The State Preceptor of Yankang's body trembled slightly.
"What you want to do is too great, the road ahead is full of thorns. My lifespan is ending, I can no longer help you. You can only rely on yourself now."
The young Ancestor smiled and said, "Go back."
The State Preceptor of Yankang bowed deeply to the ground: "Thank you, Daoist friend, for half a lifetime of support!"
The young Ancestor returned the bow: "Since we walk the same path, we should naturally support each other."
The State Preceptor of Yankang turned and left, his robes fluttering as he disappeared into the vast crowds of the capital.
The young Ancestor stood up and called for the Elder of Discipline: "Let's go. It's time for the young Cult Master to ascend the throne."
At the frontier pass beyond the Great Wall, Bashan Jijiu's expression was gloomy. He led Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu into the barbarian tribe's border fortress, his heart filled with displeasure. The barbarian guard captain saw them return, his expression changed slightly, and he stepped forward: "Wu Khan, the Holy Land has ordered that if we encounter you, we must not let you pass through the pass!"
Bashan Jijiu's gaze was cold and stern: "Do you want to die?"
The barbarian guard captain shivered, looking around. Bashan Jijiu swept his gaze over the surrounding warriors and said coldly: "Do all of you want to die?"
The barbarian guard captain steeled himself: "Open the pass!"
The pass gates opened, and Bashan Jijiu rode his ox out through the pass.
Qin Mu looked back and saw a young barbarian on the city wall practicing punches, his movements fierce and powerful. He couldn't help but make a small sound of surprise. The young barbarian noticed someone watching and immediately stopped, looking down.
"This young man is very strong, his foundation is extremely solid," Qin Mu praised.
The young man's gaze swept over, his eyes shining with sharp light, and he called out loudly: "Wu Khan! My name is Bongong Cuo, I am the youngest son of the Grassland King. In the future, I will definitely defeat Wu Khan and become the overlord of the grasslands!"
Bashan Jijiu turned back, looked over the young barbarian, and praised: "Good ambition, continue practicing. You're a seedling with a solid foundation. Do another set of punches, let me see!"
Bongong Cuo performed another set of punches, and Bashan Jijiu said to Qin Mu: "This child's punch technique is broad and powerful, his force is much greater than others, his physical constitution is very special. He will definitely become a great figure in the future."
Qin Mu nodded. With the same techniques and the same cultivation, some people's punches are simply stronger than others. This is natural talent and gift, something others cannot envy.
"Rare indeed. As long as he doesn't die, he will become a prominent figure on the grasslands."
They headed toward Qingmen Pass, and Bongong Cuo, having received Bashan Jijiu's praise, was inspired and practiced even more diligently. Not long after, a golden light flashed in the sky, and a Shaman King descended, his expression gloomy. He called the guard captain over and said: "You let Wu Khan leave?"
The guard captain steeled himself: "Wu Khan's divine power is immeasurable, how would we dare to stop him? If we forcibly tried to block him, I fear the frontier soldiers would suffer heavy casualties and would no longer be able to withstand the Yankang army."
That Shaman King snorted coldly and was about to fly into a rage when he suddenly saw Bongong Cuo practicing punches on the city wall. He was both surprised and delighted, pointing at Bongong Cuo: "Whose child is that?"
"The youngest son of our Mandi Kingdom's Great Khan, Prince Bongong Cuo."
That Shaman King smiled, reached out and grabbed from a distance. Bongong Cuo was pulled against his will and landed in front of him.
"Excellent constitution! This is the special physique that the Shaman Sovereign has been searching for!"
That Shaman King looked him up and down, his expression filled with approval: "The Shaman Sovereign ordered me to find the Reincarnated Holy Child, and I've finally found him! Bongong Cuo, come with me!"
The guard captain was shocked and was about to intervene, but that Shaman King had already transformed into a streak of golden light, taking Bongong Cuo far away.
