Chapter 417: The Great Terror

In Yánkāng's Hèzhōu province, morning brought a thick sea fog. Soldiers guarding Hèzhōu City would struggle to forget this sight for many years to come: through the misty, grey sea, an enormous narwhal leaped from the harbor. Its immense body soared over their heads, like a dark cloud casting a shadow over the city's docks.

The whale then shrank, falling into the city. Before the city's soldiers could fully grasp what they had seen, a gigantic shadow emerged from the sea mist. It was a turtle-shell ship, its hull covered in various seashells, and a Black Tortoise banner fluttered in the sea breeze.

The massive vessel headed directly for the harbor docks, appearing moments from collision. Suddenly, the turtle-shell ship rose dozens of feet above the ground, sprouted four legs, and rumbled past other tall ships, walking directly into the city.

The city's soldiers stared dumbfounded at the huge ship as it passed. They noticed Tengshe serpents coiled around it, their massive wings rattling as they circled the mast. The soldiers on board were equally strange, with human bodies and turtle shells on their backs, wrapped in Tengshe, forming an odd symbiotic relationship.

Tánzhōu province also experienced strange phenomena. Tánzhōu was known for its thousands of deep pools, both inside and outside the city, whose depths were immeasurable. One day, these thousands of pools suddenly dried up, their water and fish completely vanished. Many people peered into the pools and discovered bronze portals at the bottom of each.

The Prefect of Tánzhōu ordered people to investigate the pool bottoms. They reported back, "The bronze gates at the bottom are sealed and cannot be opened." The Prefect was filled with doubt and surprise. Just then, one of the bronze portals suddenly opened, and a scaly man emerged. He turned to lock the door again, shouting back into the portal, "Alright, alright, you nagging woman! The Human Emperor summoned me, and I'm merely fulfilling an ancestral promise to help out... I won't be reckless. I'm the calmest person in our Earth Elemental clan! What are you staring at? Stare again and I'll punch your knees in... I wasn't talking to you, I meant those crude giants up there... Yes, I know how to lock the door, you're more bothersome than my own mother!"

The Prefect of Tánzhōu and his subordinates stood by the pools, watching as a dwarf, five feet tall with wild, flowing whiskers, cautiously locked the large bronze gate before stepping ashore.

The Prefect stepped forward and asked curiously, "Venerable Senior..." The scaly dwarf eyed him warily. "Crude giant, don't even think about our Earth Elemental clan. We had an agreement long ago: the surface belongs to you crude giants, and the underground is ours."

The Prefect of Tánzhōu was speechless. He then saw the dwarf shout down into the pools, "Woman, release the water, lest these giants try to claim our underworld!" Immediately, waves surged within each deep pool, and soon all the pools were filled with water, turning a shimmering emerald green, teeming with fish.

Just as the Prefect of Tánzhōu was about to ask another question, the dwarf suddenly burrowed into the ground and vanished. The Prefect and his subordinates were utterly dumbfounded. "People live underground? How do they survive down there?"

Meanwhile, in the southern province of Liǔzhōu, where Willow Immortals were widely revered, a phenomenon occurred where willow trees transformed into Azure Dragons and flew away.

Throughout the country, strange events repeatedly unfolded, sparking widespread discussion in villages and towns.

"Mu'er, these are the formations I saw in the sky that day. I didn't have time to examine them closely, so I could only remember this much."

At the manor, the Butcher handed Qin Mu the diagrams of the sun, moon, and stars he had drawn over two days. Qin Mu felt his scalp prickle; the great hall was filled with various drawings. He picked up a star map: the stars drawn by the Butcher looked like ordinary stars on the outside, but their interiors contained incredibly complex and intricate structures.

This particular star was Kuixing, its formation pattern subtly depicting a demon-god with a dark face and fangs, holding a writing brush in one hand, a golden seal in the other, and standing on a fish-dragon altar.

He picked up another star map, this one of the Greedy Wolf Star. Its formation showed a dragon-turtle pattern, also with an altar beneath it.

Qin Mu frowned as he examined the star maps. Most of these celestial patterns featured an altar formed by a magical array, while the interior of the stars depicted divine or demonic figures created by formations.

"What exactly are these divine-demonic formations and altars for? Are they to keep the celestial phenomena in motion, or do they serve another purpose?" A subtle unease stirred within him. If their sole purpose was to maintain the false celestial phenomena in the sky, they wouldn't need to be this complex; merely making the formations glow would suffice.

If it could be achieved so simply, why make it so complex? "These altars bear some resemblance to the bone altars I use to summon the Heavenly Devil King, though their formation structures differ."

A chilling sensation crept over Qin Mu. Countless stars floated in the sky, each harboring numerous altars designed to summon gods and devils. Imagine: if one day, through a blood sacrifice, these gods and devils were to descend—tens of thousands of them—how utterly terrifying would that be? Not to mention Yánkāng, even the Kaihuang Era itself would likely have been annihilated.

"Yánkāng Kingdom isn't worth expending this much effort to guard against or monitor. So what exactly are these false celestial phenomena guarding against?" He was completely at a loss.

The star map formations drawn by the Butcher were incomplete. He hadn't had time to thoroughly study these false celestial phenomena before encountering the deity guarding the celestial chart, but he had managed to sketch the general outlines.

Qin Mu suppressed his shock and continued to examine the formation structures, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. Suddenly, he asked, "Grandpa Butcher, how skilled are you in formations?"

