Chapter 554: Life's Pinnacle

“Even stranger, when I was casting the Soul-Pulling spell, many demonic languages I had never learned suddenly appeared in my mind…”

Qin Mu frowned. The peculiar information was still there in his mind, an extremely ancient language.

Suddenly, his heart stirred. He manifested the true form of the Star Suppression Lord: human head, snake body, with the Gate of Enduring Heavens appearing behind him. A phantom image of an ancient scroll also appeared in his hand.

Qin Mu steadied himself, reaching out to “open” the phantom scroll. As the characters met his eyes, he instantly felt the bird-and-insect script on the scroll rapidly reassembling. Each incredibly strange character and symbol immediately became familiar to him, and all sorts of bizarre texts were now ingrained in his mind!

Qin Mu’s expression was blank. The language on the scroll was Youdu script, the written language of Youdu, which he didn’t recognize at all!

That fellow, the Emperor of Heaven Demon King, knew a bit of Youdu language and had once taught him a phrase: “Gate of Enduring Heavens.” At that time, the Emperor of Heaven Demon King had even tricked him, almost causing Qin Mu’s death in Youdu.

As for the characters on the scroll, the Emperor of Heaven Demon King had never taught them to him.

Yet now, he instinctively understood all the characters on this ancient scroll, as if he had learned them long ago without any formal study!

“This ominous land is indeed extremely strange. I originally didn’t recognize the characters on this scroll, but now I can clearly read them! The text on the first page seems like a cultivation method but not quite a cultivation technique; it talks about strange knowledge concerning souls, yet it’s not quite knowledge either—it’s more like a divine ability…”

Qin Mu was astonished. The Youdu language in this ancient scroll was too peculiar. It was his first time encountering such strange text that seemed like a cultivation method but wasn’t, like knowledge but wasn’t, like a divine ability but wasn’t.

He hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t resist, reading aloud the text on the first page of the ancient scroll. From his mouth came an intonation that was both fluctuating and abrupt, obscure and profound, carrying a peculiar rhythm.

These characters could not be expressed in human language, as human languages lacked the vocabulary for them, and even their meaning could not be fully conveyed. Only through Youdu language could their true significance be expressed.

As soon as Qin Mu read out the first line of text, he felt his soul tremble. The vital qi within his body transformed, turning into demonic qi. Suddenly, a chilling wind swept through the surroundings, and a gloomy haze hung in the air, while the nearby swamps churned with splashing water.

Qin Mu quickly stopped, glancing around. Everything returned to normal.

He continued to read, and the scenery changed once more. The water in the swamp bubbled and frothed as if a pot were boiling over, while gloomy clouds gathered above his head, forming a rotating vortex. Demonic qi surged from all directions, and suddenly, a stream of demonic qi, like a flood dragon’s tail, descended from the center of the vortex.

Qin Mu’s mind reeled. That demonic qi had already entered his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure through his glabella. As he continued to read, the demonic qi merged with his Spirit Embryo. Immediately, the Spirit Embryo nourished it in return, and the demonic qi surged mightily, flowing through his Five Stars Divine Treasure and other Divine Treasures. Even the sun, moon, and stars within his Divine Treasures were tainted by the demonic qi, becoming dim and indistinct.

As Qin Mu continued to read the ancient scroll, withered skeletons suddenly rose from the surrounding swamp, and many more corpses crawled out from beneath the water.

Startled, he immediately stopped, closed the ancient scroll, dispersed the true form of the Star Suppression Lord, and cautiously scanned his surroundings.

The moment his voice ceased, the skeletons and corpses collapsed once more.

“This is too bizarre, this ominous land is incredibly strange…”

Qin Mu composed himself, deciding it was best to leave this ominous land as soon as possible.

“Perhaps once I leave this ominous land, the Youdu language in my mind will disappear, and I won’t recognize the characters on the scroll anymore. Huh, my cultivation seems to have improved a bit…”

He examined his cultivation and was astonished. In just a short while, his cultivation had significantly increased!

