Chapter 606: Great Zhou Heaven Star Divination Arts

Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Zhe Huali landed before a majestic divine mountain. It exuded an extraordinary aura, with golden light shimmering around its peaks, inspiring awe and deterring any direct ascent.

They chose to proceed on foot.

The mountain's staircase led directly to the Golden Summit Hall. It appeared a fierce battle had taken place here, as the stone steps were covered in mottled bloodstains.

The blood had flowed down from above. Divine and demonic blood rarely dried up, typically emitting astonishing tremors even after tens of thousands of years. However, the divine and demonic blood here had lost all its essence, turning into alarming brown stains.

Strangely, there were no other signs of battle.

Qin Mu activated his Worry-Free Sword and struck the mountain with full force. Sparks flew, and his hands tingled from the impact, yet no mark was left on the mountain.

The divine mountain seemed to possess an inexplicable power flowing within its core, protecting it.

"Even the previous King of Luofu Heaven and many demon gods couldn't leave a mark on this divine mountain. What is its origin?" Qin Mu was greatly perplexed.

Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi exchanged glances, understanding each other without a word.

Zhe Huali’s eyes flickered as he thought, "Even the King couldn't leave a mark on this divine mountain. Is this mountain really just a replica? It doesn't seem like it…"

They continued their ascent. Ahead, they discovered the skeleton of a fallen divine being, its flesh long gone. Qin Mu quickly approached it. The clothes on the skeleton had rotted away, as had its flesh.

The skeleton had three neck bones and three heads, facing three different directions. It had six arms, each clutching a divine weapon.

"A god who died in battle!"

Qin Mu's eyes gleamed as he immediately reached for one of the artifacts, a tiger-shaped wine vessel. However, the moment his hand touched it, the divine weapon instantly turned to dust.

Qin Mu was stunned. He watched as the skeleton holding the wine vessel also disintegrated into dust, rapidly crumbling. Soon, the entire skeleton, along with the other divine weapons, shattered into tiny fragments that could not even be swept away.

Zhe Huali stepped forward, puzzled. "Could he have been pulverized by his opponent?"

Qi Jiuyi shook his head. He then cut his finger, letting a drop of golden blood fall onto the stone steps. They watched as the blood quickly dried up, as if all its essence had been absorbed by the steps.

Qi Jiuyi's expression was grave. "This divine mountain absorbed all his essence, and not even the essence within his divine weapons could be preserved."

Qin Mu stated earnestly, "Brother Qi, we are now caught in an anomalous star. If you know anything, please share it. By exchanging information, we might find a way to escape."

The wound on Qi Jiuyi's fingertip healed automatically. He shook his head and smiled. "This is my first time in the lower realm. What could I possibly know about this world? Brother Qin, you must be joking."

Qin Mu observed the healing wound on his fingertip, a chill running through him. The automatic healing without the need for medicine indicated either a powerful cultivation technique or a unique physical constitution.

Zhe Huali was also startled. Of the three, Qi Jiuyi had been the most severely injured during their battle in front of the divine city in the painting. He had been gravely wounded by Qin Mu and Zhe Huali, and then nearly killed by Qin Mu's sword.

Yet, in just a few days, Qi Jiuyi had recovered completely, his cultivation not only undiminished but even stronger than before!

Each with their own thoughts, the three continued forward. The stone steps were strewn with large and small skeletons of gods and demons. Some were demon gods from the demon race, while others were deities.

All the deities had three heads and six arms, their skeletal forms almost identical, indicating they belonged to the same race!

Their skeletons, along with the essence from their divine and demonic weapons, had all been absorbed by the mountain, leaving nothing. A gentle touch would turn them to dust.

Zhe Huali examined the skeletons of the three-headed, six-armed deities, frowning. He looked at Qi Jiuyi and whispered, "Are these the divine beings from the Heavenly Court?"

Qi Jiuyi shook his head, lowering his voice. "I don't know. There are some three-headed, six-armed gods and demons in the Heavenly Court, but they aren't a distinct race. Moreover, the number of three-headed deities who died here is so large that they shouldn't be from the Heavenly Court. This divine mountain…"

He shook his head again. "The ones in the Heavenly Court are real. This divine mountain should be a fake, yet why is it so powerful?"

