Chapter 495: People Plan, But Heaven Has Its Own Plans

Beneath the cliff, two portals led to two distinct worlds, and those within them regarded each other with apprehension.

This was not their first encounter, nor their first confrontation. They had clashed many years prior, during the twilight of the Supreme Emperor Era. Subsequently, they engaged in several more contests, though by then, the Founding Emperor Era had begun. At this very cliff, they had even faced off against each other multiple times from afar.

Currently, both had long departed this desolate and lifeless world. What appeared here were merely their projections, as their cultivation realms were too profound and their powers too immense for their true forms to enter without a rare opportunity. This world was devoid of any living beings; nothing could survive within it.

This was the Great Ruins of the Supreme Emperor Era, a place even more inhospitable than the Great Ruins of the Founding Emperor Era. While the Great Ruins had stone statues formed by gods that offered some sanctuary for life, here there was only an endless desert. When night descended, darkness encroached, leaving no place for refuge. Living beings vanished from this place thirty to forty thousand years ago, leaving only deities behind. During the early Founding Emperor Era, the deities here gradually departed for other worlds; these two were the last to leave.

"Woman from the Bai family, from forty thousand years ago, are you also here to seek the one who left the inscription?" The one-armed god-demon, tall and imposing, emerged from the stone portal. A long saber on his back clanged, its intent seemingly capable of piercing through time and space, slicing into another world. He sneered, "It appears you also heard news of his emergence and came searching for him. I've long suspected your sword techniques were unusual, surpassing both the Supreme Emperor and Founding Emperor Eras. I never imagined you were truly connected to the Heavenly Demon Cult Master!"

The woman enveloped in divine light on the cliff wall shivered slightly, a profound joy blooming in her heart, completely unfazed by his animosity. "He truly came? The one who transcends time, did he truly appear here?"

"You cannot stop me!" The one-armed god-demon stood proudly within the stone portal. "I intend to kill him, and you wish to hinder me. We have clashed for many years, a muddled conflict where neither can truly defeat the other. I kept my severed arm specifically to one day find him, to avenge its loss and the humiliation dealt to my Dao heart. Until I can overcome his sword techniques with my own saber arts, I cannot fully express myself or advance my Dao. I have waited almost forty thousand years for this day!"

The woman, a mere phantom, stepped out from the divine light on the cliff wall and appeared in the desert. She quietly stated, "You cannot enter this world. Whatever you say is futile."

The one-armed god-demon in the stone portal turned, his blood-red cloak billowing to obscure the entire doorway. Suddenly, as the cloak unfurled, a flash of saber light sliced through the barrier between the two worlds! The saber intent was formidable and terrifying; his single strike remarkably tore open the boundary between the two worlds! The saber light hissed as it surged from the stone portal, instantly churning the desert ahead into two massive sand waves. Between them, an insurmountable cliff rose thousands of feet high, extending for hundreds of miles.

As he prepared to step into this world, an unseen force from heaven and earth abruptly repelled him backward. The young woman retreated into the divine light, vanishing back into the cliff. "It's highly unlikely your true form can pass with your current power. Abandon the idea."

The one-armed god-demon in the stone portal sheathed his saber, turned, and departed as the portal slowly began to crumble. "I will return to this world. A mere world barrier will not deter me!"

The Dragon Qilin carried Qin Mu and the box through a cloud. Moments before, it had been daytime, but the instant they passed through the cloud, the sky turned profoundly dark. In the night, only the roar of a waterfall could be heard. Qin Mu looked in the direction of the sound, spotting sporadic lights illuminating the dark cliff face. They had returned to the Great Ruins, specifically to the source of the Surging River. It was the same natural chasm that bisected the Great Ruins from east to west. This immensely steep cliff divided the Great Ruins into two halves. It was also the origin of the Surging River, and the source of the water thundering down the cliff face in a waterfall was rather peculiar.

"The waters of the Surging River might originate from several other worlds. Perhaps one could even enter those different worlds through the cracks in the cliff. It's possible unique stories await there as well..."

As Qin Mu gazed at the cliff, his heart suddenly jolted: he saw a headless figure standing within a crack in the rock face!

Xing An!

A shiver ran down his spine. Xing An was guarding the entrance to the Yellow Sand Desert world, waiting for him to fall into the trap! The world of the Yellow Sand Desert was utterly desolate, a place entirely devoid of life. This being had astonishingly removed his own head, leaving his headless body to stand guard. Qin Mu surmised that Xing An's head and eyes were likely still soaring through the skies of the Yellow Sand Desert, searching for his and his companions' whereabouts!

