Golden veins coiled around his arm, and if one looked closely, they faintly resembled a five-clawed golden dragon.
Wang Yan’er stroked the golden veins with her slender, jade-like fingers, but she didn’t sense even a trace of Spirit Energy.
“Mu’er, how did you get this?”
Even with her perspective as a Great Power in the Tribulation Stage, this was the first time she had seen such golden veins.
“Oh, it went like this…”
Qin Mu recounted the entire sequence of events from start to finish.
Qin Mengyu also leaned in, looking at the golden veins on her brother’s arm.
She asked with some concern, “Mu’er, do you feel any discomfort in your body?”
“No.”
Qin Mu shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and slapped his hand against his palm.
“Oh! That’s right! That night when I couldn’t move at all, these veins appeared, and then I was able to move again.”
“If that’s the case, it seems they have the effect of breaking the suppression of such Formations, similar to the function of certain auxiliary Fabao,” Wang Yan’er said.
“Since there haven’t been any negative side effects for now, perhaps this can be considered your fortunate opportunity, Mu’er.”
Wang Yan’er memorized the pattern of the golden veins.
‘It looks like I’ll have to pay that woman named Lu a visit tonight.’
Beyond being the Tower Master of the Star Plucking Tower, she was a Great Power in the Tribulation Stage.
With her experience, she had naturally seen many things, yet there were still too many unknowns in this world.
The Seven Star Sect had a long heritage, so the Library Pavilion was bound to contain many ancient records.
Although Ruoshuang and Mengyu were Holy Maidens, their strength and seniority were still too low; they couldn’t access the top-secret information within the sect.
As the Sect Leader of the Seven Star Sect, the woman named Lu would certainly have access to such information.
Even if she didn’t know, Wang Yan’er would find a way into the Library Pavilion to search thoroughly.
‘My… fortunate opportunity…?’
Qin Mu looked at the Power of the King on his right arm.
‘Does this mean I’m about to rise to greatness?!’
***
The Demon Clan.
A blood-red figure looked down coldly and mercilessly at several people below.
“Fourth Protector, how are your injuries?”
The old man’s aura had dissipated to the point of nearly vanishing.
The Fourth Protector’s face was pale as he said weakly, “Master, I… I’m afraid I won’t make it.”
There were two others beside the Fourth Protector.
The Eighth Protector looked slightly better, while the Second Protector was in a pathetic state, covered in scars.
Compared to the Fourth Protector, who looked ready to pass away at any moment, the Second Protector was doing quite well.
As for the Ninth Protector… unfortunately, not even a speck of dust remained.
By now, even his ashes were long gone.
The blood-red figure’s expression was grim.
Of the nine protectors, two had been lost.
However, it was fine—the target had been brought back.
“Our clan will remember your dedication. Besides, the King is about to be reborn.”
***
Great Yu Dynasty, Royal Capital, Prime Minister’s Residence.
Compared to its previous state of being crowded with visitors, the Prime Minister’s Residence was now relatively deserted.
Everyone knew that the Sect Leader of the Seven Star Sect was dissatisfied with the residence.
The Emperor had also issued a decree, leading many to believe that the Shangguan family was finished.
However, no one expected the Emperor to suddenly issue another decree a few days ago, restoring all of Shangguan Su’s duties.
This left many people confused.
Inside the residence, Shangguan Su was dressed in casual clothes, holding a scroll and reading.
Beside him, his eldest daughter, Shangguan Xue, was looking at the contents of the imperial decree with her brow furrowed.
“Father, what does the Emperor mean by this? Could it be…?”
“Hehe.”
Shangguan Su put down his book and looked at his daughter.
“Xue’er, how do you think the relationship is between the Emperor and Sect Leader Lu?”
“The relationship… is cold and distant, like polite strangers.”
“A good analysis.”
Shangguan Su stood up and walked out of the room step by step, looking up at the sky.
“Since the incident with the previous Emperor, Sect Leader Lu has not had much goodwill toward the Court. And the Emperor is not very happy about the Seven Star Sect growing larger and larger.”
Hearing her father’s words, Shangguan Xue made a bold guess.
“Is the Emperor trying to draw a clear line between himself and the Seven Star Sect?”
Shangguan Su smiled.
“It’s possible. After all, after so much time, the Seven Star Sect’s influence has penetrated too deeply into the Court. If the Emperor wants to completely control the Court, he will inevitably fall out with the Seven Star Sect. However, the Emperor might have even deeper ambitions.”
Others might not know, but as the Prime Minister, Shangguan Su naturally understood the current situation of the Great Yu Dynasty.
Unlike the previous Emperor, who was a mediocre ruler, the current Emperor had been secretly accumulating power.
Furthermore, a large part of the reason why the Great Yu Dynasty was slowly declining was the continuous “blood-sucking” by the Seven Star Sect.
Not only had their influence seeped into the Court, but they also used their abundant resources to recruit many of the Dynasty’s top talents into the sect.
Over time, this became something the Court could not tolerate.
Shangguan Su stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the azure sky.
“It seems the weather is bound to change sooner or later.”
***
The Southern Region was located in the south of the Heavenly Profound Continent.
While the Eastern Region was the domain of the Human Clan, this place could be described as a land where a hundred races coexisted.
There was not only the Human Clan but also the Demon Clan (Beast) and the mysterious Gu Tribe.
The Gu Tribe could be called a unique race of the Southern Region.
Even during the wars of the Ancient Era, the Gu Tribe had remained in the Southern Region—specifically, within the Wildlands.
The Wildlands was one of the few regions on the Heavenly Profound Continent older than the Ancient Era, a remnant left over from the even more distant past.
Not only were there Demonic Beasts from the Ancient Era, but there were also Gu insects that had existed since those ancient times.
These Gu insects were far more vicious than the ones refined by practitioners of the Devil Path today.
Yet, the Gu Tribe could domesticate these insects, making them serve a tribe member for their entire lives until death.
Speaking of the Gu Tribe, they were a mysterious race that did not actively contact the outside world.
Since the Ancient Era, they had remained in the Wildlands.
They weren’t overly exclusionary toward outsiders, but they weren’t particularly warm either.
In the Wildlands, even a powerhouse in the Soul Formation Realm wouldn’t dare claim they could cross it with 100% safety.
Some Demonic Beasts inside had lived from ancient times to the present, and they wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of fear even when facing a Great Power of the Tribulation Stage.
So, friend, if you want to learn more about the Wildlands and the various aspects of the Gu Tribe, hurry up and buy the Pro version now!
Thud.
Qin Mu closed the book and looked at the cover, which read “Wildlands Detailed Popular Science.”
‘Hehe, the Pro version. If I buy that, there’ll probably be a Pro Max version waiting for me.’
The book was quite thick, but the cover alone accounted for one-third of that thickness.
The rest was mostly illustrations, with very few pages of actual content.
One could say the book was completely useless.
But it wasn’t entirely without merit; at least the illustrations were quite exquisite, if one ignored the small print in the bottom right corner—”Images are for reference only.”
“Dammit, for a trashy book like this, they actually charged me one Ling Stone. He’s nothing but a dishonest merchant!”
That’s right, Qin Mu had been scammed again.
Once he heard that his next destination was the Wildlands where the Gu Tribe resided, Qin Mu felt he should gather some information to be prepared.
Gurgle — —
Qin Mu rubbed his stomach.
“Ah, I’m hungry again. My appetite has grown so much lately.”
If this continued, he would have to go from three meals a day to four, not even counting midnight snacks.