Chapter 398: The First Divine Eye
Qin Mu stood in a daze. This Tianyu World had collided and overlapped with the world where the Great Ruins lay. The sky of the Tianyu World was the Great Ruins—a truly spectacular sight.
It was a pity he probably couldn't see it now.
The Tianyu World must have been a subordinate world of the ancient Kaihuang Kingdom. Later, when the Kaihuang Calamity erupted, the Kaihuang Kingdom lost control and protection over the Tianyu World, allowing the Chong Shen Demon God to find it and assimilate the entire Tianyu race.
The Kaihuang Calamity occurred exactly twenty thousand years ago.
It was also at that time that this place became the Great Ruins.
"The territory of the Kaihuang Kingdom wasn't just the Great Ruins; it included other worlds as well."
He couldn't help but imagine. Back then, the Kaihuang Kingdom's territory had already extended into other worlds, governing races as wondrous as the Tianyu Clan. All kinds of living beings—living in that era must have been incredibly fascinating.
"I've heard that this place was once called the Heavenly Court."
Yu Zhaoqing said, "The Emperor was the sovereign who ruled over all heavens."
Qin Mu immediately recalled the time he had protected Xiong Xiyu and her daughter as they crossed the Great Ruins and passed through the ruins of the Western Heavenly Palace. That stretch of ruins was called the Western Heavenly Palace. A massive continent slanted diagonally into the rubble, with towering structures reduced to broken walls and collapsed pillars, giant mechanical fragments buried among the rocks and stones...
He steadied himself, pushing aside the strange thoughts in his mind, and said, "The Chong Shen Demon God is dead. You should be safe now. Clan Leader Yu, what are your plans?"
"Rebuild our homeland and return to our native land."
Yu Zhaoqing's clothes emitted a faint rustling sound, quickly transforming into a suit of armor. Battle intent surged, and killing intent overflowed: "I will lead my people back to the Tianyu World and reclaim our world! There are still many demons there, the minions of the Chong Shen Demon God, occupying the sacred lands of my Tianyu Clan. We must take them back, slaughter our enemies, and rebuild our home!"
"There are still demons in the Tianyu World?"
Qin Mu was surprised. He pondered for a moment and said, "The Tianyu Clan only has a few million people left. Do you have enough strength to reclaim the Tianyu World?"
Yu Zhaoqing was full of confidence: "After the Chong Shen Demon God dies, the other members of my Tianyu Clan in the world will also regain their senses. We Tianyu people communicate through spiritual waves. In battle, we can command like an arm directing a hand. Reclaiming the Tianyu World won't be difficult."
Qin Mu mused, "Clan Leader Yu, the techniques and divine abilities of today are different from before. You've been controlled by the Chong Shen Demon God for so many years; you probably don't understand the current era anymore. On the battlefield, using spiritual waves to communicate with your people can easily be interfered with. You've been controlled for so long; your enemies should have thoroughly studied you. In their eyes, you are lambs waiting to be slaughtered."
He released his primordial energy and executed a technique. His primordial energy transformed into various strange runes, combining into the form of a large cauldron that inverted downward.
These runes vibrated continuously, emitting waves that ordinary people couldn't hear. But to Yu Zhaoqing's ears, they sounded like booming bells and drums, constantly disrupting her spiritual thoughts, making her deaf to all sounds and unable to communicate with her people.
Qin Mu dispersed his technique and said, "Clan Leader Yu, I think you should proceed slowly and not act rashly."
Yu Zhaoqing's mind was in turmoil. The colors on her clothes shifted chaotically, displaying disordered patterns, clearly showing her inner unrest.
Qin Mu had only just met the Tianyu Clan, but he immediately realized that their spiritual connection had exploitable weaknesses. The demonic experts in the Tianyu World had surely thoroughly studied all the Tianyu Clan's vulnerabilities!
If the Tianyu Clan couldn't come up with new abilities, rebuilding their homeland would be a joke, and returning to the Tianyu World would be suicide!
"The Yinkang Kingdom is in the midst of reform and transformation, with various techniques and divine abilities advancing rapidly."
Qin Mu suggested, "Why don't the Tianyu Clan settle in the Yinkang Kingdom first, learn new skills, and when you have the strength, return to the Tianyu World to reclaim your territory."
