Chapter 811: A Maiden Without Dust
The three of them and the lantern once again walked toward the ancient multi-deck warship building. Suddenly, light flashed—its source unknown—and the entire ship was enveloped in intense radiance, blinding Village Chief, Qin Mu, and the others to anything visible!
The light came swiftly and vanished just as fast. When it faded, Qin Mu looked around and was momentarily stunned. This multi-deck ship had originally been sailing beneath the waters of the Celestial River, but now it had surfaced on the river's expanse.
All around was mist. Gradually, bright sunlight broke through, and the ship sailed out of the fog.
Outside, the sun blazed high in the sky.
Qin Mu looked outward and saw the ship floating on the river's surface, while the Celestial River itself now hung in the heavens.
"Lin Xiao, what happened?" Qin Mu asked the inch-tall figure within the lantern.
Inside the lantern, the bird-headed, human-bodied little figure's wings buzzed as he replied, "Lord Commander need not panic. This is merely another instance of temporal reset."
"Temporal reset?"
Village Chief cautiously probed, "What do you mean by temporal reset?"
The inch-tall figure in the lantern said, "The divine abilities within the mist are discontinuous. This bizarre power erupts at fixed intervals, transporting us to a specific era. I've calculated that this ship will be carried by that power to thirty-six different time periods. Right now, it should be..."
The lantern shone outward, revealing billowing smoke and flames of war everywhere.
"Now is the era of the Ming Emperor. I can't recall the exact year."
The little figure in the lantern continued, "The Ming Emperor's son, Imperial Son Red Cloud, is about to board the ship."
No sooner had he spoken than a young general, mid-battle in the distance, flew over from afar. He raised his hand high, and a mirror-like beam of light shone from his palm, illuminating the ship.
Following the light, the young general flew aboard, manifesting three heads and six arms, majestic and awe-inspiring.
"Imperial Son Red Cloud?"
Qin Mu shuddered and muttered, "Isn't Imperial Son Red Cloud the face from the black coffin that Ancestral Dragon King shattered when we first boarded? That face claimed to be Red Cloud, the Ming Emperor's crown prince..."
Village Chief's expression shifted slightly as he murmured, "It can't be him. He was clearly devoured by the coffin, drained of divine blood and killed. The one boarding the ship cannot be Crown Prince Red Cloud—it must be someone with the same name..."
"This is... the Celestial River Ghost Ship!"
The young general's voice rang out, both surprised and delighted: "This treasure appears at such a time—could heaven be aiding me? I've heard this ship carries the most valiant gods and demons of the ancient heavenly court. If I can command them..."
He unfurled a banner, and numerous gods and demons with three heads and six arms flew over, landing on the ship.
The young general shouted, "Search it! Find the ancient Feather Forest Guard aboard!"
"Your Highness, there are seals on this ship!"
"Break them open!"
...
After a moment, black coffins sprouted from the deck, black mist billowing. Panicked cries from the young general and his gods and demons echoed from within.
Finally, the black mist dissipated. The young general and the gods and demons of the Red Ming era vanished, leaving only black coffins standing on the deck.
The coffins slowly sank downward and gradually disappeared.
"When they reappear, Crown Prince Red Cloud will die because the black coffin is shattered."
The inch-tall figure in the lantern flapped his wings and said, "Lord Commander, let's go see the Empress's coffin. Follow me."
Qin Mu and Village Chief exchanged glances, both feeling dazed. Suddenly, Village Chief said, "General Lin Xiao, when you first met Mu'er, you said the Lord Commander had grown younger. What did you mean? Have you seen him before? Was he older back then?"
Qin Mu's hair stood on end as he quickly looked at the little figure in the lantern.
The figure remained silent.
Village Chief's face twisted with wrinkles, his voice trembling slightly: "That means this isn't our first time boarding this ship! We've boarded it multiple times, even stayed on it for a long time! Right?"
The little figure sat on the lantern's threshold, wings vibrating as the lantern drifted forward. He said, "On this ship, every time is the first time. This way, please."
Dragon Tamer collapsed to the ground, wailing, "It's over, we're doomed! Master, we're finished..."
