Chapter 822: Offering Sacrifices at the Prince's Grave Next Year
Six hundred and eighty thousand years ago.
"Lin Xiao, hurry up!"
A group of divine beings escorted a coffin to the banks of the Heavenly River. One of them urged, "Lin Xiao, what are you still standing on the shore for? Hurry up! The Empress Dowager's orders must be carried out perfectly!"
Lin Xiao steadied himself, looking at the ghost ship emerging in the light. He hesitated for a moment, then followed the group, muttering under his breath, "I feel like I've been here before, like a nightmare. I saw the Four Emperors boarding the ship, and I saw the Commander of the Imperial Forest Army..."
"You're dreaming! Get on the ship now!"
Lin Xiao stood on the gangplank, wavering.
"If you do this well, the Empress Dowager will ensure your descendants prosper for generations!"
A divine being said viciously, "If you hesitate any longer, to protect this secret, we'll have to eliminate you right now!"
Lin Xiao steeled himself and walked onto the ship, thinking, "A dream. It's definitely a dream!"
Seven hundred thousand years ago.
The Heavenly River.
A ball of light exploded from the Heavenly River. The figures of the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon, the Western Emperor White Tiger, and the Northern Emperor Black Tortoise appeared, standing on both banks of the river. As the light dissipated, a ghost ship reassembled in the Heavenly River.
On the ship, the Dragon Earl roared and struggled, trying to break free from the ship's restraints and escape.
That divine dragon was incredibly powerful, but the Imperial Forest Army had pierced its body with chains and suppressed it on the ship. Even when Qin Mu borrowed the power of the Four Emperors to break Ling Tianzun's technique, it couldn't escape its suppression.
Now, as the ghost ship reassembled and Ling Tianzun's technique surged back, its struggle caused it to merge with the ship's hull. Its body fused with the building on the deck, leaving only its dragon head exposed.
The Dragon Earl King's eyes showed panic, and he shouted, "Save me! Four Emperors, save me!"
The four ancient emperors stood on opposite banks, watching the ship once again shrouded in black mist, shocked and uncertain.
"The Mu Heavenly Lord is on that ship!"
The Northern Emperor Black Tortoise suddenly looked at the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird and said solemnly, "The Mu Heavenly Lord even calls you 'sister.' Shouldn't the Southern Emperor give us an explanation?"
"What are you looking at me for?"
The Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird giggled, her red robes swirling as she transformed into a streak of fire and fled into the distance, her laughter echoing back: "I'm just like you—I don't know anything either!"
The other three emperors frowned.
"Besides us escaping, I also saw streaks of light fading away, like figures disappearing."
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon said softly, "Also, the Imperial Forest Army generals I caught earlier vanished from my hands. When the light exploded, they... they disappeared from the ship too!"
He looked around but didn't see the Imperial Forest Army generals. He murmured, "This ship is too eerie..."
Seven hundred and twenty thousand years ago, the mist struck.
"General, there's a woman performing a ritual in the mist!"
A massive tower ship slowly sailed into the mist. Wei Suifeng, feeling a stir in his heart at the sudden mist on the Heavenly River, took off his armor, grabbed a lantern hanging from the mast, and began writing hurriedly on the wall of the building.
He wrote his final words: "I came from the Guixu Abyss, met this woman, and returned to ancient times to explore its mysteries and uncover historical enigmas. Now I meet this woman again. I think it's time to extinguish the lamp and go back."
He hung the lantern on its stand, opened it, and blew out the divine lamp, plunging the building into darkness.
The mist gradually turned black, enveloping the entire ship.
Just then, light exploded in the Heavenly River. Three Imperial Forest Army soldiers suddenly appeared on the river's surface, looking ahead in confusion as the black mist swallowed their tower ship, causing it to vanish from the world.
"You broke my technique?" On the river, a woman in a leopard-skin skirt tilted her head, looking at them with curiosity.
The three Imperial Forest Army soldiers were still dazed. "You are... Ling Tianzun!"
