Chapter 1490: Commemoration
Night. The dew was heavy, damp, and cold.
When the sun rose, the chill on Qin Mu's body slowly dissipated. He propped himself up with his crutch, swaying as he stood. The blood on the wooden staff was divine blood, still fresh and vibrant.
He looked ahead. The scene was utter devastation.
The battle the previous night had caused immense destruction. The split black mountain had been completely obliterated by the Slender Strange Man's Dao Fruit, blasted into nothingness.
The flaming strange eye that had been wedged between the split black mountain was also gone. The ground around it was deeply sunken, having been sacrificed to the past universe by the Slender Strange Man, transformed into pure energy.
Scattered everywhere were the petrified remains of the Slender Strange Man. The energy of the past universe and the present universe remained balanced. Although a portion of the Ancestral Court's matter had been sacrificed, the Slender Strange Man's corpse replenished that energy.
The surrounding black mountains seemed nourished by the Slender Strange Man's energy. The mountain slopes were lush and verdant, sprouting many unique plants and vegetation native to the Ancestral Court. Dewdrops formed from condensed spiritual energy hung on the leaves of trees and tender grass.
Half of this Slender Strange Man's body was still in the past universe, but his Dao Fruit had been destroyed.
With his Dao Fruit shattered and only half his body remaining, he would soon be ground to dust in the cataclysm of the universe's destruction, completely annihilated, ceasing to exist.
A hoarse voice broke the tranquility of the morning. Qin Mu, leaning on his crutch, called out in a low, deep voice, trying to summon the Lame Man's soul-black sand.
But no soul-black sand responded to him.
Qin Mu performed his techniques very slowly, his voice drawn out long, like an injured old wolf howling hoarsely in the wilderness, calling for its kin.
From beginning to end, no soul-black sand was drawn to him.
The explosion of the Dao Fruit had been too violent. Under those circumstances, soul-black sand could not possibly exist.
The Dao Fruit was condensed from the Great Dao, representing the supreme attainment of one who had achieved the Dao. When the Lame Man thrust the Taiyi Crutch into the Slender Strange Man's Dao Fruit, triggering its explosion, the soul would be utterly annihilated in such a violent blast.
Qin Mu, one hand on his crutch, reached out with the other, but grasped nothing.
He took a heavy breath. Could the Lame Man, in that final moment, have used his incredibly swift speed to pass through the Dao Fruit and enter the strange eye behind the creature?
Could he have entered the past universe through that eye?
A glimmer of hope flickered in Qin Mu's eyes. He hobbled forward on his crutch, trying to find any clue in the wasteland.
The hope in his eyes gradually faded, his gaze turning hollow.
Even if the Lame Man had gone to the past universe, he couldn't have survived the great cataclysm of destruction. He would still be completely ground away, leaving nothing behind.
He sat down, staring blankly into space. After a long time, his lips moved, and he spoke with a sob in his voice: "You were the greatest thief under heaven! Even the Piaoxiang Hall couldn't stop you..."
He fell silent again. After another long pause, he took out a jade bottle and carefully collected the divine blood from the wooden staff. But some brownish bloodstains remained on the wood.
The sound of voices came. It was the people who had left the previous night, returning to check on the battle.
Qin Mu buried his grief deep in his heart. He activated the Ba Ti Three Dan Technique to make his complexion look better, then stood up. He discreetly wiped the tears from his face, not wanting anyone to see he had been crying. He patted his cheeks to relax the muscles stiffened from weeping.
The people who came were those who cared most about him: Granny Si, Mute, Blind, and others. They hurried over, and seeing Qin Mu standing there safe and sound, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mu'er, where's the Lame Man?"
Granny Si walked quickly, first checking Qin Mu's injuries before sighing in relief. She looked around, puzzled. "Where has that damned cripple run off to? Blind said he saw him sneak back last night, saying he was going to save you... Lame Man? Damn cripple, stop hiding! Come out now!"
She searched around but found no trace of her old acquaintance. She called out a few more times.
Blind opened his divine eye, looking around, then stopped Granny Si. He shook his head. "Granny, no need to call. The Lame Man isn't here. Mu'er, did Old Lame show up last night?"
Qin Mu steadied himself, a smile appearing on his face. He said softly, "Grandpa Lame showed up last night. He helped me kill that Dao-achiever from the past universe."
Mute tightened his grip on the box in his hands, feeling uneasy. Blind's expression changed as he looked at the crutch in Qin Mu's hand.
Qin Mu subtly moved his hand to cover the bloodstains on the crutch.
Granny Si forced a smile. "That coward, always as timid as a mouse. When did he become so brave... Where did he go?"
Qin Mu's smile didn't fade. "He went to the past universe. He told me he had stolen everything in this universe, that there was no place left to test his skills. He wanted to go to the past universe, to steal the treasures of the gods there."
Granny Si also kept a smile on her face, laughing. "That damned cripple. He can't be happy for a single day without stealing something from someone. He really has stolen everything under heaven, even the Heavenly Emperor's harem. He even stole the Emperor's eggshell. Last time he was bragging, lamenting that there was nothing left in this world worth his effort."
