Chapter 486: Iron and Blood Years
“This…”
Qin Mu hesitated. His use of the Xuanwu Pearl to awaken the divine bone had been a coincidence. It was only because a remnant, undying will persisted within the bone that the awakened skeleton could speak and even recover memories from the past.
If he awakened other fallen bones, it was unlikely they would contain such a remnant will. Even if awakened, they would merely be walking skeletons.
Moreover, awakening divine bones consumed an immense amount of mana. Even with the Xuanwu Pearl, a spiritual treasure, awakening so many divine bones was beyond what Qin Mu could endure.
With his current understanding of the Myriad Deities Natural Art, he could at most awaken the sand dune “giants” no taller than a zhang. Anything taller was beyond his ability.
Using the Xuanwu Pearl, he could amplify his perception of all things having spirit and divinity, making his senses more powerful. However, awakening so many divine bones simultaneously would drain him immeasurably, possibly even endangering him.
The divine bone “looked” at him, faint flames flickering in its hollow eye sockets, seemingly filled with anticipation. It was the longing of an ancient warrior to reunite with his comrades, a plea hard to refuse.
Qin Mu smiled. “I can give it a try.”
He took out the Xuanwu Pearl, activated the Myriad Deities Natural Art, and used the pearl to release his perception of the nature of all things, casting the spirit-summoning spell.
After a moment, a massive skeleton staggered to its feet. The true god battalion commander was overjoyed, embracing the skeleton of his comrade, laughing and crying.
“General,” the skeleton said, dazed and seemingly lacking much intelligence, uttering only that one phrase.
But even that single phrase moved the true god battalion commander deeply, as if returning to the era of the Sovereign Emperor.
Qin Mu awakened more and more divine and demonic bones. His face turned sallow, and countless voices seemed to clamor in his mind, making it nearly impossible to concentrate.
The true god battalion commander, along with the awakened divine and demonic skeletons, stirred up a blinding sandstorm (man tian huang sha). He used his last bit of mana to ignite the true god’s fire, melting the sand.
The sand turned into rolling magma in the air, then solidified into massive stones.
The true god battalion commander was building their tombs. Many divine and demonic skeletons used these stones to construct their graves, and in the desert, burial mounds gradually took shape.
When Qin Mu awakened the last skeleton, he finally collapsed from exhaustion.
On this desert plain, the many towering divine and demonic skeletons had also finished their final tombs. They stood before their graves, awaiting their general’s final words.
The true god battalion commander had also burned up his last mana. Leaning on his tattered banner, he looked at his comrades who had died alongside him.
The wind blew the flag.
The ragged banner fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound, as if returning to those years of iron and blood.
“May there be a next life.”
The true god battalion commander did not speak aloud, but a voice resonated, like the clash of metal or the beating of war drums.
“May there be a next life, where we reunite and fight the world again!”
His voice spread across the desert, shouting to his soldiers and comrades: “The Sovereign Emperor will return, will lead us to fight the enemy again! Now, all soldiers, you may rest!”
“General, we’ll meet again in the next life!” a divine bone’s voice came.
One by one, the divine and demonic skeletons walked into their tombs, placing their broken weapons beside them and lying down, as if at the sound of a horn, they would leap up, grab their arms, and continue the battle.
The true god battalion commander’s hollow eye sockets flickered with their final flames. Massive stone slabs flew silently through the air, sealing the entrances of the divine tombs.
Runes flowed on the walls of the divine tombs. As the stone slabs closed, the protective formations of the tombs became complete.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up at the skeleton of the true god battalion commander beside him, he asked, “Senior, you built divine tombs for them and buried them. Why didn’t you build your own tomb?”
The tall divine bone sat down, leaning on the banner that stood firm. He sat upright, facing the desolate divine tombs.
“I am their general. I failed to bring them back to their homeland. I am not worthy of my own tomb.”
The true god battalion commander sat quietly, the banner fluttering in the wind: “I will guard them, be their tomb keeper. I know they never truly woke up. You spoke through their mouths.”
He looked down at Qin Mu. “Thank you.”
Qin Mu was startled for a moment, then said, “I didn’t want you to feel that only you were left here. So…”
The true god battalion commander looked up and smiled: “Even though it was you, it still brings me great comfort. I have no regrets now.”
In his hollow eye sockets, two streams of light, like long dragons, flew out and into Qin Mu’s eyes, settling there.
They were the last pure yang and pure yin energies from his divine repository, gifted to Qin Mu.
“Darkness is coming. Go there!” He raised his hand and pointed into the distance.
Qin Mu turned to look. The setting sun was about to sink into the desert.
“Senior, what do you mean by ‘darkness is coming’?”
Qin Mu asked, puzzled. “Does the night here also bring a dark invasion? Senior…”
He fell silent, no longer speaking. The skeleton of the true god battalion commander beside him had lost its breath. The final will had sunk, dissipated, leaving only an arm raised, pointing into the distance.
Qin Mu silently stood up, called for the box and the trembling Dragon Qilin sitting on it, and said, “Let’s go there.”
The box strode forward, following him in the direction the true god battalion commander had pointed.
Dragon Qilin plucked up his courage and asked, “Chief, what did that big skeleton mean when he said ‘even though it was you’?”
“My spirit-summoning spell cannot summon the souls of those fallen gods and demons. The awakened skeletons have no consciousness; they only obey my commands. He saw through that, which is why he said it.”
Dragon Qilin was confused. “But I heard those skeletons speak, calling him ‘General’.”
