Chapter 1486: The Tall, Thin Strange Man
The Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains, night.
Qin Mu stood atop the World Tree, unhurriedly catching the Dao Dew that slid down from the Grand Beginning Dao Tree.
The half-year deadline was approaching. These past days, he had been repeatedly performing this monotonous task. Although monotonous, each time he gathered the Dao Dew to repair the cracked Black Mountain, he felt the heavy burden and responsibility on Grand Beginning's shoulders.
He had only been doing this for half a year, yet Grand Beginning had been here for billions of years.
Suddenly, far away in the Ultimate Void within the Grand Celestial Heaven, the branches of the Grand Beginning Dao Tree swayed, rustling loudly. Countless drops of Dao Dew scattered and fell together.
Qin Mu's heart leaped. He quickly activated his divine ability to collect all the Dao Dew into the bucket. However, the Grand Beginning Dao Tree's canopy was too vast; a few drops still fell, landing on the World Tree and being absorbed by its branches and leaves!
His heart sank. A few drops of Dao Dew missing might seem insignificant, but the consequences were far from trivial!
Using Dao Dew to repair the Great Black Mountain, even missing a single drop, would leave a major hidden danger. It might give the powerful beings from the previous cosmic era an opportunity to crawl into this universe!
"This is bad!"
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly steadied himself. Even if a few drops were missing, it would likely take a few days for the existence from the previous cosmic era to crawl over. He only needed to delay until Grand Beginning arrived.
But...
"Grand Beginning's Dao Tree is in the Ultimate Void. Why would it sway for no reason?" He frowned slightly, feeling a vague unease in his heart.
During the day, Qin Mu found the several Black Mountains that had been cracked by the tremors and carefully repaired them. Sure enough, when he reached the last Black Mountain, because a few drops of Dao Dew were missing, that mountain did not fully close.
On the cliff face of the Black Mountain was a crack over two zhang and six or seven chi long, and the crack was unfathomably deep!
Qin Mu stood under the cliff, carefully examining the surroundings, marking the spot, and recording the exact location of the Black Mountain. He then invited Xu Shenghua over and said, "I need to stay here and watch this place for the next two days. Brother Xu, you take the iron bucket to the top of the World Tree and collect the Dao Dew. The Dao Dew is the key to repairing the Sacred Mountains; not a single drop can be missing."
He trusted Xu Shenghua to do the job. If it were anyone else, they would probably eat all the Dao Dew while collecting it.
Xu Shenghua looked at the crack and asked, "Can you handle staying here alone?"
Qin Mu smiled slightly, exuding strong confidence: "The most powerful being in Yan Kang is me. Now that I have planted the World Tree in my divine treasury, my cultivation and strength have reached another level. Although I am still not as strong as the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns, I should not be inferior to the Four-Colored Emperors. If I cannot stop it, no one in Yan Kang can. Besides, the prehistoric existence won't be able to crawl out in a few days. Once Grand Beginning returns, it can be handed over to him. The half-year deadline is still two days away. I only need to guard here for two days."
Xu Shenghua took the iron bucket and left.
Qin Mu sat down, placing the divine bow beside him, and quietly waited for nightfall.
When deep night arrived, the earth shook and the mountains trembled. Outside the Ancestral Court, it was another scene of apocalypse. Inside the Ancestral Court, the mountains quaked. The Black Mountain in front of Qin Mu also shook, with rumbling sounds coming from within the mountain. The mountain made cracking sounds, like the sound of splitting wood.
The crack extended to both sides, growing longer and wider. Divine light seeped out from within the crack. Standing in front of the cliff, it looked like a giant eye had grown on the cliff face.
The divine light in the crack was hazy, like a huge eyeball. The eyeball rolled around, then its pupil stared directly at Qin Mu.
The scene was as if a monstrous creature was hidden inside the mountain, using its eye to spy on Qin Mu outside.
Suddenly, within the crack, a human figure was walking out from the light-formed giant eye.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow. The divine bow was right beside him, but he forcibly restrained himself from attacking.
That person had not yet crossed over from the other universe. Attacking him now would be equivalent to using his own divine power to open a channel for him.
The figure in the eye walked for a long time but never managed to step out of the cliff crack. By sunrise, the figure disappeared, leaving only the split Black Mountain.
Qin Mu let out a long breath. After a while, Xu Shenghua came carrying the bucket and asked, "Does this mountain need to be repaired?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Repairing this mountain would leave insufficient Dao Dew for the other cracked Black Mountains. I only need to hold out for one more day, and Grand Beginning will return. Even if the person in the mountain comes out by then, he won't be able to cause much trouble!"
Xu Shenghua frowned slightly, looking at the crack on the cliff. It was now over a hundred zhang long.
