Chapter 1087: Ah, This Is the Mortal World (First Update!)
Qin Mu once again transformed into the face of Mu Qing, walking upon the Heavenly River, his steps growing faster and faster.
During the Long Han era, at its most magnificent moment, it began its decline.
He looked downward and saw that below, in the Yuan Realm, there were countless divine kingdoms, where powerful demigods were toppling the statues of the ancient gods.
Those colossal statues were symbols of the ancient gods' authority and power—tall, majestic, some carved directly from entire sacred mountains, others forged from divine gold and divine iron, extravagant beyond measure.
In years past, it was always the myriad mortal races who came to offer sacrifices and worship, presenting jewels and their own sons and daughters, paying homage to the ancient gods who sat high above wielding power, praying for favorable weather and for heaven to withhold its calamities.
But this time, the ancient gods had departed, leaving the Heavenly Court. With the power structure of the Heavenly Court left vacant, the demigods seized the opportunity to rise and usurp authority. The ancient gods became the old gods, their statues naturally destined to be toppled, their altars destined to be smashed.
Yet Qin Mu also saw that after the powerful demigods destroyed the statues and altars of the ancient gods, they enslaved the myriad mortal races to toil bitterly, erecting new altars in their place.
Upon the new altars, statues of the powerful demigods themselves were raised.
Unconsciously, Qin Mu stepped down from the Heavenly River, drawing closer and closer to the mortal world. Looking around, everywhere he saw the old gods being cast down and new gods being established. The myriad mortal races were still enslaved, still living lives worse than death.
Those emerging deities who now held power celebrated with glee, rejoicing in their victory and ascension, indulging in the beauties and delicacies offered by the common people, surrounded by mountains of treasure.
They drank deep amidst pools of wine and forests of meat, laughing loudly, utterly jubilant.
And beneath their towering forms, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of mortals prostrated themselves, trembling in fear, heads buried low, kowtowing like pounding garlic.
"Ah, this is the mortal world."
Only then did Qin Mu snap back to awareness. He had been walking too high upon the Heavenly River, seeing too far, and had failed to see the living beings of the Yuan Realm.
Ah, this is the mortal world.
He had just realized this—yes, this is the mortal world. The people had not only failed to shatter the gods in their hearts, they had also failed to shatter the gods in their temples, let alone the new gods and old gods who sat high above.
Power had been released from its cage, and it was very difficult to lock it back in.
Servility had been awakened, and it was very difficult for backs and knees to straighten again.
Why, when the Heavenly Emperor had already been eliminated and the rule of the ancient gods overthrown, had the lives of the people not changed, still as numb as before?
Why, when the old gods had already left this world, had a new batch of gods been born?
Shouldn't all of this have changed?
Was this Long Han revolution truly unrelated to mortals?
"Yes, this Long Han revolution is far from successful. All it has removed is the Heavenly Emperor and the ancient gods—it has merely replaced the original ruling class with a new set of rulers. The Long Han revolution is false, hollow."
He felt somewhat lost, murmuring to himself: "Cloud Heavenly Venerable, do you see this? You must not dwell too high or too far away. Too high and too far, and you will fail to see the suffering of the masses. Too high and too far, and you will lose the drive to move forward. Too high and too far, and you will forget your original heart and your first intention."
He walked among the towering sacred mountains of the Yuan Realm, watching the ancient gods celebrating fervently, watching the masses suffering just as they always had.
From Long Han to Chi Ming, from Shang Huang to Kai Huang, and then to Yan Kang—generation after generation of benevolent souls had fought not for personal power or status, not for personal desire or wealth, but for the purest of convictions: to shatter the gods in their hearts and shatter the gods in their temples.
Night fell, the curtain of darkness drawing closed, shrouding the Yuan Realm.
His heart surged with emotion. He walked through the night bearing a lantern, an extraordinary feeling rising and falling within him like the waves of the Heavenly River.