He was somewhat bewildered.

The demon blade and demon eyes behind Zhe Huali suddenly opened, looking around, but even they could discern nothing.

"Are you saying this divine mountain is also real? How is that possible?" Zhe Huali asked, confused.

Qi Jiuyi looked up to see Qin Mu walking quickly, almost at the summit. He hastily said, "This divine mountain is strange. Let's go up quickly, lest he get any treasures first!"

The two hurried upwards. They found Qin Mu standing motionless at the end of the stone steps. They quickly reached his side, only to see a demon god standing before Qin Mu, with long, angry brows and whiskers, holding a three-pointed, double-edged blade, looking imposing.

They looked up and saw that the demon god's face was stern and imposing, watching them, as if the three-pointed, double-edged blade in its hand could strike them down at any moment!

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali were stiff, daring not to move.

Qin Mu exhaled a deep breath, moved his feet, and circled to the side of the demon god, revealing another face.

He walked around the demon god in a full circle. This demon god actually had four faces: front, back, left, and right. He chuckled, "Fellow senior brothers, you don't need to worry. He should have been dead for a long time. When I climbed up here, his back face was staring at me, and I was also scared stiff, thinking I was going to die by his hand."

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali regained their composure, each sighing in relief, covered in cold sweat.

Zhe Huali walked around, surprised. "A four-faced demon god? Could it be the previous King? Why is he standing here and not inside the hall?"

Qin Mu examined it closely. "Four faces, one more than Ba Tuoluo. Could it be the same cultivation method as Ba Tuoluo? Has Ba Tuoluo not yet reached his level?"

Qi Jiuyi also followed him around the King, scrutinizing it. "Perhaps not. Ba Tuoluo has ears on the back of his head; he doesn't have a fourth face. They are likely different species of the same clan. Ba Tuoluo's cultivation shouldn't be weaker than his… The wound is here!"

He made a discovery, pointing to the four-faced King's neck. Qin Mu looked and saw a barely perceptible thin red line on the four-faced King's neck.

This King must have been struck down suddenly and had his throat slit when he reached this point!

Qin Mu opened his mouth and exhaled, creating a gust of wind that blew towards the four-faced King's head. The King's head suddenly rolled off his neck and shattered on the stone steps like porcelain.

Then, the King's tall and mighty body rapidly disintegrated, like a ceramic statue of a demon god. His body was empty, no flesh remained, only skin!

The three-pointed, double-edged blade in his hand also shattered on the ground!

Qin Mu shivered, turning to look at the great hall.

The four-faced King had been struck down just as he was about to step into the divine hall before them, his head and primordial spirit severed!

Now, the divine hall was directly in front of them, its entrance open. Inside, it was dim and indistinct, with shifting colored lights occasionally coming into view.

Qi Jiuyi's eyes flickered. He whispered, "Brother Qin, should we go in? There might be danger inside!"

Qin Mu gritted his teeth and strode forward, saying in a deep voice, "Fellow senior brothers, I'll go in first to scout ahead. If there's danger, I'll notify you to escape immediately!"

Qi Jiuyi was surprised and looked at Zhe Huali, who also showed surprise and looked back at him. Both young men were greatly puzzled. Could Qin Mu truly consider them friends, willing to risk his life to explore?

Their interactions with Qin Mu had been limited, but they could tell Qin Mu was not such a person!

Ahead, Qin Mu entered the divine hall, his figure disappearing. The dim light within the hall continued to shift. Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali tensely watched the hall entrance, listening carefully for any sounds.

Suddenly, an incredibly shrill scream echoed, sending shivers down their spines!

Qin Mu's tragic cry came: "There's—"

The sound abruptly cut off!

*Whoosh!*

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali immediately sprinted down the mountain, their figures transforming into two swift streaks of light.

It had taken them nearly half an hour to climb the mountain, but only a few breaths to descend halfway!

Suddenly, Zhe Huali stopped, saying in a deep voice, "Brother Qi, stop! Something's wrong!"

Qi Jiuyi quickly halted, turned around, and looked puzzled.

