Chapter 135: Fragment of the Primordial Water

After countless exhaustive efforts, brain-wracking deductions, patrolling every single corner, and searching through every single crack at Qian Mo, Qian Mo finally arrived at a major theory after so much hard work!

"Oh mother dear, this is so damn tiring. I am not a professional locksmith, why am I bothering to look at this ghost-forsaken thing? I might as well just smash it open with a hammer." Qian Mo sat on the ground looking somewhat exhausted, loosened his shoulders, twisted his sore neck, and shouted.

Qian Mo pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.

"Smoking a cigarette to calm my nerves. Puff~ Ah, so good..."

Then he took a plate of fruit out of his system inventory. With a flick of his finger, the ice and snow transformed into a chair. He plopped down onto it and started tossing the fruits into his mouth one by one.

Cigarette in his right hand, fruit in his left hand—better than a living immortal!

"Tsk tsk, this kind of lifestyle is what a man standing at the top of the world should be doing. It would be even more comfortable if I had a pretty girl holding me in her arms right in the middle of this," Qian Mo muttered to himself with his eyes closed.

Feeling like life had already reached its peak... la la la~~

Wearing sunglasses, flicking the ash from his cigarette, Qian Mo rocked back and forth on the sturdy chair.

This action was quite charming...

After a session of enjoyment, Qian Mo completely recovered to his peak condition. Right now, he felt as though he had no match under the heavens.

...........

Half a quarter of an hour later, Qian Mo got up. The cigarette was finished, and the fruit was polished off as well.

Feeling quite satisfied now, he patted his hands.

The chair behind him melted back into scattered ice and snow.

"Eaten enough, smoked enough, time to get to work." With that, Qian Mo lowered his head to look at his clothes and shook his head, "Since I am a person from Blue Star, I should wear clothes belonging to my own trend. This outfit doesn't suit this deity."

Subsequently, he purchased an outfit from the system mall.

A short-sleeved summer shirt, a pair of warm and casual loose shorts, and a pair of free and comfortable—flip-flops!

After putting everything on, Qian Mo checked himself out in the mirror formed on the ice surface and nodded with great satisfaction, "Mm, not bad, very perfection. This is the exact feeling; this is the trend of the twenty-second century on Blue Star."

"It feels so comfortable right now. Even squatting down to take a dump feels extra convenient."

However, Qian Mo frowned as he looked at the hair on top of his head, "Mm, this hair doesn't fit. Short hair is much more comfortable. This damn ghost of hair hanging down all day ruins the vibe."

"Sigh, whatever, just bear with it for now."

From now on, there would be a rumor spreading across the Myriad Realms: deep in the jianghu, there walked a man dressed strangely, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, warm and casual loose shorts, and the ultimate miraculous footwear of the twenty-second century on his feet—flip-flops! Powerful and extremely durable.

The first step, which was also the starting point in the Myriad Realms, was the Dou Qi Continent, marking the beginning of his rise to fame.

Qian Mo looked at his own skin and stroked it; it was tender, smooth, white, and soft.

"Aish, I never knew my skin was this good. Tsk tsk, this is the textbook definition of a fresh young hunk. Any beauty who lays eyes on him would inevitably throw herself at him for some fun."

"Aish, too many, too many. I can't handle it, I really can't handle it."

Imagining the scene of being surrounded by a group of beauties, Qian Mo shook his head and said.

"My kidneys don't seem to be made of cast iron. Never mind, I'd better take care of the few back at home first. Let me count..."

"Biyao"

"Lu Xueqi"

"Yafei"

"Yunyi"

"Ling Xuanting"

"Five! Would that be a bit too few? I am a Dual Cultivation Saint Body in the Myriad Realms; I can level up simply through dual cultivation. Should I get a few more?"

"Future matters will be dealt with in the future. Let's get down to business first."

Although Qian Mo was wearing very little, he possessed the Primordial White Flame and the warm casual loose shorts—though the warmth of the latter could be completely ignored.

Alright, entertainment time is over. Now it's time to get down to business—opening the coffin!

"Since I'm no expert at opening coffins, I can only use brute force to smash it open. If there happens to be someone inside, this young master will say Amitabha here first," Qian Mo said with his hands on his hips.

