Chapter 812: There Is a Girl Named Wuchen

The three of them, with the lantern, once again approached the structure of the ancient layered warship they had just seen. Suddenly, a bright light flashed. The source of the light was unknown, and the entire ship was enveloped in an intense glow, making it impossible for Qin Mu, the Village Chief, and the others to see anything!

The light appeared and vanished quickly. Once it disappeared, Qin Mu looked around, slightly surprised. The layered ship, which had originally been traveling beneath the Heavenly River, was now on its surface.

Mist surrounded them. Gradually, bright sunlight streamed down, and the layered ship sailed out of the mist.

Outside, the sun shone brightly.

Qin Mu looked out and saw the ship floating on the river, while the Heavenly River itself was now floating in the sky.

“Lin Xiao, what just happened?” Qin Mu asked the inch-tall figure in the lantern.

Inside the lantern, the small figure with a bird’s head and human body buzzed its wings and replied, “My Lord, there’s no need to panic. This is just another temporal reset.”

“Temporal reset?”

The Village Chief cautiously probed, “What do you mean by ‘temporal reset’?”

The inch-tall figure in the lantern explained, “The divine arts within the mist are disjointed. This peculiar divine ability activates periodically, transporting us to a fixed era. I’ve calculated that this ship will be carried by that ability through thirty-six different eras. Currently, it should be…”

The lantern shone outwards, revealing billowing smoke and widespread war.

“It’s now the Ming Emperor’s era; I can’t recall the exact year.”

The small figure in the lantern added, “Emperor’s Son Chi Xiao, son of the Ming Emperor of the Ming Emperor’s Heavenly Court, is about to board the ship.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a young general, battling on the distant battlefield, flew towards them. From afar, he raised his palm, and a beam of mirror light shone from it, illuminating the ship.

The young general, three-headed and six-armed, flew grandly along the light beam and arrived.

“Emperor’s Son Chi Xiao?”

Qin Mu shivered, whispering, “Wasn’t Emperor’s Son Chi Xiao one of the faces in the black coffin that Ancestral Dragon King shattered when we first boarded? That face claimed to be Chi Xiao, the Crown Prince of the Ming Emperor…”

The Village Chief’s expression subtly changed, and he murmured, “It can’t be him. He was clearly devoured by the coffin and bled dry, dying. The one coming aboard can’t be Crown Prince Chi Xiao; it must be someone with the same name…”

“This is… the Ghost Ship of the Heavenly River!”

The young general’s voice was heard, filled with both surprise and delight: “This treasure actually appeared at this moment! Could it be divine assistance? I’ve heard this ship holds the most courageous and formidable gods and devils of the ancient Heavenly Court. If I could use them…”

He unfurled a banner, and many three-headed, six-armed gods and devils flew swiftly to the ship, landing on it.

The young general shouted, “Search! Find the ancient Imperial Forest Army on this ship!”

“Your Highness, there are seals on this ship!”

“Open them!”

A moment later, black coffins began to grow from the deck, enveloped in dark mist. From within, the frantic screams of the young general and the other gods and devils could be heard.

Finally, the dark mist dispersed, and the young general along with the numerous gods and devils of the Crimson Light era vanished, leaving only the black coffins standing on the deck.

The black coffins slowly sank downwards, gradually disappearing.

“When they reappear, Crown Prince Chi Xiao will die from the black coffin being shattered,” said the inch-tall figure in the lantern, flapping its wings. “My Lord, let’s go see the Empress’s coffin. Follow me.”

Qin Mu and the Village Chief exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat disoriented. Suddenly, the Village Chief asked, “General Lin Xiao, when you first met Mu’er, you said ‘My Lord has become younger again.’ What did you mean by that? Had you seen him before? Was he older then than he is now?”

Qin Mu’s hair stood on end, and he quickly looked at the small figure in the lantern.

The small figure in the lantern remained silent.

The wrinkles on the Village Chief’s face twisted, and his voice trembled slightly: “In other words, this isn’t our first time boarding this ship! We’ve boarded it many times, even staying on it for a long while! Is that right?”

The small figure sat on the lantern’s threshold, vibrating its wings as the lantern floated forward. “On this ship, every time is the first time. Please come this way.”

Dragon Herder collapsed to the ground, wailing, “It’s over, we’re finished! My Lord, we’re doomed…”

Qin Mu’s face darkened. He grabbed the Dragon Herder’s dragon horns and dragged him forward.

They rounded the pavilion and saw that the old dragon, which had been integrated with the building in front of it, had turned to stone. The stone dragon’s face was frozen in an expression of terror.

