Chapter 732: Ancient Heaven

Old Bull stood on the river's surface, staring blankly at the pleasure boats and multistory ships moving like weaving shuttles. The desolate Great Ruins, which should have been dark at night, had inexplicably turned into broad daylight. Surging River was also many times wider than before. Dragon-carved and phoenix-painted pleasure boats and multistory ships sailed past them, one after another.

Azure waves rippled; this great river was incredibly flowing through the sky!

Old Bull looked down and saw no land from the Great Ruins, only stars suspended in the starry sky.

Some stars were near, some far. The close ones appeared enormous, seemingly within reach, while the distant ones resembled moons, yet mountains and structures could still be discerned on their surfaces.

On both banks of Surging River, grand palaces stretched deep within one celestial palace after another. These celestial palaces resembled continents, floating on both sides of the Heavenly River. When combined, they formed the vast Heavenly Court!

Old Bull shook his head, feeling somewhat bewildered.

He had merely been carrying Qin Mu through this area; why was he encountering such bizarre phenomena?

Moreover, a woman on a pleasure boat had just said this was the Heavenly River. Heavenly River? Wasn't this Surging River?

Where had the Great Ruins gone?

What about Yan Kang?

There wasn't a speck of land. Where had the world he originally inhabited disappeared to?

Old Bull nervously flicked his tail, slapping his hindquarters loudly, and cautiously watched his surroundings.

The source of Surging River, around the Broken Cliff, was originally a rarely visited place. This area belonged to the heartland of the Great Ruins, but it had an astonishing fault line.

Because of this fault line, the East Great Ruins were thousands of zhang lower than the West Great Ruins.

Due to this barrier, communication between the east and west of the Great Ruins was poor. It wasn't until Qin Mu asked the Imperial Preceptor of Yan Kang and the divine practitioners of the Western Lands to pave the way and build two flying bridges that the East Great Ruins and West Great Ruins were finally connected.

Surging River originated precisely from this cliff, with water flowing out of it and rushing eastward.

Qin Mu had once observed it carefully, suspecting that five worlds overlapped at the source of Surging River and that its water might originate from those five other worlds.

Of course, this was merely his youthful speculation.

When he discovered the Celestial Yin Realm and the countless heavens densely surrounding it, he knew his guess was entirely mistaken.

He had guessed too few; the actual number was far too many.

Old Bull had, after all, followed Old Farmer for tens of thousands of years and had experienced the Kaihuang Era. His understanding of Surging River thus surpassed Qin Mu's.

Qin Mu merely speculated that Surging River's water came from other worlds, but Old Bull knew Surging River was one of the most mysterious places in the entire Kaihuang Era!

Long before, when this was still a relic of the Shanghuang Era, the young Kaihuang led a group of young people here. They started from scratch, building their foundation amidst the ruins, establishing a magnificent enterprise, and ushering in a glorious era that lasted twenty thousand years.

But even then, the source of Surging River was already a renowned place of mystery.

Kaihuang, the Woodcutter, and other beings had all explored this area, and many inconceivable things had happened.

Mists often appeared in the river. When they emerged, they would cause people to see many unbelievable individuals and events, and even other worlds. Some had once inadvertently wandered into the mist, and by the time they emerged, they found that centuries had passed in the world.

Others had encountered lost travelers in the mist. These travelers claimed to be from the Shanghuang Era, having encountered the mist and lost their way. When the mist dispersed, the travelers vanished.

Old Bull remembered the most famous event that occurred here: Kaihuang once mentioned that during his youth, he disappeared for several months, accidentally entering an incredible place. By the time he returned, he found that several months had already passed.

He tried to find that incredible place again but could never locate it.

However, when others asked Kaihuang what he encountered or who he met in that incredible place, he remained silent and kept his experiences deeply private.

Later, many gods and devils came to explore Surging River but found nothing. The matter gradually faded from memory.

The Surging River mist incidents were forgotten, but after Kaihuang became emperor, he often came here, perhaps still searching for that incredible place.

Later, the Sage Woodcutter once led the Heavenly Division here, specifically conducting in-depth explorations of Surging River. They discovered many of its secrets, as well as numerous heavens buried by history. They even found the source of darkness and sent people in to investigate its depths.

But by then, it was already the late Kaihuang Era. The Sage Woodcutter didn't have time to find answers, as the Kaihuang Calamity erupted.

"Perhaps Grand Heavenly Master knows many secrets about Surging River," Old Bull thought, "but he's certainly not here right now."

Old Bull's bovine eyes darted around, extremely cautious. He saw that each celestial palace was guarded by extremely powerful gods and devils, which made him dare not act recklessly. He thought to himself, "The problem now is, how can I get back to the Great Ruins?"

Just then, Qin Mu's voice came, sounding a bit surprised: "Senior Brother Sanduo, where is this place? How did you bring me here?"

Old Bull blinked, opened his mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say: "I..."

Qin Mu excitedly asked, "Is this the Outer Heavenly Court?"

Old Bull hesitated and said, "I also..."

Qin Mu stretched his body. His cultivation was still rapidly increasing, clearly progressing by leaps and bounds after merging the five divine treasures. He looked around curiously, unable to suppress his excitement: "Senior Brother Sanduo is truly the strongest under Martial Heavenly Master. As expected, you're incredibly bold, daring to bring me to the Outer Heavenly Court! Did Martial Heavenly Master assign you some secret mission?"

Niu Sanduo looked at the water, not knowing how to reply.

Qin Mu asked, "Have you thought of a retreat plan?"

"I..."

"I can build a Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge!"

