Chapter 1043: The Five Calamity Stars
In the year 1401 of the Longhan Era, the Prime World suffered a great calamity. Calamity stars appeared, traversing the sky.
The Prime World was home to ten thousand races, some dwelling in the myriad realms surrounding the World Tree, others among the great mountains and rivers of the Prime World itself. On this day, all races across the realms witnessed five-colored lights tearing across the sky of the Prime World. Five great ancient gods of calamity led a vast army of thousands flying across the heavens.
Wherever this light passed, rivers and seas dried up, plants withered, crops would not grow, fire rained from the sky, wars erupted everywhere, bandits and thieves ran rampant, and corpses littered the ground.
When night fell, some saw a lantern light emerging from the darkness. Following the light, they found a young boy sailing a paper boat, gathering the wandering, wronged souls of the dead.
For a time, many people across the Prime World saw this strange boy, as if he had ten thousand avatars. Rumors spread that he was a messenger from the Nether Realm, come to reap souls.
The five-colored lights flew toward the Heavenly River, moving farther and farther from the continent of the Prime World. Yet the disasters caused by the descent of the calamity stars were not easily dispelled. Their poison lingered for a hundred years before the turmoil finally subsided.
On the Heavenly River, a Celestial Dragon Carriage was traveling at a leisurely pace. Six celestial dragons pulled this magnificent carriage across the river's surface.
The Heavenly Court still hung above the Prime World. On clear days, even mortal eyes could see the lofty Heavenly Court, though it appeared hazy, as if suspended upside down in the sky.
If one cultivated divine eyes, they could even see the celestial markets and the Southern Heavenly Gate guarded by gods.
Of course, this was already difficult to witness in later ages.
Though the Heavenly Court seemed close, it was actually far away. Originally, the Heavenly Court was above the World Tree. If one had enough endurance, even a mortal could climb the World Tree and sneak into the Heavenly Court. Later, it was said that Mother Earth Goddess disliked the Heavenly Court pressing down on the World Tree, so they separated.
After that, the only path to the Heavenly Court was the Heavenly River.
The Heavenly River flowed through the sky. Many boats traveled on its surface, but only demigod races could navigate it.
Qin Mu's Celestial Dragon Carriage raced across the river, but he still had to avoid these boats, or he would shatter them. More often than not, the boats would see the Celestial Dragon Carriage from afar and steer clear on their own. After all, those who possessed such a carriage were usually beings of immense importance. In this era, being crushed to death by such a being was simply ignored.
On the carriage, Luo Xiao gazed out the window at the Heavenly River, his eyes deep and distant. Yan'er had become somewhat cheerful, fetching dried fruit to feed him. Luo Xiao initially declined but later grew accustomed to it, eating absentmindedly. But even a creator could get full. So Yan'er went outside to feed the Dragon Qilin.
Seeing her regain some spirit, Qin Mu was also happy.
Yan'er was a simple girl, and living in this cruel world was not easy. When she was sad, Qin Mu felt sad too.
"Luo Xiao, what exactly do you want to do in the Heavenly Court?" Qin Mu asked the young creator.
Luo Xiao snapped back to reality and said, "I came here on the orders of our chieftain, to see if any of our people still live in this world. Our chieftain also told me to find the Ancestral Court and ask the ancestors there some questions."
He did not reveal that he was a creator, speaking cautiously. If one did not know his identity, they would not know what he meant by "Ancestral Court."
"The Ancestral Court?"
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. He suddenly remembered that the creator Xiu Zhong had once said that a million years ago, Luo Xiao left the Great Void, went to the Ancestral Court, and traveled there for a long time. From the divine consciousness of the ancestors there, he received three prophecies about the fate of the creator race!
So that meant the creator ancestor spirit Luo Xiao's purpose was the same as Lang Wan's Divine King: to find the Ancestral Court!
He must have come from the Great Void to the Prime World, realized it was not the Ancestral Court, and then decided to go to the Heavenly Court to see if it was.
