Chapter 391: The Sun Well
"This world was manufactured!"
Qin Mu and the others quickly realized that such a small world could not have been naturally formed, because they soon arrived at the apex of this world.
— Qin Mu wanted the flood dragons to protect them as they flew over this river of stars, but as the dragons flew upward, they crashed into an invisible black barrier.
The black barrier was invisible, but it truly existed there. It was the boundary of this world, like a wall separating it from other worlds.
The reason they said it was a manufactured world was because, the moment they struck the black barrier, countless honeycomb-shaped seals emerged on its surface, emitting a *deng deng deng* sound as they rapidly lit up a vast expanse of the sky. They seemed to have entered a giant beehive.
This was a honeycomb seal. Qin Mu had seen this type of seal before in the Nether Valley, so he was not unfamiliar with it.
In ancient times, deities used honeycomb seals to block the cracks between the Netherworld and the real world. Here, however, the honeycomb seal was used as the barrier of a deity-made world.
"There's no way around it. We have to go through the river of stars."
Qin Mu surveyed the surrounding darkness. Blocked by this world's barrier, they couldn't go over the top. The only option was to wade through the river of stars and reach the Sun Well.
"This space is a bit strange. It doesn't look very big. The Sun Well and the Moon Well aren't far apart either—at most three to five li."
Qin Mu said, "But according to the geographical map, the Moon Well and the Sun Well are tens of thousands of li apart. How is this possible?"
Si Yunxiang pondered, "A teleportation divine ability... No! It should be folded space... That's not right either! This is a complete space, not folded. What kind of divine ability is this?"
The two wells in the Great Ruins were tens of thousands of li apart, yet in this star sea, they were only three to five li apart. Looking at the stars from Yan Kingdom, they seemed close to each other, but in reality, they were far apart. Here, it was the opposite of reality, which was truly astonishing.
Si Yunxiang was also confused, unable to figure out what kind of divine ability caused this anomaly.
Qin Mu smiled, "The deities of the ancient Great Ruins possessed vast divine powers, many of which we don't know about. Perhaps they created this place just to build a passage, making it easier for them to move around in the Great Ruins. Let's head to the Sun Well first."
The nine flood dragons enveloped them in the center and flew toward the river of stars. The dragons grew tense. The river of stars was filled with boulder-sized giant rocks, flying and crashing into each other in chaos. Whenever a mountain-sized star hurtled toward them, the dragons would use their divine abilities to push it away.
These stars were also man-made, not very large, but some were unique, like beautiful jade—transparent and crystalline, glowing as they drifted past not far from them.
"So beautiful... Not good!"
Qin Mu's expression changed drastically. The sound of a flute rang out loudly as he controlled over a dozen flood dragons. The dragons rapidly shrank in size, swarming and climbing onto his body. Qin Mu grabbed Fox Ling'er and threw her onto his shoulder, then pulled Si Yunxiang along, shouting, "Fat Dragon, quickly jump into the Dragon Nest!"
He led Fox Ling'er and Si Yunxiang and leaped into the Dragon Nest. Dragon Qilin also hurriedly jumped over. At that moment, the jade-like star's light became incredibly brilliant. In an instant, multicolored sword light filled the sky, sweeping across all directions, piercing through the stars around them!
One by one, mountain-sized stars were riddled with holes by the sword light!
Qin Mu, along with the dragons, Fox Ling'er, and Si Yunxiang, jumped into the Dragon Nest. Countless flying swords flashed past above their heads. Fox Ling'er quickly ducked, and a few strands of her hair were cut off. Dragon Qilin hurriedly retracted his tail, and a sword light swept past behind him, sending two dragon scales falling.
The group was still shaken, but then the jade-like star vanished without a trace, disappearing into thin air.
Suddenly, the multicolored flying swords, like a colorful meteor shower, streaked across the sky above the Dragon Nest, clashing together with a *ding ding dang dang* sound, and once again formed a jade-like star that drifted away with the river of stars.
"What a huge sword pellet!" Fox Ling'er stared wide-eyed.
