Chapter 240: New Hope

The Heavenly Devil King strode forward proudly, leading the old, the weak, and the disabled from Disabled Elderly Village.

"Many people in this village have sound limbs; why is it called Disabled Elderly Village?" the Heavenly Devil King wondered.

By now, Disabled Elderly Village could no longer truly be called Disabled Elderly Village. With Granny Si and Qin Mu among the younger residents, the "elderly" part of the name was debatable.

Grandpa Ma, the Butcher, and the Cripple now had sound limbs. Although Granny Si's Dao heart was incomplete, her body was fine.

In Disabled Elderly Village, only the Blind Man, the Apothecary, the Village Chief, the Mute, and the Deaf Man had physical disabilities.

However, what the Heavenly Devil King didn't know was that for the residents of Disabled Elderly Village, physical disabilities weren't the true handicap; their inner disabilities were.

The Village Chief was trapped by his inability to realize his ideals and responsibilities, disheartened. Even with sound limbs, he would never leave the Great Ruins.

The Apothecary was forced to cut off his own face due to too many emotional debts. Even if he regained his former handsome appearance, he probably wouldn't dare to go out and face people.

The Blind Man's despondency wasn't solely due to his blindness. Even if Grandpa Ma's hands recovered, he would remain lost in the tragedy of his wife and children's deaths, unable to forgive himself.

Granny Si's inner demons, the Cripple's past, the Deaf Man's lost homeland, the Mute's mysterious history, and the Butcher's reason for raising his blade to the sky—these were all the shackles that bound them.

Their inner disabilities were their true handicaps. Each was mired in a sorrowful personal history, unable to break free, and this was the reason Disabled Elderly Village existed.

If not for the child they raised having run off, the residents of Disabled Elderly Village would have quietly remained in the village, calmly waiting to grow old and die there, then digging a pit to bury themselves.

Qin Mu's arrival gradually brought their hearts back to life, but even he couldn't help them escape the past that had crippled them.

Only when one is physically disabled and inwardly broken is one truly crippled.

To overcome it, they had to rely on themselves.

True to his nature as a Devil King from another world, the Heavenly Devil King possessed vast knowledge. Even the Blind Man greatly admired his intellectual depth, especially his profound mastery of numerology, which completely convinced him.

They had reached the edge of the forest, nearing its end. Only about two li of road remained, but traversing this short distance took the Heavenly Devil King most of the day.

"It's New Year's Eve," Granny Si suddenly said.

Grandpa Ma shook his head. "It's not truly New Year until everyone from the village is here."

The Butcher's voice boomed like a great bell. "We must find the Village Chief, the Mute, and the Apothecary! We need to see them alive, or find their bodies if they're dead! Even if they're gone, we'll drag them back for New Year!"

Ahead, the path vanished, replaced by the shattered ruins of Carefree Village.

There was no longer any ground here. The forest ended abruptly in a clean, vertical cut. Qin Mu stood at the cliff edge, looking down, and saw another forest.

He was slightly taken aback.

"Another forest?"

Qin Mu exclaimed in surprise, "This forest is growing on a cliff face! How are the trees standing vertically to the ground?"

The Heavenly Devil King leaped down the cliff. With a soft thud, he landed steadily on the sheer rock face, his body perpendicular to Qin Mu's. He walked back and forth on the cliff, saying, "The seal here is more complex than I imagined. It's composed of cubes, sealing Carefree Village within them and controlling the geomantic energy of this place. Come over and see for yourselves."

Qin Mu carefully extended his foot and suddenly felt a pull from beneath. As his foot landed, his other foot lifted, and he found himself also standing on the sheer rock face, feeling no discomfort whatsoever.

What's more, from his perspective, he felt he was standing at the cliff edge, with Granny Si, Grandpa Ma, and the others standing vertically on the cliff face, while he and the Heavenly Devil King were on level ground.

He looked around, his heart slightly trembling. He saw another forest on the opposite side, also perpendicular to the ground.

Besides this, vast forests also appeared in the sky in other directions.

This situation was as if various landmasses had surrounded Carefree Village, forming a massive hollow sphere.

Geographically, however, it didn't resemble a simple hollow sphere. Instead, it seemed to be a colossal hollow sphere composed of hundreds or thousands of cubes of varying heights, with Carefree Village at its center.

Each cube contained thousands of li of folded forest space, and every side of the cube functioned as a 'front' surface.

This kind of divine ability was at an unimaginably high level for him. Even a being like the Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor probably couldn't conceive of such a divine ability existing in the world.

"The geomantic energy here has been altered," the Blind Man said as he came over, sensing the gravitational pull. "This kind of great divine ability is extraordinary; it encompasses all of Carefree Village. The only exit is likely the path we came from."

"Innumerable seals are in place to prevent anyone from Carefree Village from leaving."

Granny Si also walked over, looking up. The shattered Carefree Village floated quietly, still a great distance from them. She said, "The Village Chief and Grandmaster are immensely powerful; they must have entered that place, right?"

The Heavenly Devil King looked up, then walked back the way they came, shaking his head. "There are many restrictions in the air, and it's very difficult to avoid the divine restrictions to fly through. I'd need to calculate for a while to find a safe path. It would probably take me thirty to fifty years, though if my true body were here, I could be quicker, but it would still take one or two years. The gods and devils who left these seals are too powerful for you to handle. If they tried to fly into Carefree Village, they are most likely dead..."