The Dragon Qilin also noticed the scene, quietly descending without a sound. The box emitted a faint glow, repelling the darkness and shielding them. Finally, the Dragon Qilin landed. The box stealthily slid off its back and crouched low to the ground. The Dragon Qilin shrank its form as much as possible, then climbed onto the box. Qin Mu also stood atop the box as the large container began to move, silently approaching the river. The water here formed the source of the Surging River. Due to its narrowness and modest flow, it could not yet be considered a true "river." The box entered the water, its legs gently propelling it as it silently glided downstream.

Qin Mu let out a breath. Xing An had left his head in that other world, which meant he would be unable to monitor this side, making it difficult for him to detect them. The further they went, the slimmer the chances of being discovered. At that moment, the box suddenly struck a submerged rock with a dull thud. The sound itself wasn't loud, but in the dead of night, it resonated jarringly.

They were still close to the waterfall, not far from Xing An's location. Qin Mu turned to see Xing An standing motionless in the cliff's crack. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he chuckled. "I'm being too cautious. I forgot Xing An's head isn't here; he has no ears or eyes. Even if we openly walked right past him, he wouldn't see or hear us."

The Dragon Qilin also sighed in relief, chuckling, "The waterfall is so loud here, there's no need to worry about him hearing us... Cult Master?"

Qin Mu's expression suddenly contorted into one of profound shock. From the cliff's crevice, Xing An's headless body slowly turned, his elongated neck now sporting an ear on either side. His entire form was that of a divine body, radiating an ethereal glow that was strikingly conspicuous in the darkness. Xing An had severed his ears and grafted them onto his neck! As they caught the wind, these two ears suddenly swayed, growing larger than those of a Loulan Golden Elephant!

Qin Mu acted decisively, transmitting a divine sense message using the Heaven Feather Race's method: "Run! Don't take the water path! Get to shore!" The box moved slowly in the water but was much faster on land. In the pervasive darkness, they relied on the box to ward off the encroaching shadows, meaning the box's speed dictated their own. While the box moved silently in the water, it would make noise on land. However, Xing An had already detected their presence, making escape by land the optimal choice.

From within the cliff's fissure, the headless body suddenly shot into the air, hurtling directly towards Qin Mu and his companions! Simultaneously, an eyeball rapidly flew from the fissure. The moment it cleared the opening, it suddenly froze in mid-air, its divine light flaring to illuminate the surroundings as it quickly oriented itself. Once oriented, the divine eye projected a pillar of light downwards from above, illuminating an area spanning over a hundred *mu* (approximately 16 acres) of ground as it sped forward!

"This is bad..." Qin Mu's heart grew cold. The box could ward off darkness, but it wasn't particularly fast, and its speed was even slower in the water. They hadn't reached the shore yet, and abandoning the box was simply not an option!

The headless Xing An landed on the water not far from them, tilting the enlarged ears on his neck, standing perfectly still. Suddenly, a columnar beam of light from above illuminated the headless Xing An, then swiftly swept forward, landing with a *whoosh* on the box, where Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin stood, gripped by extreme tension.

Qin Mu broke into a smile, and the box beneath his feet halted, unmoving. He said with a faint smile, "Senior Brother Xing An, if I help you overcome the hidden ailments of your physical body, would you spare my life?"

On Xing An's neck, the two ears suddenly flapped and flew upwards, while the lone eye in mid-air also moved straight forward. "Your brazenness is quite surprising. I can't believe you have the audacity to mention this."

Xing An's voice echoed, and from the darkness behind him, a head flew forth, settling onto his neck. As the head began to speak, the two ears flew back into place, reattaching to the ear canals. Another eye also flew over, but rather than settling into his eye socket, it positioned itself to the left of the first eye, both hovering above Qin Mu, meticulously monitoring his every action.

Xing An looked up, his voice cold. "Now I can answer you: No. Divine Physician Qin is far too cunning. If I'm not careful, you'll even steal my box. I'm concerned that if I let you treat my illness, you'll also steal my life! The only way such a cunning person can put me at ease is as a corpse."