As he spoke, a large spiked club appeared in his hand, covered with countless sharp barbs.

"Haha, the spiked club brother is still the most handsome. Those sword things look uncool, too small and useless. The spiked club has a damn high head-shot rate; the feeling of flesh and blood splurging wildly is the most satisfying feeling."

Qian Mo looked admiringly at the huge spiked club in his hand and said.

He flew up to a height roughly level with the coffin.

"Take this blow from your daddy's spiked giant hammer!"

Bang bang bang—

Bang bang bang—

!!!

This scene was somewhat cruel. Countless tiny ice crystals were smashed into pieces and scattered all over the ground.

With this kind of force and explosive damage, one could only imagine what would happen if it struck a person's head.

The scene would definitely be explosive.

Bang bang—

Qian Mo gathered his strength once again for another strike.

"Invincible technique, spiked club blows your head apart!"

Qian Mo shouted, bringing the hammer down with great speed.

Boom!—

Instantly, the entire space was filled with the sound of this collision.

In an instant, the ice crystal blocks above were shattered by Qian Mo into countless cracks, and with a sudden snap, all the ice blocks exploded.

Using too much force, Qian Mo smashed the spiked club directly onto the top of the coffin lid. With a quick retraction, he brought back the debris from the coffin right before his eyes.

Qian Mo swallowed hard, feeling that something might be amiss. He seemed to have used a bit too much force and actually knocked a hole right through someone else's coffin lid.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't know this ice was so fragile that a single tap would pierce right through it and ruin your coffin as well."

Qian Mo offered a profound apology.

However, Qian Mo wasn't even sure if there was anyone inside. Anyway, he had already said his apology, so he didn't care anymore.

...........

The ice shattered, revealing a coffin of wood-red color with crystalline textures and horizontal patterns beneath Qian Mo's eyes.

"Wood-red?" Qian Mo muttered to himself.

He remembered that the coffins outside—even those belonging to Nine-Star Dou Shengs—were not red, but entirely pitch black.

"Looks like this is the leader figure," Qian Mo smiled happily, then muttered thoughtfully, "Who could it be?"

Qian Mo recalled that deep within the imperial palace, there once existed a Nine-Star Peak Dou Sheng powerhouse who was the former emperor of the imperial family, though the throne had since changed hands.

He wondered if the person inside this coffin was the former emperor. Rumors had it that he had vanished several hundred years ago.

"Several hundred years. Would he have already turned into a wrinkled old man?" Qian Mo thought about that appearance and shook his head, "Too terrifying, too terrifying. If that's the case, I'll have to smash his head apart."

"Alright, time to open the coffin. Opening a coffin is also a meticulous craft." With that, Qian Mo put away the spiked club and took out a large crowbar meant for opening coffins from his storage ring.

He slapped the large crowbar against his hand, "Mm, very hard, not bad." Walking around to find a corner crack, Qian Mo directly jammed the crowbar in.

"Oh, right on target, this spot." Qian Mo smacked his lips as a surge of brute force gathered in his right hand, striking down hard against the tail end of the crowbar.

Boom!—

In a split second, the entire coffin lid flew extremely high, releasing boundless cold and massive white mist from within the coffin. Moreover, the lid was shattered into four pieces by the tremendous impact.

Thud—

Thud

They all crashed down onto the ground.

Watching this scene, Qian Mo's eyes widened as he gasped a breath of cold air, "Mother dear, I used too much force, the coffin lid has been split into four pieces..."

"Aish mother, my sin, my sin. I didn't mean to, I just wanted to open the lid, I had no malicious intent."

Qian Mo quickly brought his hands together in a clasp and gave a slight bow as he spoke.

"Alright, breaking the lid was my fault, and I've already apologized. We are even now," Qian Mo said with a serious expression, before his face shifted into a grinning smile, "I'll just help myself to your treasures then,嘿嘿 (hehe)!!"

He didn't take it to heart at all.

If the person inside could hear this, they would surely be so enraged as to vomit a mouthful of blood. How could there be such a shameless and brazen person in this world!!

...........

Qian Mo walked to the side, placed his hand on the edge of the coffin, and peered inside.

An ice-sealed corpse presented itself before Qian Mo's eyes. Upon closer inspection of the chest area of the corpse, there was a white object emitting boundless coldness, looking just like an ice cube, with rings of cold mist surrounding it.

