Chapter 945: Big, Big, Big!
Luo Wushuang had already resigned himself to his fate, thinking to himself, "As long as I can escape..."
However, those demonic monsters quickly revived once more, and the destroyed Creator buildings shimmered with flowing light, rapidly restoring themselves. The path ahead was blocked again, and even more monsters surged forward in a torrent, leaving no chance to break through.
Qin Mu gritted his teeth, laughing in anger. "This is the first time I've encountered a city I can't dismantle..."
Luo Wushuang's expression twisted strangely.
Suddenly, music rang out. That great ship of flesh and blood, with countless legs churning, charged straight toward them, crashing through everything in its path. On the ship, many half-bodied beings played instruments—trumpets, suonas, zithers, se, flutes, xiao, reeds, sheng, pipa—all sorts of cheerful tunes, very lively.
The great ship danced and swayed, its bow opening and closing like a massive mouth, devouring countless monsters along the way. It crunched and chewed them with a crisp sound, gobbling up those Taiyi monsters.
Other monsters that couldn't dodge in time were either sent flying by the bizarre ship or crushed into pulp beneath its feet.
At the middle-rear of the strange ship, there seemed to be a pipe made of intestines, slanting toward the sky. Anything that couldn't be digested in its stomach turned into billowing black smoke, expelled through the pipe with a long, droning honk.
The strange ship charged toward Qin Mu and Luo Wushuang. Despair filled their hearts. This ship was likely an aggregation of countless souls, which explained its bizarre nature.
With their current strength, they couldn't resist at all. They would only be devoured by the ship and expelled as smoke through the intestinal pipe.
Qin Mu gritted his teeth. Suddenly, he caught sight of the imprint of Fire Heavenly Venerable not far away. He made a sudden decision.
Luo Wushuang was using his primordial qi to transform into a divine blade, slashing at the monsters closing in. He caught Qin Mu's gaze and his heart jolted. He quickly called out, "Qin Ba Ti, what are you doing?"
Qin Mu's primordial qi flew out, transforming into a sharp sword that shot straight toward the wound on Fire Heavenly Venerable's imprint.
Luo Wushuang's hair stood on end. He shouted loudly, "People in the city, get out of here—!"
Qin Mu reached out and pulled the Wooden Core from between his brows, slamming it into the ground. The Wooden Core grew thick.
Qin Mu grabbed Luo Wushuang and gestured for him to lie down. "Lie down and don't move. Use all your primordial qi to protect your body. Be careful not to get crushed."
The two lay flat on the Wooden Core. The strange ship was already upon them. At the same time, the flying sword formed from Qin Mu's primordial qi stabbed into the wound on Fire Heavenly Venerable's imprint.
"Big, big, big!"
Qin Mu roared. "Grow, grow, grow!"
Luo Wushuang used all his primordial qi to protect his body, filling every part of himself with energy. He stole a glance and saw Fire Heavenly Venerable's imprint suddenly blaze with incredibly bright light. His vision flashed white, then plunged into utter darkness.
Almost at the same instant, the Wooden Core expanded wildly, lifting them up and shooting into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, the Wooden Core had grown to hundreds of miles high!
The immense inertia pressed them firmly against the top of the Wooden Core. Luo Wushuang felt all the divine blood in his body gather beneath the skin pressed against the core. His eyes were nearly forced into his skull, his heart flattened and stuck tightly against his ribs.
His muscles turned paper-thin, pressed flat against the Wooden Core. At the same time, he heard the sound of bones breaking beside him, along with the faint crack of skin splitting.
"Qin Ba Ti, it's over..."
A wave of sorrow washed over him. Even his body, that of a Lingxiao-level powerhouse, couldn't withstand this—how could Qin Mu?
The sound of bones breaking beside him had been Qin Mu's skeleton shattering in an instant. The sound of skin splitting was his blood, in that same moment, flowing into the skin pressed against the Wooden Core. His flesh couldn't bear such immense pressure and impact. His entire body must have exploded in an instant, coating the Wooden Core with blood!
