Chapter 84: The Eerie Darkness Within
Arriving before the city gates, facing the boundless darkness, Qin Mu’s heart couldn’t help but tremble. The darkness that killed anyone who touched it lay right before him, gently undulating as if alive, held at bay by the light radiating from the dragon pillars and the temples within the city.
Now, he was about to step into that darkness.
Behind him, Granny Si, Old Man Ma, Lame, and the others were even more tense than he was. The city gates creaked open, making their hearts clench.
Seven rumbles echoed from within the Village Chief’s body, as if seven treasuries had burst open inside him. His aura suddenly became wildly violent, immensely majestic, and profoundly sacred as he drifted toward the darkness. “Mu’er, let’s go.”
Qin Mu quickly followed, activating his Ninefold Divine Eye to look at the Village Chief. His mind shook violently—what he saw was not a crippled old man missing limbs, but a towering deity!
In that moment, the Village Chief appeared to him as a god with intact limbs, much like the deities he had seen in the temples. The only difference was that the Village Chief was a living god, while those in the temples were carved statues.
“I knew the old man was still the old man.”
Blind leaned on his bamboo staff and sighed with emotion. “The old man is still a cut above the rest of us!”
Mute nodded deeply in agreement. “Ah, ah, ah ah!”
“Mute is right.”
Deaf nodded sagely. “I just wonder how long the old man can hold out. If he can’t, then both of them will kick the bucket.”
Granny Si spat twice in succession. “Ptoo, ptoo! Bird’s mouth! Good luck, great fortune!”
In the darkness, the jade pendant on Qin Mu’s chest lit up. The young boy carefully followed the Village Chief as he drifted forward into the dark. Looking back, he saw Carved Dragon City like a city of a hundred gods, with a giant dragon coiled around the city walls and colossal deities standing within, guarding that land and keeping the darkness at bay.
“Village Chief,” he suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “My spirit embryo has gone dormant again.”
The Village Chief staggered, the flames around him nearly extinguishing. He steadied his mind and said, “Mu’er, you haven’t told the other old folks, have you?”
The moment his mind wavered, strange demonic sounds came from the darkness, as if demons within were whispering, trying to break in while the flames dimmed.
Qin Mu cautiously looked around and shook his head. “I haven’t had a chance to tell Granny Si and the others yet. Village Chief, didn’t you say that with the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art, each awakening is one elixir? I’ve awakened three times, three elixirs awakened, and now the spirit embryo is sleeping again. When it awakens next, it’ll be the fourth awakening. Is there something wrong with my cultivation…”
The Village Chief breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “This is a good thing. The ‘three’ in Overlord Body Three Elixir Art isn’t the number three in one, two, three, four. As the saying goes, the Dao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. The ‘three’ in Overlord Body Three Elixir Art is the ‘three’ that gives birth to all things. It’s possible to awaken any number of times.”
Qin Mu suddenly understood and praised, “Village Chief, you are learned and knowledgeable.”
Cold sweat dripped from the Village Chief’s temple down his cheek, and he silently praised himself: “I’m really quick-witted. With this explanation, no matter how many times Mu’er awakens, I can explain it calmly. The kid is easy to fool, but those old folks in the village are hard to deceive. Good thing they don’t know about this…”
Still, Qin Mu felt there wouldn’t be a fifth awakening, because all the golden light in the Golden Sea had been absorbed by his spirit embryo.
The darkness was thick. As they delved deeper, the darkness grew heavier. This was different from what Qin Mu had seen before. Last time, when he stretched out his hand, the darkness had gradually faded, revealing the Dark Realm, and a woman had reached out to him from afar.
Now, the blackness was intensifying. Apart from the area illuminated by the Village Chief’s sacred flames, nothing else could be seen.
Suddenly, the light barrier around the Village Chief shook violently, as if some massive creature had slammed into it. Qin Mu quickly looked and felt his scalp tingle—he saw a huge shadow trying to tear through the light radiating from the Village Chief!
Whoosh.
A flash of sword light shot from the Village Chief’s hair into the darkness. The massive shadow twisted like a ghost, flickering repeatedly, then gradually faded, seemingly retreating into the dark.
The sword light flew back. The Village Chief’s expression was grave. A single drop of blood slid gently along the sword light, hanging at its tip. Qin Mu raised his palm to catch it, but the Village Chief quickly shook his head. “Don’t touch it.”
Clink.
The drop of blood hit the ground, making a sound like metal striking stone. Immediately, Qin Mu saw the surrounding grass and trees wither, their leaves shriveling and dying!
They walked forward about a hundred paces before leaving the demonic influence of that drop of blood, leaving Qin Mu horrified.
“That dark demon just now was extremely powerful, not much weaker than me.”
