Chapter 692: Two Strong Powers Duel

This was a battle between two formidable experts, both with the power of an Emperor, fighting across different realms. Their use of divine arts and magical powers was simple yet profound. Their attacks and defenses adhered to the principle of ultimate simplicity, and despite few variations in their divine abilities, they could unleash power and might that countless cultivators, gods, and devils could never hope to achieve.

Such were the divine arts of the Dao realm: simple, effective, and without unnecessary flourishes. Qin Mu's Opening Calamity Sword was a testament to his mastery, marking his entry into the Dao of swordsmanship.

However, Qin Mu had only mastered a single move, with no subsequent techniques to follow. In contrast, Heavenly Yin Empress and Heavenly Son of Yin wielded their abilities effortlessly. Despite fighting across world barriers, their display was dazzling, with few repeated moves.

The Emperor confronting Heavenly Yin Empress was indeed, as she had described, a gentle and refined man. Although he exuded an imperial aura, he was not overbearing in the slightest.

He was strikingly handsome, with large, narrow eyes like a phoenix's. His beard, resembling the character "八" (bā) as if brushed by a calligraphy master, possessed a distinctive charm.

This was Heavenly Son of Yin, the one who had conspired against Heavenly Yin Empress years ago and seized control of the Heavenly Yin Realm in a single move.

"Although the Empress has been dead for many years," Heavenly Son of Yin chuckled, "it seems she has benefited from misfortune."

Heavenly Son of Yin, unable to gain an advantage after a prolonged struggle and still unable to breach the Heavenly Yin Realm, suddenly chuckled, "Your comprehension of the Dao has now surpassed your former self. Fighting you across realms, I, your junior, truly cannot defeat you. Therefore, I must resort to a trick."

Suddenly, the Heavenly Yin Realm underwent drastic changes. Countless black sands swarmed in from various heavens, and hordes of monstrous fiends, transformed from famished ghosts, charged wildly towards Heavenly Yin Empress. In an instant, the entire ocean was overrun with rampaging famished ghosts!

Moreover, all the soul black sands of the Heavenly Yin Realm converged and pressed down on Heavenly Yin Empress, signaling the imminent awakening of the Heavenly Yin Realm itself, a colossal famished ghost.

No trace of light remained in the Heavenly Yin Realm; it was completely plunged into darkness.

Heavenly Yin Empress chuckled softly, then suddenly tossed the Heavenly Cauldron into the air. With a gentle flick, the Cauldron spun wildly, causing the entire Heavenly Yin Realm to astonishingly turn upside down as well!

The ocean, with a mighty roar, flipped into the sky, the land hung inverted, and the firmament became an empty expanse of ground. Countless famished ghosts flailed their limbs as they were flung into the air, only to be violently slammed back down as the world reversed once more.

The spinning Heavenly Cauldron carried the entire Heavenly Yin Realm, tossing the famished ghosts up and down, giving them no opportunity to attack Heavenly Yin Empress. The soul black sands were also scattered, rendering the colossal famished ghost of the Heavenly Yin Realm utterly incapable of attacking her.

Heavenly Son of Yin sighed, his form gradually receding into the darkness of the Underworld.

"You have indeed broken free from the shackles of a born divine being," he mused, "and even learned my Daoist arts and divine powers from my Heavenly Cauldron. I am now even more curious about the fellow Daoist who resurrected you. Who exactly is he, to have accomplished such an astonishing feat..."

His face slowly faded into the darkness, vanishing as he added, "However, you still cannot subdue the famished ghosts, nor can you truly control the Heavenly Yin Realm."

He was a discerning individual who understood when to advance and when to retreat. Realizing he could neither enter the Heavenly Yin Realm nor use the famished ghosts to suppress Heavenly Yin Empress, he promptly decided to cease his futile efforts and preserve his strength.

Heavenly Yin Empress sighed in relief, then raised a finger and lightly tapped. The spinning Heavenly Cauldron slowly came to a halt. At that very moment, however, the Heavenly Yin Realm pressed down on Heavenly Yin Empress once more!

"How can I slay this colossal famished ghost that is the Heavenly Yin Realm," she wondered, "and bring the Heavenly Yin Realm back under my control?"

