Chapter 675: The Grand Emperor Falls

Qin Mu and the others stepped onto the bridge made of willow branches and walked forward. The bridge twisted and turned, and beyond it were chaotic spatial fragments. Light refracted off them, resembling countless thin mirrors, yet through these fragments, various strange and beautiful sceneries could be seen.

The spatial fragments were extremely dangerous and floated erratically, yet the bridge miraculously found a path through them.

Those who looked down from the bridge could only see more spatial fragments, nothing else.

"Don't look around; stand firm with every step!" Pang Yu True God's voice came from the front. "If you fall, you'll be lost without a trace; your body will never be found!"

They walked for a long time, finally reaching the end.

Qin Mu stepped onto solid ground, glanced around, and smiled. This was Ta Ming Heaven, the very place he and Emperor Sakra King Buddha had used to return to the Great Ruins when fleeing the pursuit of Southern Heaven's Vermilion Emperor, Qi Xiaoyu. Furthermore, the Great Ruins had fallen from the Celestial Heavens, piercing through Ta Ming Heaven, and the shattered space was not far away!

Standing on the ground of Ta Ming Heaven, everyone looked around. All they could see was the pitch-black earth, raging winds, and piles of dry bones being blown by the wind, forming large bone-balls that rolled along.

The rattling sound of the bone-balls rolling in the wind became a unique spectacle of Ta Ming Heaven.

When the wind stopped, the bone-balls scattered, clattering onto the ground. Then, many skeletons rose, searching for their bones; some even fought over a single leg bone.

Suddenly, the skeletons noticed them and all turned their heads to look.

Everyone's hearts tightened, preparing to defend themselves, but Qin Mu quickly said, "Don't be nervous. They've just never seen humans before and are a bit curious about us. Actually, they're quite adorable and pose no threat."

A few bolder skeletons approached, touching the clothes of the refugee divine arts practitioners. One even braver skeleton pinched a girl's cheek.

Qin Mu took several sets of clothes from his Taotie pouch and gave them to some of the skeletons. Those skeletons, overjoyed, put on the clothes and ran around happily. The other skeletons, envious, chased after them.

"This land has no nutrients at all," said Granny Si, attempting to plant medicinal herbs. The herbs quickly withered, and she couldn't help but shake her head.

Venerable God Sang Ye sniffed the air and said, "There's no spiritual energy or power in the air either. This place isn't suitable for any living beings. Perhaps only these skeletons can survive here."

"Tai Huang Heaven is falling!" someone suddenly exclaimed in alarm.

Qin Mu and the others were greatly shocked and quickly turned to look back the way they came. Through layers of spatial fragments, which moved erratically, they could occasionally see flashes of firelight from an unknown distance away, faintly revealing Tai Huang Heaven.

Ta Ming Heaven was a world already engulfed in deathly silence, dark and unclear, so nothing could be seen from Tai Huang Heaven looking this way. However, Tai Huang Heaven was a sea of magma, extremely bright, allowing it to be seen from Ta Ming Heaven.

Tai Huang Heaven was tilting, and its angle of inclination was gradually increasing.

It was as if this Tai Huang Heaven was about to plunge into a chasm!

"What's beneath the chasm?" Pang Yu True God asked.

Qin Mu softly replied, "Yan Kang. No, it's the Great Ruins."

Everyone was stunned.

If Tai Huang Heaven were to crash into the Great Ruins, it would likely cause another catastrophe!

The Village Chief sighed, "The people of Mingdu are truly ruthless in their actions, leaving no room for escape! We must hurry and enter the Great Ruins before Tai Huang Heaven crashes into it, or we will all be lost without a trace!"

"Follow me!"

Qin Mu shouted loudly, leading the group towards the shattered space. Everyone followed, and along the way, many mischievous skeletons ran up, holding out their hands to beg for clothes.

If anyone had spare clothes, they gave them to the skeletons. Those who received clothes were overjoyed and ran around excitedly. One tall skeleton, who had likely been a man in life, wore women's clothing, looking flamboyant and drawing attention.

After a lively interlude, they arrived before the shattered space. Looking down, they saw that the abyss was also filled with dangerous spatial fragments, though it was much safer than the path from Tai Huang Heaven to Ta Ming Heaven.

