Chapter 211: The Gate of Heaven-Bearing
Qin Mu taught Fox Ling'er how to operate the mechanism, leaving a control panel on the chest of the Capital Heaven Demon King. With a gentle push on a hidden compartment in the chest, the control panel would pop out automatically.
This divine statue mechanism of the Capital Heaven Demon King, forged from Cold Iron Gold Crystal, was extremely massive, standing about two zhang and eight chi tall. Qin Mu had spent a considerable sum, with the Cold Iron Gold Crystal alone costing ten thousand Dafeng coins.
The components of the divine statue mechanism numbered in the tens of thousands, with nearly nine hundred gears alone, making it incredibly complex.
Even if the Capital Heaven Demon King was unwilling to move, he could still be controlled to act from within the control panel. The divine statue mechanism had eight arms and four faces, making it quite formidable in combat. Even ordinary cultivators would find it difficult to break through the defense of the Cold Iron Gold Crystal.
At the heart of the divine statue mechanism, there was also a small alchemy furnace, similar in construction to the one he had crafted for the fire bandit Fan Yunxiao. However, the furnace on Fan Yunxiao's broken ship was his first attempt at forging, lacking experience. This time, the furnace was not only much smaller but also more refined.
Fox Ling'er sat in the control panel, able to toss medicinal stones into the small furnace and control the furnace's flame with her primal energy. Even without the Capital Heaven Demon King, she could use this divine statue mechanism as a heavy armor weapon.
If the Capital Heaven Demon King used the divine statue mechanism as his body to assist in battle, the power unleashed would be extraordinary. It was likely that even ordinary cultivators at the Six Harmonies realm would not be its match. Whether it could defeat cultivators at the Seven Stars realm was uncertain.
Qin Mu, having studied under Mute, Deaf, and Horse Ye, found creating such a divine statue mechanism to be merely a matter of integrating the knowledge passed down to him by Mute, Deaf, and Horse Ye. There was little innovation on his part.
The only innovation was the integration itself.
But for others, this divine statue mechanism was undoubtedly at the level of a master forger, master mechanic, and master rune master, pioneering a unique and unprecedented form of combat.
Fox Ling'er, brimming with excitement, ignored the Capital Heaven Demon King inside the statue. She immediately sat in the small control panel and directed the divine statue mechanism to run outside.
Qin Mu quickly said, "Dragon One, follow her. Don't let her cause trouble!"
Dragon Qilin grunted in response, stepped out, and followed the gesticulating divine statue and the shouting Fox Ling'er. Qin Mu watched the dragon qilin's back, noticing its belly nearly scraping the ground.
"This beast really needs to cut down on its meals."
Qin Mu shook his head. This dragon qilin had once been quite lean. Though often hungry, it had looked majestic, guarding the mountain gate so that no one dared approach.
But ever since it had followed him, it had never missed its daily ration of one dou of Red Fire Spirit Pills. It also drank freely from Jade Dragon Lake, causing it to grow fatter and larger over time.
If this continued, the dragon qilin would eventually turn into a giant meatball, its belly dragging on the ground, its claws unable to stand upright.
"The rations the patriarch gave it before were definitely not one dou of Red Fire Spirit Pills, or else it would have turned into a ball long ago. This beast lied about its rations. From now on, I'll give it half a dou."
Qin Mu steadied his breath and mind, once again activated the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art, and transformed into the Zhen Star Lord form, with a human head and a serpentine body, holding a phantom scroll. Behind him, a gate gradually materialized.
Qin Mu turned around, his soul vibrating, emitting a strange sound—the Youdu language that the Capital Heaven Demon King had taught him. The demon king called it the Kun Yuan Gate. Though the true meaning might not be "Kun Yuan Gate," he had not mispronounced the phrase.
As he chanted the words on the gate, the Kun Yuan Gate slowly opened, revealing an endless, boundless dark space.
Qin Mu paused, circled the gate, and saw only his own courtyard. The gate was so thin it seemed to have no thickness at all. From his angle, he could only see an incredibly thin sliver of darkness standing there.
But when he stood before the gate, he saw an infinite expanse of darkness.
"Is this a gate connecting to another world?"
Qin Mu was stunned. He cautiously extended his hand into the gate, but nothing unusual happened.
"Is this the secret of the Five Radiances realm? Do others at the Five Radiances realm have this gate? Has anyone ever opened it and entered?"
He hesitated. What would he encounter if he entered this gate? Was the darkness the legendary Youdu?
Would he be able to return alive?
Just then, Qin Mu saw a faint light within the dark world beyond the gate. It was a person on a boat, with a dim lantern hanging at the bow. The light flickered faintly as the small boat drifted toward him.
Under the lantern light sat an old man, quietly crafting paper figures and paper horses. The light swayed gently, creating a serene scene.
As Qin Mu tried to peer further into the gate, the old man reached up, took down the lantern, and shone it in his direction. The light struck Qin Mu, and he felt his soul freeze, unable to move.
