Chapter 688 — The Tribulation of the Divine Descendants' Degeneration

The Angler laughed.

"A fellow who scatters his affections everywhere. " With that, he gave the strand of pure yin qi a shake, and it slipped into Yan Jingjing's brow like a little dragon without a body.

Yan Jingjing savored it carefully and found nothing unusual—only a coolness at her brow. "Fisherman Heavenly Master, is this pure yin qi of any use? I don't feel any benefit.

" The Angler was caught between laughter and tears. "This isn't the all-powerful miraculous dual cultivation your clan chief speaks of. Of course it has no effect at first. Pure yin qi is meant to change your solitary yang that cannot endure; it doesn't work right away.

It relies more on subtle, gradual transformation. " The Great Red Kun let out a long, melodious cry in the air, flying over the Wilderness Ruins, drawing ever closer to Taihuang Heaven.

The Angler said, "You have a pure yang body, with nothing but pure yang qi within you. Add to that the sun forged by the goddess Ziqing—an incomparably intense pure yang qi, violent to the extreme. When you became the Sun Guardian, there was no pure yin qi in your body. As you commanded the Xi Boat, that violent pure yang qi merged into you, accumulating more and more. And because there was not the slightest trace of pure yin qi, it brought on a withered abundance of your qi and blood. What is withered abundance?

" Shen Mu chimed in, "My Grandpa Alchemist once made a comparison for withered abundance. He said it is like flower arranging. You cut a bright blossom and set it in a vase; the flower blooms in full glory, but within days it wilts and falls. Grandpa Alchemist said that withered abundance makes a person die suddenly at their most beautiful.

" The Angler said in surprise, "Your Grandpa Alchemist has some insight. That is indeed the way of it—solitary yang that cannot endure brings on withered abundance. When qi and blood are on the verge of withering yet burn all the more fiercely, death cannot be far off. That strand of pure yin qi just now was to give you a supplement, better by far than dual cultivation! Of course, dual cultivation can still solve part of the problem, but it cannot solve the root of it. " The little female fish poked her head out of the fish basket and chuckled.

"Master is destined to be alone all his life.

" The Great Red Kun flew to the boundary between Taihuang Heaven and the Wilderness Ruins, where the primordial magnetic force suddenly fell into disorder, as though they had entered a domain with no primordial magnetism at all. Here a person hung neither up nor down, able to float in the air without cultivating any flight divine power. This was because the primordial magnetism of the Wilderness Ruins and that of Taihuang Heaven interacted here; when the magnetic forces from both sides were equal, a person would float in the air.

To a divine power practitioner this was nothing much—after all, there was still moving air here, and one could fly away with a flight divine power. "The strand of pure yin qi that the Shen boy gave you is no ordinary pure yin qi.

It is a protective divine essence refined by a deity of the Yaochi realm within the Divine Treasury of the Primal Embryo. " The Angler glanced at Shen Mu.

"Even if you were to absorb an entire sun forged by the goddess Ziqing, this single strand of protective divine essence would be enough to dissolve it for you. " Yan Jingjing was startled and blurted out, "So precious?

" "Of course it is precious beyond measure. " The Angler narrowed his big eyes and said with perfect composure, "It must have been extremely difficult for him to obtain such a treasure.

Perhaps he went through trials of life and death before a god of the Supreme Emperor took notice of him and bestowed the yin and yang qi upon him.

And yet, without a second thought, he gave you the pure yin qi within it.

" Yan Jingjing's heart bloomed with joy. She stole a glance at Shen Mu, lowered her head shyly, and was overcome with bashfulness. Shen Mu scratched his head. "It wasn't that difficult.

In a desert in another space I came upon a general from the era of the Supreme Emperor.

I woke him, built tombs for his soldiers and buried them, and out of gratitude he gave me the yin and yang qi. " The Angler trembled with anger. The little female fish poked her head out of the basket again and giggled.

"Master, this Shen boy is very much like you—destined to be alone all his life.

" The Angler said flatly, "Fish soup tonight. " The little female fish hastily pulled her head back and dared not speak.

"Strange.

Just now, when I drew the pure yin qi from your Divine Treasury of the Primal Embryo, I sensed there was something else in your brow—but it is not hidden in the Divine Treasury of the Primal Embryo.

" The Angler looked Shen Mu up and down, then his gaze settled on Shen Mu's brow. He was quite curious about the willow leaf there that slowly shifted colors.

"What is beneath this willow leaf of yours? Even I cannot see through it. Can you peel it off?

" Shen Mu said, "Beneath the willow leaf is a third eye. My elder brother lives inside it, so it is best not to peel the leaf off. Living in my eye together with my brother are also the thoughts and consciousness of Mahabrahma, the Heavenly King Buddha, the Lord of Heaven, and the Red Emperor of the Chiming era.

" The Angler was startled and stared at him wide-eyed. "Are you not boasting? This only makes me more curious about your eye.

Peel it off, and I will send my fishhook in—perhaps I can fish your brother out. " Shen Mu said hastily, "Mahabrahma, the Lord of Heaven, and the Red Emperor are inside precisely to seal him.

There is also Tu Bo's seal in the eye!

How could I let him out?

" The Angler was filled with doubt and wonder, and grew even more curious about his eye. Shen Mu grew wary.

"Are all Heavenly Masters this curious? " The Great Red Kun beat its wings and flew to Taihuang Heaven, turning sharply—though "sharply" was only relative to Shen Mu and the others; to this great Kun, the turn was leisurely and unhurried.

Once above Taihuang Heaven, Shen Mu saw the Wilderness Ruins standing upright, perpendicular to Taihuang Heaven; heaven and earth had in that moment tilted through a right angle. Such a thing looked inconceivable, but it was in fact still the work of terrestrial primordial magnetic force—that is, primordial magnetism.

"As for divine powers of primordial magnetism, they also appear in the Scripture of the Great Nurturing Dark Demon. Granny Zhu is quite familiar with them, though such divine powers seem very rare.

" Shen Mu stared blankly, lost in thought. Primordial magnetic divine powers seemed to hold great use; perhaps they could serve as a direction for development, with the scholars of the Heavenly Sage Academy conducting dedicated research and development.

Perhaps they could even create a magnificent system of divine powers!

The Angler shot him a glance, doubtful at heart. "This Shen boy seems to drift off often. Even with a pretty girl at his side, he keeps wandering off to think of other things.

" Shen Mu took out his little notebook, wrote down his idea with a brush, then solemnly blew the ink dry, thinking, "When I return, I will ask Granny Zhu to lead those scholars in making primordial magnetic divine powers their main focus! " Yan Jingjing watched his earnest manner and found him quite dashing. "This girl is beyond saving too.

" The female fish in the basket shook her head.

"Dizzy and turned about by a silly boy.

" Shen Mu looked down and saw that Taihuang Heaven's original waves of magma had frozen, forming wave-like mountain ranges, magnificent beyond measure.

Because it had cooled, in recent days some demonic beasts had come here, and some birds had brought many kinds of plant seeds; Shen Mu actually saw a touch of green. He also saw that the strange beasts of the Wilderness Ruins were actually migrating toward Taihuang Heaven.