He had opened up his Divine Treasures and Seven Star Divine Treasure, making his cultivation extremely profound, not much weaker than an ordinary Celestial Human realm master. However, this profound cultivation also made his progress in cultivation seem a bit slow.

Yet, in just this short time, he felt his cultivation had greatly advanced. Such progress was terrifying!

“Something’s not right, something’s very wrong… There’s something amiss here, this ancient scroll definitely has some peculiar qualities…”

Qin Mu meticulously examined himself and finally pinpointed what was wrong.

He discovered a closed portal within his body!

A portal opposite to his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure!

Another Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure!

“This seems a bit off. Didn’t they say a person only has one Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure? How could there be another? I’m not two people… Though, no one ever told me it’s impossible for a person to have two Spirit Embryo Divine Treasures. Hmm, this must be the effect of the Hegemon Body…”

Qin Mu attributed the second Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure to his Hegemon Body, considering it a matter of course and not paying it much mind.

He surged his cultivation to impact this portal. The portal opened slightly, and streams of pure demonic qi gushed out, merging with his vital qi. Strange demonic sounds emanated from the portal, forcing his cultivation back.

He immediately stopped.

“This Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure is a Demonic Dao Divine Treasure, not a Divine Dao Divine Treasure! When I opened my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure before, I heard mysterious divine sounds. Now, demonic sounds are emanating, pushing back my cultivation and preventing me from opening this Demonic Dao Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure… I should ask the village chief about this; he knows the most about the Hegemon Body and can surely clear up my confusion!”

Qin Mu temporarily put this matter aside and looked around. The Jiedushi named Yu Liao had pointed him in the right direction; he only needed to head east to leave this ominous land. However, the vastness of this great swamp exceeded his expectations.

He chose a direction and walked forward. After a long time, he had traveled a thousand *li*, but still hadn’t left the great swamp.

Along the way, he saw many lakes in the great swamp, hundreds of them, large and small, all filled with water. These lakes were remnants of ancient battles.

Qin Mu approached one of the lakes and felt terrifying tremors emanating from within.

“These lakes are traces left by the divine abilities of gods and demons clashing.”

Qin Mu was cautious and didn’t approach. The power of the ancient gods and demons’ divine abilities still lingered, hidden at the bottom of the lakes. Such abilities were likely unstable, and stepping into the lake rashly could lead to dreadful consequences.

Just then, he witnessed a strange sight. A colorful glow rose from the lake, accompanied by tinkling sounds within the light, like the gentle collision of treasures, very pleasing to the ear.

Qin Mu stopped to watch. The colorful glow grew denser, and he could vaguely discern rotating lotus petals within the light. A seemingly large lotus pedestal slowly rose from the lake. However, the pedestal appeared damaged, with petals detached, yet it seemed to possess a mysterious gravitational pull that kept the petals rotating around it.

Inside the lotus pedestal, several weapons clashed like flood dragons.

Qin Mu turned and continued along the lakeside.

At this moment, a silver-bell-like laughter echoed from the lake again. Following the sound, he saw several bare-skinned girls, lightly veiled, frolicking on the lake surface. Some girls jumped into the water, while others sat on the water, laughing and playing.

Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. He took out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, ground the ink, and began to draw. A moment later, he had completed a painting: a lake with girls bathing, and a lotus treasure pedestal.

Qin Mu leaped, jumping into the painting, where he merrily played and frolicked with the girls.

The painting stood by the lake. In it, the young man, full of youthful exuberance, sat on the lotus treasure pedestal, with girls leaning gracefully beside him. He embraced them on both sides and even acquired the seemingly extraordinary weapons. It was truly the pinnacle of life!

Light pulsed on the lake surface, and then everything suddenly vanished. Something colossal seemed to be moving rapidly beneath the water, approaching swiftly, causing the water to ripple and rise like small islands.

*Splash.*

The lake surface parted, and a large eyeball, wreathed in demonic flames, leaped out of the water. It appeared to be the eye of a demon god.

