Chapter 570 — The Little Tyrant of the Underworld

Shen Mu took up the ladle. With a slight stir of his mind, his vital energy transformed into fire. He said with a smile, "Actually, in our village, Grandpa Mojiang cooks the best food, Grandpa Danshi's medicinal cuisine is the most delicious, Grandpa Huo's vegetarian meals are his specialty, and Grandma Zhu's cooking is tasty too — it is just that no one dares eat her food, since no one knows what ingredients she uses. As for the others, their cooking and meal preparation is not up to much."

The Dragon Qilin looked at Xiangzi. Xiangzi displayed its collection of bones to him, very happy, then tossed him two bones. The Dragon Qilin shook its head, crawled into the chest and rummaged around, and finally found some spirit pills.

The Black Tiger God walked over, his voice like thunder: "Fat Dragon, stop eating. I will take you to cultivate! Rising in the morning is the best time to cultivate! You have taught me many things, so I will teach you a thing or two as well, and help you refine away the excess fat on your body! Junior Brother, I am borrowing your fat one for a while!"

Shen Mu said hastily, "Senior Brother, feel free to borrow him."

The Dragon Qilin hastily swallowed the spirit pills in the basin. Before it had finished, the Black Tiger God grabbed its tail and dragged it away.

"My food bowl!"

The Dragon Qilin's crying voice carried back: "I have not even licked it clean—"

"Little Fox, come over too after you have eaten. Come with me to temper yourself — I will take you all to assault the enemy camp!"

Xue Hu'er answered. The Black Tiger God, holding the Dragon Qilin by the tail, dragged him away.

Shen Mu finished stir-frying the dishes, took off his apron, and sat down at the dining table with the girls. Xue Hu'er ladled out porridge and rice and set it before everyone, then sat down as well.

The little dragon on Shen Mu's ear stealthily stretched out its neck, swiftly snatched a slice of stir-fried clam meat, and shrank back, hugging the meat and eating it.

The group ate and talked. Both Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang had once been to Fengdu and had learned some cultivation methods and divine abilities from several of the gods and demons there. But the cultivation methods and divine abilities they practiced were incomplete — the gods and demons of Fengdu only taught them; comprehending them still required one's own effort.

"However, the transmissions of Taihuang Heaven are complete. In the few days since we arrived, we have actually learned quite a few good things."

Si Yunxiang said, "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping has spread the battle lines wide. With this victory, there will not be any great battles for the time being. It is a good time to learn from the senior sisters and brothers of Taihuang Heaven and exchange a thing or two with the senior brothers and sisters of the demon race. Many disciples of our Tian Sheng Sect have also arrived. Sister Sang Hua was just saying she plans to go study at the Tian Sheng Academy for a period."

Shen Mu pondered and said, "Perhaps we could establish a branch of the Tian Sheng Academy in Taihuang Heaven, and invite the gods, demons, and renowned elders of the Divine Bridge realm of Taihuang Heaven to give lectures. And the divine ability users of Taihuang Heaven could go to the Tian Sheng Academy to cultivate for a time. That way we can exchange frequently without delaying the war effort."

The group sat at the table, eating and chatting. After Xue Hu'er had eaten her fill, she ran outside to cultivate together with the Black Tiger God and the Dragon Qilin.

Shen Mu and the girls stayed behind to wash the dishes. Yu He came aboard the boat, and seeing Shen Mu washing dishes, could not help being startled. Her expression turned odd, and she said hesitantly, "Sect Master, there are some demon scouts roaming the battlefield. I plan to take Sang Hua and the others out on patrol to have a look at them."

Shen Mu nodded and said with a smile, "You go ahead. I will wash the dishes."

Si Yunxiang grabbed Ling Yuxiu and Sang Hua and ran off with Yu He. Yu He's voice carried back as she whispered, "Having the Sect Master wash dishes is somewhat improper, is it not? As the Sect Master, how can he do such trifling things..."

Si Yunxiang laughed, "Our Tian Sheng Sect is like this — no distinction between high and low, no such elaborate rules."

Yu He set her mind at ease and said with a smile, "The Sect Master has said that our Tian Sheng Sect is the foremost of the orthodox path in Jingping. Now, seeing the Sect Master conduct himself this way, leading by example, I understand that our Tian Sheng Sect becoming the foremost of the orthodox path was no accident."

"That..." Si Yunxiang widened her eyes, not knowing what to say.

After Shen Mu finished tidying up, Xiangzi came running over with a clatter, opened itself, and displayed its collection of bones.

Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He took out some demon yuan weapons and placed them in the chest, saying, "On this journey I have killed quite a few demon experts and collected their yuan weapons. You should collect these. Do not always collect bones."

Xiangzi threw the demon yuan weapons out and continued to collect bones as before.

Shen Mu shook his head, took out the True Dragon Nest, removed the little dragon from his ear, and said with a smile, "Little Daoist friend, the thing you have been pestering me to see all along is this."

The little dragon's eyes shone, and it cried "Maha maha" without cease.

Shen Mu laughed heartily, and with the little dragon, leaped into the True Dragon Nest.

Man and dragon fell into the nest. Shen Mu released the little dragon, and it immediately flew round and round the nest, surging with indescribable excitement.

Shen Mu took the Heavenly Emperor Jade Tablet from his bosom and tossed it up. The Heavenly Emperor Jade Tablet transformed into the Lord of True Dragons and merged with the nest. Instantly a vast and boundless dragon aura pervaded the air, and countless dragon script characters emerged.

The little dragon flew back and forth, going to look at the dragon script. The "Maha maha" cries in its mouth turned into deep and obscure dragon speech — it was deciphering the writing on the True Dragon Nest!

This little dragon's bloodline was very high; it was the son of the Yongjiang Dragon Emperor. Shen Mu called him little Daoist friend, but in truth his age already exceeded twenty thousand years. Only because he had been frozen by the Yongjiang Dragon Emperor's Black Water Dragon Pearl had he never grown.

The dragon speech in his mouth grew more and more obscure and complex. He was the son of a dragon king, and his bloodline was even higher than that of Bai Qingfu and Bai Qu'er, whom Shen Mu had encountered when he traveled forty thousand years back to the Shanghuang Era. He deciphered more and more dragon speech.

Shen Mu stood there, listening to his dragon chant, slowly circulating his vital energy and cross-verifying it with the true dragon cultivation methods he had learned before. His comprehension naturally grew greater and greater.

The little dragon flew up and down. After an unknowable length of time, it finally finished deciphering the dragon script in the True Dragon Nest. Suddenly it landed, shook its body, and transformed into a youth — handsome in appearance, dignified in bearing, his features somewhat resembling Shen Yu's. He bowed and said in thanks, "Many thanks to Sect Master Shen for bestowing the technique and helping me open my spirit intellect."

Shen Mu returned the courtesy and said with a smile, "I also wished to borrow your hand to learn the cultivation methods of the True Dragon Nest. There is no need to thank me. May I ask how the little Daoist friend is named?"

"My family takes Jiang as its surname. My mother bestowed on me three water characters, and I am called Jiang Miao."