Chapter 849: Meeting an Old Friend in the Coffin
Qin Mu looked at the coffin. It was suspended upright in the air, not touching the ground. The surrounding haze of rosy light drifted around the coffin and the stone well, quiet and serene.
Everything here seemed frozen. No other sounds could be heard. The pitch-black coffin hung there, directly facing the well’s mouth.
The rosy light emerged from the well, faint and thin.
Qin Mu asked, puzzled, “Star Kine, the coffin hasn’t been opened. So where did you find the token?”
The coffin was wrapped in chains and hadn’t been opened. Aside from the black coffin and the well, there was nothing else in this valley, which left him confused.
Star Kine set down his box. The box opened with a click.
“The token was on top of the coffin.”
Star Kine seemed to use some technique. One after another, the divine bodies of demigods jumped out of the box on their own. The box grew restless, hopping around with a clatter, trying to swallow these gods back inside.
After a moment, a hundred or so divine beings stood around Qin Mu.
These beings had no life force; Star Kine had already refined them.
Star Kine raised both hands, forming sword fingers, and moved like a ghost. He tapped each demigod on the forehead, then stood still.
“Open!”
A crack split open on his forehead, revealing a pitch-black eye. That eye rolled around once, and black threads shot out from this dark eye, drifting through the air like smoke, burrowing into the demigods’ foreheads.
“Netherworld techniques,” Qin Mu said, surprised.
Star Kine’s vertical eye on his forehead resembled Qin Mu’s third eye, both used to harness the power of the Netherworld. However, Star Kine’s eye was still rudimentary, far less refined than Qin Mu’s third eye.
Yet, Star Kine’s Netherworld divine abilities had some impressive aspects.
“Chief, he’s imitating you,” Dragon Qilin whispered.
Qin Mu remained expressionless. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Despite his words, he grew wary. Star Kine’s vertical eye was indeed imitating him, showing how much Star Kine coveted Qin Mu’s physical body.
Given Star Kine’s nature, if he set his sights on something, he would stop at nothing to obtain it!
What alarmed Qin Mu even more was that the demigods jumping out of Star Kine’s box were incredibly powerful, all at the True God realm. For Star Kine to capture and refine them to death showed just how terrifying his strength was.
Once Star Kine finished his ritual, one demigod suddenly opened its massive maw and swallowed the demigod in front of it in one gulp!
Qin Mu was startled, but then another demigod devoured that one, only to be swallowed by the one behind it. In the blink of an eye, only one of the hundred or so demigods remained!
It was like big fish eating small fish, only to be eaten by an even bigger fish.
The remaining demigod immediately leaped up, sprinting down from the mountain peak, heading straight for the ancient well beneath the hanging coffin.
As this demigod ran, its flesh kept falling off. It only made it halfway down the mountain before the power within the rosy light turned it into a running skeleton.
Just then, the skeleton exploded, and another demigod burst out from the shattered bones, continuing its mad dash. Soon, it too turned into a skeleton in the rosy light.
The skeleton exploded again, and a third demigod emerged, followed by a fourth, a fifth…
These demigods kept appearing from the bones, like a relay race charging toward the ancient well.
Star Kine looked tense, counting under his breath. When he reached one hundred and seven, the last demigod reached the well’s edge and turned into a skeleton in the intense rosy light.
That skeletal demigod leaped and jumped into the well.
A soft thud came from inside the well.
Star Kine breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his box, and said, “Another Sword Bridge is about to appear. Follow me closely! Now, jump!”
Suddenly, light rose from the well, taking the form of a sword light without substance. This sword light floated in the air, pointing downward, suspended there.
Abruptly, the sword light moved, and countless swords appeared in all directions, spreading out flat. The spreading sword light trembled, and even more swords spread out. In an instant, countless swords filled the entire Fallen God Valley!
The moment Star Kine said “jump,” Qin Mu leaped up. Dragon Qilin was a step too slow and hadn’t reacted yet, but Qin Mu grabbed him and lifted him.
Whoosh—
Sword lights spread out beneath their feet. Star Kine landed lightly on the sword light and said in a deep voice, “This sword light covering the valley will disappear soon and sink into the well. Let’s move quickly!”
Qin Mu hurriedly brought Dragon Qilin to the hanging coffin. Star Kine jumped onto the coffin and said, “This is the only safe place.”
Suddenly, the sword light covering the entire valley retracted, gathering back into the sword light suspended above the well.
That sword light slowly sank into the well and vanished. The rosy light rose again, enveloping the valley, while the area around the hanging coffin remained free of it.