Qin Mu looked up at the stone dragon and chuckled, “Could this crazed old dragon be the Dragon Herder himself?”

The Dragon Herder shuddered repeatedly, his body becoming even more limp.

“Mu’er, don’t scare him!”

The Village Chief’s expression turned serious, and he spoke in a deep voice, “I’ve encountered countless strange things over the years and weathered countless storms; I won’t be trapped by this ship! Don’t worry, I will definitely get you out of here. Let’s go!”

Behind the building was a grand hall. The lantern led them through the palace’s winding corridors, past rockeries, through a council chamber, and into another grand hall behind it.

First to catch their eye were eight colossal red dragons. Their bodies hung from the beams of the spacious hall, half their forms dangling downwards. Their bodies coiled around copper pillars, then stretched forward, claws touching the ground, necks raised high, but their heads bowed forward over a floating coffin.

The eight dragons were positioned around the coffin, guarding the suspended coffin.

However, these eight red dragons had also turned to stone, appearing as if carved from translucent rubies, incredibly magnificent.

Ancestral Dragon King and the others were already there. They had bypassed the eight red dragons and reached the side of the coffin, where Ancestral Dragon King unleashed his divine power, attempting to open the suspended coffin.

However, the suspended coffin was extremely heavy and covered in numerous seals, making it impossible to open even for a great deity at the Numinous Sky realm.

“The Imperial Forest Army constitutes two of the Heavenly Court’s Ten Guards: the Left and Right Imperial Forest, Left and Right Dragon Martial, Left and Right Divine Martial, Left and Right Divine Stratagem, and Left and Right Divine Might. The Imperial Forest Army, specifically, is directly commanded by the Celestial Emperor. What does ‘Imperial Forest’ mean? It signifies ‘wings for the nation, abundant as a forest’ – that is the Imperial Forest.”

Prince Qiuming said, “Since the Imperial Forest Army is the Celestial Emperor’s personal force, naturally only the most powerful beings in the world are selected for it. Demon Dragon, how could you possibly open the seals they laid down?”

Ancestral Dragon King’s face flushed, and he sneered, “If I can’t open it, can you?”

Prince Qiuming’s robes fluttered as he strode forward, smiling. “The Imperial Forest Army is our Heavenly Court’s own army, passed down through generations. I even studied within the Imperial Forest Army myself. Although my cultivation realm is far inferior to yours, opening the seals from the Dragon Han era is not difficult for me.”

His hands danced, vital qi transforming into various runes, which he imprinted one after another onto the coffin. His divine arts were truly exquisite.

Everyone watched, awestruck. “The Heavenly Court’s divine arts are indeed unfathomable!”

Qin Mu’s heart sank as well; Prince Qiuming’s attainments were extremely high, and his strength was formidable.

“The elites cultivated by the Heavenly Court, who have collected various Imperial Throne cultivation techniques over the years, are indeed extraordinary!”

A moment later, fine beads of sweat appeared on Prince Qiuming’s forehead, and his brows gradually furrowed. He suddenly retreated, shaking his head. “Strange, strange. These seals aren’t solely from the Imperial Forest Army; there are other seals here that I haven’t learned…”

Feng Qiuyun sneered, “An uncultured prince from the Upper Realm, all talk and no substance, making a fool of yourself. Let me try!”

She put down the Emperor’s coffin, drew the Earth Mother Kun Yuan Sword, and the wooden sword flashed as she thrust it towards the Empress’s coffin, intending to forcibly break the seals!

Although she was the Earth Mother’s handmaiden, she was also the Phoenix Clan’s Matriarch and a grand master at the Numinous Sky realm, possessing great power. Combined with the Earth Mother Kun Yuan Sword, breaking the seals shouldn’t have been difficult for her.

However, as Feng Qiuyun thrust dozens of swords in succession, haloes of light circulated around the suspended coffin, and various seals emerged, blocking her and the power of the Earth Mother Kun Yuan Sword.

The seals around the suspended coffin formed countless small and large circular galaxies from various divine arts, absorbing her power and that of the Earth Mother Kun Yuan Sword.

Feng Qiuyun frowned, withdrew her sword, flicked her sleeve, and returned to the Emperor’s coffin.

Prince Qiuming chuckled, “While the Earth Mother is powerful, her foundation is far inferior to the Heavenly Court’s. Does anyone else want to try?”

Qin Mu’s expression was strange. The other seals were one thing—he didn’t recognize many of them—but the seals that integrated all of them together were those of the Founding Ancestor.

He had seen the Founding Ancestor’s Stellar River Imprint divine art more than once, and he had also broken it more than once.