The woman smiled. "It seems my technique isn't perfect yet; there must be some flaw... Since you've come out, don't wander around and mess things up. Come with me. You can tell me how you broke my technique."
With a sweep of her sleeve, she took the three and left.
On the Yong River, the Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer were baffled. They had just caught up with Qin Mu, planning to follow him to explore the ghost ship. They had been there the whole time, yet Qin Mu spoke as if he hadn't seen them for ages.
Moreover, Qin Mu seemed a bit strange now. Before, when the Village Chief punched him in the head, he'd clutch his head and pretend it hurt. Now, he just rubbed it.
The Dragon Tamer suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Sword God, look at his beard! It's grown much longer than before!"
The Village Chief looked at Qin Mu and saw that his chin and upper lip had grown several inches of stubble, rough and unkempt, whereas just moments ago his chin had been smooth.
Qin Mu stroked his beard, looking composed, and said, "Coming down from the sky on a silver rope are the Heavenly Court's Prince Qiuming and his two attendants. They're extremely powerful."
The Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer looked up and indeed saw three tiny figures descending from the chrysanthemum-like moon on a silver rope. The rope grew longer, heading straight for the ghost ship beneath the river.
"Boarding from underwater are the Ancestral Dragon King and his demigod subordinates."
Just as the Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer looked underwater, not yet able to make out the Ancestral Dragon King's group, Qin Mu pointed westward and said, "The Heavenly Court's Lingxiu Army's One-Armed Blade God, Luo Wushuang, is about to activate a moon-shaped treasure to break through the black mist outside the ship. In the distance, Feng Qiuyun carries the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword and a stone coffin on her back, coming as a ball of flame. Above, a foreign star is approaching, and the Crimson Bright God Son is descending as a beam of light from the sky."
The Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer were stunned. Sure enough, they saw Luo Wushuang, sitting at the bow of a small boat, activating a moon-shaped treasure that shone a pillar of moonlight onto the ghost ship beneath the river, breaking through the black mist.
On the other side, flames blazed fiercely. A sun-like orb skimmed the river's surface at incredible speed. Within the flames, they could faintly see a seven-colored fire phoenix, clutching a wooden sword in its claws and carrying a stone coffin on its back!
In the sky, the foreign star of the Crimson Bright Remnant Tribe had somehow reached the zenith, directly above the ghost ship. A red light descended from the heavens!
The Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer's minds were in chaos.
"When did my lord switch careers to become a fortune-teller?" the Dragon Tamer muttered.
Qin Mu suddenly said, "Village Chief, the Crimson Bright God Son is helping us on the ship. I promised to save him from it. Stop him from landing on the ghost ship."
The Village Chief, bewildered, inexplicably drew his sword and sent it flying. Instantly, thousands of mountains and rivers materialized above the ghost ship, blocking the Crimson Bright God Son's path.
The red light paused, shining on the "Sword Traversing Mountains and Rivers" technique. Then the light rapidly contracted. The Village Chief's hand holding the sword suddenly felt heavy. The Crimson Bright God Son stood on the floating mountains and rivers in the air, bowing to Qin Mu and the First Ancestor on the shore.
Qin Mu returned the bow, and the First Ancestor, the Human Sovereign, also bowed from a distance.
"Why does the Netherworld God Son block my path?" the Crimson Bright God Son asked with a smile as he stepped out of the illusion created by the sword technique.
"To save your life, God Son."
Qin Mu smiled faintly. "I promised you on the ghost ship that I would rescue you from it. I worked hard to get you out, and now you want to go back in? Wouldn't that make all my efforts wasted?"
The Crimson Bright God Son was taken aback. The Village Chief and the Dragon Tamer looked equally confused.
The First Ancestor, the Human Sovereign, fearing they might be in danger, flew over and looked at the Crimson Bright God Son, saying calmly, "God Son, long time no see."
The Crimson Bright God Son's purple robes fluttered. He gathered his energy and stood on guard, saying solemnly, "Brother Qin's strength has improved again."
