Chapter 78: The Sun Ship
Granny Si frowned deeply and immediately issued an order, her voice stern: "Lock down the entire city! Search for the rogue cultivator! Drive everyone in the city to the central square. I want to see who dares to cause trouble right under my nose!"
The cultivators of the City Lord's Mansion received the order and immediately set out, herding everyone in the city, including traveling merchants, to the central square.
Qin Feiyue also frowned deeply. Failing to find the rogue cultivator who had caused the disturbance made him uneasy.
"Young General Qin need not worry. This city is my city, Fu's city. No demon or monster can cause chaos here!"
Granny Si, wearing Fu Yundi's skin, laughed and said: "By gathering everyone together, even if that rogue cultivator is immensely powerful and skilled at hiding, he won't escape my grasp! You may go ahead and invite the Imperial Preceptor. The Great Ruin is full of lawless individuals who need discipline! Speaking of which, I, Fu, have long heard of the Imperial Preceptor's great name and admire him deeply. I can't wait to meet him and receive his teachings!"
Qin Feiyue suppressed his unease and smiled: "Please rest assured, City Lord. The Imperial Preceptor is always fair in rewards and punishments. You have rendered great service to Yan Kingdom, so naturally you will be promoted and honored, rising high and prosperous. There's no need for you to remain in this bitter, cold land."
Granny Si laughed heartily, immensely pleased, then suddenly said viciously: "That rogue cultivator who caused the disturbance doesn't know when to yield. When we catch him, we'll execute him by slicing, hang his head on the city gate as a warning to others! By the way, Young General Qin, please put in a good word for me before the Imperial Preceptor. That disturbance just now wasn't caused by me, Fu... this..."
Qin Feiyue understood and smiled: "City Lord, rest assured. I will certainly recommend you to the Imperial Preceptor."
Granny Si breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes flickering as she lowered her voice: "To be honest, I've been operating here for many years and have acquired a few remarkable treasures. When the Imperial Preceptor enters the city, perhaps Young General Qin could come with me to take a look. If there's anything you like, feel free to take it..."
Qin Feiyue was quite tempted. The Great Ruin was a place full of treasures, even containing artifacts from before the Dark Age invasion. Fu Yundi had operated in the Great Ruin for years, naturally amassing countless rare and precious items. If he could enter his treasury and choose a few pieces, it would be a huge gain!
On the Dragon Pillar, Qin Mu watched the Deaf Man painting, using his art as a divine ability, and was dazzled and deeply impressed. He had studied calligraphy and painting under the Deaf Man since childhood and was well-read, but this was the first time he had seen the Deaf Man display such great power.
To single-handedly delay the advance of over a hundred thousand troops from Yan Kingdom was truly astonishing!
If there hadn't been experts from Yan Kingdom to break the Deaf Man's divine abilities, those hundred thousand troops would likely have died under his power.
"Is that Mu'er on the pillar?"
Suddenly, the Butcher's voice came from below. Qin Mu leaned over to look and saw the Butcher slashing at the Dragon Pillar with his butcher knife, but not a single strike landed on it. He was puzzled.
The Butcher struck out again and again, his body slowly rising until he landed on the Dragon Pillar.
"What are you doing, Grandpa Butcher?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"Planting a divine ability to destroy the Dragon Pillar."
The Butcher sheathed his butcher knife into the scabbard on his back, crawled on his hands to the dragon's head, and looked toward the army marching outside the city. "When the Yan Kingdom army enters the city, at midnight, my divine ability will erupt. This Dragon Pillar will shatter into pieces, completely destroyed by my blade light."
The vanguard of Yan Kingdom had been ambushed by the Deaf Man, suffering countless casualties. Now a second army was arriving from the Yanbian Pass, joining forces and heading toward Xianglong City.
Although they had just been attacked by the Deaf Man, the combined forces now made an even more imposing display.
Qin Mu was startled and exclaimed: "Grandpa Butcher, do you intend to use the darkness to wipe out the Yan Kingdom army?"
The Butcher nodded. "I've already planted divine abilities on the other three Dragon Pillars. Only this one remains."
Qin Mu's hair stood on end. If all four Dragon Pillars were destroyed at midnight, the Yan Kingdom army would face utter disaster!
Countless people would be buried in the darkness and die tragically!
Qin Mu hesitated. "Grandpa Butcher, what about the people in the city..."
The Butcher laughed. "Just now, when the Deaf Man performed his ritual and attacked the Yan Kingdom army, Old Lady Si ordered a citywide lockdown and drove everyone to the city center."
