Chapter 908: The Three-Eyed Crisis
"Would I deceive you?"
Qin Mu rolled up the geography map and said, "I have a senior brother who enjoys wandering around, searching for historical mysteries and uncovering the truth of history. He left many geography maps to me; this is one of them."
Qi Jiuyi ordered the gods on the ship to approach that ruined continent, saying, "This senior brother of yours dares to court death even more than you do. He was able to leap out of the Primordial Realm and come here, and retreat unscathed. It seems his cultivation and strength are not weak—he is no nobody. What is his name?"
"Wei Suifeng."
"Wei Suifeng?"
Qi Jiuyi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Never heard of him."
A god under the Crimson Emperor's command on the ship heard the name Wei Suifeng, his expression shifting slightly. He whispered, "Young Lord, Wei Suifeng is no nobody—he is the Emperor of the Cloud Loft Heavenly Palace."
Qi Jiuyi was startled. He turned his head and whispered, "The Emperor of the Cloud Loft Heavenly Palace? This Wei Suifeng is the sovereign of the Cloud Loft Heavenly Palace, one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces? What an exalted position that is! His status in the Heavenly Court is only slightly inferior to my master's. How is he a fellow disciple of the rebel Qin Mu?"
That god lowered his voice and said, "This Cloud Loft Emperor is also a rebel! He defected several thousand years ago. I heard he was seen through by a Heavenly Venerate of the Heavenly Court, who captured and suppressed him, leaving him in a state worse than death."
Qi Jiuyi suddenly understood and laughed. "Those who touch vermilion become red; those who touch ink become black. So the entire family of Sect Master Qin is indeed of rebel stock."
Qin Mu coughed, reminding him, "Brother Qi, I can hear you."
Qi Jiuyi pretended not to hear. The Phoenix Ship slowed down more and more. Qin Mu opened the geography map, found the location Wei Suifeng had marked, corresponded it to this continent, and located the spot where Wei Suifeng had hidden his treasure.
The Phoenix Ship flew over this continent and slowly descended. Suddenly, the Phoenix Ship shook violently, lifted by a wild and raging force, tumbling and rolling!
The more than six thousand gods on the ship roared in unison, mobilizing all their magical power. In an instant, various heavenly palaces emerged above this treasure ship, countless primordial spirits standing within the palaces, erupting with all their power to drive the Phoenix Ship's might to its peak!
The phoenix wings of this treasure ship spun and sliced, actually bursting forth with blade light, instantly cutting that strange force into countless pieces, allowing the ship to regain stability!
At that moment, a grand sound came from the ruins of the continent below. The sound had a wondrous rhythm, as if countless people were performing some kind of sacrifice.
Light burst forth from where the sound originated. The light grew brighter and brighter, so dense it seemed able to condense into substance, charging toward the just-stabilized Phoenix Ship!
Under the shocked gazes of everyone on the ship, the light condensed, transforming into an incomparably majestic giant god. It seemed to be a spirit body, without flesh. Light of shifting brightness formed various strange patterns on the surface of its body.
Its body was far vaster than the Phoenix Ship. Its head rose from the left side of the ship, and behind its head, halos of light spun madly as it reached out to slap down at the Phoenix Ship!
Qin Mu's mind roared. He stared blankly at that incomparably majestic giant god.
"Heavenly Duke..."
This giant god was almost identical to the Heavenly Duke with white brows, white beard, and white eyes, except the patterns on the surface of his skin differed from the Heavenly Duke's, and the real Heavenly Duke had no such complex halos behind his head.
The more than six thousand gods on the ship roared in unison, pushing their power to the extreme. But as the "Heavenly Duke's" palm descended, everyone's blood and qi churned, and they spat out mouthfuls of blood.
At that moment, a vast and mighty force erupted from within the ship, as if an Emperor Throne realm powerhouse had arrived in person. Qin Mu looked back and saw the figure of a nine-headed phoenix emerging above the Phoenix Ship.
The nine-headed phoenix soared, like light, like lightning. The Phoenix Ship moved at a terrifyingly fast speed, evading the "Heavenly Duke's" second attack. The next instant, it passed through the "Heavenly Duke's" forehead and emerged from the back of his head!
The "Heavenly Duke" collapsed with a boom, streams of light falling down like flowing water.
The people on the ship were still shaken, scrambling to their feet.
