Chapter 237: Forbidden Zone

On the towering moon ship, amidst the central giant pillars, Qin Mu spread his six arms, grasping them like a giant being punished, as he gazed at another world unfolding before his eyes.

Behind him, a crescent moon floated high in the sky. Fiery meteors occasionally plummeted, striking around the moon ship and briefly illuminating the otherwise pitch-black darkness.

Beyond the ephemeral light, chaotic monstrous beings bustled in a noisy, lively throng.

Yet, before him lay a pure land untouched by darkness, isolated, serene, mysterious, and full of the unknown.

It was hard to imagine such a tranquil place existing within the Great Ruins.

Ahead stretched a vast forest and endless mountain ranges. Further still, the land abruptly ended, as if hollowed out. Beyond a sea of clouds, a city stood suspended in mid-air, reminiscent of an immortal dwelling.

Golden cloud light enveloped the area, and a sun shone brightly in the sky. Palaces soared into the heavens, while floating mountains, their golden peaks glinting, rested among the clouds.

Deep within the clouds, majestic divine statues stood sentinel, resembling emperors guarding their domain.

Enormous machines floated thousands of feet above the ground, operating in silent stillness. Innumerable formations were etched into the profound iron and profound gold, forming incredibly complex colossal mechanisms. Their power materialized into streams of light, connecting to both the city and the sky.

However...

All of it lay in ruins.

Qin Mu was stunned. Before him lay a shattered Carefree Village; the magnificent sky-city had collapsed and fractured. The towering palaces were riddled with holes, the floating mountains lay in fragmented pieces, and debris of all sizes drifted in the air, colliding within the sea of clouds. Even the majestic divine statues were dismembered and skewed, seemingly struck by an immense force.

The sun in the sky had a large black spot at its core, which had consumed more than half of its mass, leaving only a golden halo around its circumference, like a luminous ring.

The city above the clouds had been reduced to rubble, and the colossal machines that had stood amongst the clouds were also damaged, with large, broken parts silently drifting around them.

A few massive machines, however, still functioned, maintaining Carefree Village's protective barrier.

Not far in front of the moon ship, an enormous plaque was embedded diagonally in the forest, resembling a fallen monument. The characters "Xiao Bao" were inscribed upon it.

The plaque was broken.

A pang of sorrow suddenly welled up in Qin Mu's heart, rapidly growing until it completely overwhelmed him.

In this world, Carefree Village was no more.

There was no longer any place free from worry.

The giant, standing on the moon ship and clutching the pillars, lowered his head, as if helplessly enduring the punishment of the heavens.

He knelt, and tears splattered onto the hard ground, one by one.

The homeland that had haunted his dreams was now shattered, gone forever.

His long search, the imagined scenes of his homeland, his family, neighbors, and friends—all shattered and dissolved with the appearance of this world before him, like a drawing made on sand, turned to dust by a gust of wind.

He was now homeless, without the mother he had imagined waiting for her son's return, without the stern father of his fantasies...

The dream was over; he was still an orphan adopted by the old, the weak, and the infirm.

His homeland had been destroyed.

Demon King Dutu raised his head, peering through the window at the giant kneeling between the pillars. Enveloped in hazy moonlight, the giant bowed deeply, only his shoulders visibly shaking.

In that moment, Demon King Dutu felt a profound empathy.

When his Dutu world was destroyed, he too had been consumed by such sorrow, such grief, such unbearable agony that he couldn't suppress his emotions. He had wailed uncontrollably, cursed heaven and earth, raged furiously, and fought fiercely with the underworld emissaries of Youdu, desperately trying to save the lives of his people!

He had been knocked down countless times, his body shattered, his soul fragmented.

Ultimately, he had surrendered, succumbing to fate.

In Qin Mu, he saw a reflection of his younger self—a self on the verge of being defeated, on the cusp of yielding to destiny.

In life, one loses oneself, coming and going as if mad.Playing with mud balls in the dirt, oblivious to the divine luminous pearl. Through much wind and rain, many times erased, how could one ever fleetingly turn back in alarm?

Where is home?Where is my homeland?

Qin Mu slowly raised his head, his gaze vacant. His eyes shone with a brilliant radiance like a bright moon; when he closed them, the light vanished, only to reappear like two full moons when he opened them again.

He stood on the moon ship, his heart churning with a multitude of thoughts, unable to find peace for a long time.

“I didn't come here to find Carefree Village,” he murmured, “I came to find the Village Chief and Granny. Granny and the others are my true family; Disabled Elderly Village is my home, the Carefree Village in my heart!”

Qin Mu composed himself and looked around. Suddenly, he noticed several stone statues placed at the edge of the barrier.

Even those at the Divine Passageway realm found it difficult to traverse the darkness of the Great Ruins unless they carried divine statues. These statues, however, were extremely heavy; even ordinary cult masters would struggle to carry one, let alone travel far with it.

These stone statues must have been transported here by someone wielding great magical power, used to repel the darkness.

Once inside Carefree Village, the statues had been left behind.

Qin Mu's heart stirred. The Village Chief could traverse the darkness with the Apothecary, capable of contending with all sorts of strange and ominous phenomena. As for Mute, he too likely possessed means to resist the darkness.

