Chapter 497: There Is a God Named Red Embroidered
The bird-headed god turned his head, flapped his wings, and said irritably, "You don't know what you've done? Think again! When the King of Hell chops off your head soon, you'll at least die knowing why."
Qin Mu was bewildered, unable to recall any offense he had committed.
"Could it be about me taking the Moon Boat? But the Moon Boat doesn't belong to Fengdu; it's the Moon Chaser's property. The King of Hell despises the Moon Guardian's character and didn't accept his allegiance. Taking the Moon Boat shouldn't be a crime, right?"
He had originally planned to enter Fengdu to find the Village Chief and see if the Young Ancestor was also there. Although the bird-headed god claimed he had committed an offense, Qin Mu wasn't worried—in fact, he felt a bit of anticipation.
Besides, there was no escape now.
Suddenly, a roar from Star Vex echoed: "Divine Physician Qin, what have you done to me?"
Qin Mu turned back. The most powerful being in the current world was now unrecognizable. His body was covered with all kinds of limbs, and the heads—male and female, old and young—none of them belonged to him.
In the Realm of the Dead, the original consciousness of these limbs had awakened. The missing limbs had regenerated, reclaiming what was rightfully theirs, squeezing out Star Vex's own consciousness until it was barely present.
He could no longer control or command this massive, grotesque hybrid of limbs!
"Star Vex, what have you done to us?" Two or three dozen heads asked in unison, and then the limbs began to fight among themselves, rolling around like a ball.
Qin Mu felt a pang of sorrow and said, "Star Vex, I haven't done anything to you. It's what you did to them. You took their limbs, and that created the you of now. In this Realm of the Dead, the living are dead, and the dead are alive. Look at me, look at Dragon Qilin, and you'll understand my words."
Star Vex was now immobile; only the limbs of others could move. He had taken so much from others that the only thing left of him in his body was his three souls.
Even his primordial spirit had been stolen from someone else!
The bird-headed god turned to look at Star Vex and said, "Star Vex, the King of Hell wants to see you too. You carry a primordial spirit that interests him. All of you, follow me."
The massive meatball that was Star Vex roared, desperately trying to escape the Realm of the Dead, but his limbs refused to obey him. Instead, dozens of legs and arms moved in unison, crawling toward Fengdu.
"Let me go!"
Star Vex's voice was filled with terror. This was the second time he had felt fear.
The first time was when he opened the Life and Death Divine Treasury and realized that his life had an end. When his lifespan ran out, the Netherworld beneath the Life and Death Divine Treasury would devour his primordial spirit, plunging him into eternal darkness!
That was a great terror, a result he could not accept!
After opening the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury and discovering it was broken—beyond his genius to repair—Star Vex had taken another path, a different road to immortality.
He stole the limbs of others.
Since he couldn't become a god himself and his physical body would inevitably age, he would take others' limbs to replace his own decrepit flesh.
He was proud and ambitious, still hoping to become a god in his own way. Only the most top-tier beings in the world, those who had reached a divine level in some aspect, were worthy of his attention.
Though he didn't kill the lambs he targeted, some had still died because of him.
Now, these people were coming back to life from death, while he was dead. They were tearing apart the true god body he had painstakingly forged, trying to rip him apart!
He felt that great terror again—the terror of life and death!
The bird-headed god shifted his feet slightly, found a comfortable position, and continued to hunker down on the mountaintop, saying, "Star Vex, your crimes have been exposed too. But this time, the King of Hell isn't investigating you—he's after the remnants of the Heavenly Court within you."
"Hehehe..."
Suddenly, a sinister, eerie voice emerged from within Star Vex: "What nonsense King of Hell? Just a remnant of an old era! You're looking for me, aren't you?"
"Witch God Wei!"
Qin Mu's heart jolted. He saw the primordial spirit of Witch God Wei swelling within Star Vex's tangled body, becoming a colossal, terrifying being thousands of feet tall, more majestic than the mountain. Its eyes were like the craters of two volcanoes, blazing with fire surrounded by thick darkness.
It looked down from above at the bird-headed god on the mountaintop and sneered, "You're also a remnant of the old era. I know you—the Night Wanderer of the Kaihuang Era. You were originally the owl who guarded the souls of prisoners in the Kaihuang Era, a god who could freely fly between the Netherworld and reality. You called yourself Red Embroidered! Red Embroidered, accept my bow!"
He bowed his head in reverence, but the bird-headed god stood steady on the mountaintop, unmoving.
Witch God Wei was startled and bowed again. The bird-headed god lifted one leg and scratched the corner of his beak.
Witch God Wei's heart trembled violently. He immediately turned and fled, racing madly out of the Realm of the Dead.
He wasn't dead yet; his physical body was still suppressed on Yang Mountain in the Great Ruins. Here, he had no body, only his primordial spirit. The speed of a primordial spirit was unmatched, faster than any divine legs in the world.