This rosy light was extremely eerie. Anyone who stepped into it would have their flesh continuously dissolve, dying a gruesome death.
Meanwhile, Yan Qiling, Mu Qiubai, and Heavenly Dragon King arrived at the cliff, gazing into the distance at Qin Mu and the others, frowning.
Mu Qiubai set up a portal and opened it, while Heavenly Dragon King roared furiously. His dragon whiskers flew backward, and a heavy, oppressive sound echoed through the air. The old dragon king, with his boundless brute strength, forcibly dragged the celestial realm where the Fire Crow was located closer!
“They might be able to forge a path by sacrificing lives, triggering the sword light in the well. But who knows how many must die to get here?”
Star Kine’s eyes flickered as he looked at Qin Mu. “If Chief Qin had come here without me leading the way, how would you break the seals here?”
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then said, “I would try to find the mysteries of the divine abilities hidden in this rosy light and then unravel them. If I could recognize the divine abilities in the light, it wouldn’t harm me.”
Star Kine smiled faintly. “You still won’t admit you’re inferior to me. The token was found on this hanging coffin. Look down.”
Qin Mu looked down and was momentarily stunned.
The top of the coffin was quite spacious, about four steps in area. Standing there, they didn’t feel crowded. The coffin lid was carved with many magnificent patterns, and next to them was a line of small characters.
Beside the small characters was a groove, perfectly sized to fit the Heavenly Lord token.
Qin Mu read aloud: “Opens upon meeting Qin, Mu.”
He looked up at Star Kine with a knowing smile. “So you gave me the token not just to trade it for your life, but also to lure me here to open this hanging coffin. Star Kine, you’re clever—killing two birds with one stone. The map you drew for me was incomprehensible. I suspect you tampered with it, deliberately making it unreadable so you’d have to lead me here.”
Star Kine smiled and clapped his hands. “You’ve figured it out, but it’s too late. Now that you’re here, what can you do? When I first came here, I found that token and saw your name on the coffin. Even with the Qin token, I couldn’t open it, so I realized only you could use that token to open the hanging coffin. That’s why I sought you out.”
The two stood on the hanging coffin. Below, countless Fire Crows and bird-winged demigods surged madly toward the ancient well beneath the coffin, but their flesh dissolved in the rosy light, turning into countless skeletons.
Even so, countless Fire Crows and bird-winged demigods kept charging toward the well. The bones piled higher and higher, rolling forward with a clatter. Soon, the pile would reach the well’s mouth.
“Fallen God Valley isn’t large, surrounded by mountains. Exploring it isn’t hard, but I realized Fallen God Valley is just the entrance to the real treasure.”
Star Kine stared at Qin Mu, speaking leisurely. “Chief Qin, you need to make a decision quickly. Otherwise, those strong ones can sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives to trigger the sword light in the well.”
“Star Kine, if you used your intelligence for good, your achievements would rival those of the Yan Kang National Teacher. But you always use your cleverness for evil.”
Qin Mu shook his head, took out the Mu Heavenly Lord token, and said calmly, “The Qin token you got is useless to me. The words ‘Qin, Mu’ on this coffin refer to two people—one is me, and the other is the owner of the Qin token. To open this coffin, I must use my own token personally.”
He placed the token into the groove, and it fit perfectly. Just then, below, the pile of bones reached the ancient well’s edge, and several skeletons tumbled into the well.
Inside the well, the sword light rose again, suspended beneath the coffin.
The groove held the Mu Heavenly Lord token. The chains rattled, and one chain came undone, dropping down, followed by another.
Qin Mu stood on top of the hanging coffin, which began to sway. More chains unlocked automatically. Meanwhile, the sword light below suddenly erupted, filling Fallen God Valley.
Heavenly Dragon King, Yan Qiling, and Mu Qiubai immediately stepped onto the sword light and rushed toward the hanging coffin.
Finally, all the chains were undone. The hanging coffin suddenly sank. Qin Mu’s feet lost their support, and he, Dragon Qilin, and Star Kine fell with a whoosh into darkness.
“We’ve fallen into this hanging coffin!”
His shoulder stung—the blue sparrow Yan’er on his shoulder had tensed up, her claws digging into his flesh.
Qin Mu quickly patted Yan’er’s back, and the blue sparrow came to her senses, releasing her grip.
They were still falling. This hanging coffin looked small from the outside, but its internal space was astonishing. Qin Mu looked up and saw a square of light at the top of the coffin. Then the light suddenly dimmed as a few more people rushed in before the coffin closed.
