Chapter 498: Fengdu’s King of Qin Hall
Qin Mu and Dragon Qilin stood dumbfounded, staring up at the colossal creature beside them, utterly speechless.
The giant Taotie beast stood next to them, like a mountain-sized goat. Its forelimbs were immensely powerful, its hind legs thick and short, and its fur bore bronze-colored patterns, layer upon layer.
This behemoth had a human-like face, but its features were extremely bizarre. Its eyes grew from its armpits, where its front legs connected to its chest. Its mouth was square and wide, filled with tiger-like fangs, and its goat horns jutted out like spikes, making it look utterly ferocious!
Xing Niu’s chest was made from the skin and bones of a Taotie—the skin forming the outer covering, the bones the frame.
Keep in mind that Qin Mu had two Taotie pouches, each made from Taotie skin only about a foot in size. Yet this large chest was entirely covered in Taotie skin!
Add to that the Taotie bones used to support the internal space, and this chest was incomparably luxurious!
Qin Mu’s Taotie pouches, because their internal space wasn’t connected to the outside, didn’t change. But the chest, connected to the external space, transformed into a Taotie!
The chest changed slowly, probably because its internal space was a self-contained world. After spitting out the people inside and opening up, the internal space connected to Fengdu, causing the chest to be affected by the realm of the dead.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and quickly grabbed the Taotie pouch at his waist, thinking, “I need to secure my Taotie pouch and never open it. Otherwise, instead of having two Taotie pouches tied to my waist, I’ll have two Taoties with me tied to their waists…”
Being hung between two mountain-sized Taoties, squeezed or pulled, would be anything but pleasant—he’d die a miserable death!
The Taotie that had been the chest lifted its paw, still puzzled, unable to fathom why it had undergone such a change.
But it didn’t dwell on it. It immediately sprinted off, chasing the people fleeing toward Fengdu, gleefully opening its massive mouth to swallow them.
Though affected by the realm of the dead and given flesh, its mind remained simple. After all, it was just a chest awakened by Qin Mu.
The dead it chased were terrified out of their wits, running for their lives.
The Taotie was the most famous ferocious beast in the Great Ruins, eating anything without pickiness, so it was no wonder they scattered in panic.
Qin Mu hesitated, then called out. The Taotie ran back, reluctantly glancing at the fleeing dead, then looked at Dragon Qilin, becoming delighted again and opening its enormous mouth.
Dragon Qilin’s fur stood on end, and he quickly said, “Don’t eat me! I treat you like a brother, and you want to eat me? Is there no justice?”
Qin Mu reassured him, “Don’t worry, it’s not going to eat you. It just likes collecting bones and severed limbs… Spit it out, hurry up! Damn chest, stinky chest, you even swallowed me! Spit it out…”
…
Finally, they arrived at the first divine city of Fengdu. Here, Qin Mu saw all sorts of bizarre pedestrians—some without heads, some with a large hole in their foreheads, others missing arms or legs.
There were also strong individuals who had died normally, with all limbs intact.
The first divine city was crowded, and strange beings drifted in the air, not like the dead, but like spiritual entities.
“Those are strong individuals whose souls were scattered. Their remnant souls wander here; even in Fengdu, they have no physical bodies.”
The bird-headed divine being Chi Xiu said, “Don’t look at them, or they might possess you.”
Qin Mu quickly averted his gaze, but his curiosity stirred. Instead of looking at the wandering remnant souls in the air, he examined the others.
Soon, he noticed something strange. Besides the remnant souls in the air, there were people here with no physical bodies at all!
He saw many people with not a shred of flesh, only their primordial spirits.
Even as mere primordial spirits, these individuals were extremely powerful. However, because the form of a primordial spirit differs from a human body, they often appeared as divine beasts.
The most common forms were the four spiritual body types: Vermilion Bird divine being, Black Tortoise divine being, Azure Dragon divine being, and White Tiger divine being.
But most primordial spirits weren’t these four types; they were bizarre and varied—green-faced, fanged ghost-faced gods, ox-headed gods wreathed in flames with horns on their heads, snake-bodied beings with human heads, three-headed six-armed deities, and all sorts of forms.
