Chapter 811: A Girl Named Wuchen
The three of them and the lantern once again made their way toward the ancient building on this old tower ship warship. Suddenly, light flickered brilliantly—the light came from nowhere, and the entire ship was enveloped in intense radiance, making it impossible for Qin Mu, the village chief, and the others to see anything with their naked eyes!
The light came quickly and faded just as quickly. When the glow disappeared, Qin Mu looked around and was momentarily stunned. This tower ship had originally been traveling beneath the waters of the Heavenly River, but now it had arrived on the surface of the river.
All around was mist, and gradually, bright sunlight shone down as the tower ship sailed out of the fog.
Outside, the sun blazed high in the sky.
Qin Mu looked outward and saw that the ship was floating on the river's surface, while the Heavenly River itself was currently floating in the sky.
"Lin Xiao, what happened?" Qin Mu asked the tiny figure within the lantern.
Inside the lantern, the small bird-headed humanoid figure's wings hummed as he said, "Lord Commander need not be alarmed. This is merely another temporal reset."
"Temporal reset?"
The village chief cautiously probed: "What do you mean by temporal reset?"
The inch-tall figure in the lantern said, "The divine powers within the mist are not continuous. This bizarre power erupts at intervals, transporting us to a fixed era. I have calculated that this ship will be carried by that power through thirty-six different eras. Right now it should be..."
The lantern shone outward, revealing billowing smoke and flames of war everywhere.
"Now it is the Ming Emperor era, though I cannot recall the exact year."
The tiny figure in the lantern said, "The son of the Ming Emperor of the Ming Emperor Heavenly Court—Imperial Son Chixiao—is about to board the ship."
No sooner had he spoken than a young general fighting in the battlefield flew over from afar, raising his palm high as he approached. A beam of mirror light shot from his palm, illuminating the ship.
The young general rode the light and flew aboard, three heads and six arms, majestic and imposing.
"Imperial Son Chixiao?"
Qin Mu shuddered and whispered, "Isn't Imperial Son Chixiao one of the faces in that black coffin that Patriarch Dragon King shattered when we first boarded the ship? That face claimed to be Crown Prince Chixiao of the Ming Emperor..."
The village chief's expression changed slightly as he murmured, "It can't be him. He was clearly devoured by the coffin and died after his divine blood was drained. The one boarding the ship cannot be Crown Prince Chixiao—it must be someone with the same name..."
"This is... the Heavenly River Ghost Ship!"
The young general's voice came, both surprised and delighted: "This treasure actually appears at this moment—could heaven be aiding me? I've heard that aboard this ship are the most valiant divine demons of the ancient heavenly court. If I can command them..."
He waved his banner, and many three-headed, six-armed divine demons flew over and landed on the ship.
The young general shouted, "Search it! Find the ancient Feather Forest Army aboard this ship!"
"Your Highness, there are seals on this ship!"
"Open them!"
...
After a moment, black coffins grew out of the deck one by one, black qi spreading everywhere, and from within came the panicked cries of the young general and his divine demons.
Finally, the black qi dispersed. The young general and the many divine demons of the Chiming era had vanished, leaving only rows of black coffins standing on the deck.
The black coffins slowly sank into the deck and gradually disappeared.
"When they reappear, Crown Prince Chixiao will die because the black coffin is shattered."
The inch-tall figure in the lantern flapped his wings and said, "Lord Commander, let us go see the Empress Dowager's coffin. Follow me."
Qin Mu and the village chief exchanged glances, both somewhat dazed. Suddenly, the village chief said, "General Lin Xiao, when you first met Mu'er, you said the Lord Commander had grown younger again. What did you mean? Have you seen him before? Was he older then?"
Qin Mu's hair stood on end as he quickly looked at the tiny figure in the lantern.
The tiny figure in the lantern remained silent.
The wrinkles on the village chief's face twisted as his voice trembled slightly: "That means this is not our first time boarding this ship! We have boarded this ship multiple times, even stayed on it for a long time! Isn't that right?"
The tiny figure sat on the threshold of the lantern, flapping his wings as the lantern drifted forward, saying, "On this ship, every time is the first time. This way, please."
Huanlong Jun collapsed to the ground, wailing loudly: "It's over, we're done for! My lord, we're finished..."
Qin Mu's face darkened as he grabbed his dragon horn and dragged him forward.
