Chapter 756: Past Events of the Ghost Capital

Qin Mu quickly mastered the skill of controlling the paper boat. The small boat was arguably the fastest flying object in Youdu. With it, he could now search for his mother, who was suppressed within Youdu.

"By the time Earth Duke and You Tianzun find out, it will be too late!"

He stood at the bow, gazing into the endless darkness. The small boat drifted through the dark, appearing quite solitary.

However, Youdu wasn't entirely dark. There was also blood-like lava flowing from the surface of Earth Duke's skin. Earth Duke was so immense that his skin resembled an armor made of incredibly hard rocks. The crevices between the rocks were like skin folds, with fiery, blood-red magma flowing through them.

Qin Mu propelled the small boat closer. From a distance, Earth Duke's rocky skin didn't reveal much, but up close, he saw towering peaks, jagged like blades, spears, swords, and halberds. They were very rough. There were also massive demonic beasts or demon gods carrying palaces on their backs, traversing through the mountains.

Countless green-skinned imps surrounded the palaces carried by the demonic beasts and demon gods, noisily engaging in battles with other groups of imps, spilling so much blood that it flowed like rivers.

Green-skinned imps were creatures unique to Youdu, also found in Fengdu. They had green faces, tusks, and indigo-colored skin. Some imps were three to five times taller than humans, while others were shorter than a calf, but all ran very fast.

Among these imps were also Ghost Kings, whose power was immense, comparable to gods and devils.

Such wars were ubiquitous in Youdu. Even the demonic beasts or demon gods participated. The palace-bearing demonic beasts and demon gods possessed incredible strength, but their weapons were rudimentary. They broke off peaks from Earth Duke's skin, wielding them like incredibly thick maces, swinging and smashing them wildly.

Sometimes, Qin Mu could also see the spirit bodies of several gods and devils emerging from the palaces on the backs of these demonic beasts and demon gods. They would cast spells, unleash divine abilities, or activate divine weapons in front of their palaces, engaging in fierce combat with their adversaries.

"Youdu is truly lively."

Qin Mu watched with excitement. When passing a battlefield, he stopped his small boat and called out loudly, "Brother Dao!"

Both warring sides were startled by his voice. Countless green-skinned imps immediately ceased fighting, and the demonic beasts on both sides hastily stopped, propping their maces made from mountain peaks and looking up at the small boat.

From the palaces on both sides, spirit bodies of gods and devils flew out, hovering in the air. They bowed deeply towards the small boat, saying, "Lord Prefect, we are unworthy of being called 'Brother Dao'!"

"Lord Prefect, are you going to kill us? Is Earth Duke going to devour us?"

The two warring gods and devils suddenly embraced, weeping uncontrollably and sobbing, "Everyone else fights over territory, but when it's our turn, we're going to be eaten..."

Qin Mu quickly said, "Please don't cry yet. Earth Duke isn't going to eat you. I just came to ask for directions. I'll leave once I've asked, and you can continue your fight."

The two spirit bodies of gods and devils quickly released each other.

Qin Mu asked, "Where is the place where serious offenders are suppressed?"

The two spirit bodies of gods and devils breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "It's in Youdu Jade Lock Pass, beneath Earth Duke's feet."

Qin Mu thanked them, saying, "Along my journey, I've seen battles everywhere. Why is Youdu so chaotic?"

The two spirit bodies of gods and devils exchanged glances, both showing surprise in their eyes. One demon god's spirit body cautiously said, "Lord Prefect, could you have forgotten what happened twenty-two years ago? Twenty-two years ago, the being whose name cannot be spoken fought his way down from the Nine Bends Corner, traversing countless layers of the Yellow Springs, killing and devouring an unknown number of powerful figures. We are merely taking advantage of the vast amount of unclaimed land to seize territory and settle old scores."

The other god's spirit body quickly nodded.

"A being whose name cannot be spoken? There's such a terrifying entity in Youdu?" Qin Mu wondered, then propelled his boat away.

Seeing the small boat depart, the two gods and devils finally relaxed. "Strange," one said, "Why did Lord Prefect ask us for directions? He's the Benevolent Saint King of Heaven's Equilibrium, how could he not know about Youdu Jade Lock Pass? Or even the Little Tyrant of Youdu?"

