Chapter 437: The Great Blade
One after another, the giant stone statues arrived near the drilling stone statue. Suddenly, those towering statues moved their hands and feet like whirlwinds, frantically digging at the earth. Their arms spun like cyclones as they tore up the ground, hurling massive boulders out from the pit.
Onboard the Sun Ship, Qin Mu and the others watched in astonishment. These demon god stone statues dug at an incredible speed—the sight was somewhat unsightly, but they quickly carved out a massive pit. The stone statues gradually sank below ground, and rocks continued to be tossed out from the hole.
"These fellows dig faster than a dog scratching at the ground!" the Cripple muttered.
King Kun glanced at Grey Immortal and said, "When it comes to burrowing, aside from the Earth Element Peak, Senior Brother Grey is the best."
Grey Immortal stood up and said, "Let me go see what they're actually doing down there." With that, he shook his body and transformed into a large grey-furred rat, leaping and bounding swiftly off the Sun Ship. Within a few breaths, he reached the ground, then dove into the earth and vanished from sight.
King Kun said, "Grey Immortal is skilled at finding treasures—his name is Uncle Grey Treasure. He can travel through the earth without obstruction. He's sure to discover something."
Qin Mu looked up. Above their heads, the sky was filled with blooming flowers. Each blossom unfurled, forming a canopy of floral heavens that shrouded the sky over the Sun Ship. At the center of one flower stood the Flower Lord, seemingly growing out of the bloom itself.
"These Upper Firmament deities must be dealt with!"
Qin Mu looked at the Medicine Master and the others and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
The Medicine Master smiled and said, "Before, we had no way. But now, we have plenty of ways."
King Kun pulled out the Golden Horn and said, "Let me handle this." He rose from the pool and bowed respectfully to the Golden Horn.
That golden horn was a sacred relic of the Kun tribe, refined into a golden spear. After he bowed to it, the horn let out a whistling cry and flew out. With a soft *shiiing* sound, a golden line appeared in the sky—the trail left behind by the horn's passage.
The golden line pierced through the Flower Lord's brow, then sharply turned behind her head and shot toward another deity, piercing through that Upper Firmament god's heart.
The golden line formed by the horn darted back and forth at incredible speed. After a few moments, all the deities, including Star Lord Yan, had been pierced through by the golden horn.
A clear, resonant whistle rang out, and the golden horn returned to King Kun's hand.
The golden line in the sky slowly dimmed and gradually faded away.
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. He looked at the golden horn and saw not a single drop of blood on it. This horn had killed so many deities in succession—including Flower Lord and Star Lord Yan, two of the Four Lords of the Upper Firmament—yet it showed not the slightest sign of wear.
One had to know that the physical bodies of Upper Firmament gods and demons were incredibly powerful. Even a sect's supreme treasure could not harm them in the slightest. Forcibly attacking a god's body was like smashing an egg against a rock—the attacker would be shattered to pieces instead.
But the sacred relic of the East Sea Kun tribe showed no wear at all, proving just how powerful this treasure truly was.
However, while the sacred relic was mighty, it also depended on the one wielding it. King Kun had previously contended with the Upper Firmament deities and never managed to win—probably because his own strength was somewhat lacking.
"King Kun, the Three Bridge Method for repairing the Divine Bridge has already been made public by me. Why don't you come ashore and learn this technique as well?" Qin Mu asked.
King Kun was surprised and said, "So that method of repairing the Divine Bridge was spread by the Human Sovereign. I've already obtained this technique. To be honest, our Kun tribe often comes ashore to do business with the Yankang Kingdom, trading goods back and forth."
Qin Mu felt relieved. "I see."
Suddenly, a large rat scurried up the Sun Ship, running toward them. As it ran, it transformed into a grey-robed old man. He came to the group, caught his breath, and said, "There really is something underground! The earth is hollow—there's an underground palace, a statue so enormous it defies description, and a massive blade!"
The Medicine Master quickly urged him to soak in the Pure Yang Pool and said, "Your wounds haven't healed yet. Speak slowly."
Grey Immortal took a few more breaths and said, "There are tunnels underground. Those stone statues have already dug down to the tunnels. Following the tunnels down to the earth's core, there's a vast space. At the center of that space is a statue, seemingly having burrowed up from deep underground. All around it are chains—chains that bind the palace. Somehow, that statue drilled into the chains. Those chains are even thicker than the ones binding the sun to the Sun Ship!"
Everyone's hearts shook violently. They exchanged glances.
The chains binding the sun were masterpieces from the Kaihuang era. By modern refining standards, such divine artifacts could no longer be produced.
And the chains beneath the Divine Severing Mountain Range were even thicker than the ones binding the sun—could they also be relics from the Kaihuang era?
The Deaf Man suddenly said, "The chains on the Sun Ship bind the sun. So what do the chains underground bind? Could they be binding that statue?"
A chill ran through the group.
Why would anyone bind a statue?
Grey Immortal shook his head and said, "No, you've guessed wrong. The chains are connected to several palaces, passing beneath them. I followed those stone statues down below and saw the palaces floating around the statue. That statue doesn't seem to have been there originally—it looks like it just burrowed up from below. It's similar to the statues that appeared in Yankang, probably one of those statues that suddenly emerged recently. But this one was unlucky—it drilled up beneath the Divine Severing Mountain Range and got stuck in the chains, unable to break through to the surface."
The Cripple said excitedly, "There must be plenty of treasures in those palaces! Let's go steal—*ahem*—go collect some treasures!"
