Chapter 427: A Continuous Line of Succession

The Village Chief walked forward with the man, seeing traces of combat in Fengdu City. Occasionally, he also saw many gods and devils encircling paper figures and paper horses, which made him wonder.

"Fengdu has just gone through a major battle. King Yama personally led us to fight against Youdu."

The man said, "This isn't the first time; we've fought many times before. This time, Youdu invaded. Youdu has been observing the world outside the Great Ruins, believing the Yan Kang Tribulation was about to erupt, so they came to harvest souls, but we repelled them."

The Village Chief was horrified. The Fengdu world at war with the Youdu world?

He had no idea such events were unfolding in the dark Great Ruins!

Two worlds were at war, yet the Great Ruins remained calm, with no hint of any conflict. It was truly incredible!

As for the "Yan Kang Tribulation" and "harvesting souls" mentioned by his master, they were even more terrifying, sending shivers down his spine. The information contained in his master's few words was too much for him not to ponder deeply.

Furthermore, Fengdu had already fought against Youdu many times before, and many unknown secrets were hidden within these conflicts.

They arrived at a residence. The man pushed the door open, smiled at the old man who opened the door, and said, "Old geezer, I've brought your grand-disciple to see you! Good disciple, come quickly and meet your grand-master!"

The Village Chief kicked his backside and said angrily, "How dare you speak to my grand-master like that? He's your master, after all! You have no manners!"

The man also grew furious. "He tricked me into this path; do you know how much I've suffered? My wife and children are scattered, all my friends are dead. Calling him an old geezer is letting him off easy! Besides, I'm your master, where are your manners? Your temper is growing, you need a good thrashing!"

"Stop bickering!"

The old man was also furious. "You're all Human Emperors, bickering and fighting the moment you meet. What kind of decorum is that? I'll take you to see my master. That old scoundrel will be delighted to see that you've also died!"

Both the Village Chief and the burly man were displeased. The Village Chief said, "Grand-master, although he is your master, he is also my grand-ancestor. Calling him an old scoundrel is a bit disrespectful."

The old man sneered repeatedly. "That old scoundrel tricked me into becoming the Human Emperor, making me suffer my entire life with no enjoyment. If he weren't already dead, I'd beat that old bastard to death! Come on, I'll take you to see him!"

The Village Chief and the burly man exchanged glances. The burly man tightened his clothes and whispered, "Good disciple, you've passed on the position of Human Emperor, haven't you?"

The Village Chief nodded.

The burly man let out a sigh of relief and said, "After your disciple dies, he'll also find his way here to curse and beat you, saying you ruined his life."

The Village Chief grew nervous. He shook his head and said, "Mu'er is a good child; he wouldn't do that. Mu'er is the most filial..."

The burly man sneered, "I thought when you died and came here, you'd hug me and cry your eyes out. Instead, you kicked me the moment you arrived! If you're like this, what about your disciple? Just wait until he dies and comes here to beat you up! Oh, and did you ever lie to him?"

The Village Chief's face instantly darkened. He stammered, "I lied and told him he was a Hegemon Body, and he worked so hard."

"What's a Hegemon Body?" the old man leaned closer, quite curious.

The Village Chief explained the whole story. The two deceased individuals were dumbfounded, speechless for a long time, and could only give the Village Chief a thumbs-up.

"You're dead meat!"

The two men said repeatedly, "You're the cruelest liar; you're dead! Although we also lied to our disciples, we weren't as ruthless as you. You, on the other hand, made him live his entire life in a huge lie. When he dies, he'll do more than just kick you or call you an old geezer!"

The Village Chief's face was as black as charcoal. He consoled himself, "Mu'er wouldn't do this, he wouldn't do this. Mu'er is the most filial..."

"You were also very filial back then. You were originally the most filial to me, yet you still kicked me off the bridge the moment we met, didn't you?"

"Shut up, you old harlot!"