They rounded the pavilions, and there before the building, the old dragon that had merged with the structure had turned to stone, its face frozen in terror.
Qin Mu looked up at the stone dragon and laughed: "This crazy old dragon—could he be Huanlong Jun?"
Huanlong Jun shuddered several times, his body going even limper.
"Mu'er, stop scaring him!"
The village chief's face was stern as he said gravely, "In all my years, I've encountered countless strange events and weathered countless storms. I will not be trapped by this ship! Rest assured, I will lead you all out. Let's go!"
Behind the building was a great hall. The lantern led them through the winding corridors of the palace, past rockeries, through the meeting hall, and to another great hall at the rear.
The first thing that caught their eyes were eight crimson dragons. Their bodies hung from the beams of this vast, empty hall, their lower halves dangling down, coiled around bronze pillars, then extending forward with dragon claws touching the ground, necks raised high, but heads bowed low toward a floating coffin suspended in midair.
Eight dragons, positioned exactly at the eight directions around the coffin, guarding this suspended casket.
However, these eight crimson dragons had also turned to stone, as if carved from translucent red gems—extremely resplendent.
Patriarch Dragon King and the others had already arrived, circling past the eight crimson dragons to reach the coffin. Patriarch Dragon King's divine power erupted as he tried to open the suspended casket.
Yet the casket was extremely heavy, covered in countless seals. Even as a great god of the Lingxiao realm, he could not open it.
"The Feather Forest Army comprises two of the Heavenly Court's Ten Guards—the Left and Right Feather Forest, Left and Right Dragon Martial, Left and Right Divine Martial, Left and Right Divine Strategy, and Left and Right Divine Might. Among them, the Feather Forest Army is personally commanded by the Heavenly Emperor. What is 'Feather Forest'? It means 'wings of the nation, flourishing as a forest'—hence Feather Forest."
Prince Qiuming said, "Since the Feather Forest Army is the Heavenly Emperor's army, they naturally select the most powerful beings in the world. Demon dragon, how could you possibly open the seals they set?"
Patriarch Dragon King's face flushed red as he sneered, "If I can't open it, can you?"
Prince Qiuming's robes billowed as he strode forward, laughing: "The Feather Forest Army is my Heavenly Court's army, passed down through one lineage. I too once studied in the Feather Forest Army. Though my cultivation realm is far inferior to yours, opening a Longhan-era seal is not difficult for me."
His hands flew, transforming primordial qi into various runes that stamped onto the coffin one after another. Truly exquisite divine arts.
Everyone watched, each feeling a sense of awe: "The Heavenly Court's divine arts and techniques are indeed unfathomable!"
Qin Mu's heart also sank. Prince Qiuming's mastery was extremely high, his strength very formidable.
"The Heavenly Court has spent years collecting various Emperor Throne techniques and cultivating elites—they are indeed extraordinary!"
After a moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on Prince Qiuming's forehead, his brow gradually furrowing. Suddenly he stepped back, shaking his head: "Strange, strange. The seals here are not purely Feather Forest Army seals—there are other seals I have never studied..."
Feng Qiuyun sneered: "A provincial prince from the upper realm, all talk and no substance, making a fool of himself. Let me try!"
She set down the Emperor's coffin, drew the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword, and the wooden sword flashed as she stabbed toward the Empress Dowager's coffin, intending to forcibly break the seals!
Though she was the Earth Mother's maidservant, she was also the chieftain of the Phoenix Clan, a great master of the Lingxiao realm with formidable power. Combined with the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword, breaking the seals should not be difficult.
But Feng Qiuyun stabbed out dozens of times in succession, and the suspended coffin's surroundings rippled with light as various seals manifested, actually blocking the might of her and the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword.
The seals around the suspended coffin were formed from countless divine powers arranged into circular galaxies of varying sizes, absorbing the power of her and the Earth Mother Kunyuan Sword.
Feng Qiuyun frowned, sheathed her sword, flicked her sleeves, and returned to the Emperor's coffin.
Prince Qiuming laughed: "The Earth Mother may be powerful, but her foundations are far inferior to the Heavenly Court's. Anyone else want to try?"
Qin Mu's expression was strange. The other seals he didn't recognize much, but the one binding them all together was the seal of the Founding Ancestor.
He had seen the Founding Ancestor's Star River Seal technique more than once and had broken it more than once.
