Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
Emperor Yanfeng instantly had a feeling that his white cabbage had been ravaged by a wild boar and that the wild boar had come back again to ravage it once more. He immediately began to struggle to get up, wanting to stop this pair of youths, but a few deer demons walked over. They pressed him down, giving him no choice but to remain in place.
A female deer demon held some flowers in her hands and signaled for the emperor to not move, then placed the beautiful flowers on his head.
Some mermaids walked over and presented him with red fruits that were making a fuss. A bunch of them clamored in the plate, giving him a shock.
The tree demons surveyed the sickbeds, and whoever was not well-behaved would be whipped on the buttocks. Soon, all the famous people of the martial world, the emperor and Empress Dowager included, were much quieter.
After the demons finished their patrol, the emperor wanted to hurry over to catch up to the youths, but Empress Dowager said lazily, "Emperor, save yourself the trouble. The younger generations will do all right on their own. If you worry so much, won't Xiu'er be unable to marry in the future?"
"Mother might not know, but the danger concealed in Primordial Spirit Dual Cultivation is extremely huge; it should not be done if the two people aren't husband and wife. If Xiu'er cultivated Primordial Spirit Dual Cultivation with him, their primordial spirits would resonate with each other and they would ascend to bliss together.
"If after that she married someone in the future, she wouldn't be able to resonate with my son-in-law in the future. And without resonance, there won't be any feeling! If the pleasure of their primordial spirit resonating together is not present, she will divorce even if she marries!"
Empress Dowager smiled and said, "Take him in as your son-in-law then. What's there to be alarmed about? What's more, who dares to divorce a princess of the royal family?"
Emperor Yanfeng was silent for a moment. "Mother, he's Heavenly Devil Cult Master and also Human Emperor, I'm not too at ease."
Empress Dowager also fell silent as she knew what he meant—Heavenly Devil Cult Master had an overpowering influence.
The emperor was the person with the highest influence in the imperial court while Heavenly Devil Cult Master was the person with the highest influence in the martial world. The influence of Heavenly Devil Cult had spread throughout it, and even to every corner of the imperial court. It was especially so when Qin Mu had become the Heavenly Devil Cult Master. Heavenly Devil Cult prospered more and more, surpassing their peak period in history.
No matter if it was Dao Sect or Great Thunderclap Monastery, they were all crippled by Qin Mu, and even the imperial court could no longer contend against it. After all, the imperial court was reforming, and it needed the help of Heavenly Devil Cult for many, so many experts from the cult had entered the imperial court.
Eternal Peace Empire, from the bottom to the top, was filled with the influence of Heavenly Devil Cult.
Besides that, Qin Mu was much more open-minded than Dao Master and Rulai. He had reformed Heavenly Devil Cult and set up school halls, learning from Imperial Preceptor's actions and grooming an endless supply of talents for Heavenly Devil Cult.
In just two years after Qin Mu had become the cult master, he had invoked a huge transformation, and this worried Emperor and Empress Dowager.
What was even more worrying was that Qin Mu had many experts around him and even the identity of the human emperor. If he took out his Human Emperor's Seal, even Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Little Jade Capital would have to listen to his commands!
That would be terrifying.
Looking from this point, Qin Mu was definitely not the best candidate for the emperor's son-in-law.
If he took up that role, it would be easy for him to seize power from him.
That was what Emperor Yanfeng was worried about. While he was still alive, Qin Mu wouldn't be able to seize his power, but once he was gone, the change of ownership could happen with a snap of his fingers!
Without anyone's notice, the simple and honest child that had come to Eternal Peace Empire two years ago had grown into a fierce tiger that could fight with dragons. It was truly terrifying.
Even if Qin Mu didn't have the thought to seize power, what about the next Heavenly Devil Cult Master?
Who could be certain that the next Heavenly Devil Cult Master who inherited the power left behind by Qin Mu would not stir at the thought of being an emperor?
"As the emperor, you indeed shouldn't entrust your power to the pity of others. You have done what was right," Empress Dowager said. "However, why do I still see hesitation in you? You are on guard against Cult Master Qin yet you still indulge him; this isn't the way you do things. In order to carry out the reform with Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor, you even allowed him to poison me, making me lie on the sickbed for so many years, unable to dabble in any political affairs. Such a ruthless man is the emperor of our Ling family."
Emperor Yanfeng was full of guilt. "Fu Yuanqing poisoning mother was indeed silently allowed by me. If I didn't do that, mother's influence in the imperial court would have simply been too huge, and it would have been very hard for Imperial Preceptor and I to control everything. I'm unfilial, but I could only let mother be quiet for a period of time. Even if there was no Minister Qin, I would still have had Fu Yuanqing remove the poison in mother's body after I took full control of the court."
Empress Dowager sighed and said, "You have done well. You are really my son, your ruthlessness surpasses even mine own back then. So why aren't you laying your hands on Cult Master Qin?"
Emperor Yanfeng was silent before saying tartly, "I'm afraid. I'm afraid Imperial Preceptor and I will fail, and once we fail, we will die miserably. The fate of the empire, the lives of the people can't be all pinned down on me and neither can they be pinned on our Ling family. I need a successor to continue the reform after Imperial Preceptor and I fail. There's no one like this in Ling family, but Heavenly Devil Cult Master is such a person."
Empress Dowager looked at his face carefully and sighed. "I never thought that my son would be such a person. I have looked at you superficially. Emperor, let Xiu'er go with Minister Qin. If you think he can succeed you, let Xiu'er be with him. Our Ling family won't be wiped out even if Imperial Preceptor and you fail."
Emperor Yanfeng's heart stirred slightly, and he carefully thought about the meaning of her words before nodding slowly.