Yu Zhaoqing hesitated. As the clan leader, she wished she could immediately return to the Tianyu World and sweep away all the monsters and demons there. But indeed, as Qin Mu said, returning now would be suicide. She had to proceed slowly.
Clan Leader Muri suddenly spoke up: "Clan Leader Yu probably doesn't know yet, but the person beside you is not an outsider. He is His Highness."
"His Highness?"
Yu Zhaoqing suppressed her inner conflict and asked doubtfully, "Which Highness?"
Clan Leader Muri said meaningfully, "The Highness of my Muri Clan, and also the Highness of your Tianyu Clan."
Yu Zhaoqing's heart shook violently. She quickly stood up, her clothes transforming into a subject's robe, and bowed to Qin Mu once again.
"What's with all these formalities? The Kaihuang Kingdom no longer exists, and I am not your Highness. Sister Yu, don't scare me."
Qin Mu quickly helped her up and pinched her clothes, feeling their smooth and warm texture. He smiled and asked, "Sister Yu, how are your clothes made?"
Yu Zhaoqing looked at Clan Leader Muri with confusion. Clan Leader Muri also frowned. Qin Mu seemed unwilling to acknowledge that he was the prince of the Carefree Village. He wouldn't admit it in front of him, nor in front of Yu Zhaoqing.
"Your Highness, these clothes are actually my skin and wings."
Yu Zhaoqing explained, "The body structure of us Tianyu people is slightly different from yours. We have many thin wings growing on our bodies. There are no feathers on the wings, but scales on the skin. When our mood changes, the scales change color. We Tianyu people are quite knowledgeable about dressing up."
When Qin Mu heard that her clothes were her skin, he couldn't help but pinch them again. He found that the scales she mentioned weren't hard; on the contrary, they were as soft as skin.
Yu Zhaoqing's face flushed slightly from his pinching: "Your Highness, you mustn't."
Qin Mu let go, feeling a bit regretful. He had originally planned to ask Yu Zhaoqing for a few sets of such clothes, but since the Tianyu Clan's clothes grew on their bodies and were part of them, they couldn't be taken off. He had to give up.
Si Yunxiang, Ling Yuxiu, and Hu Ling'er, however, crowded around, touching and feeling her clothes, exclaiming in wonder. Yu Zhaoqing's face grew even redder. She didn't want them to touch her but was too embarrassed to say anything, so she just stood there awkwardly.
"The texture is so good, even smoother than Ling'er's fur."
The girls couldn't help but marvel. Ling Yuxiu asked curiously, "Clan Leader Yu, if it's winter and freezing cold, won't you feel cold like this?"
Yu Zhaoqing shook her head and said, "In our Tianyu World, it's warm all year round; there's never a cold season. Besides, even if the weather is cold, our scales can inflate to keep us warm. Look."
As she spoke, her clothes became thick and puffy, but the style remained pleasing to the eye.
Everyone praised her continuously.
Clan Leader Muri stood to the side, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. They had come to this Sun God Temple to discuss matters of racial importance, but now it had turned into a fashion show.
After the excitement died down, Qin Mu said, "Clan Leader Yu, you can stay in the Great Ruins with your people, or you can follow me to the Yinkang Kingdom. When the time is right, you can lead your army back to the Tianyu World. What do you think?"
Yu Zhaoqing thought for a moment: "Your Highness, please wait a few days. I need to discuss this with my people before making a decision."
Qin Mu nodded. Yu Zhaoqing immediately went to consult with her people.
"Clan Leader, let's go take a look at that split sun!"
Qin Mu stood up and, together with the others, went to the two halves of the sun. Many Muri people were trying to pull the chains out of the split sun.
They planned to use the chains of the Sun Ship to fish out a new sun from the Sun Well.
Qin Mu had smashed the sun on the Sun Ship into two halves, so they had to fish out a new sun to serve as the energy source for the Sun Ship; otherwise, the Sun Guardian would have his life force drained by this giant ship.
However, the chains were embedded in the sun. Even though the sun had split in two, it was still very difficult to pull the chains out.
