Chapter 870: War Across the Heavens
When Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er flew back from beyond the heavens, the sun had already gone dark.
The sun in the Heaven Diagram was very punctual. Although no one controlled it, the formation would automatically cease operation every six hours. When Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er returned here, they saw that the moon had also gone dark, and even the galaxy formed by tens of thousands of stars in the Heaven Diagram had all gone dark as well.
These stars and the moon operated the same way—one cycle of light and dark each day.
They had carelessly activated the sun formation, causing the sun and moon to appear simultaneously, disrupting the cycle of light and dark. Now, both the sun and moon were dark at the same time.
Bai Qu'er led Qin Mu as they flew swiftly through the galaxy, her robes fluttering, scattering light across the star river and illuminating it.
The people of Yankang, as well as the gods, demons, and demigods of Yuandu, once again witnessed an extremely bizarre sight.
The sky was pitch black. It should have been daytime now—the time when the sun should rise and shine brightly—but the sun had vanished without a trace, not even a single star visible.
Yet at that very moment, countless starlights suddenly appeared in the southern part of the pitch-black sky. Those starlights seemed to possess a strange magic, as stars continuously lit up from south to north, breathtakingly beautiful.
"The stars in the sky have gone mad."
People shook their heads one after another: "First the sun appears in the middle of the night, now it's pitch black during the day. When things are abnormal, there must be something behind it—most likely some demon is causing trouble in the heavens."
Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er made their way through the galaxy in the Heaven Diagram, activating the formations as they went. The two flew joyfully, lighting up the entire north-south star river.
Under normal circumstances, the deities who monitored the Heaven Diagram would never fully light up the galaxy—at most, they would activate a few thousand star formations.
But now, Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er had lit up the entire galaxy all at once—an extravagance beyond words.
After the galaxy was fully illuminated, the bright band of light resembled a wide, glowing river that connected north and south. Although it was a false celestial phenomenon, it possessed a magnificence that was extraordinary.
Suddenly, the moon in the sky was lit up again, its light bright and clear.
Today was the fifteenth—the moon was full.
The people and demigods of Yankang wore strange expressions. The deity in charge of the moon in the heavens seemed confused. The moon had just brightened when it seemed someone on the moon pulled at a curtain, slowly covering half of it.
Then the deity in charge of the moon seemed to remember that today was the fifteenth, and slowly moved the curtain away again. The full moon reappeared in the sight of countless stunned onlookers.
Some people in Yankang were relaxing in their courtyards, drinking wine. Now the wine dripped from the corners of their mouths. People eating flatbreads had the bread fall from their mouths, teeth marks still visible on them.
"Waaah—"
A child opened his mouth and burst into tears, only to have his mother quickly cover his mouth. The young mother looked warily at the strange moon that had suddenly appeared in the sky, muttering incantations under her breath.
Heaven Diagram, Moon Palace.
Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er sat in front of the palace, hands propping them up as they swung their feet back and forth, chatting idly.
Dragon Qilin rolled his eyes silently behind them, feeling that their conversation was utterly meaningless. Yet the man and woman seemed quite delighted, as if every word they exchanged was profound and made their hearts flutter.
"Just like when the Patriarch was in the Western Lands back then."
Dragon Qilin rested his big head on the ground, extending a dragon claw to draw in the dirt. He sketched two stick figures holding hands, thinking to himself: "The Patriarch also seemed to lose his mind during that period—words that were plainly dry somehow tasted sweet as honey..."
In truth, whether for Qin Mu or Bai Qu'er, the fate that connected them was already strange enough, but their feelings were equally strange.
In Bai Qu'er's heart, Qin Mu was the big brother who had protected her and given her hope on the night disaster struck. Even after forty thousand years since Qin Mu's departure, she could not forget his sturdy shoulders, could not forget his sonorous voice, could not forget his words and deeds.
And in Qin Mu's heart, Bai Qu'er was the Sword God of the Upper Emperor—a woman of peerless elegance. She was not only the sword-washing woman who had saved him at the source of the Yong River, but also the one who had spread the philosophy that human lives outweigh heaven to the Kaihuang Era.
She was strong enough, possessing extraordinary wisdom.
The feelings between them had sprouted, yet each regarded the other as the one they could lean on.
If one could take the forty thousand years of history as a single picture, then the two of them would surely be leaning on each other—except one was forty thousand years in the past, and the other forty thousand years in the future.
Yankang Guoshi arrived with the scholars of Yankang, intending to take over the Heaven Diagram. Many demigod leaders residing in Yankang also flew into the sky, as well as forces from various heavens who flew to this place to investigate the source of the anomaly. Among them were Taoists from Qingyun Heaven.