"Never mind him. Kill—! Let's eliminate those bastards on the other side and reward thirty ghost beauties!"

"I considered you my brother in life, yet you flirted with my sister-in-law. Let's finish off this scoundrel!"

The two sides resumed their chaotic battle.

Qin Mu flew downwards along Earth Duke's body. The further he descended, the denser Youdu's demonic energy became, and its malevolence grew stronger.

What he saw along the way made his heart pound. Battles raged everywhere in Youdu, turning the world dark and chaotic. Many powerful, terrifying spirits stirred up trouble, plundering and burning wherever they went.

"The being whose name cannot be spoken, from Youdu twenty-two years ago, must have committed countless atrocities, killing untold numbers of powerful figures, to cause such immense turmoil in Youdu, which has not yet subsided."

Qin Mu's heart grew solemn. "It seems Youdu is also unfathomable, with hidden powerhouses everywhere."

There were also many ancient cities on Earth Duke's body, brilliantly lit and vibrant, where gods and devils were stationed.

Additionally, dark cities floated in the sky, connected by ropeways to the cities on the ground. These airborne cities formed menacing formations.

Qin Mu glanced from a distance but did not approach, thinking, "That must be where Jiedushi like Lu Li, stationed by the Outer World Heavenly Court in Youdu, have their troops. It's best not to go near."

He flew a considerable distance further and saw dilapidated divine cities in the sky, and dark cities on the ground reduced to ruins. Inside these cities, there were scattered broken limbs. From the wounds, it looked as if some ferocious giant beast had gnawed half of their bodies away.

A formidable fortress wall loomed ahead, like a black iron rampart blocking his path. The wall was extremely high. Qin Mu was about to go around it when he suddenly paused, noticing alarming palm prints on the fortress wall.

The palm prints were colossal; the fingers had seemingly slammed into the wall like mountain peaks, truly an imprint of five mountains.

This fortress also bore fist imprints and numerous marks left by gods and devils who had been slammed against the wall. On the ground, the skeletal remains of demon gods were scattered everywhere, along with piles of broken divine weapons and demon-god weapons.

After a while, Qin Mu stopped the small boat at the city gate. The tall, imposing city tower and walls had been shattered, and a large, human-shaped hole had been smashed through the gate and wall. It was evident that the being whose name cannot be spoken in Youdu had a plump body, but was incredibly brutal, with physical strength beyond imagination!

The small boat entered through this breach, arriving at the abandoned fortress. Inside, the destruction was so complete that no trace of its former glory remained; everything had been utterly demolished.

Suddenly, Qin Mu reached the center of the fortress. There, tens of thousands of skeletal remains of gods and devils stood, forming large concentric circles. These bones were all leaning towards the center, as if an immense gravitational pull was drawing their bodies, which they were resisting.

Qin Mu maneuvered the small boat to the center, where he saw two enormous footprints.

His small boat hovered above the footprints. Qin Mu stood on the boat, looking at the skeletal remains of gods and devils all around him. These bones must have belonged to those who rushed in from all directions after the being whose name cannot be spoken breached the city. At that moment, the unnamed being suddenly erupted.

"Ahhh—"

Qin Mu opened his mouth, turned his head, and yelled at the surrounding skeletal remains of gods and devils. He shook his head. "No, they weren't blasted to death by sound waves. It must have been..."

He turned his head, took a long breath, and inhaled towards his surroundings. He nodded. "That's right. That's exactly it. The being whose name cannot be spoken suddenly sucked away the spirit bodies of these gods and devils, devouring them completely! Swallowing tens of thousands of gods and devils in one gulp — how utterly brutal!"

The small boat flew over the formidable fortress and continued onwards, reaching Earth Duke's knee bend. Here was a chain city, composed of massive chains linked together to form various cities.

Qin Mu steered the small boat into a towering gate, only to discover a different realm within. Here, majestic palaces stretched endlessly, with cities built within cities. However, they too had been reduced to ruins. The demonic energy was dense, and only some green-skinned imps lived here. They were extremely timid; upon seeing his small boat fly in, they instantly transformed into black smoke and vanished, presumably into hiding.