The moment they entered, the coffin sealed shut.
Thud.
A sound of something hitting water came from outside. Qin Mu’s heart stirred. “This hanging coffin has fallen into the ancient well.”
The upright coffin sank into the well, descending toward the bottom. Even in the pitch-black darkness inside the coffin, they could feel it accelerating downward.
Not only that, but they were also falling continuously within the coffin. Its depth was incredible.
Finally, Qin Mu saw light coming from below. He quickly activated his divine power to stabilize himself. Soon, he set foot on solid ground. Looking up, he saw that inside the hanging coffin was an octagonal pavilion, with eight lanterns hanging from it, casting a faint, eerie glow.
Star Kine felt a chill of caution, carefully examining the pavilion without approaching.
This hanging coffin was too strange. There was no terrifying corpse, only a pavilion, but he still had to be cautious.
The pavilion was lit, but everything around it was pitch black. Who knew if a green-haired corpse might suddenly leap out from the darkness?
Qin Mu, however, walked forward and entered the pavilion. Inside, there was a stone table and four stone stools.
On the table were two teacups and a teapot. One teacup was empty, while the other was full, the tea a vibrant green, steaming hot.
Qin Mu sat on the side with the full teacup, picked it up with both hands, and bowed to the empty seat across from him, lowering his head in greeting to the air.
He looked up, his heart filled with emotion. “When we first met, you called me junior brother, and I always snapped at you. You thought I was arrogant. You didn’t know we were separated by over a hundred generations, but I did. Later, when you met Niu Ben and Niu San Duo again, you must have understood. You left this cup of tea—did you want to drink with me?”
Star Kine approached and said coldly, “Chief Qin, do you dare drink this tea? It might be poisoned!”
Qin Mu tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. His emotions surged. The tea was bitter with a lingering sweetness, still warm, as if the person across from him had just poured it and left.
His expression complex, Qin Mu set down the teacup, picked up the teapot, and filled the empty teacup across from him with green tea. He then refilled his own. Softly, he said, “I wish you could sit across from me and drink together. But you’re not here.”
He drank again. Though it was tea, he felt a tipsy intoxication, drinking alone. In a low voice, he asked, “Will you come back?”
Though the seat across was empty, Star Kine still didn’t dare sit down, standing outside the pavilion.
Just then, Yan Qiling, Mu Qiubai, and a few maids landed. The maids warily scanned their surroundings. Heavenly Dragon King also descended with several experts under Earth Mother’s command. Their eyes blazed with divine light, piercing the darkness to search for danger.
Meanwhile, Yan Qiling, Mu Qiubai, and Heavenly Dragon King all fixed their gazes on Qin Mu, who was drinking alone at the stone table.
On Qin Mu’s shoulder, the blue sparrow flew up, landed on a nearby stone stool, and transformed into a demure, lovely girl. She picked up the teapot to pour tea for Qin Mu, then lifted the cup to his lips.
With a beauty by his side, her red sleeves brushing against him, Qin Mu seemed somewhat unrestrained and carefree.
“Fallen God Valley hides a great secret.”
Mu Qiubai suddenly spoke. “My fellow disciple and I are here on orders from the Heavenly Emperor to explore this place. Heavenly Dragon King, you must be here on orders from Earth Mother Yuan Jun, right? Earth Mother Yuan Jun has long resided in Yuan Du, so the secret of Fallen God Valley couldn’t escape her.”
Heavenly Dragon King was silent for a moment, then said, “Earth Mother told me that a Heavenly Lord is buried here, so she sent me to find this Heavenly Lord.”
Suddenly, Star Kine sniffed and said, puzzled, “Did you bring someone else along to find this deceased Heavenly Lord?”
Everyone was taken aback.
Star Kine said, “I smell another person’s scent. Could it be that someone slipped in behind you while you entered the hanging coffin?”
His words made everyone tense up, as they too sensed another presence in the coffin.
They were all formidable experts. Who could have blended in behind them without being detected?
“Everyone, no need to be nervous.”
A laugh came from the darkness, approaching the pavilion. Gradually, a familiar face was illuminated by the pavilion’s lantern light.
It was a familiar face, beaming with a smile, bowing to everyone in greeting. “I mean no harm. I’m just here to visit an old friend.”
Crack! The teacup in Qin Mu’s hand suddenly shattered, tea splattering everywhere.
His chest heaved violently. The face emerging from the darkness was exactly “Imperial Heavenly Lord,” the same one who looked like Lan Yutian!
—A four-thousand-word chapter. Could I humbly ask for monthly votes?