Chapter 911: Suspicion of the Creator
Qin Mu looked up and observed, muttering incantations under his breath, speaking various numerological terms. Numerological runes swirled around him, constantly evolving in a wondrous display.
Qi Jiuyi's heart stirred. He knew Qin Mu was calculating the star tracks, trying to solve the puzzle left by his senior brother.
Qi Jiuyi had seen a similar setup on the Alien Star God-Slaying Platform of the Crimson Bright Remnant Tribe.
Back then, Wei Suifeng had left a small box in the astral formation, containing the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade, which Qin Mu had snatched. It was also because of what Wei Suifeng left behind that Qin Mu was able to connect the Eternal Peace Sect with the remnants of the Crimson Bright Era. Later, together with the Crimson Stream Divine Being, they returned to the Suspended Void Realm, allowing Eternal Peace to form an alliance with the Suspended Void Realm.
"If I can solve the puzzle Wei Suifeng left behind before Qin Mu does, can I get my hands on the treasure he left?"
Qi Jiuyi shook his head at this thought. On the Alien Star God-Slaying Platform, he and Zhe Huali had both been calculating the puzzle Wei Suifeng left, but Qin Mu was the first to solve it.
"This guy's numerological skill was already above mine back then. Over the years, it's probably become even more unfathomable," he thought to himself.
Qin Mu let out a breath, a smile on his face. He extended a finger and gently flicked it in the sky. The stars above began to rotate, their tracks shifting.
Some stars had fixed orbits, while others darted about like headless flies, completely without pattern.
Finally, the stars stopped moving. Countless stars formed a pattern resembling a flower bud.
Qin Mu flicked his finger again, and the stars in the sky moved once more. The flower bud formed by starlight slowly bloomed.
"Divine skill!" That was the only thought left in everyone's minds.
This phrase praised Qin Mu, but it also praised Wei Suifeng, who had left behind this starry sky.
The pair of senior and junior brothers, Wei Suifeng and Qin Mu, had shown them the beauty of grand stellar numerics—truly divine skill, magnificent and extraordinary!
The flower bloomed, and a vermilion light fell from within.
Qin Mu opened his palm, and the vermilion light landed precisely in his hand. As the light faded, only a diamond-shaped crystal, half an inch long, remained.
Qin Mu pinched this unusual diamond-shaped crystal, raised it to the starlight, and examined it. Though a storm raged within his heart, his expression remained calm. He smiled and said, "Brother Qi, doesn't this crystal look very similar to the one in the forehead of that Creator leader on the relief carving earlier?"
Qi Jiuyi was slightly startled. He examined this red Creation Divine Stone and asked doubtfully, "Sect Leader Qin, what are you trying to say?"
"Nothing."
Qin Mu put away the vermilion crystal and smiled. "It might not be the same one. My senior brother was active from twenty thousand years ago to a few thousand years ago. He liked to collect things and leave them for me. I am separated from him in that era by thousands or even twenty thousand years, yet we have long known each other. Most likely, he thought this gem was beautiful, so he hid it here for me."
Qi Jiuyi wanted to grab Qin Mu by the neck and shake him violently, forcing him to spit out his guess.
He barely suppressed this urge, but Yan'er couldn't help stuffing a spirit pill into Qin Mu's hand and said, "Young master, why not explain in detail?"
Qin Mu stuffed the spirit pill into Long Qilin's mouth, glanced at the nine divine beings Qi Jiuyi had brought, and smiled. "Many ears and many mouths, better not say."
Qi Jiuyi waved his hand and said to the nine divine beings, "You may withdraw first. Return to the ship. We will be there shortly."
Though the nine divine beings were also curious, the young master had given the order, so they had to leave first.
Qi Jiuyi's eyes flickered. "Sect Leader Qin, can you speak now?"
Qin Mu said, "My senior brother left this Creation Divine Stone to tell me that he suspects the owner of the Creation Divine Stone is still alive."
Qi Jiuyi felt a chill run down his spine. "You mean?"
Qin Mu said gravely, "The owner of the Creation Divine Stone is a prehistoric Creator with vast divine powers. He is most likely related to the extinction of the prehistoric Creators. He might be an extremely powerful being from history, one who should still exist in the world. In the past, he might have been a top-tier expert among the ancient gods. Now, he might be one of the leaders of the Heavenly Court."
Qi Jiuyi's feathers bristled, and his mind went blank.
Yan'er curiously looked at him, confirming that he was also a bird.
