Chapter 1175: Taiyi Supplementing the Mountain

Long Qilin, Yan’er, and Little Earth Count turned their heads to see a plainly dressed old man staggering towards them. He was carrying a small iron bucket that held water and a willow branch.

Long Qilin looked around in surprise. The Twenty-Eight Heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Pagoda were still present, guarding the area. It was no easy feat to pass through the Heavens of this supreme treasure.

However, where had this old man come from?

The old man reached the cracked Great Black Peak, set down his small iron bucket, and took out the willow branch. He swirled the water in the bucket and, panting, said, "I'm old, aren't you going to help?"

Long Qilin quickly transformed into his Qilin-headed human form and landed on the mountaintop. Yan’er transformed into a young girl and approached the old man. Little Earth Count, with a serious expression, also tried to transform, but after two grunts, he couldn't manage it. He dejectedly walked over.

The old man handed the willow branch to Long Qilin and instructed Yan’er to carry the small iron bucket. "Dip the willow branch in the water and sprinkle it on all the cracks," he said. "This is to prevent something from the past from coming here."

Long Qilin obeyed, swirling the water in the bucket with the willow branch, then flicking the water from its branches onto the cracks of the broken mountain.

"Huh?" Little Earth Count looked up, staring seriously at the unremarkable old man, and asked.

"I've always lived here, I didn't break in."

The old man, with a benevolent expression, seemed to understand Little Earth Count's question. He smiled and said, "I'm not the intruder; you are. You barged into my home, built houses, and even attracted void beasts."

Little Earth Count asked with confusion, "Moo?"

The old man sat beside Little Earth Count, supervising Long Qilin and Yan’er. He called out, "Be careful not to run out of water. This water is hard to find."

He told Little Earth Count, "I could have left, but I'm not exactly popular. Besides, this tree died, and someone wants to use it to climb here from a past era. So I have no choice but to stay and guard this place, preventing them from crawling out."

Little Earth Count looked puzzled, pointed down the mountain, and uttered, "Moo?"

"Yes."

The old man nodded. "They live down there, but they've been dead for a very long time—or rather, they died before this universe was even born."

Little Earth Count grew even more confused, scratching his head and muttering, "Huh?"

"You could say that."

The old man thought for a moment. "The boundary between life and death isn't as strict as you might think," he said. "Life and death are merely different states of matter. They seemingly died when the universe was destroyed, yet they were still alive before its destruction. If they can seize the opportunity to climb from the past, from before the universe's destruction, to the present, they can survive."

Little Earth Count scratched his head again, remaining confused.

The old man, who had a very good temper, continued to explain: "Why did the void beasts' corpses disappear? They were pulled into the past. When the past universe gained some of the present's matter, they could seize the opportunity to swap places. That is how they can climb from there to the present."

"Moo?"

"Don't be confused; it's quite simple. This Great Black Wood was originally alive. Its roots connected sixteen cosmic eras, with each era being like a year. Its matter extended through endless ages."

The old man patiently explained, "Some terrifying beings set their sights on it, climbing along its roots from the past to the present. It's alright if you don't understand. Just think about Celestial Venerable Mu, who created you. He took you on the ghost ship back to the past; then you'll understand."

Long Qilin and Yan’er finished sprinkling the water with the willow branch and returned to the mountaintop, only to find the old man still talking to Little Earth Count, discussing some unknown topic.

Long Qilin placed the willow branch back into the small iron bucket and returned it to the old man. The old man stood up, stretched his back with his hands on his hips, and sighed, "This is also a mess I made, so I can only stay here and patch things up. It's not your Celestial Venerable Mu's fault, after all. This water is almost gone; I'll need to fetch more. Thank you, young friends, see you another day."

Long Qilin was about to speak when he saw the old man pick up his small iron bucket, leave, and quickly disappear.

"Another strange incident!" Yan’er exclaimed in alarm.

She hadn't seen how the old man disappeared.

Just then, the Great Black Mountain suddenly rumbled, its cracks closing as it returned to its original state. Even the five claw marks on its surface vanished.

That night, Long Qilin, Yan’er, and Little Earth Count stayed on the black mountain. Strangeness reappeared, and various anomalies came flooding in. It was as if something enormous inside the mountain was attempting to break through, violently smashing outward and causing the mountain to shake violently.

However, the mountain did not crack open. This commotion gradually subsided only in the latter half of the night.

At dawn, Long Qilin looked around. He saw that two more peaks in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had cracked open, and the inner wall of one of them even showed face-shaped indentations!

As he and Yan’er were discussing whether someone was growing inside the mountain, they saw a pretty young woman walk over, carrying a small iron bucket. She waved at them and said, "We meet again."

The two were startled and uncertain.

The woman put down the small iron bucket and chuckled. "Yesterday's body was too old to work, so today I've swapped to a younger one. I brought more water and an extra willow branch today; with two mountains cracked open, the repair might take a bit longer."

Long Qilin's mouth fell open, and he stammered, "Lady, are you the old gentleman from yesterday?"

The woman smiled. "It's him and not him. Please, all three of you, lend a hand and fix it quickly, lest they get out by nightfall."

Long Qilin and Yan’er immediately stepped forward to help. Long Qilin, holding the willow branch and sprinkling water, cautiously asked, "May I ask, young lady, what is your origin?"

The woman smiled. "Like you, I'm just an ordinary person, born of heaven and earth. However, we live differently. I'm quite tired. Wherever the sky leaks, I go to mend it; wherever the earth breaks, I go to patch it. It's all hard work."

Long Qilin and Yan’er helped her repair the two mountains, and the water in the bucket was used up. The woman sighed, "The spring I draw from doesn't yield much water. If several more mountains crack, I won't have any water to mend them."

She walked away with the small iron bucket, and the two black mountains automatically closed up, restoring to their original state.

Long Qilin watched her disappear just like that, feeling even more surprised. He thought to himself, "This Great Black Wood doesn't seem like a good place. It scares people so much every night that they can't sleep. Should I tell the Cult Master to choose another place?"

Another night passed, with the earth shaking and mountains trembling. Over a dozen black mountains cracked open. Long Qilin saw more than ten youths arrive, each holding a small iron bucket with a willow branch in it.

One of the youths said to him, "You've been helping me sprinkle water these past few days, so I'll give you a benefit. A new void mother beast has been born, and it's still very weak. Now is a good opportunity to subdue it."

Long Qilin was greatly tempted and asked, "How do I subdue a void mother beast?"

The youth said with a faint smile, "Hasn't your Cult Master already taught you?"

Long Qilin carefully recalled what Qin Mu had taught him. After a long time, he finally remembered that both the "Three Enclosures Supreme Consciousness" and "Great Overarching Supreme Divine Consciousness" contained methods for subduing void beasts. His heart settled, and he smiled, "May I ask, brother, where is that void mother beast now?"