Chapter 698: Endless Void

"Brother Qi, I said I would spare your life, and I won't truly strike you down." The two Qin Mus simultaneously looked down at Qi Jiuyi, who was struggling to get up and fight again. They said solemnly, "The information you provided is very useful to me. It's worth your life."

Qi Jiuyi still couldn't stand up. He struggled to sit, panting, and said, "I originally intended to use that information to strike at your Dao heart, but I never expected it to save my life instead..."

He had a bittersweet feeling. He composed himself and continued, "After this battle, I will return to the Celestial Heavens, cultivate diligently, and seek guidance from the Heavenly Emperor. Brother Qin, don't let me surpass you."

Qin Mu looked up and scanned his surroundings with a puzzled and strange expression. "Brother Qi, you might not be able to leave Yankang for a while. It's possible even I will be trapped here..."

Qi Jiuyi was slightly startled. When he and Qin Mu fell into the melted ground, he noticed the strangeness of the space beneath Mount Supine. However, he was too engrossed in battle with Qin Mu at the time to examine it closely or be distracted.

Only now, with Qin Mu stating that he would keep his promise not to strike him down, did Qi Jiuyi relax and look around.

The temple below was actually an altar, likely built by the demon race. It was covered in many demon tribal sacrificial runes that had not been destroyed. A blood sacrifice had taken place here, but it had been interrupted by someone unknown, leaving the altar stained with blood.

They were currently on the surface of a blade. This blade seemed to have no thickness, and its edge was incredibly long—so long that they couldn't see either the hilt or the tip.

Strangely, both of their primordial spirits, including the primordial spirit of the Dragon Qilin who had just arrived, had entered the seemingly insubstantial blade.

Yet, inside the blade was a vast space, like another world!

Qi Jiuyi tried to withdraw his primordial spirit but found that it was separated from him by an entire world. Though he could sense it, he couldn't recall it.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Qin, what's going on?"

Qin Mu didn't answer, his expression also turning serious.

He had already witnessed the strangeness of this blade during the battle to intercept the High Heavens. Mount Supine had been razed to the ground, and the fighting was incredibly fierce. The Village Chief "died in battle," as did Willow Immortal, White Immortal, and Yellow Immortal of the Five Immortals of the demon race. The Old Dao Master, Old Buddha, Daoist Ling Jing, the Young Patriarch, Peak Master Tu Xing, and Xuan Shengwu also perished. Others were severely wounded, and Apothecary and others also "died" on the battlefield, only to be resurrected by Qin Mu, who retrieved their souls.

In that battle, the High Heavens were so thoroughly defeated that they could no longer contend with Yankang.

At that time, Butcher and others discovered this blade beneath Mount Supine, as well as the demon god statue underneath it. The statue that had burrowed into the blade was of an extremely terrifying demon god, an ancestor of a demon realm. When it descended upon Yankang, it inadvertently burrowed under the blade and found itself in a life-threatening situation.

Yankang Imperial Preceptor used the Tremor Cauldron to shatter the barrier between Yankang and another world. That world was the demon realm of this demon ancestor. Many demon gods, in the form of statues, descended upon Mount Supine, searching for this blade to rescue their progenitor.

Ultimately, the demon race's blood sacrifice in that world was interrupted by Qin Mu using the Mirror Image, and the demon god statues failed to revive, disappearing back into the ground.

Qin Mu had once suspected that world was Luofu Heaven, but later, when he saw Luofu Heaven, he realized his guess was wrong.

The world of the demon god statues was much more advanced than Luofu Heaven. It was likely a demon world under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Heavens; Luofu Heaven was far from as powerful as that demon world.

At the time, none of them had enough power to move this long blade. Moreover, the blade seemed more like a treasure left from the Founding Emperor era, used to block the encroachment of the Great Ruins' darkness into Yankang. Thus, no one had disturbed it.

During that time, Granny Si and the others' primordial spirits, along with those of the gods from the High Heavens, fell into the blade's internal space. This happened because Fengdu coincidentally passed through the area. Then, Granny Si and the others' primordial spirits vaguely flew out of the blade's space and returned to their physical bodies, which is how they avoided death.

Qin Mu's primordial spirit looked outwards and could see his physical body. To rescue his primordial spirit, it seemed Fengdu would need to pass through here again.

