Chapter 499: Murder of the Heart, Lord Qin
Within the Mirror of Three Lifetimes, the receding time grew ever more ancient, until finally another world began to appear. The Kuiwu God and countless divine demons were commanded to descend and punish the Kaihuang Heavenly Court!
Even the King of Yan could not suppress his excitement, rising to his feet to gaze into the mirror.
Within the mirror, the Kuiwu God’s memory shifted to his own perspective. He wanted to see who had ordered the destruction of the Kaihuang Heavenly Court!
The Kuiwu God’s vision was vast, reflecting the boundless expanse of the so-called True Heavenly Court. Countless divine demons swore an oath to march forth, intending to purge the Kaihuang Heavenly Court.
Such a scene stirred the heart with fervor, yet also filled it with terror!
Even a being like the Kuiwu God was but an insignificant pawn among countless divine demons in this so-called True Heavenly Court!
The vision in the mirror gradually lifted, looking toward the exalted True Gods above. Their majestic forms were immense, vast and limitless, with lesser gods clustering around them like stars, at their feet and by their sides.
The Kuiwu God in the mirror was looking toward the leader of this oath-taking ceremony—the Heavenly Emperor of the so-called Heavenly Court.
The King of Yan could not contain his excitement. Just as the Kuiwu God’s vision was about to reveal the face of that awe-inspiring existence, the scene in the mirror suddenly twisted wildly!
This segment of the Kuiwu God’s memory abruptly turned blank, erased by an inexplicable force!
The King of Yan’s heart jolted. He reached out and pressed his hand against the mirror’s surface.
“Art of Tracing Light!”
The image on the mirror stabilized for a moment, but then a massive eye appeared on its surface. That eye seemed capable of devouring all light, continuously deleting the Kuiwu God’s memories.
The King of Yan roared. His long, dark cloak spun and flew up, and from beneath it, a sword light shot forth, slashing into the mirror.
Within the Mirror of Three Lifetimes, the image restored itself, and the scene continued to recede, revealing the Kuiwu God’s earlier experiences. However, all memories of the so-called True Heavenly Court were utterly obliterated, gone without a trace!
The King of Yan withdrew his sword, and the sword light vanished back into his cloak, disappearing.
“An immensely powerful being sensed that we were spying on him through the Kuiwu God’s memories, so it erased those memories of him.”
His voice was resolute, heavy with meaning: “The moment the Kuiwu God recalls him, he is perceived. His divine power surges through time and space, through consciousness—truly terrifying beyond measure!”
Within the King of Yan’s hall, all the ghost kings shuddered. To be perceived merely by recalling someone, and to have one’s memory erased?
Such a divine ability was utterly inconceivable!
Qin Mu was also stunned beyond words. The Mirror of Three Lifetimes could reflect a person’s entire life’s memories, which was already fantastical and beyond reason. But this ability—to sense others’ prying through mere recollection and delete their memories—was terrifying to an unimaginable degree!
“They are using this opportunity to spy on that True Heavenly Court. Could it be that the one who erased the Kuiwu God’s memories is the Heavenly Emperor of that True Heavenly Court?” he speculated silently.
The Mirror of Three Lifetimes revealed the Kuiwu God’s remaining memories—his experiences of going to the Nether Realm to study magical techniques and divine arts. Many ghost kings stepped forward to examine them closely, some holding brushes and ink to record the divine arts and techniques the Kuiwu God had seen and learned in the Nether Realm.
In the Kuiwu God’s memories, the Heavenly Court had sent many exceptionally talented practitioners into the Nether Realm to study. Later, many of them achieved remarkable success.
This showed that this True Heavenly Court had a significant connection to the Nether Realm.
Qin Mu’s heart stirred with longing. He also wanted to crowd in and learn the Nether Realm’s techniques and divine arts.
The Nether Realm’s techniques were extraordinary. He had only learned the Soul-Pulling Art from the Nine Nether Gate, which was a Nether Realm spell, but it was incomplete. Even so, it was no small matter—it could even summon back the souls of Medicine Master, Granny Si, and others!
And the Kuiwu God’s ability to curse others to death relied on Nether Realm techniques as well.
If he could learn them, he would gain another formidable skill.
However, the ghost kings had crowded around the Mirror of Three Lifetimes so tightly that he, still a “prisoner,” couldn’t squeeze in.
Suddenly, the King of Yan looked toward him. Beneath his black robe, his gaze flickered, bright and dim.
Qin Mu’s heart tightened. He tested the waters, saying, “King of Yan, my lifespan hasn’t ended yet…”
The Crimson Elegance Deity said, “Your crimes are too great—don’t even think about leaving! You forcibly used Nether Realm techniques to snatch several people from my Fengdu, violating Fengdu’s laws. Your evil deeds surpass even Xing Han’s! And you still want to leave? King of Yan, how should he be dealt with?”
The King of Yan said, “Those who violate Fengdu’s laws must be punished, even if they are princes, equal to commoners. Indeed, punishment is necessary. It will take some time to decipher the divine techniques in the Kuiwu God’s memories. Take him away for now. Later, I will interrogate him personally, alone!”
The Crimson Elegance Deity was surprised. The King of Yan would interrogate him personally, alone?
Even Xing Han and the Kuiwu God hadn’t received such treatment!
Qin Mu’s crimes, though seemingly serious, could be interpreted as either major or minor. Fengdu’s rules were the same as the Nether Realm’s—they did not interfere with the mortal world.
For the living, both Fengdu and the Nether Realm belonged to the underworld. If the underworld interfered with the mortal world, there would be unpredictable consequences.
That was the rule.
Fengdu did not interfere with the mortal world, and neither did the Nether Realm.