Yankang Guoshi's face was very dark. This Guoshi had stringent requirements regarding mathematics and astronomy. The sun and moon in the sky had always been crooked and lopsided, making him wish he could shoot the sun down from the heavens.
But Yankang had too many affairs to handle, leaving him no time to have any thoughts about the Heaven Diagram.
Now, even day and night had become disordered—he truly could not tolerate it any longer.
The Heaven Diagram had originally been created by the Taoists of Qingyun Heaven. With the celestial phenomena in disarray, these Taoists also flew up to the sky, intending to repair it.
More and more people came into the Heaven Diagram. Yuchenzi was the first to run to the Moon Palace. Qin Mu and Bai Qu'er quickly stood up. Bai Qu'er still held the identity of the Upper Emperor's Sword God, representing the Southern Upper Emperor. Even Kaihuang, the Woodcutter, Di Yuemo, and others were her juniors.
She was too ashamed to be seen, so she quickly left Qin Mu and walked into the Moon Palace.
Yuchenzi didn't get a clear look at her—he only saw that it was a woman, so he craned his neck to peer into the palace.
Qin Mu blocked him, smiling: "Yuchenzi, how has the Guoshi been treating you? Did you give my letter of recommendation to the Guoshi?"
Before Yuchenzi could speak, Yankang Guoshi walked over: "What letter of recommendation?"
Qin Mu turned and smiled: "I felt that Yuchenzi had exceptional wisdom and was a great talent, so I wrote a letter and had him deliver it to you, recommending him to work in Yankang and accomplish great things."
Yankang Guoshi was surprised: "Daoist Yuchen, since you have a letter from my senior brother, why didn't you present it?"
Yuchenzi smiled: "If I can be appreciated by the Guoshi and thus be given an important position, why would I need Qin Jiaozhu's letter of recommendation?"
Yankang Guoshi said to Qin Mu: "He came to me and we discussed philosophy for several days. I felt he was a great talent, so I put him in charge of Yankang's foreign affairs, having him handle negotiations with the various powers within Yankang's territory."
Qin Mu was happy for Yuchenzi and smiled: "With Yuchenzi here, the Guoshi can also relax a great deal."
Yuchenzi looked toward the Moon Palace. Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he said: "Yuchenzi, has the Heavenly Court sent people to create a new Heaven Diagram? I see quite a few Taoists from Qingyun Heaven have arrived. Why don't you go and find out?"
Yuchenzi glanced at him and left grudgingly.
Yankang Guoshi said: "Senior brother, the celestial phenomena in the Heaven Diagram are disordered—day and night are reversed. Do you know what caused this?"
He looked toward the Moon Palace and said: "It looks like someone has been living here."
Qin Mu coughed and said: "I just escaped from the Great Dark Heaven and came here. I don't know what happened."
Yankang Guoshi said: "A few days ago, I heard you had fallen into the Great Dark Palace. The Upper Emperor's Sword God was very concerned about you and came to find you. Did she find you?"
Qin Mu was about to speak when suddenly Bai Qu'er walked over from another direction and said: "Young friend Jiang, I planned to infiltrate the Great Dark Palace through the Heaven Diagram to rescue Jiaozhu Qin. The deities in this Heaven Diagram were cleared out by me. However, the formations here are somewhat complex. I may have accidentally triggered some formation, causing the celestial phenomena to become disordered. Now that I see Jiaozhu Qin has returned safely, I am relieved."
Yankang Guoshi held her in great respect and said solemnly: "Senior, you have worked hard. I had also planned to clear out the Heaven Diagram, but I lacked the time and energy."
He quietly nudged Qin Mu and whispered: "Senior brother, why haven't you paid your respects? This is the Upper Emperor's Sword God, senior!"
Qin Mu was stunned.
"In her early years, she gave guidance to teachers like the Woodcutter and other Heavenly Masters. I heard from the teacher that she also told Kaihuang about the Upper Emperor's philosophy that human lives outweigh heaven, which was of tremendous help to the Kaihuang Era!"
Yankang Guoshi whispered: "Such a senior and worthy predecessor came to rescue you voluntarily upon hearing of your troubles—you should show proper respect!"
Qin Mu had no choice but to formally perform the rites of a junior toward Bai Qu'er. Yankang Guoshi still felt that Qin Mu's first salute was too light.
Bai Qu'er quickly said: "No need to stand on ceremony. I don't place much importance on formalities. Wentian Pavilion doesn't perform many salutes when he sees me either."
"Senior deserves it."
Yankang Guoshi said seriously: "Even the teacher must pay respects when seeing senior."