However, although he had visited the world of Fengdu a few times, he had only been to Fengdu's first divine city. Fengdu had other divine cities he hadn't visited, and the King of Hell had not opened them.

Fengdu still held many unsolved mysteries.

The critical question now was how they could leave the blade's internal space.

The world within the blade was boundless, like two impossibly white, shining mirrors laid horizontally in the void, sandwiching them between two depthless mirrors, with no end in sight.

Their physical bodies and primordial spirits faced each other across a mirror-like barrier. Although it looked as if their primordial spirits were standing on the soles of their physical bodies' feet, seemingly within reach, they could never return to their bodies.

"When will Fengdu pass through here again? I heard from Sister Jing that last time, it was due to Youdu's invasion, and the King of Hell led Fengdu's gods and devils to resist Youdu, which brought them to Mount Supine. But now, the King of Hell probably has no idea I'm trapped here..."

Qin Mu frowned. With his primordial spirit trapped here, he couldn't even use the Three Primordial Spirits Confluence Spell to contact Si Yunxiang or Ling Yuxiu. If they didn't know about this, they couldn't ask the King of Hell from Fengdu for help.

"No one will know if we die within this blade space..."

He composed himself, then took a step, walking deeper into the blade's internal space.

Qi Jiuyi had recovered somewhat. His primordial spirit struggled to stand and followed Qin Mu, while the Dragon Qilin also hastily caught up.

Qin Mu carefully examined the mirror-like surfaces above and below him. He couldn't discern any forging marks. He couldn't tell what this blade was made of, or how it was forged, even with his master forger's skill.

It should be known that Mute was the most esteemed in the art of forging, and Qin Mu, having learned from Mute, was second to none in forging skills. If even he couldn't see any traces, no one else could hope to figure it out.

Qi Jiuyi's eyes widened, then he suddenly manifested his nine heads, looking around. He then opened his mouth and spat out phoenix fire, burning the mirror surfaces on both sides. Yet, they didn't even glow red, let alone show any signs of melting!

"Is this still the Lower Realm?"

Qi Jiuyi chuckled in exasperation. "Does the Lower Realm have something this powerful? Can the commoners... the people of the Lower Realm have such incredible forging skills?"

"Hmph, a country bumpkin from the Celestial Heavens, no experience," the Dragon Qilin scoffed at him.

Qi Jiuyi was furious. As a Heavenly Chosen from the Celestial Heavens, a disciple of two Heavenly Emperors, he was being looked down upon by this creature.

Qin Mu also tried to melt the mirror surface with his Celestial Fire divine ability, but like Qi Jiuyi, he had no success.

"This world must have an end, right?"

They continued to walk, but to their disappointment, no matter how far they went, there were still two parallel mirror surfaces ahead, seemingly infinite.

They walked for an unknown duration, until despair almost consumed them, until the Dragon Qilin no longer wished to move, content to simply lie on the ground.

Qin Mu, holding his tail with one hand, dragged him forward. The mirror surface was very slippery, requiring little effort.

Qi Jiuyi's gaze was blank. He followed behind the Dragon Qilin, seeing only the Dragon Qilin's large head and entire body pressed against the mirror surface, his eyes listless, as he was dragged by Qin Mu by the tail.

"There can't be an end..."

Qi Jiuyi gave a bleak laugh. "We've been walking for two years, haven't we? And there's still no end! Forget a small place like a blade; in two years, even the Celestial Heavens would have an end!"

Qin Mu didn't answer, determinedly walking forward in one direction.

"Two years have passed. Our physical bodies must be dead by now, right?"

Qi Jiuyi showed signs of collapse, chuckling grimly. "Our bodies outside the blade must have decayed by now, flies buzzing around us, maggots gnawing at our flesh, our bodies emitting a foul stench..."

"Shut up!" Qin Mu snarled, his face grim.

The Dragon Qilin groggily opened his eyes and said weakly, "Shut up, you nine-headed bird-man..."

Qi Jiuyi was enraged. He sneered, "You two, master and servant, dare to bully me! Don't forget, you've both been dead for two years, just like me! Heh heh, in this strange world, whether you're a noble from the Celestial Heavens or an emperor of the human realm, you'll all be trapped here until your primordial spirits are completely worn away! I shouldn't have listened to that old Black Emperor and come to Yankang to bring calamity to you all! I shouldn't have come to this rotten place to capture you, you bastard! Damn Youdu, damn Black Emperor..."