However, Grandpa Ma, Cripple, Butcher, and Blind would likely need divine statues to navigate the darkness. Since Grandpa Ma, Cripple, and Butcher's bodies had fully recovered, carrying the statues would allow them to travel much greater distances.

No one knew the full extent of Deaf's power, but his paintings possessed uncanny, almost supernatural abilities. The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace was a fervent admirer, taking pride in collecting his works.

And Granny Si, who harbored the previous sect master Li Tianxing within her, should also be capable of moving divine statues.

These stone statues were most likely left by them.

“So they also found this place,” he mused. “Could it be that they entered here, but are now trapped, preventing them from returning to the village for the New Year?”

Qin Mu's eyes snapped open, his gaze sweeping the surroundings as potent energy surged into them. He pushed the Nine Heavens Eye Opening Technique, taught to him by Blind, to its absolute limit: “I'm here, Village Chief, Granny! I'll take you home for the New Year!”

He did not step directly into Carefree Village but instead surveyed the movements within.

Considering the immense power of the Village Chief and the others, if they had indeed entered Carefree Village, then it would certainly not be as tranquil as it appeared. There must be numerous dangers within to have trapped them.

Even with the moon ship, Qin Mu's safety wasn't guaranteed; there might be even more dangers awaiting.

Qin Mu's gaze fell upon the forest before Carefree Village. He spotted the traces left by the Village Chief and the others. Great divine ability users like the Village Chief and Mute possessed heaven-defying powers, and their abilities typically caused astonishing destruction.

Strangely, however, although Qin Mu saw evidence of their battles, the resulting destruction was not extensive.

Following the traces, Qin Mu noticed several ruins within the forest. The path taken by the Village Chief and the others precisely followed these ancient remnants.

The reason they followed these ruins was because it was the only safe passage, the only way to enter Carefree Village.

Beyond this route lay nothing but forbidden zones!

Using his Nine Heavens Divine Eye, Qin Mu could only perceive faint, dangerous flickers of light emerging from the forest. However, he couldn't discern the nature of the restrictions present.

These restrictions posed immense dangers; comparatively, following the path of the ruins seemed safer.

Qin Mu continued to observe. He then saw a few faint strands of light erupting from a ruin, some three hundred *li* away, yet not far from the forest's edge.

Qin Mu's vital qi surged. He removed the jade pendant from the barrier and, activating the moon ship, stepped through the barrier.

A slight tremor rippled through the air. He felt as though he had stepped from one world into another. The Great Ruins, enveloped in darkness behind him, vanished without a trace. Qin Mu turned to look back, but saw nothing.

At that very moment, strange laughter echoed through the air. Countless demonic creatures, previously clinging to the moon ship's hull, leaped off, surging like a tide toward the forest.

A demon god soared into the air, possessing two heads, five tails, and eight long, hand-like legs that moved with incredible speed. It shrieked, “Haraka!”

Demon King Dutu was startled, completely unaware that so many demonic creatures had secretly lurked on the ship under the cloak of darkness.

The demon god turned back, grinning at Qin Mu on the ship. “We've searched high and low for this place, only to stumble upon it effortlessly! We've longed to enter Carefree Village for a very long time, and we should thank you for leading the way!”

This was the very demon god Qin Mu and the Village Chief had encountered when entering the realm of the living dead. After the sun ship was found in Xianglong City, it was also this demon god who had tempted Qin Mu in the darkness, luring him into the shadows in an attempt to abduct him.

Evidently, this demon god had been lurking on the moon ship for a long time, awaiting this opportunity.

She seemed to have long anticipated that Qin Mu would inevitably re-enter the realm of the living dead to use the moon ship to return to Carefree Village.

Now, she had finally succeeded.

“Children,” the demon god shrieked, “occupy this last pure land! From now on, this world will be ours!”

The demon god shrieked, leading an overwhelming horde of demonic creatures surging towards the far side of the forest.

Qin Mu remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the celestial devils.

Suddenly, an arcane ripple emanated from the forest. The tens of thousands of celestial devils who had surged into it instantly melted away, their flesh dissolving until only their empty skins remained. These then turned to ash and scattered with the slightest breeze.

The demon god, who had also flown into the air above the forest, immediately tried to bolt out, screaming, “Sabarami!”

A massive vortex materialized, swallowing the demon god whole.

Qin Mu had seen this technique before. When battling the Village Chief, the demon god had created a ‘beyond-shore’ space, attempting to trap him within it. Unexpectedly, she had fallen into it herself along with the Village Chief.

This time, however, she deployed the technique not to trap someone, but to escape into the beyond-shore herself, seeking refuge from the dangers within the forest!

At that very moment, a ball of fire erupted from the forest, and a beam of light shot forth from its center, piercing into the depths of space.

In the sky, a trickle of blood appeared, followed by the demon god's corpse, which plummeted from above, crashed into the forest, and instantly disintegrated into ash.

On the moon ship, Demon King Dutu was struck silent, his body and mind turning cold. “Does this cursed world really need to be this perilous?” he muttered.

In Qin Mu's eyes, pure white moonlight shimmered like ethereal smoke. His voice rumbled as he murmured to himself, “Your deaths confirm my suspicions. This forbidden zone isn't to defend against external enemies; it's to prevent the people of Carefree Village from leaving! This is a forbidden zone left behind by the entity that destroyed the Great Ruins.”