Chapter 545: Keeping a Smile

Qin Mu repeatedly reassured himself, his expression shifting from gloom to brightness, uncertain. "I can handle this, I can handle this!" he thought. "The village elders taught me that I can fix whatever trouble I cause. This time, I can definitely handle it... I'm just afraid I won't be able to."

He had caused an enormous mess.

Tai Huangtian originally had no sun. The Sun-Creating Deity, along with Tai Huangtian's divine arts practitioners, had painstakingly created one and a half suns, which became the pride of the divine arts practitioners. Yet, they had just destroyed half of that pride.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered creating a sun to return to Tai Huangtian. While forming a perfect sphere wasn't too difficult for Qin Mu, the challenge lay in how to transform that sphere into an actual sun.

The Sun-Creating Deity, a cook and stoker in Kaihuang's Heavenly Court, wielded the power of divine fire. Thus, even if his craftsmanship was poor and the sun he forged was unsightly, it still provided light and heat to Tai Huangtian.

This divine fire was likely far more potent than the Li Fire from Li City. Consequently, the greatest challenge in recreating the sun was mastering the divine fire.

Just then, after the black light pillar destroyed half a sun, it pierced through the void. The moment the black light penetrated, spatial fluctuations became visible to the naked eye, spreading outwards like successive ripples.

"The other sun!" Black Tiger God's heart seized up as he watched anxiously, observing the fluctuations spread towards the other sun.

Below the altar, thousands of Tai Huangtian's divine arts practitioners and floating deities like Pang Yu and Sang Ye felt their hearts tighten involuntarily. Their fists clenched so tightly that their nails almost pierced their flesh.

Waves of fluctuations passed through the sun hanging in the sky. It remained suspended, but as the crests of the waves passed, it was squeezed into an oval yolk shape, and as the troughs passed, it stretched, elongating more than ten times.

Everyone watched the sky in horror. After the fluctuations subsided, the sun remained in the sky, bringing a sigh of relief to all who had been tense.

Suddenly, the complete sun let out a loud crack, and a large piece detached from its surface, falling away.

The falling piece, as large as a mountain, trailed long flames and billowing black smoke through the air as it slid down diagonally, its landing site unknown.

The sun in the sky, not perfectly round to begin with, now looked as if it had been bitten by a mouth with uneven teeth.

"Junior Brother, should we run for our lives?" Black Tiger God quietly suggested.

"Everyone, I have two pieces of good news to share!" Qin Mu stood on the altar, wiping the torrents of cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He tried his best to appear righteous and confident as he scanned the surroundings and announced loudly: "The first good news is that the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge is now open! This bridge connects Tai Huangtian and Yankang, providing all of us in Tai Huangtian with a retreat path. Even if we can't defeat the demon gods, we can retreat to Yankang and preserve our race!"

Below the altar, the thousands of divine arts practitioners still wore dazed expressions as they slowly turned their heads to look at him.

After delivering the first piece of good news, Qin Mu waited quietly for a moment, allowing them to digest the information. This was him claiming credit for his achievements.

Previously, Tai Huangtian had no retreat path; if the gods and divine arts practitioners were defeated, the common people would be at the mercy of others. Now, Qin Mu had constructed the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, offering everyone in Tai Huangtian a path to retreat and preserve their race and heritage. How monumental was such an accomplishment?

With this accomplishment under his belt, even if Tai Huangtian's divine arts practitioners and deities were enraged when Qin Mu continued to claim credit later, they wouldn't kill him.

After a moment, Pang Yu, being a true god, was the first to regain his composure. He slowly nodded and said, "Young Friend Qin and Brother Black Tiger, your construction of the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge has indeed provided the people of Tai Huangtian with a retreat and a path to survival. Your merit is truly immense!"

Revered Deity Sang Ye and other deities nodded in agreement, acknowledging the immense achievement of Qin Mu and Black Tiger God.

Connecting the two realms not only provided a retreat but also allowed divine arts practitioners from Yankang to support Tai Huangtian, enabling them to hold out longer.

A divine arts practitioner stammered, "But the sun in the sky..."

Qin Mu, beaming with pride, laughed heartily. "This is the other piece of good news, a truly joyous event!"

His voice was deafening: "Everyone, the sun in the sky is too broken and old! We can replace it with two new suns! Round, perfect suns!"

Silence fell all around.

Suddenly, Sang Hua became excited, raising her hands high and exclaiming, "Yay—" Her cheer was quite jarring, however, and it grew quieter and quieter. Eventually, the long-braided girl quietly settled down, clearing her throat twice to cover up, not daring to speak further.

"Don't speak," True God Pang Yu whispered to the surrounding deities, a stiff smile on his face. "Maintain your smiles, stay calm, and don't reveal any killing intent. They are the Heavenly Master's disciples; we must act with grace."

A deity, smiling, whispered, "Will they really help us re-forge the sun?"

"I don't know," True God Pang Yu said with a smile. "If they don't forge it, we can't let them leave Tai Huangtian. However, judging by their confident expressions, they should be able to."

Qin Mu looked at the many divine arts practitioners below and the grim-faced deities of Tai Huangtian. Cold sweat on his forehead felt like a floodgate had opened, about to pour out.

