Chapter 672: Skeleton’s Gratitude

They had traveled fifty to sixty thousand miles, and the journey had been peaceful so far. They had already bypassed Luofutian, which, despite its vastness and central position in the Taihuang Heaven, was now obscured by immense waves of lava and black winds. The only thing capable of guiding their direction was Qin Mu's compass carriage.

Everyone was extremely fatigued; even the gods found it hard to endure. Protecting themselves alone would have been manageable, but the critical task was safeguarding tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners. This immense effort led to extreme exhaustion, and their vital qi was constantly depleting.

Their stomachs were empty, and their bodies were gradually losing strength.

Xing An opened his box, took out some dried meat, and handed it to Qin Mu, saying, "You are the leader; you distribute this."

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched. He quickly placed the dried meat into his Taotie Pouch and called out, "Village Chief, Grandpa Butcher, come over here."

He had the people from Disabled Elderly Village surround the Butcher. The Butcher hesitated, then drew his knife and asked, "Children might not be able to handle this kind of meat."

Qin Mu replied, "Cut it into small, nail-sized dices; that will be enough for each person. The gods should get a larger portion. Grandpa Butcher, can you divide it into tens of thousands of portions?"

"That's not difficult," he replied, "I'm just afraid they won't dare to eat it."

The Butcher, with his superb knife skills, quickly divided the dried meat. Qin Mu placed the portions on a platter. The plate of meat dices was incredibly heavy, radiating multicolored divine light. Even with his divine strength, lifting it was difficult. Some of the dices also carried incredibly dense demonic qi.

"Those who cultivate divine paths should take the dices radiating divine light, one small piece per person," he instructed. "Those who cultivate demonic paths should take the demonic qi dices, and don't take more than one."

After he distributed the dried meat, Xu Shenghua hesitated for a moment, then took two pieces himself, giving one to Jing Yan.

Jing Yan hesitated, asking in a low voice, "Cult Master, what kind of meat is this?"

"It's not human flesh," Qin Mu replied.

Qin Mu hesitated, then whispered, "But it's not anything good either. Xing An's box contains many arms, legs, and heads. This is one of the few pieces of non-human divine devil meat."

After distributing the meat dices, Apothecary called Qin Mu over, and the two busied themselves constantly refining spirit pills. Granny Si, meanwhile, used her creation divine art to cultivate spirit herbs. Batch after batch of spirit pills were refined and given to the gods and divine arts practitioners whose vital qi was exhausted.

Even so, they were rapidly depleting their resources. Relying solely on spirit pills couldn't fill their stomachs or replenish their water.

"Can creation divine art produce water?" someone whispered.

Another person replied, "Don't speak; you're wasting the moisture in your body."

Qin Mu rummaged through his Taotie Pouch, took out his reserved water, and distributed it. However, each person only received a small amount.

Although he always preferred to be prepared and kept some water in his Taotie Pouch, he hadn't stored a great deal.

Divine arts practitioners had strong bodies and could survive for a long time even when dehydrated. At this point, they only needed to ensure everyone maintained a certain amount of water to survive until they reached the junction of Taihuang Heaven and Taiming Heaven.

"To create water using creation divine art means altering the fundamental structure of matter," someone explained. "This requires an almost heaven-defying mastery of the art. Perhaps only Human Emperor First Ancestor could achieve such a feat, but First Ancestor is severely wounded..."

Qin Mu licked his parched lips and looked ahead. Everyone, including the gods, was dehydrated and skeletal. Yet, the Dragon Qilin, who was pulling the carriage, remained energetic, running with brisk steps.

Even his arch-rival, the great deer, was now nothing but skin and bones, with most of its strength depleted.

Only the Dragon Qilin remained energetic. He was naturally endowed with fire control, making him perfectly at home here; even the extremely high temperatures were merely like a hot bath to him.

"Without water, I fear we won't reach Taiming Heaven..." Qin Mu's throat felt like it was burning, and he struggled to swallow. However, there was no saliva in his mouth, only the dry, cracking sound from his parched throat.