Qin Mu nodded. "That's right. Grandpa Lame's ideal and ambition was to keep stealing, to challenge things that were increasingly difficult."
Granny Si's smile grew brighter, so bright it seemed to melt. "He was that kind of person. Back when his skills were still very low, he stole from Emperor Yanfeng's treasury. Jiang Baigui even cut off one of his legs, but even so, Jiang Baigui couldn't catch him."
"Mm."
Granny Si continued to laugh. "When we were living in seclusion in the Crippled Elderly Village, he still loved to steal. When I found you annoying and sent you away, he would always steal you back and put you in my room, while he hid in a dark corner, happily watching me lose my temper with you."
"Mm, he was that kind of person."
Granny Si let out a breath, laughing. "He must have felt there was no fun here anymore, so he went to the past universe to cause trouble for the Dao-achievers there. That damned cripple is so wicked, the Dao-achievers of the past universe are in for a disaster!"
She laughed happily, clapping her hands. "The Dao-achievers of the past universe have brought us so much suffering. It serves them right to suffer too! Blind, Mute, don't you think?"
She turned to look at Blind and Mute. They said nothing, just nodded silently.
Granny Si then said with feigned anger, "But what makes me mad is that he left without saying goodbye! That guy is always like that, sneaky, leaving without a word, never leaving any message, then suddenly popping up to scare people! When he gets tired of playing in the past universe and comes back to scare me, I'm going to pin him down and give him a good beating!"
She put on a stern face and said to Blind and Mute, "None of you are allowed to stop me!"
Then she laughed again. "You never stopped me when I beat him anyway. Alright, alright, everyone disperse. Since the crisis is over, we have a lot of work to do. I need to go find Dutian Demon King. That guy ran fast last night and hid far away. I have to find him and have him move the relocated Yan Kang people back... That cripple..."
She shook her head, turned, and left, looking very displeased with the Lame Man.
Granny Si walked away quickly, her pace getting faster and faster. When she was far from Qin Mu and the others, her steps gradually slowed.
She hid in a corner of a mountain hollow, sat down, and suddenly burst into tears.
She cried for a long time, then pulled herself together, got up, and went to find Dutian Demon King.
She knew Qin Mu didn't want to make her sad, so he had fabricated the lie about the Lame Man going to the past universe. But she also didn't want Qin Mu to know she was sad, so she went along with his lie, deceiving Qin Mu, deceiving Blind and Mute, and also deceiving herself.
But only when there was no one around did she dare to face her own lie, to let herself cry out loud.
However, she knew what was important and what was urgent. She had always been the backbone of the Crippled Elderly Village. She had to maintain that image and couldn't show her grief in front of the others.
The people of the Crippled Elderly Village all seemed like supremely talented gods, proud and accomplished in their own fields. But in reality, they were all pitiful people with scarred Dao hearts.
The Village Chief was like that. So were Blind and Mute.
They had all been failures once, huddling together for warmth.
They were more fragile than others, valuing their friendship and bonds more. If she broke down in front of them, they would break down even faster and more completely.
Beside Qin Mu, Blind and Mute didn't know what to say at that moment. They patted Qin Mu on the shoulder and left with the damaged Liuli Qingtian Canopy.
"The Liuli Qingtian Canopy is damaged. We'll go repair it," they said.
The two old men took the Liuli Qingtian Canopy to the World Tree. They planted this precious treasure in the ground, unfolded the twenty-eight layers of heavens, and worked silently, repairing the damaged treasures of the heavens.
From the extent of the damage to these treasures, one could imagine the ferocity and danger of the battle the night before.
It was hard to imagine how Qin Mu had been able to withstand such powerful attacks.
The two old men refined artifacts and repaired the formation diagrams. When they got tired, Mute suggested, "Let's rest for a while."
Blind stopped. They sat down on the ground under the tree. Mute took out his pipe, filled it with tobacco, and lit it.
He put the pipe to his lips, then paused and thought for a moment. He placed the pipe on the empty spot beside him.
Blind saw this but said nothing.
When the tobacco in the pipe had burned out on its own, Mute said in a low voice, "He's finished smoking..."
Blind nodded silently.
A few days later, the people who had been moved out of the Ten Thousand Black Mountains gradually returned. The Black Mountains began to liven up again.
Xu Shenghua, as always, took over collecting Dao Dew and repairing the Black Mountains on Qin Mu's behalf. He was the most composed person in the Great Black Mountains. No matter how great the events happening outside, he still had enough breadth of mind and spirit to complete his own tasks.
Lan Yutian continued to comprehend the Dao under the tree, sharing his insights with the people in the Black Mountains. After Xu Shenghua finished his work, he would also come to contemplate and listen to Lan Yutian's lectures.
Qin Mu would occasionally come, listening to their lectures and teachings, but he was always somewhat distracted.
Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun saw this and frowned, but they didn't ask questions.
Although time doesn't exist, what often heals pain is this non-existent time.
Yan'er, Southern Emperor, and Ming Emperor hadn't returned. They were each busy with their own affairs.
One day, Jiang Yunjian hurried over and said to everyone, "The National Teacher has gone to the outer mineral veins of the Black Mountains!"
Everyone was startled and stood up.