Chapter 848: Fallen God Valley, the Sword Bridge
Qin Mu held the Carefree Sword, and only then did the divine sword slowly cease its low hum.
"The Sword Emperor's sword techniques are indeed somewhat similar to mine. I learned part of the Carefree Village's legacy from my father, and I also encountered the Sword Emperor at the Yao Pool Grand Ceremony. It's likely we influenced each other."
He observed for a moment, noticing that the round, bright light wasn't moving; it was the shifting of the rosy clouds that created the illusion of movement.
Ahead of them, bones were scattered everywhere—massive divine and demonic skeletons covering the mountains and fields. Rosy clouds drifted around them. Some bones were covered in golden runes. When the divine clouds passed over, those runes would light up, crackle and pop, and then annihilate within the clouds.
Qin Mu's heart tightened. These divine clouds contained terrifying power, sealing off this place.
"That bright light is the imprint left by a sword technique in space, while the rosy clouds are the imprint left by another divine ability."
Xing Huan, carrying his box, walked into this ruin and said, "Follow me carefully. This ruin is different. We need to walk on the divine abilities imprinted in space."
Qin Mu was taken aback. Walk on the divine abilities imprinted in space?
He had entered many ruins before and usually avoided divine ability imprints, because these imprints still contained terrifying power. Touching them could trigger an eruption, shredding the intruder.
Walking on the divine abilities seemed like the most dangerous path!
Just then, a voice laughed, "Heavenly Venerable Mu! Long time no see!"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He followed the sound and saw a figure. His face broke into a smile, and he waved from afar, laughing, "Sister Yan Qiling! I've missed you since our last parting. How have you been these days?"
Xing Huan stopped and looked over. A painted pleasure boat flew through the air, surrounded by a group of divine maidens. A woman stood at the bow, with a halo of light flowing behind her head, giving her a sacred and extraordinary appearance. The halo wasn't a perfect circle but an ellipse, adorned with many intricate patterns.
Xing Huan didn't recognize her, but his eyes lit up, and he praised, "This woman is worth collecting!"
Qin Mu said, "She's a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor, the ancient god. Her skills are roughly on par with mine, so naturally she's worth collecting. But the woman beside her is formidable—extremely skilled and unfathomable."
Yan Qiling also arrived at the edge of this ruin and stopped her boat, about a hundred zhang away from Qin Mu.
Yan Qiling and the group of women disembarked. A young man also walked down from the boat, about the same age as Yan Qiling, with a halo behind his head as well.
"Is this young man also a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor?" Qin Mu wondered.
Xing Huan also noticed the young man and praised, "This child is also worth collecting!"
Yan Qiling smiled and said, "Last time I was wounded by Heavenly Venerable Mu, it took me quite a while to recover. Heavenly Venerable, His Majesty is very angry with you. You toyed with him, bestowing his blessing upon a black wild boar. His Majesty talked with that black boar for a long time before discovering the trick. He flew into a rage and cursed you for a long time."
She let out a laugh, but the young man beside her had a very unpleasant expression. He said in a deep voice, "Junior Sister, this beast insulted His Majesty and deserves a thousand deaths. Why are you still joking with him?"
Yan Qiling said softly, "Senior Brother Mu, His Majesty still needs him to do things. We must spare his life."
The young man, Mu Qiubai, still looked displeased and sneered, "Insulting His Majesty is an unforgivable crime."
Qin Mu looked smug and laughed, "His Majesty wanted to control me, so I naturally had to be cautious. By the way, how is that black wild boar?"
Yan Qiling shook her head and said, "His Majesty was very annoyed and ordered people to catch that boar demon, but the boar was clever and ran away with its whole family. His Majesty lamented that this boar demon was very cunning and would eventually become a notable figure through his blessing, becoming a stain on his record. What is Heavenly Venerable Mu doing in Fallen God Valley?"
"This place is called Fallen God Valley?"
Qin Mu was overjoyed. He quickly took out Xing Huan's geographical map and wrote the name at the location of Fallen God Valley. He laughed, "Thank you, Sister Yan Qiling. Sister Yan, how is the Earth Mother's injury?"
