Chapter 303: Overbearing Giant

In front of them, the vast underground space was dominated by a mountain peak that lay across their path. It resembled the upper body sculpture of a giant, an immense figure carved from jet-black stone, with distinct features: a nose, eyes, mouth, and ears.

Only the upper body of the sculpture, down to the chest, was visible. The remainder of its form was either buried underground or had not been carved.

Behind this sculpture, an ancient multi-decked ship floated motionless in mid-air. One side of the ship remained underground, while the other passed through a massive portal containing a honeycomb-like seal. The ship's bow had pierced this seal, entering another world.

That seal was likely the Youdu Seal mentioned by the White Bats.

Ancient gods had opened a passage between the real world and the Youdu world here, resulting in an invasion by Youdu creatures. This necessitated the sealing of the area. The White Bat divine race was tasked with guarding this place, and peace had reigned until this ship arrived and breached the seal.

Currently, the seal had become somewhat loose, with numerous cracks appearing especially where the ship connected with it.

Furthermore, Youdu creatures could now enter the Great Ruins via this ship, posing an additional problem!

Occasionally, several strange creatures would crawl off the ship; some unfurled their wings and flew, while others leaped down. However, before they could get far, the honeycomb seal would flash brightly, and these creatures would be silently decapitated.

The colossal divine statue, the portal, the grand ship, the honeycomb seal, the Youdu creatures—this underground world appeared bizarre and fantastical.

“This portal looks somewhat familiar…” Qin Mu scrutinized the gigantic portal, vaguely feeling he had seen it before but unable to recall where.

“How did these two eminent monks die?” He frowned slightly. The abilities of these two old monks far surpassed those of the White Bats. They had been tasked by the Tathagata to guard this place, which had always been peaceful. How did they suddenly die?

The two White Bats claimed they died of exhaustion. However, judging from the current situation, even after their deaths, their physical bodies could still resist the invasion of Youdu demonic energy using their Buddhist Dharma. Evidently, their strength had reached an extremely high level, not far from that of a Cult Master in the Divine Bridge realm.

Such beings, facing demonic energy invasion, would be difficult to exhaust to death.

Could it be that terrifying Youdu creatures had already entered the real world via this ship and killed the two old monks? Or did something fiercely attack the seal, forcing the two old monks to resist with all their might until they collapsed from exhaustion?

Regardless of the possibility, this was certainly not a safe place; rashly approaching the ship would likely lead to severe danger.

“Youdu is the world of Earth Sovereign, the destination of souls. Earth Sovereign’s envoys, the Soul Messengers, guide the souls of the deceased into Youdu. I once saw a Soul Messenger—a peculiar old man making paper boats in the dark Great Ruins. Though somewhat eerie, he was relatively amicable; as long as one didn’t interfere with their actions, they wouldn’t trouble the living.”

Qin Mu surveyed his surroundings. Earth Sovereign’s Youdu world clearly had its own unique rules and regulations. As long as things adhered to these rules, Earth Sovereign would not interfere with the real world.

So what about these Youdu creatures in the Netherworld Valley? These creatures were powerful, bizarre, sinister, and evil—even more evil and bizarre than the Heavenly Devils Qin Mu had encountered before!

Compared to the Youdu creatures, the Heavenly Devils were almost benevolent. These Youdu creatures were polar opposites of the Youdu Soul Messengers!

He looked up at the ship suspended in mid-air, neither touching the sky nor the ground. The honeycomb seal held the ship in place, composed of equilateral hexagonal pillars embedded in space, layer upon layer, semi-transparent like glazed glass. This was a seal left by ancient gods.

From within the ship, wisps of demonic energy and other eerie auras permeated the air. Faintly, extremely unsettling sounds could be heard from within the demonic energy, like the distorted screams of countless wronged souls suffering in Youdu.

Qin Mu steadied himself, then suddenly his body shifted, revealing his human-headed, snake-bodied form. Holding a scroll of scripture in his hands, the Gate of Heaven’s Will appeared behind him. His tail swished, and he immediately floated into the air, swimming past the divine statue ahead towards the ship.

The two White Bats were startled. They quickly flapped their wings and flew up, curiously examining Qin Mu. They exclaimed, “He changed again, he changed again! First he was an ox, then a human, and now a snake!”

“This portal is strange, I’ll go in and see!” Fu Yuqiu said curiously, intending to push open the Gate of Heaven’s Will and peek inside.

“Inside is the Youdu world. If you wish for your souls to die and enter Youdu right now, then open the door and try,” Qin Mu said in a deep voice.

As he spoke, he was suddenly struck with a realization, stopping in mid-air and staring blankly at the massive portal ahead.

The Gate of Heaven’s Will.

This portal, sealed by the honeycomb, was indeed a Gate of Heaven’s Will!

If this portal was the Gate of Heaven’s Will, then what was this statue?

Qin Mu slowly turned his head to look at the divine statue.

Didn't this statue and this Gate of Heaven’s Will resemble Qin Mu's current form?

