Chapter 305: The Divine Serpent
Banggongcuo and his group finally arrived before this treasure ship. Along the way, another twenty or thirty people had lost their lives, falling to the bizarre and strange attacks of the Nether Valley’s creatures.
“Your Highness, these two old monks have considerable cultivation, almost reaching the Tathagata realm!”
Gongmu Witch King noticed the two old monks sitting on the cliffs on either side, his eyes lighting up. “Their physical bodies could be refined into excellent treasures! I’ll go retrieve them!”
Banggongcuo made no comment. Gongmu Witch King immediately led some men, flying up to the niches on the cliffs and collecting the physical bodies of the two old monks.
Although these two old monks were dead, their bodies still radiated Buddha light, and Buddha sounds resonated, resisting the demonic energy surging from Youdu. The moment their bodies were taken away, the demonic energy behind the beehive seal violently churned, shaking the seal itself!
The demonic energy erupting from the cracks in the beehive seal also surged dramatically. In an instant, the impact created many more cracks, and some existing ones widened considerably.
From behind the seal, a low voice could faintly be heard. Then, the demonic energy suddenly retracted back behind the seal, and the terrifying assault abruptly ceased.
It was eerily quiet.
“Finally, we’ve arrived. A ship capable of carrying my hopes of becoming a god!” Banggongcuo looked at the extraterrestrial vessel, his usually unshakable mind stirred with excitement. Lotuses bloomed beneath his feet as he walked toward the treasure ship.
The group boarded the ship and searched around. Suddenly, a Great Witch discovered an open door and quickly reported it.
Banggongcuo led everyone into the room. Several soldiers scouted ahead, pushing open a door. Suddenly, the door behind them closed. When those soldiers opened the door again to look, they could no longer find Banggongcuo and the others.
The people around Banggongcuo searched everywhere, but gradually, fewer and fewer remained. Even though Banggongcuo didn’t care about their lives, he couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
“Don’t wander off!”
Banggongcuo’s expression grew grave as he carefully examined the doors. He sneered, “The method of folding space—layers upon layers interlocking. I’ve seen records of this technique in the Lesser Jade Capital. It’s a technique from the Kaihuang era!”
Gongmu Witch King hadn’t gotten lost and said happily upon hearing this, “Your Highness must know how to break it!”
Banggongcuo shook his head. “The Lesser Jade Capital doesn’t record the method to break it. However, the folding space technique is a form of spatial calculation. My mastery of calculation is profound—I dare say even the Dao Masters of the Dao Sect might not surpass me. Figuring out how to break it won’t be difficult for me! Let’s go. I want to see if the god’s folding space technique can stop me!”
In the treasure ship’s study, Qin Mu closed the genealogy book: “The last generation of the Kaihuang bloodline is called Qin Fengqing. Could the owner of this ship be this Qin Fengqing? The Qin family of the Kaihuang lineage, from Qin Ye to Qin Fengqing, has a long and unbroken history. This family is truly a noble house. The ship’s owner, Qin Fengqing, shares the surname Qin—could there be a blood connection with me?”
He was about to put the genealogy book back on the shelf when, as if guided by some unseen force, he stopped and stuffed the thick book into his Taotie bag.
No sooner had he put the book away than he saw the old man from the painting emerge from somewhere, appear on the desk, and materialize on the paper.
Qin Mu was about to capture this strange figure when suddenly a figure flickered before him. A young man appeared abruptly from the desk and walked toward him. Qin Mu tried to dodge, but the young man passed right through his body—it was just a phantom.
This man had an extraordinary bearing, and his features gave Qin Mu a familiar, warm feeling. He walked through Qin Mu and appeared behind him.
Startled, Qin Mu quickly turned around. The young man in white moved with calm composure, made a gesture of opening a door, and then vanished.
He hurried forward and indeed saw a door.
Qin Mu opened the door and entered, seeing the white-clad man again. This was a large hall within the ship. Suddenly, the empty hall bustled with people, many emerging from nowhere.
Caught off guard, Qin Mu saw people running around, passing through his body, looking very busy. It seemed they were caught in some crisis—some couldn’t keep their footing, stumbling and swaying.
It appeared the ship had been hit. This impact was more violent, sending people flying and crashing into each other in the hall. Some were severely injured, spitting blood.
The white-clad man raised his hand, and everyone froze mid-air before slowly landing. Despite the ship’s violent shaking, they stood firmly in place.
A woman with a dignified and elegant bearing hurried toward the white-clad man. They seemed to be talking, with the young man gently comforting her before walking outward.
Qin Mu’s gaze fell on the woman, a puzzled look on his face. He felt an inexplicable familiarity, a warmth upon seeing her.
After a moment’s hesitation, he chose to follow the white-clad man.
The white-clad man walked through corridors and passed through doors. He raised his hand, and a sword flew up, landing behind him, following his every step.