Yan'er and Qi Jiuyi had different focuses. Qin Mu had answered her questions, so she just listened and let it go. But Qi Jiuyi thought more deeply, which was why he felt a chill down his spine.
Imagine, such a terrifying being hiding in the era of the ancient gods, and now hiding within the Heavenly Court. He couldn't help but think of the end of the ancient god era and the turmoil of the Dragon Han, Crimson Bright, Supreme Emperor, and Opening Emperor eras.
If such a terrifying being lurked in every era, taking revenge on the ancient gods and stirring up trouble in every age, how terrifying would that be?
Qi Jiuyi was at a loss, pacing back and forth, wishing he could immediately forget what he had just heard.
Suddenly, he stopped and stared straight at Qin Mu. "Sect Leader Qin, who do you guess this person is?"
The figure of the Heavenly Emperor involuntarily appeared in Qin Mu's mind. After a moment, he shook his head.
The Heavenly Emperor's actions did fit some of his guesses. For example, the Heavenly Emperor's origin was extremely ancient, even predating the birth of Earth Lord and Heaven Duke.
Another example was that the decline of the ancient god era was actually related to the Heavenly Emperor. It was the Heavenly Emperor who established the ancient god Heavenly Court, suppressed dissidents, and supported demigods and post-natal beings, inciting war between them.
But he had played with fire, was ambushed by Heavenly Lord Hao and Heavenly Lord Yun, and his physical body was taken.
Even so, he didn't die. He just went from the light to the shadows, even becoming the leader of the Heavenly Alliance and one of the overlords of today's Heavenly Court!
The decline of various eras in history, such as the Crimson Bright, Supreme Emperor, and Opening Emperor eras, likely also bore the shadow of the Heavenly Emperor.
However, if the Heavenly Emperor was that prehistoric Creator leader, then the era of the prehistoric Creators should have been before the ancient gods, and they were the ones who created the ancient gods of the world.
This, Qin Mu could not confirm.
Because the ancient gods were too ancient. The age of Mother Earth Yuanjun alone was at least hundreds of millions of years.
Moreover, Qi Jiuyi was not wrong about one thing: the prehistoric Creators created things with their divine consciousness, but it was uncertain whether they could create souls.
And ancient gods had souls.
This needed further investigation.
Another point was that the rumor Qi Jiuyi heard was that the prehistoric Creators were destroyed by the ancient gods, and the Heavenly Emperor was the leader of the ancient gods. Even Earth Lord, Heaven Duke, and Mother Earth admired him, though they despised his character.
If the Heavenly Emperor was the leader of the prehistoric Creators, how could he lead the ancient gods to fight against his own race?
But Wei Suifeng was captured and suppressed by the Heavenly Emperor.
Could it be that Wei Suifeng obtained the Creation Divine Stone and discovered that the ancient god Heavenly Emperor was that Creator leader, which was why he was suppressed?
"I can't figure out who this Creator is."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he walked out, smiling. "But I can be sure that he is in the Heavenly Court. This trip to the Heavenly Court is becoming more and more interesting. Brother Qi, Fatty Long, it's time for us to go back!"
Yan'er landed on his shoulder. Long Qilin and Qi Jiuyi quickly followed him out.
Qin Mu came to the row of relief carvings again and carefully examined the pattern of the prehistoric Creators using their powerful divine consciousness to open another world.
Qi Jiuyi urged, "The Heaven Duke on that altar could take shape at any moment. We need to leave quickly!"
Qin Mu agreed, but his eyes remained fixed on that relief carving.
The secrets revealed by the relief carving were truly astonishing. If they could use their immensely powerful divine consciousness to recreate a world in the void and reshape the universe, if they could truly succeed, wouldn't these Creators be able to survive the war with the ancient gods?
Was there another world outside this one, where a group of powerful Creators, with strange diamond-shaped crystals embedded in their foreheads, cultivated the void, planted stars, and made starlight shine?
Would these Creators ever return to this world?
Was the Opening Emperor's Carefree Village, which the Heavenly Court had been unable to find, related to the world the Creators had opened?
Whether it was the Celestial Master Shuxi Ziyi or Princess Zhen and others from the Carefree Village, they were all initially unwilling to let Qin Mu return to the Carefree Village, saying it was extremely dangerous.
If the Carefree Village was built in the world the Creators had opened, could it be that these Creators were the ones bringing danger to the Carefree Village?
"Sect Leader Qin, we must go!" Qi Jiuyi grabbed Qin Mu and pulled him as he rushed outward.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and followed him as he ran out. Long Qilin rushed in front of the two and said, "Sect Leader, Third Brother, get on my back. I'll take you out."