Qin Mu walked into the massive hemisphere. Inside, the sun was a huge, complex three-dimensional array structure. Thousands of arrays were activated to turn this enormous metal sphere into a sun, emitting astonishing light and heat.
Qin Mu had smashed this sun into two halves, causing many of the internal array structures to break and various components to fall off.
A dozen or so Muri people had crawled inside the sun, trying to unlock the chains, but no matter how much force they used, they couldn't open them.
"Is there anyone here who is proficient in arrays?"
An elder called out loudly, "These chains are locked by over a dozen arrays. We have to open the arrays to pull the chains out... Your Highness!"
Many Muri people who were busy working stopped and bowed to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu returned the greeting and carefully examined the arrays inside the sun. The chains locking the sun passed through its surface, and inside, there were a dozen disc-shaped array gear structures that held the four chains tightly in place.
The old clan leader was also examining the structure of these arrays. The runic marks on these array components were extremely complex, making his head spin. He shook his head and said, "There are no array masters in our Muri Clan. We can't solve these arrays."
Qin Mu looked thoughtful. Suddenly, he said, "I understand! Now I finally understand why Sister Qing spent a hundred years but couldn't forge the Sun Well and Moon Well!"
Everyone looked at him, quite puzzled, not understanding why he suddenly brought up Sister Qing's well-forging.
"The array structure inside this sun is actually the structure of a divine eye."
Qin Mu walked among the various arrays, identifying the runic marks on them, and said rapidly, "The Emperor ordered Sister Qing to forge the wells, probably because of her skill. This Sister Qing deity must have been the number one divine eye of that time! Her mastery of divine eyes was unparalleled in the world, so the Emperor ordered her to forge the Sun and Moon Wells."
He quickly scanned the dozen or so array structures locking the chains, then came outside the sun to examine its surface. The sun's surface was uneven, with many tree-ring-like textures.
"Sister Qing failed for a hundred years because she had already realized that to forge the Sun and Moon Wells, she would have to sacrifice her own divine eyes. Once the wells were complete, she would go blind. So she spent a hundred years indulging in pleasure."
Qin Mu groped along the sun's surface. After a moment, he found a raised circular texture. His primordial energy surged out, and the texture was instantly lit up by his energy, beginning to rotate continuously.
At the same time, the dozen or so arrays inside the sun that were locking the chains began to rotate, releasing the chains.
Qin Mu looked up and said, "It wasn't until the Emperor became furious that she wholeheartedly forged the wells, eventually gouging out her own eyes to light up the Sun Well and Moon Well."
Before him, the internal structure of the sun continued to change as the arrays were unlocked, producing loud clanking sounds. The complex textures on the sun's surface also lit up, and large layers of the surface retracted layer by layer!
This half-sun seemed to come alive, startling everyone into retreating, their faces filled with shock and uncertainty.
The sun's structure kept changing. After a moment, this massive half-sun shrank into a solid metal wall, standing upright before them.
Qin Mu went to the other half of the sun and did the same. That half also transformed into another metal wall.
Two walls stood before everyone, a hundred zhang high and several li long, ancient and golden.
"Sister Qing knew she had to sacrifice her own divine eyes to complete the Emperor's task, so she spent a hundred years indulging in pleasure, then another fifty years completing the Emperor's commission. Truly a remarkable woman."
Qin Mu sighed in admiration. Looking at these two metal walls, his expression filled with respect. He murmured softly, "Her name was Sister Qing. 'Sister' meant elder sister, 'Qing' was her name, meaning she was the sister in the family who liked to wear green clothes. It's a pity I never got to meet such an extraordinary person... What's wrong with you all?"
He turned around and saw everyone staring at him, dumbfounded.
Qin Mu was puzzled and explained, "'Sister' is the character for elder sister, 'Qing' is the character for green. Sister Qing means the elder sister who wears green clothes."
"Not that!"
An elder stammered, "Your Highness, you unlocked the sun's arrays!"
Qin Mu suddenly understood and laughed, "Unlocking them wasn't difficult. I've done some research on divine eye techniques. In the Yinkang Kingdom, I even personally forged a divine eye with a similar structure, though not as intricate as this sun. Sister Qing was very skilled!"
He looked up at the two walls: "I learned a lot. I really want to go into the well and see her eyes..."
--- Second update in ten minutes!