Qin Mu was slightly startled. He activated his own Wuyou Sword, which vibrated gently, seeming identical to the sword behind the white-clad man—perhaps the very same sword.
The white-clad man stepped onto the ship’s bow, looked up at the sky, and spoke. Suddenly, the sky shook violently, and an enormous serpent appeared, opening its massive mouth.
The serpent seemed extremely far away, yet it was immense, revealing only its head and neck in the dark sky, its body hidden in the darkness.
On the serpent’s head stood terrifying beings, not human but resembling the divine statues in the temples of the Great Ruins—except these were living gods.
They were attacking the ship, each strike feeling like the end of the world.
Qin Mu was captivated by the white-clad man’s sword technique. It didn’t seem like mortal swordsmanship; it had a wondrous charm. This charm reminded Qin Mu of what Village Chief and Dao Master had called the Dao.
The difference was that Village Chief spoke of the sword technique approaching the Dao, while Dao Master spoke of mathematical principles approaching the Dao.
This white-clad man’s sword technique followed a different path from both Village Chief and Dao Master, containing another kind of sword Dao, but Qin Mu couldn’t discern what it was.
His insight hadn’t reached that level.
He watched with rapt fascination. In the past, when he learned swordsmanship, he learned technique—mastering it to the utmost, enough to dominate. But since Village Chief made him the Human Sovereign and honed his sword skills in the village, he had entered the stage of method, beginning to create his own sword techniques.
Later, under the guidance of the Yantian National Teacher, his mastery of method grew deeper and deeper.
At the method stage, one could already be called a grandmaster.
Beyond method lay the Dao level—Village Chief’s level, which Dao Master hadn’t reached, and the Yantian National Teacher was still a step behind.
Now, standing at the height of method, Qin Mu could appreciate the subtlety of the white-clad man’s sword technique. Though he couldn’t grasp the Dao realm within it, he could still ponder its wonders.
The white-clad man’s sword technique approached the Dao, containing infinite mysteries. His enemies were too strong—they were divine beings—yet he still held them off!
Suddenly, a change occurred. A terrifying force shook time and space. It was a palm, directly meeting the Wuyou Sword. The sword instantly melted, its blade dissolving and then breaking. The ship, along with the broken sword, tore through the sky and crashed into the dark earth.
Behind the massive palm, the great serpent carried a host of gods, flying in pursuit of the falling ship.
Qin Mu fell with the ship. He could feel the jolts as the treasure ship plummeted from mid-air. It tore through the sky, a massive white bat divine statue flashing past, then smashed into the earth, hurtling toward the depths.
Then, he felt a violent shock as the ship pierced through a colossal divine statue underground and slammed into the beehive seal.
Amid the chaos, Qin Mu saw heavy casualties on the ship. Many died in the collision. The woman emerged, gathered the survivors, and led them off the ship, fleeing into Youdu.
The white-clad man, severely wounded, chose to stay behind, guarding the ship and the beehive seal at the entrance to Youdu.
Outside, a giant serpent lowered its head from the abyss. On its flat head stood majestic gods.
The serpent slithered down the abyss, swam into the underground, and slowly approached.
Suddenly, the phantoms before Qin Mu vanished, leaving him alone on the ship’s deck. A cool wind blew, rustling the young man’s clothes.
He looked back and saw Youdu in the darkness.
He was now at the ship’s bow, having entered the world of Youdu.
What he didn’t see was a giant eye emerging beneath the ship, larger than the vessel itself, watching him with keen interest.
Qin Mu stared blankly at the bizarre world of Youdu. Strange creatures of various colors emitted all kinds of light, keeping their distance from here.
The group from the ship, led by the woman, had ventured into Youdu, while the white-clad man chose to stay and defend against the great serpent and the pursuing gods.
Was the white-clad man still alive?
Had he died here, or had he held off these gods and then entered Youdu to find his family?
Had they come from Wuyou Township?
Were they also surnamed Qin? Could they be his relatives?
Who was pursuing them?
Qin Mu steeled himself. Perhaps if he could make this ship fly again, it could return to Wuyou Township!
His heart burned with determination. He walked from the bow toward the ship’s cabin. There must be something like a compass on board, recording the route to Wuyou Township.
Village Chief had once given him a mirror, saying it was a map to Wuyou Township. But the mirror had Village Chief’s seal, and Qin Mu could only see the route when he was strong enough to break it.
That mirror was found on the destroyed giant ship, which was meant to go to Wuyou Township but had been shattered. This ship, however, was intact. So there must be a similar item—an unsealed route map!
He pushed open a door and entered the bridge. On the bow, the giant eye slowly rose, followed by another brightening—two vertical pupils.
A massive serpent head emerged from the darkness, silently flicking its tongue, staring at Qin Mu as he entered the bridge.
Qin Mu felt a presence and looked back, but he didn’t see the two eyes as they quietly faded into the darkness.
— Advance notice: No update tomorrow at noon. Zhai Zhu needs to catch a high-speed train home.