A pang of worry gripped Heavenly Yin Empress.

Although she could prevent Heavenly Son of Yin's invasion, the Heavenly Yin Realm remained beyond her control; he still held sway over it.

Unless she could resolve the Heavenly Yin Realm's predicament, reclaiming it would be an uphill battle.

The Heavenly Yin Realm's predicament lay in its status as a no-man's-land; neither Earth Count nor Heavenly Duke could govern it. This left the realm independent and transcendent, yet fraught with hidden dangers.

The constantly famished ghosts would devour all living beings. As long as the Heavenly Yin Realm remained under the Heavenly Duke's shadow, its predicament would persist, with famished ghosts rampant and consuming everything.

"What exactly is the key to solving the famished ghost problem?" she pondered.

Heavenly Yin Empress sat by the sea, resting her chin idly in her hand. Her pagoda stood tall, suppressing any disturbances in the Heavenly Yin Realm. She mused, "If I cannot solve this problem, I will always be alone. Apart from me, no other living being can survive here. Only if living beings can survive in the Heavenly Yin Realm will there be a chance to resolve this predicament... If only Master were here, perhaps he could come up with an idea..."

She pondered deeply, knowing the famished ghost problem was at the root of the Heavenly Yin Realm's predicament. Now that she was no longer considered a perfect born divine being and could learn other divine arts, perhaps she could find a solution.

Unless she solved the famished ghost problem, she would remain confined to this place. If she were to leave, Heavenly Son of Yin would seize the opportunity to invade and take the Heavenly Yin Realm, leaving her homeless.

At the source of the Surging River in the Great Ruins, Qin Mu did not share Heavenly Yin Empress's worries. Though Heavenly Yin Empress and Heavenly Son of Yin battled across realms, the countless inversions of the Heavenly Yin Realm's cosmos did not affect the Great Ruins.

Although the Heavenly Cauldron possessed the power to control the invasion of darkness, the Great Ruins was currently experiencing daytime, preventing darkness from intruding.

"How can we tell if Heavenly Yin Empress has won or lost?" He Yiyi asked with some concern. "If we enter the Heavenly Yin Realm to investigate, it's fine if the Empress has won, but if she's lost, we'd be walking right into a trap."

Qin Mu looked at the cliff and said, "We'll wait until dark. If the Empress wins, perhaps there will be no more dark invasions of the Great Ruins. If she loses, the darkness will continue."

Yan Jingjing sat beside him, gazing at the cliff. Qin Mu continued, "Heavenly Yin Empress's victory or defeat doesn't just concern the Heavenly Yin Realm and the Great Ruins; I believe it also affects the fate of all worlds and heavens. The Heavenly Yin Realm is plagued by soul black sands. If these soul black sands cannot be completely resolved, then in the future, they will accumulate more and more between heaven and earth, turning all worlds into realms ruled by famished ghosts. At that point, Heavenly Son of Yin will become the ruler of all worlds."

Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi shivered involuntarily.

They had already heard Qin Mu recount his experiences in the Heavenly Yin Realm and understood the origins of the soul black sands and famished ghosts.

Black sands are the product of dissipated souls.

Famished ghosts are immortal, indestructible fiends formed from black sands, perpetually in a state of insatiable hunger, knowing only consumption and slaughter.

If more and more shattered souls accumulate in various worlds, more and more soul black sands will form, leading to the creation of unkillable famished ghosts. Neither cultivators nor ordinary people could resist their invasion, and if these famished ghosts were controlled by Heavenly Son of Yin, not even gods or devils would be a match for them.

If this continued, all worlds and heavens would fall, all living beings would face extinction, and everything would be plunged into desolation and darkness!

"Can the Empress resolve the soul black sands and famished ghosts?" Yan Jingjing asked. "Heavenly Son of Yin is the Black Emperor of the Underworld; he is very powerful. Can Heavenly Yin Empress contend with him? If she is no match for the Black Emperor, then nothing else matters."

"Heavenly Yin Empress has been dead for tens of thousands of years, so she might not be a match for Heavenly Son of Yin," Qin Mu explained. "But if Heavenly Son of Yin wants to kill her, he must personally descend into the Heavenly Yin Realm."

