Chapter 238: Forbidden Zone
On the towering moon ship, amidst the massive pillars, Qin Mu spread his six arms, gripping the columns like a giant being punished, gazing at another world that had appeared before him.
Behind him, the crescent moon drifted high in the sky, and from time to time, fiery meteors fell, crashing around the moon ship, illuminating the pitch-black darkness.
Beyond the light was a chaotic mass of demons and monsters, bustling and lively.
Before him, however, was a pure land untouched by darkness—secluded, tranquil, mysterious, and full of the unknown.
It was hard to imagine that such a peaceful place existed within the Great Ruin.
Ahead lay vast forests and endless mountain ranges, but farther on, the earth suddenly broke off, as if hollowed out. Beyond the clouds and mist, a city stood suspended in midair, like a dwelling place of immortals.
Golden clouds of light surrounded it. A sun shone in the sky. Lofty palaces pierced the clouds, and floating mountain peaks revealed their golden summits. Deep within the clouds stood towering divine statues, like emperors guarding their domain.
Huge machines floated in the air, hundreds of feet above the ground, operating silently. Countless formations were etched into dark iron and gold, forming incredibly complex mechanical mechanisms. Their power materialized into streams of light, connecting to the city and the sky.
But…
All of this had been destroyed.
Qin Mu stood in a daze. Before him was a shattered Carefree Village. That magnificent sky city had collapsed and cracked. The towering palaces were riddled with holes. The floating mountains were broken into pieces, large and small, drifting in the air, colliding within the sea of clouds. The majestic divine statues had been struck by immense force, missing limbs, tilting askew.
The sun in the sky had a large black spot at its center, already swallowing most of it. Only a golden halo remained around the edges, like a golden ring.
The city above the clouds had become ruins. The giant machines standing in the clouds were also damaged, their broken parts floating silently around them.
A few massive machines still operated, maintaining the barrier of Carefree Village.
Not far from the moon ship, an enormous plaque lay tilted in the forest, like a fallen monument. On it were written two words: "Xiao Bao."
The plaque was broken.
A pang of grief suddenly surged in Qin Mu's heart. That grief grew wildly, instantly filling his entire being.
This world no longer had Carefree Village.
There was no longer a place free from worry.
The giant standing on the moon ship, gripping the pillars, seemed to be bearing the punishment of heaven. He lowered his head.
He knelt down, and tears fell one by one, striking the hard ground.
The homeland that had haunted his dreams was shattered, gone forever.
After so long searching, imagining what that homeland looked like, picturing his family, his neighbors, his loved ones—all of it suddenly crumbled into nothing with the appearance of this world. Like a painting drawn in sand, blown away by the wind.
Now he had no home. No mother waiting for her son to return. No stern father.
The dream was over. He was still an orphan taken in by the old, weak, and disabled.
His homeland had been destroyed.
The Heavenly Demon King looked up, gazing through the window at the kneeling giant between the pillars. The giant was shrouded in hazy moonlight, his head deeply bowed, only his trembling shoulders visible.
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon King felt the same pain.
When his own Heavenly Demon World was destroyed, he had been just as heartbroken, just as sorrowful, unable to suppress his emotions. He had wailed, cursed heaven and earth, burned with rage, and fought violently against the underworld messengers, trying to save his people!
He had been struck down countless times, his body broken, his soul shattered.
In the end, he had surrendered—surrendered to fate.
From Qin Mu, he saw another version of himself: his younger self, a self about to be struck down, about to surrender to fate.
*Life is lost, wandering astray, coming and going like a madman. Rolling mud in mud, yet never knowing the divine pearl shines at night. How many storms, how many trials, unwilling to turn back even for a moment. Where is my homeland?*
Where is my homeland?
Qin Mu slowly raised his head, his gaze indifferent. His eyes shone with a bright, moonlike radiance. When he closed his eyes, the light vanished. When he opened them, they were like two full moons.
Standing on the moon ship, his heart surged with emotion, his thoughts tangled, unable to calm for a long time.
"I didn't come here to find Carefree Village. I came to find Village Chief and Granny and the others. They are my family. The Village of the Crippled is my home. That is the Carefree Village in my heart!"
Qin Mu steadied himself and looked around. Suddenly, he saw several stone statues placed at the edge of the barrier.
Even beings at the Divine Connection realm found it difficult to walk through the darkness of the Great Ruin unless they carried divine statues. But these statues were extremely heavy, and even ordinary sect masters struggled to carry them. Even if they could, they couldn't go far.
These statues must have been moved here by someone with great power, used to repel the darkness.
After entering Carefree Village, the statues were left behind.
Qin Mu's heart stirred. Village Chief could walk through the darkness with the Medicine Master. He could resist the various strange and ominous things in the dark. As for Mute, he likely had his own means to fight the darkness.