But according to what Qin Mu knew, neither the Prime World, the Heavenly Court, the Nether Realm, the Mystic Capital, nor the Four Extremes were the Ancestral Court. The true Ancestral Court was actually sealed behind the back of every major world!
Luo Xiao's journey was destined to fail to find the Ancestral Court!
Luo Xiao's eyes were deep, looking outside. This was a brave young creator, knowing full well this journey might be one of no return, yet he still resolutely left the Great Void.
"Did you find your people?" Qin Mu asked.
Luo Xiao shook his head. "For a moment, I thought you were one of my people. For another moment, I thought Lang Xuan Divine Emperor was one of my people. Later, I found out neither was true."
He forced a smile and explained, "Our people have a strange eye on our foreheads. You have one too, but I observed carefully, and you are not. I also sensed the bloodline of my people in Lang Xuan Divine Emperor, but he is not either. Perhaps there will be one of my people in the Heavenly Court. If there is, I might be able to find our race's Ancestral Court through him."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "If there is one of your people in the Heavenly Court, they will also be an enemy."
Luo Xiao's body trembled. He was about to ask what Qin Mu meant when suddenly five-colored lights flashed into their view. The Heavenly River shook violently, and almost all the boats were sent flying by the hurricane stirred up by the five-colored lights!
A few boats were not thrown, but the demigods on them let out miserable screams. They were visibly aging, quickly turning into white-haired, wrinkled old men and women!
"Zhen Star Lord, if you recklessly release your Dao might like this, it affects the taste!"
A voice came from above. Then, with a swoosh, the five-colored lights landed in front of the Celestial Dragon Carriage, about ten miles away. A group of incredibly powerful ancient gods descended, followed by an army of thousands of gods and demons.
The leading ancient god, with red hair and a serpent's body, reached out his hand, grabbing the few remaining boats. He laughed, "Sui Star Lord, you have great skill. Make them a bit more delicious."
Another ancient god, with a bird's head, human body, and bird's feet, shot light from his eyes. The demigods on the boats, who had become old and frail, seemed to experience a reversal of time, rapidly becoming young again. Soon, the old women turned into young maidens, and the old men into handsome youths.
"This way, they taste much better!"
The red-haired, serpent-bodied ancient god laughed heartily, sucking up all the demigods from those boats and swallowing them. Then he looked at the stopped Celestial Dragon Carriage and chuckled, "Mu Heavenly Lord, your crimes have been exposed! Why don't you come down and accept your death?"
Luo Xiao's face changed drastically, and he was extremely nervous.
Qin Mu glanced at him and said, "Just some minor gods. Brother Luo, there's no need to be so tense."
Luo Xiao's voice was hoarse. "These five evil gods are the bane of my race. I cannot face them, or they will surely recognize me."
In front of the carriage, the six celestial dragons were trembling in fear, staring at the Five Calamity Ancient Gods. They whispered among themselves, "It's over! The ancient gods have come! We're all going to die!"
"They seem to be the Five Calamity Star Lords!"
"I said we should have stayed in Eternal Peace and followed the black-faced Demon King Du Tian to attack the Tian Yu World, but you wouldn't listen. Now the big brothers are probably beating up Du Tian Demon King. And now we're all going to die!"
One celestial dragon, looking a bit dull-witted, said, "The Five Calamity Star Lords don't seem that powerful. They're not like the ancient gods I imagined. I imagined ancient gods to be as mighty as Tu Bo..."
"Mah! Mah!"
The other five celestial dragons immediately shouted, "Shut up! The ancient gods of the distant past are definitely more powerful!"
The Dragon Qilin was furious. He stood up and roared, "Mah!"
The six celestial dragons quickly stopped whispering and said apologetically, "Brother Pi is right. We shouldn't talk too much. If the sky falls, the Heavenly Lords will hold it up."
The Dragon Qilin nodded slowly, very satisfied. He turned and said into the carriage, "Chief, there are some reckless ancient gods blocking the way. Please decide."
Yan'er lifted the beaded curtain. Qin Mu bowed his head and slowly walked out. He looked up and said with a faint smile, "So it's the Five Calamity Star Lords. You are blocking my path. May I ask why?"
