Chapter 86: Dead World of the Dead

Qin Mu sat under the lantern, the jade pendant on his chest emitting a faint glow. The pendant still seemed to want to float up and fly far away.

"Is this Wuyou Township? If not, then where exactly is Wuyou Township?"

The small boat drifted leisurely, yet its speed was not slow. After boarding, Qin Mu noticed that the skeletons paid them no attention, as if they couldn't see them.

The skeleton mountains returned to normal, and the skeletons seemed to have reverted to death, falling into silence.

Qin Mu shook his head, feeling that the encounters along the way were bizarre. Things he had never dared to imagine were happening, each one stranger than the last.

The monsters in the darkness, the ghost couriers in the riverside village, the world within the gray mist, and now the small boat they were on with the skeleton ferryman in his straw cape—all of it seemed incredible, yet it was actually happening.

Furthermore, the world within the darkness of the Great Ruins was not as simple as the Village Chief had imagined. He had originally thought there was just a Dark Realm, but now it seemed a single Dark Realm couldn't explain everything they had seen and encountered.

The Dark Realm might exist, or there might be more than just the Dark Realm; perhaps other worlds also existed within this darkness.

"Village Chief, who was that passenger who gave us the Fengdu coins earlier?" Qin Mu turned to look at the ferryman and whispered.

"An old acquaintance."

The Village Chief's expression was calm. "I haven't seen him or heard any news of him for a very long time," he said. "I thought he had died, but I didn't expect him to still be alive. Anyone from our era who can still be alive now is truly remarkable."

Qin Mu was filled with yearning. The Village Chief's era must have been one where heroes emerged in great numbers, like a sky full of glittering stars, giving birth to many earth-shattering figures, exceptional talents like the Village Chief himself.

It was a pity that time aged people; even those with unparalleled grace in their prime would be frail and old in their later years, their lives not lasting much longer.

"I didn't expect him to still be so restless, always running around. I wonder how he ended up here this time."

The Village Chief chuckled. "He's more resourceful than I am, and he's seen more mysteries," he said. "I actually envy how freely he lives, much more relaxed than me. Mu'er, you might encounter him; that fellow has no fixed abode and loves to get involved wherever there's excitement. His name is Ling Jing; he has a mole under his left eye and is missing the ring finger on his right hand—I cut it off."

"Village Chief, where will this boat take us?"

Qin Mu looked around. They were already very far from the entrance to this strange world and couldn't see the way they had come. If they kept drifting like this, he didn't know where they would end up.

And who knew if this was the Great Ruins?

It was even possible that this wasn't the world where the Great Ruins was located!

The Village Chief frowned slightly. Qin Mu's jade pendant had drawn them here, and in all his years living in the Great Ruins, it was the first time he had encountered such a strange thing or come to such a peculiar place. However, since Qin Mu's jade pendant had led them here, it was likely connected to the pendant's origin.

Now, unsure of their location and unable to disembark, they could only let the boat and the strange ferryman carry them toward the unknown.

"Mu'er, if I hadn't brought you out, I might never have discovered this place."

As he spoke, the gray mist ahead gradually thinned, revealing a vast land. Majestic mountains rose, no longer resembling skeleton peaks. Near the edge of the misty sea, a wooden dock appeared, capable of mooring boats.

The small boat gently paused, approaching the dock and stopping.

Qin Mu quickly took out a Fengdu coin, intending to pay the fare, but the ferryman held up two white bones.

Qin Mu took out another Fengdu coin, and the ferryman nodded. The two disembarked and walked towards the land. Qin Mu looked back to see the small boat and the skeleton ferryman vanish into the mist, with only the lantern at the bow still emitting a faint light.

"A strange place..."

The jade pendant on his chest gently floated up, pointing forward.

Qin Mu followed the Village Chief. They hadn't walked far when they saw a boundary monument with several seal script characters written on it.

"Realm of the Living Dead. The living halt. The dead proceed."

Qin Mu read the words aloud, and both were startled. Qin Mu hesitated, "Village Chief, are we still going forward?"

The Village Chief looked up ahead, vaguely seeing many villages. He chuckled, "Since we've come this far, how can we not continue to see what's ahead? Let's keep going."

Qin Mu followed him. As they crossed the boundary monument, Qin Mu suddenly exclaimed, raising his hands to find them, to his astonishment, transformed into bare white bones!

He hastily tore open his clothes, only to find all his flesh had vanished, leaving only stark white bones!

He looked at the Village Chief, who had also turned into a skeleton floating in the air. Strangely, the Village Chief had suddenly grown arms and legs!

