Chapter 962: One Ship, Three Heavenly Lords
The Ark of the Other Shore sailed forward along the Void Bridge. Countless billions of runic imprints were branded upon this ship. As the great vessel traveled onto the Void Bridge and encountered places where the void was severed, those runes would burst into radiance, blocking the power of the void.
The Ark of the Other Shore was the crystallization of wisdom from the Era of the Kai Emperor. Coupled with the fact that the Kai Emperor possessed the Grand Void Geographic Map gifted by Cloud Heavenly Lord, it was able to cross the Void Bridge that even Void Heavenly Lord could not traverse.
However, Qin Mu was somewhat worried. After all, this ship was manifested through his own visualization, not forged by countless gods and demons. Both the stability of the hull and the power of the ship's runes were far inferior to the true Ark of the Other Shore.
"I hope we can safely cross the Void Bridge," he murmured to himself.
The Void Bridge was fragmented. Whenever they reached a broken section, the void would annihilate and erupt. Miniature universes would be born and destroyed, destroyed and reborn, eroding the runes on the ship's surface and causing countless runes to continuously shatter.
Qin Mu's expression changed slightly. He looked back and saw that their ship had only reached one-tenth of the Void Bridge's length, still far from its end.
Luo Wushuang's face also changed color. The danger of the Void Bridge far exceeded his expectations. The power erupting from the annihilated void at this bridge would likely reduce even a master of his Soaring Heaven realm to ashes in an instant!
The fact that the Ark of the Other Shore visualized by Qin Mu had managed to persist this far was already beyond his expectations.
And now, the Ark of the Other Shore was beginning to show damage, indicating that this ship absolutely could not support crossing the Void Bridge. It might not even reach halfway!
"Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury Domain, open!"
Qin Mu let out a low shout, and the Divine Treasury Domain opened. He stood alone within the domain, with stars shining above his head, reflecting his face and transforming him into the Heavenly Duke. The Taiji Diagram reflected his face, transforming him into the Earth Count.
Behind him, the Primeval Tree stood lush and green. Above the Primeval Tree, the stars of the heavens appeared. One ancient god after another emerged from among the stars. The Four Emperors of the Four Directions stood at the four poles of the Taiji Diagram.
All of these gods and demons bore Qin Mu's face.
Although Qin Mu was aware that the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury Domain had significant shortcomings, his own domain had not yet been refined. He could only use the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury Domain as an emergency measure.
Qin Mu stood at the center of the Divine Treasury Domain, activating the Dominator Body Three Elixir Art. Within the domain, primordial qi and divine consciousness surged rapidly between the sky and the earth, like dragons and flood dragons, transforming into streaks of light that connected over two thousand ancient gods.
He had comprehended the Grand Emperor's Supreme Divine Consciousness, though it was only a fragment. However, that fragment encompassed the forms of over two thousand ancient gods, an even more magnificent and vast system than the current heavenly ancient god system.
Primordial qi and divine consciousness connected all the ancient gods between heaven and earth, forming a massive ancient god system within his Divine Treasury Domain.
Qin Mu visualized all these two thousand-plus ancient gods simultaneously, repairing the damage to the Ark of the Other Shore and allowing the great ship to break through layers of void, sailing toward the end of the Void Bridge.
The Ark of the Other Shore shook violently, and even the ancient gods within Qin Mu's Divine Treasury Domain could not maintain their footing, making Luo Wushuang's heart pound with alarm.
"Driving so many ancient gods at once, my control is clumsy. It's not enough to repair the Ark of the Other Shore!"
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Qin Mu immediately closed his eyes and fell into a dream. A massive bubble emerged from between his brows—that was the dream world. The dream world expanded, gradually enveloping the Divine Treasury Domain.
Within the Divine Treasury Domain, the two thousand-plus ancient gods, all bearing Qin Mu's face, smiled and entered the dream one after another. Dream worlds like bubbles appeared one after another, and thousands of ancient gods visualized within their respective dream worlds.
This was a double-layered dream.
In this way, even if a few ancient gods made errors in their visualizations within the dream worlds, more ancient gods would visualize correctly. The error tolerance greatly increased, ensuring that the Ark of the Other Shore would remain in a state of repair.
The Ark of the Other Shore stabilized once more. Luo Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Qin Mu within the Divine Treasury Domain, thinking to himself, "I wonder how long he can hold out..."
The Ark of the Other Shore continued forward. The runes on the ship's hull shattered and reformed continuously, remaining relatively stable, though the speed gradually slowed.
