Chapter 605: Magnetic Hurricane

Qin Mu looked up at Luofu Heaven. Pyramid-shaped altars rose in the distance, and through the thin clouds, he could vaguely make out the altar where the Woodsman Saint and Fu Riluo were located.

The land and sky of Luofu Heaven resembled an upright painting, with many areas appearing in stark black and white, devoid of other colors. Massive volcanic eruptions, like festive fireworks, dotted this landscape, preventing it from looking too monotonous.

They also saw fragments of stars plummeting from the sky, with fiery serpent-like trails descending one after another. Though they appeared to move slowly, their actual speed was terrifying.

The altar where the Woodsman Saint and Fu Riluo stood was a thousand miles away; even visible, it was merely a tiny speck.

Yet, he could perceive the intense light and cloud vapor emanating from it. Although the altar appeared small, its brilliance was overwhelming, like a miniature sun suddenly appearing, but far more intense than actual sunlight, dazzling even from their distance.

On the side of Black Tiger God and Granny Si, the battle was spectacular; every movement of the four gods and demons was clearly visible.

Qin Mu stopped, and Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi also paused in unison. The three youths stood on the massive star core, looking around. The high sky and clear clouds created a refreshing and delightful atmosphere, making it a rare and excellent location.

Suddenly, an enormous planet began to move towards them. It appeared incredibly vast, as if it could fall at any moment.

As it passed, the sky became distorted, and the ground continuously rose, causing thousands of mountains and valleys to rapidly emerge. The sight was utterly terrifying!

In the distance, Black Tiger God, Granny Si, Mutuluo, and Jade Rakshasa darted between the abruptly rising mountains, fiercely clashing with each other.

"Zhe Huali, do you know why Luofu Heaven has become like this?" Qin Mu asked, curious.

Zhe Huali hesitated, then replied, "I've heard Master Fu Riluo mention the specific reason. He said that a foreign star suddenly appeared and stopped above Luofu Heaven, distorting space and causing a natural disaster. Since then, Luofu Heaven has become uninhabitable."

The "foreign star" he referred to consisted of the broken planets in the sky. From their vantage point, they appeared unusually massive, allowing them to even clearly discern the mountains and rivers on their surfaces.

"Although my master and I are not of the same race," he stated, "I can feel his deep, pure devotion."

He continued solemnly, "Master Fu Riluo told me that he was not originally the Demon Race's Venerable King. The Venerable King at that time led many demon gods to the foreign star in the sky, attempting to shatter it or push it away from Luofu Heaven. However, that foreign star harbored many terrifying entities. The former Venerable King and those demon gods went to the foreign star and never returned. Master Fu Riluo said he later visited the foreign star himself and found that both the previous Venerable King and the formidable beings there had perished in battle."

Puzzled, Qin Mu asked, "Then why didn't Fu Riluo try to shatter these foreign stars instead? Why did he spend two thousand years attacking Taihuang Heaven, causing the deaths of so many demons and humans?"

Zhe Huali shook his head. "He remained evasive and didn't elaborate."

Qin Mu looked at Qi Jiuyi and inquired, "Brother Qi, as a visitor from the Celestial Heavens, do you know anything about this foreign star?"

Just as Qi Jiuyi was about to speak, the enormous planet moved directly above them. All three instantly felt their bodies become light, and a silent thought of "This is bad" flashed through their minds.

Qin Mu hastily activated his Sword Pellet, sending a column-like beam of sword light piercing towards the star core beneath their feet, attempting to anchor himself.

Simultaneously, Zhe Huali's demon blade also plunged towards the star core. Qi Jiuyi's shoes burst apart, transforming into phoenix claws that fiercely clawed at the star core, attempting to dig in and prevent himself from being pulled away by the foreign star's geoelectric magnetic force.

But immediately, cold sweat broke out on all three of their foreheads.

Qin Mu's Sword Pellet beam was deflected by the star core, and Zhe Huali's demon blade couldn't penetrate the core even an inch. Though Qi Jiuyi's phoenix claws were formidable, the star core was so incredibly solid that it nearly snapped his talons!

Whoosh—

The geoelectric magnetic force transformed into a lightning hurricane, which, like the aurora over the northern ice plains of Yankang, swept them up, sending all three involuntarily soaring into the air.

The three youths remained calm in the face of danger, each activating their cultivation techniques and unleashing divine abilities to escape the hurricane of primordial magnetic lightning. Qin Mu manifested his form as the Fluorescent Star Lord, with an ox head and human body, standing on two fire dragons. The dragons roared as they carried him flying outwards.

Zhe Huali conjured his blade, sending thousands of flickering blade lights to try and cut through the hurricane.

On the other side, Qi Jiuyi's body shifted, transforming into a nine-headed phoenix. He flapped his wings, flying at an incredible speed, even surpassing Qin Mu and Zhe Huali.

However, even as the top experts of their generation, they couldn't escape the primordial magnetic hurricane. They were carried higher and higher by its force.

"Senior Brother Tiger's terrible idea led us to this star core! We're standing too high here; we've been caught by the foreign star's geoelectric magnetic force..."

Cold sweat trickled down Qin Mu's forehead. He suddenly took a deep breath, sweeping all the surrounding air into his lungs and storing it in his chest cavity.

Since escaping the primordial magnetic hurricane was impossible, their only option was to wait and see if its intensity would wane. There was no air at high altitudes, so they needed to take a breath and hold it. Fortunately, his strength was considerable, allowing him to store a greater volume of air in his chest.

With this breath held in his chest, he could last a full day without needing to breathe, even if he were transported into space, ensuring his temporary survival.