Dragon King God tracked the injured deity all the way to the Divine Severance Mountain Range. Qin Mu forcibly suppressed his weakness and refined spirit pills to heal Dragon King God.

Controlling the Moon Boat was extremely draining for him. The moon on the Moon Boat was also a treasure refined by the goddess Sister Qing, but it had extinguished and no longer glowed, unable to provide the immense power the Moon Boat required. To pilot the Moon Boat, it had to draw upon his life force.

Last time, when Qin Mu fished out a new sun for the Sun Herder tribe, he had already expended a vast amount of life force and only barely recovered after soaking in the Pure Yang Pool. This time, controlling the Moon Boat also resulted in immense depletion. Unfortunately, the Moon Boat was much more severely damaged than the Sun Boat, and its Taiyin Pool was dry, unable to replenish life force. He could only rely on himself, the divine physician, to slowly recuperate.

However, he now needed to pursue the injured deity, preventing him from escaping into Yan Kang. He didn't have time to treat himself.

"This god from the High Heavens didn't take the Surging River route..."

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched. His heart sank slightly.

If the High Heavens deity had taken the Surging River route, he could have used the Surging River Dragon King to intercept him. With the combined combat strength of the Surging River Dragon King and Dragon King God, they should have been able to subdue him.

However, if he didn't take the Surging River, even if Dragon King God caught up to him, it was unknown whether Dragon King God's combat strength alone would be enough to subdue him.

"If I use Dragon Cultivator Lord's Dragon Control Art to borrow the power of the flood dragons, I might still have a fighting chance."

Qin Mu looked back at the flood dragons beside the Dragon Qilin. He felt a pang of reluctance. In a life-or-death battle, these flood dragons would likely suffer heavy casualties, perhaps even total annihilation, and he himself might not be able to protect himself.

In the Divine Severance Mountain Range at the edge of the Great Ruins, three to four thousand li away from them, a fierce battle was still ongoing. Qin Mu sensed terrifying tremors emanating intermittently, fluctuations caused by the eruption of god-like combat power, suppressing the mind.

He vaguely saw the Butcher's blade light illuminating the sky. The Mute's forge erupted, scorching the sky crimson.

Without the powerful presence of the Village Chief, how many of the Butcher, Winged King, and the Mute would survive?

"Village Chief..."

Qin Mu's heart ached. He quickly cleared his mind of distractions and continued to wholeheartedly refine pills to heal Dragon King God.

The sky ahead began to lighten. After a moment, the sun rose from below the horizon, and a ray of sunlight shone through.

Qin Mu's heart sank. The deity had already entered the territory of Yan Kang.

The gods' celestial weapons appeared in various parts of Yan Kang. If this deity found any of them, it would cause extremely severe consequences. The number of civilian casualties would likely be in the billions!

Dragon King God's injuries had improved considerably, and his speed gradually increased. As he tracked the footprints of the High Heavens deity, he suddenly exclaimed with joy, "My Lord, that god's injuries have flared up, and his speed is slowing down! We'll catch up to him soon!"

Qin Mu felt relieved and said, "Go ahead and pursue him boldly. His injuries are extremely severe; otherwise, he would have vanished without a trace long ago."

Dragon King God indeed felt much more at ease. Although this giant flood dragon was immensely powerful, he was less courageous than the Dragon Qilin and tended to be timid and hesitant in his actions.

They pursued the deity three thousand li into Yan Kang's territory. The deity's speed slowed further, and the distance between them grew shorter. The bloodstains left by his footsteps created a strange sight, causing the surrounding vegetation to grow wildly and flowers to bloom profusely, clearly indicating that his injuries had flared up and he could no longer control the divine blood within him.

Suddenly, the divine blood vanished, and the deity's tracks disappeared as well.

"He sensed us tracking him and deliberately concealed his traces!"

Dragon King God sniffed around but found no trace of the deity. He suddenly shook his body, and a vast flood spread out, transforming into numerous water dragons that flew off in all directions.