He was like a traveler stepping into the ancient darkness of history with a lantern, searching in the blackness for the footprints left by predecessors and sages, searching for their spirit like candle flames in the dark night.
That was a spirit branded into the blood of ordinary people—simple yet stirring, bringing tears to the eyes and boiling the blood of all who touched it.
Their pure, simple spirit was deeply etched into the dark sky of history.
When future travelers carried lanterns into that dark history, the light illuminating the darkness, their spirit would shine like a blaze of stars, inspiring those who came after.
Qin Mu did not stop. From the darkness came the long, drawn-out roars of ancient gods and demons. The distant sacred mountains crouched in the darkness like colossal beasts.
In the darkness, a demigod deity spotted him and called out: "Mu Heavenly Venerable—"
Qin Mu started, only then remembering that he still wore the face of Mu Qing.
He evaded the demigods who tried to hunt him down, shifting his form to appear as one of them.
He walked from night into dawn, then from day into darkness, gradually drawing closer to the territory of the human race.
One morning, he arrived at the human territory of the Long Han era. Sunlight poured down, illuminating his travel-worn face.
He broke into a smile, seeing people tilling the fields, seeing a village not far off, and some cultivators teaching children how to open their divine treasures and become martial artists.
In the distance, there were human cities. Diligent merchant caravans were already setting out, planning to travel to the cities of other post-natal races nearby to trade their goods.
All was peaceful here. Wisps of cooking smoke rose from the village, and the people lived in contentment.
Qin Mu put away his lantern and walked forward with a smile, facing the rising sun.
Suddenly, the sky convulsed violently. The people looked up in panic, staring blankly at the heavens.
Qin Mu looked up and saw the tilted Heavenly River hanging in the sky like an impossibly vast white python, trembling violently as it plunged toward the Yuan Realm!
"The geographical course of the Heavenly River has changed..."
Qin Mu's heart was filled with bewilderment. The Heavenly River originally flowed from Xuan Du, ran toward the Four Extremes Heaven, then from the Eastern Extreme Heaven flowed toward the Yuan Realm. After passing through the Heavenly Court, it entered the sky of the Yuan Realm.
Many of the great river's tributaries ran through the countless heavens of the Yuan Realm, then flowed out from those heavens and converged again.
This great river that ran through the universe passed across the sky of the Yuan Realm, cut into You Du to become the River of the Underworld, and poured into the Gui Xu Abyss.
But now, the Heavenly Court had risen, changing the course of the Heavenly River!
The Heavenly River was falling from the sky, about to crash down upon the earth.
And the Heavenly River that flowed upon the ground would become the Yong River of later ages!
But if the Heavenly River fell, it would surely bring catastrophic destruction to the people living here!
A flood sweeping heaven and earth would wash away everything here!
Without a moment's hesitation, Qin Mu let out a thunderous roar. His body grew larger and larger, and in an instant he transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form, a towering giant of ten thousand zhang, leaping into the sky to meet the falling Heavenly River!
Boom!
The Heavenly River crashed down upon him, boundless force pressing onto his shoulders. Qin Mu's primordial energy burst forth, his aura enveloping thousands of li of the Heavenly River as he desperately tried to hold back this section of the river.
But the Heavenly River, once freed from its celestial restraints, bore down with all its weight, crushing his bones and sinews with cracking sounds, bending his spine, forcing his body ever downward toward the ground.
Qin Mu roared with all his might. Beneath his skin, muscles swelled, tendons pulled tauter. His six arms strained to hold up the Heavenly River, like a giant bearing the weight of the sky on his back, his skin bursting open bit by bit.
Suddenly, across the human territory, one human deity after another shot into the sky, each holding up a section of the Heavenly River, their rising figures like streaks of light.
Qin Mu's burden lightened considerably, but even with the human deities joining in, they could hardly bear the weight of the Heavenly River. The great river continued to press them down toward the earth of the Yuan Realm.
At last, Qin Mu's feet touched the ground, sinking deep into the soil. He roared at the stunned onlookers: "Run, now—"