Yuchenzi flew over, slowing down to land in front of the Moon Palace. He looked at Bai Qu'er with surprise, then glanced suspiciously into the Moon Palace. Qin Mu coughed and said: "Yuchenzi, what does Qingyun Heaven say? Is the Heavenly Court still investigating the death of the Heavenly Court envoy? Are they still planning to create a new Heaven Diagram?"
Yuchenzi withdrew his gaze, suppressing his doubts, and said: "The Heavenly Court has indeed sent down experts from the Divine Capture Camp to investigate the death of the Heavenly Court envoy. The Earth Dragon has already been captured and taken to the Execution Platform of the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu's heart jumped.
The Divine Capture Camp of the Heavenly Court actually had experts capable of capturing the Earth Dragon?
That Earth Dragon was likely comparable to a powerhouse at the Yujing or Lingxiao level, yet it had been captured by the Divine Capture Camp and taken to the Execution Platform to die!
"How did the deities of the Divine Capture Camp descend to the mortal world?" Qin Mu asked.
"I heard the Divine Capture Camp possesses a unique treasure that can traverse various realms to pursue and arrest fugitives."
Yuchenzi said: "Someone has seen that treasure—it resembles a three-legged golden crow. The Divine Capture Camp rides on it to investigate cases in various realms."
"Three-legged golden crow? Could it be the physical body of the Great Sun Star Lord?"
Qin Mu was startled. The Great Sun Star Lord had originally been the chief of all the star deities, in charge of the heavenly net and earthly web, commanding the Heavenly Court's army of stars, monitoring all heavens—an immensely powerful position.
Could it be that after the Great Sun Star Lord died, his physical body was refined into a treasure and given to the Divine Capture Camp?
Yuchenzi continued: "The Heavenly Court has also sent people down to oversee the creation of the new Heaven Diagram. Qingyun Heaven is responsible for designing the Heaven Diagram, while the forging is entrusted to Yingzao Heaven."
Qin Mu frowned: "Yingzao Heaven is...?"
Yuchenzi said: "Kaiwu and Yingzao are two great heavens under the Heavenly Court responsible for refining artifacts and treasures. The gods within them forge treasures. They have some connection to the Artisan God Clan of the Kaihuang Era, similar to Yankang's Artisan Hall. The new Heaven Diagram will definitely be forged and replace the old one—there's no avoiding it."
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he asked: "How strong are Yingzao Heaven and Kaiwu Heaven?"
"These two great heavens are known as the War Heavens, forged into war machines. Back in the Kaihuang Era, the Tai Ming Heaven was where the Artisan God Clan lived, but compared to these two great heavens, it was still a step inferior. If you want to destroy these two heavens, even a million gods and demons plus an Emperor Throne might not be enough!"
Yuchenzi said: "My Qingyun Heaven often helps these two War Heavens design great treasures. After a million years of development, these two great heavens might be able to come alive, transforming into world-destroying divine artifacts of terrifying power!"
Qin Mu and the others clicked their tongues in amazement.
The military might of the Heavenly Court was too terrifying!
"Emperor Shakya Buddha is Kaihuang's Artisan and War Heavenly King, but relying on him alone may not be enough to infiltrate Yingzao Heaven and destroy the new Heaven Diagram."
Qin Mu began to worry, thinking: "Once the new Heaven Diagram is created and spread across the sky, Yankang is finished."
Yankang Guoshi suddenly said: "When the new Heaven Diagram is created, the ones most worried won't be Yankang—it will be the two Earth Mother Yuanjuns and powerful beings of Yuandu like the Great Dark Heaven."
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he nodded gently.
"Unless the Earth Mother Yuanjun, the Great Dark Heaven, and others surrender or die, the new Heaven Diagram won't be hung in the sky."
Yankang Guoshi smiled: "Therefore, we don't need to worry about the new Heaven Diagram. As for this old Heaven Diagram, it can serve Yankang's purposes. It's just that there's no powerful being to guard this treasure..."
Bai Qu'er smiled: "I'm not used to the bustle of the lower realm. I plan to stay in the Moon Palace of the Heaven Diagram."
Yankang Guoshi quickly bowed in thanks.
Qin Mu said with a serious expression: "I would like to seek the Upper Emperor's Sword God's guidance on some difficult problems in swordsmanship. Would that be permissible?"
Bai Qu'er said very seriously: "Guidance is too strong a word. Jiaozhu may stay here for a few days, and we can exchange ideas for a few days."
Qin Mu was overjoyed and followed her into the Moon Palace.
Yankang Guoshi and Yuchenzi watched the two walk into the Moon Palace, and saw Qin Mu try to take the Upper Emperor's Sword God's hand, only for Bai Qu'er to slap his hand away.
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.