Chapter 809: Strange Happenings on the Ship
Outside the black coffin, everyone waited for a moment, but the two red glowing dots inside the coffin remained completely still.
In the distance, the others who had entered this ghost ship together were also closely watching this side, waiting for the results of Patriarch Dragon King and the others' exploration.
The ghost ship had a fearsome reputation, so they were happy to let others do the exploring while they reaped the benefits.
The silence around them was somewhat oppressive.
Patriarch Dragon King shot a glance at a demigod. The demigod understood, channeled his magical power, and first cast layers of defensive divine abilities to protect his body, forming turtle shields. Patterns of the dark tortoise also appeared on his arms. Only then did he steel himself and step forward, carefully reaching his hand into the black coffin to feel around.
The coffin was very large. His hand was still far from the red lantern light in the darkness. Gradually, this demigod walked into the black coffin and disappeared from sight.
There was no sound from inside. After a moment, the demigod's voice came from within the coffin: "It really is a lantern!"
The people outside breathed a sigh of relief. Patriarch Dragon King also relaxed slightly. They saw the demigod walk out of the coffin, smiling as he said: "The thing glowing red inside this coffin really is a lantern—two paper lanterns. I only found one and brought it out. There's no danger inside... Why are you all looking at me like that?"
The demigod held up a lantern, looking around in confusion. He saw that everyone looked at him as if they'd seen a ghost, quietly backing away.
Patriarch Dragon King also took a step back, tightening his grip on the dragon-head scepter in his hand.
Even he had never seen such a bizarre sight, and couldn't help but feel tense.
In the distance, Luo Wushuang and the others were also silent. The Ling Xiujun disciples looked at the scene with terror.
"Sword God, what's going on?" Huan Longjun's voice trembled as he hid behind Village Chief.
Village Chief and Shangcang were old rivals, and Huan Longjun had nearly died at Village Chief's hands several times. There was enmity between them, but Huan Longjun admired Village Chief the most. So when faced with this bizarre scene, he couldn't help but move closer to Village Chief.
As for Qin Mu, his lord—Huan Longjun instinctively disliked the brat.
Qin Mu frowned, his gaze falling on the demigod who had walked out of the black coffin. This demigod was holding a paper lantern. The red light from inside the black coffin earlier had been the red glow of the paper lantern, but being in the darkness, it made people involuntarily think of two glowing red eyeballs.
The paper lantern was very strange. Blown by the wind, it spun around. On the lantern was a face, eyes wide open, smiling as it looked around.
But this wasn't what had frightened everyone.
What truly frightened them was the demigod—on this demigod's neck sat another paper lantern.
And his head was nowhere to be found!
His face appeared on this paper lantern, with a nose and eyes, and it was speaking: "What's wrong with you all? Why are you looking at me like that?"
His face appeared on the surface of the lantern, while the light from inside shone through, as if someone had peeled off his face and pasted it onto the lantern.
The light was dim and eerie, and his face flickered with it.
Patriarch Dragon King suddenly raised his dragon-head scepter and pointed it lightly. The lantern on the demigod's neck suddenly went out!
Thud.
The lantern fell to the ground.
And on the demigod's neck, there was nothing. Suddenly divine blood gushed out, his body swayed, and he collapsed face-first to the ground, lifeless.
"You will all die..."
The lantern he had been holding also fell to the ground, rolling twice. The face on the lantern revealed a sinister smile: "Hehe, you will all die here, then gain eternal life, forever connected to this ship..."
Patriarch Dragon King stepped on the lantern, extinguishing the candle flame inside. His face darkened as he said: "Playing tricks with ghosts and spirits! I am a great god of the Lingxiao realm. Playing such tricks before me—you don't know your place!"
He roared, and the dragon-head scepter in his hand slammed heavily into the black coffin ahead. The tall black coffin immediately shattered into pieces, the coffin boards exploding with cracks and thudding to the ground.
His combat power was astonishing. Even the black coffin sealed by the Four Emperors could not withstand his strike.
As the dust settled, the coffin boards on the ground let out piercing wails, and bright red blood gushed from the wood.
Everyone's hearts jumped. They quickly leaped into the air, not daring to touch the ground.
They saw the coffin boards flowing with bright red blood, and on the inner walls of the coffins were living people embedded in them. They seemed to have grown together with the wood. Some had their faces exposed like relief carvings, some had half their chests exposed, and many arms grew out from the coffins.
These hands grabbed at the air, trying to catch something. Some faces were twisted in agony, struggling to breathe.
Countless shrill voices cried out: "Save me—"
Patriarch Dragon King was at a loss.