The spatial fragments here were not dense, and the scenery of the Great Ruins could be faintly discerned.

Qin Mu had come here last time, using his God Slaying Profound Blade to cut through the spatial fragments and successfully enter the Great Ruins. However, looking down, he was surprised to see that a safe passage now existed in the shattered space. Someone had used an axe to cut through the spatial fragments, leaving a clear path about a *li* wide. There wasn't a single spatial fragment around this passage!

"This must be the work of Saint Woodcutter!"

Qin Mu felt relieved. Saint Woodcutter had clearly arrived ahead of them, building bridges and clearing passages along the way, indicating he had already reached the Great Ruins. What puzzled Qin Mu, however, was why Saint Woodcutter hadn't sought them out and had gone ahead instead.

"Given Saint Woodcutter's strength, he should be able to pass through the spatial fragments alone. Why did he bother calculating paths of survival, building bridges, and clearing passages?"

Qin Mu was somewhat perplexed.

Everyone rose into the air and successively leaped into the shattered space. After passing through it, below them stood the most majestic ancient structure in the Great Ruins: the South Heaven Gate! It was the South Heaven Gate of the Kai Huang Celestial Heavens!

On this day, tens of thousands of figures descended from the sky above the South Heaven Gate, landing one after another.

Qin Mu looked up at the sky. The entrance to Ta Ming Heaven in the sky was almost imperceptible.

However, faintly, above the South Heaven Gate, an area of space glowed orange-red. That was Tai Huang Heaven!

"Everyone, leave as quickly as possible! Don't stay here; head to the nearest city!" Qin Mu, standing on a high point, shouted loudly, "Follow me!"

Everyone struggled to keep up with him, while the orange-red hue in the sky gradually became clearer. Tai Huang Heaven was tilting, rising, and beginning its descent towards the Great Ruins along the chasm!

Although Qin Mu couldn't see the full scene of Tai Huang Heaven's descent deep within space, he could imagine that it would undoubtedly be an incredibly terrifying and magnificent sight!

Not only was Tai Huang Heaven falling, but also Luo Fu Heaven, which was embedded in Tai Huang Heaven at the location of Li City!

The rolling magma and the two falling Heavens would surely tear the sky above the Great Ruins apart and crash into it.

They quickly rushed to the nearest city in the Great Ruins. Just as they entered, Qin Mu saw a man with three faces approaching him, and his hair stood on end.

"Furi Luo!"

Behind him, Pang Yu True God suddenly roared, her killing intent soaring to the sky!

*Clang—* The sound of sharp blades being drawn rang out. Tens of thousands of divine arts practitioners and gods behind Qin Mu activated their spirit weapons and divine weapons, bristling with killing intent as they tensely watched Furi Luo.

This city was one of the few in the Great Ruins, an important hub connecting the Great Ruins with Yan Kang and the Western Earth. However, at this moment, countless devil race divine arts practitioners and many devil gods had appeared in the city. Seeing them, these devil race divine arts practitioners also grew tense, activating their spirit weapons and devil divine weapons, ready to engage in battle at any moment!

Qin Mu reached out and grabbed a small box, his fingers moving rapidly. With soft *thud-thud-thud* sounds, the box unlocked. A fierce glint flashed in Qin Mu's eyes as he sneered, "Furi Luo, you dared to lead the devil race to flee here? But the Great Ruins are *my* Great Ruins; I won't allow your brazenness here!"

Killing intent permeated the air between both sides; a great battle was on the verge of erupting.

Just then, Saint Woodcutter emerged from behind Furi Luo and calmly said, "Disciple, put down your weapons. Furi Luo and the devil race were rescued by me from Tai Huang Heaven. I have already reached an agreement with him: Furi Luo and his devil race will be incorporated into Yan Kang, becoming a clan under Yan Kang's rule."

"What?" The gods, devils, and divine arts practitioners from Tai Huang Heaven were filled with righteous indignation, their eyes wide with uncontrollable fury. Venerable God Sang Ye sharply declared, "The devil race invaded my Tai Huang Heaven, causing countless deaths and injuries among my people. This blood feud is irreconcilable! We, the divine arts practitioners of Tai Huang Heaven, will absolutely not resolve our grievances with the devil race!" Venerable God Pang Yu gritted her teeth and said, "Heavenly Teacher, although you are the Heavenly Teacher, you didn't save our kin; instead, you saved the devil race. Our ties are severed!" "We, the warriors of Tai Huang Heaven, will never live under the same sky as the devil race!"