“Those skeletons could speak because I spoke through their mouths. I didn’t want him to feel alone, to feel that he was the only one left from the Sovereign Emperor era.”
Qin Mu looked back at the divine bone sitting there, holding the battle banner and guarding the divine tombs. Then he turned forward, his face calm. “But he still discovered it. He just didn’t point it out at the time. Actually, deep down, he must have held onto a sliver of hope, hoping that it wasn’t me speaking, but his comrades.”
Dragon Qilin still couldn’t understand this sentiment. He simply lay down on the box to sleep, muttering, “I hate these things the most. Last time at the Liu family, I had nightmares for days…”
The sky grew darker. Qin Mu quickened his pace. Finally, the sun sank into the desert.
Darkness surged from the west, rolling like a tide, catching up to them in an instant and swallowing them.
Qin Mu was stunned. This world was also devoured by darkness. It was like another Great Ruins, but unlike the Great Ruins, the day here was the night there, and the night here was the day there.
Suddenly, Qin Mu’s heart trembled. “I understand! I understand the source of the darkness!”
Just then, there was a faint rustling from under the box. Qin Mu stopped and looked down. A youth with two broken legs was clinging to the box’s leg.
“Great Venerable.”
Qin Mu smiled. “How have you been?”
Biangong Cuo’s face was ashen. He spat, “Damn it, Qin, this godforsaken world is messing with me. Kill me or skin me, do whatever you want!”
Qin Mu said gently, “Why would I skin you? Don’t be silly. Killing is simpler. Skinning is too much trouble.”
Just then, a beam of light suddenly shone down from the dark sky—a divine light piercing the darkness.
Qin Mu’s heart leaped. He quickly jumped onto the box, his weight pressing the box and Biangong Cuo beneath it deep into the sand.
“What are you doing?” Biangong Cuo panicked.
“Shut up. Star Jackal’s eyes are here too!” Qin Mu hissed.
In the pitch-black sky, a light beam swept across the desert. A giant eyeball shot out a beam of light, searching the sands, then flew forward.
Then another eyeball flew over. The two giant eyeballs met in the air, paused, and then a dark light rapidly approached from afar, stopping in midair. It was a youth’s head.
The head had no eyeballs. The two eyeballs flew into its eye sockets.
“You’re nearby!”
The head in the air suddenly sneered. “Divine Doctor Qin, Great Venerable, you stole my box and thought you could shake off my pursuit? You underestimate me!”
Suddenly, the surrounding sand solidified. Qin Mu’s heart sank as he felt the sand tightening around him. Knowing the situation was bad, he immediately activated the Overlord Body Three-Dantian Art. His primal energy burst forth, forming a series of magnificent runes that arrayed themselves in the sand beneath them.
Biangong Cuo’s hair stood on end. He hissed, “You’re using a teleportation technique here? You don’t want to live, but I still…”
“Over here!”
The head of Star Jackal in midair let out a sharp howl. Both eyes shot divine beams, sweeping down!
Buzz—
The ground where Qin Mu was suddenly collapsed into a large pit. Then, two divine beams shot into the pit, evaporating a huge swath of rolling sand!
Biangong Cuo’s scalp tingled. He was teleported along with the box by Qin Mu. He shouted, “Chief Qin, your skill isn’t good enough! We didn’t teleport far!”
“Shut up! It’s because Fatty Dragon is too heavy!”
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and activated the teleportation technique again. The light of the teleportation runes flashed, and behind them, a large head flew through the air. Two beams of light fell onto the desert, vaporizing everything in their path!
He activated the teleportation technique repeatedly until his mana was exhausted. He quickly pointed in a direction and said, “Great Venerable, go that way!”
Biangong Cuo quickly took over. He took out small flags from his Taotie bag, each imprinted with teleportation runes. As he activated them, the flags danced, wrapping around them and disappearing just before Star Jackal’s divine beams struck.
In one of his past lives, he had also joined the Demon Sect of Heaven and Earth and had even almost become its chief. He was no stranger to the sect’s teleportation techniques.
Biangong Cuo activated the teleportation flags repeatedly, his mana draining rapidly. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. “Chief Qin, I’m almost out of mana! Are we there yet?”
He used his last bit of mana to teleport again. As the teleportation array patterns dissipated, their eyes suddenly brightened. They appeared in a city.
The city was brilliantly lit, decorated with lanterns and colorful banners everywhere. The two looked up, stunned. On the city walls and high towers of this city standing in the darkness stood towering gods and demons, each a hundred zhang tall. Some had four heads and eight arms, some three heads and six arms, some bird heads and human bodies, some beast heads and human bodies. Others looked like Xuanwu divine beings, Vermilion Bird divine beings, White Tiger divine beings, or Azure Dragon divine beings.
They emitted an intensely powerful divine light, pushing back the darkness outside the city.
The city was bustling with people coming and going.
These people seemed to appear out of nowhere, brushing past Qin Mu and the large box, smiles on their faces.
“No, this isn’t right… This is supposed to be a desert. How can there be a city? If there really were so many people here, how could they have left those divine and demonic bones unburied in the desert? And how can there be so many deities here?”
Qin Mu’s head throbbed with pain. Suddenly, he grabbed the hand of a young woman passing by. Seeing that he wasn’t bad-looking, she giggled and said, “You rogue, what are you grabbing my hand for?”
“Good sister, what year is it now?” Qin Mu asked, his face pale.
The young woman laughed. “You sure know how to pick up girls. It’s the twenty-four thousandth year of the Sovereign Emperor’s reign. Today is the Sovereign Emperor’s twenty-six thousandth birthday celebration!”
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