Chapter Six: Ye Qu's Choice

“Who are you?” Qin Shuang’s sudden appearance startled Lei Shan. Though the Kuya people were mere mortals, their spiritual intuition was highly developed—even cultivators could not evade their perception. That was why Lei Shan had detected the fifty-odd cultivators before they even arrived.

“My name is Qin Shuang. Please rest assured, I mean you no harm.” Qin Shuang smiled faintly, his curiosity about these mortals only growing deeper. For mortals to capture the nascent soul of a cultivator in the Void Meditation Stage—such a feat, not even his father Qin Yu had ever witnessed.

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Qin Shuang was mistaken; he had no knowledge of Qin Yu’s current achievements. Nothing in the universe could escape Qin Yu’s gaze now—he had long since discerned the origins of these mortals. At this very moment, Qin Yu sighed inwardly: No wonder Qin Meng and Lin Meng enjoyed this game so much. Only the fate-unknown could bring them such unpredictable delight. With Qin Shuang’s arrival, the destiny of these mortals had been utterly altered; as for what path they would ultimately take, even Qin Yu could not say for certain.

In the Misty City, within a modest courtyard, resided the tyrannosaurus “Ye Qu.” After Qin Yu’s ascension, Ye Qu cultivated for seven thousand years and also ascended. It was only when Qin Yu established the Misty City that Wu Lan found and brought him back. In truth, this was Qin Yu’s second time seeing him in the Divine Realm.

“Ye Qu, long time no see!”

“Lord Qin Yu, I…” Ye Qu, who had been cultivating, was startled out of his meditation. Since ascending to the Divine Realm, he was acutely aware of the vast gulf between himself and Qin Yu. The tales of Qin Yu’s exploits were things Ye Qu could scarcely imagine, let alone aspire to. The friendship and camaraderie they once shared had faded, replaced now by nothing but reverence.

“There’s no need to be so formal. We’re still as we were before. You and Wu Xu will always be my friends.” Qin Yu sighed inwardly, though his expression remained unchanged and he smiled as warmly as ever. “If not for you teaching me the dinosaur clan’s cultivation method, I doubt I would have achieved what I have today. Come, let’s sit and have a good talk.”

Qin Yu was not exaggerating. Without the dinosaur clan’s cultivation method, he would have been unable to move freely in the Dark Star Realm, and thus unable to enter the Hall of Enigmas—at least, not until much later, relying solely on his own strength. Without the Hall of Enigmas, he might truly have been reduced to mining in the Divine Realm, and without the Nine Hundred Scrolls of Array Dao, his cultivation would not have advanced so swiftly. The way of arrays was of irreplaceable importance to the formation of the universe. Thus, in his heart, Qin Yu was deeply grateful to Ye Qu.

Qin Yu’s words greatly reassured Ye Qu. Seeing Qin Yu’s genuine smile, Ye Qu also broke into a grin. This was the Qin Yu he remembered—no matter his achievements, he never changed toward his own people.

“Qin Yu, haha! You have no idea—before Wu Lan found me, I had no inkling that the Qin Yu of the Divine Realm was you. You’d only just ascended, and already achieved so much—tsk, tsk—things I couldn’t even dream of, not in a thousand lifetimes!”

With his concerns dispelled, Ye Qu became lively, accepting the wine Qin Yu handed over and drinking heartily.

“But then I thought about it—my brother Qin Yu, who was he? When we first met, you were only a first-tier Immortal Emperor, but not long after, when I’d just reached the eighth tier, you’d already ascended. Maybe this Qin Yu really was the one I knew back then!”

Ye Qu was visibly excited, drinking the wine Qin Yu poured without caring about his reaction, continuing to pour his heart out.

“You wouldn’t believe it—just after I’d left the mines, I bragged to a friend that I knew you. He laughed and said that if I was Qin Yu’s friend, he must be the master of the Eight Great Sacred Emperors! Ha! Next time I see him, I’ll ask if he’s taken up that post!”

Ye Qu was clearly overjoyed, drinking and recounting amusing tales from their time apart. Gradually, Qin Yu was infected by his cheer, and the two reminisced as they had in the world of immortals, devils, and demons.

After more than an hour, the ground at their feet was littered with a dozen wine jars, yet Ye Qu still seemed unsatisfied.

“Ye Qu, do you miss your homeland?” Qin Yu suddenly asked, catching Ye Qu off guard.

“My homeland… I haven’t returned since I left,” Ye Qu replied, his tone subdued.

No one is immune to homesickness. After leaving home, Qin Yu had used the Hall of Enigmas to return once, but Ye Qu, having been taken from the Dinosaur Realm by Che Houyuan, had never gone back.

“What’s the use of wanting? It’s been so long—I don’t even know if my family and friends are still alive.” Ye Qu shook his head lightly.

