n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The white-haired elder wore green clothing that had been washed pale. He placed the fishing net in his hands, and Qin Mu felt something moving on his chest. Next, he saw the Emperorâs Disk change into a small dragon that popped its head out from under his collar.
When Jiang Miao saw the small dragon, he couldnât help changing back into his true form. He became a small dragon also and hid behind Qin Mu with a low growl that was both respectful and fearful. âMa haââ
The little dragon with its head out was a true dragon lord. It opened its mouth to yawn before slowly crawling out from Qin Muâs collar and slithering to the hand of the white-haired elder. It coiled up in his hand and closed its eyes sleepily.
Immediately, numerous young men and women walked out from the small village, surrounding Qin Mu and Jiang Miao. One of the robust young men asked, âOld Ancestor, are they here to create trouble?â
The white-haired elder smiled. âNo, they arenât. Donât scare them, these two have some fate with our village.â
The young men and women lost their enmity then and examined Qin Mu and the Little Dragon Jiang Miao that was behind him.
Qin Mu was astonished. The young men and women all had vigorous vital qi, and every one of them was hiding their light under a bushel. However, when they had surrounded them, Qin Mu had heard seven explosions from opening the divine treasures coming from the youngest girlâs body, making it clear that she was an expert on Divine Bridge Realm!
Yet she shouldâve been the weakest in the village as everyone was protecting her!
Even the weakest villager in this place that was by no means large was on Divine Bridge Realm!
Qin Mu had thought that Disabled Elderly Village was the strongest village in Great Ruins, but from the looks of it, Great Ruins was really a place of concealed talents.
âBesides the Emperorâs Disk, you also have the true dragonâs nest.â
The white-haired elder looked astonished when his gaze landed on the youthâs waist. Qin Mu took off the taotie sack and brought out the true dragonâs nest, placing it respectfully in front of the white-haired elder. âMay senior take a look at it.â
The spirit of the true dragon lord immediately rose and swam into the true dragonâs nest.
When the other villagers saw it, their spirits rose, and they wanted to tunnel into the dragonâs nest with that little dragon.
However, they resisted the urge.
âCould the villagers here be dragons and not humans? Is this a village of dragons?â
Qin Mu made his own guesses after noticing everyoneâs reaction.
âThe Emperorâs Disk of Ling Family was stolen by my Grandpa Cripple who gave it to me. As for the true dragonâs nest, it was refined by Dragon Rearing Sovereign of High Heavens. Since I subdued him, the true dragonâs nest also fell into my hands. Senior, you are the god that refined the Emperorâs Disk, right?â
The white-haired elderâs gaze landed on the true dragonâs nest, and he spoke with a smile that was not a smile. âBack when I refined the true dragon lord into the Emperorâs Disk and entered Middle Earth to find a successor, I met a young fellow with extraordinary aptitude and comprehension. He was the old ancestor of Ling Family. I saw that he had the qi of the true dragon so I gave the Emperorâs Disk to him and imparted the dragon language and technique on the Emperorâs Disk.
âBut what could I do that his mind wasnât on this and he went to chase after some girl instead? In the end, he managed to chase catch that girl, but by then he had forgotten most of the dragon language and technique I had taught him. It was then that I knew that this young fellow wasnât the true dragon lord.â
Qin Mu had once heard Ling Yuxiu talk about this before and had found it funny. But never had he expected it to be true!
âHowever, Iâm lazy by nature and I had been asked by another to refine the true dragon lord and find a successor. Since the successor wasnât useless, I let him be,â the white-haired elder said with a smile.
âWho would have thought that even though the young fellow wasnât hard working, his descendants were all very hard working and managed to strengthen Eternal Peace Empire to its current state. Since Emperorâs Disk fell into your hands and you also have the true dragonâs nest, you must be after the technique on it, right?â
âSenior, Iâm indeed rather interested in the technique on the true dragonâs nest; however, Iâve come here because of Heavenly Saint Cultâs Founding Master. He is my big senior brother and he left a geographical map which marked this village, so Iâve found my way here,â Qin Mu explained respectfully.
The white-haired elder was stunned and pondered over it. âHeavenly Saint Cultâs Founding Master? Is that the young fellow whose name is Wei Fengsui?â
Qin Mu hesitated. He didnât know what was the name of his big senior brother.
The white-haired elder saw his expression and smiled. âHe once came to find me and asked me how to gain merit. He wasnât a bad youth and his abilities were extremely extraordinary. Teacher had found a good disciple.
âHowever, if Wei Fengsui wanted to become a saint, it was very hard for him to gain merit as the path he walked was Teacherâs path, and it is very difficult. I couldnât teach him anything. If you are his junior brother and have also come to ask me on how to become a saint, I canât teach you anything as well.â
The teacher he had been mentioning probably referred to Saint Woodcutter who once was the heavenly teacher of Founding Emperor Celestial Heaven. Heâd been in charge of teaching all the princes and princesses of Founding Emperorâs bloodline.
âMay I ask if my big senior brother mentioned where he was planning to go?â Qin Mu asked.
The white-haired elder shook his head. âHe didnât say where he planned to go, but he left something behind. If he made you look for me, it should be for that item.â
He stood up and walked into the straw hut. After a moment, he brought out a red box and handed it over.
Qin Mu opened it and saw a palm-sized token engraved with a picture of a ferocious beast.
