Chapter 643: Heavenly Duke's Mystic Capital
Ling Yuxiu ran out from the cabin of this towering ship, also sensing something unusual about the vessel. She murmured, "Cowherd, the keel of this ship is a real dragon's keel!"
Qin Mu was startled and followed her into the cabin, where he saw that the ship's keel was the skeleton of a massive divine dragon. When the ship flew, the keel swayed left and right like a snake.
Not only that, he saw enormous ribs forming the main structure of the ship!
He gently touched the hull, feeling a warm, smooth texture. The ship's outer skin was also the hide of gods and demons!
"Refining a ship from the flesh and blood of gods and demons, refining treasures from the heads of gods and demons—the Chixia era was truly too barbaric."
Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu shuddered several times. The towering ship had already set sail, flying toward the Spirit Energy Migration Bridge. Qin Mu went to the deck, where Banguo Cuo was studying the planks. Qin Mu examined them closely, then looked up at Banguo Cuo, who was also looking at him. They shared a moment of mutual understanding and said in unison, "Bone plates and hide!"
The entire deck of the towering ship was made from refined bone plates and hide. Who knew how many gods and demons had to be killed to forge such a vessel!
"Senior Chixi, the way gods and demons acted in your Chixia era was far too tyrannical and terrifying."
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign was examining the ship's pavilions and shook his head, saying, "To forge a ship like this, I'm afraid thousands of gods and demons had to be killed."
Chixi laughed and said, "Your Kaihuang era only lasted twenty thousand years, right?"
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign paused for a moment, then nodded. "Less than twenty thousand years."
Chixi said, "You've barely existed for twenty thousand years, so you have no idea what the Chixia era experienced. Gods and demons have no lifespan limits; twenty thousand years is enough to give birth to millions of gods and demons. These gods and demons are ageless and immortal, so the longer a dynasty lasts, the more gods and demons there are. Yet the Chixia Divine Dynasty had a history of a hundred thousand years, and the sheer number of gods and demons had already become unbearable for heaven and earth themselves. The cosmic territory ruled by your Kaihuang era was far from reaching the scale of the Chixia era; it was two or three times smaller. But even with such a vast territory, it couldn't support so many gods and demons. Some rising stars, with no room for advancement, would rebel and cause chaos. Chaos..."
His expression was calm, but his voice carried boundless killing intent: "Naturally, they were killed! Hmph, killing a few thousand gods and demons to refine a treasure, and such a precious one at that—it was certainly worth it."
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign frowned. "That's hardly in harmony with heaven's will."
"Harmony with heaven's will? When your Kaihuang era was destroyed, countless people died—was that in harmony with heaven's will?"
Chixi sneered and said, "Take the glutton pouch you carry, for example. Isn't that a treasure refined from killing a glutton beast?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Both of my glutton pouches were made by the Great Venerable; he gave them to me."
Banguo Cuo's face turned ashen.
Chixi said, "Killing gods and demons to refine treasures has happened in every era. My Chixia Divine Dynasty was destroyed three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, followed by the Shanghuang era. The Shanghuang era lasted three hundred thousand years, the longest era in history and the most prosperous. The reason we remnants of the Chixia Divine Dynasty have been hiding in the Suspended Realm for so long without seeking our ancestral land is mainly because we feared being caught by the Shanghuang Heavenly Court and refined into treasures!"
Qin Mu recalled his inexplicable time travel. Bai Qiu'er and her brother didn't seem like people who killed others to refine treasures, but from his experience at Qushan Temple, Qushan God must have also killed a glutton divine beast to refine treasures and a palace.
His heart stirred, and he took out the Taiyin Jade Eye and Taiyang Jade Eye from his glutton pouch, saying, "Senior Chixi, these two treasures should be from the Shanghuang era, right?"
Chixi examined them and said, "Probably. If they truly are treasures from the Shanghuang era, then these two eyes aren't made of jade but are real divine-demon eyes, likely glutton eyeballs."
Qin Mu was startled, but when he touched the jade eyes, they clearly felt like jade, showing no sign of flesh and blood. "Could it be that the Shanghuang era was as brutal as the Chixia era? But judging by how Bai Qiu'er and the others acted, they weren't brutal at all. So how did the Shanghuang era solve the problem of too many gods and demons?"
The towering ship passed through the Spirit Energy Migration Bridge and arrived at Taihuang Heaven. When they reached Li City, Qin Mu disembarked to inquire, but the Yan Kang National Teacher hadn't returned.
"Then the National Teacher must be following the Woodcutter Saint Teacher in cultivation at the Demon Clan's Luofu Heaven."