Qin Mu frowned and looked toward Luo Wushuang's small boat. It had stopped and wasn't heading toward the ghost ship anymore—clearly, Zhe Huali was persuading Luo Wushuang.
The Crimson Bright God Son coughed and said, "Brother Qin's words always carry deep meaning. You've made me hesitate. But this ghost ship involves a great secret, and I must investigate..."
"The Empress Dowager's secret?" Qin Mu asked.
The Crimson Bright God Son was stunned.
Qin Mu suddenly called out loudly, "Prince Qiuming!"
In the sky, the silver rope hanging from the moon had already tethered itself to the ghost ship's mast. Several people were descending the rope, about to reach the mast. One young man, hearing Qin Mu's words, stopped abruptly and looked at Qin Mu. His eyes lit up, and he laughed, "The Celestial Sage Church's Sect Leader Qin Mu, the Eternal Peace Sovereign Body, one of the Three Heroes of the Eternal Peace Reformation! I just came down from the Heavenly Court, and you can already call me by name. You have eyes and ears everywhere—I've underestimated you!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily, smugly, and said to the Village Chief, "Village Chief, he said I have eyes and ears everywhere."
The Village Chief snorted and glanced at his backside. "Good thing you don't have a tail, or you'd be strutting to the sky!"
Qin Mu smiled at the Crimson Bright God Son. "It's not that I have eyes and ears everywhere; I saw him on the ship. Do you believe me now, God Son?"
The Crimson Bright God Son grew even more confused.
Just then, Luo Wushuang's small boat approached. At the bow, Luo Wushuang stood up.
Qin Mu smiled and nodded. Luo Wushuang's eye twitched, and he said hoarsely, "I came to confirm one thing. What Zhe Huali told me was so bizarre and unbelievable that I had to ask the Supreme Emperor Sovereign Body if it's true."
Qin Mu nodded. "It is true."
Luo Wushuang pondered for a moment, then said, "Thank you."
Qin Mu asked in surprise, "Blade God Luo, why do you trust me so easily?"
Luo Wushuang said calmly, "The Supreme Emperor Sovereign Body and the Eternal Peace Sovereign Body are the same person. Why wouldn't I believe it?"
The Village Chief grew even more confused, a sense of dread creeping in. "The First Ancestor and I searched for Supreme Emperor relics and found a stele recording the Supreme Emperor Sovereign Body. I thought it was real, so I left a rubbing of it. From Blade God Luo's words, it seems the Supreme Emperor Sovereign Body is Mu'er. That means the Sovereign Body described on the stele is Mu'er! The words on it are actually mine—Mu'er went back to the Supreme Emperor era and repeated what I said! Wait, I need to calm down and sort this out..."
He felt his head was about to explode. "If my guess is right, the lie I told has traveled back to the Supreme Emperor era!"
The Crimson Bright God Son was still dazed, looking at the ghost ship underwater and then at Qin Mu, unable to decide.
Suddenly, light flickered underwater, and the ghost ship vanished.
The Crimson Bright God Son breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted, and laughed, "Whether you're telling the truth or not, I don't have to board the ship now."
Qin Mu laughed heartily and looked around. The Ancestral Dragon King and Feng Qiuyun had disappeared without a trace, presumably already inside the ship.
"God Son, let's go to the riverbank and catch up," Qin Mu invited.
The Crimson Bright God Son nodded and was about to follow him to the riverbank when suddenly Prince Qiuming laughed, "Sovereign Body Qin, you called out to me and delayed my boarding, and now you want to just walk away? Since we've met by chance, and I came down to the mortal world specifically for the Three Heroes of the Eternal Peace Reformation, I can't let you leave just like that."
Qin Mu stopped and turned to look at him.
Prince Qiuming said leisurely, "You have a Jade Capital expert by your side, and I have one too. Strong fighters clashing is so dull. How about we settle this life-and-death duel right here on the river? What do you say?"
Zhe Huali burst out laughing.
Qin Mu glanced at Zhe Huali, then said warmly to Prince Qiuming, "Next year on this day, I'll offer sacrifices at the prince's grave."