Deep within the crack, there was a human-shaped imprint, as if fused with the Black Mountain.
Xu Shenghua felt a vague unease and left with the bucket.
Night fell. Qin Mu continued to guard the crack. The cracking sounds kept coming from within the mountain. The divine light eye inside the mountain grew larger, and the crack widened. The figure in the eye was taller and clearer than before, as if it could step out of the mountain wall at any moment!
By the second half of the night, the divine light from the mountain wall illuminated six or seven nearby peaks, making every detail visible. Qin Mu's shadow was stretched long.
The giant eye in the mountain wall was as huge as the entire Black Mountain, sandwiched between the two halves of the split mountain!
The figure in the eye was thin and tall, like the vertical pupil of that eye.
His face was now clearly visible. It had many stripes, like natural patterns. His eye was like the strange eye in the mountain, but he only had one eye.
That eye was now staring at Qin Mu, never blinking.
He seemed to be walking through a destroyed universe, each step extremely difficult. His physical body was like smoke, constantly breaking apart and then reforming like smoke.
Walking through the destroyed universe meant he could be erased at any moment, but he was full of hope—the hope of life.
He had never been able to walk through the World Tree into the future universe, but now, he could finally enter that future world!
Qin Mu's hand tightly gripped the divine bow, ready to strike. His nerves were taut, his spirit tense. The Dominator Body Three-Dan Technique was pushed to its limit.
The sky gradually brightened. The one-eyed, tall, thin strange man in the mountain never managed to walk out of the Black Mountain. The sun rose, the strange eye in the mountain disappeared, and the tall, thin strange man vanished as well.
Qin Mu let out a long sigh of relief. He was drenched in cold sweat, but he smiled. "It's finally over. Today, Grand Beginning should return..."
Just then, a Vermilion Bird flapped its wings, turning into a blaze of fire as it landed beside him. It transformed into the soul of the Southern Emperor and said to him, "Little brother, Cloud Luo Emperor and the Big Head Youth are back!"
Qin Mu was overjoyed and stood up. "They came just in time! Those two have been gone for so long. I wonder where they've been causing trouble!"
He went to meet Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun, only to see that both of them looked grim and hurried, rushing over with a travel-worn appearance.
It seemed they had traveled a long distance, exhausting all their strength to get here without resting.
Qin Mu was suspicious. From afar, he saw Wei Suifeng holding a wooden staff. He wondered, "That looks like Grand Beginning's staff... How did Grand Beginning's staff end up in their hands?"
"Pastoral Heavenly Sovereign, Grand Beginning has been captured by the Lord of the Miro Hall and thrown into the Chaos River of the Jade Capital City!"
Shu Jun could no longer run, but his divine consciousness was still very strong. From afar, he exploded with divine consciousness, transmitting messages to Qin Mu. He rapidly told Qin Mu about their incredible experiences: being trapped in the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City, encountering Grand Beginning, and following him across the river. All these unbelievable events were conveyed to Qin Mu.
Transmitting information with divine consciousness was far faster than speech and more complete, leaving no detail out. Qin Mu felt as if he had personally experienced what they had been through. His body shook violently, and his face showed disbelief.
Wei Suifeng had stronger divine power. He carried Shu Jun on his back and flew over with a whoosh, saying solemnly, "Grand Beginning left this staff, saying something about following a map to find him, but he didn't leave any geographical map. I don't know how to save him!"
Qin Mu supported the two of them to prevent them from collapsing from exhaustion, but his heart gradually sank.
Grand Beginning had fallen.
From the images transmitted by Shu Jun's divine consciousness, the Chaos Rivers in the Jade Capital City were not true Chaos Rivers. They were Chaos Qi formed when universes were destroyed. Those beings trying to break through the Chaos Rivers and reach the shore were powerful entities from various universes attempting to forcibly come to the present world and escape the fate of being destroyed along with their universe!
The Lord of the Miro Hall, with unimaginable divine abilities and means, had connected the destroyed universes, creating the spectacle of sixteen cosmic eras connected to the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City.
He had thrown Grand Beginning into one of those Chaos Rivers, casting him into one of those cosmic eras!
"Grand Beginning has fallen into the fourth cosmic era..."
Qin Mu's eyelids twitched. He tightly gripped the staff. After Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun had steadied themselves, he suddenly turned and walked away. Wei Suifeng was startled and quickly asked, "Junior brother, do you know where Grand Beginning's map is?"
Qin Mu did not answer. His divine consciousness suddenly exploded, turning into an incredibly terrifying wave that swept across the Ten Thousand Mountains. He shouted, "Everyone, listen to my command! You must leave the Great Black Mountain today! Do not stay a single moment!"