They arrived at Luofu Heaven. This world, in the midst of destruction, was desolate, with altars standing tall and gods and demons standing guard tirelessly, holding divine weapons.
Qin Mu went to the altar where the Woodcutter Saint was. The First Ancestor Human Sovereign became excited, but when the Woodcutter Saint saw him from afar, he immediately turned away, refusing to look at him.
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign was dejected.
Chixi looked at the Woodcutter and sneered coldly.
Qin Mu climbed the altar and explained his purpose. The Woodcutter Saint said, "Your junior brother is still in seclusion and won't emerge for some time. If you wait a year or half a year, he'll come out."
Qin Mu shook his head. "There's no time. Since my junior brother is in seclusion, could you, Teacher, tell me what I need to pay attention to on this journey?"
The Woodcutter Saint gave him a deep look, smiled, and said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Observe their words and actions, and do as they do. When you can't win, tear off the willow leaf on your forehead."
Qin Mu said, "The people of the Chixia era are wild and fierce. Following their customs might mean killing people."
The Woodcutter laughed. "That's why I told you to tear off the willow leaf when you can't win. Even if you cause a huge disaster, isn't Tu Bo still there?"
Qin Mu's face darkened like charcoal.
The Woodcutter, still facing away from the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, said calmly, "Also, you can't trust a deserter. A deserter who runs once will run again."
Qin Mu turned back and saw the First Ancestor Human Sovereign standing silently at the bow of the ship, saying nothing.
The Woodcutter Saint called Ling Yuxiu over, smiled, and said, "Girl, you're much more accomplished than your father. When you ascend to the throne in the future, you must treat the people well, treat my disciple well, and listen to everything he says."
Ling Yuxiu glanced at Qin Mu, overjoyed, and said, "I will."
"Good child. Your cultivation is the weakest. Before you leave, I'll give you a little something."
The Woodcutter smiled, then suddenly swung his woodcutter's axe and struck Ling Yuxiu on the forehead.
Ling Yuxiu was startled but felt no pain. The Woodcutter struck her more than ten times, each blow landing squarely on her forehead, then put away his axe and said, "Child of the Ling family, remember today's words. You may go now."
Ling Yuxiu was quite puzzled but followed Qin Mu back to the towering ship.
Chixi looked at the Woodcutter's back, sneered, and said, "Fellow Daoist, we'll have another chance to spar in the future!"
The Woodcutter waved at them without turning around. The towering ship roared toward the heavens and quickly vanished from sight.
The starry sky was vast. A towering ship, its three pairs of wings vibrating, streaked through the dark void, leaving trails of light. The ship raced forward, its speed increasing to an unimaginable degree, flying like lightning.
Soon, they passed through a belt of shattered rock stars. Boulders the size of mountains crashed into the ship, but the ship's runes flowed, and those celestial bodies turned to dust instantly.
Chixi took out a star compass to determine their position. The compass projected a magnificent star map. He said, "In half a year, we'll reach the Chixia Suspended Realm. During these six months, you can move around freely, but you cannot leave this ship."
Qin Mu studied the star map projection. The star tracks were extremely strange, with rivers of stars revolving around the same spot, which was empty except for dazzling light.
"Senior Chixi, what place is this?" he asked, pointing at a black hole-like area.
Chixi glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Country boy, you've never even left your ancestral land, so naturally you don't know the wonders of the universe."
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign looked at it and said, "That is the place opposite the Nether Capital, where the Heavenly Duke resides. It's extremely mysterious."
Ling Yuxiu had never heard of the Heavenly Duke either. She listened along with Qin Mu and asked, "The Heavenly Duke is opposite the Nether Capital? The Nether Capital's Tu Bo reaps souls, so what does the Heavenly Duke do?"
Before the First Ancestor Human Sovereign could answer, Chixi spoke first: "The Heavenly Duke is the ancestor of all gods, governing the movements of celestial phenomena, fair and impartial. The stars you see in the sky are all influenced by the Heavenly Duke. The stars of all worlds and heavens are controlled by him. This god is no less formidable than Tu Bo, with billions of incarnations projected through star images—truly mighty!"
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign said, "The Heavenly Duke can enter any world freely, but the sky over Yan Kang is fake. Yan Kang has no true celestial phenomena, so the Heavenly Duke cannot enter there."
Banguo Cuo had never heard of this either and listened intently. Suddenly, he said, "Doesn't that mean the sun, moon, and stars we see are all fake?"
"Not entirely fake."
The First Ancestor Human Sovereign said, "During the day in the Great Ruins, the sun you see is real. Sometimes during the day, you can also see the moon, the Golden Star, and a few other scattered stars—those are real too."