“This isn’t a sculpture; it’s a person who has cultivated the perfect Star Lord form, just like me!” Qin Mu’s mind reeled. Although the Star Lord form involved a human head and snake body, not everyone could cultivate the Gate of Heaven’s Will and the scroll in their hands. Even Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang, hailed as a saint appearing once every five hundred years, had not cultivated this particular form.

This was the most perfect form.

Previously, Qin Mu believed this was the mark of a Hegemon Body, and why he was confident that Imperial Preceptor Yan Kang, even at the same cultivation level, could not be stronger than him.

Now, he had seen another being who had cultivated the Gate of Heaven’s Will.

“Was this an ancient Hegemon Body? Why did he turn to stone? Why did he become like this?”

Qin Mu stood silently in the air, gazing at the divine statue. This was not a sculpture but a human-headed, snake-bodied divine being in the Star Lord form who had been petrified. Most of his body was likely still buried underground.

His Gate of Heaven’s Will had become a portal connecting Youdu and the real world. However, for unknown reasons, this portal had gone out of control, causing Youdu creatures to pour forth and wreak havoc in the real world. Therefore, ancient divine beings had to seal this portal.

“So, how was he petrified, and by whom…?”

Qin Mu was puzzled. What exactly had happened to this ancient Hegemon Body? Why had he met such a fate?

After his death, why hadn’t the Gate of Heaven’s Will closed or vanished? Why had it become a portal between Youdu and reality?

The White Bats said ancient gods had opened a portal between Youdu and reality. What did that statement mean?

Did these two White Bats know about that past event?

Qin Mu calmed his mind, discarding the chaotic thoughts, and turned to swim towards the ship. Many strange events had occurred in the Great Ruins before the catastrophe, events that had become sealed history, unknown secrets awaiting future generations to unearth the truth.

He was still too weak to unravel the secrets of history.

Qin Mu flew towards the ship that had arrived from beyond the heavens, approaching cautiously. The closer he got, the more he realized its immense size.

Of course, compared to the Sun Ship and Moon Ship, this vessel was nothing remarkable. However, it was far larger than the multi-decked ships of Yan Kang Nation.

This ship did not appear to be an earthly artifact. Its hull was emblazoned with various strange runes. Though many were damaged, some still flickered on and off, their forms changing with each flicker. A careful examination suggested that many mysteries could be deduced from the runes’ transformations.

Qin Mu had no time to study these rune marks. He quietly boarded the stern of the large ship. Many parts of the treasure ship were damaged, but its main structure remained intact.

The honeycomb seal left by the ancient gods was not targeting them. These seals were likely only intended for the Youdu creatures and posed no threat to beings from the real world.

Qin Mu landed. Behind him, the Dragon Qilin and the two White Bats also landed on the deck, which was covered in green slime emitting a faint fluorescent glow. Qin Mu accidentally swam into a puddle of slime and quickly dodged away, only to find that the slime had been pulled into filamentous strands.

“This should be the slime left by dead vipers,” Fu Yuqiu said, picking up a handful of slime and sniffing it.

The Dragon Qilin shook its body, and immediately, balls of true fire flew out, incinerating all the slime on the deck.

Suddenly, a surge of demonic energy blew from the direction of the ship's bow, instantly extinguishing the Dragon Qilin’s true fire. Fu Yuqiu and Fu Yuchun, the two White Bats, swiftly flashed their bodies to shield Qin Mu. They opened their mouths and let out silent screeches, colliding with the demonic energy.

Boom—an unimaginable force struck, sending the two White Bats flying, and throwing Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin behind them into the air as well.

They all landed, looking ahead with caution.

There, darkness surged towards them as if alive, constantly encroaching. The Dragon Qilin roared in anger, shaking its body. Its physical form rapidly expanded with crackling sounds as its dragon scales intertwined, creating a grating noise. In moments, it revealed its true form, transforming into a colossal beast—half-dragon, half-qilin—its body radiating thunder and fire, rushing into the depths of the ship.

The Dragon Qilin opened its mouth, spewing a beam of light that shot into the thunder and fire.

Its strength was formidable; even a master of the Celestial Human realm would likely have to temporarily avoid such an attack. However, this strike, upon entering the surging darkness, was like a clay ox entering the sea—it vanished without a trace.

The two White Bats flapped their wings and flew up, spinning continuously in mid-air. Their white fur immediately flew out like rain, swishing like countless white needles into the darkness.

All the fur on the two White Bats had been shot out, and they tried to recall it but couldn't. They instantly looked like two large, hairless rats, standing there trembling.

The darkness continued to surge forward unhurriedly. From within it, a soft chuckle was heard, followed by a phrase of unknown meaning.

It was neither divine speech, demonic tongue, nor a Buddhist mantra.

Suddenly, Qin Mu's expression shifted slightly, and he uttered the only Youdu phrase he knew.

The darkness suddenly stopped, no longer surging towards them, but rapidly retreated. Then, countless strands of fur flew back, swishing and sticking all over the two White Bats, making them look like hedgehogs.

The two White Bats were bewildered and uncertain. They quickly shook their bodies, retracting their white fur back into their pores.