“These aren’t remnant souls; their primordial spirits are intact. Where did they come from? If they’re here with only primordial spirits and no bodies, doesn’t that mean their physical bodies are still alive?”
Qin Mu suddenly grasped the key point.
The physical bodies of these primordial spirits were still alive!
His eyes widened. There were many primordial spirits in the city. In the short time since he entered, he had seen over two hundred of various forms. That meant over two hundred deities were still alive?
In this world, where could there be over two hundred deities?
Not only that, but over two hundred primordial spirits were just what he saw upon entering. There were likely many more in this city!
And this city was just one divine city of Fengdu. Based on what he saw when he climbed high during his last visit, there should be several. He remembered seeing either nine or ten, each one massive!
So, how many living deities were there in this world?
“Why would these deities abandon their physical bodies and enter Fengdu? Where are their bodies… Wait!”
Qin Mu’s mind roared, blood rushing to his brain, his ears ringing.
There were this many deities in the world!
But all these deities had turned into stone statues!
The stone statues that protected various areas in the Great Ruins!
Didn’t this mean these stone statues could revive at any time, becoming deities?
This speculation was earth-shattering!
For a long time, the various strange events in the Great Ruins had troubled Qin Mu. If this guess were true, it could explain some of the oddities.
For example, the incident where the Heavenly King’s stone statue in the Heavenly King Temple rode Dragon Qilin to slay the Dragon King at night!
Or the incident where the White Bat stone statue in the Nether Valley revived!
Or the incident where he and the village chief roamed the Great Ruins at night and witnessed a battle between gods and demons!
Of course, many things remained unexplained. In the incident of slaying the Dragon King at night, the Heavenly King of the Heavenly King Temple acted on the orders of the Kai Emperor to kill the rebellious Dragon King—where did that order come from?
In the White Bat stone statue revival incident, why were there suspected Overlord Body deity fossils deep in the Nether Valley? Why was there a passage to the Netherworld there?
In the battle between gods and demons, who were the opponents of the Great Ruins’ gods and demons?
Moreover, the primordial spirits of Fengdu’s deities couldn’t explain the overlapping of five worlds at the source of the Yong River, nor could they explain Qin Mu’s journey back to ancient times.
“The strange phenomena in the Great Ruins are like the misty sea outside Fengdu—parting one layer of fog only reveals another, making it hard to see the true face.” Qin Mu thought to himself.
They reached a river in the city, wide with a flying bridge connecting both banks. Standing on the bridge, he looked down and saw mist churning in the river, but no water. Occasionally, he could see slimy bodies moving through the fog.
“Is this connected to the misty sea?” he asked.
The bird-headed divine being Chi Xiu said, “No. The other side of the mist is the Netherworld. Those things are creatures from the Netherworld.”
“Netherworld creatures?”
Qin Mu’s mind was in a daze, and he murmured, “Fengdu is connected to the Netherworld? Doesn’t the Netherworld attack this place?”
Chi Xiu didn’t explain, leading them across the Bridge of Helplessness to a divine hall in the city. This hall was called the King of Qin Hall. Qin Mu saw the three characters on the plaque and was momentarily stunned.
“Why is this hall called the King of Qin Hall? Could the hall master also be surnamed Qin?”
He was puzzled. The bird-headed divine being Chi Xiu escorted them inside. The hall was brightly lit, but the light felt unreal, as if it weren’t true flame, and the glow was hazy.
On both sides of the hall stood solemn and majestic ghost deity statues, tall with strange features and limbs different from ordinary humans. Behind these ghost deity statues were floating ribbons, and they held various weapons—blades, spears, swords, halberds, shields, tokens, and some grasped large snakes.
Qin Mu stood before one statue, examining its runic marks, when suddenly the ghost deity statue’s eyes rolled, curiously looking at him.
Startled, Qin Mu quickly stepped back. The ghost deity statue’s eyes returned to facing forward, making him wonder if he had imagined it.
“These aren’t statues—they’re real ghost deities!”