With one movement, he crossed the misty sea in an instant, about to break free from Fengdu's domain.
But at that moment, the bird-headed god Red Embroidered flapped his wings and took flight. A great wind roared past Qin Mu and the others!
Qin Mu looked up and saw a human-faced giant bird with wings spanning endlessly, blotting out the sky. It reached out a claw and seized Witch God Wei's towering primordial spirit!
In the next moment, the bird-headed god flew back, slammed Witch God Wei to the ground, and perched again on the mountaintop, calmly preening his feathers.
Qin Mu shivered, his bones clattering.
At that speed, not even Cripple could escape!
This bird-headed god Red Embroidered had a very peculiar form. In the instant he flew out, he transformed from a physical body into a pure primordial spirit form, which was why he was so fast—even faster than Witch God Wei's spirit—allowing him to catch him so easily.
Now, flying back, he reverted from spirit form to physical form. This ability to freely switch between solid and ethereal was extremely strange.
"No wonder Witch God Wei said he could freely travel between the Netherworld and reality. It seems he wasn't lying," Qin Mu thought to himself.
At this moment, Witch God Wei was wrapped in chains, struggling incessantly but unable to break free.
Even this ferocious evil god was helpless. Seeing he couldn't escape, he calmed down and sneered, "Red Embroidered, my fate is determined by heaven, not by the King of Hell! What can you do to me even if you capture me?"
The bird-headed god flapped his wings, and another chain flew out, binding Star Vex.
The chains were made of bone, like vertebrae strung together, countless in number.
The bone chains wrapped around Star Vex a few times, then bound Qin Mu's hands.
Qin Mu said, puzzled, "I can't run away anyway, Senior Brother Red Embroidered. Is all this trouble necessary?"
"Don't talk. I hate the smell of living people."
The bird-headed god moved his mind, and the bone chains connected with those on Witch God Wei, leading them toward Fengdu. Qin Mu quickly said, "I still have a box and a Dragon Qilin!"
"What a hassle."
Red Embroidered untied the chains and said, "Wake up your Dragon Qilin and hurry up. Don't try to run—you can't!"
Qin Mu kicked Dragon Qilin twice, but it still didn't wake. Red Embroidered plucked a feather, brushed it across Dragon Qilin's forehead, and the beast finally awoke, trembling.
Qin Mu comforted him, "Fat Dragon, don't be afraid. The Ancestor is probably here too. If we enter Fengdu this time, we might see him."
Dragon Qilin's mind went blank. He stammered, "Didn't you say the Ancestor became a god?"
Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Ancestor became a god in Fengdu."
Dragon Qilin fell silent, raised a paw to wipe his eyes, but he had no physical body and no tears.
"I knew you were lying to me..." he said, head drooping.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "Look, in this world, you and I are dead, but the Ancestor is alive and well. In our world, we are alive, and the Ancestor is dead. Perhaps life and death aren't what you imagine. Death is just another way of living. Don't be sad."
Dragon Qilin looked up, thought for a while, and said seriously, "But from now on, you can't lie to me."
Qin Mu nodded solemnly: "I was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it, so I..."
"I'm not a child. I can handle it."
Dragon Qilin said calmly, "Knowing he can live in this world is enough for me... Master, your tailbone is poking me."
Qin Mu stood up, stepped on his head, and followed the bird-headed god through the Ghost Gate toward Fengdu City.
Behind them, the box wobbled along unsteadily, as if drunk. Qin Mu looked back, surprised, and suddenly remembered something: "Oh no, the box is full of arms and legs!"
Just as he thought this, Star Vex's large box couldn't hold it anymore. The two doors burst open with a bang, and the box finally vomited.
A stream of bizarre people sprayed out of the box, along with a bunch of joyful skeletons that the box also launched into the air.
"We've entered Fengdu!"
The skeletons grew flesh in midair, landing as naked men and women, ecstatic, and sprinted toward Fengdu!
The people the box had spat out were all incomplete—missing arms or legs, some with a gaping hole through their chest where a heart should be.
Others lacked ribs, souls, or divine treasuries—missing all sorts of strange things.
These people were bewildered. They were the severed limbs Star Vex had collected.
The box chased after them, stubbornly pursuing those who had run off, trying to catch them and stuff them back inside for storage.
Qin Mu quickly called the box back and said, "They've come back to life here, so no need to collect them. I'll give you some treasures to keep in your belly..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, a series of loud noises came from inside the box, and it began to grow larger. Moments later, it transformed into a massive beast before them.
Qin Mu's jaw dropped in shock, nearly falling off. He quickly caught it.
Dragon Qilin's jaw also hit the ground, his mouth wide open in disbelief.
Their box monster had turned into a Taotie, a voracious beast!