Qin Mu excitedly said, "But we'll need to find a secluded spot. Last time, I got a lot of divine metals and materials from Emperor Dikun and Heavenly King Buddha, enough to completely recreate a Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge. The Imperial Preceptor should still have altars; he's preparing for the war against the Heavenly Feather World..."

"Junior Brother, I think I'm lost," Old Bull said, mustering his courage.

"What mission did Martial Heavenly Master give you?" Qin Mu asked. "To rescue Scholar Heavenly Master, right? Scholar Zixi must have been captured and suppressed by the Outer Heavenly Court, right?"

Qin Mu excitedly said, "Wait a moment, I'll open the eye on my forehead!"

"Junior Brother, I'm lost!"

Old Bull couldn't help but exclaim, "I'm really lost! I don't know where this cursed place is! I don't recognize this place at all. Don't mess around recklessly, so we don't cause trouble. Let me gather my thoughts first!"

Qin Mu looked stunned and asked suspiciously, "Everyone says old cattle know their way. How did you get here then? Just go back the way you came."

Old Bull said exasperatedly, "I don't know how I got here! I jumped down from the Surging River Broken Cliff, just stepped on the water, and then a mist appeared. When the mist cleared, I inexplicably found myself here. Don't say anything; let me think carefully about how to get back!"

Qin Mu was silent. After a moment, he asked, "Senior Brother, have you thought of a plan?"

Old Bull was utterly exasperated. He shook his head and said, "My mind is a complete blank. I can't think of a way back. Where is this place exactly? I have absolutely no clue..."

Qin Mu looked around and analyzed, "The pleasure boats here are very primitive. The carvings on them are the most basic Black Tortoise patterns, using the Black Tortoise's water-controlling power to make the boats float. They're still pulled by water beasts, not powered by alchemical furnaces. This isn't the Outer Heavenly Court; the Heavenly Court isn't so backward..."

Old Bull's eyes lit up. He looked at the pleasure boats and indeed saw huge water beasts pulling them. He hadn't noticed these details. He hurriedly asked, "What else?"

Qin Mu peeled off the willow leaf on his forehead, revealing his third eye. He surveyed his surroundings, looking at the people in the pleasure boats and the gods and devils in the celestial palaces. He said gravely, "The vital qi circulation paths in their divine treasures are also very simple. Their divine treasures are quite primitive, not as refined as those of Yan Kang's divine practitioners. Furthermore, all their divine bridges are complete; not a single person's divine bridge is broken."

Old Bull finally felt a glimmer of confidence and asked, "What else can you tell?"

"I can also see people without divine treasures."

Qin Mu's expression was solemn. He looked towards a distant celestial palace, where a magnificent deity was surrounded by blazing light and flames, as if enveloped by a sun. He said gravely, "I might be seeing the true Great Sun Sovereign, one without a divine treasure, a Great Sun Sovereign born of heaven and earth, not the Great Sun Sovereign of the Shanghuang Era..."

Old Bull was completely bewildered, with no thoughts or ideas in his mind. He stammered, "You mean..."

"What I mean is..."

Qin Mu suddenly broke into a youthful, sunny smile and waved to a woman on an approaching pleasure boat, saying, "Sister, over here! Over here! We're lost, Sister, where is this place?"

Old Bull's face turned ashen. He thought to himself, "Is Junior Brother Qin Mu so careless? We've stumbled into this place by mistake. It's filled with masters. What if we're noticed and something goes wrong..."

The woman on the boat was elegantly and beautifully dressed. She was at the bow, admiring the scenery. Hearing the voice, she looked over, her eyes lit up, and she smiled, "Little brother, your words are so sweet. This is naturally the Heavenly Court. Come aboard."

Old Bull's expression was blank; he still hadn't recovered his wits.

Qin Mu leaped onto the boat and called down, "Senior Brother, come aboard too. This kind sister is willing to give us a ride."

Old Bull hurriedly stood upright, then with a shake of his body, transformed into a bull-headed human-bodied divine being and followed, leaping onto the bow.

The woman sized up Qin Mu. She saw that the young man was splendidly dressed, as elegant as a jade tree in the wind, and possessed a naturally simple, innocent temperament. She couldn't help but feel a favorable impression and smiled, "Today is a grand event at the Heavenly Court. Boats come and go on the Heavenly River, filled with young talents from the lower realms coming up to tour. Is this your first time in the Heavenly Court?"

Qin Mu nodded and said, blushing, "Senior Brother Niu and I are both here for the first time. It's like country folk entering a city; we were so busy looking at the surrounding splendor that we unexpectedly got lost."

The woman smiled, "It's always like this for first-timers in the Heavenly Court. His Majesty has ordered the finest artisans in the world to construct thirty-six Celestial Palaces and seventy-two Treasure Halls to enfeoff various ancient gods. I also find it a bit too cumbersome. His Majesty also needs to choose a name for the Heavenly Court; he's currently discussing with Heavenly Duke, Earth Count, and others about what name to give it."

Niu Sanduo looked around, surveying his surroundings. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a pleasure boat passing by them, as if he had seen a ghost. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

Qin Mu was chatting and laughing with the woman. He glanced at Old Bull's expression, was slightly startled, and asked, "Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

"Kai, Kai, Kai..."

Old Bull stammered, his gaze still fixed on that pleasure boat. Qin Mu followed his gaze and saw a young man talking and laughing freely with someone.

"Kai, Kai..."

Qin Mu smiled, "Senior Brother, what are you trying to say?"

"Kaihuang!"

Niu Sanduo finally blurted out the words, his voice hoarse: "I saw Kaihuang when he was young!"