He cursed incessantly, his mental state completely broken.

Qin Mu, affected by his negative emotions, also felt his own mental state nearing collapse. He couldn't help but feel a surge of malicious intent: "First, I'll kill this chattering Qi Jiuyi..."

Just then, the two layers of mirror surfaces ahead suddenly ended.

Qin Mu's expression was blank. He abruptly stopped, staring dumbfounded at the severed mirror surfaces. Where they ended was a dark space, neither sky nor ground, with tiers of regular white jade slabs laid out in the darkness, extending into the depths, their destination unseen.

"A path!"

Qin Mu cried tears of joy. He swung the Dragon Qilin, slamming him hard onto the ground, then swung and slammed him again, laughing, "Dragon Fatty, wake up quickly, there's a path!"

The Dragon Qilin was so dazed from being thrown that he hastily said, "I'm awake, I'm awake!"

Qin Mu tossed him aside and looked at Qi Jiuyi, who looked alert. "Excited as you are, don't think of throwing me!"

The Dragon Qilin got up, shook himself, and looked at the path paved with white jade slabs. He said delightedly, "Cult Master, can we finally get out now?"

The two men and one beast were overjoyed. They sprinted wildly, leaping onto the slabs, soaring like birds, and dashing into the darkness.

Three months later, Qin Mu's eyes were dull. He dragged the Dragon Qilin, leaped, and landed weakly on the next stone slab.

Qi Jiuyi jumped over behind them, then slumped onto the Dragon Qilin's head, completely exhausted.

Qin Mu pulled the Dragon Qilin's tail, tossing him forward forcefully, causing both the Dragon Qilin and Qi Jiuyi to land on the next stone slab.

He leaped over, grabbed Qi Jiuyi by the collar, and raised his fist to strike. Qi Jiuyi didn't resist, letting Qin Mu's fists land on his handsome face. He said weakly, "Go on, hit me all you want. Just kill me..."

Qin Mu hammered twice but lost his mood. He tossed Qi Jiuyi aside. Qi Jiuyi lay sprawled on the stone slab.

The Dragon Qilin groggily sat up, accidentally sitting on Qi Jiuyi's backside. He opened his eyes, licked his lips. "Red Fire Spirit Pills taste the best. I had a dream that Cult Master made me so many Red Fire Spirit Pills, filling an entire world, spirit pills everywhere... I ran and ran, for who knows how long, but still couldn't reach the end. I rolled and frolicked in an ocean of spirit pills, ran on tiptoes, swam in the sea of spirit pills... Cult Master, there's a door ahead..."

Qin Mu looked, and couldn't help but cry tears of joy, laughing, "Brother Qi, there's a Daoist gate, a Daoist gate!"

Qi Jiuyi, with the Dragon Qilin sitting on his backside, had only half a leg exposed. He kicked his legs, trying to crawl out but couldn't. He mumbled, "The Daoist gate has been trapped too, they can't get out either... Leave me alone..."

Qin Mu was overjoyed, sprinting wildly towards the gate. The Dragon Qilin also hastily stood up, running while crying tears of joy.

Qi Jiuyi sat up, his plumes behind his head squashed askew. He said weakly, "Is it Dao Master Lin Xuan from the Daoist gate? That little bull-nosed... Huh, there really is a Daoist gate!"

Qi Jiuyi cried tears of joy, his face blooming with a smile like a flower. He gesticulated wildly, hopping and skipping towards the gate.

He had just reached the last stone slab, in front of the gate, when he saw Qin Mu rush through first, followed by the Dragon Qilin, who kicked the gate shut as he passed through. The gate slammed shut, blocking Qi Jiuyi outside.

Qi Jiuyi was enraged. He hastily opened the door and rushed in, only to find a long corridor with doors lining both sides.

Qi Jiuyi collapsed, lying on the ground, clinging to the Dragon Qilin's tail, letting the Dragon Qilin drag him. "So many doors, how many years and months will it take to get through them? Anyway, once we get out, our physical bodies will have been dead for who knows how long..."

Just then, a door suddenly creaked open, and a head peered out. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The Dragon Qilin kicked his legs, sending Qi Jiuyi against the wall, then curiously eyed the person.

——Ta-da, 3,700 words, please subscribe!