Chapter 497: Has God Chixiu

The bird-headed deity tilted its head, flapped its wings, and said impatiently, "You don't know what you did? Think again! When King Yama chops off your head later, at least you'll die knowing why."

Qin Mu was bewildered, unable to recall any wrongdoing.

"Could it be about me taking the moon ship? But the moon ship doesn't belong to Fengdu; it's the Moon Herder's property. King Yama despises the Moon Guardian's character and didn't accept his allegiance, so taking the moon ship shouldn't count as a crime, right?"

He had already planned to enter Fengdu to search for the Village Chief and to see if the young Patriarch was also there. Even though the bird-headed deity claimed he had committed a crime, Qin Mu felt no worry, only a slight anticipation.

Besides, even if he wanted to run now, he couldn't.

Suddenly, Xing Han's roar echoed, "Divine Physician Qin, what have you done to me?"

Qin Mu looked back to see that the most powerful being in the world currently couldn't find his own true form. His body was covered in a grotesque assortment of limbs, with heads of men and women, old and young—none of which were his own.

In this realm of the living dead, the original consciousnesses of these limbs had reawakened, and the missing limbs had reappeared, reclaiming what was theirs. This crowded out Xing Han's own consciousness, leaving him with no sense of presence. He was now completely unable to control or command this massive, grotesque, multi-limbed hybrid!

"Xing Han, what did you do to us?" twenty or thirty heads questioned simultaneously. Then the limbs began to wriggle and fight amongst themselves, rolling around like a sphere.

Qin Mu felt a pang of sympathy and said, "Xing Han, I didn't do anything to you. You did this to them. You took their limbs, which created your current state. In this realm of the living dead, the living are dead, and the dead are alive. Look at me, look at Dragon Qilin, and you'll understand what I mean."

Xing Han was now immobile; only the limbs of others could move. He had stolen so much from other people that the only parts of his body that were truly his were his three souls. Even his primordial spirit had been taken from someone else!

The bird-headed deity tilted its head and looked at Xing Han, saying, "Xing Han, King Yama also wants to see you. There's a primordial spirit on you that interests him. Everyone, follow me."

The large mass of flesh that was Xing Han roared, struggling to escape this realm of the living dead. However, the limbs on his body completely ignored his will. Instead, they began to stride with dozens of legs and crawl towards Fengdu, using all their limbs.

"Let go of me!"

Xing Han's voice was filled with terror. He was experiencing fear for the second time.

The first time he felt fear was when he opened his Life-Death Divine Treasure and realized his life had an end. Once his lifespan reached its limit, Youdu, located beneath the Life-Death Divine Treasure, would devour his primordial spirit, trapping him in eternal darkness! That was a great terror, a fate he could not accept!

After opening his Divine Bridge Divine Treasure, he discovered that the Divine Bridge was broken, and with his intellect, he couldn't repair it. So, Xing Han embarked on another path, a different way to achieve eternal life. He began taking the limbs of others. Since he couldn't achieve godhood and his physical body would inevitably age, he would simply take the limbs of others and replace his own aging body.

He was, after all, proud and ambitious, and still wished to achieve godhood in an unconventional way. Those who caught his eye were always the most exceptional beings in the world, individuals who had achieved the divine realm in some aspect. Although he didn't directly kill these "lambs" in his eyes, some people still died because of him.

Now, these people had come back to life from death, while he himself was dead. These individuals were now tearing apart the True God body he had painstakingly refined, trying to rip him asunder! He felt that great terror once more, the profound horror of life and death!

The bird-headed deity subtly shifted its feet, finding a comfortable position, and continued to crouch with its head tucked in on the mountaintop. It said, "Xing Han, your crimes have come to light. However, this time King Yama isn't investigating you, but rather the Heavenly Court remnant on your person."

"Heheheh..."

A sinister and eerie voice suddenly emanated from within Xing Han's body: "What 'King Yama' nonsense? Merely a remnant of an old era! You're looking for me, aren't you?"

"Kui Wu God!"

Qin Mu's heart jolted. From within Xing Han's branching, multi-limbed body, the Kui Wu God's primordial spirit suddenly expanded, transforming into a colossal, terrifying behemoth thousands of feet tall, more towering and majestic than the mountain itself. Its eyes were like the craters of two volcanoes, glowing with raging flames, surrounded by an intense, overwhelming darkness.

From its towering height, it looked down at the bird-headed deity on the mountaintop and sneered, "You are also a remnant of an old era. I've seen you before, a Night Rover from the Kaihuang era. You were originally a chih-hsiao from the Kaihuang era, tasked with guarding the souls of criminals – a deity capable of freely flying between Youdu and the real world, calling yourself Chi Xiu! Chi Xiu, accept my bow!"

It bowed deeply, but the bird-headed deity remained steadily on the mountaintop, not moving an inch.

The Kui Wu God was startled and bowed again. The bird-headed deity lifted one leg and scratched at the corner of its beak.

The Kui Wu God's heart pounded. It immediately turned and fled, frantically escaping towards the edge of the realm of the living dead. He was not yet dead; his physical body was still suppressed under Mount Yang in the Grand Swarm. Here, he hadn't recovered his physical form, only his primordial spirit, whose speed was unmatched in the world, faster than any divine leg could run.