Qin Mu's face darkened as he grabbed the dragon's horn and dragged him forward.
They rounded a pavilion, where the old dragon fused with the building had turned to stone, its face frozen in terror.
Qin Mu looked up at the stone dragon and laughed, "This mad old dragon—could it be Dragon Tamer?"
Dragon Tamer shuddered violently, his body going even limper.
"Mu'er, don't scare him!"
Village Chief's expression grew stern as he said gravely, "I've encountered countless strange events over the years and weathered countless storms. I won't be trapped by this ship! Rest assured, I'll get us out. Let's go!"
Behind the building was a grand hall. The lantern led them through winding corridors, past rockeries, through a meeting hall, and to another hall at the rear.
The first thing they saw was eight red dragons. Their bodies hung from the beams of this vast hall, half their length dangling down, coiled around bronze pillars. They stretched forward, claws on the ground, necks raised high, heads bowed low toward a floating coffin.
The eight dragons stood at the eight cardinal points around the coffin, guarding the suspended casket.
But now, these eight red dragons had also turned to stone, like translucent rubies carved into exquisite forms.
Ancestral Dragon King and the others had already arrived. They circled the eight red dragons and reached the coffin. Ancestral Dragon King unleashed his divine power, trying to open the suspended casket.
But the coffin was extremely heavy, covered in numerous seals. Even as a god of the Lingxiao realm, he couldn't open it.
"The Feather Forest Guard are two of the heavenly court's ten guards—Left and Right Feather Forest, Left and Right Dragon Martial, Left and Right Divine Martial, Left and Right Divine Strategy, Left and Right Divine Might. The Feather Forest Guard are personally commanded by the Heavenly Emperor. What is 'Feather Forest'? They are the nation's wings, as vast as a forest—hence the name."
Prince Qiu Ming said, "Since the Feather Forest Guard are the Heavenly Emperor's army, they naturally recruit the strongest beings in the world. Demon Dragon, do you think you can break seals they set?"
Ancestral Dragon King's face reddened as he sneered, "If I can't, can you?"
Prince Qiu Ming's robes rustled as he strode forward, laughing, "The Feather Forest Guard are my heavenly court's army, passed down through the ages. I once studied in the Feather Forest Guard. Though my cultivation and realm are far inferior to yours, breaking the seals of the Dragon Han era is not difficult for me."
His hands flew, transforming his primordial energy into various runes that imprinted on the coffin—truly exquisite divine abilities.
The onlookers watched with awe, thinking, "The heavenly court's divine techniques and methods are indeed unfathomable!"
Qin Mu's heart also sank. Prince Qiu Ming's skill was extremely high, his strength formidable.
"The heavenly court has collected various Emperor Throne techniques over the years, and the elites they've cultivated are truly extraordinary!"
After a moment, Prince Qiu Ming's forehead beaded with sweat, and his brow furrowed. He suddenly stepped back, shaking his head. "Strange, strange. These seals aren't purely from the Feather Forest Guard—there are others I haven't learned..."
Feng Qiuyun sneered, "A provincial prince from the upper realm, all bluster and no substance, making a fool of himself. Let me handle it."
She set down the Emperor's coffin, drew the Earth Mother's Kun Yuan Sword, and the wooden blade flashed as she thrust it toward the Empress's coffin, intending to break the seals by force!
Though she was the Earth Mother's maidservant, she was also the chieftain of the Phoenix Clan, a grandmaster of the Lingxiao realm, immensely powerful. With the Earth Mother's Kun Yuan Sword, breaking the seals should have been easy.
But after dozens of thrusts, light rippled around the suspended coffin as various seals emerged, blocking her and the sword's power.
The seals around the coffin formed countless circular star systems from myriad divine abilities, absorbing the might of her and the sword.
Feng Qiuyun frowned, sheathed her sword, flicked her sleeve, and returned to the Emperor's coffin.
Prince Qiu Ming laughed, "The Earth Mother is powerful, but her foundation is far inferior to the heavenly court's. Anyone else want to try?"
Qin Mu's expression was odd. He didn't recognize most of the other seals, but the one integrating them all was the Mountain-Opening Ancestor's seal.