As for Horse Ye, Cripple, Butcher, and Blind, they would probably need divine statues to walk in the dark. Horse Ye, Cripple, and Butcher had all recovered their bodies and could carry statues farther.
No one knew exactly how strong Deaf was, but his paintings had unfathomable power. The Imperial Preceptor of Yan Kingdom was his crazy admirer, proud to collect his works.
And Granny Si, who harbored the former sect master Li Tianxing within her, could probably also move statues.
These statues were most likely left by them.
"So they found this place too. Maybe they entered here but got trapped, which is why they couldn't return to the village for New Year's?"
Qin Mu's eyes opened wide, and he surveyed his surroundings. His immense power surged into his eyes. The Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique Blind had taught him was pushed to its limit: "I'm here, Village Chief, Granny. I'll take you home for New Year!"
He didn't step directly into Carefree Village. Instead, he first observed the activity within.
Village Chief and the others were incredibly powerful. If they had truly entered Carefree Village, it wouldn't be as peaceful as it seemed. There must be dangers inside that had trapped them.
Even with the moon ship, Qin Mu's safety wasn't guaranteed. There might be even more…
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the forest before Carefree Village. He saw traces left by Village Chief and the others. Great cultivators like Village Chief and Mute had heaven-defying abilities; their techniques would cause astonishing destruction.
But strangely, Qin Mu saw signs of battle, yet the damage wasn't extensive.
He followed the traces and saw several ruins in the forest. The route Village Chief and the others took happened to follow these ruins.
The reason they followed this path was that it was the only safe way—the only path into Carefree Village.
Everything outside this path was a forbidden zone!
Using his Nine Heavens Divine Eye, Qin Mu could only see faint traces of light in the forest, extremely dangerous, but he couldn't tell what kind of restrictions were there.
These restrictions were extremely perilous. In comparison, following the ruins was safer.
Qin Mu continued to gaze. Then, he saw a few faint rays of light burst from one of the ruins, about three hundred miles away, but not far from the edge of the forest.
Qin Mu's energy surged. He removed the jade pendant from the barrier, activated the moon ship, and stepped into the barrier.
*Hum.*
A faint vibration passed through him, as if he had crossed from one world into another. The Great Ruin, shrouded in darkness behind him, vanished instantly. Qin Mu turned to look back but saw nothing.
Just then, a series of strange laughs rang out. Countless demons clinging to the moon ship leaped off, surging like a tide toward the forest.
A demon god soared into the air, with two heads, five tails, and eight long legs shaped like palms. It ran through the air at incredible speed, shrieking, "Harakiri!"
The Heavenly Demon King was startled. He hadn't expected so many demons to have secretly stowed away on the ship in the darkness.
The demon god turned back, grinning at Qin Mu on the ship. "We've searched high and low for Carefree Village, and now you've led us right to it! Thanks for the guide!"
This demon god was the same one Qin Mu and Village Chief had encountered when entering the Dead Realm. After meeting the sun ship in Xianglong City, this demon god had also tempted Qin Mu in the darkness, trying to lure him away.
Clearly, this demon god had been lying in wait on the moon ship for a long time, biding its time.
It seemed to have known that Qin Mu would inevitably return to the Dead Realm to borrow the moon ship and go back to Carefree Village.
Now, its plan had succeeded.
"My children, seize this last pure land! From now on, this world is ours!"
The demon god shrieked, leading a tide of demons surging toward the other side of the forest.
Qin Mu's face was expressionless. He watched these heavenly demons.
Suddenly, a faint, obscure fluctuation came from the forest. The tens of thousands of demons rushing into the forest had their flesh and bones dissolve, leaving only empty skins. A gust of wind blew, and they turned to ash, scattering.
The demon god also charged into the air above the forest, trying to escape outward. It screamed, "Sapolomi!"
A massive vortex appeared, swallowing the demon god.
Qin Mu had seen this technique before. When fighting Village Chief, the demon god had created a far shore space, pulling Village Chief into it, trying to trap him. But they both fell in together.
Now, it used the same technique—not to trap anyone, but to enter the far shore space and escape the danger in the forest!
Just then, a ball of fire rose in the forest. A beam of light shot out from the fire, piercing deep into the space.
A stream of blood flowed from the sky. Then, the demon god's corpse appeared, falling into the forest, immediately turning to ash.
On the moon ship, the Heavenly Demon King trembled in fear, his body and mind frozen. "Does this damned world have to be so dangerous?"
Qin Mu's eyes shone with a white, moonlike radiance, drifting like smoke. His voice rumbled like thunder as he muttered to himself, "Your deaths confirm my theory. This forbidden zone wasn't set up to keep outsiders out—it was set up to keep the people of Carefree Village *in*. This is the legacy of the one who destroyed the Great Ruin."
Note ①: From a poem by Ji Yi of the Yuan Dynasty, "Taichang Yin."
Ten minutes later, second chapter!