When he brought Bongong Cuo back to the Loulan Golden Palace and presented the little prince before the Shaman Sovereign, the Shaman Sovereign couldn't help but be both surprised and delighted. He hurriedly took Bongong Cuo to the Holy Hall and bowed: "Great Venerable, the Reincarnated Holy Child has been found. He has the same constitution as the Great Venerable, a once-in-several-centuries genius of the grasslands. The Great Venerable can now reincarnate."
From within the divine shrine came a piercing laugh, and suddenly a thin and dry grotesque figure flew out, head downward, feet upward, pressing his head against Bongong Cuo's head.
A thunderous roar echoed through Bongong Cuo's mind, and then his soul scattered.
Vigorous energy continuously surged from the grotesque figure's body into Bongong Cuo's body. At the same time, the Great Venerable's soul was also transferring, planting itself into Bongong Cuo's body. The Great Venerable said: "Disciple, when I reincarnate, the dead will not die and the living will not live. This defies heaven and alters fate, so Yama's envoys will come to seize my soul. Set up the formation and block them."
The Shaman Sovereign immediately stepped forward, bringing out divine shrines one by one and arranging them in a circle around Bongong Cuo. The golden bones within those shrines were the bones left from the Great Venerable's previous seventeen lives, refined into magical artifacts.
Suddenly, the space trembled. A cold wind blew from another dimension. The lights in the Holy Hall immediately dimmed, and a small boat drifted slowly from another dimension.
It was a dark world. The only light seemed to be a dim green lantern hanging at the bow of that boat. Under the lantern, an old man sat motionless there, folding paper boats and paper figures.
The small boat drifted slowly toward the Holy Hall.
The Shaman Sovereign was extremely nervous. He desperately channeled all his magical power into the divine shrines. Within the shrines, those seventeen golden-boned skeletons seemed to come alive, blocking the entrance between the other world and the real world.
The old man sitting on the boat was surrounded by boundless darkness. From his perspective, the only lights in heaven and earth were his own lantern and the entrance to the other world - which was being blocked by seventeen skeletons.
He raised his hand. Paper figures and paper horses seemed to come alive. Paper figures rode on paper horses, the paper horses galloping happily toward the entrance blocked by the golden-boned skeletons. The paper figures on horseback waved paper swords and paper knives, their mouths open but silent, as if shouting, brimming with killing intent.
The seventeen golden bones moved as one, battling the incoming paper figures and paper horses.
These seventeen golden-boned skeletons formed a formation of great power, allowing the formation to reach the realm of a deity. But the power coming from the other world was terrifyingly strong. The paper knives and paper swords of the paper figures hacked and stabbed down, and even the Great Venerable's previous seventeen lives' golden bones couldn't withstand them. A single hack could sever a bone, a single thrust could pierce through a skull!
The Shaman Sovereign controlled the seventeen golden-boned skeletons to hold on desperately, fighting with all his might against the paper figures and paper horses' attack. The Great Venerable accelerated his reincarnation, only to see the small boat in the other world drawing closer and closer, and the old man on the boat had already stood up with the lantern.
The Shaman Sovereign broke into cold sweat on his forehead. He saw that the small boat had already drifted close, about to cross from the other world into the real world, and the lantern-bearing old man at the bow was reaching out his hand, seeming to reach from the other world to seize the reincarnating Great Venerable and take him into that world!
Suddenly, the Great Venerable's body became rigid and fell from the sky, lifeless. Meanwhile, Bongong Cuo opened his dark, shiny eyes.
As soon as his eyes opened, he saw the connection between the two worlds beginning to collapse. The paper figures and paper horses burst into flames without fire, instantly burning to ashes. And the hand that had already reached out from the other world slowly withdrew and vanished.
In the Holy Hall, the lights suddenly brightened again. The earlier gloom and oppression vanished without a trace.
Bongong Cuo let out a breath of relief and smiled: "Finally, it's a success."
"Congratulations, Great Venerable!" The Shaman Sovereign bowed.