Qin Mu's eyes twitched wildly. The eruption of the Phoenix Ship just now was not driven by the more than six thousand gods on board, but by the Crimson Emperor Qi Xiayu's magical power elevating the ship's might to the extreme, shattering that "Heavenly Duke"!
Qi Xiayu was not on the ship. She was in the Primordial Realm, who knew how far away. The reason her magical power could activate the Phoenix Ship's might was that she had sensed the danger the ship faced, and so she activated the Phoenix Ship from the Primordial Realm.
This was the true terror of the Crimson Emperor.
Qin Mu had met Qi Xiayu a few times before. Back then, Qi Xiayu had pursued him and Emperor Shakra Buddha. She was in the Buddhist Realm, and a single melody of her zither pursued them across layers of time and space—a breathtakingly brilliant feat.
In the Primordial Realm, Qin Mu had also seen Qi Xiayu duel with the scholar Zixi on the zither. When the two Earth Mother Primordial Sovereigns fought fiercely, Qi Xiayu did not participate but simply extricated herself and left.
There had been several other meetings since. Qi Xiayu had also personally faced Qin Mu and Qin Fengqing during the Primordial Realm catastrophe, repeatedly driving them back.
This woman did not give the impression of being overly powerful; it seemed the way of music was her true mastery.
But it was only after entering the Peach Grove that Qin Mu learned Qi Xiayu was the disciple of Moon Heavenly Venerate. Moon Heavenly Venerate had astonishing attainments in the art of space. Her Ten-Thousand-Mile Peach Grove folded who knew how much space and connected to how many heavens!
Qi Xiayu had learned the art of space from her, which was why she could transmit her magical power across such a distance to activate the Phoenix Ship and help them overcome the crisis.
"Emperor Shakra wants to catch up to her—that will be extremely difficult," Qin Mu thought to himself.
The Phoenix Ship stabilized, and the phantom of the nine-headed phoenix above the ship slowly faded.
Qi Jiuyi's face was pale. Suddenly he shouted harshly, "Turn back! Leave this place!"
Qin Mu quickly said, "Wait!"
Qi Jiuyi glared at him fiercely and shouted, "Turn back!"
Qin Mu reached out, grabbed Dragon Qilin, and leaped off the Phoenix Ship. Qi Jiuyi quickly said, "Wait! Sect Master Qin, this place is so dangerous, and you still insist on charging in? Just now even the Heavenly Duke attacked us, clearly not wanting us to explore this place! If not for my master activating the Phoenix Ship, we would all be dead without a burial place!"
Qin Mu set down Dragon Qilin and laughed. "That was not the Heavenly Duke just now. It was some kind of strange spirit body within these ruins, somewhat similar to an innate embryo. That spirit body was shattered by the Crimson Emperor. In my view, it won't recover for a while. Going in now actually carries less danger. Since we've already come this far, we might as well go in and take a look."
"If you want to die, no one will accompany you!"
Qi Jiuyi snorted coldly and said to Dragon Qilin, "Second Brother, come aboard. No need to join him in his nonsense!"
Dragon Qilin hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Sect Master, that Heavenly Duke innate embryo really won't recover?"
Qin Mu nodded.
Dragon Qilin sighed in relief and laughed. "Third Brother, you stay on the ship. I'll accompany the Sect Master on this trip."
Qi Jiuyi's face turned iron-green. He leaped down from the Phoenix Ship and turned back to say, "A few of you with the highest cultivation, come down with me. The rest stay on the ship and wait, ready to provide support at any moment!"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Sister Yan'er is an existence at the Lingxiao realm. Having her by our side is enough; no need to trouble others."
Qi Jiuyi's face darkened. He ignored Qin Mu and said to the nine gods who had come down, "Once we're in the ruins, even if I encounter danger, you are not to save me. You only protect my Second Brother—under no circumstances may he come to harm! Understood?"
The nine gods acknowledged, praising, "The Young Lord is righteous and noble!"
Qi Jiuyi gritted his teeth, thinking, "What righteousness and nobility? I'm afraid that if Second Brother dies, I'll have to be buried with him!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily. "Brother Qi is truly noble. In that case, let's go down."
Yan'er landed on his shoulder. The others followed behind him, while the nine gods dispersed around Dragon Qilin's left and right, on high alert.
Qin Mu descended from the sky. Before he even landed, he opened the geography map again and compared it. The marked location on the map was at the center-right of this continent.
They were not far from the mark.
"Don't fly over!"
Qi Jiuyi swiftly came to his side and said coldly, "We don't know if there are other dangers here. Keeping our feet on the ground is better than being a target in the air—it's easier to dodge and to exert power."
