Chapter 1168: Taiyi Mends the Mountains (Second Update)
Long Qilin, Yan’er, and Little Tubo all turned their heads, only to see an old man in plain, unadorned clothing hobbling over carrying a small iron bucket. Inside the bucket was water, along with a willow branch.
Long Qilin looked around in astonishment. The Twenty-Eight Heavens of the Glazed Azure Canopy were still there, still guarding this place. Passing through this number one supreme treasure’s heavens was no easy feat!
So where had this old man come from?
The old man arrived at the split Great Black Peak, set down the small iron bucket, took out the willow branch, and dipped it into the water, panting as he said, “I’m old, and you’re not coming to help?”
Long Qilin quickly transformed into a qilin-headed humanoid form and landed on the mountaintop. Yan’er turned into a young girl and also came to the old man’s side. Little Tubo’s expression was serious as he tried to transform as well, but after a couple of grunts, he couldn’t manage it and had to dejectedly walk over.
The old man handed the willow branch to Long Qilin and had Yan’er carry the small iron bucket. “Use the willow branch to dip into the water and sprinkle it over the cracks. Every single crack must be covered. That way, we can keep whatever’s from the past from getting here.”
Long Qilin did as he was told, dipping the willow branch into the bucket, then flicking the water from the branch onto the cracks of the split mountain.
“Huh?” Little Tubo looked up, his face serious as he stared at the plain-looking old man and asked.
“I’ve always lived here. I didn’t break in.”
The old man had a kind face and seemed to understand what Little Tubo was asking. He smiled and said, “I’m not the intruder—you are. You barged into my home, built a house, and even attracted void beasts.”
Little Tubo looked puzzled. “Moo?”
The old man sat down beside him, supervising Long Qilin and Yan’er’s work, and called out, “Be careful. Don’t use up all the water. This water isn’t easy to come by.”
He said to Little Tubo, “I could have left long ago, but I’m not welcome anywhere, and this tree died. Someone’s trying to use this tree to crawl here from the past era. I had no choice but to stay and guard this place, to keep them from crawling out.”
Little Tubo looked confused and pointed down the mountain. “Moo?”
“That’s right.”
The old man nodded. “They live down there, but they’ve been dead for a long time. Or rather, they died before this universe was even born.”
Little Tubo was even more bewildered and scratched his head. “Huh?”
“You could put it that way too.”
The old man thought for a moment and said, “The line between life and death isn’t actually that strict. Life and death are just different states of matter. They seemed to die when the universe was destroyed, but they were still alive before that destruction. If they can seize the chance to crawl from the past, before the universe’s destruction, into the present, they can survive.”
Little Tubo scratched his head again, still not understanding.
The old man was very patient and continued to explain, “Why do the corpses of these void beasts disappear? They’re being pulled into the past. When the past universe gains a part of present matter, they can take the opportunity to swap over. That’s how they can crawl from there to here.”
“Moo?”
“No need to be confused. It’s very simple. This Great Black Tree was once alive. Its roots connect to sixteen cosmic eras—one cosmic era is like one year. Its matter spans endless time.”
The old man explained patiently, “Some terrifying creatures set their sights on it and crawled along its roots from the past to the present. If you don’t understand, it doesn’t matter. Think about the Shepherd Heavenly Lord who created you. He took you on a ghost ship back to the past, and then you’ll understand.”
Long Qilin and Yan’er finished sprinkling water with the willow branch and returned to the mountaintop, only to see the old man still talking to Little Tubo about some unknown topic.
Long Qilin put the willow branch back into the small iron bucket and returned it to the old man. The old man stood up, put his hands on his hips to stretch, and sighed, “This is also my fault. That’s why I have to stay here and keep patching things up. I can’t really blame your Shepherd Heavenly Lord. The water’s almost gone, so I need to go get more. Thank you both, little friends. See you another day.”
Long Qilin was about to speak when he saw the old man pick up the small iron bucket and leave, quickly disappearing from sight.
“Another bizarre incident!” Yan’er said in fright.
She hadn’t seen how the old man had vanished.
Just then, suddenly, the Great Black Mountain rumbled, its cracks closed up, and the mountain returned to its original state. Even the five claw marks on the mountain disappeared.
That night, Long Qilin and Yan’er stayed on the black mountain with Little Tubo. The strangeness returned, and all kinds of eerie phenomena came one after another. It seemed like some enormous creature inside the mountain was trying to break through the peak, madly ramming outward, shaking the mountain violently.
But the mountain didn’t crack. The commotion didn’t quiet down until the early hours of the morning.
At dawn, Long Qilin looked around and saw that two more peaks in the Ten Thousand Mountains had split open. On the inner wall of one of them, a face-shaped indentation had even appeared!
As they were discussing whether someone had grown inside the mountain, they saw a pretty young woman carrying a small iron bucket walking over. She waved to them and said, “We meet again.”
The two were startled and uncertain.
The woman set down the small iron bucket and chuckled, “That body yesterday was too old and couldn’t do the work, so I switched to a younger one today. I’ve brought more water today and an extra willow branch. With two mountains split, the repair work might take a bit longer.”
Long Qilin’s mouth fell open. “Ma’am, were you the old gentleman from yesterday?”
The woman laughed. “I am and I’m not. Please lend a hand, the three of you. Let’s fix this quickly, before they come out after dark.”
Long Qilin and Yan’er immediately stepped forward to help. Long Qilin carried the willow branch and sprinkled water, cautiously asking, “May I ask, miss, what is your origin?”
The woman smiled. “I’m the same as you—just an ordinary person, born of heaven and earth. But our ways of living are different. I have it harder. If there’s a leak in the sky, I go fix it. If there’s a break in the earth, I go mend it. It’s all hard work.”
Long Qilin and Yan’er helped her repair the two great mountains, and the water in the bucket ran out. The woman sighed, “My spring doesn’t produce much water. If a few more mountains crack, I won’t have enough water to fix them.”
She walked away with her small iron bucket, and the two black mountains closed up on their own, returning to their original state.
Long Qilin watched her disappear like that, even more astonished. He thought to himself, “This Great Black Tree doesn’t seem like a good place. It scares people awake every night. Should I tell the Sect Leader to pick another spot?”
Another night passed, and the earth shook and the mountains swayed, cracking open more than a dozen black peaks. Long Qilin saw more than a dozen youths arrive, each carrying a small iron bucket with a willow branch stuck inside.
One of the youths said to him, “You’ve been helping me sprinkle water these past few days, so I’ll give you a reward. A new void mother beast has been born, and it’s still very weak. Now is a good chance to subdue it.”
Long Qilin was very tempted. “How do I subdue a void mother beast?”
The youth smiled knowingly. “Hasn’t your Sect Leader already taught you?”
Long Qilin thought back carefully to what Qin Mu had taught him. After a long while, he finally remembered that both the Three Enclosures Upper Knowledge and the Great Luo Supreme Divine Sense contained methods for subduing void beasts. He felt reassured and smiled. “May I ask, brother, where is this void mother beast now?”
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