Chapter 582: The Dark Creator
Originally, the time in the Great Ruins differed from that of the Supreme Heavenly Court. The divine and demonic arts of the Supreme Heavenly Court were too flawed; the sun's rising and setting did not follow the twelve two-hour periods, so day and night there were never punctual.
After Qin Mu shattered the sun, the Yan Kang National Master recreated it, using the twelve two-hour periods of Yan Kang. Moreover, the National Master had a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, striving for perfection. The moment the new sun rose was exactly the moment of sunrise in Yan Kang, and the moment it set was precisely when darkness fell over the Great Ruins, without the slightest deviation.
This meant that the Great Ruins were now also in night.
There were only two ways to walk through the night of the Great Ruins; otherwise, one would die a miserable death, devoured by curses or the monsters lurking in the darkness.
The first possibility was to possess the strength of a god.
The second was to be like Qin Mu, born in the Netherworld.
The first method involved a powerful individual using their own divine or demonic might to repel the darkness, preventing it from approaching. The second method, for someone of Qin Mu's special origin, allowed them to enter the darkness without being harmed by curses or the monsters within.
With the first method, a strong person entering the darkness of the Great Ruins could not see the Supreme Heavenly Court, and those in the Supreme Heavenly Court could not see them.
With the second method, it was like walking within the Supreme Heavenly Court itself; people there could see a shadowy figure like black sand. It was through this method that Qin Mu had met Sang Hua.
However, although the second method allowed one to see the people of the Supreme Heavenly Court, they could not communicate or convey useful information.
Now, Qin Mu saw another person who could also walk into the darkness of the Great Ruins, and his heart was filled with shock.
"Both the King Yan and the Earth Lord said I was the first living being born in the Netherworld. Could someone else have been born there after me? Why didn't the Earth Lord mention this?"
Perplexed, he studied the shadowy figure in the darkness. The figure was also studying him, as if deep in thought.
They both took steps, slowly circling each other, trying to discern something from the other.
Qin Mu stopped, and the shadowy figure stopped as well, turning its head to say something to the side, but the words were inaudible.
"There must be someone beside him!"
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. "But that person isn't walking in the darkness; they're forcing the darkness away, so I can't see them."
Suddenly, the shadowy figure turned and leaped away swiftly, disappearing from sight.
Qin Mu didn't pursue. The other party was likely in the Great Ruins; if they wanted to hide, there were many ways—they could simply duck into a ruin and vanish from his sight.
"A demonic Overlord Body... How did he appear in the Great Ruins? Could it be through the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge? Impossible. There must be a god or demon of considerable power beside him. If a demon god crossed the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, they would definitely be discovered."
He was utterly baffled, muttering to himself, "Could there be another passage into the Great Ruins?"
The Great Ruins held countless secrets. Qin Mu had once entered the era of the Sovereign Emperor through them, gone to the Netherworld from the Valley of the Dead, and visited the City of the Dead two or three times. It seemed the Great Ruins might indeed connect to other worlds.
"Lord Sang Ye and others call the Great Ruins the Heavenly Court of the Kai Emperor. There are still many secrets waiting to be discovered there... Hmm, perhaps I can ask the Prefect of the Netherworld!"
Qin Mu steeled himself, shook his body, and a Gate of Heaven's Burden appeared behind him. The gate slowly opened, and Netherworld demonic energy surged out, making the darkness even deeper.
Blind squinted slightly, thought for a moment, but didn't stop Qin Mu. He mused, "Mu'er always has his own ideas. I won't interfere; let's see what he plans to do."
Qin Mu steadied himself and began to chant in the long, rhythmic language of the Netherworld demons. He only recited the demonic tongue, without activating the Soul-Drawing Art.
After a moment, a beam of light shone from within the Gate of Heaven's Burden. Blind looked into the gate and saw a small boat sailing out of the darkness. The light came from a lantern hanging at the boat's bow.
"An underworld emissary!" Blind's heart leaped with alarm, and the Dragon Soaring Divine Spear behind him let out a low, rumbling dragon roar, filling him with tension.
"Grandpa Blind, Senior Dragon Soaring, no need to be tense. This is the Heavenly King of Benevolent Sage of the Netherworld, also known as the Prefect of the Netherworld, a major figure there," Qin Mu's voice came.
Blind's eyes widened, and his heart shook. "Mu'er has actually made connections with the Netherworld? And with its Prefect? This kid has grown even more capable in these days!"
Despite his thoughts, he remained vigilant. The Dragon Soaring Divine Spear transformed into a black dragon spear, slowly circling around him, ready to strike at any moment.
"It's you again..."
A paper boat emerged from the Gate of Heaven's Burden. The lantern was taken down, and the old man on the boat stood expressionless behind it. The light illuminated Qin Mu's face, and his voice was devoid of emotion: "Don't cause trouble. Using the Netherworld language recklessly will do you no good. Be careful not to touch the seals, or you'll regret it."
Qin Mu quickly smiled apologetically. "Prefect, I invited you here this time..."
The old emissary shook his head. "You didn't invite me; your Netherworld language forced me to come, to prevent you from doing something foolish again. What is it? Speak. As long as it doesn't violate the rules of the Netherworld, I'll help if I can. If it's too difficult, I'll take my leave."
Blind's divine eyes shimmered as he tried to see the face of the old emissary behind the lantern, but he couldn't make out the Prefect's features at all. He was horrified.