Qin Mu immediately felt relieved. The city center had many ancient temples housing various stone statues, and those temples would block the darkness's invasion.
Clearly, Granny Si had communicated with the Deaf Man and the others beforehand, so they had devised this plan. When the Dragon Pillars collapsed and the darkness invaded, the city center, surrounded by temples, would become a safe zone. The people gathered there would be perfectly safe.
"At nightfall, the Yan Kingdom army will be annihilated. Only a few strong individuals like the Imperial Preceptor will escape. And that will be the time for our decisive battle."
The Butcher grinned. "So, the Village Chief has come too."
Qin Mu was puzzled. The Village Chief had lost his limbs. What could he do?
The Butcher was a bit excited, chuckling darkly. "Tonight, we'll see the strongest sword of the past face the strongest sword of the present! Damn, I can't wait for nightfall... What is that?"
His expression suddenly froze. He stared into the distance as if he had seen a ghost, exclaiming in shock: "Holy shit, what the hell is that thing?"
Qin Mu followed his gaze and saw only a small black dot in the sky. He didn't understand why the Butcher was so shocked.
However, that black dot seemed to be coming from the direction of the Star Sea, about two hundred miles from Xianglong City.
"Holy shit, holy shit..."
The Butcher cursed nonstop, then suddenly leaped into the air and landed below, shouting: "Stay here and don't move! I'm going to find the Village Chief and the Pharmacist. Damn it, in all my years living in the Great Ruin, I've never seen anything like this... Holy shit..."
Qin Mu was puzzled. This was the first time he had seen the Butcher so flustered. Even when the Butcher went berserk, he didn't curse this much. His favorite curse was usually "damn heavens."
He looked back at the black dot and was startled again. The black dot had grown much larger.
It was getting bigger and bigger. At first, it was like a pinprick on white paper, but now it was like an ink blot, and it was still expanding.
Suddenly, several figures flashed by, and Qin Mu found himself surrounded by the limbless Village Chief, the disfigured Pharmacist, and the Mute.
The Blind Man was absent, probably dragged from the gambling den to the city center.
"Good heavens..."
The Pharmacist looked at the black dot, also showing extreme shock, muttering: "Such a huge ship..."
"The legend is real. That ship truly exists!"
The Village Chief was also shaken, murmuring: "Why is that ship appearing now?"
The Mute stared blankly, his gaze fixed there.
The Deaf Man was also stunned.
"Holy shit..." The Butcher kept cursing.
Qin Mu activated his Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye, straining to see the black dot clearly, but he couldn't make it out.
Gradually, the black dot grew larger, becoming a pitch-black disc that kept expanding. Before long, the disc was about ten feet across.
Soon after, the disc was several acres in size.
A rumbling sound kept coming from underground, growing stronger and stronger. Qin Mu, standing on the Dragon Pillar, felt his legs go numb, as if some colossal monster was constantly moving.
He felt the air getting hotter and hotter, the temperature rising, as if the sun were blazing down with scorching heat. Yet it was still spring, two months away from summer.
Then, Qin Mu saw what the Village Chief and the others were looking at.
A moving ship, coming from the direction of the Star Sea, drawing closer and closer.
It was indeed a ship that walked. Above the ship floated an increasingly large black sphere.
Qin Mu's expression twisted. The shock in his heart was beyond words. After a long while, he exhaled a turbid breath and gritted his teeth: "Holy shit..."
The Butcher glared at him. "Kids shouldn't curse! Holy shit, what the hell is this thing that's appeared?"
The ship approaching them was enormous, made of volcanoes. The mountains, spewing smoke and flames, were towering and majestic, reaching into the clouds. Lightning and thunder filled the smoke, constantly illuminating the sky.
The shape of this mountain was also strange. It had no peak. From a distance, it looked somewhat like a multi-story ship, but without the decks. Instead, there were only majestic palaces, resplendent and magnificent. Though shrouded in smoke, they still gleamed with golden light, extremely dazzling.
On that mountain, there were also thick chains, each requiring dozens of people to encircle, floating in the sky like kite strings. At the end of these chains was tied that pitch-black sphere. As it moved through the air, the chains clashed, making a clattering sound.
And when that enormous black ball was dragged, it emitted rumbling noises, shaking the air with a buzzing sound, as if it were incredibly heavy.
At this moment, the ship was walking along the lower reaches of the Yong River, boiling the great river of the Great Ruin until it steamed and dried up. Fish monsters and water monsters leaped onto the banks, fleeing for their lives!
"This is..."
Qin Mu was stunned, then exclaimed: "The Sun Ship!"