He looked at the Five Calamity Star Lords, his gaze falling on Zhen Star Lord. He was slightly startled. In his memory, the Zhen Star Lord of the Nether Realm was a seductive woman with a human head and a serpent's body, with a female face but a male voice, and thick hair covering her chest, very strange and alluring.
But the Zhen Star Lord before him was also human-headed and serpent-bodied, but male, with disheveled hair and a bare chest. He held a white banner in one hand and a bright mirror in the other. A snake's tongue flickered in and out of his mouth, long and forked.
"Could it be that the later Zhen Star Lord was a god or demon cultivated from a later-born being?"
Qin Mu pondered: "That would mean the true ancient god Zhen Star Lord, like the Great Sun Star Lord, is already dead, replaced by later-born gods and demons. I wonder who killed them?"
Zhen Star Lord was the leader of the Five Calamity Star Lords, wielding the most powerful force. He flicked his tail and swam forward, extending his long tongue. With a light sweep, he curled his tongue around a boat downstream, lifted his head, and swallowed it, boat and all. He laughed, "Mu Heavenly Lord, you have offended Lang Xuan Divine Emperor, attacked Lang Xuan Divine Palace, and killed indiscriminately. Lang Xuan has reported you. Will you surrender and await death, or shall we personally strike you down?"
Qin Mu laughed. "Five Calamity, you are also famous ancient gods, incarnations of the Dao. How can you only listen to Lang Xuan's one-sided story and come to kill me without distinguishing right from wrong? I am, after all, a Heavenly Lord appointed by His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor! Where is Lang Xuan? Summon him, and I will confront him."
Sui Star Lord flapped his bird wings and chuckled, "Mu Heavenly Lord, do you really think you're someone important? You struck Hao Heavenly Lord. Hao Heavenly Lord is the son of the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor has long wanted to get rid of you. This time, he's just going with the flow!"
In the carriage, Luo Xiao groaned, his heart pounding. He almost wanted to flee. "I originally thought that when Mu Heavenly Lord said he had many enemies, they were just minor ones. If he couldn't handle them, I could help. I never expected even the Heavenly Emperor to be his enemy! If I stay with him, I'm dead! Even if he gets past the Five Calamity Ancient Gods, going to the Heavenly Court will be suicide, and I'll be buried with him!"
But now he was hiding in the carriage, not daring to show his face. If the Five Calamity Ancient Gods saw his true form, he would not escape death either.
He now deeply regretted hitching a ride with Qin Mu to save some energy. Who would have thought this ride was not a ride but a pirate ship!
Qin Mu smiled. "Five Calamity, ever since the method of becoming a god was spread, the era of the ancient gods has ended. The ducks in the spring river know the water's warmth first. Are you even worse than ducks? Do you still remember Jin Wu Lang Jiang Niu Ben? He beat you quite badly back then."
The Five Calamity Star Lords were furious. Zhen Star Lord, without further ado, raised his mirror and shone it at Qin Mu. Qin Mu stood unmoved and laughed, "You control death, but I have the art of creation, which can avoid death. Your Dao is useless against me."
Ying Huo Star Lord carried a large bottle on his back. He took it off, and the plague air inside rushed toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu remained unmoved and laughed, "My medical skills are unmatched. I can cure the dead and heal the bones. Such a minor art, what can it do to me?"
Ying Huo Star Lord's face changed drastically.
Tai Bai Star Lord struck a large drum. The drum sounded like thunder, bringing down calamities and cutting Qin Mu's fortune.
Qin Mu remained unmoved and laughed, "Five Calamity, you are still ancient gods. If you leave now, I will still spare your dignity. Otherwise, do not blame me for being ruthless."
Chen Star Lord shook his trident, and the Heavenly River churned. He shouted fiercely, "Enough talk! Children, attack! Capture this rebel!"
Whoosh—
Behind the Five Calamity Star Lords, countless of their offspring roared and surged forward madly!