Qin Mu praised, "Brother Qi is experienced."
Qi Jiuyi snorted and said calmly, "I studied under the Crimson Emperor and the Black Emperor, so naturally I am experienced. Unlike you, who is just a wild path. Once we're in the ruins, you follow my lead!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily and landed on an extremely ancient building in the ruins below.
Qi Jiuyi followed closely, descending after him, cautiously looking around, extremely tense.
Suddenly, Yan'er popped a spirit pill into his mouth.
Qi Jiuyi was about to spit it out, but the taste was actually quite good, so he swallowed it.
Yan'er was about to feed him another, but Qi Jiuyi quickly said, "Sister Yan'er, I don't eat these."
Yan'er smiled. "I fed your master Qi Xiayu too. When she was little, she loved when I fed her. She would always chirp and chatter, following behind me calling me sister."
"You fed my master?"
Qi Jiuyi's face darkened, thinking, "So should I call her Sister Yan'er or Auntie?"
Qin Mu looked around, then suddenly leaped down from this grand building, landing on the ground.
Qi Jiuyi quickly stopped Dragon Qilin. "Second Brother, don't come down yet. Wait until that Qin fellow is dead before we go down... Alright, let's go down."
Qin Mu closed his eyes, trying to enter a dream. Then he opened his eyes again, a look of surprise on his face.
He could not activate the Immeasurable Calamity Sutra to form a dream world.
He had originally planned to use countless versions of himself in the dream to explore this world, avoiding danger. But in this rust-blooded zone, there was an invisible force that precisely interrupted the Immeasurable Calamity Sutra, preventing the dream world from taking shape.
Just now, when he tried to enter the dream, a very loud sacrificial chanting sound surged forth, flooding into his mind. The sacrificial sound carried power, forming terrible interference, and the Immeasurable Calamity Sutra simply could not transform into a dream world.
"Then can I still activate divine abilities in this rust-blooded zone?"
Qin Mu tried to cast a divine ability. The divine ability still had power, and he fell into thought. But when he activated the divine ability, the sacrificial force still interfered with his thoughts and consciousness.
"The Immeasurable Calamity Sutra of Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha is a study of the mind. This sacrificial sound also seems to be a study of the mind. But when I enter the dream, I can hear the sacrificial sound, yet when I wake, I cannot hear it. This shows that this sacrificial sound has already transformed into an invisible force. I wonder if the sacrificial force pervading the rust-blooded zone is related to the Heavenly Duke that appeared just now?"
He walked forward. Ahead was the place where the light had burst forth and transformed into the "Heavenly Duke."
Qi Jiuyi caught up to him and said, "Second Brother, let that Qin fellow walk ahead to scout for danger. If there's no danger, we'll follow."
Qin Mu stopped. He saw that the place where the "Heavenly Duke's" light had burst forth was a grand-scale altar. Surrounding the altar were enormous skeletal remains, arranged in three rings within and three rings without, in great numbers.
At the center of the altar was a funnel-shaped depression, where faint, barely visible liquid light was condensing.
Qin Mu approached one of the skeletons. The skeleton was similar to a human's bones, but many times larger. At the center of the skeleton's brow was embedded a diamond-shaped crystal that emitted a faint glow.
He flew up and circled around this massive skeleton to inspect it.
"There are no runic or Great Dao imprints on the bones. They were not divine ability users, nor were they gods or ancient gods. But their corpses have not decayed for millions of years, which shows they were naturally powerful."
Qin Mu thought of the Core of the World Tree. The growth rings of the World Tree's core showed that in prehistoric times, the Earth Mother had suffered ten great calamities and nearly died.
Could the Earth Mother's ten great tribulations have something to do with these giants?
Qin Mu came to the brow of the giant skeleton. The diamond-shaped crystal there was about as tall as he was, reflecting his figure.
"This crystal must be useful—worth studying!"
Qin Mu used his magical power to pry the crystal loose. Suddenly, the skeleton collapsed with a clatter, turning to flying ash!
Qi Jiuyi and the others below were startled, but fortunately the skeleton only crumbled away without triggering any danger.
Qin Mu stuffed the diamond-shaped crystal into his glutton sack and came to another skeleton. This one also had a diamond-shaped crystal embedded at its brow.
He looked around and saw that all the prehistoric giant corpses had crystals at their brows. "Could these giants use these crystals as their third eye? What could their third eye do?"