He had encountered it by the side of the Ark of the Other Shore, in the canyon that suppressed the old dragon, and he had also broken it on the God-Slaying Platform of the Crimson Light Alien Star.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes on him. Following the gaze, he saw it was Zhe Huali.

Qin Mu smiled slightly. At that time, when he had broken the Stellar River divine art on the alien star’s God-Slaying Platform, Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi had been present and had even been tricked by him.

Evidently, Zhe Huali still remembered this incident.

“The only one capable of breaking the seals is Cult Master Qin,” Zhe Huali suddenly spoke out. “Cult Master Qin, why don’t you give it a try?”

Pairs of eyes turned to Qin Mu. Qin Mu burst out laughing, letting go of the Dragon Herder’s dragon horns. The Dragon Herder’s large head thumped on the ground, bouncing several times, but he remained too weak and sore to get up.

Qin Mu walked forward, approaching the Empress’s coffin, and meticulously examined the seals on it. He suddenly chuckled, “These seals have been broken before. Breaking them again isn’t difficult.”

“Broken before?”

Everyone was startled. Before they could even react, Qin Mu’s robes fluttered as he flew up and down around the Empress’s coffin. Various imprint techniques were unleashed, and instantly, streams of stellar river galaxies revolved and moved around the coffin. The stellar vortices continuously unraveled, and the stars formed by various divine arts receded.

Before long, all the stars receded, transforming into imprints that adhered to the coffin, forming a brilliant stellar river pattern.

Click.

The Empress’s coffin emitted a soft sound.

Qin Mu stepped back, returning to the Village Chief’s side. “I did not fail my mission!”

The coffin lid slowly floated upwards, hovering above the coffin. Inside the coffin, shimmering light soared, and Daoist melodies resonated, like a graceful woman singing a song, with various musical notes lingering ceaselessly.

The Daoist melodies were the rhythmic vibrations of the Great Dao, intoxicating listeners and making it difficult to extricate oneself.

The others, disregarding why Qin Mu was able to open the seals, rushed forward to look inside the coffin. Godly Son Chiming exclaimed, “What a beautiful woman!”

The others also found their mouths dry and their faces flushed as they gazed at the woman in the coffin, speechless.

A demigod roared, tearing off his clothes, and was about to leap into the coffin, shouting, “To be buried in the same coffin as such a beauty—my life would not have been lived in vain!”

Swish—

Luo Wushuang slashed down with his blade, killing the demigod. He said coldly, “Anyone who dares to insult the Empress’s corpse will meet the same fate as this fiend! Ancestral Dragon King, make your subordinates behave!”

His hand, gripping the blade, trembled slightly, clearly startled by the woman’s beauty in the coffin, his Dao heart somewhat unstable.

“Empress?”

Ancestral Dragon King’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His gaze fell into the coffin, and he asked in a hoarse voice, “There are two women in this coffin. Which one is the Empress?”

Qin Mu and the Village Chief were stunned. “There are two women in the coffin?”

The Village Chief whispered, “Mu’er, didn’t you look inside when you opened the coffin?”

Qin Mu shook his head and murmured, “The Village Chief asked me to keep a low profile, so after opening the coffin, I immediately stepped back to avoid becoming a target. Therefore, I’m not entirely sure what’s inside. Why would there be two bodies in the coffin?”

The two exchanged glances.

The Village Chief hesitated, then said, “Perhaps we should go forward and take a look too?”

Qin Mu nodded repeatedly, unable to suppress his curiosity.

The Village Chief, also unable to resist, raised his hand and grabbed the Dragon Herder’s horns, dragging him forward along with Qin Mu.

They arrived at the Empress’s coffin. The Village Chief stood on his tiptoes and peered into the coffin, seeing the shimmering light illuminate everyone’s faces. Inside the coffin, two women lay quietly amidst the ethereal glow.

“Truly beautiful, just a little bit more beautiful than Granny Si,” the Village Chief praised.

Qin Mu gripped the edge of the coffin with both hands and leaned in to look. Indeed, there were two stunning women inside, though one was flawless and far more beautiful than the other. Even though he was accustomed to Granny Si’s beauty, he couldn’t help but feel his heart stir and his spirit sway.

The woman lay with her hands placed on her chest, as if asleep.

“So beautiful.”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred. He lifted the willow leaf on his brow, allowing existences like Heavenly Duke and Earth Count to see the scene within the coffin. “Heavenly Duke, Earth Count, come look at this woman!”

Heavenly Duke’s surprised voice echoed in his mind: “Jue Wuchen! How is she dead?”