Banguo Cuo was stunned and murmured, "What we see in the Great Ruins is real; everything outside is fake. So who is the seal of the Great Ruins meant to seal..."
Qin Mu glanced at him. "Naturally, it seals the people outside the Great Ruins. Hasn't the Great Venerable ever wondered why people outside the Great Ruins only have the Four Spirit Physique, while the spirit bodies in the Great Ruins are so diverse?"
Banguo Cuo was utterly dejected. "Sealing us, heh, sealing us... What did we do wrong to be sealed?"
People outside the Great Ruins had always looked down on the inhabitants of the Great Ruins, calling them the abandoned. Banguo Cuo, originally the Great Venerable of the grasslands and founder of the Loulan Golden Palace, looked down on the Great Ruins people even more. He often captured beasts and abandoned people from the Great Ruins to practice his shamanic arts. But now, hearing the First Ancestor's words shattered his beliefs and pride!
He had lived for ten thousand years, only now realizing that he was the abandoned one!
The abandoned of the gods!
"Why, after cutting off our Divine Bridge, did they still seal us? Why won't they let us become gods..."
He didn't trust Qin Mu, but he had absolute faith in the words of the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, because this existence was the first Human Sovereign, the man who led the ancestors of all races out of the apocalypse!
Banguo Cuo's ancestors were among them!
Anyone might deceive him, but the First Ancestor Human Sovereign would not!
The towering ship left a dazzling trail of light in the starry sky that lingered for a long time. Chixi the Divine looked back, frowned, and said, "Although this ship is fast, it's not unmatched. The treasure ship leaves traces that enemies might detect. We need to borrow a path from the Heavenly Duke to reach the Suspended Realm as soon as possible, without letting enemies discover its location!"
Qin Mu's spirits lifted. "Borrow a path from the Heavenly Duke? So we'll get to see this majestic being?"
"Not yet. It will take another month to fly from here to where the Heavenly Duke resides!"
The towering ship skimmed through the void. After a few days, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu were cultivating their primordial spirits together when the ship suddenly slowed down. They withdrew their spirits and went to the deck, where they saw a massive divine city floating alone in the starry sky, with a sun revolving around it.
This divine city was battered and broken, apparently having been through a terrible war and destroyed.
The towering ship sailed over the city. Qin Mu looked down and saw many fallen, towering divine statues in the city, all with three heads and six arms, likely sculptures from the Chixia era.
Not long after, they arrived at a shattered star. This star also had many buildings in the Chixia style.
As they traveled, one broken divine city after another floated silently in the starry sky. Along the way, they could see countless corpses drifting helplessly on this path.
The strong of the Chixia era, in their search for a place to take refuge, left countless gods and demons to protect their people as they advanced. Most of them died here.
"No matter how wild the customs of the Chixia era were, they fought desperately for the survival of their race." Qin Mu felt a surge of emotion.
Finally, the towering ship entered a blank zone—a world made of light.
As the ship sailed into the light, everyone on board couldn't see their own shadows. The light came from all directions, leaving no shade!
Qin Mu turned to look back at their path and was shaken to his core. He could actually see the Great Ruins, shrouded in darkness!
The Great Ruins seemed to be right next to them!
But the Yan Kang Kingdom outside the Great Ruins was completely invisible!
He couldn't see Yan Kang, couldn't see the Western Lands, couldn't see the Southern Sea, Northern Sea, or Western Sea!
That place was obscured by false celestial phenomena, so it couldn't be seen.
Besides the Great Ruins, he could also see the two worlds of Taihuang Heaven and Luofu Heaven!
He looked up, and suddenly it was as if he had discovered a whole new world. Countless stars reflected in the sky, various heavens large and small, bright or dim, appeared on the celestial dome. Some worlds were still in the midst of destruction!
From where he stood, these worlds seemed very small and close, but Qin Mu knew they were actually extremely far away, and those tiny points of light were actually immensely huge suns!
"This is the Mystic Capital where the Heavenly Duke resides, corresponding to the Nether Capital." The First Ancestor Human Sovereign spoke softly.
Qin Mu quickly looked around and asked, "Where is the Heavenly Duke?"
"Right beside us."
Chixi turned back to see the ship's light trail obscured by the light here and sighed with relief. "We're passing by one of his eyes. In another day or two of flight, you'll be able to see the full view of this eye."
——A four-thousand-word chapter! Begging for monthly votes! Blind Man: Did you vote? Did you? I can't see, I'm blind. Did you really vote? Don't lie to me...