Chapter 437: The Great Blade
One after another, giant stone statues arrived near the drilling stone statues. Suddenly, those towering stone figures moved their hands and feet like flying, madly digging the earth, their arms whirling like cyclones as they tore up the ground, hurling massive boulders out behind them.
On the Sun Ship, Qin Mu and the others watched in astonishment. These demon god stone statues were digging at an incredible speed, though their postures were somewhat unsightly. Soon, they had excavated a huge pit. The figures of these demon god stone statues gradually sank into the ground, with rocks and stones continuously being thrown out of the pit.
"These fellows dig faster than a dog scratching!" the Cripple muttered.
The Kun King looked at the Gray Immortal and said, "When it comes to burrowing, aside from Earth Element Peak, it has to be Senior Brother Gray."
The Gray Immortal stood up and said, "I'll go see what they're really up to." With that, he shook his body, transforming into a large gray-furred rat. Leaping and bounding swiftly, he ran down from the Sun Ship, reached the ground in a few breaths, then dove into the earth and vanished.
The Kun King said, "The Gray Immortal is skilled at treasure hunting. His name is Gray Treasure Uncle. He moves unhindered underground; he's sure to find something."
Qin Mu looked up. Above their heads, the sky was filled with blooming flowers. Each blossom opened wide, forming a floral canopy that enveloped the sky over the Sun Ship. At the center of one flower stood the Flower Lord, seemingly growing out of the bloom.
"These Upper Firmament deities must be dealt with!"
Qin Mu looked at the Medicine Master and the others and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
The Medicine Master smiled and said, "Before, we had no way. But now, we have plenty of ways."
The Kun King pulled out the Golden Horn and said, "Let me handle it." He stood up from the pool and bowed to the Golden Horn.
That golden horn was a sacred relic of the Kun race, refined into a golden spear. As he bowed to it, the golden horn howled and flew out. With a soft *shiiing* sound, a golden line appeared in the sky—the trail left by the flying horn.
The golden line pierced through the Flower Lord's brow, then sharply turned from the back of her head, charging toward another deity, piercing through the heart chamber of that Upper Firmament god.
The golden line formed by the horn turned back and forth at incredible speed. After a few moments, every deity, including Star Lord Yan, had been pierced through by the golden horn.
A clear, crisp whistling sound rang out, and the golden horn returned to the Kun King's hand.
The golden line in the sky slowly faded and gradually disappeared.
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly as he looked at the golden horn. There was not a trace of blood on it. This horn had killed so many deities in succession, including the Flower Lord and Star Lord Yan of the Upper Firmament Four Lords, yet it showed no damage at all.
One had to know that the physical bodies of Upper Firmament gods and demons were incredibly powerful. Even a sect-suppressing treasure could not harm them in the slightest. Forcibly attacking a divine or demonic body was like smashing an egg against a rock—it would only shatter itself.
But the sacred relic of the East Sea Kun race showed no wear at all, proving just how powerful this treasure truly was.
However, although the sacred relic was powerful, it also depended on the user. The Kun King had previously fought against the Upper Firmament deities without being able to win, probably because his own strength was somewhat lacking.
"Kun King, the Three Bridge method for repairing the Divine Bridge has already been made public by me. Why don't you come ashore and learn this Three Bridge method as well?" Qin Mu asked.
The Kun King was surprised and said, "So it was the Human Sovereign who spread that method for repairing the Divine Bridge. I have already obtained this technique. To be honest, our Kun race often comes ashore to trade with the Yan Kingdom, exchanging what we have for what we lack."
Qin Mu felt relieved. "I see."
Suddenly, a large rat ran up the Sun Ship, heading toward them. As it ran, it transformed into a gray-robed old man. He came to their side, caught his breath, and said, "There really is something underground! The ground is hollow—there's a palace complex, a statue so huge it's beyond description, and a great blade!"
The Medicine Master quickly urged him to soak in the Pure Yang Pool and said, "Your injuries haven't healed yet. Speak slowly."
The Gray Immortal took a few more breaths and said, "There are tunnels underground. Those stone statues have already dug through to the tunnels. Following the tunnels down to the earth's core, there's a vast space. At the center of that space is a statue, seemingly having drilled up from underground. All around it are chains, and the chains are tied to the palaces. Somehow, that statue got stuck in the chains. Those chains are even thicker than the chains on the Sun Ship that tether the sun!"
Everyone's hearts shook violently, and they exchanged glances.
The chains that bound the sun were a masterpiece from the Kai Huang era. By current standards of artifact refinement, such divine objects could no longer be created.
And the chains beneath the Divine Severing Mountain Range were even thicker than those binding the sun—could they also be remnants from the Kai Huang era?
The Deaf Man suddenly said, "The chains on the Sun Ship are for binding the sun. So the chains underground—are they for binding that statue?"
Everyone felt a chill.
Why would anyone bind a statue?
The Gray Immortal shook his head and said, "No, you're guessing wrong. Those chains are connected to several palaces, passing beneath them. I followed the stone statues down there and saw those palaces floating around the statue. That statue doesn't seem to have been originally underground. Instead, it looks like it just drilled up, similar to the statues that appeared in the Yan Kingdom. They should all be statues that suddenly emerged not long ago. But this statue is unlucky—it drilled right under the Divine Severing Mountain Range and got caught in the chains, unable to break through to the surface."
The Cripple said excitedly, "There must be plenty of treasures in those palaces! Let's go steal—*ahem*—go pick up some treasures!"