"Everyone, listen to my command! I am Qin Mu, the National Teacher of Yan Kang, Pastoral Heavenly Sovereign! Everyone must leave the Great Black Mountain today! No one is to stay!"
His divine consciousness turned into sound, echoing back and forth, continuously resounding over the Ten Thousand Mountains.
Xu Shenghua was in the middle of repairing a cracked Black Mountain. Hearing this, he quickly looked up in Qin Mu's direction. Near the World Tree at the center of the Great Black Mountain, Lan Yutian, Granny Si, Wen Yuan, and others showed surprised expressions and looked toward the source of the sound.
Then, Qin Mu's divine consciousness reached their minds directly, turning into a voice that rapidly explained the situation. He said solemnly, "Grand Beginning has fallen into the fourth prehistoric cosmic era. Without his guard over the Great Black Mountain, the first prehistoric existence is about to break free! Tonight, I will hold this place to the death. Everyone else, take the people here and leave. Do not stay!"
Everyone's faces changed drastically. Lan Yutian was about to fly to Qin Mu's side, but Granny Si pulled him back and said, "There are priorities. Moving the Yan Kang people out of the Great Black Mountain is the most important thing! Do that first, then go find him!"
Lan Yutian nodded silently. One by one, the divine beings in the Great Black Mountain turned into beams of divine light and flew in all directions, heading to the various Yan Kang settlements in the Black Mountains.
Soon, a divine city rose into the sky. Dozens of divine beings lifted the city and flew out of the Black Mountain sacred land. In the distance, the Heavenly Demon King took down the Gourd Heaven World, turned it into the Gourd Heaven Bottle, and collected those divine cities inside.
Seeing this, Qin Mu felt relieved. He quickly rushed to the cracked Black Mountain. With a hum, he activated his Innate Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury Domain. He took out Ling Tianzun's hairpin and waved it, continuously applying Unchanging Divine Abilities to himself and his divine treasury domain!
His figure flickered as he set up various great divine abilities and seals around the mountain, front and back.
Blind came to help him set up the seals. Qin Mu looked up at him and moved his lips.
Blind smiled and said, "Mu'er, do you think I could watch you go to your death alone?"
Qin Mu said nothing more, and the two of them accelerated their preparations.
They worked from daytime until sunset, finally setting up all the killing formations. Blind sighed in relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and laughed, "Back then, the Opening Emperor's Celestial Master, Yan Yunxi, used formations to break the New and Old Earth Mother Sovereigns, shocking the world. Heh, as the formation master of Yan Kang, I can't be inferior to her."
He was filled with heroic spirit.
It was only then that Qin Mu noticed there were people behind him.
Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, Mute, Lame, Granny Si, Yan'er, and also Wei Suifeng, Shu Jun, Youming Crown Prince, Ming Emperor, Southern Emperor, and others. After relocating the Yan Kang people from this area, they had come here.
Qin Mu was moved, but then his face darkened. He said flatly, "All of you, leave. Don't stay here and distract me. Brother Xu, you stay on the World Tree and make sure not a single drop of Dao Dew is lost."
Lame raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Is this Black Mountain yours? Lame comes and goes as he pleases. Can you control me?"
Qin Mu pointed, and countless teleportation runes wrapped around Lame, sending him flying away with a whoosh!
Lame roared in anger, trying to break free from his teleportation divine ability. He was the greatest thief in the world, even Lan Yutian was slightly inferior to him. Even teleportation divine abilities couldn't trap him.
Qin Mu flicked his fingers repeatedly. Just as Lame broke free from the teleportation divine ability, he fell into a Guixu Great Abyss.
He pushed his speed to the limit, trying to escape before the Guixu divine ability erupted. But one Guixu abyss was nested within another, quickly swallowing Lame.
Qin Mu drew a line with his hand, and a crack opened in space, swallowing Lame along with the Guixu Great Abyss.
He didn't intend to hurt Lame, only to send him away. The Guixu Great Abyss only swallowed, it didn't digest. Once Qin Mu sent Lame to a safe distance, he would spit him out.
"Do you want me to waste my divine power and send you away one by one as well?" Qin Mu looked around and said softly.
Everyone felt a chill. Lame was the hardest to deal with among them, yet Qin Mu had easily sent him away. If it were them, it would probably be the same.
Granny Si suddenly turned around and shouted, "Let's go! No one is to stay! If anyone dares to stay and waste Mu'er's divine power, I'll beat them to death!"
— Today, my wife was discharged from the hospital. I went to pick her up and handle the discharge procedures, and also had to pick up and drop off the kids, which took a bit longer. But this chapter is still four thousand words. There will be another chapter later, but the update will be a bit late.