spoken words.

Putting the jade talisman away, Mu Qingge nodded.

Having achieved his purpose, Qian Shui didn’t linger and turned to leave.

Choosing of his own accord to follow Mu Qingge, making it convenient to challenge her at any time, was one of his goals. There was another point Qian Shui hadn’t voiced. For in his heart he had a kind of intuition that staying by Mu Qingge’s side would accelerate the improvement of his cultivation and deepen his comprehension.

...

After bidding Qian Shui farewell, Mu Qingge returned to her own Young Palace Mountain.

She immediately opened the Mountain Sealing Array, then activated the Spirit Gathering Array, and began closed-door cultivation.

Within the Dao Light, she had transformed into all things, comprehended the myriad manifestations of the world, and gained greatly. She truly needed to go into seclusion and cultivate, to properly mull over all she had obtained within the Dao Light.

Mu Qingge entered the cultivation room, sat cross-legged atop the Spirit Gathering Array, and felt the abundant divine power circulating around her. According to the magic formulas taught by that mysterious old man, she ran the divine power within her body, constantly compressing, accumulating, and tempering it. Meanwhile, her divine sense was already empty, plunged into the insights she had gained from the Dao Light.

Her body was ceaselessly cultivating. Her divine sense, however, was ceaselessly sensing the source of the Dao.

Time passed day by day.

During this period, Tong Teng did as she said, left the Huan Yue Domain, and began his life of tempering.

Half a year later, the other Young Palace Mountains successively dispelled their Mountain Sealing Arrays, and when they reappeared, the aura around each person had grown more formidable by a few degrees.

Only Mu Qingge’s Young Palace Mountain remained perpetually quiet.

On this day, the third Young Palace Mountain suddenly erupted in violent tremors, shaking the entire mountain so that it continuously quivered. The commotion shocked the owners of the other nine Young Palace Mountains into appearing.

Deep within the Young Palace, Mu Qingge slowly opened her eyes, and a breath of turbid air slipped past her lips.

In her ears, however, sounded the voice of the Huan Yue God Emperor...