Chapter 703: The Stone Statue Awakens
On the paper boat, Tian Shu kept sizing up Qin Mu. The young man appeared cheerful, yet hidden in his brow were traces of melancholy and longing for his family.
"Does he really have that much of a connection with Lord Tu Bo?"
Tian Shu quietly asked the old Yama emissary, lowering his voice. "Lord Prefect, we go way back. Why would Lord Tu Bo sell him face and let me out? I don't believe Lord Tu Bo would release me just because of a few words from him."
The old Yama emissary glanced at Qin Mu and whispered, "Of course Lord Tu Bo wouldn't let you go just because of his words. Otherwise, anyone could come and hack off Lord Tu Bo's horns, and even the Nine-Bend Horn would be shaved bald. After you carved out Fengdu, several worlds were destroyed before Lord Tu Bo could restore the Nine-Bend Horn, and the cost was immense. The reason Lord Tu Bo sold him this favor is mainly because he doesn't want him to return to Youdu."
Tian Shu's small eyes went wide. "Doesn't want him to return to Youdu? Why is that?"
"He was born in Youdu, the first post-natal being born there, and is thus called the Divine Child of Youdu."
The old Yama emissary sighed. "You didn't see the omens at his birth. The entire Youdu was stirred. Countless overlords sneaked into Youdu to witness the spectacle. In just three or four months, the Nine-Bend Horn was pierced through by him..."
Tian Shu's expression twisted. "Pierced through?" he stammered.
The old Yama emissary nodded, recalling that scene from over twenty years ago, and couldn't help but shiver. "Lord Tu Bo's horn was pierced, which disrupted the interests of many overlords in Youdu. So they rose up to punish him, and then a large batch of overlords were devoured. Look now—there are still many places on Lord Tu Bo's body where wars rage, with the dead fighting endlessly. That shows how severe his lingering influence is."
Tian Shu had once been an overlord in Youdu with great power, so he understood what was being said.
The overlords of Youdu held vast territories on Lord Tu Bo's body, ruling over billions of the dead.
When Qin Mu devoured a large number of Youdu overlords, the dead were left leaderless, and other overlords took advantage of the chaos to seize territory.
Clearly, Qin Mu had devoured so many Youdu overlords that the wars had continued to this day without ceasing.
Tian Shu was silent for a moment before asking, "Deep in Youdu, there are beings who were Emperor Seat powerhouses in life. Didn't they make a move?"
"They did."
The old Yama emissary said, "First, they challenged him one-on-one, but without physical bodies, their strength was less than in life, so they couldn't beat him. Then they ganged up on him, but to no avail. In the end, they had to ask Lord Tu Bo to step in, and only then was he sealed and exiled."
Tian Shu shivered several times and sighed, "I was trapped in the Emperor Que Divine Saber and missed such an interesting event..."
The old Yama emissary sneered, "Even if you were there, you'd be helpless. Without the seal, he's a pure demon king—he eats whatever he catches. You would have been devoured too! When you go back, don't even think about tampering with the seal on his brow, or you'll die horribly! Over the years, he's broken the seal more than once, and Lord Tu Bo is at his wit's end."
Tian Shu let out a dry laugh. "I'm not that curious. You know me—I'm very timid." As he spoke, he glanced at Qin Mu, who was lost in thought, his gaze lingering on Qin Mu's brow.
The old Yama emissary said, "You're timid when you don't drink, but after drinking, you'd even dare to hack off Lord Tu Bo's horns. What wouldn't you dare to do? We have some history, so I'm warning you. If you release him, the disaster he causes will be even worse than cutting off Lord Tu Bo's horns! The mortal realm is here..."
Everyone on the boat stood up and looked ahead, but the front was still pitch black.
Suddenly, the old Yama emissary gave a push, and Tian Shu fell off the boat.
The old Yama emissary then pushed Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi off the boat. He looked at the Dragon Qilin, who immediately leaped down on his own.
"This big fellow has good instincts."
The old Yama emissary chuckled, turned the boat around, and began the return journey.
On the way back, he saw paper boats bustling about, all sailing out from Yankang toward Lord Tu Bo's body.
Each boat was filled with the souls of Yankang's common people.
So many boats—it seemed that millions of people had died suddenly in a short time!
The old Yama emissary's heart tightened. "The disciples of Mingdu have made their move..."
The small boats stopped, and at the bow of each stood an identical old Yama emissary. These emissaries glanced at each other and said in unison, "The Divine Child of Youdu has returned to the mortal realm and will surely take action. Sending these wrongfully killed souls to Lord Tu Bo now might just have him forcibly take them back. Better to wait a few days and see how things go."
"How many days should we wait?"
"Give him seven days. If he can survive this calamity and use the Soul-Drawing Art to guide these souls back to the mortal realm, then let him. If he can't, their bodies will have rotted by then, and taking them back would be useless."
"If we give him seven days, won't people say that Youdu is afraid of the Divine Child of Youdu? We need a proper reason."
"Then let's call it the Seventh Day Return to the Sun. Souls can return to the mortal realm for the first seven days. That way, no one can criticize us."
"Good!"
...
Deep beneath the Divine Severing Mountain Range, Qin Mu suddenly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw Dragon Qilin and Qi Jiuyi waking up one after another. Everyone quickly moved far away from the Emperor Que Divine Saber, afraid their souls would be sucked back into the blade's world.
"Brother Tian isn't here," Dragon Qilin said, looking around without seeing Tian Shu.
"He should be in the Nether Valley."