Qin Mu said, "As long as he cannot invade the Heavenly Yin Realm, Heavenly Yin Empress can resist, and there shouldn't be a major problem."

He Yiyi worried, "Even if Heavenly Yin Empress fends off her opponent, I'm afraid she won't be able to deal with those famished ghosts. If she had a way to deal with them, the Heavenly Yin Realm wouldn't have faced such a huge problem, and she wouldn't have been consumed by them in the first place."

Qin Mu said, "The Heavenly Yin Realm's problem is only a minor one; she will definitely come up with a solution."

Yan Jingjing looked at him with sparkling eyes and asked curiously, "If it were you, how would you solve it?"

"It's very simple," Qin Mu replied. "Famished ghosts fear the sun. In the Great Ruins, as soon as the sun rises, the famished ghosts, along with the darkness, retreat and hide in other heavens or the Heavenly Yin Realm. Clearly, famished ghosts cannot stand sunlight."

Qin Mu continued, "As long as a sun is hung in the Heavenly Yin Realm, it will surely suppress the famished ghosts there completely. With the sun shining day and night, the famished ghosts can be suppressed into a corner of the Heavenly Yin Realm, and they will be unable to cause chaos."

Yan Jingjing's eyes widened. "That simple? It seems the Empress will surely think of this solution."

Qin Mu nodded matter-of-factly. "The Empress is very clever. Even if she can't find a sun, she can 'chisel a hole in the wall to steal light.' As long as she pokes a hole in Heavenly Duke's sole, she can borrow his light."

Yan Jingjing couldn't help but laugh. "That would hurt so much! Heavenly Duke wouldn't be pleased."

"I think Heavenly Duke would be pleased," Qin Mu countered. "And even if he wasn't, he couldn't do anything about it."

"Why?"

"He can't find the Heavenly Yin Realm."

Qin Mu continued, "Besides, if there's a hole in his sole and his light shines upon the Heavenly Yin Realm, the Heavenly Yin Realm would become part of the Xuandu, thus losing its 'Heavenly Yin' nature and actually removing a vulnerability. However, in that case, the Heavenly Yin Realm would probably cease to exist."

He continued to gaze at the cliff, stating calmly, "The two methods I mentioned do not fundamentally solve the famished ghost calamity; they are merely temporary solutions. To truly resolve it, the famished ghosts must be annihilated. And the Book of Life and Death refined by Heavenly Son of Yin won't work either, as it cannot annihilate famished ghosts or black sands. Soul black sands and famished ghosts originate from the Heavenly Yin, so the only one who can deal with them is Heavenly Yin Empress."

The two women nodded gently.

This day seemed incredibly long. The sun lingered in the west, seemingly reluctant to set, and everyone waited anxiously. Finally, the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.

Qin Mu nervously looked towards the cliff, only to see darkness gushing forth from it, quickly engulfing them and sweeping across the entire Great Ruins.

Qin Mu's heart sank: "The Empress has lost..."

At that moment, the human skin beside him suddenly broke free from its restraints and unfurled. Emperor Kai, the divine being, inflated like a balloon, looking around curiously.

Yan Jingjing's body glowed with divine light, blocking the dark invasion. She looked at Qin Mu's face and saw that the young man's expression was somber, tinged with sadness and melancholy.

Emperor Kai looked at his neck, where a strange necklace hung. Beside him lay a wooden plaque and a charcoal pencil.

"What happened?" Emperor Kai wrote on the wooden plaque, then held it up, asking.

Qin Mu remained silent. Emperor Kai then held up the wooden plaque again: "How was the battle? Who won?"

Qin Mu sighed and walked alone into the darkness. Emperor Kai looked bewildered, holding up his plaque to ask, "What did I miss?"

No one answered him.

He was about to hold up the plaque again when suddenly, Qin Mu's body trembled slightly in the darkness. His eyes brightened, and he chuckled, "There are very few famished ghosts in the darkness!"

Yan Jingjing, He Yiyi, and Emperor Kai were all stunned. Yan Jingjing was about to speak when Emperor Kai had already held up the wooden plaque: "What do you mean?"

"This person talks so much!" Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi exclaimed in surprise. "This is just writing on a wooden plaque. If he were speaking aloud, no one else would get a word in."