Chapter 397: Flawless

The headless demon god's corpse suddenly went limp. Its claws, which had been clutching the mountains on either side, released their grip, and the body plummeted into the riverbed below. The gateway behind the corpse was completely blocked by its body.

Meanwhile, on the Sun Ship, the Sun Herder warriors were engaged in a fierce battle. The sheer number of encroaching Heavy-bodied Demons was overwhelming; even though the Sun Herders were born warriors, they found it difficult to resist. Casualties mounted continuously, with many being assimilated by the Heavy-bodied Demons.

Suddenly, all the Heavy-bodied Demons froze in place, standing motionless and dazed. Then, their faces began to rapidly contort, as if two countenances were vying for control of their bodies. Their features shifted quickly; some demons' eyes would abruptly split into two, then just as suddenly merge back together, a truly bizarre sight.

The many tall Sun Herders ceased their attacks, bewildered. Their enemies, who moments ago had been fighting ferociously, were now all in a peculiar state.

A moment later, the Heavy-bodied Demon fighting the Sun Herder chieftain suddenly collapsed, transforming into a group of Heavy-bodied Demons. The face of the leading demon changed completely, and the demonic patterns on its body rapidly faded. After a while, it became a woman wearing transparent scale-feather attire, with a graceful and lithe figure, and skin that was pale and somewhat translucent.

The woman looked around in confusion, completely unaware that her scale-feathers did not cover her body.

"What is this place?" Her eyes were filled with doubt. She didn't speak aloud, but her mental fluctuations allowed everyone to hear her voice and understand her meaning: "How did I get here?"

Subsequently, more Heavy-bodied Demons transformed into a different shape. Like the woman, these individuals were not clothed in true garments, but rather in thin wings made of scales. And it wasn't just one pair of wings; wings of varying sizes and lengths covered different parts of their bodies.

These were scale-feathers. Creatures with scale-feathers were rarely seen in Eternal Peace, though strange beasts bearing them existed in the Great Ruins. However, there were no such peculiar races of people with scale-feathers in the Great Ruins.

The scale-feathers on these people were still changing. The first woman to awaken quickly noticed her nudity. Her scale-feathers seemed to change color according to her mood; soon, individual scales flipped over, rapidly turning black as they moved, quickly making her appear as if she were wearing a black gown, covering her torso. The scale-feathers on the other scale-feathered people also changed color, covering their bodies.

All the strange scale-feathered people gazed around bewildered, unsure of their whereabouts. The Sun Herders on the Sun Ship were also perplexed, not understanding why these Heavy-bodied Demons had undergone such a transformation.

The Sun Herder chieftain speculated, "They must be alien races assimilated by the Heavy-bodied Demon God. With the Heavy-bodied Demon God's primary consciousness dead, the controlling consciousness over them has dissipated, and they have regained their freedom. This means the Heavy-bodied Demon God is dead!"

Several elders beside him showed signs of wild joy. Suddenly, a rattling sound came from behind them. The elders quickly turned to look. They saw Qin Mu, with two hands gripping a pillar, while his other two hands were pulling back chains. These chains pierced through the sun, artifacts used to tether it, and pulling them back was extremely strenuous.

The old chieftain grew anxious. He hurried to the center of the pillar, looked up, and asked, "Your Highness, why did you throw the sun out again? It's not broken, is it?"

Qin Mu looked down at his hopeful gaze, hesitating, "Well..."

A moment later, the old chieftain watched as Qin Mu dragged the sun back. They were two large black lumps, resembling two hemispherical mountains. The old chieftain and the elders were stunned. Nearly all the Sun Herders on the Sun Ship also stared blankly as the two large black lumps moved towards them. The Sun Herders' sun was not only extinguished, but it had also split into two halves!

Clang, clang. The sound of the iron chains being pulled was jarring.

Qin Mu dragged the two halves of the sun back, carefully retracting the Carefree Sword. The Carefree Sword then picked up the Sun Jade Eye, which floated unsteadily towards them.

"Chieftain, two pieces of good news. The first good news is that the Heavy-bodied Demon God is indeed dead," Qin Mu said, feeling a little guilty.

The old chieftain's expression was blank, and he spoke in a stiff, mechanical voice, "And the other good news?"

"We can get a new sun now!"

The old chieftain turned his head to look at their highness, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"How wonderful, how wonderful..." he murmured.

Qin Mu dragged back the two halves of the black sun. Tens of thousands of scale-feathered strange people followed the black sun, also arriving near the Sun Ship. Many of the scale-feathered strange people had not kept up with the fragmented sun and consequently died in the darkness of the Great Ruins. The remaining scale-feathered people, understanding the danger, informed each other, and more and more of them followed the sun, thus escaping death. Their communication was not through sound, but via their mental thought waves. They could inform others without speaking, which was quite peculiar.

As Qin Mu pulled the two halves of the sun back onto the Sun Ship, a voice suddenly resonated in his mind: "Yu Zhaoqing of the Sky Feather Tribe greets the esteemed master of this place."

Qin Mu paused slightly, looking at the woman in the black gown walking towards him. She approached gracefully and with composure, her black attire rapidly changing to a goose-yellow hue. By the time she reached the Sun God Pillar, her attire had not only turned goose-yellow, but its style also resembled the robes worn by the old chieftain and others. It seemed their scale-feathers could change form and color according to their will.