His cultivation had advanced; he had crossed the Divine Bridge and stood outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, with a massive increase in power. His divine eyes' abilities had naturally improved greatly, yet he couldn't see this Prefect's face, indicating the man's unfathomable skill.
"Mu'er actually has a connection with this Heavenly King of Benevolent Sage."
Blind silently praised, "Mu'er is indeed like me, with friends everywhere. He hasn't let down my years of teaching."
Qin Mu recounted what he had just seen and his two guesses, then asked, "May I ask, Prefect, after I was born, was there a second living being born in the Netherworld? And was this person also born from a womb?"
The old emissary sneered. "After one Qin Fengqing appeared, how could we dare let a second one emerge? Such a vicious and unruly brat—one is already enough trouble. Since your birth, the Earth Lord has strictly inspected all realms of the Netherworld. There is absolutely no second one!"
Qin Mu was greatly puzzled. "Then how can this shadowy figure enter the darkness of the Great Ruins like I can?"
"You only mentioned two guesses earlier, but you don't know there's a third possibility."
The old emissary said, "The darkness of the Great Ruins is a curse, a destruction, and a seal. This darkness didn't appear out of nowhere; it was created by someone. The creator of the Great Ruins' darkness can naturally enter it."
Qin Mu's body trembled, and his mind roared.
The old emissary was right. The creator of the Great Ruins' darkness could indeed enter it without being harmed!
He had mistakenly thought he had encountered a kindred spirit earlier, guessing the shadow was an Overlord Body from the Netherworld, and hadn't considered this. Now, thinking back, the shadowy figure seemed to be a youth, not moving very fast, clearly not yet at the divine realm.
If this shadowy youth was connected to the creator of the Great Ruins' darkness, as his disciple, and was proficient in the curses and seals within the darkness, then he would certainly have a way to enter it without being harmed!
"Your question is answered."
The old emissary boarded the paper boat, hung the lantern back up, turned the boat around, and said coldly, "Don't speak the Netherworld language recklessly! I was just in the middle of collecting the soul of Huo Tu Luo when I heard your voice, and it scared the soul out of me! Hmph, if you cause more trouble, I'll make things difficult for you after you die!" With that, he urged the boat back into the Gate of Heaven's Burden.
Qin Mu quickly waved and laughed, "Prefect, when I die, I'll bring you lots of delicious food and fun things!"
"No need!"
A stiff voice came from within the Gate of Heaven's Burden.
"Mu'er, you really have a knack for making friends. You have friends everywhere, even in the Netherworld."
Blind praised sincerely, "I can tell that this Heavenly King of Benevolent Sage really likes you."
Qin Mu quickly humbled himself, "This is all thanks to Grandpa Blind's excellent teaching. I've followed your teachings, remained humble, and that's how I earned the Prefect's favor."
"I didn't!" came the faint, distant voice of the old emissary from within the Gate of Heaven's Burden.
Qin Mu and Blind pretended not to hear, exchanging flattery until both were beaming. Satisfied, Qin Mu closed the Gate of Heaven's Burden and pondered, "Why would a disciple of the Dark Creator appear in the Great Ruins at this time? What business does he have here?"
Blind withdrew the Dragon Soaring Divine Spear, walked toward Granny Si, and said calmly, "With the Yan Kang reforms, all sorts of monsters and demons have come out. Many stone statues and celestial weapons have emerged, though the statues haven't moved yet, and the divine weapons were taken and sealed by the National Master. Naturally, someone would come to investigate. Don't worry too much; the Great Ruins are safe. It's Yan Kang that needs caution."
Qin Mu set the matter aside for now.
Beside the disciple of the Dark Creator, there should be a god or demon, though it was unclear which. Their entry into the Great Ruins was indeed a hidden concern.
However, Yan Kang was no longer what it used to be. It had many experts, a few gods had stayed behind to guard it, and Emperor Yan Feng remained in the capital. It shouldn't be too much of a problem.
In the Great Ruins.
"The two figures I saw earlier were very strange."
In the darkness, a youth about the same age as Qin Mu stopped and said to a towering god beside him, "That boy was studying me. He was surprised by my appearance but not shocked, as if he'd seen something like this before. Lord Yang Star, this person is suspicious."
Beside him, a three-legged god, blazing like fire with wings on his back, resembled a walking sun. His voice rumbled, "Young Master Qi is overthinking. I came down from the sun in the sky to help you find that boy named Qin Mu. May I ask what crime he committed?"
Young Master Qi said, "News from the Netherworld says this person is a demon born there, sealed and exiled to Yan Kang. The higher-ups take this very seriously, but they can't send heavenly soldiers and generals to the lower realm, so they sent me to capture him. They don't trust the demons either. Lu Li has his own ideas and wants to capture this Qin Mu to become an Overlord Body in the Netherworld. The higher-ups' second intention is for me to activate the celestial artifact and bring calamity to Yan Kang as soon as possible."
The three-legged Lord Yang Star frowned. "The celestial artifact was taken by the Yan Kang National Master and hidden somewhere unknown."
Young Master Qi was unconcerned and said leisurely, "Isn't this Qin Mu, born in the Netherworld, the greatest celestial artifact? Break his seal, and he'll destroy Yan Kang. Simple as that."
Lord Yang Star's body shook, and he praised sincerely, "Young Master Qi is brilliant!"
—Second update. There won't be a third update tonight. After reading this chapter and casting your votes, everyone should rest early. The key point is to cast your votes~