Suddenly, a face called out: "Patriarch Dragon King, it's me! It's me! I am Youfang Shen, the one you sent to explore this ghost ship! I'm trapped here. Please, Dragon King, save me!"
Patriarch Dragon King's heart jolted. He quickly looked at the man. That demigod was fused with the coffin, grown together with it—he was indeed one of the many demigods he had sent to explore the ghost ship!
He had already sent five or six groups of powerful demigods to explore this ship, including some at the Yao Chi and Zhan Shen Tai realms, but once they entered the ship, they vanished like stones dropped into the sea, with no news at all!
He never expected one of them to appear in the black coffin, grown together with it!
Suddenly, another voice called out: "I am Pan Qiong, general of the Western Fallen Sect of the Heavenly Court. Save me quickly!"
"I am Qing'an, disciple of the Eastern Emperor. I've been trapped here for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. If you can rescue me, the Eastern Emperor will surely reward you greatly!"
"I am Crown Prince Chixiao of Emperor Ming! Who will save me? Emperor Ming will surely reward you handsomely!"
...
All kinds of voices came from all directions. The people on the ship were at a loss. They saw the faces on the coffin boards becoming shriveled. Soon the voices grew quieter and quieter. Finally, the blood drained completely, and they all became dried corpses, dying with their eyes open.
The blood flowed more and more, slowly flooding over the other seals on the deck.
Qin Mu said in a low voice: "Village Chief, look!"
Village Chief squinted his eyes and said quietly: "The seals on the deck are devouring this blood. We can't stay on the deck for long. Let's leave the deck as soon as possible!"
The deck of this ghost ship was covered with circular seals. The blood plasma was being devoured by the patterns of those seals, and each seal was emitting a faint green glow.
The runes forming the seals were gradually dimming. The runes spun, and beneath the deck, black coffins were slowly growing out.
Qin Mu and the others had seen the opportunity early and were the first to rush toward the buildings on the ghost ship. The others also reacted and rushed there as well.
Behind them, huge black coffins grew out from the deck, more and more of them, like a forest of coffins. The sound of thud thud thud came from behind them—the sound of coffin lids falling to the ground.
Qin Mu looked back and saw the coffins opening, but nothing jumped out. Instead, pitch-black streams of gas burst forth from within, like bodiless pythons darting wildly through the air.
A demigod who was slow to run was touched by the black gas. He let out a miserable scream as his flesh dissolved and rapidly collapsed. But his face remained. Some of the melted flesh fell onto the coffins below and fused with them, becoming faces on the coffin boards.
Village Chief also saw this scene and couldn't help but shiver several times. He watched the black gas darting around, quickly filling the entire deck. Ahead of them, black coffins were also rising upright, their lids opening, black gas spreading everywhere.
Ahead, the coffins formed a forest, and the black gas moved like venomous snakes and pythons, darting in all directions, impossible to guard against. A demigod shouted in fury, his primordial spirit standing atop the Yao Tai of the heavenly palace, unleashing divine abilities and Dao techniques with terrifying power, but immediately black gas drilled into his body and his flesh dissolved!
Village Chief shivered again and shouted: "Mu'er, faster!"
Qin Mu seemed lost in thought, muttering to himself: "This black gas is like a kind of creation divine ability... It is a creation divine ability, but this kind of creation divine ability connects living things with non-living things..."
"At a time like this, you still have the mood to think about such things?"
Village Chief was furious. He grabbed the back of Qin Mu's collar and sped away with him. With a thought, beams of sword light carved a path ahead, cutting through the incoming black gas.
But the black gas reconnected as soon as it was cut. It simply couldn't be extinguished.
Village Chief could only dodge left and right while carrying Qin Mu, silently lamenting his misfortune.
Huan Longjun hurried to keep up, but saw Qin Mu hanging motionless like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck. Yet he turned his body around, continuing to watch the darting black gas, muttering something under his breath.
"My lord is a Dao maniac!"
Huan Longjun cast divine abilities to block the black gas, but couldn't stop it no matter what. He grumbled inwardly: "A Dao maniac who doesn't know when he's in danger!"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he muttered to himself: "If this is a creation divine ability, then what is this creation divine ability used for? Why did it go out of control? Why are there so many black coffins? What about the Yulin Army crossing event... What principle does this creation divine ability employ?"
Ahead, black gas filled the air. All the black coffins on the deck had opened, and the black gas shrouded the buildings on the ghost ship, making it impossible to see where they were.
Darkness surrounded them on all sides. Cold sweat rolled down Village Chief's forehead. He stopped and stood back-to-back with Huan Longjun, guarding all directions.