This demonic eye must have gained sentience over time, or perhaps it was possessed by a lingering soul. It was exceptionally bizarre, having grown legs and arms—four legs and four arms—with two small pairs of wings behind the eye. It circled the painting, looking left and right, clearly envious of Qin Mu in the artwork.

“Coo-coo!” the demonic eye creature exclaimed, highly excited.

Suddenly, the demonic eye creature shrank to the size of a washbasin, flapping its wings rapidly, and darted towards Qin Mu’s painting, *pop*, it burrowed into the artwork.

The moment the demonic eye creature entered the painting, its eye immediately split open, revealing a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth. It roared furiously at Qin Mu: “Coo-coo—”

Qin Mu, utterly terrified, hastily jumped off the treasure pedestal and fled in panic.

The demonic eye creature, full of smugness, leaped onto the lotus treasure pedestal, pulled a few girls close, embracing them on both sides, and instantly felt it had reached the pinnacle of its monstrous existence.

Qin Mu jumped out of the painting, picked up his brush, and made a stroke on the artwork. Instantly, the girls and the demonic eye creature within the painting were all frozen in place.

“A very interesting monster. Its strength is far greater than mine, but it’s a bit foolish, not knowing the treachery of human hearts, and actually tried to deceive me. It used treasures and women to tempt me, but instead, it was tempted by me and fell into its own trap.”

Qin Mu took out his seal, breathed on it, and stamped it on the bottom right corner of the painting, sealing the artwork. He then rolled up the scroll and placed it into his Gluttony Bag.

“This demonic creature’s strength is extraordinary. If I encounter an insurmountable enemy, I can release it to face them.”

He finally emerged from the swamp and arrived at the ruins of a city. Collapsed palace buildings were everywhere. The place had been destroyed by war and had remained uninhabited for a long time. Broken bones littered the dilapidated streets, and as a chilling wind blew, ragged skulls rolled across the ground, making crisp rattling sounds.

Suddenly, the street cracked open, and a long spine, like a dragon, burst through the pavement. Its ribs acted like legs, as it charged wildly, rushing towards him to attack!

At the end of the spine was a grotesque head, likely that of a demon god. It had no flesh, with bone spikes covering its skull where hair should be, looking incredibly fierce as it lunged with its gaping maw.

Qin Mu took off running. As he ran, he suddenly encountered a battlefield ahead, where countless skeletons were engaged in combat, wielding various dilapidated spirit weapons, sending sand and stones flying.

Qin Mu was about to detour, but then he saw the colossal spine leap into the air, its feet wreathed in demonic fire. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and charge into the battlefield.

Only after charging into the battlefield did he realize how dire the situation was. Every one of the clashing skeletons was terrifyingly powerful; even the weakest among them was not much weaker than himself!

*Boom, boom, boom!*

Drumbeats reverberated. Two bone giants, a hundred *zhang* tall, pulled out their own thigh bones and excitedly shook their heads, using them to beat war drums. The drum sounds were like thunder, and the skeleton warriors on the battlefield almost went berserk, fighting madly.

Qin Mu was caught in a fierce battle. He stole a glance and saw the spine, with the demon god’s skull attached, charging wildly and heading straight for him!

“Yu Liao is here! You demons and monsters, cease your impudence!”

Qin Mu looked towards the sound and saw that Yu Liao, the Seven Killings Star Lord, holding his ceremonial axe, was charging furiously towards them with an army of countless corpses and skeletons. With a thunderous crash, this army of bones overwhelmed the battlefield, and wherever they passed, countless bone fragments flew through the air.

Yu Liao swung his ceremonial axe, smashing the demon god’s skull to pieces, and shouted loudly: “Live as a hero among men, die as a champion among ghosts! Overthrow these demonic brats and rule the ominous land! We shall become the Ominous!”

Qin Mu stared, wide-eyed. Yu Liao led his forces, sweeping through the battlefield like a whirlwind. Before long, withered bones littered the ground. The victorious skeleton warriors grinned, excitedly picking up intact bones from the ground to replace their own shattered ones.

Yu Liao strode over and said, “This ominous land is extremely dangerous, young friend. We will escort you out!”