Si Yunxiang flew into the air and looked around. She saw a city ahead and said, "Cult Master, that should be Zijing City in the south. Could that deity have gone there?"

Qin Mu tried to stand up from the dragon's back, but his legs went weak, and he almost knelt. He took a breath and said, "Zijing City? Does our Sacred Cult have any presence there?"

"Yes. Zijing City is located on the frontier, south of the Great Ruins. The climate is warm and spring-like all year round, suitable for raising exotic beasts. The Hall Master of the Myriad Beasts Hall is here. They have a large enterprise; most of the nearby hills are used for raising exotic beasts, which are then sold to the imperial court for military use once they're grown."

The Si family, to which Si Yunxiang belonged, managed the finances of the Heavenly Saint Cult, so she was quite knowledgeable about this. She said, "The Myriad Beasts Hall is a very important source of wealth for our Sacred Cult."

Qin Mu sighed in relief and smiled, "Let's go to Zijing City. Notify the Hall Master of the Myriad Beasts Hall to meet me. This deity from the High Heavens has entered Yan Kang, which means he's entered the territory of our Sacred Cult. How can he hide from my eyes and ears?"

Si Yunxiang rode the Dragon Qilin ahead to Zijing City. Qin Mu, meanwhile, commanded the group of dragons to search all around, moving a little slower. Despite searching all the way, they still couldn't find any trace of the deity.

Before long, they arrived outside Zijing City. Before even entering, they saw a large man quickly approaching with Si Yunxiang, bowing in greeting. Qin Mu waved his hand and said, "Hall Master, do you have a way to locate an injured deity?"

The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall said, "Cult Master, do you have any of his clothing?"

"No. But I collected a bit of the divine blood he shed along the way."

Qin Mu took out a small bottle of divine blood and asked, "Is this usable?"

The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall let out a sigh of relief and blew a whistle. Suddenly, a pack of large black dogs came running from outside Zijing City, with slender waists, necks, and legs, moving incredibly fast.

"These are hybrids of Great Ruins Skyhounds and local dogs, exceptionally skilled at tracking."

The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall took the jade bottle and let the large black dogs sniff it. The pack of black dogs leaped like they could fly, swiftly disappearing into the distance. A moment later, the ground vibrated, and several enormous creatures burrowed out from beneath the earth. They were giant rats resembling porcupines, but even larger than wild boars. The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall then had these giant rats sniff the divine blood, and they too burrowed into the ground and vanished.

From the sky, lonely eagle cries resounded again. Large birds flew in, and before they even landed, the ground was swept with dust. A flock of golden eagles, with wingspans several zhang wide, descended. The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall let them sniff the divine blood, and the eagles flapped their wings and departed.

"Cult Master, I also need to let the Blood Dragon Eels in the rivers sniff this bottle of divine blood."

The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall said, "Those Blood Dragon Eels are skilled at tracking by water."

Qin Mu praised, "Hall Master, you are thorough."

They walked into Zijing City. Qin Mu asked, "Are there any unusual natural phenomena nearby? Like a stone statue emerging from underground, or some treasure?"

"Right here in the city. More than ten days ago, the city's most famous Incense Well suddenly stopped producing water. Then the ground shook, and a large greenish-blue gourd emerged from the well. It was five zhang tall, gilded, and covered in many runes that were completely incomprehensible."

The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall said, "Then the prefect ordered the area around the Incense Well to be sealed off, strictly prohibiting anyone from approaching, saying it was the emperor's command."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. He said, "Let's go there!"

They quickly walked towards the Incense Well in the city. The Hall Master of Myriad Beasts Hall smiled and said, "That's the Incense Well up ahead... Huh?"

In the air, golden eagles circled above them. Below, large black dogs came rushing, heading straight for the Incense Well. From underground, there were also vibrations, and giant rats occasionally popped out of the sewers, poking their heads out and looking around.

Qin Mu's heart instantly leaped to his throat. That High Heavens deity was currently in the city, right near the Incense Well!

"Tell everyone to leave Zijing City immediately!"