Qin Mu frowned. His palm gently twisted, and a sword pellet appeared in his hand.
He flicked his finger, and the sword pellet split into two, two into four, four into eight. In an instant, the sky was filled with spinning sword pellets!
These sword pellets spun as they shot out beams of sword light. The sword light coiled like dragons, raining down like a storm of swords upon the army of the Five Calamity Star Lords!
Those gods and demons leaped up, shouting fiercely, advancing against the sword light. The next moment, the shouts stopped.
Countless corpses stained the Heavenly River red.
In front of the carriage, the dull-witted celestial dragon broke the silence, saying, "I told you, they are very weak. You didn't believe me! These Five Calamity Ancient Gods must be fakes. In my eyes, they are not that strong! The six of us brothers together could take on one or two!"
"Mah!" The other five dragons roared, telling him to shut up.
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Ding Jingxi emerged from the shadows, his slight heavy breathing revealing his inner turmoil. The killing sword never leaves its sheath without reason. Whenever his sword is drawn, it must taste blood. But this time, he drew his sword without any certainty.
Rou Xue's face had a hint of a mysterious blush, but her attitude remained cold. To put it bluntly... wasn't this tsundere?
Sun Shi Ren was not surprised by this strange card, and You Jian did not notice the particular curve on his lips.
But when he walked to the balcony, Long Rui looked at the door locked from the outside and couldn't help but curse. He had to admire his father for sealing off all his escape routes so tightly. It was absolutely brilliant.
Wei Xian often practiced feints. Although his acting skills could not win him an Oscar, they were still superb. Ma Zhongming naturally did not know Wei Xian, but Wei Xian was dressed impressively and acted very familiar. Ma Zhongming couldn't help but smile and stand up to embrace Wei Xian, successfully stealing "Chen Weisi's soul."
After the captain of the plane Qin Junxi and his group were on made up his mind, he immediately controlled the plane to make a sharp turn.
It turned out that on that night, after Ding Jingxi subdued Yun Xi and let her go, the person who appeared to check was Ning Guangyi.
"Of course. Don't you see who this princess is? Of course, I am not someone a commoner like you can understand." Lin Qingqing was not modest at all. She raised her head narcissistically.
"He must be hiding somewhere, continuously providing power to Sha!" Ao Xingchu shouted.
Under immense pressure, the only result for a volcano, after finding a true vent, is a complete eruption.
"Madam, you want to know how the first wife died, don't you? Don't worry. Let me take you to a place, and I will tell you everything." Zhang Ma's expression was indifferent. Her eyes were cloudy, full of stories.
"Madman! What exactly do you want to do!" Shangguan Hongyan raised her sword, horizontally blocking it in front of Su Chenyang, staring angrily at the speaker.
"Really?" The faces of the crowd immediately showed excitement. Although they had accepted the mission, they had only planned to waste time here, waiting for the mission period to end before immediately returning to the academy to submit the mission. Now, hearing Xia Mu say this, they suddenly gained motivation and planned to carry out this mission seriously.
When the dumplings were out of the pot and the milk was heated, Xiao Yue went back to the room to see the triplets. Just then, Yang Changfa returned. She told Yang Changfa to quickly perform the ancestor worship, and then everyone could eat the dumplings.
Ji Manrou thought she was meddling, gave her a cold look, and turned away. I carefully looked at Ji Manrou's shoes. There was no mud on them. Someone who went to the garden? Hah, it was the dust on her shoulders and the flashlight hidden behind her back that told me she had been to the abandoned building.
Going out so obediently, there must be a trick. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? How naive.
Alice shook her head helplessly. The battle plan must already be in your head! If everything could go according to plan, everyone wouldn't be in this situation.
It was Zhong Li, Ling Wu, Liu Yu, and Fan Meng on the stage who all moved at once. No one came to provoke them, but to end the fight quickly, no one wanted to stand in the cold wind on the stage.
Hua Xuanji gritted her teeth, but the force Ye Linglong had used earlier was truly great. Her wrist ached with a twitching pain, and she couldn't lift it no matter what.