Chapter 484: Overlapping Worlds

Xing An's voice had been on Mount Sumeru just a moment before, but now it was at the foot of the mountain, actually chasing them. He didn't care about anything else, not even whether or not he killed his enemies; what he cared about most was his box.

His voice contained an unsuppressable fury, and he laughed from sheer rage: "You have incredible nerve!"

From under the box, Ban Gongcuo lowered his voice and said, "This kid is indeed audacious..."

"You dared to conspire with someone named Qin to steal my box! How audacious you are, Great Venerable!"

Xing An's voice came from various directions, shifting left and right. Clearly, the encroaching darkness made it difficult for him to pinpoint Qin Mu and the box's location in a short time, so he had to move around to search. Even so, with his speed, searching an area of a thousand li was not difficult. Finding Qin Mu and the large box was only a matter of time.

"Do you think I won't kill you? You're too naive!" Xing An's voice came from a hundred li to the west. By the time he finished speaking, the voice was already coming from a hundred li to the south.

Ban Gongcuo's face was livid, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "What does that have to do with me? I didn't conspire with him to steal your box; I just took the opportunity to escape!"

From atop the box, Qin Mu exclaimed in surprise, "Xing An dealt with Kui Wushen so quickly? Such power is truly terrifying!"

Under the box, Ban Gongcuo grunted and mumbled, "My master has lived in vain all these years... but it will be difficult for Xing An to refine my master's primordial spirit into one of his collections. Cult Master Qin, I have a great idea that could eliminate both my master and Xing An!"

Qin Mu's voice came from the top of the box, saying, "I know what you mean. You intend to go to Yang Mountain in the southern Great Ruins to unseal Kui Wushen's physical body. Xing An hasn't refined Kui Wushen's primordial spirit yet; he likely suppressed the spirit embryo and soul within his primordial spirit separately. Kui Wushen is a god after all. When he encounters his physical body, he might be able to break free from Xing An's suppression. A complete Kui Wushen wouldn't be weaker than Xing An; he'd only be stronger. Am I right?"

Ban Gongcuo nodded repeatedly, then remembered that Qin Mu couldn't see him nodding.

"Cult Master Qin truly lives up to his reputation as my lifelong formidable opponent!" Ban Gongcuo praised, "Cult Master, with an enemy like you, I'd have nightmares even when I sleep."

Dragon Qilin said, "Cult Master, I think he's insulting you."

Qin Mu said sincerely, "That's high praise. However, Xing An might not be able to defeat a complete Kui Wushen. If Kui Wushen is released, the devastation would be truly dreadful. But..."

He couldn't help but feel worried. The harm caused by Xing An obtaining Kui Wushen's primordial spirit was also unimaginable. Just imagine, if Xing An refined Kui Wushen's primordial spirit, wouldn't he be able to kill anyone he wanted? Of course, Xing An had his own principles and wouldn't attack those he deemed unworthy. However, those who caught his eye must be beings who had achieved the Divine Realm in some aspect! Given his peculiar preferences, it was likely that all powerhouses who had reached the Divine Realm would be bowed to death by him, and then he would happily sever their divine limbs! This would undoubtedly be a catastrophe, and the blow to divine arts and magic would be immeasurable.

"If only these two could destroy each other..." Qin Mu sighed, still agreeing with Ban Gongcuo's suggestion, and urged the box to hurry south.

"You can't escape!" Xing An's voice drifted closer and farther. The night in the Great Ruins was simply too dark; even with his heaven-penetrating divine abilities, it was difficult to find Qin Mu and the box's tracks in a short time.

Not long after, Qin Mu saw a vague, shadowy chasm appear before the box in the darkness. From the darkness ahead came the sound of rushing waterfalls, not just one. This was an extremely perilous cliff.

"Oh, this is the cliff at the source of the Surging River!" Qin Mu urged the box to the edge of the cliff and looked down, surprisingly seeing vast areas of light emanating from the cliff face, unsure of what was emitting them.

His heart stirred. The last time he was here, he was with Xiong Xiyu and her mother. At that time, he saw this chasm dividing the Great Ruins into eastern and western halves, with the cliff reaching thousands of zhang in height! It was a cliff formed by a terrifying earthquake, which tore the entire Great Ruins apart, creating a massive cross-section running north to south. This was also the source of the Surging River. The Surging River originated from the waterfalls of the cliff. The waterfalls converged to form the most spectacular great river, which flowed for tens of thousands of li, reaching Yankang and becoming the river with the largest water volume in Yankang Kingdom.

Moreover, Qin Mu had encountered a bizarre fog incident here before. He and Xiong Xiyu and her mother encountered a fog locking the river. In the fog, they encountered the Gobi Desert, palaces where gods built deities – these were gods from the High Emperor era. They also saw gods from the High Emperor era transforming the desert into an oasis under the High Emperor's command, and even witnessed ancient gods from the High Emperor era excavating the Surging River. But what was most bizarre was that they saw the High Emperor era being buried, and then deities from another era walked out of the fog. That was when Emperor Kai and his ministers encountered the strange fog while inspecting this place, lamenting the passing of an era! Their experiences transformed into the bizarre encounters Qin Mu faced. The overlapping reflections of two historical periods at the source of the Surging River created an incredible phenomenon. At the time, Qin Mu speculated that there might be entrances to other worlds here, and he had even seen five worlds overlapping in time and space!

"I wonder what strange things will happen at the source of the Surging River after night falls?" He felt both uneasy and a little excited. He urged Xing An's box to move down along the cliff face. Underneath the box, Ban Gongcuo hurriedly clung tightly to one of its legs to avoid being flung off.

