Chapter 79: The Sun Herders of the Great Wasteland
The village chief, the Medicine Master, and the others all turned to look at him, puzzled. The Medicine Master asked curiously, "Mu'er, have you seen this ship before?"
"I saw it on the geographical map of the Great Wasteland..."
Qin Mu's heart was also shaken. This massive thing that looked like a ship should be the Sun Ship he had seen on the map in the Zhenyang Palace!
He had been puzzled when he first saw the term "Sun Ship," wondering why it was called that. Now he understood.
The Sun Ship was a ship that pulled the sun!
And the sun should be that big black sphere being pulled by chains attached to the Sun Ship.
That big black sphere was likely an extinguished sun.
He imagined that before darkness fell upon the Great Wasteland, there must have been a Sun Ship pulling a burning sun across the lands of the Great Wasteland!
Qin Mu stood in a daze. Why had the sun pulled by the Sun Ship gone out?
If the Sun Ship pulled the sun, then what about the Moon Ship recorded on the map? Was it a great ship pulling the moon?
And what was the Sun Well? What about the Moon Well?
Rumble, rumble.
The Sun Ship was approaching. This inconceivably enormous vessel actually had legs—legs as thick as mountain peaks, also made of molten rock. One could even see firelight through the cracks between the lava formations.
Those fires were magma, like the blood of the Sun Ship.
This giant vessel had twenty-four legs, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms.
Its legs looked thick and sturdy, yet each step could cover six or seven li.
Having this colossus appear before one's eyes was still extremely awe-inspiring.
The Deaf Man looked at the Mute Man, whose eyes burned with fervor as he gestured wildly. The Deaf Man said, "That's not a real sun, but a treasure refined by the people of that era before darkness fell. Mute Man, I think you're right..."
The giant Sun Ship drew closer and closer to Xianglong City, and the air grew hotter and hotter. Qin Mu looked up but could barely see the top of the ship.
The ship was too big.
The resplendent palaces above came into his view. They looked normal, but the fact that they still looked normal from such a distance was itself abnormal. He imagined that up close, these palaces must be enormous, and a grown adult standing inside would seem very small.
"That's where the gods live."
The village chief said softly, "I've heard they are called Sun Herders, and their god is called the Sun Guardian."
"Sun Herders?"
Everyone was slightly startled. The village chief had lived in the village the longest of anyone—he had been here for several hundred years and knew the most things. Clearly, he had heard of the Sun Ship and knew some secrets as well.
"I wonder if there are still descendants of the Sun Herders on that ship? Is the Sun Guardian still aboard?" the village chief said in a low voice.
The Sun Ship passed by Xianglong City and walked straight toward the thousands upon thousands of troops of Yankang. The scene was so grand, so spectacular, that the army forgot to advance. Countless soldiers stared blankly up at this colossus.
Too terrifying. Too overwhelming.
Squelch—
One of the Sun Ship's legs came down, and a leg as mighty as a mountain peak crushed countless soldiers into pulp. When the ship's leg lifted again, a small lake had been pressed into the ground beneath it.
"Run for your lives—"
Someone finally reacted, screaming and fleeing backward, but the soldiers behind hadn't reacted yet, so people crowded into people, people crushed people, trampling each other. By the time those in the back reacted and wanted to scatter, it was already too late.
This incomparably massive Sun Ship followed the path of the Yankang army toward the border of Yankang, trampling countless soldiers along the way. No matter what divine abilities or flying swords the generals unleashed upon it, they could not budge the great ship in the slightest.
The two armies of Yankang had merged into one, with an enormous number of troops. Now there was no way to escape. Even if divine ability users soared into the air, the Sun Ship's raised legs would strike them, killing them as easily as swatting a fly.
The giant Sun Ship kept moving, crushing and killing countless officers and soldiers along the way. General Lu threw all his strength against the Sun Ship, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree—he couldn't move the great ship at all.
At the Yanbian border fortress, beams of sword light flew out, slashing at the towering ship-mountain. Sparks flew everywhere, but they couldn't harm the Sun Ship. When the swords were withdrawn, the experts of the Yanbian fortress turned pale—their swords had been burned red-hot and were even beginning to melt!
Within the Yanbian fortress, tens of thousands of divine ability users performed their arts, summoning violent winds and torrential rains, rolling thunderclouds—but before these could even reach the ship, they were dispersed by the intense heat.
—Although the Sun Ship pulled an extinguished sun, it was still a sun after all. Its firepower was simply too strong.
This ship had twelve legs and moved quickly. Before long, it arrived before the Yanbian fortress. Creak, creak—a piercing sound came, and the Sun Ship gradually came to a stop.