It was rotating slowly, though at a very sluggish pace; one had to look closely to even notice it.

Qian Mo directly ignored the corpse and reached his hand out toward that block.

Extremely cold!

That was Qian Mo's sensation as he approached it. When he reached out and grasped the ice block, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.

The frozen ice rapidly spread from the ice block across Qian Mo's entire body. Qian Mo's pupils shrank, and the next moment, he was transformed into a humanoid ice sculpture.

What the heck, what is going on here!

For a moment, the world fell silent.

A minute later, Qian Mo's ice-sculpted body emitted a flash of light—it was the Primordial White Flame—and the ice encasing his body slowly began to crack apart.

Bang bang—

Pieces of ice fell to the ground.

"Incredible, incredible. It actually froze me solid. Amazing, truly amazing."

"It's a supreme treasure, a supreme treasure indeed," Qian Mo looked greedily at the ice block before him.

Suddenly, a voice flashed through his mind: "Ding! Primordial Water fragment detected. Due to the system entity entering slumber, this system has automatically transformed into the Myriad Realms Omniscient System, the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia!"

"Myriad Realms Encyclopedia? Primordial Water fragment?" Qian Mo was startled by the voice in his head. Wondering what it was, it popped up right now and gave him a scare.

"Ding, the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia has detected a Primordial Water fragment. Does host Qian Mo wish to absorb and refine it?"

Hearing this, Qian Mo was overjoyed. Since it could be refined, wouldn't that save him a lot of useless effort?

He quickly nodded and shouted, "Yes, yes! Absorb and refine it quickly!"

"Ding, refining in progress..."

As Qian Mo's voice faded, the strange ice block held in his hand vanished, sinking directly into Qian Mo's body.

Qian Mo instantly felt an incomparable chill surging within his body, making him involuntarily shiver.

"So cold. Will this kill me? I still prefer fire..."

"Ding! Refinement successful. Congratulations to the host for acquiring Primordial Water."

As the voice of the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia faded, the extreme chill in Qian Mo's body subsided, leaving behind a sensation of perfect equilibrium.

"Uhm, Myriad Realms Encyclopedia, can I ask you a question?" Qian Mo asked in his mind.

"Host, please go ahead. I am the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia; there is nothing I do not know. As long as the host asks, I can answer."

Hearing this, Qian Mo smiled, "Myriad Realms Encyclopedia, what kind of thing is that Primordial Water fragment?"

"Ding, question detected. The Myriad Realms Encyclopedia will answer for you..."

"Within chaos, there existed the five elements of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. These represent the awakening of the five elements, which were naturally formed within chaos and possess immense power. These attributes are collectively called Primordial. They are the first Gold, the first Wood, the first Water, the first Fire, and the first Earth in time! They are also the elemental ancestors containing the strongest power. However, during the interleaving of chaos, these attributes were completely decomposed, scattered, and landed in every corner of the Heavens and Myriad Realms. The Primordial Water fragment mentioned by the host is a part of the body shed by Primordial Water. Even as merely a part of its body, it transcends the peak existence of Dou Di on the Dou Qi Continent; its cultivation realm is at the Human Immortal Realm!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Mo was dumbfounded. Goodness gracious, there were things this overpowered?

"Is, is it really this terrifying? Just a fragment is at the Human Immortal Realm, then Myriad Realms Encyclopedia, how many such fragments are there in total?" Qian Mo asked, swallowing hard.

"There are a total of six scattered fragments, represented respectively by the six numbers: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, Rong, and Yi. The Primordial Water fragment acquired by the host is the trashiest one among the six—Jia Water!"

Qian Mo was shocked. The Primordial Water fragment inside his body was actually the trashiest one, yet it possessed the Human Immortal Realm. The rest must be unimaginably terrifying.

"Encyclopedia, can these be purchased in the system mall?" Qian Mo wondered if buying them was an option.

"They can be purchased, but the host's Myriad Realms level is too low, your authority is insufficient, and you cannot buy them. To purchase them, you must at least meet the level requirements corresponding to each fragment, or the host can find them yourself to refine."