The Medicine Master said impatiently, "You've only just managed to save your life. Running around everywhere, you'll lose it again! Gray Immortal, what else did you see?"
The Gray Immortal said, "There are floating bridges in the air, connecting to the palaces around the statue..."
The Kun King asked in confusion, "If there are already chains, what are the floating bridges for? What are the chains for?"
The Gray Immortal's expression turned strange. He wanted to speak but hesitated: "There's also a blade stuck in that statue's forehead. The chains are for binding that blade... When that statue drilled up from underground, it might have run right into the blade, and the blade cut into its head..."
The Medicine Master asked in confusion, "What blade?"
"A great blade. A very big blade."
The Gray Immortal bared his two long front teeth, his whiskers twitching as he said, "The Heavenly Blade is already quite large, but in front of that blade, it's pitifully small. That blade runs north-south, embedded in that statue's forehead, extremely long. When I saw that blade, I noticed something strange..."
He steadied himself and said, "Granny Si, the Yan Kingdom National Teacher, and the Upper Firmament deities—they were all inside that gleaming blade. That blade is like a mirror, and their primordial spirits are fighting inside the mirror, but they don't realize it."
Qin Mu and the others tried to imagine that scene and felt a chill run down their spines. Granny Si and the others had used the Great Luo Celestial Star Array to pull everyone, along with the Upper Firmament deities' primordial spirits, away—only to fall into the space within a blade?
And when the Yan Kingdom National Teacher had activated the Zhen Tripod, intending to perish together with the Upper Firmament deities, the energy of the Zhen Tripod had been absorbed by the terrifying power underground. Could that also be the work of this blade?
The Kun King said in a daze, "We fell into that strange space, vast and boundless but empty of everything, never imagining we had landed on the surface of a blade... We fought on the surface of a blade for so long without any awareness!" He found it hard to believe.
The Gray Immortal continued, "Those stone statues arrived there ahead of me. Several of them were building an altar—a very large altar. I don't know what they intend to do."
Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he said, "Gray Immortal, can you draw the appearance of the altar?"
The Gray Immortal used his primordial energy as a brush to paint in the air. After a moment, he had drawn the altar. This altar resembled the one from another world that Qin Mu had seen at the cave entrance—the altar used to allow the demon army to cross the world barrier and enter Yan Kingdom.
But the altar drawn by the Gray Immortal had similar runic structures, yet also some differences.
Qin Mu was slightly startled, then suddenly felt curious and asked, "Does anyone have a mirror?"
The Cripple laughed and said, "The Deaf Man loves to admire himself the most. Others might not have one, but he definitely does."
The Deaf Man snorted coldly and took out a mirror. Qin Mu quickly said, "I need two mirrors. Who else has one?"
The Medicine Master said hesitantly, "I have one here."
The Deaf Man glared at him. "You don't have a face. What do you need a mirror for?"
"To tidy my clothes and appearance," the Medicine Master said matter-of-factly.
Qin Mu took the two mirrors, placing one on the left side of the altar drawn by the Gray Immortal and one on the right. Suddenly, he said, "Gray Immortal, can you project this altar into the mirrors?"
The Gray Immortal focused his mind, and the altar formed from his primordial energy flew into the mirror. Qin Mu looked into the mirror and suddenly understood. "These two altars are mirror images of each other! The altar built by those stone statues is a mirror image of the altar from the other world. They must be using it to teleport the demon army directly from the other world to the underground altar. The altar they're using is a kind of teleportation formation, but it's different from the teleportation formation of our Heavenly Saint Cult. Their formation is more primitive and requires blood sacrifice."
The Cripple laughed and said, "What are these fellows teleporting the demon army in for? They're not planning to sacrifice the entire demon army to awaken that underground statue, are they?"
No one laughed, and the Cripple gradually fell silent.
If the demon army was teleported in and sacrificed themselves to awaken the underground statue, who knew what would happen once that statue woke up?
"That statue probably isn't just a statue—it's the ancestor of these demon god stone statues. The stone statues came here to rescue their ancestor."
The Deaf Man said, "After sacrificing the demon army, the statue will revive. Hah, all our fighting and dying will have been for nothing! The statue's demon descendants will have resurrected it!"
Everyone fell silent. The Village Chief was dead, the Old Tathagata was dead, the Old Dao Master was dead, and they had also lost Xuan Shengwu, White Immortal, Yellow Immortal, and others. In the end, they still couldn't stop these true gods and true demons from descending.
They could no longer fight. Once this true demon revived, they would all die.
Qin Mu continued to study the two mirrors and suddenly said, "Does anyone else have a mirror? Give me two more."
The Medicine Master rummaged through his medicine basket and took out two more mirrors, tossing them to him. The Deaf Man raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly. "Stinking vain!"
Qin Mu placed one mirror in the center of the two mirrors to refract the light, then used another mirror to refract it again. After multiple reflections, the altar projected onto the final mirror was still a mirror image. Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "What if the demon army can't be teleported over? Would the remaining stone statues still be able to awaken that underground statue?"
The Medicine Master asked curiously, "Little Human Sovereign, what do you plan to do?"
Qin Mu showed a shy smile. "Medicine Master Grandpa, don't make fun of me... I plan to create two more teleportation altars between these two altars to interfere with their teleportation. If the demon army is disrupted, they might not be able to teleport through. It's like these two mirrors—if you slightly change the angle, the light can't reach the final mirror."