Just then, moonlight lit up in the darkness. Luo Wushuang activated a treasure. The treasure emanated imperial might, and its light actually forced back the black gas. Luo Wushuang led the remaining Ling Xiujun disciples forward along the moonlight.
"Sword God Luo carries a treasure refined by a Great Emperor!"
Qin Mu praised: "No wonder he's so confident. Luo Wushuang, I'm here! Remember who cut off your arm?"
Luo Wushuang pretended not to hear, leading his disciples as he continued forward, moving away from this place.
At the same time, Feng Qiuyun carried the stone coffin on her back. The stone coffin opened, and suddenly imperial might surged. A divine emperor among demigods sat up stiffly from within the coffin, forcing back the black gas.
"Sister Qiuyun!"
Qin Mu called out loudly: "Do you still remember me?"
Feng Qiuyun's voice came from afar: "I remember! You brat betrayed Mother Earth. She wishes she could take your life right now!"
Qin Mu's face darkened. The Chiming Divine Son transformed into a beam of red light, flying through the black gas, ignoring him completely.
"The Divine Son has no sense of loyalty either."
Qin Mu shook his head. Everyone on the deck was using their own methods. Even the Heavenly Court visitors who had slid down the silver ropes from the sky each had treasures to protect themselves.
Qin Mu took out the military tally. As soon as the tally appeared, all the black gas suddenly froze. Then streams of black gas flew rapidly back into the coffins. The sound of thud thud thud rang out continuously as coffin lids automatically covered the coffins. One by one, the black coffins slowly sank back into the deck and disappeared.
Village Chief blinked, looked at Qin Mu, and said in a low voice: "This jade pendant of yours—is it really the treasure that controls this ship?"
Qin Mu shook his head and answered honestly: "I'm not too sure either. I was just guessing..."
"You!"
Village Chief was helpless. He said: "Let's keep moving."
Suddenly, a lantern floated down from the mast and flew to in front of Qin Mu and the others. The lantern was round and orbited around the three of them a few times.
Village Chief was alert. He pressed his hand on his sword, squinting as he examined the lantern, ready to strike at any moment.
Creak.
A door-opening sound came from the lantern. Village Chief was stunned. He saw that the lantern actually had two doors closed together. A strange creature with a bird's head and human body, only about an inch tall, pushed the doors open from inside the lantern and looked them over a few times.
The light was blazing, extremely dazzling, coming from behind this tiny figure. The three of them looked into the lantern and saw that behind the inch-tall figure was a blazing sun burning fiercely!
"Lin Xiao, staff officer of the Yulin Army, pays respects to the Order Holder!"
The tiny figure bowed before the door, looking quite proper, and said: "The Order Holder has grown younger again."
Qin Mu blinked and said vaguely: "Mm. Lead the way."
"At your command."
The tiny figure sat on the threshold, wings buzzing behind him, and the lantern lit the path ahead as it flew forward.
Village Chief was suspicious. His divine consciousness rippled as he said: "Mu'er, what's going on?"
"I don't know."
Qin Mu was bewildered: "He might have mistaken me for someone else..."
Ahead, buildings came into view. At the front of the tower grew a huge dragon head. The dragon head was actually alive, grown together with the entire building, flesh and wood connected. The dragon's face was twisted, insane, seemingly in great agony. Seeing them, it called out: "Heaven and earth may change, but the unchanging constant is thirty-six! What does that mean? Tell me, what does it mean?"
"This is another ancient deity connected to this ship by the creation divine ability, but it seems to have gone mad."
Huan Longjun said fearfully: "This divine dragon's power is far stronger than mine..."
"I'm not mad."
The insane divine dragon suddenly lowered its head to look at them, chuckling: "You will eventually become like me, fusing with this ship, becoming part of it... The unchanging constant, the unchanging constant. Only by cracking the unchanging constant can you leave..."
"Someone left records here!"
A voice came from within the building. Qin Mu and the others hurried over. They saw quite a few people already gathered inside the building—the Chiming Divine Son, the Heavenly Court visitors, Feng Qiuyun, and others were all there, looking at the wall.
Qin Mu also looked at the writing on the wall and was startled: "Senior Brother's handwriting!"
On the wall were words left by Wei Suifeng, the founding patriarch of the Heavenly Sage Sect. What he wrote wasn't about the ghost ship, but about another matter.
Qin Mu read carefully and was stunned: "The death of the Empress of the Longhan Heavenly Court? Why did Senior Brother record this matter on the wall? What does this have to do with the Yulin Army crossing event?"
————Four thousand character chapter, begging for monthly votes! Zhai Zhu took his anti-inflammatory medicine and feels much better, just has a bitter mouth, can't taste anything~