With that movement, he instantly crossed the misty sea, on the verge of breaking free from Fengdu's grasp.

Just then, the bird-headed deity Chi Xiu flapped its wings and took flight, a great gust of wind whistling past Qin Mu and the others!

Qin Mu looked up and saw a colossal bird with a human face, its wingspan immeasurable, eclipsing the sky. It extended a claw and seized the Kui Wu God's mighty primordial spirit! The next moment, the bird-headed deity flapped its wings back, slammed the Kui Wu God onto the ground, and then calmly resumed crouching on the mountaintop, preening its feathers.

Qin Mu shivered, his bones rattling noisily. At such speed, not to mention him, even a cripple couldn't escape!

The bird-headed deity Chi Xiu's form was extremely peculiar. The moment it flew out, it transformed directly from a physical body to a pure primordial spirit form, which is why its speed was so incredible, surpassing even the Kui Wu God's primordial spirit. That's how it could so easily catch and capture the Kui Wu God. And now, upon returning, it had reverted from its primordial spirit form back to its physical body. This ability to freely shift between ethereal and solid states was truly bizarre.

"No wonder Kui Wu God said he could freely travel between Youdu and the real world. It seems he was indeed telling the truth," Qin Mu thought to himself.

At this moment, the Kui Wu God was wrapped in chains, struggling ceaselessly, but unable to break free from their control. Even this utterly malevolent fierce god was helpless now. Seeing that it couldn't escape, it quieted down and sneered, "Chi Xiu, my fate is decided by Heaven, not by King Yama! What can you do to me even if you capture me?"

The bird-headed deity flapped its wings, and another chain flew out, binding Xing Han. The chains were made of white bones, resembling countless vertebrae forged together. The bone chains wrapped around Xing Han several times, then bound Qin Mu's hands as well.

Qin Mu asked, a bit puzzled, "I can't run away anyway, why go to all this trouble, Senior Brother Chi Xiu?"

"Don't speak. I dislike the smell of living people," the bird-headed deity said.

With a subtle thought from the bird-headed deity, the bone chains connected with the chains on Kui Wu God, pulling them towards Fengdu. Qin Mu quickly said, "I have a box, and a Dragon Qilin!"

"Such a bother," Bird-headed Chi Xiu said. It released the chains and said, "Wake up your Dragon Qilin and hurry to catch up. Don't even think about running; you can't escape!"

Qin Mu kicked Dragon Qilin twice, but it still didn't wake up. Chi Xiu plucked a feather and brushed it across Dragon Qilin's forehead. Only then did Dragon Qilin awaken, trembling and shivering.

Qin Mu comforted it, "Don't be afraid, Fatty Dragon. The Patriarch is most likely here too. This time, when we enter Fengdu, we might just get to see him."

Dragon Qilin's mind went blank, and it stammered, "Didn't you say the Patriarch became a god?"

Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then smiled brightly, "The Patriarch became a god in Fengdu."

Dragon Qilin fell silent, raising a paw to wipe its eyes, though it had no physical body or tears at the moment.

"I knew you were lying to me all along..." it mumbled, lowering its head.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then said, "Look, in this world, both you and I are dead, yet the Patriarch is perfectly alive. In our world, we are alive, and the Patriarch is dead. Perhaps life and death aren't what you imagine; death might just be another form of living. You don't need to be sad."

Dragon Qilin looked up, thought for a moment, and then earnestly said, "But you're not allowed to lie to me anymore."

Qin Mu nodded solemnly, "I was afraid you'd take it too hard, that's why..."

"I'm not a child; I can handle it," Dragon Qilin said calmly. "I'm content that he can live in this world. Cult Master, your tailbone is poking me."

Qin Mu stood up, stepping onto its forehead. Dragon Qilin then followed the bird-headed deity through the Ghost Gate Pass and walked towards Fengdu City.

Behind them, the box wobbled along, following them. The box was now stumbling erratically as it moved, as if drunk. Qin Mu looked back, surprised, and suddenly remembered something: "Oh no, the box is full of arms and legs!"

Just as he thought this, Xing Han's large box finally couldn't hold it in. Its two doors burst open with a bang, and the large box began to spew. Bizarre individuals were ejected from the box, and a pile of gleeful skeletons were also spewed into the air.

"We've entered Fengdu!"

The skeletons grew flesh and blood in mid-air, landing as naked men and women. Overjoyed, they immediately dashed towards Fengdu! However, the people who had just been spewed out of the box were all incomplete: some were missing arms or legs, while others had large holes clean through their chests, lacking hearts. Some lacked ribs, some lacked souls, some lacked divine treasures—the missing parts were all strange and varied.

These people were bewildered; they were the remaining limbs Xing Han had collected.

The box pursued them, relentlessly chasing after those who had run off, trying to catch them and shove them back into itself for storage. Qin Mu quickly called the box back, saying, "Those people are alive again here; you don't need to store them anymore. I'll give you a few treasures to keep in your belly..."

*Bang, bang, bang—*

Suddenly, loud thumps echoed from inside the box. Then the box grew larger and larger, transforming into a colossal beast before them in a matter of moments.

Qin Mu gaped in astonishment, his jaw nearly dropping. He quickly held it up. Dragon Qilin's jaw also dropped to the ground, its mouth wide open in disbelief.

Their monstrous box had transformed into a gigantic Taotie beast!