Chapter 327: History's Afterglow

They had reached the Surging River.

Qin Mu looked around. The Village Chief had previously brought him to this vicinity when they were searching for Carefree Village, and the village where the Soul Guide ferried spirits should not be too far from here. It was only about a five or six-day journey back to Disabled Elderly Village.

It was already late August, and the sun was still scorching hot, blazing across the sky. It had been quite a challenging journey; when Qin Mu left the capital with Crown Prince Ling Yushu, it was still spring, but now it was already late summer. In another season, he would be returning to the village for the New Year. The experiences and encounters along the way had been nothing short of legendary.

As they traveled downstream along the river, a surge of mist suddenly blew in from the water. Then, a thick white fog enveloped the great river, obscuring everything around them. Qin Mu immediately stopped. Everyone else hastily halted as well, standing motionless on the river.

Xiong Xiyu's heart tightened. She whispered, "Monsters?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "Not likely," he said. "It should be one of the anomalies of the Great Ruins."

Just then, the Carefree Sword in the wooden scabbard on his back began to clink. Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly; the Carefree Sword rarely chimed on its own. The last time it had done so was when he encountered his father Qin Hanzhen's treasure ship. The Carefree Sword continued to vibrate. From within the mist, the clamor of people and horses gradually grew louder, as if countless figures were passing through. Xiong Qi'er gasped, "Look at our feet! The water's gone!"

Qin Mu quickly looked down. To their astonishment, the Surging River beneath their feet had vanished at some point, replaced by dry, yellow earth. The mist slowly dissipated, becoming thinner and thinner. Around them, numerous moving figures became vaguely visible.

Qin Mu, Xiong Xiyu, and the others were stunned, their bodies rigid. They found themselves surrounded by a desolate Gobi desert, with yellow sand swirling everywhere. Tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners, dressed in ancient styles, were constructing massive buildings, accompanied by gigantic beasts. These structures did not resemble human dwellings. The towers were towering and grand, pagodas pierced the clouds, and palaces were magnificent and resplendent, appearing to be residences for giants or celestial gods.

On numerous high altars stood resplendent golden celestial gods. Some had bird heads and human bodies, others beast heads and human bodies, all clad in golden armor, their divine eyes glowing. These were living deities, and wherever their bodies stood, there seemed to be eternal daylight. Tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners, under their supervision, were constructing a magnificent and grand palace for the gods.

But weren't they just at the Surging River? How could this be a desert?

Several chi dragons, pulling a treasure carriage, flew swiftly through the sky. From afar, a voice resonated through heaven and earth: "By Imperial Decree: The Ministry of Works shall oversee the construction of the Western Palace and open up waterways and transport!"

Qin Mu was slightly startled. "The Emperor?" he mused. "The third move of the sword art the Village Chief taught me is the Emperor's Calamity Movement! Is there a connection between the 'Emperor' in the Emperor's Calamity Movement and the 'Emperor' of this Imperial Decree?"

A dragon-headed, human-bodied deity standing on an altar bowed to receive the decree. Its body suddenly shook, transforming into an azure dragon. It then created clouds and rain, stirred up winds and waves in mid-air, bringing forth great waters to irrigate the desert. At the same time, another deity, leaning on a bronze spade, transformed into a giant. It began to carve mountains and dig channels, guiding the water for irrigation. Yet another deity took out a precious vase and floated in mid-air. As the vase tilted downwards, a rush of green immediately poured out, transforming the desert into grasslands, and dense forests began to grow wildly. And another deity produced a large cauldron. As the cauldron touched the ground, mountains instantly rose from the earth, the terrain dramatically changed, and the great desert became verdant mountains.

Qin Mu and the others watched this scene in a daze. These gods from the Emperor's Era wielded boundless power to reshape heaven and earth. The transformation of seas into mulberry fields was nothing compared to this.

"This great river must be the Surging River, right?" Qin Mu was bewildered. He saw the deity with the bronze spade carve out a main river channel. The river was long and flowed eastward. The form of this great river was somewhat similar to the Surging River, but its course was not entirely the same. It resembled the Surging River, but its water flow was not as mighty.

Just then, the mist surged in again, engulfing everything before them. In a trance, they felt the earth violently tremble. Massive sounds like the heavens collapsing and the earth fracturing filled the air. Within the mist was a scene of apocalypse: the sky spun, the ground inverted, volcanoes erupted, meteors fell, thick smoke billowed, and thunder roared, submerging the once glorious palaces and burying an entire civilization. They heard a rumbling sound behind them. Turning around, they saw a chasm slowly rising within the mist, severing the continent.

The mist gradually dispersed, as if the rust of time and space were slowly vanishing. The chasm behind them gradually became clear, with waterfalls cascading into the Surging River. The yellow sand beneath their feet transformed back into flowing water, ceaselessly moving eastward day and night.

Plop, plop.

The two white bats hanging upside down from the Dragon Qilin's chin were startled; their claws lost their grip, and they fell into the water. The two bats quickly flew out of the water, clinging to each other and trembling. "The Great Ruins are too bizarre!" they shrieked. "Cult Master Qin, quickly send us back to the Underworld Valley!"

Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Bat Brothers," he said, "you two are inherently a part of the Great Ruins' anomalies. Why are you saying the Great Ruins are too bizarre? You two, in the Underworld Valley, could scare countless treasure hunters to death!"

The two white bats exchanged glances. "We're anomalies too?"

