Your Lord Has A Screw Loose?
Chapter 710 - 712: The Gradually Receding Origin

Chapter 710 -712: The Gradually Receding Origin

The two of them enter You Si’s domain with remarkable ease. She Xi had thought that chaos would ensue once Qin Muye, being a human, entered.

On the surface, members of the Human Clan clamor for the blood of Snake-men, while here in You Si, the sentiment is mirrored, each thinking of savoring the taste of human blood.

She Xi, however, did not anticipate that the contingency plans he had prepared would go unused, because Qin Muye was skilled at disguise, and his deception was flawless. Had She Xi not witnessed Qin Muye’s actions, he absolutely would not have noticed these details.

“Your Majesty truly has impressive techniques; to think that the national fate bestows such abilities,” She Xi said, somewhat surprised.

“This has nothing to do with national fate, but with Martial Arts. I would think you’ve heard something about it,” Qin Muye said in a sardonic tone.

This guy had always been bribing caravans and officials to act as his eyes and ears. The Suspended Mirror Bureau and the Rootless Sect have dealt with many of these cases; even now, it is estimated that some remain unresolved.

The other party must have also obtained the Martial Arts Secret Manual, which, however, is not suitable for the cultivation of Snake-men.

Qin Muye’s Cultivation Techniques are tailor-made for the Human Clan. If Snake-men could practice them too, it would be worth considering whether their race had become assimilated by humans.

“I have heard a little, Your Majesty. Your actions truly benefit both the state and its people; it is indeed a great fortune for all,” She Xi replied without denying knowledge. To outright claim ignorance would be too false, so he limited himself to saying he had heard but little.

“Oh? Haven’t you thought about trying to practice? That would be much better than seeking favors from others,” Qin Muye inquired.

She Xi’s response was interesting, as it implied he dared not desire such privileges.

Indeed, he had tried to cultivate as well, as it was a source of power that belonged to him. However, he faced two problems: firstly, his body structure was different and unsuitable for human cultivation techniques, and secondly, it was simply too arduous, making it impossible for She Xi to persevere in the practice.

The Martial Arts Techniques that had been leaked were not the first version. In the Body Refining Realm, even the initial stage of skin training required a comprehensive regimen, which to common folk, was akin to a form of punishment.

Without money to buy medicine, the pampered rich couldn’t endure the hardships, leaving only those truly aspiring to climb the social ladder to undertake the training. And this was just the first step—the entire Body Refining Realm was like this. Otherwise, how could one expect to refine their body by simply standing in the sun?

After trying for five days, She Xi could no longer bear it. Every day he would abrade his scales and skin until they were bloody, yet the progress was minimal.

Although the level 8 power he possessed was borrowed from Qin Muye, it was indeed genuine. Within the Body Refining Realm, only the final stage of Qi Cultivation was beneficial to him. But without practicing the previous eight levels, he couldn’t hope to achieve Qi Cultivation, as his body was not accustomed to handling True Qi.

This dilemma of whether to practice or not left him no choice but to temporarily give up.

“To think there’s something you are afraid of; you truly broaden my horizons,” Qin Muye had no intention of playing insincere games with him.

One was brazenly audacious, while the other dared to follow through with it, and thus they arrived at the Snake Temple.

The palace gates were closed and appeared clean, suggesting someone cleaned them daily. However, from the look of their being shut, they had not been opened for some time.

Clearly, by the means of She Xi, it was impossible to completely eradicate the worship of the Serpent Father, but it could be suppressed, becoming akin to certain traditional holidays observed in name only, where each year passes but hardly anyone takes it seriously anymore.

“The Serpent Father sacrifice is held once a year in full piety,” She Xi said after entering the Snake Temple, glancing at the dust. His words were intended to whitewash his actions, suggesting that although the Serpent Father was powerless against him, he remained dutiful.

Qin Muye didn’t believe this at all. Judging from the thickness of the dust, it had been at least eight or nine months since the last cleaning.

The exterior of the Snake Temple was maintained, but She Xi expressly forbid anyone from entering, which was why such thick dust had accumulated.

“So, you suspect that the Serpent Father lies beneath this altar?” Qin Muye said, bypassing She Xi’s self-justification and asking directly.

“Yes, Your Majesty, I received the seal given by the master of the Endless Abyss years ago. Now that I think about it, it was surely used to suppress the Serpent Father for his means. If Your Majesty wishes, this old servant could remove it entirely,” She Xi stated immediately.