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali were also inhaling. Both were remarkably intelligent and, like Qin Mu, quickly grasped the critical necessity.

The primordial magnetic hurricane carried them higher and higher, as the star core and Luofu Heaven below grew increasingly distant.

Cold sweat beaded on Qin Mu's forehead, for directly above them were countless free-floating bolts of lightning!

Crackle—

A bolt of heavenly lightning suddenly ignited and struck towards him, immediately stirring up a hornet's nest. Countless more lightning bolts abruptly appeared, forming a vast ocean of celestial thunder.

Qin Mu tossed up his Sword Pellet, and countless flying swords began to circle his body. They suddenly coalesced into a metal sphere, roughly ten feet in diameter, enveloping Qin Mu and deflecting the lightning.

Bolts of lightning continuously hammered the Sword Pellet, causing it to crackle and glow red-hot, on the verge of melting at any moment.

On the other side, Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali fared no better; rolling heavenly thunder engulfed all three of them!

After a moment, the lightning dissipated. Qin Mu hastily retrieved his Sword Pellet. He saw that the primordial magnetic hurricane was still present, continuously swirling them like a long serpent. Its expansive light was breathtakingly beautiful, shifting through a multitude of colors in an instant.

However, as Qin Mu looked up, his heart gradually sank. They had moved far from Luofu Heaven and were now in the sky of the foreign star.

"This is bad..."

Qin Mu's scalp tingled. Then he noticed the lush green mountains and rivers on the foreign star, which slightly eased his mind. The presence of trees, flowers, and plants suggested there should be air, though he didn't know if it was suitable for human respiration.

Whoosh—

They were flung out of the primordial magnetic hurricane. All three tumbled and rolled through the air for a considerable distance before finally stabilizing themselves.

The three youths stood in mid-air, exchanging glances. Qi Jiuyi's nine heads swayed before gradually retracting into his chest cavity, leaving only one head in human form.

"How can we get back to Luofu Heaven...?"

The three looked in the direction where Luofu Heaven should have been, and their scalps tingled with dread: Luofu Heaven was gone!

Indeed, Luofu Heaven had vanished, leaving only the dark expanse of the starry sky!

The three exchanged a look, each seeing fear and unease reflected in the others' eyes.

The foreign star orbited beyond Luofu Heaven's sky, and no one knew when it would pass over Luofu Heaven again!

Qin Mu quickly retrieved his calculation spirit weapon, preparing to calculate the celestial movements of the Zhou Tian Xing Dou to determine when this foreign star would next align with Luofu Heaven. Suddenly, he froze.

He looked up at the stars beyond, realizing they were completely different from those of Yankang. This meant that the Zhou Tian Xing Dou array and numerical techniques he had learned from the Dao Sect were utterly useless here!

While he could potentially deduce the foreign star's celestial trajectory and calculate its astrological array by observing the stellar movements, it would take at least a year to do so.

A chill settled in Qin Mu's heart. "How long is a year on this foreign star?" he wondered. "Is it a few months in Yankang's time, or several years, hundreds of years, or even thousands of years?"

Qi Jiuyi looked around, his eyes suddenly lighting up. He began walking into the distance, saying, "There are traces of battle over there! We should go check it out; we might find a way to leave!"

Qin Mu and Zhe Huali quickly followed, and indeed, they found astonishing remnants of battle. It was clearly a pure war between gods and devils: some mountaintops were sliced clean off, while certain areas of the ground bore five-fingered palm prints that had transformed into lakes. Gigantic demon god corpses lay sprawled across the battlefield, their flesh long gone, leaving only white bones.

In the distance, on a towering divine mountain, stood a massive, resplendent temple that appeared to be undamaged.

Qin Mu paused, slightly startled, then abruptly stopped and shot into the sky.

Seeing this, Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi also quickly flew into the air, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

"Brother Qin, have you detected any danger?" Qi Jiuyi asked, narrowing his eyes.

Qin Mu didn't answer. He looked down at the surrounding geography from his high vantage point, his heart slightly trembling.

The geological layout of this foreign star looked remarkably familiar!

He couldn't help but recall the grand hall in the canyon outside the Ark of the Other Shore, where the large cauldron of the Founding Patriarch of the Heavenly Saint Cult had poured forth yellow star sand, manifesting numerous geographical maps. The topography of this foreign star was one of those very maps!

One of the maps depicted a divine temple, which must be the temple on the divine mountain ahead!

"Senior Brother has been here! Could he be here now?"

Qin Mu composed himself. The Founding Patriarch had used the star sand from the great cauldron to create many geographical maps. The first map had led Qin Mu to the reclusive Elder Qinghuang in the Great Ruins, completely resolving the issues with the Dragon Race script.

What discovery might this particular geographical map lead to?

"I might have misjudged something just now," Qin Mu admitted.

Qin Mu said sheepishly to the two, "I thought it was residual divine power from gods and demons. It's nothing; let's keep going."

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali were skeptical. Qi Jiuyi cleared his throat and said, "This is a foreign star; no one knows what might happen. If Brother Qin discovers anything, it's best to say so directly. Only by working together can we hope to leave this place alive... Eh?"

Qi Jiuyi stared at the approaching divine mountain, looking surprised and uncertain. Zhe Huali's eyes glinted. "What have you discovered now, Brother Qi?"

"Doesn't this mountain look familiar to you?" Qi Jiuyi whispered.

Zhe Huali looked at the divine mountain, his heart suddenly stirring. He nodded. "It's very similar to the divine mountain in the Celestial Heavens, but this one shouldn't be real."

Qi Jiuyi glanced at Qin Mu ahead, a smile spreading across his face. He whispered, "No need to tell him. We have this in the bag!"