Chapter 486: Iron-Blooded Years

"This..." Qin Mu hesitated. He had awakened this divine bone by summoning spirits with the Black Tortoise Pearl, but it was merely a coincidence. The divine bone could speak and even regain its past memories only because an undying will remained within it.

If he were to awaken other fallen bones, it was unlikely that they would possess such an undying will. Even if awakened, they would merely be walking skeletons.

Furthermore, awakening divine bones consumed an immense amount of magical power. Even with the Black Tortoise Pearl, a spiritual treasure, Qin Mu could not bear the strain of awakening so many of them.

Given his understanding of the Myriad Gods Nature Technique, Qin Mu could at most awaken "giants" from sand dunes that were less than a *zhang* (approx. 3 meters) tall. Anything taller would be beyond his ability.

With the Black Tortoise Pearl, he could amplify his perception of spirits and gods in all things, strengthening his senses. However, awakening so many divine bones simultaneously would cause incalculable exhaustion and potentially put him in danger.

The divine bone "looked" at him, its empty eye sockets glowing with faint flames, seemingly filled with anticipation. It was the yearning of an ancient warrior to reunite with comrades, a plea that was hard to refuse.

Qin Mu smiled broadly and said, "We can try."

He took out the Black Tortoise Pearl, activated the Myriad Gods Nature Technique, and used the pearl to amplify his perception of nature, casting the Spirit Awakening spell.

A moment later, a massive skeleton shakily stood up. The True God Commander was overjoyed, weeping and laughing as he embraced his comrade's skeleton.

"General," the muddled skeleton uttered, seemingly possessing little consciousness, able to speak only that single word.

Yet, even that one word profoundly moved the True God Commander, as if transporting him back to the era of the High Emperor.

As Qin Mu awakened more and more divine and demonic skeletons, his face turned sallow, and countless voices seemed to clamor in his mind, making it almost impossible to concentrate.

The True God Commander, along with many awakened divine and demonic skeletons, stirred up a sky full of yellow sand. He used his remaining magical power to ignite the True God Flame, melting the sand.

The yellow sand transformed into rolling lava in the air, then solidified into large stones.

The True God Commander was building their mausoleum. Many divine and demonic skeletons used these large stones to construct their tombs, and one by one, graves gradually formed in the desert.

By the time Qin Mu awakened the last skeleton, he was utterly exhausted.

Across the desert, numerous towering divine and demonic skeletons had also completed their final resting places. They stood before their tombs, awaiting their general's final address.

The True God Commander, having expended his last magical power, leaned on his tattered banner, gazing at the comrades who had fallen alongside him.

The wind whipped the banner.

The tattered banner fluttered, rustling loudly, as if transporting them back to those years of iron and blood.

"May there be a next life,"

The True God Commander did not speak, yet a voice resonated, like clashing metal and beating war drums.

"May there be a next life, where we reunite and fight for the universe once more!"

His voice echoed through the desert, a resounding cry to his soldiers, his comrades: "The High Emperor will return and lead us to battle the enemy again! Now, all soldiers, you may rest!"

"General, we shall reunite in the next life!" came the voice of a divine bone.

One by one, the divine and demonic skeletons entered their mausoleums, placed their tattered weapons beside them, and lay down, as if ready to leap up at the sound of a horn, seize their arms, and resume fighting.

The last flames flickered in the True God Commander's deep eye sockets. Large stone tablets flew silently through the air, sealing the entrances of each divine tomb.

Runes flowed on the walls of the divine tombs, and as the stone tablets sealed, the protective array finally became complete.

Qin Mu sighed in relief, looking up at the True God Commander's skeleton beside him. He asked, "Senior, you built divine tombs for them and laid them to rest, but why did you not create a mausoleum for yourself?"

The tall divine bone sat down, propped up by the banner, which remained upright. He sat rigidly, facing the towering, desolate divine tombs.

"I am their general. I failed to lead them back to our homeland, so I am unworthy of my own grave."

The True God Commander sat silently, the banner fluttering in the wind. "I will guard them, be their tomb keeper. I know none of them truly awoke; it was you who spoke through them."

He looked down at Qin Mu. "Thank you."

Qin Mu was startled. "I didn't want you to feel that you were the only one left here. So..."

The True God Commander looked up and smiled. "Even though it was you, I am deeply comforted. I have no more regrets."

From his empty eye sockets, two streams of light, like long dragons, flew out and settled in Qin Mu's eyes.

They were the last remnants of pure Yang and pure Yin energy from his divine treasure, which he bestowed upon Qin Mu.

"Darkness is coming. Go there!" He raised his hand, pointing into the distance.

Qin Mu looked back and saw the setting sun about to sink into the vast desert.

"Senior, what do you mean by 'darkness is coming'?"

Qin Mu asked, surprised, "Does darkness also invade this place at night? Senior..."

He fell silent, no longer speaking. The True God Commander's skeleton beside him was lifeless; its last will had faded and dispersed, leaving only the raised arm pointing into the distance.

Qin Mu quietly stood up and called to the box and the shivering Dragon Qilin sitting on it. He said, "Let's go there."

The box extended its legs and followed him in the direction the True God Commander had pointed.

The Dragon Qilin, emboldened, asked, "Cult Master, what did that big skeleton mean when he said, 'Even though it was you'?"

"My Spirit-Substitution spell cannot conjure the souls of those fallen gods and demons. The awakened skeletons have no consciousness and can only follow my commands. He saw through that, which is why he said it."

The Dragon Qilin was puzzled. "But I heard those skeleton monsters speaking and calling him General."