“If you want to die, I certainly won’t stop you, but could you finish telling me the information I need before you do?” Qin Muye retorted sardonically. This guy was really eager for a mutual defeat between himself and the Serpent Father, or he wouldn’t have even suggested such a thing.

She Xi’s expression subtly changed; he was aware that there was an issue with himself, and, coupled with the years he had spent steadily weakening the faith in the Serpent Father, he was certain that if anyone were most hated by the Serpent Father, it would be him rather than the invading Qin Muye.

“His Majesty speaks the truth; this old servant has been confused. I ought to preserve my usefulness and serve His Majesty effectively,” She Xi cowed, for he did wish to see Qin Muye engage the Serpent Father in battle, but not at the expense of his own safety—that would be too costly a price.

Qin Muye completely ignored his comment, as over the years, She Xi’s ability to don a mantle of righteousness had not diminished one bit: he had turned coward, yet still managed to shift the blame onto Qin Muye.

“I wonder when His Majesty plans to eliminate the Serpent Father. If there is anything you need, just inform this old servant, and I will devote myself to your cause,” She Xi attempted tentatively, realizing Qin Muye was unresponsive. The words that followed might as well have been flatulence.

After all, he believed that his adversary enjoyed hearing such things, and from the intelligence he had obtained, he understood that Emperor Qian, though he rarely appeared in court, seemed somewhat eager for grand achievements—at least that was the impression given by the exaggerated praises of the officials he had previously unheard of.

It was only logical that such fawning and flattery towards Emperor Qian by the court officials would influence the lower levels, and thus he did not hesitate to follow suit.

“Yes, you be quiet and stop disturbing my observation, or I’ll hang you on a post,” Qin Muye sighed helplessly. Although he could understand She Xi’s desire for him to die along with the Serpent Father, the problem was he was just too noisy, making Qin Muye feel that he should be turned into a dried salted fish.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” She Xi did not persist further and promptly withdrew to one side. He could see Qin Muye’s impatience, and as an ambitious man with keen perception, he knew that nagging would only provoke an adverse effect; thus, there was no way he would trouble him again.

He did not know what Qin Muye was up to, but he was sure that the latter had come to deal with the Serpent Father.

Qin Muye examined the altar and detected neither peculiar energy nor hidden tricks. It was just a corpse, which was unnecessary for a being of the ninth order.

Life and death were vague concepts for those of the ninth order.

“The heart…” A large amount of data was being continuously deduced; he realized that the Snake Temple was located right where the Serpent Father’s heart lay within its corpse.

Every sacrifice was a beat of the heart and also a form of resistance against fate.

The beats of a heart aged unknown eons had allowed You Si to disregard the suppression of national destiny, and maybe, if sacrifices were plentiful enough, perhaps one day the Snake-men might truly return to the surface.

However, following the debacle with She Qi, it was clear that the Serpent Father had no intentions of taking a passive approach, hence the downfall of She Xi and the decline of the Serpent Father’s rituals.

If another rebellious Snake-man like She Xi did not emerge, then everything was likely to be set in stone, especially since the signal jammer had caused the heart to cease beating for a long time.

As time went on, the ability of You Si to isolate itself from the national destiny would gradually decrease. Although there were no signs of this yet—after all, it was the evolution of a ninth-order being which wouldn’t show any signs of weakness for tens of thousands of years.

It was, after all, the corpse of a ninth-order being; it couldn’t possibly be that fragile.

‘From this, it seems all the high-ranking members of the Alien Clan are dead, with others likely to have died a complete death, leaving the Serpent Father alone doing sit-ups.’ Qin Muye had the Spirit Monster conduct numerous investigations over the years and found very few clues.

‘Combining this with She Xi’s description of the other members of the Alien Clan as Wanderers suggests they have no fixed abode, deprived of the bodies of their high-ranking ancestors to act as a sanctuary for them.’

‘This would explain the desperate actions of the Alien Clan nobility; without the fall of Great Qian, they are doomed to be homeless.’

‘It’s just a pity that these Aliens never considered usurping others’ nests. How could they compete with Great Qian, when even their own source was defeated? They would have been better off snatching the land of You Si from the Snake-men.’

‘Well, perhaps they failed, and that’s why they were exiled and became Wanderers?’

Various hypotheses about the Alien Clan continuously surfaced in his mind, but Qin Muye swiftly suppressed these thoughts, instead pondering how to deal with the Serpent Father, a ninth-order being who was dead yet not entirely dead.

Given the current condition, Qin Muye was confident of his victory.