Qin Mu released his grip on the Sun Pillar. The two extra arms under his armpits gradually retracted, and the leg behind his backside also drew back into his body. The terrifying power of the Sun Ship within him continuously receded. After a moment, his physique returned to normal.

Qin Mu quickly ducked behind a pillar, took out a set of clothes, changed out of his torn garments, tidied himself, and then emerged from behind the pillar. When he had gripped the Sun Pillar, his power surged and his physique became extremely colossal, tearing his clothes. Although his garments were spirit weapons, Qin Mu's body had transformed into a hundred-zhang giant at the time, like a celestial god, exceeding the clothes' tolerance. Furthermore, the growth of a third leg from his coccyx had ripped the attire.

"Chieftain Yu," Qin Mu greeted.

Yu Zhaoqing of the Sky Feather Tribe looked at him with surprise. Just moments ago, Qin Mu had been a god-like entity, but now he was a young man.

Her attire spread out on the ground as she gracefully bowed in return. Qin Mu quickly pointed to the Sun Herder chieftain and smiled, "I am not the chieftain here; he is. I wouldn't dare overstep my bounds."

The old chieftain shook his head, "Isn't all land under heaven the king's domain? The Sun Herder tribe is also Your Highness's territory, making Your Highness the master here."

Qin Mu had no choice but to receive the Sky Feather woman, saying, "Chieftain Yu, this is not the place for discussion. Please have your people come aboard the ship and accompany us to the Sun Well for a talk."

Yu Zhaoqing sent out a mental wave, and soon all the Sky Feather tribespeople boarded the Sun Ship. Qin Mu reactivated the Sun Ship and entered the space enveloped by the Sun Well.

On board, millions of Sky Feather tribespeople curiously looked around, observing the strange small world, their attire continuously changing colors. These Sky Feather people were taller and thinner than ordinary humans, and both men and women were very handsome. Their clothes changed color with their mood; when they were in a good mood, their clothes would become colorful.

Qin Mu again released the Sun Pillar, somewhat hesitant to touch any more of them. The sun had been broken into two halves by him, and the terrifying power of the Sun Ship, without the sun's regulation, had begun to consume his own life force. Just moments ago, his foot had been swallowed by the Sun Ship. He had only managed to jump out by seizing the opportunity as his body shrank, but his legs were still somewhat sore and weak.

"When Your Highness meets the chieftain of the Sky Feather Tribe, it must be done with ceremony, without any neglect."

The old chieftain invited Qin Mu into the Sun God Temple, and only then invited Yu Zhaoqing to meet him.

"Your Highness." Inside the Sun God Temple, Yu Zhaoqing stepped forward, cupped Qin Mu's cheeks, and gently touched her forehead to his.

"What are you doing?" Fox Spiritess, bringing Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang, ran into the Sun God Temple, just in time to witness this scene. She huffed, "You can't just kiss people arbitrarily..."

Yu Zhaoqing looked curiously at the little girl, who was only slightly taller than her calf. She bent down, cupped Fox Spiritess's face, and gently touched her forehead to hers. Fox Spiritess immediately felt something new appear in her mind—the language of the Sky Feather Tribe. At the same time, she also sensed that Yu Zhaoqing had exchanged the language of this world using the Sky Feather Tribe's language.

Fox Spiritess suddenly realized, "Oh, it wasn't a kiss! I thought you were taking advantage of my young master..."

Yu Zhaoqing smiled, then leaned down and lightly touched Fox Spiritess's lips. Fox Spiritess's face instantly flushed crimson, her heart pounded like a startled deer, and she swayed as if drunk, shyly saying, "A little kiss is no big deal..."

Yu Zhaoqing walked towards Ling Yuxiu, whose heart was pounding like a startled deer. She looked down at her chest, but Yu Zhaoqing merely touched her forehead, not kissing her, at which point Ling Yuxiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Si Yunxiang also had her forehead touched and laughed, "So it's a language exchange. Is this a talent of your Sky Feather Tribe, or a divine ability?"

"It's a talent," Yu Zhaoqing replied, speaking the human language of this world. Though still a little awkward at first, she became more fluent as she spoke, saying, "Your Highness slayed the Heavy-bodied Demon God and saved my Sky Feather tribespeople from dire peril. The entire Sky Feather Tribe is immensely grateful."

Qin Mu shook his head, "I didn't intend to save you, but rather to protect myself. There's no need to thank me. Does your Sky Feather Tribe also live in the Great Ruins?"

"Not here, but another world."

Yu Zhaoqing explained, "The world we came from was occupied by the Heavy-bodied Demon God. All our tribespeople were consumed by him, mindless and ignorant. Fortunately, Your Highness saved us from extinction. Although Your Highness doesn't seek repayment for this kindness, my Sky Feather Tribe cannot fail to reciprocate."

Qin Mu asked curiously, "The world you came from must be the one behind that demon god's corpse, right? Why did your world come to border the Great Ruins?"

"Approximately twenty thousand years ago, our world collided with another, and their spaces overlapped. The people of the Sky Feather world discovered that another world would appear above them every night, which was very wondrous."

Yu Zhaoqing continued, "The emperor of that world commanded a god to come and demand our Sky Feather Tribe's submission. We later learned that that world was called the Kaihuang Nation. However, one day, an anomaly occurred, and the Kaihuang Nation transformed into the Great Ruins. Our Sky Feather world also suffered. At night, the sky above the Sky Feather world was no longer starlit, but the darkest black. After an unknown period, the Heavy-bodied Demon God invaded our world..."