"Those skeletons could speak because I was speaking through them. I didn't want him to feel alone, to feel like he was the only one left from the High Emperor era."

Qin Mu looked back at the divine bone sitting there, guarding the tomb with the battle flag, then turned back, his expression calm. "However, he still figured it out, but he didn't expose it at the time. In truth, I believe a part of him still held onto the hope that it wasn't me speaking, but his comrades."

The Dragon Qilin still couldn't grasp such sentiments, so it simply lay down on the box to sleep, mumbling, "I'm most afraid of these things. The last time at the Liu family's place, I had nightmares for days..."

The sky grew progressively darker. Qin Mu quickly hastened his steps, and finally, the sun sank into the vast desert.

Darkness surged from the west, rolling like a tide, instantly catching up to and engulfing them.

Qin Mu was startled. This world had also been swallowed by darkness, resembling another Great Ruins. However, unlike the Great Ruins, its daytime was night here, and its nighttime was daytime here.

Suddenly, Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. "I understand! I know the source of the darkness!"

Just then, a faint rustling sound came from beneath the box. Qin Mu stopped and looked down, seeing a young man with two broken legs clinging to the box's feet.

"Great One."

Qin Mu smiled broadly. "Are you unharmed?"

Ban Gongcuo's face was ashen. He spat, "Qin, this damn world is messing with me! Do what you want with me, kill or slice, I don't care!"

Qin Mu said pleasantly, "Why would I slice you? Stop joking. Killing you is simpler; slicing is too much trouble."

Just then, a bright light suddenly pierced the darkness from above. It was a divine radiance, breaking through the gloom.

Qin Mu's heart leaped. He quickly jumped onto the box, his body sinking, pressing the box and Ban Gongcuo beneath it into the yellow sand.

"What are you doing?" Ban Gongcuo cried in alarm.

"Shut up. Xing An's eyes are here too!" Qin Mu hissed.

In the dark sky, a beam of light swept across the desert. A gigantic eyeball shot out a light column, searching the desert, then flew forward.

Then another eyeball flew in. The two large eyeballs met in the air and paused, after which a faint glow rapidly approached from a distance, stopping mid-air, revealing a young boy's head.

The head had no eyeballs, and the two eyeballs flew into its empty sockets.

"You are nearby!"

The head in the air suddenly sneered. "Divine Physician Qin, Great One, you stole my box and still think you can escape my pursuit? You underestimate me too much!"

Suddenly, the surrounding yellow sand solidified. Qin Mu's heart jolted as he felt the sand tightening around him, knowing something was wrong. He immediately activated the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Technique, his vital qi erupting into brilliant runes that formed an array within the underground sand.

Ban Gongcuo's hair stood on end. He hissed, "You're using teleportation divine abilities in a place like this? You don't care about your life, but I do..."

"Here!"

Xing An's head in mid-air let out a sharp shriek, and divine light shot from its eyes, sweeping towards them!

Buzz—

The ground where Qin Mu was standing suddenly collapsed, forming a large pit. Immediately, two beams of divine light shot into the pit, evaporating a vast area of the rolling yellow sand!

Ban Gongcuo's scalp tingled. He was also teleported away by Qin Mu along with the box, shouting, "Cult Master Qin, your skills aren't good enough! You didn't teleport us very far!"

"Shut up, Fatty Dragon is too heavy!"

Qin Mu gritted his teeth and activated the teleportation divine ability again. As the teleportation runes glowed, a large head was seen flying through the air behind them, and two bright beams descended onto the desert, evaporating everything in their path!

He repeatedly used the teleportation divine ability until his magical power ran out. He quickly pointed in a direction and said, "Great One, go that way!"

Ban Gongcuo quickly took over, pulling out small flags from his Taotie Pouch. These flags were imprinted with teleportation runes, and when activated by him, they immediately fluttered, enveloping them, and vanished before the divine light from Xing An's eyes could strike.

In one of his previous lives, he had also joined the Heavenly Devil Cult and even almost became its Cult Master, so he was no stranger to the Heavenly Devil Cult's teleportation divine abilities.

Ban Gongcuo continuously activated the teleportation flags, his magical power rapidly depleting, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead. "Cult Master Qin, I'm almost out of magical power! Are we there yet?"

He used his last magical power to teleport again. When the teleportation array patterns dissipated, their surroundings suddenly brightened, and they found themselves in a city.

The city was brilliantly lit, with lanterns and decorations everywhere. The two looked up, dumbfounded, to see towering divine and demonic figures, hundreds of *zhang* tall, standing on the city walls and high towers of this city that stood in the darkness. Some had four heads and eight arms, others three heads and six arms, some had bird heads and human bodies, or beast heads and human bodies, while others resembled the Black Tortoise, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon deities.

They emanated incredibly strong divine light, pushing back the darkness outside the city.

The city was bustling with people coming and going.

These people seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, squeezing past Qin Mu and the large box, smiles on their faces.

"No, something's not right... This is clearly a desert, so how can there be a city here? If there were truly so many people here, why would they leave the divine and demonic skeletons unburied in the desert? And why are there so many gods here?"

Qin Mu's head was throbbing. He suddenly grabbed the hand of a young girl passing by. Seeing that he didn't look bad, the girl chuckled, "You scoundrel, why are you holding my hand?"

"Good sister, what year is it now?" Qin Mu asked, his face pale.

The girl laughed. "You certainly have a way with words. It's obviously the 24,000th year of the High Emperor era, and today is the High Emperor's 26,000th birthday!"