Over the river, a thick mist began to roll in. The air here was heavy with moisture, and such mists were a frequent occurrence. Observing the mist, Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he chuckled. "Senior Brother Xing An, you are far too cautious. In truth, you are not inherently bad; you are merely too obsessed with immortality. You likely haven't visited Yankang recently, have you? I've already perfected the Divine Bridge and established a spatial mathematical model for it. With cultivation, one can complete their Divine Bridge. This knowledge is practically common among everyone in Yankang Nation, yet you remain unaware, still intent on using others' bodies and primordial spirits to prolong your own life."

Xing An, who was about to attack, paused slightly at these words and sneered. "You lie! If you truly possessed such a cultivation method, why would you reveal it instead of cherishing it? As the Heavenly Demon Cult Master, surely you would first impart this technique to your own followers to bolster your cult's power! Furthermore, the Grand Elder has been by my side for six or seven days; why has he never mentioned this to me?"

Qin Mu burst into laughter. "The Grand Elder intends to use you to eliminate me, and also wishes for you and Kui Wu God to be mutually wounded. Why would he ever tell you about this? Besides, 'cherishing it'... you greatly underestimate the breadth of my mind as the Heaven Saint Cult Master." He continued, "If you seek true longevity, you could abandon the contents of that box and forgo taking other people's bodies. You only need to learn my three methods: the Magpie Bridge Art, the Profound Guidance Art, and the Divine Crossing Art. Once your Divine Bridge is complete, you can cross it to enter the Celestial Palace and become an immortal, undying deity. To be frank, someone has already surpassed you in this regard. The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang has already ascended to godhood."

The mist grew thicker, gradually engulfing them. Xing An's two eyes, suspended in mid-air, approached him from either side, still staring intently. Even with the encroaching mist, he could discern Qin Mu with perfect clarity.

Xing An's voice, tinged with a sigh, drifted from the mist. "Your breadth of mind is indeed remarkable; I underestimated you. However, you also underestimated me by believing I merely usurp others' bodies for longevity. My true purpose is to become a genuine, true god. Therefore, I will still kill, and I will still seize others' bodies. Your Divine Bridge spatial mathematical model is very useful to me, and I thank you for it. But, since you've already disseminated it..."

Qin Mu's eyes flashed with sharp light. Suddenly, his body abruptly sank, and his vital qi erupted, transforming into countless runic patterns that enveloped him, the Dragon Qilin, and the box. "Then what purpose do you serve by remaining alive?"

Xing An's two eyes flared with brilliant light, shredding the runes around Qin Mu. Yet, Qin Mu merely smiled, drawing his blades with both hands and unleashing a continuous flurry of wild cuts. With each descending stroke, the empty space around him seemed to glow anew. Saber light enveloped him from all directions. Even Xing An couldn't help but marvel, chuckling, "Your abilities are not bad; you're no worse than I was in my heyday."

His physical body charged forward, poised to strike Qin Mu down, when suddenly the world spun around him. His expression drastically changed. "A trap!"

*Whoosh*—

The two eyes vanished. His physical body relied on its eyes for sight, but now that Qin Mu had teleported them away, the world he perceived instantly became a rapidly spinning and shifting blur!

"Ugh!" Xing An vomited, forcefully activating his primordial spirit to suppress the dizzying visual distortion. He felt as though his own body was spinning, though he knew this was merely an illusion caused by his rotating eyes!

"My heyday? Xing An, you weren't even worthy of carrying my shoes back then!" Qin Mu burst into laughter, and runes flared around him once more. Hearing Qin Mu's voice, Xing An immediately charged. The moment he moved, he knew something was amiss. The next instant, with a deafening roar, he was propelled dozens of miles away, crashing into a cliff. His two divine eyes were linked to his vision. Now, as they spun rapidly, his sense of spatial awareness completely vanished, leaving him disoriented and unable to discern direction!

Qin Mu's vital qi erupted, runes reappeared, and he once again employed his teleportation divine ability, vanishing along with the box and the Dragon Qilin!

"I can teleport Xing An's eyes dozens of miles away, but while carrying the Dragon Qilin and the box, I can only manage a maximum of four miles. Beyond that, I just need to remain silent and seize the chance to dive into the riverbed, then I can quietly slip away..."

Qin Mu, in mid-teleportation, was meticulously calculating his next move when suddenly, with a deafening crash, his teleportation ability failed. He, the box, and the Dragon Qilin slammed violently into a suddenly appearing mountain of skeletons, sending countless dry bones scattering through the air! This sudden commotion instantly bewildered him, leaving him at a loss.

A gesticulating skeleton flew past him, innocently exclaiming, "Who's so thoughtless?"