Many divine arts in the world can be categorized by the five elements. However, water-element divine arts often involve mixing scattered water vapor from heaven and earth with one's own water vital qi to create the illusion of vast water. But it is not truly water; once the vital qi dissipates, the water vapor quickly disperses as well.

Creation divine art, on the other hand, can alter the fundamental structure of matter. It demands extremely high mastery, truly allowing one to conjure things out of thin air.

This ability was beyond their capabilities.

They trudged forward with difficulty. Everyone was parched, losing their original spirit, energy, and vitality. They merely dragged their weary bodies forward, driven by sheer will.

Human Emperor First Ancestor had awakened, but his injuries were severe, requiring True God Pang Yu to carry him. Qin Mu could only hope that Apothecary would rescue him from the brink of death as soon as possible, so that First Ancestor could then use his creation abilities to conjure water from nothing.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the sky. The gods who were resisting the shockwaves on the periphery all looked up to see an unfurled scroll flying rapidly across the sky. Bright light burst forth from the scroll, shining down upon the sea of lava.

The scroll opened, shining like a mirror, and names were rapidly flickering across its surface!

"The Book of Life and Death!"

Qin Mu's heart jolted. The flying object was the Book of Life and Death—more accurately, the one in Lou Yunqu's possession!

Lou Yunqu had used the power of the Book of Life and Death to capture Luofutian's altar, blood-sacrificing Luofutian and causing it to collide with Taihuang Heaven!

And now the Book of Life and Death had suddenly appeared, constantly shining on Taihuang Heaven, which had become a sea of lava. What exactly were Lou Yunqu and his group planning?

"If it were just to capture me, there would be no need to use the Book of Life and Death again," Qin Mu thought. "So, he intends to wipe us all out!"

Qin Mu looked around, seeing only exhausted soldiers. The group had no strength left to fight; even the gods were utterly fatigued.

"In the collapsing Taihuang Heaven, the environment is extremely harsh," he mused. "Lou Yunqu should only be able to awaken a few divine devil corpses. But fortunately, the number shouldn't be very high..."

Just as he thought this, a massive demonic god skeleton slowly rose from the flames in the sea of lava, with lava still flowing on its bones. A moment later, the lava flames on the demonic god skeleton extinguished, its skull empty save for faint ghostly flames flickering in its eye sockets.

More divine devil skeletons rose from the sea of lava: one, two, ten, a hundred... their numbers rapidly increased!

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched erratically. He wanted to speak, but his voice was hoarse as he asked, "True God Pang Yu, can you still fight?"

True God Pang Yu, Venerable God Sang Ye, and the others looked withered, their lips cracked and white, with threads of blood appearing where they split. The people from Disabled Elderly Village were no better off. To protect these tens of thousands of people, they had continuously fought against dangers from all directions throughout the journey and were now utterly exhausted.

Qin Mu looked at Xing An, who was opening his box. He took out several arms and legs from the box, then detached his own limbs and replaced them with the new ones.

After reassembling his body, he took out some divine blood and performed a blood transfusion on himself.

"I can fight," Xing An stated.

After completing the blood transfusion, Xing An said calmly, "But there are too many divine devil skeletons. I cannot protect you for long, and the body parts in my box are limited. Furthermore, I have a condition."

He looked at Apothecary and said gravely, "I ask Jade-faced Poison King to completely resolve the hidden dangers in my body! If you don't agree, I'll turn and leave!"

Apothecary frowned. "If I don't agree, where will you go?" he retorted. "You cannot leave Taihuang Heaven, and you cannot return to Yankang!"

Qin Mu sighed. "He can leave Taihuang Heaven," he said. "After the compass carriage was built, it indicated the path to Taiming Heaven for him. Xing An is intelligent; he would certainly have thought of this."

Xing An smiled. "Now, only I can save you," he said. "So, will Poison King agree to my condition?"

"Alright," Apothecary conceded.

Apothecary readily agreed, "I'll write down the prescription for you, but you must fight to the death!"

