Flowers of the Void

Chapter 440: Flowers in the Void

In the capital of Yankang, Qin Mu was looking at the stone statue of the true god that had emerged from the ground outside the city. Three months had passed since the crisis of heaven ended. During these three months, all the injured people were recovering from their injuries. The pharmacist personally treated their injuries, allowing everyone to recover quickly.

Qingyou Shanren returned to Xiaoyujing, but would come back to visit everyone from time to time. Gray Fairy and Fox Fairy took the ashes of Liu Fairy, Huang Fairy and Bai Fairy back to Liuzhou. King Kun and King Yi took Xuan Shengwu's tortoise shell to the Xuanwu tribe overseas to send him back to his race.

The guardian elders also brought the young master’s ashes and buried them under the sacred tree.

Qin Mu personally delivered the old Taoist's corpse to the Taoist sect, and Master Ma also welcomed the old Tathagata's body back to the Great Leiyin Temple and placed it in the Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda.

Tu Xingfeng also died this time. He was buried in the lava underground with his opponent. Qingyou Shanren went underground and a woman who was about the same height as Tu Xingfeng came to the surface with him. She was Tu Xingfeng's widow. She paid tribute to the place where Tu Xingfeng died and said to Qin Mu: "The Tu Xing clan will never fail their oath. If the emperor issues another decree, there will be more men from the Tu Xing clan coming to the meeting."

After this battle, the Shenduan Mountains disappeared and darkness invaded Yankang Kingdom. Qin Mu went to check the flag he had planted. The darkness did not continue to invade Yankang, which made him feel more relieved.

As for the huge hole on the Shenduan Mountains that was blasted out by the Zhending, it has not disappeared yet, and one can still see the situation in another world.

The demons in that world are still busy, preparing something.

The stone statues active in the ruins of the Shenduan Mountains would occasionally reveal their whereabouts, and even from time to time demons would appear from nowhere.

The Imperial Master ordered that scholars from all over Yankang go there for training and eliminate the sporadic demons. Therefore, there would be many adventurers there during the day, and it would be difficult for the demons from another world to gain influence.

Everything in Yankang Kingdom returned to normal. The sensation caused by the sudden appearance of stone statues and rare treasures slowly subsided, but the huge and majestic stone statue of the true god still stood quietly like a mountain and did not disappear.

The stone statue in front of Qin Mu is one of them. The huge statue stands tall, overlooking the capital city in front of it. The stone statue is so tall and majestic that even though it cannot move, it attracts many ignorant people to kneel down and worship and burn incense.

Qin Mu looked up at the stone statue, his thoughts like the dark clouds in the sky, gathering and dispersing.

"You know that these stone statues will eventually come back to life and destroy the world."

When Xu Shenghua's voice came, Qin Mu looked back and saw a young man who was about his age carrying a bag. Jing Yan followed beside him, also carrying a small bag.

Xu Shenghua came in front of him, looked at the stone statue, and said: "Natural disasters have not come, but birth, aging, sickness and death in this world are still going on, and there will be wars. Even if you resist the attacks of the gods in heaven, many people will die on this land every day. These dead will become sacrifices for the statues. One day they will accumulate enough power, wake up, and destroy this world."

Qin Mu continued to look at the statue, his face calm, "I know. The national master knows, and the village chief knows, but they have to do it. The longer the time goes, the stronger Yankang will be. In the past, we had no power to resist, and it was easy for them to crush us to death. However, if you give us time, we will grow up, and it will not be so easy for them to crush us to death. The village chief thinks so, and the national master thinks so too."

He looked at Xu Shenghua and smiled innocently like a big boy: "As long as we are alive, there is hope, right?"

His smile was so contagious that Xu Shenghua couldn't help but smile too.

Jingyan had a strange feeling in her heart. Xu Shenghua was an extremely serious person and seldom smiled. However, every time she met Qin Mu, she would be infected by his smile.

This demon leader really possesses extraordinary magical powers.

Xu Shenghua took out a bag of money and said with a smile: "I am here this time to pay my debts and to resign. This is the money I owe you, I will return it to you and I will also take my leave."

Qin Mu was slightly startled, took the purse, and said, "Brother Xu makes money very quickly."

Xu Shenghua smiled and said, "I got a big job. I became famous for forging spiritual weapons, and the emperor summoned skilled craftsmen from all over the world to restore the Xuanji crossbow. I went, and I was the only one who restored the Xuanji crossbow. The emperor ordered me to make the Xuanji crossbow and presented the blueprint to the army, so he rewarded me with a large sum of money."

"Where are you going?" Qin Mu asked.

Xu Shenghua tightened his bag and walked towards the dock with Jing Yan, saying, "I came to Yankang originally to kill you, and then return to Shangcang to continue my cultivation in peace and quiet. But after meeting you, I feel that the trip to Yankang is more like a training of my state of mind."

Qin Mu followed his footsteps. The dock was far away, and the two of them walked crookedly, secretly competing with each other again.

"This time of tempering my Dao heart, I have gained a lot of understanding that I have never had before, but the experience is over, and it is time for me to leave Yankang."

Xu Shenghua looked up at the sky and said, "There are still many unsolved mysteries in my heart waiting to be solved. I will go find the answers to these mysteries."

Qin Mu asked curiously, "All the gods in Heaven are dead or injured, why don't you go back? Heaven is leaderless now, you should go back to take charge of the situation."

"Not going back."