"How unreasonable is that? There are level requirements too? You think this is playing a video game? Then... Encyclopedia, what level is required to purchase the second trashiest one, Yi Water?" Qian Mo asked.

"It requires the host to reach Myriad Realms Level 5 before purchase is permitted."

"Myriad Realms Level 5? Right now I'm only at Myriad Realms Level 3, right? Counting by major realms, I damn well still need to surpass the third major realm to reach the fourth."

"Host, do your best. However, if the host reaches the Human Immortal Realm, you can purchase all Jia-grade fragments of the Primordial attributes. However, the price is exorbitant, so it is best for the host to search for them yourself. This not only saves money but also builds experience, and perhaps you will encounter fortuitous encounters along the way."

"Then Encyclopedia, do you know where the other fragments are distributed..." Since it was the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia, it should know, right?

"Um, this exceeds the management scope of the Encyclopedia, and furthermore, the host must approach them closely for me to sense them. The Myriad Realms are too vast; it is very difficult to sense them from afar."

Qian Mo's little scheme was immediately shattered: "I see. Fine, I'll just take it as it comes. I'll search first, and if that fails, I'll buy them. How many Myriad Realms Coins would the entire set of low-tier ones cost?"

"Five million Myriad Realms Coins each. Prices are the same for the same tier."

Puff—

Hearing this, Qian Mo felt like vomiting a mouthful of old blood. This was way too expensive. Now that he had one, leaving four more... twenty million Myriad Realms Coins...

This was the rhythm of bankruptcy...

Qian Mo checked his current assets.

He had about 5.6 million Myriad Realms Coins, and even that was what he had extorted previously in Qing Yun Zhi.

"Alright, looks like I should sell everything unnecessary to have a backup fund just in case I can't find them and need to buy them." Thus, Qian Mo's journey of pillaging and looting treasures continued steadily.

"Host, do your best. I'm going to rest now," the Myriad Realms Encyclopedia said lazily.

"Fine, go ahead and rest," Qian Mo nodded.

"Ah wait!" Qian Mo suddenly remembered something and stopped it.

"Any more questions?"

"Encyclopedia, according to what you just said, does the strange fire in my hand count as Primordial Fire or a fragment?" Qian Mo thought of a crucial question.

"Not really. According to the current level of the host's strange fire, it barely reaches the Human Immortal Realm, but the Primordial Water Jia Water is entirely at the high tier of the Human Immortal Realm. Your current strange fire hasn't even reached the threshold; it's merely a fire even lanker than the trashiest fragment. However, as long as the host absorbs the Nihility Devouring Flame of this plane, based on the nature of Primordial Fire, it will transform into the Primordial Fire fragment Jia, though just barely. The host just needs to remember to let it keep absorbing and devouring flames. The nature of Primordial Fire is continuous devouring. As long as the host fuses all the Jia fragments of the five elements, you will be able to initially control and perceive the energy of the five elements."

"I see. Alright, I understand now," Qian Mo nodded and said.

...........

Having sorted out his thoughts, Qian Mo understood. No wonder he still felt cold despite the protection of the Primordial White Flame; it all made sense now. The mystery in his mind was unraveled—his level was simply too low, failing to meet even the requirements of the trashiest fragment, resulting in a feeling of suppression.

"Mobai, did you hear that? You're not even as good as the trashiest fragment. But don't worry, your daddy will definitely upgrade you into a Primordial Fire Jia fragment," Qian Mo summoned Mobai and placed it in his palm.

A tiny little thing carrying faint crackling lightning appeared in Qian Mo's hand.

Looking somewhat ashamed, Mobai nodded: "Mm-mm, I know."

Qian Mo then summoned Jia Water, which appeared in the shape of ice.

"Strange, Mobai didn't reach the fragment requirement yet it had a fire spirit, why doesn't this water have a water spirit? Is it because Primordial Water is more advanced?"

Qian Mo rubbed his chin and nodded: "That must be it. Primordial Water is more advanced, so it has higher requirements for manifesting a water spirit."

"Right, I almost forgot about this ghost of a thing. This ghost probably wanted to absorb it and ended up being ice-sealed by Jia Water. It should still be alive; once unfriended—unsealed, it should wake up." Qian Mo walked over, looked at the ice sculpture of a person inside the coffin, and upon closer inspection, saw that it was a man.