The Village Chief looked around solemnly. In the darkness, faint shadows could be seen crawling, shifting, and changing, as if countless demons lurked around them. He said, “That drop of blood is demon god blood. If you touched it, the divine image Deaf painted on you would probably be corrupted and become useless. Mu’er, since you drifted down from upstream, let’s follow the Yong River upward.”
Before long, they reached the banks of the Yong River. The river surged mightily. The Village Chief drifted over the water, and Qin Mu followed, walking on the river’s surface. Looking around, Qin Mu saw the shadows in the darkness still moving constantly, accompanied by eerie whispers from time to time, as if the demons were discussing how to eat them. It was hair-raising.
But with the Village Chief by his side, his heart was much more at ease.
The Village Chief said, “Let’s go to the source of the Yong River. It’s five thousand li along this route. You’re too slow, so I’ll carry you.”
Qin Mu felt his body lighten, floating like a feather. Then he saw the Village Chief’s flames blazing fiercely. In the divine light, his figure grew even more majestic, like a giant standing tall between heaven and earth, striding upstream along the Yong River!
Qin Mu was stunned. This speed was like lightning, blurring past thousands of mountains and rivers in a flash!
But when he looked at the Village Chief with his naked eyes, he still had no hands or feet. Yet with the Ninefold Divine Eye, the Village Chief had all his limbs, shining like a god. Two different forms existed simultaneously.
So, did the Village Chief have limbs or not? He felt confused.
Along the way, they passed countless mountains and traveled who knows how many li. The Yong River gradually narrowed, clearly getting closer to its source.
On the journey, Qin Mu saw many sights he had never witnessed before. He saw towering giants standing along the riverbanks, emitting torch-like divine light in the darkness!
These were the stone statues in the villages along the Yong River. By day, they looked like ordinary stone statues. At night, mortal eyes could only see them glowing, but with divine eyes, it was like seeing two different worlds!
Besides these villages, there were ancient ruins along the Yong River, where divine light shone like daylight. Qin Mu even saw living giants moving within the ruins!
“Are there living gods and demons there?” he wondered in awe.
Beyond the moving giants in the ruins, he encountered even stranger events. In the darkness, mythical beasts the size of mountains were hunting!
Divine beasts as large as mountains fought with demons in the dark, causing mountains to collapse and the earth to split. Those divine beasts were covered in divine light, shining like torches in the darkness!
That night, he saw a completely different Great Ruin—a world of myths, a world of epics.
Back then, Granny Si had picked Qin Mu up from the water, judging that he and the woman in the river had drifted from upstream. Now they were close to the source of the Yong River. If they reached the source and still didn’t find Carefree Village, they would have to turn back.
The Great Ruin was too vast, too dangerous. They couldn’t search it all in one night.
Just then, the Village Chief suddenly stopped. Qin Mu quickly steadied himself and was about to speak when his hair stood on end. He shut his mouth and even stopped breathing.
Ahead of them, a massive army was marching deeper into the Great Ruin. The soldiers were tall and sturdy, like radiant gods and demons, but their faces were cyan, fangs protruding, and their eyes were lifeless. Despite their terrifying auras, these god-like beings were clearly corpses!
Some were missing hands, some had broken legs, some had half their heads gone, some had gaping holes in their chests. Their weapons were also mostly damaged.
Now, this army of god and demon corpses was marching through the forests and crossing the river. Among them were ancient bronze chariots, battered and broken, with tattered war flags hanging, full of holes.
Bronze warships sailed in from the distance, also in terrible condition, with large holes in their hulls and many fallen masts.
Qin Mu dared not breathe. Even the Village Chief held his breath, quietly watching this strange army march past.
Only after the corpse army had crossed the Yong River did Qin Mu gasp for air. The Village Chief also exhaled a stale breath, his eyes flickering. “Let’s follow them and see.” With that, he drifted toward the corpse army.
Suddenly, the sound of fierce battle erupted ahead, and waves of terrifying energy rippled out. The Village Chief took Qin Mu to the top of a peak, and both were shocked by what they saw.
Ahead, mutilated god and demon corpses were locked in battle, fighting against another group of corpses. Their divine and demonic weapons blazed with intense light, illuminating the canyon like daylight!
“This is the Ancient God-Demon Battlefield!”
The Village Chief’s face changed. He quickly retreated with Qin Mu, saying gravely, “I came here once during the day, and it was extremely dangerous. I barely made it out alive. On this battlefield, you can’t see any god or demon corpses during the day. They only revive when darkness comes, then continue marching and enter the battlefield to fight…”
Qin Mu was stunned. These gods and demons kept fighting even after death—what kind of grudge was this?
“Mu’er, be careful. We’ve already ventured deep into the Great Ruin. Don’t wander off anywhere.” The Village Chief spoke with utmost seriousness.