At the canyon beside the Ark of the Other Shore where the old dragon was suppressed, he had encountered it. On the Divine Execution Platform of the Chiming alien star, he had also broken it.
Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Following the gaze, he saw it was Zhe Huali.
Qin Mu smiled slightly. When he had broken the Star River divine technique on the alien star's Divine Execution Platform, Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi had been right there, and he had even tricked them.
Clearly, Zhe Huali still remembered that.
"The only one who can break these seals is Lord Qin."
Zhe Huali suddenly spoke up: "Why doesn't Lord Qin give it a try?"
A pair of eyes fell on Qin Mu. Qin Mu laughed heartily, tossed away Huanlong Jun's dragon horn—Huanlong Jun's big head slammed into the ground with a thud, bouncing several times, still too weak in his bones to rise.
Qin Mu walked forward, arriving beside the Empress Dowager's coffin, and examined the seals closely. Suddenly he laughed: "These seals have been broken before. Opening them is not difficult."
"Broken before?"
Everyone's hearts jumped, but before they could react, Qin Mu's robes fluttered as he flew around the Empress Dowager's coffin, unleashing various seal techniques. Immediately, the star rivers and galaxies around the coffin began to shift and spin, star vortices continuously unraveling, the stars formed by various divine powers retreating.
Before long, all the stars had retreated, transforming into marks that adhered to the coffin wood, forming a brilliant star river pattern.
Crack.
The Empress Dowager's coffin let out a soft sound.
Qin Mu stepped back, returning to the village chief's side: "Mission accomplished!"
The coffin lid slowly flew up, hovering above the casket. Within the coffin, rosy light soared, dao sounds swirled—like a beautiful woman singing a song, various melodies lingering without end.
That dao sound came from the rhythm of the Great Dao itself, intoxicating all who heard it, impossible to resist.
The crowd forgot to wonder why Qin Mu could open the seals and hurried forward to look into the coffin. The Chiming Divine Son cried out involuntarily: "What a beautiful woman!"
The others also felt their mouths go dry, faces flushed as they stared at the woman in the coffin, unable to speak.
A demigod roared, tore off his clothes, and leaped toward the coffin, shouting: "To be buried in the same coffin as such a beauty—I die without regret!"
Swish—
Luo Wushuang's blade came down, cleaving the demigod in two. He said coldly: "Anyone who dares defile the Empress Dowager's remains dies like this beast! Patriarch Dragon King, keep your men in line!"
His hand holding the blade trembled slightly—clearly he too had been startled by the woman's beauty, his dao heart somewhat unstable.
"Empress Dowager?"
Patriarch Dragon King's Adam's apple bobbed as his gaze fell into the coffin, his voice hoarse: "There are two women in this coffin. Which one is the Empress Dowager?"
Qin Mu and the village chief were taken aback: "Two women in the coffin?"
The village chief whispered, "Mu'er, when you opened the coffin, didn't you look inside?"
Qin Mu shook his head and said quietly, "The village chief told me to keep a low profile, so after opening the coffin I immediately stepped back to avoid becoming a target. So I don't know exactly what's inside. How could there be two corpses in the coffin?"
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
The village chief hesitated, then said, "How about... we go take a look too?"
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly, unable to suppress his curiosity.
The village chief couldn't suppress his either. He reached out, grabbed Huanlong Jun's dragon horn, and dragged Huanlong Jun along with Qin Mu as they went forward.
They arrived beside the Empress Dowager's coffin. The village chief stood on his tiptoes and looked inside. The rosy light illuminated everyone's faces, while within the coffin, the glow was thick and hazy. Two women lay quietly inside.
"Truly beautiful—even a bit more beautiful than Granny Si." The village chief praised.
Qin Mu gripped the coffin's edge with both hands and leaned in to look. Indeed, there were two stunningly beautiful women inside, but one was flawless, far more beautiful than the other. Even though he was accustomed to Granny Si's beauty, he couldn't help but feel his heart stir.
That woman's hands rested on her chest, as if she were merely asleep.
"Truly beautiful."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He lifted the willow leaf on his brow, allowing Heaven Duke, Earth Count, and the others to see the scene within the coffin: "Heaven Duke, come look at this woman!"
In his mind came Heaven Duke's astonished voice: "Jue Wuchen! How did she die?"
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