"You are a good emperor, and Imperial Preceptor is also a good imperial preceptor." Empress Dowager looked at the mountains covered in fog with a peaceful face and said in a gentle voice, "I won't go against the both of you anymore. Feel free to change this world as you like, carry out the reform to your heart's content. I shall live in seclusion in this forest, to fight with these little hussies over my lover!"
Emperor Yanfeng's face turned black again and he muttered, "Mother, the face of the royal family."
Empress Dowager basked under the sun and said with a smile that was not a smile, "You're a filial son, so why won't you think about the happiness of your old mother? I have laid on the sickbed for so many years, and I clearly know it's Imperial Preceptor and your doing, but have I ever grumbled at you? I only have this wish right now, so let me go. Let me fight with these little hussies, to enjoy myself for the last bit."
Emperor Yanfeng was solemn when he nodded. "Does mother need my help to eliminate her competitors?"
"I had climbed to the current position after countless hardships in the chambers of concubines, and you think I still need your help? You're underestimating me."
…
At the lake beside the manor, Qin Mu took out a stick of incense and stabbed it on the shore ground, lighting it up. Ling Yuxiu sniffed the abnormal fragrance and asked curiously, "What's this incense for?"
"This is Soul Guide Incense," Qin Mu said with a smile. "I imprinted the runes of Soul Guide into this incense and added over a hundred perfumes into it. Even though there's no divine art of Soul Guide, it can still guide the way. If our primordial spirits get lost, when this incense finishes burning, the power of the runes will burst forth. When our corporeal bodies smell the fragrance, it will guide our primordial spirits back to our corporeal bodies. This way, there's no need for others to protect us."
Ling Yuxiu already held Qin Mu's right hand, so he raised his left one for her to take as well. The two of them held hands, their eyes locked on each other. They smiled, and their primordial spirit instantly left their bodies.
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu both had the experience of their primordial spirit leaving their bodies to roam the void. After that, the two of them tried to cultivate them on their own, but the effect wasn't great.
They were trying to cultivate what they had comprehended, but it was the act of changing coincidence into certainty, so it was naturally difficult.
Back then, Qin Mu had met Xu Shenghua. He thought that the other was another Overlord Body, and his mind grew agitated. That had then led him to experience his primordial spirit leaving his body to roam the void with Ling Yuxiu by coincidence.
Once their primordial spirits left their bodies, the two of them realized what they had done. Their luck was out of the ordinary, but it was just a random occurrence.
How to change that coincidence into certainty was of utmost importance to them.
At that moment, their primordial spirits had left their bodies and roamed together, trying to find the law of behavior in themselves. They noticed that their primordial spirits were tangled with each other and were resonating. It was different from Primordial Spirit Dual Cultivation they had experienced by accident the previous time.
Primordial spirit was formed by the spirit embryo and soul. When it left the body, the souls resonated with each other, and the primordial spirits were also resonating with each other. There was a numbing throb that spread to all corners.
Such a feeling was lasting and unforgettable.
As the two youths roamed in the void, they saw flowers as big as woven mats. They didn't know their names. There was also grass like sharp swords which they hadn't seen before. There were jellyfish in the sky, creating a magnificent scenery, which was very different from that of Eternal Peace.
The youths lingered around.
"Is this what we are really seeing or is it just a shared hallucination?" The two of them enjoyed themselves and forgot to go back.
But at that moment, they suddenly smelled a strong, abnormal fragrance and instantly felt that they were being guided back by an invisible force. Ling Yuxiu immediately grabbed a small fish while saying, "Whether it's real or a hallucination, we will know when we return back to our corporeal bodies!"
Swoosh!
The boundless scenery in front of their eyes changed, and the vision suddenly vanished. They returned back to their corporeal bodies where they stood with their hands together and eyes locked onto each other.
Ling Yuxiu let go of Qin Mu's palm and saw a small fish flipping around in her palm.
"It's real! How marvelous!"
She bent over and placed the little fish in her hands into the water. It swam and struggled, then flipped over and almost drowned.
Ling Yuxiu immediately ran over and fished it out. She saw the little fish coughing with all its might, spitting out the water in its stomach before flapping its unproportionate fins to fly into the sky.
While Ling Yuxiu stared at it in astonishment, the small fish flew back and spat a jet of water out of its mouth, spraying her face.
Ling Yuxiu was furious and stretched her hand out to grab the fish, but it flapped its fins to fly away.
"Stupid fish!" Ling Yuxiu washed her face and turned back to ask curiously, "The one who herds cows, where did we go?"
Qin Mu pondered it for a moment before saying, "It should be the east sea region in Great Ruins. That place has a huge sea which later became a basin. The seawater has vanished, but the lifeforms there survived. Many fish learned how to fly, as did the flowers."
"The east sea in Great Ruins? How far away is it?"
"Over seventy thousand miles."
Ling Yuxiu jumped in shock, crying out, "We went over seventy thousand miles in the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and returned?"
Qin Mu nodded and stared blankly into the distance. "Traveling seventy thousand miles in such a short time is indeed unbelievable. Why can't the corporeal body be that fast? If the corporeal body had the speed of the primordial spirit, how good would it be?"
Ling Yuxiu burst out laughing. "You are too childish. Primordial spirit has no weight, so it can naturally run faster. The corporeal body has weight, so it's naturally slower. Do you have more Soul Guide Incense? We only focused on playing and didn't think about the technique to cultivate primordial spirit. We need to try again."
Qin Mu reminiscenced about the marvel of their primordial spirits resonating together and got slightly greedy. He immediately nodded again. "We need to try again! We can't just focus on playing though, since this is an important matter!"
After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the primordial spirits returned to the bodies again and Qin Mu scratched his head. "Do you want to go another time?"
Ling Yuxiu nodded gravely. "This time, we'll definitely not play!"