The Butcher honestly replied, "So-so, not as good as the Blind Man."

"I'll go invite Grandpa Blind Man to take a look!"

Qin Mu found the Blind Man and asked him to review the diagrams, saying, "These formations are very strange; I've never seen anything like them before. Grandpa Blind Man, have you ever encountered similar formation structures?" The Blind Man reviewed each drawing, his expression growing increasingly solemn. He shook his head and said, "I have never seen such a formation structure. Strange, truly strange. The formations in these star maps are used to construct the bodies of gods and devils, yet they can also emit light like the sun, moon, and stars. This formation structure is not simple, but unfortunately, none of these formations are complete..."

The Butcher said, "Time was too short; I could only remember this much."

The Blind Man meticulously examined them, pondering, "These formations, which construct the bodies of gods and devils, also effectively deconstruct them. Butcher, do you understand what this implies?"

The Butcher pondered, "Are you saying that if practitioners of divine arts arrange themselves according to these formation structures, they can possess the might of gods and devils?"

Qin Mu's heart stirred. If qi practitioners were to arrange themselves according to these formation structures and activate the formations, would it be tantamount to gods and devils appearing in the world? How astonishing would the power unleashed by such formations be?

"Unfortunately, they're not complete formations." The Blind Man shook his head. "You've drawn so many, yet none of them are complete. Besides that, there's another possibility."

A dazzling light erupted from his eyes as he walked out of the hall, looked up at the sky, and murmured, "These formation structures could very well be the qi circulation paths of those gods and devils. Every formation within each star in the sky could be a complete divine-demonic cultivation method! A tremendous treasure trove is hidden in the heavens, but it's a pity I cannot go there myself to see..."

Qin Mu's heart pounded. A single star representing a divine-demonic level cultivation method? How many suns, moons, stars, constellations, and asterisms were there in the sky? Didn't that mean there were tens of thousands of divine-demonic cultivation methods hidden within the celestial chart?

The three great holy lands—the Dao Sect, Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Heavenly Saint Cult—had their ultimate arts hailed as cultivation methods for becoming gods, Buddhas, or devils. Their ability to stand strong to this day testified to the extraordinary power of these three supreme arts. Yet in the sky, there were tens of thousands of cultivation methods no less potent than these three ultimate arts—the thought itself was thrilling! However, after the initial excitement, Qin Mu felt only dread and terror.

Great dread, great terror. "I hope this sky is never stained with blood. Otherwise..." A shiver ran through his bones. If the sky above Yánkāng Kingdom were ever to be dyed red with blood, the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens would transform into terrifying gods and devils, descending upon the world! This would truly be an apocalyptic sight!

Suddenly, Qin Mu sensed something and looked to the east. He saw an enormous turtle-shell ship moving swiftly through the mountains and rivers, the giant turtle serving as its hull, Tengshe serpents flapping their wings, and a large banner fluttering.

The Imperial Preceptor of Yánkāng also noticed the commotion and came to stand beside Qin Mu, looking eastward. He saw a massive wave of water, like a gigantic ocean surge, with a bare-chested man standing on its crest, holding a golden horned spear. In the sky, a woman with a pair of wings on her back flew, her wings beating, stirring up wind and thunder, crackling with lightning.

"They're here, just as expected..." The Village Chief floated up, a look of excitement on his face. "I've grown old, but they haven't; they're still alive..."

The turtle-shell ship arrived outside the manor and suddenly halted. One by one, Black Tortoise tribesmen, with turtle shells on their backs and serpents coiled around them, leaped down from the ship. The massive turtle-shell ship, with Tengshe serpents swirling around it, then shook at the bow, revealing a gigantic dragon head. Flames and thick smoke spewed from its nostrils, and its eyes darted around as it loudly declared, "Xuán Shèngwǔ of the Black Tortoise tribe, here to see the Human Emperor!"

Meanwhile, the waves beneath the brawny man riding the great surge rapidly receded, and he splashed down in front of the manor gates, the waves behind him vanishing. "Kūn King of the Kun tribe, here to see the Human Emperor!" In the sky, the woman with wings on her back retracted them, the wind and thunder all hidden beneath her plumage, and landed on the ground. "Wing King of the Wing tribe, here by invitation!"

Qin Mu quickly retrieved the Human Emperor Seal, held it in his hand, and stepped forward to greet them. "I am deeply grateful for your journey from afar, esteemed guests. Please, enter the manor for a discussion."

The Kun King, Wing King, and Xuán Shèngwǔ were surprised. The Black Tortoise turtle-shell ship suddenly vibrated and shrank, transforming into a robust man with a turtle shell on his back and a serpent coiled around him. He whispered, "The Human Emperor is getting younger and younger. He used to be a middle-aged man..."

The Kun King said, "Brother Shèngwǔ, the Human Emperor you mentioned has likely died. Humans aren't like us; they don't live that long."

Xuán Shèngwǔ sighed in relief and chuckled, "Good that he's dead, good that he's dead. That fellow was always stirring up trouble, always cynical, constantly asking us to do this and that. He was such a nuisance."

The Village Chief, who had been about to float out and greet his old acquaintances, froze upon hearing this, sulking in silence.

Suddenly, a voice from underground called out, "Túxíng, chieftain of the Earth Elemental Divine Clan... Ouch!" The ground trembled, and a disheveled head popped up in front of the manor gates, sporting a large bump on its head. He roared in fury, "Which heartless wretch refined these stones to be so hard?!"