Xu Shenghua said: "The Heaven is called Heaven, but it is nothing but emptiness. The people there are not independent and cannot have their own lives. They are nothing but running dogs of the true God. Xu Shenghua, I need to find my own way. Brother Qin, my experience in Yankang is over, and I want to go to Daxu to find the answers to those secrets. What about your experience?"

Qin Mu was stunned, then suddenly smiled and said, "My training has just begun."

They walked more and more crookedly and staggered, and when they arrived near the dock, they suddenly clapped their hands together, and the two palms collided with each other. Suddenly, the river bank was filled with huge waves, wind and clouds, and thunder all around!

Qin Mu laughed loudly, shook his hand tightly and touched his shoulder.

The two let go of each other's hands, Xu Shenghua took Jing Yan aboard, turned around and said with a smile: "I was defeated by you last time, and I have always kept it in mind. When I return, I will discuss the masculinity of the hegemon with you!"

Qin Mu laughed and said, "You must be female, I am male!"

Xu Shenghua laughed, waved his hand, and took Jingyan into the cabin.

Qin Mu looked up and saw the ship rising slowly, carrying them away and disappearing into the clouds.

The sun was dazzling. Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and looked at the stone statue overlooking the capital. There were many ignorant people burning incense and praying, praying that the stone statue could protect them and keep them safe.

Those who are good at fighting have no outstanding achievements and are unknown. The village chief, Tu Xingfeng and others died to save the people, but no one knew about it and no one offered incense to worship them. On the contrary, the stone statue that was going to destroy the world was popular with incense. It was really ironic.

"Xu Shenghua is right. The people of Yankang will all become sacrifices to the stone statues as they grow old, get sick, and die. This will allow the true god to accumulate strength and wait for his revival."

Qin Mu walked towards the capital. They had fought fiercely in the Shenduan Mountains, and many strong men had lost their lives. It was not just a matter of delaying time.

Sooner or later, these stone statues will wake up from the worship of the foolish people, show their abilities, and destroy this world!

"And what I have to do is to make the imperial master's reform more intense, and wait for the day when these stone statues wake up!"

It was time to select the scholars of the Imperial Academy again. This time, the selection was held vigorously, and tens of thousands of scholars from all over the country rushed to the capital. The emperor and the imperial teacher came to the Imperial Academy in person. Also attending the meeting were the Taoist master Lin Xuan, Ma Rulai of the Great Leiyin Temple, Qingyou Shanren of Xiaoyujing, and Qin Mu, the leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Emperor Yanfeng saw that there were too many scholars pouring into the Imperial Academy, so he proposed to open other academies to share the responsibilities of the Imperial Academy. He established Jiangling Academy, Yongjiang Academy, Lijiang Academy and Tiansheng Academy, and scholars from all over the country could go to the four academies to take exams.

The four major academies selected scholars from all over the country to enter the academies to learn Taoism and magical powers. After they had achieved success in their studies, they could enter the imperial court and serve as officials in local areas.

The Tianmo Sect took over the name of the Tiansheng Academy. Qin Mu, as the sect leader, became the first chief priest of the Tiansheng Academy and was promoted to the fourth rank.

For this purpose, Qin Mu worked hard to build the Tiansheng Academy in the mountain villa where Granny Si lived. When the summer was hot, the Tiansheng Academy was completed. He set up various schools and attracted talents from all over the place. The disciples of the Tianmo Sect became the first batch of Tiansheng students.

Qin Mu also invited Xiong Xiyu and her daughter and Yu Zhaoqing to teach, and from time to time he invited Taoist Lin Xuan, Ma Rulai, Qingyou Hermit, Fox Fairy and others to teach, so the Tiansheng Academy was very extraordinary.

One day, the Imperial Master came to visit and said, "The Grand Priest's Tiansheng Academy is really bustling and lively."

Qin Mu smiled and said, "The king of heaven never comes to visit you for no reason. What do you want to do this time?"

Imperial Master Yankang paused for a moment and said, "I plan to take this opportunity to destroy Shangcang. I will go to the Western Land to explore the way first. I need someone who is familiar with the Western Land."

Qin Mu was slightly startled and asked Xiong Xiyu to come over.

"Palace Master, do you want to return to the Zhentian Palace in the West?" National Master Yankang asked straight to the point.

Xiong Xiyu was surprised and delighted, and said, "The Zhentian Palace has been occupied by thieves. Is the Imperial Master sure you can help me take back the Zhentian Palace?"

Imperial Master Yankang nodded and said, "I am going to go to Heaven to prevent future troubles. Heaven is in the West and can help you take back the True Heaven Palace on the way."

Qin Mu's heart moved slightly, and he looked at Xiong Xiyu. Xiong Xiyu gritted her teeth and said, "Yankang has conquered the snowfields and grasslands, and will sooner or later send troops to the west. If there can be fewer wars, I am willing to be a vassal of Yankang!"

Imperial Master Yankang said, "Then the Palace Master will prepare and set off today. Would you like to go with us, Master? We are not going to the West for war, but to explore the way. Master can help."

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment. Xiong Xiyu looked at him pleadingly. Qin Mu smiled and said, "It would be nice to go to the Western Land. I have an appointment with the poison master Mu Yingxue, and she asked me to go see her. But before that, I need to go to Daxu to summon the soul."

Imperial Master Yankang was slightly startled, then nodded and said, "Then the Palace Master and I will go ahead. If you see that person, please thank him for me and perform the half-teacher ceremony."

Qin Mu nodded.