The Medicine Master said irritably, "You've only just managed to hold onto your life. Running around everywhere—are you trying to lose it? Grey Immortal, what else did you see?"
Grey Immortal said, "There are floating bridges in the air, connecting to the palaces around the statue..."
King Kun asked, puzzled, "If there are already chains, why would they need floating bridges? What are the chains for?"
Grey Immortal's expression turned strange. He wanted to speak but hesitated. "That statue has a blade embedded in its forehead. The chains are binding that blade... When the statue burrowed up from underground, it might have run straight into the blade, and the blade sliced into its head..."
The Medicine Master asked, puzzled, "What blade?"
"A great blade. A very, very large blade."
Grey Immortal bared his two long front teeth, his whiskers twitching as he said, "The Heavenly Blade is already quite large, but in front of that blade, it's pathetically small. That blade runs north to south, embedded in the statue's forehead, extremely long. When I saw that blade, I noticed something strange..."
He steadied himself and said, "Granny Si, the Yankang National Preceptor, and all the Upper Firmament deities—they're all inside that gleaming blade. The blade is like a mirror, and their primordial spirits are fighting inside the mirror, yet they have no idea."
Qin Mu and the others tried to imagine that scene and felt a chill run down their spines. Granny Si and the others had used the Grand Firmament Star Array to pull everyone—including the Upper Firmament deities' primordial spirits—away, only to fall into a space inside a blade?
And when the Yankang National Preceptor activated the Earthquake Cauldron, planning to destroy everything along with the Upper Firmament deities, the cauldron's energy had also been absorbed by the terrifying power underground. Could that also be the work of this blade?
King Kun said, dazed, "We fell into that strange space—vast and boundless, but completely empty. We never imagined we were falling onto the surface of a blade... We fought on the surface of a blade for so long without realizing it!" He found it hard to believe.
Grey Immortal continued, "Those stone statues arrived there before me. Several of them are building an altar—a very large altar. I don't know what they intend to do with it."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He said, "Grey Immortal, can you draw the altar for me?"
Grey Immortal used his vital energy as a brush and painted in the air. After a moment, the altar was complete. This altar resembled the one Qin Mu had seen at the cave entrance—the altar from another world, the one used to allow the demon army to cross the world barrier and enter Yankang.
But the altar Grey Immortal painted had runic structures similar to that one, yet also somewhat different.
Qin Mu was momentarily puzzled, then curiosity sparked. He asked, "Who has a mirror?"
The Cripple laughed and said, "The Deaf Man loves to admire himself. Others might not have one, but he definitely does."
The Deaf Man snorted coldly and produced a mirror. Qin Mu quickly said, "I need two mirrors. Who else has one?"
The Medicine Master said hesitantly, "I have one here."
The Deaf Man glared at him. "You don't even have a face. What do you need a mirror for?"
"To tidy my robes," the Medicine Master said matter-of-factly.
Qin Mu took the two mirrors. He placed one mirror to the left of the altar Grey Immortal had drawn and one to the right, then suddenly said, "Grey Immortal, can you project this altar into the mirror?"
Grey Immortal focused his mind, and the altar formed of vital energy flew into the mirror. Qin Mu looked into the mirror and suddenly understood. He said, "These two altars are mirror images of each other! The altar those stone statues are building is the mirror image of the altar in the other world. They're planning to teleport the demon army directly from the other world to the underground altar. The altar they're using is a type of teleportation formation, but it's different from my Heavenly Sage Sect's teleportation formation. Theirs is more primitive—it requires blood sacrifice."
The Cripple laughed and said, "What are these fellows teleporting a demon army here for? They're not planning to blood-sacrifice the demon army to awaken that underground statue, are they?"
No one laughed. The Cripple gradually stopped smiling too.
The demon army would be teleported in, sacrifice themselves, and become the blood offering to awaken the underground statue. If that statue awakened, who knew what would happen?
"That statue probably isn't just a statue—it's the ancestor of those demon god stone statues. The stone statues came here to rescue their ancestor."
The Deaf Man said, "After blood-sacrificing the demon army, the statue will revive. Hah! All our fighting and dying will have been for nothing! The statue's demon descendants have resurrected him!"
Everyone fell silent. The Village Chief was dead. Old Tathagata was dead. Old Dao Master was dead. They had also lost Xuan Shengwu, Bai Xian, Huang Xian, and others. And in the end, they still couldn't stop these true gods and true demons from descending.
They had no strength left to fight. Once this true demon revived, they would all be dead.
Qin Mu continued studying the two mirrors. Suddenly he said, "Who else has a mirror? Give me two more."
The Medicine Master rummaged through his medicine basket and pulled out two more mirrors, tossing them to him. The Deaf Man raised an eyebrow and snorted, "Show-off!"
Qin Mu placed one mirror in the center of the two mirrors to refract the light, then used another mirror to refract it again. After passing through multiple reflections, the altar reflected on the final mirror was still a mirror image. Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "What if the demon army can't be teleported over? Will the remaining stone statues still be able to awaken that underground statue?"
The Medicine Master asked curiously, "What does the young Human Sovereign plan to do?"
Qin Mu showed a shy smile. "Medicine Master Grandpa, don't tease me... I plan to build two more teleportation altars between these two altars to interfere with their teleportation. When the demon army passes through the interference, they might not be able to make it through. It's like these two mirrors—if you slightly change the angle, the light can't reach the final mirror."