Yan Qiling realized he didn't even know the name of this place. Before she could speak, the ground suddenly swelled. A series of mountain ranges continuously emerged from underground. A dozen divine beings stood on a mountaintop, rushing over with a roar.
"Thank you for your concern, Heavenly Venerable Mu. The Earth Mother is doing well now."
A booming voice rang out like thunder. Qin Mu looked toward the suddenly appearing mountain peak and saw that the leader was an old dragon king. His eyebrows and whiskers drooped, and his eyes were dim with age, but when they opened and closed, divine light shot out. He said in a rumbling voice, "The Earth Mother misses you very much and is waiting for you to return to reshape her soul!"
Qin Mu's heart tightened. This old dragon was the dragon king from in front of the Earth Mother's underground palace, a being of equal fame to Feng Qiuyun!
Feng Qiuyun had been taken away by the ghost ship, and her whereabouts were unknown. The Earth Mother had first been severely wounded by another Earth Mother, then again by the scholar Zi Xi. Later, she had fought her way to the Yan Kang capital and was severely wounded again by the Martial Dao Celestial Master Zhuo Cha and the Nether Capital Heavenly King Tian Shu. She had made no moves since.
The Dragon Qilin was overjoyed and said, "Heavenly Dragon King, do you still remember your little brother?"
The old dragon's face darkened. He pretended not to see him. The Dragon Qilin had bribed him with spirit pills and called him brother, getting countless benefits in the underground palace. It was one of the greatest stains on his life, so he naturally didn't want to mention it.
The Heavenly Dragon King said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, Fallen God Valley is not a place you should be. For your safety, Heavenly Venerable, it's best you come over to my side. I will take you to see the Earth Mother."
Mu Qiubai's eyes were sharp as he looked at the Heavenly Dragon King and said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu must return with us. Heavenly Dragon King, you should go back."
The Heavenly Dragon King's dim old eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce light, and his killing intent was palpable.
Qin Mu laughed heartily and said, "You all want me to see the Earth Mother, but there are two Earth Mothers. Which one should I see? Let's wait until the two Earth Mothers have decided who lives and who dies before I make a decision."
The Heavenly Dragon King snorted.
Mu Qiubai said, "Heavenly Dragon King, are you loyal to the Heavenly Emperor or to the Earth Mother?"
The Heavenly Dragon King said indifferently, "I only know the Earth Mother, not the Heavenly Emperor. Whoever blocks the Earth Mother's path, I will kill."
Xing Huan looked around. Their retreat was blocked by these two groups of powerful beings, leaving only the path into Fallen God Valley.
The sudden appearance of so many strong individuals made him feel it was a very tricky situation.
Suddenly, Yan Qiling laughed and said, "Everyone, we are all here for Fallen God Valley, not to fight over Heavenly Venerable Mu. Why must we come to blows now? Since we are here for Fallen God Valley, we should first explore it. What does the Heavenly Dragon King think?"
The Heavenly Dragon King was clearly also cautious. He slowly nodded, led the many demigods behind him down from the mountain, and suddenly his body shook. A series of snow-white dragon whiskers flew backward, *shua shua shua*, piercing through a universe.
That universe was opened by his dragon whiskers. Countless fire dragon crows flew out from the universe and headed toward Fallen God Valley.
He wasn't confident about exploring this forbidden land, so he first sent the fire dragon crows to scout the path. These fire dragon crows had dragon mouths and crow heads, dragon tails and crow wings, about five to six zhang long. They were demigods with dragon bloodlines, and there were a great many of them.
A maid beside Yan Qiling and Mu Qiubai took out a door and set it up on the flat ground. The woman grabbed the door handle and opened it. Behind the door was also a universe, from which countless bird-winged demigods flew out, heading toward Fallen God Valley.
Xing Huan shook his head and sneered, "These fools only know how to throw lives away. No brains. They don't know when they're dead."
Those bird-winged demigods and fire dragon crows flew halfway into the Fallen God Valley ruins when they suddenly turned into white bones and fell to the ground. However, quite a few fire dragon crows and bird-winged demigods survived and went deeper, arriving at the foot of the mountain in Fallen God Valley.
Yan Qiling, the Heavenly Dragon King, and the others had scouted the path and began to move, heading toward Fallen God Valley.