Black Tiger God whispered, "Junior Brother, they seem a bit unhappy. Have they discovered that we don't know how to forge the divine fire to ignite the sun?"

"Quiet, Senior Brother." Qin Mu, with a stiff smile, whispered through clenched teeth, "Keep smiling. Just pretend we can forge the sun."

Black Tiger God maintained his smile, his voice coming through the gaps in his fangs. "This is our first time activating the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge. We don't know if it will successfully connect to the altar in the Great Ruins. What if it doesn't connect successfully? Will they settle both scores at once and beat us to death?"

"Quiet, Senior Brother!" Qin Mu's smile was barely holding on. "The Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge should be open now. Can we enter the Great Ruins from here?"

Black Tiger God whispered, "What if something goes wrong? If we cross the bridge, we might be shredded, and only mangled flesh will come out the other end."

A cold wind blew, and absolute silence fell all around.

In the Great Ruins, dusk was approaching. Stone giants were walking through the mountains and forests, raising huge stone hammers to compact and level the ground. Along the way, numerous towering trees uprooted themselves and walked like people, clearing the path before re-rooting themselves in rows on either side of the road.

The stone giants cleared the way, followed by thousands of women and girls dressed in colorful garments, a vibrant array of purples, reds, and greens. They chattered excitedly as square stone slabs floated from the air, continuously laying themselves automatically at their feet.

Behind them, tree giants tapped and hammered with wooden mallets, fastening the stone slabs neatly to make the road smooth.

Behind the tree giants, the Master of the Heavenly Works Hall led many divine arts practitioners from his hall, meticulously carving runes. Each stone slab was precisely imprinted with runic marks, making the road sturdier and allowing chariots and giant beasts to pass without damaging the surface.

Furthermore, paving with stone slabs made future maintenance much easier; damaged slabs could simply be removed and replaced with new ones.

The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang and Xiong Xiyu walked side by side, searching for stone statues to move near the road. If they found villages, that would be even better; they would relocate the villages and their inhabitants there, turning the area into a town in the future.

Before moving the stone statues, they needed to offer incense and sacrifices. This was extremely important, as Qin Mu had told the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang, which consequently made the road paving slightly slower than Qin Mu had anticipated.

To construct the road planned by Qin Mu, the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang and Xiong Xiyu, the True Heavenly Palace Master, had been busy for a long time. They had already paved the road deep into the Great Ruins, and in another month or so, it would reach Xianglong City, putting it not far from Yankang.

Qin Mu had extensive connections in the Western Lands and interactions with all major aristocratic families. This road paving project, connecting the Western Lands and the Middle Earth, was enormous, but all major aristocratic families supported the initiative and dispatched many divine arts practitioners.

"Everyone, rest!" The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang looked at the sky and announced loudly, "Darkness is approaching. Quickly gather beside the stone statues; do not walk around in the night!"

Everyone quickly gathered by the stone statues, starting fires and cooking meals. The girls chattered excitedly, discussing the men of Yankang, occasionally glancing at the divine arts practitioners from the Heavenly Works Hall and letting out quiet giggles. Those divine arts practitioners blushed and dared not speak much.

The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang's gaze was profound as he watched the setting sun. This time, Qin Mu had acted as a hands-off manager, delegating all the exhausting and dirty work to him while he went off to enjoy himself, but the Imperial Preceptor had no complaints.

Last time, when they pacified the Western Lands, he had delegated the dirty and exhausting work to Qin Mu, and Qin Mu had handled it very well.

Just then, the sky suddenly trembled as a black light descended from above, piercing through space. The black light spun wildly, illuminating the ground below.

The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang's expression subtly changed as he looked towards where the black light had fallen.

Boom! The black light landed, and the ground continuously trembled. The tremors reached their feet, feeling as if some terrifying demon monster was about to burrow out from underground!

"Imperial Preceptor!" The Master of the Heavenly Works Hall's eyes shot out two beams of light as he looked towards the abnormal area. His expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed loudly, "The celestial phenomena have greatly changed! Mountains are erupting from the earth! There might be evil creatures at work!"

The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang rose and said in a deep voice, "You all stay here; I will go and see."

Darkness surged. The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang walked through the darkness to where the black light had fallen. The black light's energy was exhausted, and from underground, another blue light shot skyward, piercing through space and forming a channel of light.

The blue light was emitted from a colossal altar, as large as a mountain. At this moment, all the runes on the altar's surface were illuminated.

The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang's eyes showed surprise as he scrutinized the suddenly appeared altar. After a moment of thought, he walked onto the altar and stepped into the blue light.

In Tai Huangtian, the smiles on Qin Mu's and Black Tiger God's faces had completely frozen. The smiles on the faces of True God Pang Yu, Revered Deity Sang Ye, and other deities in the sky, as well as the thousands of divine arts practitioners on the ground, had also completely frozen. Everyone had been frozen in place for some time.

Just then, from the light at the center of the altar, a slender figure emerged—a middle-aged man. He looked around in surprise, his gaze landing on Qin Mu.

"So it's Cult Master Qin. What remarkable feat have you accomplished this time? And where is this place?"