Not only that, but every part of his body would be crushed to nothing—including his brain!
"Qin Ba Ti, you cut off one of my arms, and I held a grudge against you for forty thousand years. But you saved my life three times."
Luo Wushuang's mind was a blur. "It's a pity I can't repay you. I once wanted to duel with you, to show you my blade technique..."
The Wooden Core continued to expand, standing straight and tall in the Creator city, reaching thousands of miles high, heading straight for the blood-red moon in the sky.
Soon, the Wooden Core was ten thousand miles high, still growing upward, higher and longer, pushing through the atmosphere of the Taiyi Realm.
The Wooden Core shot up, passing by the blood moon in the sky. That blood-red moon was a massive ball of flesh, likely a colossal head. It stared with grotesque eyes, astonished, as this pillar swept past it.
It was probably the head of an incredibly powerful Taiyi Creator, killed by someone unknown. Its head had been severed and floated above the Taiyi Realm, becoming the moon of this bizarre world. At night, it would come out and blow cheerful flute tunes.
Now, it forgot to play its flute, overwhelmed by the infinite flames rising from below.
Below, Fire Heavenly Venerable's imprint erupted. In an instant, the energy contained within the imprint swept through the entire Creator city, destroying everything!
At the same time, that drop of Fire Heavenly Venerable's divine blood and the sword energy within it were also triggered. A massive, blindingly bright fireball enveloped the Creator city, spinning and expanding outward. In an instant, it covered over a thousand miles, then expanded to ten thousand miles. Wherever it passed, space shattered, mountains turned to ash, rivers evaporated, and seas turned to nothing!
Finally, the surge of divine power below subsided. The Wooden Core stopped growing. Luo Wushuang's vision gradually cleared, and his blood flowed back. Though his body was heavily injured, he was still alive.
He sat up. Now, the Wooden Core had sent them beyond the heavens. The void was empty, with only this massive pillar.
Luo Wushuang's heart sank. He looked at the Wooden Core, which was like a continent, and suddenly paused.
He saw many drops of blood seeping from the wood, floating in space. The blood automatically gathered, quickly forming a heart.
The heart grew countless blood vessels, extending in all directions. More tiny blood vessels grew, building the form of a human body.
He also saw a brain growing, internal organs forming, bones and sinews beginning to appear.
Before long, the human body grew skin and hair, becoming a naked man, looking just like Qin Mu.
Qin Mu raised his hand, and the clothes lying flat on the Wooden Core flew up. He shook off the fragments of bone, then put them on.
"Earth Mother Yuanjun is so good to me."
Qin Mu wore a blissful expression. Luo Wushuang said nothing.
"She gave me such a precious treasure, with such deep affection. And yet I was still thinking of getting more treasures from her. Truly unworthy."
Qin Mu sighed. Luo Wushuang remained silent, thinking to himself, "After coming back to life, this man is still so detestable, with no change at all. I misjudged him."
A tapping sound came from the void—Luo Wushuang's inner demon had appeared again.
Qin Mu glanced at him. The Wooden Core rapidly shrank, returning to the Taiyi Realm. It stopped just below the blood-red moon.
Luo Wushuang didn't understand his intent. Qin Mu flew off the Wooden Core, and Luo Wushuang, realizing what he was about to do, quickly followed.
"Big!"
Qin Mu roared, and the Wooden Core expanded, pushing the massive head out of the heavens and into the vast void.
The blood-red moon let out a piercing scream, sent flying to who knows where.
The Wooden Core shrank again. The two stood on top of the pillar and quickly returned to the atmosphere. When the pillar shrank back to the original Creator city, they saw that the city had become a barren white plain, with a huge crater.
Qin Mu retrieved the Wooden Core. He smelled a burnt odor and quickly lifted the rod to examine it closely. One end of the Wooden Core was scorched black, with countless annual rings flaked off!