He had encountered the Mountain-Opening Ancestor's River of Stars Seal technique more than once and broken it more than once.
He had faced it in the canyon beside the Ark of the Other Shore, where the old dragon was suppressed, and on the Execution Platform of the Red Ming alien star.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze on him. Following it, he saw Zhe Huali.
Qin Mu smiled faintly. When he had broken the River of Stars technique on the alien star's Execution Platform, Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi had been nearby, and he had even tricked them.
Clearly, Zhe Huali remembered that.
"The only one who can break these seals is Sect Leader Qin."
Zhe Huali suddenly spoke up. "Why doesn't Sect Leader Qin give it a try?"
Eyes turned to Qin Mu. He laughed heartily, dropped Dragon Tamer's horn, and the dragon's large head hit the ground with a thud, bouncing several times, still too weak to rise.
Qin Mu walked forward to the Empress's coffin and carefully examined the seals. Suddenly, he chuckled, "These seals have been broken before. Opening them isn't hard."
"Broken before?"
The crowd was startled before they could react. Qin Mu's robes fluttered as he leaped around the coffin, executing various hand seals. Immediately, star rivers and galaxies around the coffin began to shift and spin. Star vortices unraveled one by one, and the constellations formed by divine abilities retreated.
Before long, all the stars had receded, forming marks on the coffin wood that composed a brilliant River of Stars pattern.
Crack.
The Empress's coffin emitted a soft sound.
Qin Mu stepped back to Village Chief's side. "Mission accomplished!"
The coffin lid slowly rose, hovering above the casket. From within, radiant light soared, and Dao tones swirled, like a beautiful woman singing a melody, the notes lingering endlessly.
That Dao tone came from the rhythm of the Great Dao itself, intoxicating all who heard it.
The crowd forgot to wonder how Qin Mu had opened the seals and rushed forward to look into the coffin. Red Ming's Divine Son exclaimed, "What a beautiful woman!"
The others, dry-mouthed and flushed, stared at the woman in the coffin, speechless.
A demigod roared, tore off his clothes, and lunged toward the coffin, shouting, "To be buried in the same coffin as such a beauty—I'd die without regret!"
Slash—
Luo Wushuang struck with his blade, killing the demigod. He said coldly, "Anyone who dares defile the Empress's corpse will end up like this beast! Ancestral Dragon King, keep your men in line!"
His hand holding the blade trembled slightly, clearly shaken by the woman's beauty, his Dao heart wavering.
"The Empress?"
Ancestral Dragon King's Adam's apple bobbed as his gaze fell into the coffin. His voice hoarse, he said, "There are two women in this coffin. Which one is the Empress?"
Qin Mu and Village Chief were taken aback. "Two women in the coffin?"
Village Chief whispered, "Mu'er, when you opened the coffin, didn't you look inside?"
Qin Mu shook his head and said quietly, "Village Chief told me to keep a low profile. I opened the coffin and immediately stepped back to avoid becoming a target. So I don't know what's inside either. How can there be two bodies in the coffin?"
The two exchanged puzzled glances.
Village Chief hesitated, then said, "How about we take a look too?"
Qin Mu nodded eagerly, unable to suppress his curiosity.
Village Chief couldn't resist either. He grabbed Dragon Tamer's horn and dragged him along with Qin Mu as they stepped forward.
They reached the Empress's coffin. Village Chief stood on tiptoe to look inside. The radiant light illuminated everyone's faces, and within the coffin, misty light swirled. Two women lay quietly inside.
"Truly beautiful—even a little prettier than Granny Si," Village Chief praised.
Qin Mu gripped the coffin's edge with both hands and leaned in to look. Inside were indeed two stunning women, but one was flawless, far more beautiful than the other. Even accustomed to Granny Si's beauty, he felt his heart stir.
That woman had her hands folded over her chest, as if asleep.
"Truly beautiful."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He lifted the willow leaf on his brow, allowing Heaven Duke, Earth Lord, and the others to see the scene within the coffin. "Heaven Duke, look at this woman!"
In his mind came Heaven Duke's astonished voice: "Jue Wuchen! How did she die?"
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