Dragon Qilin murmured, "Even bigger than the Sect Leader's sword pellet..."
Qin Mu was also dumbfounded. He never imagined there could be such a massive sword pellet in the world. He had thought his own sword pellet was already large, but seeing this one made him realize it was like comparing a minor sorcerer to a great one!
"Could it be a deity's treasure?"
They flew out of the Dragon Nest again. Qin Mu once more had the dragons form the Divine Dragon Cover, and also had one dragon carry the Dragon Nest, becoming even more cautious.
The Divine Dragon Cover came from the Ling family's divine ability, the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, originally an offensive and refining ability. Qin Mu used it by controlling nine flood dragons and deploying it as a formation.
In his mind, the key to using it lay in the heart, with no rigid rules. Some thought his thinking was unconstrained, while others thought he was heretical, but he didn't care.
In the chaotic river of stars, stars would occasionally crash into them. Even with the Divine Dragon Cover formed by nine extremely powerful flood dragons, the dragons were still battered and broken. Qin Mu continuously refined miraculous medicines to heal the injured dragons, letting other dragons take their place to maintain the cover's integrity. After enduring countless hardships, they finally reached the core of this galaxy, not far from the two divine wells.
Here, it was relatively safe. The stars revolved around the Sun Well and the Moon Well, and only a few scattered stars remained.
Si Yunxiang breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "Sect Leader, this place is so dangerous. With over a dozen flood dragons protecting us, we still had to hide in the Dragon Nest to avoid danger. How did that Sun Keeper get here?"
Qin Mu looked up and saw that from the Sun Well and the Moon Well, thick beams of light shot upward. Above them, there were two circular holes, like the mouths of wells.
"Since they are sun herders, they naturally came here riding the Sun Ship. Moreover, the Sun Keeper's strength is extremely high, a being comparable to a celestial god."
Si Yunxiang was startled. A being comparable to a celestial god?
Qin Mu didn't explain. The flood dragons swam, shaking their heads and wagging their tails, carrying them toward the beam of light above. Suddenly, Qin Mu looked down and was stunned. The huge Sun Well was packed with massive glowing orbs, each like a sun!
Of course, these suns were not large; they should be treasures refined from divine creations.
But seeing so many suns crammed into the deep well was still quite shocking!
"The sun on the Sun Ship went out. Why didn't they fish out an unextinguished sun from the Sun Well?"
Just as he thought this, the sound of chains rattling came from above. A massive black iron chain descended from the mouth of the Sun Well, lowering continuously, approaching the suns in the well.
Fox Ling'er exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master, are the sun herders fishing for suns?"
Qin Mu was also stunned. At the end of the chain hung several large hooks, presumably trying to hook a sun in the well and pull it out.
But he soon saw that these black iron chains were glowing red-hot. Before they even reached the well, they showed signs of melting, with molten iron continuously dripping down the chain into the well.
Not only that, but the large hooks also softened from the heat. Before the black iron chain could get close to a sun, the hooks had completely melted, and the chain itself broke from the heat.
The sound of chains being pulled came from above, and a voice spoke by the well, sighing, "Still can't fish it out..."
The flood dragons flew to the well's mouth. The closer they got, the wider the well mouth became. By the time the dragons carried Qin Mu and the others out of the well, the Sun Well had become a massive opening five hundred li wide.
Looking into the well, nothing could be seen except blinding light as bright as the sun. A straight beam of light shot out from the well, striking the sky.
The light then spread out from the sky, forming a huge dome that covered the area.
This Sun Well was like an immensely huge, radiant mirror!
"Oh? Instead of fishing out a sun, we fished out a flood dragon!" A booming voice came from the edge of the well, full of surprise.
Qin Mu and the others looked over and saw several giant sun herders standing by the well, dressed in white robes like priests. They were pulling on the chains, staring at them in astonishment.
Qin Mu walked to the head of the flood dragon in two or three steps, smiled, and said, "A man from Carefree Village, Qin Mu, here to see the Sun Keeper! Please, elders, announce my arrival!"
"A guest from Carefree Village!"