Bongong Cuo waved his hand. The Shaman Sovereign bowed and retreated, closing the hall door. He let out a sigh of relief: "If the Great Venerable weren't old and feeble, how would Heaven Blade dare to come knocking at the door? Now that the Great Venerable has reincarnated, he can finally live another life. Yankang will no longer be a concern, and Heaven Blade will no longer be a concern."
In Qingmen Pass, Qin Mu threw two jade bottles to Bashan Jijiu, then went to buy some spiritual herbs to refine pills.
He had reattached the Butcher's body, using up a lot of dragon saliva, but still had five bottles left. Bashan Jijiu had fought fiercely against the powerhouses of the Loulan Golden Palace and was quite injured. Besides external wounds, he also needed spiritual pills to treat internal injuries and remove hidden ailments.
"Young master, the Ancestor is looking for you."
After Qin Mu had finished preparing the herbs, the herb garden attendant said: "Please leave the pass as soon as possible and head to Yongzhou."
Qin Mu was slightly taken aback, then nodded.
He returned to the inn within the pass and refined a furnace of healing spiritual pills for Bashan Jijiu. He called for Hu Ling'er and left the pass without a word, heading toward Yongzhou.
Ling Yuxiu was taking a bath, and when she finished, she found Qin Mu's whereabouts unknown. Surprised, she hurried to ask Bashan Jijiu. Bashan Jijiu also didn't know when Qin Mu had left, and after thinking, said: "Princess, there's no need to worry. The fox is also gone, which means Junior Brother wasn't taken away, but left with the fox."
Ling Yuxiu felt a bit disappointed. This time when Qin Mu left, he still hadn't said a word to her before quietly departing.
Did it have to be so mysterious?
What couldn't be said?
Bashan Jijiu took the spiritual pill and stood up: "Princess, let's return to the Grand Academy. By my calculations, the Grand Sacrificial Wine Elder will be stepping down soon, and the new Grand Sacrificial Wine Elder will be taking office. Let's go back early. The Grand Sacrificial Wine Elder has always looked after me quite well, and I should at least see him off."
Ling Yuxiu agreed.
Meanwhile, Qin Mu traveled with Hu Ling'er, getting closer and closer to Yongzhou. Along the way, he only saw chaos and war everywhere. From time to time, sects would declare that the emperor was unjust, misusing treacherous officials as the State Preceptor, bringing chaos to the world. Therefore, sects rose in rebellion to purge the court and restore order.
He arrived at Luodu, which was next to Yongzhou. Luodu was also filled with war and unrest, the people living in misery. Armies from various regions were putting down rebellions everywhere, but it was like trying to stop a boiling pot by scooping out water - it had little effect.
The fire set by the State Preceptor of Yankang had burned too brightly. Many of the officials who made up Yankang's various levels of governmentficials were experts from various sects. Now that these sects were rebelling, these officials also rebelled along with them. The empire's foundation had been shaken, and it was already very difficult to quell the turmoil.
"What means does the State Preceptor have to pacify the chaos under heaven?" Qin Mu wondered to himself. "If it continues to get more chaotic, I'm afraid all the sects in the world will rebel. Even if Yankang can suppress the rebellion then, the empire will be severely weakened."
This was something the State Preceptor of Yankang absolutely did not want to see.
If Yankang was severely weakened, how could he pacify the other countries surrounding Yankang? How could he occupy the Great Ruins and establish an unprecedented legacy?
Within Luodu's territory, Qin Mu was merely a passerby, but along the way he encountered attacks from more than ten bandit forces. Some bandits were restless cultivators, while others were officials from Luodu who had become outlaws, occupying mountains and declaring themselves kings.
Relying on his speed, when he couldn't fight them, he would use the Cripple's Heaven-Stealing Leg Technique, and the journey was generally safe.
"If the State Preceptor of Yankang can pacify this rebellion and eliminate or subdue all the empire's hostile forces, then Yankang's unity of purpose will be truly terrifying!"