This was also the main reason the Kuiwu God had said the King of Yan couldn’t do anything to him. The King of Yan could not execute the soul of someone whose lifespan had not yet ended.
Moreover, Qin Mu was a Human Sovereign. The Crimson Elegance Deity had originally thought the King of Yan would, out of respect for the past Human Sovereigns, handle the matter lightly—perhaps just reprimand Qin Mu a few times and let it go.
But now, it seemed the King of Yan intended to make an example of him, to kill the chicken to scare the monkey!
“Come with me.”
The Crimson Elegance Deity escorted Qin Mu out. Once outside the hall, he whispered, “When the King of Yan interrogates you later, just admit your mistake. Don’t worry, he won’t really punish you. You have someone backing you.”
Qin Mu relaxed, thinking to himself, “The Village Chief’s influence is really something. But come to think of it, he died not long ago—has he already become a ghost hero in Fengdu?”
Outside the hall, Xing Han was like a large ball covered in other people’s heads and limbs, rolling around, arguing and fighting with himself. In a short time, the limbs on his body had tormented him miserably.
Suddenly, Xing Han saw Qin Mu being escorted out of the King of Yan’s hall as well. He sneered, “Divine Physician Qin, it seems your crimes are even greater than mine. I’ve been released, but you’re still being held. You’ve done so much evil—this is your just reward!”
Qin Mu stopped, asking, “Xing Han, how long is your lifespan?”
Xing Han was taken aback, then sneered, “I am a true god, with endless longevity! What lifespan do I have?”
Qin Mu shook his head. “I’m asking about your original body’s remaining lifespan. In Fengdu, you only have the lifespan of your original body. Once that lifespan runs out, you die.”
Xing Han’s heart shook violently.
The Crimson Elegance Deity flapped his wings lazily and said, “When your lifespan ends, there’s still your ghostly lifespan. Lifespan is for the flesh; ghostly lifespan is for the soul. Don’t worry. Once your lifespan is exhausted, you can stay here forever.”
Xing Han was terrified, desperately trying to leave Fengdu. But those who had died by his hands would never let him go!
He couldn’t move an inch, dragged instead by the resentful dead toward the city.
“King of Yan, you’re breaking your word!”
Xing Han screamed, “You want to trap me here and harvest my soul!”
“He already let you go. You just can’t leave.”
Qin Mu shook his head. “Senior Brother Xing Han, you still don’t understand the King of Yan’s meaning? If you want to walk out of Fengdu, you must abandon everyone else’s bodies and use your own. Only then can you leave. Otherwise, you’ll die of old age here!”
Xing Han’s heart trembled violently.
Abandoning the divine bodies of others would be tantamount to outright denying his lifelong pursuit and philosophy, crippling the god-like physical body and soul he had painstakingly built!
“Would you rather die of old age here, or take a gamble?”
Qin Mu continued, “Ever since you realized you had no hope of becoming a god, you lost your fighting spirit, didn’t you? After that, you were no longer the sage who appears once every five hundred years. You became a pitiful wretch, hoping to elevate yourself by taking what belongs to others, not knowing that after death, it all amounts to nothing! All your efforts, here, are like flowers in a mirror or the moon’s reflection on water—worthless, and instead, they become your obstacle. What was never yours, from beginning to end, was never yours!”
Xing Han’s Dao heart thundered. Even when Li Tianxing, the Lord of the Li Sect, had struck his Dao heart with his own, it hadn’t been damaged. But now, Qin Mu’s few words had created a crack in his Dao heart!
He had thought it was his, but in the end, it wasn’t. This was the greatest blow to him!
“I have already paved the path to godhood for you.”
This skeleton, Qin Mu, stood before him, appearing very small, yet possessing an aura that made Xing Han look up to him. He said calmly, “If you now discard these limbs that don’t belong to you and reclaim your own, you can still become a god and walk your own path. Box, are there still limbs in your belly that haven’t turned into people?”
The Taotie behind him clamped its mouth shut tightly, while the Dragon Qilin struggled to pry its jaws open, peering into the beast’s belly. “Lord, there are indeed a few limbs in here!”
“Other people’s limbs will turn into people in Fengdu. Only you, since you’re not dead, won’t.”
Qin Mu said, “Box, spit them out and give them back to him. Let him take his own limbs and walk back.”
How could the Taotie bear to part with them?
From its belly came the Dragon Qilin’s muffled voice: “Lord, it’s eaten me again!”
Qin Mu flew into a rage, punching and kicking the beast. “Spit them out! Spit them out now!”
The Taotie remained unmoved. After a long moment, it reluctantly spat out the Dragon Qilin along with the limbs.
The Dragon Qilin quickly hid behind Qin Mu, terrified of this big box.
Qin Mu threw the limbs in front of Xing Han and said flatly, “Release the others, take back your own body, and you live. Otherwise, you die. Fatty Dragon, Box, let’s go. Let him think it over.”
Xing Han was silent. The dozens of limbs on his body were still beating him wildly, trying to tear him apart, dragging him toward death. Yet he still couldn’t bring himself to make a decision.
To deny his life’s work, to admit he was wrong—he still couldn’t do it.
But he knew that Qin Mu, though far inferior to him in cultivation and strength, had already defeated him in terms of Dao heart. He had shattered his Dao heart so thoroughly that it couldn’t even be swept up!
“Lord, will Xing Han cut off those divine bodies?” the Dragon Qilin asked, looking back.
Qin Mu shook his head. “That depends on his own courage. Even if he switches back to his original body, he won’t have many years left to live. I don’t know if he can become a god in that time. But if he doesn’t switch, he’ll die of old age here. I really don’t know…”
Just then, a booming voice laughed, “Crimson Elegance, I heard my grand-disciple has been locked up in here?”