Meanwhile, on the golden summit of Little Mount Sumeru at Little Thunderclap Temple, Little Buddha sat cross-legged, surrounded by monks who looked sorrowful. The Demon Ape knelt there, his eyes wide, and tears suddenly streamed down his face, splashing onto the ground.

"I rebelled from Great Thunderclap Temple because my master was unjust, allowing my senior brother to succeed as Buddha instead of passing the position to me. If all sentient beings are equal, why can the Buddha only be human and not a demon? If Buddhist dharma is equal, why can the Buddha only be male and not female?" Little Buddha, radiant with spiritual light, smiled faintly and said, "My cultivation is no worse than my senior brother's, and I don't highly value human Buddhist dharma. Therefore, I was indignant. I wanted to establish a holy land for demons. I broke away from Great Thunderclap Temple and founded Little Thunderclap Temple here. Great Thunderclap and Little Thunderclap are both Thunderclap; although their interpretations of Buddhist dharma differ, they are both Buddhist dharma. Kui Wushen has bowed my soul to death. I don't have Xing An's power, and now my soul is about to scatter. Zhan Kong, bring Gaps and Strands."

The Demon Ape knelt forward, holding Gaps and Strands in both hands.

"My senior brother taught you the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra because of Gaps and Strands, and I took you as a disciple because of him. Great Thunderclap Temple and Little Thunderclap Temple have reconnected because of you." Little Buddha raised his hand, and Gaps and Strands floated in the air. He said, "You are the junior brother of Buddha Ma from Great Thunderclap Temple. After I die, take the monks from this mountain to Great Thunderclap Temple; Buddha Ma will take you in."

He took a kasaya and a sutra scroll. The scroll was placed on the kasaya, which was then placed on the Demon Ape's hands. Gaps and Strands descended, resting on the scroll. "Tell Buddha Ma, 'Buddhist dharma preaches equality for all sentient beings, so why are the demon statues in temples all mounts for Buddha and Bodhisattva statues? Can we, the demon race, also be equal?'"

Little Buddha's soul began to split and disperse. He continued, "Then ask him, 'If demons can also be equal, why is Buddhist dharma written by humans? Can demons also write Buddhist dharma?' Then ask him, 'Is saving humans a merit, and is saving demons also a merit?' Then ask him, 'Is eating humans killing, and is eating demons also killing? Plants and vegetation can also become demons; is eating them killing?' If he cannot answer, give him the Buddhist scriptures written by me, the Demon Buddha, and he will take you in."

Little Buddha clasped his hands together, smiling, and said, "After I pass away, take this foul skin of mine to Great Thunderclap Temple and ask him, 'Can I enter the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas?'" With that, his soul scattered.

"Demon Master!" The Demon Ape prostrated himself, and the monks collectively chanted the Great Compassion Mantra.

"Little Buddha, by his own efforts, founded Little Thunderclap Temple, making it the only sacred land in the Great Ruins, and the only sacred land for demons." Xu Shenghua whispered, "There are no demons in Buddhist dharma, yet he allowed demons to have their own Buddhist dharma. How could the great monk's state of mind not be like the Buddha's? Yanzi, I want to go and see the human Buddha and the demon Buddha."

Jing Yan said, "I'll accompany you to Great Thunderclap Temple. The big fellow leading these demon monks through the Great Ruins will likely face many dangers. We should also be there to look out for them."

Xu Shenghua said, "After all, Little Thunderclap Temple has many experts, so traveling through the Great Ruins shouldn't be too dangerous. The real danger lies with Cult Master Qin; he stole Xing An's box and took the Great Venerable from the Golden Palace. This Cult Master Qin..."

Veins popped up on his forehead. Jing Yan smiled, "Are you envious of him? Envious of his exciting life?"

Xu Shenghua nodded, "But I'm not that kind of person. While I admire him, I don't wish to live his kind of life. I hope he can overcome this tribulation."

The Great Ruins Cliff.

A large box emitted a faint glow, and a similar faint light emanated from the cliff face. Outside, overwhelming darkness enveloped everything, yet here, there was light, which was truly astonishing. The box moved down the steep cliff face and stopped before a source of light. Qin Mu examined the light carefully, unable to hide his surprise. That light wasn't emitted by luminous creatures on the cliff face, nor by any treasure; it was sunlight reflecting from cracks in the cliff's stones!

Qin Mu pressed against the crack and looked deep inside, seeing green grasslands, a bright sky, and a brilliant sun hanging overhead. Ban Gongcuo also lay against the crack and peered inside, utterly astonished. Seeing this, Dragon Qilin also stuck his rear end up to look into the crack, wondering, "Is there a world hidden inside this cliff?"

"It's not that a world is hidden inside; rather, the cracks in this cliff are connected to another world." Qin Mu's eyes darted around, but he couldn't see anything more. He said, "I've long known this place is strange, with five worlds overlapping... Silence!"

Suddenly, two incomparably thick beams of light shone down from the cliff top, buzzing as they swept past them, without noticing them on the cliff face.

"Xing An's eyes!" Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the two light beams separated, moving over a hundred li apart, shining on the cliff face, searching inch by inch! Qin Mu was stunned: "Xing An plucked out his own eyes, and now these two eyes are flying in the air, searching for our whereabouts!" His scalp tingled; just thinking of such a scene sent shivers down his spine.

"Cult Master Qin, there's a big crack here!" Ban Gongcuo's voice came.

Qin Mu hurriedly urged the box forward. The box took steps toward the large crack on the cliff face and then burrowed into it.