Xing An shook his head. "No," he said. "If my life is in danger, I will withdraw; I won't waste my life here."

Apothecary sneered, "If you don't fight to the death, what good are you? Don't even think about getting the prescription from me!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xing An's eyes. At that moment, divine devil skeletons, as if receiving a command, roared and charged towards them!

Xing An immediately pulled back and left. His voice drifted back from afar, "You'll come begging me eventually!"

He swiftly departed, abandoning the group.

The Butcher drew his knife and shouted, "Fight to the death!"

His blade energy soared to the sky. Other gods also drew their divine weapons, gritted their teeth, and fixed their gaze on the charging divine devil skeletons.

Although utterly exhausted, the lives of these tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners rested on their shoulders. They had already disregarded their own lives.

The divine devil skeletons grew in number and drew closer. Those tall skeletons stomped across the sea of lava, rushing forward like flying. Each step they took stirred up tremendous waves, their momentum terrifying.

Venerable God Sang Ye suddenly chuckled, "Brother Pang Yu, if these young ones survive, many of them will surely become gods, won't they?"

True God Pang Yu, carrying First Ancestor, laughed, "Of course. This generation of young people is far more intelligent and capable than us. Many among them will achieve godhood, surpassing their predecessors, and some can even reach accomplishments beyond our reach."

The gods chuckled in agreement, "Then, even if we die fighting for them, it will be worth it!"

The Butcher laughed loudly and shouted, "Village Chief, Granny, you escort them ahead; we will cover your retreat. Are you two confident you can handle the dangers ahead?"

Granny Si's expression turned serious, and she solemnly declared, "We will not stop until death!"

"Good!"

The gods roared and charged towards the incoming divine devil skeletons, their shouts echoing through the heavens and earth.

The Village Chief sighed and said gravely, "Let's go! I will use my lifelong cultivation to clear a path for you!"

No sooner had he spoken, the sea of lava suddenly boiled, bubbling up huge bursts of air. The Village Chief's heart jolted; his vital qi formed into limbs, gripping his sword, unmoving, as he stared at the drastic change in the sea of lava.

With a great splash—

Lava shot skyward, and a gigantic bone dragon, covered in tattered armor, burst from the sea of lava. Behind the bone dragon, divine devil skeletons, clad in armor and helmets, rushed out, leaping from the sea of lava, numbering over a thousand!

The Village Chief's face was pale, and his vital qi hand gripping the sword trembled slightly.

On the forehead of the giant armored bone dragon, a divine devil skeleton stood, draped in a tattered cape and holding a broken ceremonial axe. It suddenly swung its ceremonial axe, laughing loudly, "Soldiers of the Southern Sky's Southern Dipper Constellation Division, flatten these demons and monsters for me!"

With a whoosh, countless divine devil skeletons leaped over the Village Chief and his group, rushing towards the skeletons currently fighting with the Butcher, Pang Yu, and others.

The Village Chief stared blankly, turning his head to look. He saw the skeleton army collide with the other skeleton army, and shattered bones immediately flew everywhere!

The skeletons that charged past them were clearly a well-trained army. They formed battle formations and carved through the enemy like a hot knife through butter, quickly routing the opposing force!

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events. The Village Chief turned back to see the bone dragon's head lowered. The skeleton general standing on its skull lowered his ceremonial axe and bowed, saying, "From Kaihuang Celestial Heavens, Southern Sky Southern Dipper Constellation Division, Taihuang Heaven Military Governor, Wei Liao, greets Benefactor! It's rare to see Benefactor again, though I never imagined we would meet under such circumstances."

Although he was a skeleton, without flesh and blood, he possessed an extraordinary bearing and heroic spirit. Just hearing his voice, one could imagine that he must have been a formidable divine general in life!

Tens of thousands of people were bewildered and somewhat at a loss.

Suddenly, a voice from the crowd said, "Military Governor Wei Liao, you are too kind; please rise."

Everyone looked in unison towards the voice. They saw Qin Mu emerge from the crowd, the young cult master bowing slightly and raising his hands in a gesture.