The several powerful sun herders were startled. They quickly dropped the chains and bowed, saying loudly, "Guest from Carefree Village, please wait a moment. We will go and report!" With that, they turned and left.
"They seem to have misunderstood. I only said I was from Carefree Village, not that I came from Carefree Village."
Qin Mu scratched his head. He let the flood dragons land by the well. Seeing how solemn these sun herders were, they would likely invite the high-ranking members of their clan for a grand welcome.
Si Yunxiang knocked on the Dragon Nest and called inside, "Princess Xiu, we've arrived at the Sun Well. Come out quickly."
Ling Yuxiu woke from her meditation, leaped out as a stream of dragon energy, and landed, regaining her form. Si Yunxiang was very envious, muttering, "That big-chested princess has increased her cultivation so much in such a short time. She's stronger than me!"
Ling Yuxiu looked around and was deeply shaken. She stared straight at the giant ship docked not far from the Sun Well. It wasn't her first time seeing the Sun Ship, but she still couldn't hide the shock in her heart.
This Sun Ship was incredibly huge. Chains dragged a black sun, which lay prostrate on the ground.
The deck of that ship was like a continent, capable of supporting tens of thousands of people living and multiplying!
She looked around and was shaken again. The area around the Sun Well was covered by a dome, forming a unique space filled with a restless power.
Pure Yang Qi!
Meanwhile, Qin Mu was examining a tall stone tablet by the well. Fox Ling'er approached, took out a small notebook and brush, intending to copy the text on the tablet. Since she started learning calligraphy and painting from the Deaf Man, she had become extremely diligent, copying every character she encountered.
But she didn't recognize the characters on this tablet, so she had to ask, "Young Master, what does this tablet say?"
"This is an inscription written in divine script, recording the history of the Sun Well's creation."
Qin Mu read it and said, "The tablet says: The Emperor ordered Sister Qing to refine the Sun and Moon Wells. Sister Qing was mischievous and failed for a hundred years. The Emperor was angry and wanted to kill her. So Sister Qing trembled with fear and completed the task in fifty years. But the sun and moon in the wells had no light. Sister Qing took out her own eyes and threw them into the wells, and the sun and moon shone brightly. The Emperor ordered the historians to erect this tablet in commemoration."
He looked up at the black sun floating above the Sun Ship and said, "That sun contains the blood of the deity Sister Qing, so it shone brightly. But for some reason, it went out."
"The sun went out because of a powerful enemy!"
Qin Mu looked over and saw hundreds of sun herders approaching. They were all towering figures. At the front was the old chieftain of the sun herder clan. When he saw Qin Mu, he was slightly startled and showed a look of disappointment. "So it's the young friend from Xianglong City. I thought it was someone from Carefree Village. Young friend, what are you doing here?"
Qin Mu smiled, "I've come to see the Sun Keeper."
The old chieftain shook his head and said, "The Sun Keeper is nearing the end of her life. We are choosing a new Sun Keeper. Young friend, since you have ties to Carefree Village, stay and bear witness."
Qin Mu's heart trembled, and he showed a puzzled expression. "Wasn't it said that Yan Jingjing still had many years of life left? Why..."
"The demon gods from the other realm attacked the Sun Well. The Sun Keeper personally led the resistance and consumed most of her lifespan."
The old chieftain sighed. "Come with me. The Sun Keeper should be able to smile at the end, seeing an old friend like you."
The surrounding sun herders looked gloomy. Their white robes swayed, and the air seemed to flow with a sense of sorrow. The old chieftain stopped, looked around, and shouted, "Why the mournful expressions? The moment one becomes the Sun Keeper, it is destined that they will merge with the Sun Ship, unite with it, and stand alongside the ancestors and sages of past generations. This is an honor! Why the mournful expressions? Night is falling, and the demon gods from the other realm will invade again. All of you, perk up!"
Qin Mu looked up at him. The old chieftain's white hair swayed slightly. Yan Jingjing was his granddaughter. He asked why they wore mournful expressions, but the sorrow in his own heart was beyond words.
— Happy birthday to the one-meter-five fatty! May all your wishes come true!