Zhe Huali sneered, "His scream just now was full of vigor. How could it sound like someone on the verge of death? Moreover, do you think he would have had a chance to speak and warn us if whatever killed the previous King was coming for him?"

Qi Jiuyi's eyes widened. He blurted out, "You mean… let's go up quickly!"

The two immediately rushed back up the mountain, reaching the hall entrance at the summit. Zhe Huali took a long breath, grasped the hilt of the demon blade on his back, and walked step by step towards the hall entrance.

Qi Jiuyi followed behind him, several heads emerging from beneath his neck, nervously looking around.

They finally reached the entrance. One of Qi Jiuyi's heads peered over Zhe Huali's shoulder, while the others hid behind Zhe Huali. They looked into the hall and were slightly startled.

Qin Mu was inside the hall, taking out a pile of fragmented calculation tools, assembling and combining them to build a large-scale computational spirit weapon.

Qi Jiuyi gritted his teeth, retracted his nine heads, consolidating them into one. He stepped out from behind Zhe Huali and walked into the grand hall.

Zhe Huali followed him in.

The two young men sneered. Qin Mu looked up, feigning surprise, then smiled broadly. "Fellow senior brothers, you've arrived just in time. I was about to tell you, there's a mathematical puzzle inside the hall."

Qi Jiuyi sneered, looking around the hall. At its center was a massive iron throne, formed by intersecting swords and forks. A three-headed, six-armed divine demon sat grandly on the throne, five of his hands resting on the armrests, and one finger pointing in a specific direction.

His three heads faced three different directions, mouths wide open, eyes bulging, as if screaming in agony.

Even stranger, all the flesh on his body had withered, making him look like a mummified corpse, bony and shriveled, with only dry skin clinging tightly to his bones.

Even his eyes in their sockets had dried up and sunken, leaving only black, shriveled pupils visible.

Floating before this three-headed, six-armed divine demon was a small, unassuming jade box. It floated silently, with faint rays of light emanating from it, rotating around the box.

And surrounding this small box were stars of various sizes, shaped like celestial bodies, rotating around the small box.

The direction pointed by the three-headed, six-armed divine demon's finger was a mural, depicting a star chart that covered the entire wall.

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali followed his gaze, realizing he was pointing to a galaxy in the star map. In the center of that galaxy was a continent, with layers of heavens above it.

"The stars rotating around the small box are indeed a mathematical problem!"

Qi Jiuyi examined it closely, his expression showing surprise. "It's the Heavenly Court's Grand Cycle of Stars numerology! Zhe Huali, did you learn this in the Heavenly Court's Spirit Cultivation Army?"

Zhe Huali nodded, his face grave. "It is indeed the Heavenly Court's celestial trajectories. A mathematical problem is hidden within, corresponding to the star chart on the wall, forming a killing array. Only by solving this problem can one enter the array and retrieve this small box!"

The two immediately took out various computational spirit weapons and began to calculate rapidly!

At this moment, Qin Mu stood up, and the large computational spirit weapon beside him disassembled, flying into his Taotie Pouch with a *whoosh*.

"No need to calculate, fellow senior brothers. It's three hundred thirty thousand years."

Qin Mu walked forward, observing the Grand Cycle of Stars killing array that enveloped the small box. "It's a star map from three hundred thirty thousand years ago, with subtle differences from Yankang's celestial phenomena. I'm ashamed to admit, while solving the problem, I actually comprehended the true fourteenth sword of the Dao Sect!"

He beamed with excitement, turned to the mural on the wall, and chuckled, "And I made a wonderful discovery: this star map on the wall is from the southern Great Ruins, three hundred thirty thousand years ago. The observation point was near the South Sea. Isn't that strange? This three-headed, six-armed divine demon came from the South Sea of the Great Ruins three hundred thirty thousand years ago!"

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali exchanged glances, then immediately stepped into the Grand Cycle of Stars killing array surrounding the small box, rushing towards it.

Since Qin Mu had found the answer to the problem, they could now easily enter the array and seize the small box using his solution.

"Oh no, I think I miscalculated!"

In front of the star map mural, Qin Mu suddenly slapped his forehead and stomped his foot. "It should be three hundred fifty thousand years! Fellow senior brothers, you… why did you go in? What now?"