Qin Mu's expression turned strange. He hastily exited the gate and looked up, seeing that this majestic portal had also been broken.

He lowered his head and searched. After a moment, he saw the characters on the broken portal and gasped.

"Nantian Gate! This is a Heavenly Palace!"

His mind reeled. He steadied himself before re-entering the Heavenly Palace. He flew past the Jade Terrace and Jade Pool; the Jade Pool was dry, seemingly drunk by someone in one gulp. The God-Slaying Platform was smashed to bits, Jade Capital City was ruined, and the Palace of Heavenly High was riddled with large holes. The imperial throne had been ripped out, seemingly crushed by a large backside, lying shattered on the ground of Jade Capital City.

"Souls qualified to reside in the Heavenly Palace were either powerful individuals of the Emperor's Throne realm or beings of the Heavenly High realm in their lifetimes. For their palaces to be destroyed by the being whose name cannot be spoken, it's likely that the owner of this place was also devoured by that brutally vicious entity!"

As he left the Heavenly Palace, he grew increasingly alarmed. Youdu, twenty-two years ago, had clearly experienced a great catastrophe. The souls living there had suffered a massacre at the hands of the being whose name cannot be spoken, resulting in horrific casualties.

"Earth Duke and You Tianzun keep records of my minor infractions every day, yet this being whose name cannot be spoken is the true villain, and they don't mention him at all."

Qin Mu felt quite indignant. He arrived at Earth Duke's foot, where the area had become the ruins of a battlefield.

Qin Mu looked around, his heart pounding. The battlefield was vast and boundless; even his divine eyes couldn't see its edge. He could only see radiant light everywhere, remnants of divine abilities left by powerful practitioners.

Streaks of radiant light stretched for ten thousand miles, emanating breathtaking beauty.

The ground was incredibly flat, devoid of any mountains or rivers. The sky, however, was covered in palm prints and fist imprints. The marks left by the blows to space had not healed even after more than twenty years!

Clearly, the battle here was far more terrifying and dreadful than anywhere else!

"Could it be that the souls of Emperor's Throne realm powerhouses besieged the being whose name cannot be spoken here?"

Qin Mu's heart pounded with trepidation. He carefully maneuvered his small boat through this battlefield, avoiding the brilliant divine abilities, and grew more astonished with each observation.

The ferocity of this great battle surpassed imagination, and the number of gods and devils deployed must have been staggering!

However, at the edge of the battlefield, he once again saw the footprints of the being whose name cannot be spoken. The footprints were deep and plump. Clearly, this battle had not killed the unnamed being; instead, it had fought its way out!

The being whose name cannot be spoken was the ultimate victor!

"Youdu still has such a terrifying entity?"

Qin Mu took a long breath and thought, "I need to be cautious in my words and actions, lest I offend any terrifying powerhouses in Youdu. Well, as the Village Chief said, 'Courtesy never offends'."

He now reached Earth Duke's standing place, where the demonic nature was terrifyingly profound. Demonic energy and malevolence had settled here, forming the continent beneath Earth Duke's feet.

As the small boat flew away from Earth Duke's foot, Qin Mu saw a magnificent and grand black city, built like black jade, appearing seamless without any visible joints.

"This should be Youdu Jade Lock Pass."

Qin Mu propelled the small boat upwards, attempting to leap over the city wall and enter the pass. However, as the boat ascended, the black jade wall of Youdu Jade Lock Pass also seemed to grow upwards. No matter how fast the small boat flew, it could never fly over the wall and into the pass.

Qin Mu experimented for a long time before honestly deciding to follow the wall and search for the city gate.

After an unknown period, he finally found the city gate of Jade Lock Pass. Outside the gate, two demon gods stood guard, wielding axes. Upon seeing the paper boat approach, they were about to bow in greeting, but then noticed that the person on board was not the old Yin-Messenger, but a young man. They couldn't help but be surprised.

One of the demon gods held his axe horizontally and asked, "Young man, who are you? Why have you come to Jade Lock Pass? And why do you possess the Benevolent Saint King of Heaven's Equilibrium's paper boat?"

Qin Mu quickly replied, "Esteemed deities, I am Qin Mu, also known as Qin Fengqing. I have come to visit my mother."