Qin Mu found it both exasperating and amusing. These two had no self-awareness whatsoever. How terrifying were the anomalies of the Underworld Valley, with all sorts of bizarre creatures? Even a celestial being couldn't guarantee their safe escape. Yet these two were the guardians of the Underworld Valley, anomalies among anomalies.

The surrounding mist had still not completely dispersed. The distant chasm remained hazy. Suddenly, clumps of mist moved towards them. By the time they reached them, they had transformed into grayish-white figures, passing through them with a soft *whoosh*. Everyone quickly turned around. They saw the mists converging again. A voice emerged from within the mist: "What happened during the Emperor's Era? Why did this magnificent era vanish from the world? Was what just occurred a historical reverberation? Events from history imprinted in time, coincidentally replaying a scene from the past? This land is truly marvelous, and the ancient empire was astounding."

"Your Majesty, the Dao Sect and Great Thunderclap Monastery have some records that have been passed down. Your Majesty only needs to issue a decree for them to deliver these records."

"Good, let them deliver them. We don't want to deal with these monks and Daoists; they always tell Us not to reform the laws. Without reform, how can the people's lives be improved? We do not wish to see them."

The leading wisp of mist moved towards the chasm, its voice emanating from within: "I don't want our Founding Emperor Nation to suffer the same fate. We must learn from the lessons of the previous dynasty. What a magnificent empire it was, with gods governing the mortal realm and serving humanity, so prosperous... why did it only leave behind these ruins..."

Qin Mu's heart pounded. He looked towards the wisp of mist. "Founding Emperor?" On the Qin family's genealogy, the first listed was the Founding Emperor, the Qin family's ancient ancestor! He quickly chased after the humanoid mists. Those mists were incredibly fast, leaving him far behind in a few steps. Qin Mu activated his Heaven Pilfering Divine Legs, moving with lightning speed, but the mists still suddenly vanished without a trace.

Qin Mu stood there, utterly disheartened and blank. The Founding Emperor. The Founding Emperor Nation. It should have been the nation before the Great Ruins catastrophe. But what was the connection between the Founding Emperor Nation and Carefree Village?

Xiong Xiyu and the others caught up. Xiong Xiyu's eyes swept around as she asked, "Cult Master Qin, that scene just now?"

"A historical reverberation," Qin Mu replied. He composed himself and said, "There are many strange occurrences at the source of the Surging River. This place might be connected to several worlds, and many strange things happen when night falls. I didn't expect them to occur during the day too. Judging from that reverberation just now, this place should have been an imperial palace of the Emperor's Era. Perhaps we can find relics from that era here."

"A historical reverberation?" Xiong Xiyu and the others were slightly taken aback, a little confused. How could something that had already happened reverberate?

However, Qin Mu had seen historical reverberations before. On the treasure ship, he had witnessed the scene where his father, Qin Hanzhen, was ambushed. These historical reverberations are usually temporal imprints left by powerful individuals. When they reoccur, they are typically triggered by related people, objects, or events, and are highly coincidental. The reverberation on the treasure ship was caused by Qin Mu and the Carefree Sword. What caused this one?

"This time, it was two reverberations!" Qin Mu suddenly realized, or rather, it was a reverberation within a reverberation! The Founding Emperor came here, triggering the first reverberation, witnessing the gods under the Emperor's command transforming the desert in ancient times. The second reverberation was the appearance of the Founding Emperor and his entourage on the Surging River! The first reverberation was a part of the second reverberation, also recorded by time.

"So what triggered this reverberation? Was it the Carefree Sword again?" Behind Qin Mu, the Carefree Sword had already quieted down, no longer chiming. The historical reverberation had also completely dissipated. There was no trace of mist on the river surface; the sky was clear and bright, and the sunlight was intense. The mist had seemingly come from nowhere and vanished to nowhere!

"It's too strange; why would these things happen here... Wait a moment, a historical reverberation also occurred on my father's treasure ship. That treasure ship was in the rift between Youdu and the real world, and the honeycomb seal blocked the entrance between Youdu and the real world. If the conditions are the same, then the historical reverberation here must also be because this place is an entrance connected to other worlds!"

Qin Mu mused that perhaps historical reverberations were reflections on the barriers between worlds. Once triggered, they would replay history. He and the Village Chief had also encountered Soul Guides near here, entering Youdu, the Living Realm of the Dead, from this spot. The second time he came here, he also encountered Soul Guides and entered the Living Realm of the Dead from this vicinity to borrow the moon boat. The Living Realm of the Dead was nearby, and Youdu should also be close.

"The source of the Surging River seems more like a crucial node connected to other worlds," he thought. "Perhaps there are passages to other worlds here. There must be nodes connecting to other worlds here!"

Qin Mu's previously agitated heart calmed. Layers of light swirled in his pupils, revealing his Jade Heaven Divine Eye, and he looked around. He found nothing unusual. He looked up at the sky. After a long moment, he suddenly noticed something peculiar. The sky was still a brilliant blue, but he saw two clouds meet and then pass right through each other! According to his understanding, if two clouds met and touched, they would merge. Yet, these two clouds, despite passing through each other, seemed not to have truly touched! This situation was more like the two clouds existing in different spaces, appearing to meet but never actually colliding! In other words, above their heads were two skies, two skies overlapping!

"No, perhaps three!" Qin Mu leaped up, soaring rapidly into the sky. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, causing him to shiver repeatedly. "It could also be four overlapping skies, or even five..."