Then a humming sound came from the air. The black sun drifted with its momentum and nearly floated into the borders of Yankang.
Countless soldiers in the Yanbian fortress stared up in a daze at the colossus blocking the fortress. The Yanbian fortress was majestic and imposing, but compared to this unimaginable giant before them, it seemed utterly insignificant.
Some generals turned pale, their bodies trembling, barely able to stand. Even the soldiers in the border fortress, though they were martial artists and divine ability users, were frightened out of their wits by the sight before them.
"The Sun Ship created by the beings before darkness fell is truly extraordinary."
The Yankang National Teacher stood on the tower platform, looking up at the Sun Ship. This magnificent vessel gave off an unparalleled sense of oppression. Even he felt a twinge of fear.
At the top of the Sun Ship, before the ornate palaces, he saw figures standing there.
He looked up, gazing at the black sun.
Though this black sun was not as massive as a true sun, it was still awe-inspiring. One could only imagine how spectacular it would be if this sun were reignited!
Though this sun had gone out, sending the Yankang army to clash with such a colossus would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—utterly overestimating one's abilities.
He sensed the aura of a god emanating from the Sun Ship.
"There are still living gods. The mysterious Great Wasteland—one should not tread there lightly after all..."
The Yankang National Teacher raised his hand and gave the order: "Transmit the command: retreat. Do not set foot in the Great Wasteland for fifty years!"
Behind him, the various generals' hearts trembled slightly and immediately passed down the order.
The Yankang National Teacher looked up, his gaze falling on those palaces. He said in a low voice, "The Sun Ship cannot protect the Great Wasteland forever. Gods will die too, and the Sun Herders are merely a fallen race. Fifty years from now, my Yankang should have the power to unify the Great Wasteland. For now, it is not wise to clash head-on."
He turned and walked down from the tower.
The urgent sound of gongs rang out from the city. The soldiers outside the Yanbian fortress heard the signal to withdraw and, as if relieved of a great burden, all rushed toward the fortress.
The giant Sun Ship also slowly lifted its legs, turned around, and with rumbles, walked back toward Xianglong City.
Before long, the remnants of the Yankang army returned to the border fortress, while the Sun Ship arrived at the edge of Xianglong City. Qin Mu looked up—a towering vessel reaching into the heavens, pulling a black sun. Even in his dreams, he had never seen such a sight.
The Sun Ship halted. Its twenty-four legs slowly bent, and it gradually knelt down.
On the Dragon Pillar, everyone wore strange expressions. This Sun Ship didn't seem like a ship at all—it seemed like a living creature with twenty-four legs!
The ship was so close to Xianglong City that waves of heat rolled through the city. Even the city walls were glowing red-hot, as if about to melt.
It didn't leave immediately, presumably waiting for the Yankang army to fully retreat.
"Is there still a Sun Guardian up there?" Qin Mu murmured.
"Yes. I can sense the aura of a god."
The village chief's expression was grave. He said, "The Yankang National Teacher retreated in the face of difficulty. He won't easily set foot in the Great Wasteland for decades. Butcher, withdraw your blade intent, or if the Dragon Pillar collapses, this place will be destroyed."
The Butcher nodded, looked up at the Sun Ship, and said excitedly, "We've been preparing for this battle for a long time, but the Yankang National Teacher was scared off by the Sun Guardian. I didn't get to have a good fight with that old bastard! How about we board the ship and fight a god instead!"
Everyone wore strange expressions and shook their heads. This madman was truly causing trouble. If there really was a Sun Guardian up there and the Butcher ran up to fight it with only his upper body, he'd most likely be crushed to death.
The village chief and the others descended from the Dragon Pillar. Qin Mu looked up, his eyes gleaming. He very much wanted to climb aboard this magnificent Sun Ship and see what was actually on it.
"What kind of era could create something so massive and still pull the sun along as it walked?"
Just as he had this thought, the bow of the Sun Ship suddenly tilted downward.
Qin Mu stood frozen. The enormous bow, roughly the size of Xianglong City itself, tilted down as if it were as light as a feather, as if it had no weight at all.
Then he saw the scene on the ship. There were mountains and water, flowers and grass. Towering golden palaces stood everywhere, like a sacred paradise. There were also many tall figures there. The Medicine Master was already considered burly, but standing before these people, he would only seem like a child.
Qin Mu estimated that these people were at least ten zhang tall, comparable to the divine strength warriors of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Strangely, even though the bow had tilted down, the lake water on the ship remained perfectly level, not spilling out at all.
"Your jade pendant is very strange. It has an aura of the sacred and extraordinary..."