“If you want to go back, I can send you to see for yourself.” Qin Yu didn’t need to look to know that Ye Qu was moved.

“No need—whether I go back or not makes no difference. As long as they’re living well, I’m content.” To Qin Yu’s surprise, Ye Qu actually refused the chance to return home.

“Qin Yu, thank you for your kindness. As long as you remember me, I am satisfied. Rather than returning and finding all my loved ones gone, I’d rather wait quietly for them in the Divine Realm. At least in my heart, they still exist.”

Qin Yu’s smile faded. He stared intently at Ye Qu for a long while before finally saying, “Brother Ye Qu, I respect your choice.”

Qin Yu never would have thought that the usually carefree Ye Qu was, in fact, so fragile at heart. He would not return home because he could not bear the deaths of his loved ones and friends. The Dinosaur Realm was constantly at war, and few tyrannosauruses ever managed to ascend. Ye Qu knew all too well that after so many years, if he returned, he would only be confronted with the deaths of many dear to him—a reality he could not face. So he chose to avoid it. In his heart, as long as he did not see them dead, they still lived.

On a nameless planet—at least, Qin Shuang still did not know its name—Lei Shan watched Qin Shuang warily. His instincts told him that anyone who could approach him so silently was far from ordinary.

“If you keep holding him like that, his energy will soon dissipate, and he’ll die,” Qin Shuang said, gesturing to the nascent soul of the cultivator named Ling Jiang, and smiling gently.

Lei Shan looked at Qin Shuang and slowly walked back toward his people. “Thank you for your concern, friend. I intended to kill him anyway, so it doesn’t matter how he dies.”

“If you truly meant to kill him, you wouldn’t have blasted his chest. At that distance, if you had struck his dantian, he would have been dead for sure.” Qin Shuang smiled, unmoving.

Lei Shan’s body gave a slight shudder, and his gaze changed. He had indeed never intended to kill Ling Jiang. With this nascent soul, he hoped to exchange it for his elder brother’s return. Though his brother’s fate was uncertain, Lei Shan knew that at best he had fallen into the hands of the cultivators.

“Come, let me take over. I promise he won’t die, nor will he pose any threat to you.” Qin Shuang moved suddenly. Lei Shan had barely begun to retreat when a powerful force drew him in, and the nascent soul in his hand was pulled into Qin Shuang’s grasp.

With a casual surge of celestial energy, Qin Shuang stabilized the nascent soul, preventing its energy from dissipating, thus preserving Ling Jiang’s life. Seeing the formidable Qin Shuang, Ling Jiang clung to him like a drowning man to driftwood, but just as he was about to plead for help, he realized his nascent soul could not move, nor could he speak.

Lei Shan received the nascent soul from Qin Shuang, but remained vigilant. “Who exactly are you?”

“I am but a passerby, nothing more. There’s no need to worry.” Qin Shuang smiled, his radiant expression stirring a sense of kinship in Lei Shan. “Who are you people? How did you come to be here?”

“We are the Kuya people of the Drum Mountain Tribe, merely passing through. Thank you for your assistance, sir. Until we meet again.” The more Lei Shan observed Qin Shuang, the more inscrutable he seemed. Though Lei Shan’s heart had warmed to him, he remained cautious, determined to part ways.

“Very well. I believe we shall meet again soon.” Qin Shuang gave a mysterious smile and continued on his way. In just a few breaths, his unhurried steps had carried him out of sight.

“Brother Lei Shan, who was that?” A dozen people gathered, one young man asking the question that was on everyone’s mind; they had all noticed Qin Shuang’s extraordinary nature.

“I don’t know. But until our mission is complete, we cannot make contact with anyone. Even if we die, we must see Ruan Lingyu safely to the headquarters.” Determination flashed in Lei Shan’s eyes as he led the wounded group onward.

“Ruan Lingyu—what a curious spirit stone.” Far overhead, Qin Shuang frowned slightly, murmuring to himself.

Lei Shan was not a cultivator and had no storage artifacts, so the Ruan Lingyu could only be carried on his person. Lei Shan had hidden it remarkably well—he had even sewn it into his own body. In Qin Shuang’s view, if the delivery of the Ruan Lingyu depended on these mortals, Lei Shan’s prospects were grim.

For seven days, Qin Shuang silently followed Lei Shan and his group until they finally reached a settlement—a tribe of tens of thousands of mortals, all living in crude shelters. Only at the center stood a strange temple, and in its heart was placed a dragon’s head the likes of which Qin Shuang had never seen.

Before the temple, Lei Shan, having just arrived, wasted no time. Kneeling on the ground, he proclaimed reverently, “Lei Shan of the Drum Mountain Tribe greets the Great Elder. I have successfully brought the Ruan Lingyu!”