Qin Mu flipped it around, but he still didnât understand what it was. He sincerely sought enlightenment and asked, âMay I ask senior what is the use of this token?â
âThis is a commanderâs seal used to mobilize soldiers. Thereâs a formation with positions for gods in it, but itâs extremely ancient, so itâs most likely useless now,â the white-haired elder said.âEven I donât recognize some of the runes on this, so it might be a commanderâs seal from High Emperor Era or even earlier.â
He took back the commanderâs seal and activated it with his magic power. They saw stars rise from the commanderâs seal and swirl around them. âThese stars are the positions for gods. If theyâre all taken, they could use this formation to face the enemy and fight against it.â
Qin Mu raised his head and noticed that the stars that had flown out of the commanderâs seal werenât truly stars. They were apparitions, but there was an extremely high number of them. There were probably several thousand stars, and his heart couldnât help shuddering. He muttered, âA formation of several thousand gods⦠What kind of battle requires several thousand gods and devils?â
âYour horizons are too narrow.â The white-haired elder retrieved his magic power, and the star apparitions vanished. He said with a smile, âDuring Founding Emperor Era, there were more than a few such battles. The formation in this commanderâs seal isnât of much use anymore, but itâs still a pretty nice collectible.â
Qin Mu looked at him in bewilderment. âHow is the formation useless?â
The white-haired elder handed the commanderâs seal to him and said, âTthe Great Dao of Heaven and Earth have changed, so the formation in the commanderâs seal is no longer compatible with it. The formation also has no more power left. This item is very ancient, and itâs no longer compatible with the Dao. Itâs probably something from tens of thousands of years ago, but as for which era it comes, thatâs not something that I know.â
Qin Mu placed the commanderâs seal back into the red box and put it away in his taotie sack.
Since Founding Master Wei Fengsui had left the red box and the commanderâs seal with the white-haired elder, it meant that this item was definitely very important. His reason to lead Qin Mu to the village was definitely for it.
âForgive this juniorâs impudence, but may I ask for seniorâs name?â Qin Mu said.
The white-haired elder smiled at him. âI thought a descendant of Qin Family would know my name, but you actually donât. Iâm a dragon vein that attained Dao and cultivated itself into a true dragon. Back then, I followed after your ancestor. Because I was just born and didnât know how to talk, I could only cry out ma ha, so your ancestor named me like that. My surname is Ma and my name is Haqing; he used it to make fun of me.â
Qin Mu looked at him with a weird expression. âMa Haqingâ¦â
Jiang Miao popped his head out from Qin Muâs back and said timidly, âMa haââ
The white-haired elder continued his story. âAfterwards, I became an official in the celestial heavens which had four great celestial palaces. I oversaw Green Dragon Palace and its Sixty Star God Divisions. All of them was under my administration. I was honored as Green Emperor, but I disliked this title since it was too overbearing, and I changed my name to Qing Huang. Now that Founding Emperor Celestial Heavens was eradicated and Green Dragon Celestial Palace no longer exists, you can just call me Elder Qing Huang.â
Qin Mu greeted him once again and said, âQin Familyâs one hundred seventh descendant Qin Mu pays his respects to Elder Qing Huang.â
Elder Qing Huang hurriedly motioned for him to straighten. âPlease rise. When I saw you coming here, I immediately knew your bloodline and guessed you were a descendant of Founding Emperor. You want to learn the dragon language of this true dragonâs nest? I can teach you.â
Qin Mu was overjoyed and bowed in gratitude. âThanks for the trouble, senior.â
Elder Qing Huang brought him into the true dragonâs nest and said, âI see that your paths, skills, and divine arts have already gained small success, and you seem to be cultivating both god and devil paths. You seem to have opened your divine treasures of both, which is very strange. Seeing how you have already found your path, learning the technique of my dragon race will only be decorating something thatâs already perfect. On the other hand, for this little dragon, you should receive a lot of benefits.â
Jiang Miao which was a little dragon at that moment tiptoed behind Qin Mu. When he heard what Elder Qing Huang said, he shrunk his head back and said, âMa haâ¦â
Elder Qing Huang smiled at him. âNo need to thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank him. Thatâs right, Qin Mu, I can sense something very strange about your body, and itâs on your neck. It seems to be a jade pendant with a very powerful seal hidden inside it.â
âIs this what the senior has sensed?â Qin Mu took out his jade pendant and said, âIt was crafted by Earth Count, and he said itâs to seal my devil nature. I was born in Youdu and got invaded by the devil nature lingering in there, so Earth Count crafted this for me. As long as I wear it, it can suppress my devil nature.â
Elder Qing Huang looked at the jade pendant and sneered. âEarth Count sealed your devil nature? Why would he be so nice? Give me that jade pendant, Iâll help you undo the seal!â
âThisâ¦â Qin Mu looked at him with a troubled expression and said in a low voice, âSenior, King Yama once tried to undo it and suffered the curse of the jade pendant. Also, Fu Riluo of the devil race also tried to undo the seal and got cursed as well; he ended up in quite a miserable state. My master and King Yama said that itâs best to not undo the seal in the jade pendant and that I shouldnât let the jade pendant leave my body. Otherwise, terrifying things will happenâ¦â
âWhat is there to fear from a mere curse?â Elder Qing Huang said with a smile. âHowever, if even Teacher said so, then there must be a reason, Come, let me clear your doubts in regards to the true dragon technique on the true dragonâs nest!â