Chapter 796 — The Mighty Array

Shen Mu sighed. "I shall reluctantly act as the Earth Mother's envoy and disciple, going to quell the rebellion, and you shall be my serving maids. Then I must trouble Sister Qiuyun to hold the Venerable God's Kunyuan Sword for me. Sister Yan and Brother Lan still have empty hands—are there other treasures? Otherwise it will be too shabby, and people will see through us."

Feng Qiuyun said, "Wait—there is also a whisk, forged by the Earth Mother from the roots of the Primeval Wood and the rivers and great streams. It is called the Six Harmonies Hunyuan Sword. And another is the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, which the Earth Mother uses to suppress mountains, rivers, and earthquakes. I will go fetch them!"

She rummaged beneath the offering table, drew a whisk from a heap of odds and ends, then emptied the ash from the incense cauldron, washed it clean, and said, "It can still be used."

Shen Mu's heart twitched. This little ruined temple had so many good things—and such frightening ones!

"Yan'er, you take the whisk."

Feng Qiuyun handed the whisk to Gongsun Yan. "This whisk is very heavy and solid. Urge it with vital essence, and each strand of the whisk will transform into a sword-light formed of mountains, rivers, and great streams. It is very perilous to control, so be careful. Yu Tianzun, you come..."

She looked at the dazed Yu Tianzun and shook her head. "You had better not hold the cauldron. I will place it in the halo behind your head."

She lifted the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron. The great cauldron flew up and drifted into the halo behind Yu Tianzun's head, bobbing and sinking, then she looked at Shen Mu. "Now we can set out, yes?"

Shen Mu looked troubled. "I have no treasure on my person yet. It is a bit shabby..."

Feng Qiuyun blinked. "We are all your serving maids, and there is a serving boy besides. The treasures we hold in our hands are all for your use. If you carried the treasures yourself, would that not ruin your air of authority?"

Shen Mu gave two dry laughs, his expression somewhat dark. "That is so. Only the display is still not grand enough. If only we could have the Earth Mother's treasure carriage..."

Feng Qiuyun sneered. "That would be the Earth Mother going abroad! The display is grand enough now. Let us set out quickly, lest that little wretch escape! That little wretch is very fast!"

Shen Mu glanced back at the great bells hanging under the eaves of the hall, then looked at the screen, the incense burner, the rush cushion, and the rest. He inwardly sighed at the waste and said, "Give me a little more time and I could forge a treasure carriage. Fatty Dragon and Ah Shui would draw it, Brother Lan would sit on the shaft with a little leather whip, the two sisters would lean against my two legs, one on each side, and I would sit on the treasure seat behind the carriage curtain..."

Feng Qiuyun urged, "After we cut down that little wretch and revive the Earth Mother, we will let you have your moment of glory, all right? There is no time now. Let us hurry over!"

Shen Mu glanced at the Dragon Qilin. The Dragon Qilin understood, rolled on the spot, and transformed into a giant beast forty zhang long.

Shen Mu pinched Yu Tianzun's face, altering his features to make him look like a servant boy.

He took out the Sword Pellet. The Sword Pellet flowed and transformed into a collar with a rope. He made the Water Qilin take human form with a qilin's head, a demigod, and lead the rope in front.

Gongsun Yan and Feng Qiuyun came onto the Dragon Qilin's head. Shen Mu sat down, had Yu Tianzun stand behind him, pulled Gongsun Yan over, and let the girl lean against his shoulder. He was about to pull Feng Qiuyun too, but Feng Qiuyun glared with her phoenix eyes and made as if to draw the wooden sword.

Shen Mu had no choice but to abandon the notion. "Fatty Dragon, let us go. Let us have a look at this false Earth Mother."

The Dragon Qilin hastily summoned clouds beneath its feet, riding the clouds and mist, with the Water Qilin leading it by the rope in front, and headed toward Jade Capital City.

Shen Mu wore a faint smile, gazing ahead, and thought, "Sister Qiuyun was sent by the Earth Mother Venerable God to watch me, lest I slip away. If Qi Xiayu beats Sister Qiuyun to death, then I can take these treasures and dance my way to a clean escape!"

The more he thought, the more elated he became, and his faint smile deepened. "Qi Xiayu is a nine-headed phoenix, with nine heads, and she is of the Emperor Throne tier besides—her strength is unfathomable. With nothing but the music of her zither she made the Emperor Shakra Heavenly King Buddha vomit blood without cease. Even with the Venerable God's Kunyuan Sword in hand, Feng Qiuyun is surely just delivering herself as a dish to her, and I can seize the chance to flee this place."

He held Gongsun Yan's small hand, a smile on his face, making the girl beside him heart pound wildly, and she kept glancing at him.

Shen Mu, however, noticed nothing of the girl's oddity beside him, and continued to channel the energy of the Earth Origin Dao Fruit into Gongsun Yan's body, thinking, "The Scholar is in Jade Capital City too. She can help me dissolve this blessing of the Earth Mother, and with Sister Yan absorbing the energy of the Earth Origin Dao Fruit, I can completely shake off the Earth Mother's surveillance."

Gongsun Yan absorbed the Earth Origin Dao Fruit even faster than he did, but what made Shen Mu somewhat anxious was that although the energy of the Earth Origin Dao Fruit was being absorbed by them without cease, the energy within the fruit showed no sign of diminishing.

"There is no way to absorb the Earth Origin Dao Fruit clean in a short time, so I will simply have to abduct Sister Yan." Shen Mu looked at the girl beside him and gave an innocent, sunny smile.

Gongsun Yan's face flushed red. She turned her head away, staring at the mane on the Dragon Qilin's neck, flustered within. "If he suddenly leans over to kiss me, what should I do? Struggle and resist, or pretend to be angry? Or let him kiss me once, and then slap him?"

Shen Mu made no move. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and yet felt a little disappointed, thinking, "So he is even shyer than I am..."

"Abduct Sister Yan, and then I can use her primordial spirit to drain the Earth Origin Dao Fruit's energy dry!"

Shen Mu's brow twitched, and he nearly beamed with delight. "I can also get my hands on the Venerable God's Kunyuan Sword, the Mountains and Rivers Cauldron, and the Six Harmonies Hunyuan Sword—utterly perfect... Mm, a pity I did not get the Earth Mother's treasure carriage..."

Ahead lay Jade Capital City.

The Water Qilin led the Dragon Qilin into the city.

Let me consult everyone's opinion.