Qin Mu flew down and entered the palace beneath the saber, saying, "His physical body is buried deep in the Nether Valley, half of it underground, held by Lord Tu Bo's hand. This palace was probably built for him by the Kai Emperor. He'll definitely come back to find us. Let's wait here for a while."
Qi Jiuyi hesitated, then landed outside the palace as well. "Brother Qin, you're about to fight the disciples of Mingdu. I'm caught in the middle, so I probably shouldn't stay in the lower realm. I want to return to the Southern Heaven now and not get involved in your conflict."
Dragon Qilin quickly said, "We swore an oath to Lord Tu Bo to live and die together in the same year, month, and day. How can Third Brother leave? If I die, Lord Tu Bo will come for you and Brother Tian."
Qi Jiuyi broke out in a cold sweat, secretly regretting drinking so much. Now, even if he wanted to leave, he probably couldn't.
"Brother Qi can go back."
Qin Mu said, "Fatty Dragon is only dangerous during holidays. Other times, he's fine."
"Holidays?" Dragon Qilin and Qi Jiuyi's faces turned pale.
Qi Jiuyi hesitated and decided not to leave. If Dragon Qilin got fat enough to be served on the table during the New Year, wouldn't he be dragged into it too?
Qin Mu entered the palace and looked around. Inside, there were some wine jars and murals depicting Tian Shu wielding his saber to cut off Lord Tu Bo's horns.
In the painting, Tian Shu was incredibly bold, holding a wine jar in one hand and swinging his saber with the other, radiating unmatched heroism. Lord Tu Bo, on the other hand, was drawn somewhat comically, with a look of shock and anger in his small eyes. The artwork was vivid and lifelike, though it was unclear who the artist was.
"Chief, that stone statue seems to be coming back to life!"
Suddenly, Dragon Qilin's voice came from outside. Qin Mu hurried out and saw that the stone statue with its head stuck in the Emperor Que Divine Saber was slowly shedding its stone exterior, revealing the color of flesh!
"Lou Yunqu, Wei Qingpei, and Fu Yanqi of Mingdu are slaughtering the people of Yankang to revive the stone statue!"
Qin Mu's heart tightened. Beside the palace, the stone statue that had emerged from the underground space was growing more and more fleshy, and its aura was gradually strengthening.
In the past, Qin Mu had guessed that the stone statues descending from other worlds were True Gods or True Demons. But now, before they were even fully revived, their aura and presence already surpassed True Gods and True Demons!
Clearly, he had underestimated these stone statues!
He didn't know what cultivation level these statues had, but once revived, they would be enough to destroy Yankang!
Qin Mu took out the Divine Slaying Mysterious Saber, opened the box with a click, and two beams of blood-red light flew out. They circled the neck of the towering demon god statue once, sending sparks flying, but only left a white mark on its neck—the head wasn't severed!
The Divine Slaying Mysterious Saber missed its target, and the two blood-red beams returned, this time aiming for Qin Mu!
Qin Mu was startled. "This evil saber wants to devour me!"
The two beams were incredibly sharp. Having failed to drink blood several times, their ferocity had grown, and they now sought to kill Qin Mu and drink his blood!
Just then, the stone statue shook violently, and demon blood sprayed from its forehead. As it revived, part of its body had turned from stone to flesh, and its head, stuck in the Emperor Que Divine Saber, was now being wounded by the blade.
The two blood-red beams seemed to sense the blood. One veered toward the statue's neck, while the other continued toward Qin Mu's neck.
Before the beam reached him, Qin Mu's vision was flooded with a vast ocean of blood, turning everything red!
Without hesitation, Qin Mu tore off the willow leaf on his brow. The ocean of blood was instantly sucked into his third eye like a long rainbow!
At the same time, the other beam of blood spun around the demon god statue's neck, and demon blood gushed out. Inside the small box in Qin Mu's hand, the jade-like head rattled its skull membrane in excitement.
But then the excitement on the Emperor Seat powerhouse's head froze, because he realized he couldn't retrieve the blood beam aimed at Qin Mu!
This had never happened before!
He was a divine artifact forged in the Chiming Era, refined from the head of an Emperor Seat powerhouse and the head of a soul. He was made only for slaughter, and almost no living being could escape his blade. If he missed, he would kill his master instead, and that was fine too.
In the past, the saber had never failed. But now, it seemed he hadn't devoured Qin Mu's blood and energy—instead, Qin Mu had devoured him!
Qin Mu's third eye swept through like a storm, swallowing the blood beam whole. From within his third eye came the sound of a burp, along with the joyful cheers of a child.
Boom—
A deafening crash rang out as the demon god statue fully revived, and then its massive head fell from its neck. The head, as large as a mountain, plunged into the depths of the earth with a dull roar that echoed for a long time before fading.
The blood beam, having consumed the demon god's blood and energy, swiftly flew back and drilled into the small box.
Qin Mu was about to close the box when he heard a snap—the box closed on its own.
"What's wrong with this Divine Slaying Mysterious Saber?"
Puzzled, Qin Mu casually stuck the willow leaf back on his brow, blocking his brother's excited cheers.
The small box trembled slightly, as if the Emperor Seat head inside was shivering. Qin Mu didn't understand why the box was shaking, so he shook his head and stuffed it back into his Taotie pouch. "Maybe I can use the Divine Slaying Mysterious Saber to deal with the revived demon god statues. But if it misses, it'll come for me. That's a problem..."
"It even tried to eat me..."
Inside the box, the Emperor Seat head was terrified, encountering its natural enemy for the first time. "It's fiercer than me! I can't afford to mess with it!"
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