He muttered, "The entire Great Ruins is a cursed land, enveloped by strange rules. It's truly difficult to live in such a world. Cult Master Qin, even if you invite me, I won't come to this world again. This world is too bizarre!"

The Blind Man murmured, "The Village Chief will surely survive. That old fellow isn't serious about anything, but he can definitely accomplish whatever he sets his mind to... Wait a moment, look at the shape of Carefree Village. Doesn't it look like a ship?"

Everyone looked up. Carefree Village was enormous; despite its ruined state, one could still discern its former grandeur and magnificence. A sun, on the verge of being swallowed by darkness, hung there.

Yet, if one were to combine these shattered mountains, colossal machines, and ruined cities, their combined form truly resembled an incredibly vast and magnificent ship!

In comparison, the Sun Ship and Moon Ship seemed insignificant.

"Carefree Village is a ship?"

Qin Mu's mind struggled to comprehend. Although the sun in the sky was an artificial one, it was still immense. But Carefree Village, with its cities and mountains combined, was even larger, surpassing the Sun Ship and Moon Ship by thousands of times.

Could such a massive ship exist in this world?

"The Blind Man has keen eyesight!"

The Cripple's eyes lit up, and his breathing quickened. He pointed at the sun, mostly consumed by darkness, and said, "That sun must be the ship's energy source! It's a huge alchemy furnace! An unimaginably large alchemy furnace..."

Granny Si gave him a sidelong glance. "You can't carry that home."

The Heavenly Devil King was also somewhat awestruck, muttering, "Such a massive alchemy furnace... what was this ship used for? Why was it sealed here? Could it be... haha, I'm overthinking it."

He gave two dry laughs and fell silent.

Grandpa Ma said, "A ship is for carrying people. It carries people to reach a destination. This ship has its own destination."

The Deaf Man, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. "Isn't this Carefree Village? Carefree Village is carefree and without worries, so why would it need a destination? If it has a destination, then it's not Carefree Village. If this isn't Carefree Village, what is its destination?"

Everyone exchanged glances, then spoke in unison, "The true Carefree Village!"

Qin Mu was stunned. The speculations of the village elders left him even more bewildered. Carefree Village—wasn't this Carefree Village?

However, Grandpa Ma and the others made a lot of sense. If such a massive ship was built, it certainly must have a destination. This ship's destination was likely the true Carefree Village.

However, this ship was discovered by enemies, shattered, and sealed. The survivors on board tried to escape the seal, but suffered heavy casualties, spending untold years to carve out a path.

The demonic creatures in the darkness were also searching for Carefree Village, even believing this place to be it. In reality, it was merely the ship traveling to Carefree Village.

"If this isn't Carefree Village, then where is the true Carefree Village?"

Qin Mu felt lost. "Where exactly is my homeland? Are any of my people still alive?"

His mind was a mess. Just then, a silver light flashed in the sky, and a silver skiff flew out from the city. The Mute stood on the skiff, holding a wooden box, alongside two white-haired, venerable elders, a faceless man, and a young boy.

The Mute expertly maneuvered the silver skiff, flying nimbly through the air, dodging the divine restrictions.

The Heavenly Devil King watched, dumbfounded. The silver skiff's path was precisely the safe route he had estimated would take him decades to calculate!

Carrying those few individuals, the silver skiff nimbly threaded its way through the divine restrictions, like a clever fish darting through water, avoiding all dangers.

A moment later, the silver skiff descended from the sky and landed before them. The Apothecary picked up the Village Chief and stepped off the skiff. The young Grandmaster shook his head, saying, "Why did you need to carry him? He could clearly fly down himself."

The Apothecary was taken aback. He set the Village Chief down and chuckled, "I've grown accustomed to it."

Qin Mu and the others quickly stepped forward. The Mute opened the wooden box, and the silver skiff melted away, transforming into numerous silver pellets that clinked as they fell into the box.

The Mute skillfully closed the box and held it in his hand. Seeing everyone approach, he smiled and waved his hand, making incoherent sounds.

The group approached, surrounding them, eager to ask various questions, especially to the Mute.

Even a being as knowledgeable as the Heavenly Devil King needed decades to calculate the safe route. How did the Mute know it?

Also, what exactly did they see when they went to that city in the sky?

Was that truly Carefree Village? Were there any survivors?

Just as everyone was about to speak, the Village Chief floated up and smiled at Qin Mu. "Mu'er, I have good news for you. We finally know your surname. Apothecary, give him the items."

The Apothecary poured out many items from his pouch: a waist token, a bronze mirror, a plaque, an emblem, a jade pendant, clothing, and other objects. All these items bore the same character.

"Your surname is Qin."

The Apothecary chuckled, "There were many such items in that city, and the Village Chief asked me to collect some. See if the characters on them are the same as those on your jade pendant."

Qin Mu's mind reeled. He looked back at the small village they had come from.

A glimmer of hope arose in his heart.

The Village Chief seemed to perceive his thoughts and said, "That place may not have been your birthplace, and those people may not have been your parents. Your parents might still be alive."