The old man hung the lantern back on the boat, and the light no longer fell on Qin Mu, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a chill ran down Qin Mu's spine. He looked down and realized he was standing on the boat, right beside the old man!
The small boat turned around. Qin Mu looked back and saw a gate in the distance, glowing with light. Before the gate, he himself was standing there, peering in his direction!
Before that gate, his body seemed frozen, completely still.
If he was still standing before the gate, then who was this here?
He looked around. Everywhere was darkness, with only the boat's lantern light and the glow from the Kun Yuan Gate illuminating the scene.
His heart turned cold. The old man on the boat, with a mere flash of the lantern, had drawn his soul away and brought it onto the boat!
The body before the gate was now nothing but an empty shell without a soul!
"I'm not dead yet, so why are you taking my soul?" Qin Mu asked the old man.
The old man ignored him, continuing to focus on crafting his paper figures and horses.
Qin Mu looked back. The Kun Yuan Gate was growing farther and farther away, filling him with increasing dread. The Capital Heaven Demon King had indeed concealed some things. This gate was probably not the Kun Yuan Gate, or else the old man wouldn't have captured his soul!
He leaped off the boat. The gate wasn't too far away yet; perhaps he could still return to it and re-enter his body!
But after jumping off the boat, he didn't fall into water as he had imagined. Outside the boat was darkness—endless, boundless darkness.
He flailed his limbs like a drowning person, but there was nothing to grab onto. He could only watch himself sink, falling deeper and deeper into the black abyss.
Looking up, the boat in the darkness grew farther and farther away, the lantern light shrinking and dimming until it was barely visible.
"That damned Capital Heaven Demon King still managed to trick me…"
Qin Mu felt as if he had fallen into a nightmare of infinite darkness, with no way to escape the ever-deepening blackness, no way to struggle or save himself.
It was a despairing darkness, a despairing descent.
And the boat that could carry his soul had already sailed away.
Suddenly, Qin Mu mustered all his strength, shouting with his soul the Youdu phrase the Capital Heaven Demon King had taught him. The harsh, twisted syllables were incredibly difficult to pronounce, but they could only be voiced by the soul!
As he finished speaking, a similarly harsh, ancient, and weathered voice echoed from the boundless darkness. It, too, spoke in the Youdu language, like a chant or an ancient ritual where the ancestors used their lives and blood to worship a deity of profound weight and bearing.
Qin Mu immediately felt his body begin to rise, faster and faster, until he turned into a streak of light.
In that streak of light, he saw the boat, and then the gate.
The light whistled out of the darkness, rushing back into Qin Mu's body before the gate.
Qin Mu's body shook violently. He gasped for breath, drenched in sweat, as if he had just crawled out of water.
Behind the gate, the boat drifted lazily again. The old man looked at him, but this time he didn't raise the lantern.
Qin Mu stood before the gate, ready to dispel the Zhen Star Lord form and make the gate vanish. He called out loudly, "Brother, what does that phrase mean?"
The old man's gaze rested on him. The small boat turned and sailed into the darkness.
"Supreme is Kun Yuan, the source of all things, obediently bearing Heaven."
"Kun, vast and thick, carries all things, its virtue boundless. It contains greatness and radiance, and all things flourish."
"The mare is of the earth, traveling without bounds, gentle, smooth, and steadfast. The noble one acts, first loses the way, then follows and gains constancy…"①
"The phrase you spoke is 'Supreme is Kun Yuan.' If you had said it earlier, I wouldn't have taken your soul."
The boat drifted farther and farther, gradually disappearing. The old man's voice faded: "This gate is the Youdu Heaven-Bearing Gate. Kun Yuan bears Heaven; ghosts and spirits may enter, but you cannot…"
"The Capital Heaven Demon King really tried to harm me!"
Qin Mu was furious, but then he laughed despite himself: "Still, I didn't lose my life. I'll deal with him slowly. Hmm, my soul seems to have changed…"
He felt that his soul, having experienced the journey through Youdu, had become much stronger. Qin Mu was stunned. He activated the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art and immediately sensed an indescribable power flowing from the Heaven-Bearing Gate, nourishing his soul!
He was taken aback. Though the Capital Heaven Demon King had deceived him, he hadn't lied completely.
The demon king was right: recognizing the Youdu characters on the gate and opening it would indeed allow his cultivation to have no weaknesses, surpassing the Yan Kang National Teacher at this realm!
The Zhen Star Lord form of the Five Radiances realm was crucial to him—it was the key to soul cultivation!
After a long while, Qin Mu felt his soul growing more and more stable. He looked at the scroll in his hand and saw the characters on it gradually becoming clearer. Strange symbols shaped like birds, beasts, insects, fish, the sun, and the moon appeared.
Though he didn't recognize these characters, he seemed to understand their meanings. As his gaze swept over them, the mysteries of the text automatically transformed into knowledge in his mind.
Note ①: From the Zhouyi, the second hexagram.