Since Qian Mo now possessed the ability of Jia Water, unsealing him was a minor task. With a slight gesture from Qian Mo, a bone-chilling cold qi appeared in his right hand. However, Qian Mo didn't feel cold at all, because this was already a part of his body—how could it still feel cold, unless it was Primordial Yi Water?

"Withdraw," Qian Mo said indifferently, reaching out to stroke the man's body from head to toe.

As Qian Mo's words fell, the layers of ice frozen onto the man dissipated layer by layer. In less than a minute, all the ice sculptures encasing the man turned into nothingness.

Once the ice sculpture vanished, a complete human figure was revealed.

This person was dressed in a long golden dragon robe and adorned with golden jewelry.

His face looked slightly aged.

Tsk tsk, this look was the absolute embodiment of a leader figure. Qian Mo glanced at him and scanned the two storage rings on his fingers. Probing his cultivation realm, he found it to be Nine-Star Peak Dou Sheng!

"Looks like there's no mistake. This old ghost is definitely the previous generation's emperor of the imperial family who vanished several hundred years ago, and also the old ancestor of this generation."

Qian Mo muttered inwardly as he looked at him. However, a Nine-Star Peak Dou Sheng was still not worth much in his eyes; the Ling he encountered in the spatial rift last time was stronger than this guy.

The next time he met him, he would definitely have to give him a severe beating to feel satisfied. How dare he sneak into his void space? Although there was no killing intent, his boldness was truly boundless.

If he didn't teach him a lesson, he really wouldn't be doing himself justice. The lesson last time was considered quite light.

...........

In a space filled entirely with peach blossoms, a person was drinking wine alone, looking at the blooming peach blossoms before him and gazing out into the endless void.

He let out a slight sigh: "That brat threw me with such force and suppressed me so easily; he definitely has the cultivation realm of a Dou Di. But isn't there no Dou Di left on the Dou Qi Continent?!"

"Where did he come from? Is he an ancient old timer?"

"That's not right, didn't those guys all vanish God knows where?"

Thinking hard, he still couldn't figure out why this was the case.

"Wait, perhaps that fellow has the secret or method to break through to Dou Di. I need to go take a look."

He then stroked his chin: "But I seemed to have offended that fellow by ambushing him in his void space and attacking him. If he runs into me, will he split me on the spot?" At this thought, he trembled slightly; if that fellow wanted to kill him last time, he definitely wouldn't have survived. He could feel that.

"Mm, probably not. If he wanted to kill me, he would have killed me last time. Why bother throwing me out?" With another cup of brewed wine, he swallowed it down.

"Dou Di, Dou Di, how many people yearn for this realm? I wonder what it truly feels like to reach Dou Di, a genuine Dou Di."

"How truly anticipated."

Cup after cup, the jar of peach wine on the table gradually diminished.

Outside, the peach blossoms he planted slowly fell, and their petals drifted down to the ground following the direction of the wind.

In this peach paradise region, there was a medium-sized pool of water. A golden fish with green stripes leaped out of the water, followed by others one after another. They leaped high, as if trying to leap over the dragon gate, their eyes showing a resilient and unyielding spirit.

Thud—

They all fell back into the water.

Water droplets from the pool fell continuously from above.

The man slowly stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and walked slowly toward the edge of the pool.

Looking at the golden fish one by one before him, he let out another sigh: "Golden-striped fish, I've raised you for over ten thousand years." Looking back at this charming peach paradise, he continued, "And this charming peach paradise—when I first planted you, you were just tiny seeds. Now, after fifty thousand years, how many generations of flower seeds have been born? This old man can no longer count them."

"Sixty thousand years. This old man has lived for nearly sixty thousand years. Why can't I still find the secret to breaking through the void to become an emperor? Why did the ancient predecessors all vanish overnight? Only by achieving emperorship can all of this be understood."

"That fellow is a Dou Di; perhaps he might know. When the time comes, I must go find him and ask personally."

Just at that moment, the old man's back felt a sudden chill.

"What the heck, what's going on? Why did my back feel cold? Is mentioning that kid that effective? Could it be that the kid holds a grudge?"

"If that's the case, I'd better reconsider first..."

This person was none other than the one Qian Mo encountered in the void—Ling!