Qin Mu immediately behaved himself, following Chi Xiu’s steps.
At the main hall’s dais, a divine being in a black robe sat upright, reviewing memorials, busy with affairs.
Chi Xiu bowed and said, “Reporting to the King of Hell, the criminals Qin Mu, Xing Niu, and Kui Wu Shen have been captured and await judgment!”
The black-robed divine being put down his cinnabar brush and looked up. Under the black robe, his face was unclear, only two dim points of light visible.
“Xing Niu still has unexpired life span and is not under Fengdu’s jurisdiction. Release him.”
Chi Xiu was momentarily surprised but followed orders and released Xing Niu.
“Xing Niu, though you’ve committed many evils, Fengdu does not govern the living.”
The King of Hell said, “You may leave.”
Xing Niu was both shocked and delighted, sneering, “So Fengdu is a place that follows reason. Very well, farewell!”
He tried to move, but his other twenty or thirty bodies refused, making him unable to take a step!
Xing Niu was both angry and alarmed, while those bodies struggled, screamed, cursed, and demanded he pay for their lives!
“The King of Qin Hall is no place for noise!”
The King of Hell was displeased and said, “Throw him out.”
Suddenly, two ghost deity “statues” moved. Those two ghost kings, holding steel forks, together forked Xing Niu and tossed him out of the hall.
Xing Niu raged, “Didn’t you say you’d let me go? Why are you keeping me in Fengdu?”
Chi Xiu sneered, “You wouldn’t leave yourself, so who can you blame? Ignorant.”
The King of Hell looked at Kui Wu Shen. Kui Wu Shen showed no fear, sneering, “My life span isn’t up either, old man Qin. Shouldn’t you release me too?”
“Old man Qin?”
Qin Mu’s heart shook violently. “The King of Hell is also surnamed Qin? Who is he exactly?”
The King of Hell said calmly, “Taking lives is no difficult task for Fengdu. You’ve done too much evil. Many in Fengdu died by your hand, their souls scattered by your worship. You deserve death.”
Kui Wu Shen was emboldened, chuckling darkly, “So what can you do to me? Your Fengdu is merely territory seized from the Netherworld, a gathering place for remnants, built in imitation of the Netherworld, trying to overturn the heavens! The Netherworld techniques and divine powers you possess are crude, unworthy of my notice. Compared to the Heavenly Court’s Netherworld arts, you’re still a hundred thousand miles behind. I am appointed by heaven and not under the Netherworld’s rule. I can die at anyone’s hands, but not from Netherworld techniques! You can’t kill me!”
The King of Hell remained unmoved, speaking calmly, “So this capture isn’t to kill you, but to understand the enemy through you. Bring the Mirror of Three Lives to explore his techniques, divine powers, and life experiences. Know yourself and know your enemy!”
A ghost king in the King of Qin Hall descended from the altar and walked straight to Kui Wu Shen. That ghost king had green skin, two pitifully small wings on his back, horns on his head, a green face, fangs, and an unusually large mouth.
He suddenly opened his mouth wide, and it became larger than his entire body, terrifyingly huge!
His mouth was like a gateway, and within the gateway, light gathered into a massive mirror, reflecting Kui Wu Shen.
Kui Wu Shen covered his face and screamed. Suddenly, his body turned into a wisp of green smoke, sucked into the mirror.
Once inside the mirror, the scenery shifted unpredictably. It began to recount Kui Wu Shen’s life in reverse, starting from his capture by Chi Xiu, flowing backward like time itself.
Various scenes flashed by like a blur: Xing Niu subduing Kui Wu Shen, Kui Wu Shen ambushed by the Great Venerable, Kui Wu Shen using the Book of Life and Death to worship and kill billions of living beings, slaying enemy generals, leading to the Kai Emperor’s Heavenly Court battle. The mirror’s time flowed toward ancient times, revealing more and more of his experiences without reservation!
Qin Mu’s scalp tingled. Under the illumination of the Mirror of Three Lives, who could have any secrets left?
—It’s almost New Year. Fellow readers, have you returned to your hometown?