When the great ship reached the halfway point of the Void Bridge, Luo Wushuang looked back toward the starting point. The altar built by the creators there had become a tiny, barely visible dot.
Looking toward the end, that point was also a small speck of light. Only Void Heavenly Lord was trapped within the void storm, still struggling, trying to break free and rush to the end of the Void Bridge.
The Ark of the Other Shore began to shake again. Luo Wushuang frowned and called out loudly, "Chief Qin, we can't go any further! Your divine consciousness can't keep up!"
Qin Mu was within the double-layered dream, and his words could not reach the second layer.
Luo Wushuang grew tense. He quickly went to the side of the ship and looked down. He saw the runes on the hull continuously peeling off, turning to dust in the void storm!
At the same time, new runes were being generated on the ship. The speed of rune generation and the speed of rune peeling were in a delicate balance.
"Chief Qin can still hold on, but probably not for long."
Luo Wushuang felt uneasy. Qin Mu was now in the double-layered dream and couldn't hear him, so he couldn't wake him up.
If Qin Mu failed to perceive the current danger and stubbornly pressed on, the Ark of the Other Shore would likely be destroyed on the Void Bridge, turning to dust!
Just then, the Ark of the Other Shore suddenly came to a halt, docking on a section of the Void Bridge that was a bridge of light.
Luo Wushuang was startled. There was no void storm on the bridge of light, so they could take temporary shelter.
However, the bridges of light were like isolated islands, with nothing ahead and nothing behind. Being trapped here was ultimately not a complete solution.
Qin Mu woke up, and the dream world dissipated. His divine consciousness was almost exhausted, forcing him to stop and cultivate to replenish it.
"Chief Qin, there's no need to force it. With this ship, we can leave the Grand Void and return to the Heavenly Court. This ship is enough to withstand the strangeness of the Grand Void."
Luo Wushuang suggested, "Your divine consciousness cultivation is insufficient now. Wait until your cultivation is higher before exploring the Void Bridge."
"That's true."
Qin Mu activated the Dominator Body Three Elixir Art, quickly recovering his divine consciousness, and smiled, "But we've already traveled most of the Void Bridge. The other shore is not far. I have to try no matter what."
Luo Wushuang frowned deeply.
"Brother Luo, rest assured. I know my limits."
Qin Mu was full of confidence and smiled, "Going to the other shore is difficult, but turning back is easy. If I can't hold on, I'll turn around immediately."
Luo Wushuang was still somewhat uneasy. He regarded Qin Mu as his lifelong rival and had deeply studied Qin Mu's habits, knowing that this guy was the type who wouldn't turn back until he hit a wall.
He was worried that Qin Mu wouldn't turn around at all, but would charge straight ahead, ultimately leading to the destruction of the ship and his own death!
After resting for a while, Qin Mu repeated the process, once again deploying the Divine Treasury Domain and unfolding the double-layered dream, driving the Ark of the Other Shore forward.
The Void Bridge was fragmented. Every long distance, there was a bridge of light where they could temporarily stop and rest.
But they couldn't stay too long, because the bridge of light could annihilate at any moment and reform elsewhere. The moment the bridge of light dissipated was also the most dangerous time. If Qin Mu wasn't visualizing then, the Ark of the Other Shore wouldn't last even a single breath before being shredded by the void storm!
Fortunately, Qin Mu was very alert. He always entered the dream before the bridge of light dissipated, avoiding crisis after crisis.
Ahead, the trapped Void Heavenly Lord was not far away.
Their ability to come this far was already something to be proud of. After all, Void Heavenly Lord was a being at the half-Heavenly Court realm, one of the highest among the Ten Heavenly Lords. Yet Qin Mu was merely a minor Revered God, yet he managed to approach Void Heavenly Lord with just a ship!
Such a thing, even if spoken, no one would believe.
Luo Wushuang stood at the bow, gazing into the distance at Void Heavenly Lord. That woman seemed to have noticed this Ark of the Other Shore and was trying to break free and come this way.
Luo Wushuang's heart tightened. He condensed qi into a blade and gripped the hilt tightly, thinking to himself, "I wonder if my strength is enough to slash Void Heavenly Lord back with one strike... Speaking of which, my courage is getting bigger and bigger. My first thought is to slash Void Heavenly Lord to death?"
His expression was strange.
In the past, when facing an existence like Void Heavenly Lord, his first thought was to kneel and worship. This had almost become a habit, with servility deeply rooted in his Dao heart.