Saint Woodcutter frowned slightly and said, "I am thinking of the future. I knew you could escape, as two of my disciples were with you, so I chose to save the devil race. Venerable King Furi Luo has already turned over a new leaf..."

Qin Mu also frowned. He understood Saint Woodcutter's reasoning and knew it was a good idea, but Saint Woodcutter had not considered the feelings of the people from Tai Huang Heaven.

The human race of Tai Huang Heaven had battled the devil invaders for nearly twenty thousand years. The hatred accumulated during that time was irreconcilable. Even if Saint Woodcutter had shown kindness to Tai Huang Heaven, even if he was the Heavenly Teacher of the Kai Huang era, he could not resolve this animosity. By rescuing the devil race, he had betrayed Tai Huang Heaven!

*Boom—* The sky above the Great Ruins suddenly vibrated violently, and an incredibly bright light descended from above. Qin Mu looked up and saw the falling Tai Huang Heaven.

The city was in chaos, filled with panicked people and incessant cries. Saint Woodcutter shouted, "Everyone, don't panic! This is the Celestial Heavens of Kai Huang. Tai Huang Heaven's fall will not cause any damage here!"

Qin Mu, the Village Chief, and others also tried their best to calm the scattered and fleeing crowd. Tai Huang Heaven grew larger and brighter, and finally, this magnificent world of magma descended from the sky, plummeting towards the Great Ruins.

In the Great Ruins, ancient statues suddenly emitted beams of light that shot straight into the sky. Ancient ruins pulsed with tremors that made even gods and devils tremble, and divine light erupted from every corner of the Great Ruins like radiant mists and rainbows.

These ruins emanated unimaginable power and might. The closest one to them was the South Heaven Gate, from which countless gods and devils seemed to be murmuring, their voices low but appearing to contain an inexplicable energy that surged outwards in waves.

The falling Tai Huang Heaven met the various phenomena of the Great Ruins, slowing its descent until this world of magma gently touched down, settling along the north-south axis of the Great Ruins near the chasm at the source of the Surging River.

In the sky, another Heaven appeared: Luo Fu Heaven, embedded in the center of Tai Huang Heaven. The two Heavens and the Great Ruins formed an irregular "土" character (meaning "earth" or "soil").

The primordial magnetism in the Great Ruins was chaotic, and many people and strange beasts were caught by the primordial magnetism of Tai Huang Heaven and Luo Fu Heaven, flailing as they fell towards these two Heavens. At that moment, streaks of light swept through the myriad ruins of the Great Ruins, and the chaotic primordial magnetism immediately returned to normal. Many people and strange beasts floated gently down from the sky.

The dazzling light swept over the intensely hot Tai Huang Heaven and Luo Fu Heaven. These two Heavens cooled down at a visible rate, and the unbearable scorching heat in the Great Ruins' air immediately vanished.

Saint Woodcutter told the crowd, "This is the Celestial Heavens. The fall of Tai Huang Heaven and Luo Fu Heaven will not harm us! I had already foreseen this."

The people from Tai Huang Heaven ignored him.

Saint Woodcutter opened his mouth but did not continue speaking, standing silently.

The Human Emperor, First Ancestor, came up to him and said calmly, "Heavenly Teacher, sometimes absolute rationality cannot be understood by others."

Saint Woodcutter's expression was complex, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked First Ancestor up and down and smiled, "Prince Qin Wu, you have finally grown up. I am very pleased to see that you have emerged from the shadow of being a deserter."

The Human Emperor, First Ancestor, still had a somewhat melancholic aura and looked a bit sickly, but his spirit was full, a complete change from his former dejection. He said, "What about you, Heavenly Teacher? Will not being understood or forgiven by your own people leave a shadow on you?"

Saint Woodcutter calmly replied, "Although your cultivation method has the Heart Saint, you will never reach the height of my state of mind. No one else's opinions can affect me."