His chest and head were bone, but his legs and arms were flesh and blood!

But the Village Chief clearly had no arms or legs; how could he suddenly grow two arms and two legs?

"Realm of the Living Dead, Realm of the Living Dead... Mu'er, let's go back," the Village Chief suddenly said.

Qin Mu retreated to the boundary monument and looked down to see his flesh return. The Village Chief's limbs vanished, and the flesh on his chest and head returned to normal.

"So that's it. What a peculiar world..."

The Village Chief smiled faintly, then walked back into the Realm of the Living Dead, saying, "Let's go inside and see."

Qin Mu suppressed his shock and followed him into this strange world. The Village Chief's legs touched the ground, and he took a few steps, then suddenly stopped to look at his hands, filled with emotion, seemingly remembering his lost limbs.

Ahead, mountains rose steeply and temples dotted the landscape. A sizable village appeared before them.

The two arrived at the village, which was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, exceptionally peaceful. The villagers lived in contentment and prosperity, raising chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep. As they reached the village entrance, a fat, white pig grunted as it waddled past them.

Qin Mu and the Village Chief stopped at the village entrance, not entering. Several villagers turned to look at them, their gazes strange. After a moment, an old man tremblingly walked out of the village, a smile appearing on his wrinkled face. "Two strangers, how may I help you?" he asked.

Qin Mu and the Village Chief bowed respectfully. Qin Mu asked, "Elder, may I ask for directions to Wuyou Township?"

The old man raised his hand, pointing behind the mountain. "Cross a few mountains, pass through a gate, and you will see Wuyou Township," he said.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Qin Mu and the Village Chief walked towards the mountains. Qin Mu looked back to see the villagers still watching them, their gazes unsettling.

The Village Chief said, "In their eyes, we are dead, which is why they look at us like that."

Qin Mu turned back and said, "Village Chief, I think something is strange... Grandpa Cripple opened the Nine Heavens Divine Eye for me. Even though my eyes aren't there now, I can still vaguely see some things..."

The Village Chief stopped. "What did you see?"

Qin Mu said, "They have demonic energy about them."

The Village Chief pondered. "The Realm of the Living Dead must be altering the rules of life and death; this is the power of gods and demons," he said. "When we enter here, our flesh seems to vanish, but it immediately reappears when we leave, indicating that the flesh is still present, merely distorted by the rules, making it invisible and intangible. Mu'er, your Nine Heavens Divine Eye is still active. Can you still summon your vital qi and use it to activate the Nine Heavens Divine Eye within your eyes?"

Qin Mu immediately began to try. He quickly felt his eyes, then his vital qi entered them, activating the Nine Heavens Divine Eye array patterns that Cripple had imprinted. Instantly, everything before him became incredibly clear.

He looked back; everyone in that village had changed their appearance. They were no longer human but withered skeletons. Even the chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep, including the big fat pig, had turned into withered skeletons!

The skeletons of those villagers were different from human skeletons; they were strangely shaped, clearly not human.

Qin Mu described what he had seen. The Village Chief pondered for a moment, then said, "They are the Celestial Demons."

"Celestial Demons?" Qin Mu was stunned.

"The Celestial Demons are a demonic race. Although your Heavenly Devil Cult has 'Heavenly Devil' in its name, you are all still humans, merely operating under that name. But the Celestial Demons are different; they are a legendary race from another realm, extremely aggressive. As for where they came from, that's unknown; some legends say..."

The Village Chief paused, then looked ahead. "Is this a world of Celestial Demons?" he said. "It doesn't quite seem like it. Let's continue forward, and if it is a world of Celestial Demons, we'll retreat immediately!"

They crossed several mountains, finally reaching the gate the old man at the village entrance had mentioned.

Two mountain gates stood, with a stone bridge serving as a lintel over them. The characters "Fengdu" were written on the mountain wall.

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat, filled with an ominous feeling. Fengdu was the legendary Gate of Ghosts; could this be the world of hell?

The Village Chief, however, seemed to ignore it and walked straight past. Qin Mu quickly followed, and both looked ahead, their hearts slightly trembling.

Ahead, in the centers of countless perfectly square cities, towering temples and divine halls stood, majestic and grand. Countless cities, countless palaces, countless temples stretched as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight!

This was the world beyond the Fengdu gate—vast, immense, and magnificent!

"This should be the capital of Fengdu."

As Qin Mu thought this, he suddenly saw a dilapidated ship. It was a ship made of a mountain, with chains floating in the air from it like kite strings, and at the end of these strings was a gray sphere.

A gigantic sphere, but half of it was broken.

It was a moon.