But after meeting Qin Mu, this servility had been decreasing. Even on the way to the Grand Void, he had already taken a slash at the phantom of Heavenly Lord Hong!
The deeper his contact with Qin Mu, the less servile he became. He even dared to slash Lian Huahun and Yun Chuxiu to death with two strikes. These two women were avatars of the Empress and Lady Yuanmu, and the two ladies were very likely two of the Ten Heavenly Lords!
And now, his courage was even greater. Yun Chuxiu and Lian Huahun were just avatars, but Void Heavenly Lord was a genuine Heavenly Lord!
Just then, the Ark of the Other Shore shook violently. The bridge of light Qin Mu intended to dock at disappeared!
Luo Wushuang's hair stood on end. He was at a loss. Qin Mu had clearly exhausted most of his divine consciousness and intended to dock at the bridge of light for a temporary rest. But the bridge of light had vanished, meaning there was no place to rest!
With his remaining divine consciousness, it was absolutely insufficient to reach another bridge of light!
"Even turning back now is impossible!"
Luo Wushuang felt despair. He watched as the Ark of the Other Shore continuously disintegrated in the void storm and murmured, "We're dead for sure..."
Qin Mu remained in the dream, not waking. But within the dream world, the ancient gods, all bearing Qin Mu's face, shouted in unison, "Heavenly Lord Fire! Where is Heavenly Lord Fire?"
Luo Wushuang's heart shook violently. "Why is Chief Qin calling for Heavenly Lord Fire?"
The thousands of voices of those ancient gods, all bearing Qin Mu's face, converged into a torrent, deafening, and shouted loudly, "You've been hitching a ride for so long, it's time to contribute!"
Luo Wushuang was startled and quickly looked around. "Is Heavenly Lord Fire really on this ship? When did he get on board? Ah, right. When Imperial Teacher Yue drew the geographic map to the Void Bridge, his golden dragon was also there. Heavenly Lord Fire also knew about the Void Bridge. He went there but never showed himself. He wanted to hide on the Ark of the Other Shore without my knowledge. With my strength, I wouldn't be able to detect him! But is Heavenly Lord Fire really on the ship?"
Just as he thought this, he saw the figure of Heavenly Lord Fire appear in the center of the Ark of the Other Shore. Intense flames melted the void, blocking the void storm.
Heavenly Lord Fire could deceive Luo Wushuang, but not Qin Mu. Because the entire Ark of the Other Shore was visualized by Qin Mu. No matter where he hid on this ship, it was equivalent to hiding right under Qin Mu's nose.
"Heavenly Lord Mu, even I can't hold out for long."
Heavenly Lord Fire's voice came, rumbling like thunder. "I'll hold on for a while. You take the opportunity to recover your divine consciousness."
Qin Mu immediately freed himself from the dream world. With Heavenly Lord Fire protecting the Ark of the Other Shore, he focused entirely on activating the Dominator Body Three Elixir Art to recover his divine consciousness.
After a while, Heavenly Lord Fire let out a muffled groan, unable to hold on. Qin Mu immediately took over, re-entering visualization, while Heavenly Lord Fire sat cross-legged, doing his utmost to recover his cultivation.
The two took turns alternating. The end of the Void Bridge was finally not far away. That cluster of light grew larger and larger. From a distance, it appeared to be three rooms in the void, with the light coming from lamps within the rooms!
"Could it be that someone lives there?" A sense of absurdity arose in Qin Mu's heart.
Suddenly, light flickered at the bow of the ship, and Void Heavenly Lord appeared there, staggering.
Luo Wushuang immediately drew his blade and slashed at Void Heavenly Lord. A cold gleam flashed in that woman's eyes. Qin Mu quickly raised his hand to stop Luo Wushuang, shaking his head. "Since she has boarded the ship, she is one of us on this vessel. We share the same boat and face hardships together. Void Heavenly Lord, do you remember Ugly?"
Void Heavenly Lord was momentarily stunned. Qin Mu revealed a smile, his gaze falling on the pair of curved ox horns on this Heavenly Lord's forehead.
He took out a large cauldron. Faces floated up from within the cauldron, drifting unsteadily around Qin Mu.
"Ugly." Those faces called out to Qin Mu.
Void Heavenly Lord's expression changed drastically, and she blurted out, "You—"
———— Let me ask everyone a question: Between Lian Huahun and Yun Chuxiu, whose personality do you prefer? And why?