Moreover, the Wooden Core was covered in sword marks, some places nearly cut through, likely damaged by that sword energy!
Qin Mu winced in pain. "I wonder if Earth Mother Yuanjun would be willing to give me another rod like this..."
He looked into the distance. Mountains rose and fell, constantly reforming. Towering peaks shot up rapidly, soon to reach this place.
"Even a Heavenly Venerable's divine power can't completely destroy this place?" Qin Mu was horrified.
Luo Wushuang urged, "Qin Ba Ti, once this city fully recovers, we won't be able to leave!"
The two quickly hurried out of the city ruins, heading east. Their voices drifted back: "I saw another magnificent city in the east from the sky. Maybe we can find the clues Senior Brother Wei Suifeng left for me there..."
Not long after they left, the ground slowly rose. The destroyed Creator city reappeared like a mirage, bit by bit. Those monsters were also being reconstructed, as if nothing had changed.
The difference was that Fire Heavenly Venerable's imprint and that drop of divine blood were gone. The others in the city had also died in that eruption of Heavenly Venerable power.
Qin Mu looked back at the magnificent city, his gaze vacant. He thought silently, "What did the Taiyi Creators experience? Where did they go? Why can't I see their figures?"
Luo Wushuang was thinking about something else. "Are Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu still alive? The Heavenly Court and the Taiyi Realm are two different worlds. If their avatars died, their true bodies wouldn't know what happened here. If so, I wouldn't have to rebel against the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu glanced at him and said calmly, "Luo Shen Dao, how do you know that the Void Heavenly Venerable who entered the Taiyi Realm isn't one of them?"
Luo Wushuang paused, then shivered. He forced a smile. "Impossible. How could it be such a coincidence?"
Even so, unease gnawed at his heart.
Which two Heavenly Venerables had Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu reincarnated as?
The sun rose. The Taiyi monsters retreated like a tide, disappearing into the mountains and forests. In the Creator city, two pitch-black whirlpools suddenly appeared, spinning like abysses.
A flower grew from one abyss. Its bud spun and bloomed softly. Yun Chuxiu lay sideways in the stamen, like a sleeping beauty waking slowly, yawning lazily.
From the other abyss, another flower grew. After it bloomed, Lian Huahun sat upright, staring coldly at Yun Chuxiu.
"Bitch!"
She stood up abruptly, murderous intent radiating. "Time to settle our grievances and enmity! Today, you must die here!"
Yun Chuxiu chuckled. "You're always so serious, no fun at all. No wonder brother-in-law crawled into my bed. You're suited to be Empress Dowager, while I'm better as the little mistress."
Lian Huahun was furious and was about to strike, but Yun Chuxiu quickly said, "Do you know where your true body is?"
Lian Huahun stopped, her voice cold. "You stole my body, and you're on good terms with Ling Heavenly Venerable. Naturally, you put my body on Ling Heavenly Venerable's ghost ship."
Yun Chuxiu flicked her sleeves, grinning. "Do you want it back?"
Lian Huahun's gaze fell on her face, trying to see if she was sincere.
Yun Chuxiu laughed. "Yun Luo Di Wei Suifeng has been sent to the ghost ship. You should understand who is trying to find your body. Earth Mother Yuanjun is dead but not gone. Do you think brother-in-law died so easily?"
Lian Huahun's body trembled violently. She gritted her teeth. "What does that adulterer want with my body?"
Yun Chuxiu giggled. "Naturally, not for romance. We sisters were born from the same root and origin. You can't handle brother-in-law alone, and neither can I. How about we join forces? I'll help you get your body back, and you help me get mine. What do you think, sister?"
Lian Huahun thought for a moment, then tested, "Where is your body?"
Yun Chuxiu smiled, captivating the world. "Naturally, in the hands of that little nemesis, Qin Mu."
——Zhu is at the Beijing Communist Youth League meeting and studying, but still remembers to write! Tearfully begging for monthly votes~