The two landed on his back. Long Qilin immediately sped up and soon arrived at the altar, running past it.
In the depression at the center of the altar, the condensed light liquid had already increased significantly compared to before. In the foreheads of the withered bones surrounding the altar, the crystals faintly emitted a fluorescent glow.
Qin Mu was startled. "Fatty Long, hurry!"
Long Qilin soared into the air, flying towards the Phoenix Ship in mid-air.
Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi looked back. Below, the light in the crystals on the foreheads of the withered bones was rapidly intensifying. Suddenly, with a hum, beams of light shone onto the center of the altar!
In that depression, the light liquid churned, and halos of light expanded outward, layer by layer, ring by ring, exploding!
Then, a beam of light shot into the sky. A colossal being broke through the layers upon layers of rings of light. The shattered light turned into bright ribbons, while the unbroken halos formed vertical rings behind the being's head.
Heaven Duke!
The divine consciousness creation of the prehistoric Creators, the Heaven Duke weapon that had been condensed!
Heaven Duke raised his head, growing taller and taller. He reached out his hand to grab Long Qilin, who was struggling to fly towards the Phoenix Ship.
On Qin Mu's shoulder, Yan'er's feathers suddenly fluffed out. Her flying feathers scattered, and in an instant, she transformed into a giant Dragon Sparrow. She carried Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Long Qilin on her back, carrying them as she soared up, narrowly avoiding Heaven Duke's hand, and charged towards the Phoenix Ship!
Qi Jiuyi clung tightly to Yan'er's feathers and shouted to the soldiers on the Phoenix Ship, "Set sail quickly—!"
On the Phoenix Ship, over six thousand divine beings immediately activated their mana. The Phoenix spread its wings, its enormous wings opening wide, and the ship began to move.
Yan'er flew over and landed on the ship, taking several steps before stopping.
Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Long Qilin immediately slid off her back. Just as Long Qilin landed on the deck, he suddenly noticed a small thing clinging tightly to his dragon tail. Looking closely, it was the palm-sized little Earth Lord that Qin Mu had created when he was creating things.
Long Qilin picked up the little thing and was about to ask Qin Mu what to do with it, but Qin Mu and the others were already unleashing their primal energies, desperately urging the Phoenix Ship forward, too busy to bother.
"This little guy would definitely not last a day if left here. Might as well let him follow."
With that thought, Long Qilin put the little Earth Lord down. The little thing was very fierce, mooing at him aggressively, looking ferocious.
Long Qilin thought for a moment, glanced around, and after confirming that Qin Mu and Yan'er weren't looking this way, he took out a spirit pill and stuffed it into the fierce little thing's arms, whispering, "Don't make noise. Be careful not to let the Sect Leader and Sister Yan'er find out I've hidden a lot of spirit pills..."
The little Earth Lord hugged the spirit pill. The pill was still too big for him, and he held it with difficulty, not knowing what to do with this round thing.
"It's for eating." Long Qilin patiently guided him, taking out another spirit pill and putting it in his own mouth.
The little Earth Lord imitated him, hugging the spirit pill and taking a bite. But the pill was too big, and his mouth was small, so he could only bite off a tiny piece.
Long Qilin beamed. "How is it? Not bad, right?"
The little Earth Lord sat down on the ground, hugging the spirit pill and gnawing at it earnestly. His appetite was too small. After eating less than half, his stomach was round and full, and he couldn't eat anymore, but he still held onto the half-eaten pill, refusing to let go.
Long Qilin picked him up and stuffed him into his own ear, saying, "Don't make noise. Be careful not to be discovered. Sleep quietly and digest."
Suddenly, Qin Mu's voice came, shouting loudly, "Watch out for the Heaven Bell—!"
Long Qilin quickly looked back. He saw Heaven Duke, with its layers of halos behind its head, holding its hands in an empty embrace. A bell made of light appeared above its head.
That bell was enormous, spinning in the sky above that continent. Originally, the bell's mouth was facing down, but now it had turned, pointing towards the Phoenix Ship.
The Thirty-Sixth Heavenly Dao, the Heaven Bell!
The sound of the bell suddenly rang out. The space behind the Phoenix Ship shook violently. Everyone on the ship was struck as if by lightning. Their bodies trembled, cracked, and they were sent flying in all directions by the surging wave of energy!
--- Happy birthday to Alliance Leader Zai Bi Zhong A!