Qin Mu looked at Xing Huan. Xing Huan said leisurely, "That path is a dead end. The true path of life is right under our feet. Pay attention to your feet. Keep them at the same height as mine, and don't let your head go higher than mine."
Qin Mu quickly lifted his foot and lowered his head. The Dragon Qilin also hurriedly shrank his size, becoming about a zhang long, his height not exceeding Xing Huan's. Yan'er, who was shorter than Xing Huan, suddenly turned into a green sparrow and landed on Qin Mu's shoulder.
Xing Huan took out a giant calculation spirit weapon. Countless symbols changed with a *pi li pa la* sound. After some calculations, he finally took a step.
"This calculation spirit weapon is exactly like mine!"
Qin Mu's expression was strange. He thought to himself, "Xing Huan plagiarized my spirit weapon!"
As Xing Huan took this step, the round, bright light suddenly burst forth. A sword beam dozens of li long came straight at them, its sword energy vast and terrifying, sending chills down their spines!
This sword beam was so terrifying that it pierced through dozens of colorful, brilliant rosy clouds along the way. Wherever it passed, space was cut open!
The power contained in the sword beam was immense and irresistible. Not only would Xing Huan and Qin Mu be unable to withstand this sword beam, but even an ordinary Jade Capital realm expert would be killed in one strike!
The sword beam came precisely to their feet, making them feel as if they were being pierced by countless tiny sword beams, with a strong stinging sensation. But strangely, the sword beam didn't hurt them. The stinging sensation came from the sword intent contained within the beam.
Xing Huan stepped onto the sword beam and quickened his pace, saying in a deep voice, "Speed up a little. This sword beam will retract soon."
Qin Mu quickly led the Dragon Qilin and followed his steps.
Below, Yan Qiling, Mu Qiubai, and the Heavenly Dragon King looked up and saw Qin Mu, Xing Huan, and the Dragon Qilin running past above their heads. Everyone was startled: "This sword beam isn't a killing formation of Fallen God Valley, but a bridge?"
Around them, many demigods were continuously dissolving in the divine clouds. As they walked, they turned into piles of white bones and fell. Everyone felt immense pressure.
Yan Qiling quickly leaped up, jumped onto the sword bridge, and said, "It's safe here."
Others also jumped up. Suddenly, six or seven people whose bodies were taller had their heads disappear as soon as they jumped onto the sword bridge. Others had half their heads sliced off. It was extremely terrifying!
"Be careful! This sword bridge can only protect a height of seven feet. Lower your bodies!" the Heavenly Dragon King quickly shouted.
By the time they landed on the sword bridge, Qin Mu and Xing Huan had already reached the end of the bridge, in front of the bright light. Behind the light was a cliff face, with a floating bridge connecting to the opposite cliff.
Xing Huan jumped off the sword beam and landed precisely on the floating bridge. Qin Mu also quickly jumped down. The moment he landed on the floating bridge, he heard a *weng* sound. The sword beam suddenly retracted into the bright light above their heads. The divine clouds that had been cut by the sword beam closed again.
Yan Qiling and the others, who had just landed on the bridge, suddenly found their footing gone. They thought, "Oh no!" as a sea of divine clouds surged toward them.
"Retreat!" the Heavenly Dragon King commanded decisively.
Everyone quickly retreated. A few more people turned into white bones and fell as they ran.
The group escaped Fallen God Valley. Mu Qiubai opened the door again and let out more bird-winged demigods. He shouted, "Find that sword bridge!"
*Shua!*
The sword bridge reappeared, slicing off the heads of hundreds of bird-winged demigods, leaving a field of corpses. Mu Qiubai finally determined the exact location of the sword bridge.
On the floating bridge by the cliff, Xing Huan shook his head and said, "These guys only know how to throw lives away."
Qin Mu laughed and said, "So, how many lives did you lose before you found that sword bridge?"
Xing Huan was silent, barely restraining the urge to beat him to death.
They arrived at the top of the opposite cliff. Behind the cliff was a valley, surrounded by steep walls. Chains connected in all directions, binding a single coffin. The coffin stood upright, and below it was a stone well.