Chapter 871: Outside the Gui Palace Gate, Holding the Milky Way

Qin Mu saw her smile, and his heart seemed to melt again.

It melted into that sun-drenched day, by the reed marshes of Yongjiang River, where white reeds drifted like snow, a cowherd rode on a bull, and the bull trudged slowly along the bank.

That day, a strange rhythm always echoed in his mind, wanting to be hummed, to be sung, yet he could never manage to hum or sing it.

He felt the rhythm was so familiar, so intimate, yet he could never recall it.

Now, he remembered that nursery rhyme.

He had heard this nursery rhyme, heard this voice, when he was an infant in a swaddling basket.

He walked over to the girl who was humming the familiar but forgotten children's song, sat down beside her, and said with a smile, "Long time no see. Do you remember the baby in the basket named Qin Fengqing? That was me."

Bai Qier looked at him, and surprise slowly appeared on her face, which then transformed into a smile: "Do you remember the girl sitting on the box?"

"I remember."

Qin Mu felt a burning sensation in his heart, unsure if it was due to his injuries not yet healed or some strange emotion at play.

Bai Qier clasped her hands around her knees, her body held perfectly straight, as she gazed fixedly at the land below. She said, "Eternal Peace is truly beautiful."

Qin Mu looked down and saw countless twinkling lights. Across the vast land and between the mountains and rivers, city lights dotted the landscape. Wherever there were lights, there were people.

Despite the drastic changes, the resilient people of Eternal Peace still found ways to survive.

Observing the mortal world from the Moon Palace offered a unique kind of beauty.

The high and mighty Celestial Heavens, where it was eternally day, could not appreciate the beauty of shadows, nor could they see the hope in the hearts of those who lit lamps in the darkness.

The moonlight was bright, and the moon array in the Heavenly Map was mostly open, nearing a full moon. Qin Mu felt he must have slept for five or six days.

"How are you here?" he asked, turning his head to look at the girl's cheek beside him.

"The Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor encountered me, and we discussed sword arts for a few days. Then, I heard that a girl named Si Yunxiang had sent people to search for the Founding Emperor's Four Heavenly Masters and Four Heavenly Kings, saying that a son of the Qin family was in trouble and needed rescue in the northern heavens."

Bai Qier said, "So I rushed here first, planning to enter the Great Black Palace through the Heavenly Map. Just as I finished clearing out the foreign Heavenly Court deities from the Heavenly Map, Dragon Fatty brought you here."

Qin Mu suddenly understood and laughed, "Sneaking into the Great Black Palace through the Heavenly Map, and even ambushing Great Black Heavens, is an excellent idea. It perfectly bypasses his perception."

Bai Qier chuckled, "Yes. While you were unconscious, Wen Tiange, Han Tang, and Yan Yunxi also came looking for you. They also entered through the Heavenly Map. Three of the Founding Emperor's Four Heavenly Masters arrived. Han Tang planned to create a breach in the Heavenly Map, then send a fishing line into the Great Black Palace and fish you out."

Han Tang was the name of Heavenly Master Fisherman, and Yan Yunxi was the name of Heavenly Master Zixi, though Yan Yunxi was the name used when he was in female attire.

Heavenly Master Fisherman was known for never missing a hook, so it was indeed possible for him to fish Qin Mu out.

"Yan Yunxi intended to set up an array to ambush Great Black Heavens, but Wen Tiange said that Eternal Peace and Great Black Heavens had no enmity, and perhaps they could be both friends and foes."

Bai Qier smiled, "They were all very concerned about you and only left after seeing that you weren't in serious danger. How are your injuries?"

Qin Mu felt warmth in his heart: "It's strange, but when I woke up, my injuries were completely healed. I had injured my core, and I originally thought it would take years to recover to full strength. What kind of spirit medicine did you give me?"

He was very puzzled, as injuring his core meant extremely severe wounds. Even as a grandmaster of medicine, he would need to search for rare spirit medicines everywhere and slowly recuperate his body.

Even then, it would take at least a few years to fully replenish his depleted body.

Bai Qier had previously fed him medicine and nourished his primordial spirit with a dragon pearl, making him believe it was the effect of Bai Qier's spirit medicine.

"The spirit medicines I gave you weren't rare; they only helped sustain your life but couldn't cure you completely. However, I noticed that while you were sleeping, your injuries slowly healed on their own. I'm quite puzzled by it too."

Bai Qier mused, "While you were asleep, Wen Tiange and the others arrived and also noticed your self-recovery. Wen Tiange said that a type of Buddhist art was operating within you in a peculiar way, making it seem as if you had lived a life over again. But he wasn't sure where this Buddhist art came from, and I also couldn't trace its origin."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. "Living a life over again," then his injuries completely healed, and his core returned to its peak state—this cultivation method seemed related to the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's Dream Seed Dao.

Could he have cultivated the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's Emperor's Throne True Scripture in his sleep?

But he had never learned this cultivation method!

Back then, the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha had told him that there was a great Buddha statue in the Qin Continent that contained his Emperor's Throne True Scripture, which he would need to comprehend on his own to learn.

However, the Qin Continent had always been occupied by his older brother, Qin Fengqing, so he hadn't spent much time there and had no leisure to comprehend it.

So when did he learn it?

To obtain this Emperor's Throne cultivation method without learning or comprehending it was truly peculiar.

Suddenly, Bai Qier stood up, extended a hand to him, and with a bright smile on her face, asked, "Do you want to see the real starry sky?"

Qin Mu was momentarily stunned, then reached out his hand, and their palms met.

Bai Qier led him by the hand, flying through the Heavenly Map, away from the moon. She laughed, "The celestial phenomena in the Heavenly Map are false; they are all arrays. But behind the Heavenly Map is the true starry sky. I know there's a hole in the Heavenly Map, and if we go through it, we can see the real starry sky."

Qin Mu followed involuntarily. He looked back and saw Dragon Qilin dozing beneath a pillar in front of the Moon Palace, bathed in moonlight. At that moment, he stood up and peered their way, also wanting to rush over and see the real starry sky.

Qin Mu gave him a fierce look, and Dragon Qilin quickly stopped, lay down again, and continued dozing.

Qin Mu smiled, enjoying being led by the girl as they traveled through the Heavenly Map together.

They flew through the star river within the Heavenly Map, which consisted of large and small complex arrays forming stars. Their structure was intricate, but since Bai Qier had already eliminated the deities here, these arrays were unguarded.

Although the star river was artificial, flying through it, with the brilliant starlight cascading around them, was still incredibly romantic.

"Wen Tiange said he plans to have Emperor Yanfeng send some scholars skilled in arithmetic to maintain the operation of the Heavenly Map."

Bai Qier led him through the star river and said, "Over there is the sun in the Heavenly Map. In the Heavenly Map, during the day, the stars are dim and the star river is dark; only the sun emits light. However, at night, the sun in the star map extinguishes."

Qin Mu looked in the direction she pointed. The sun array had currently stopped operating. It was a circular array shaped like a teleportation portal, empty inside, with a Sun Palace within it.

As he had guessed, this array borrowed light from the real sun, thus it could emit light and heat.

"The hole in the Heavenly Map is here."

Bai Qier arrived at the Sun Palace, led him inside, and chuckled, "However, this hole only appears when the sun array is lit. Then we can fly out through the hole and see the real starry sky."

Qin Mu blinked and said, "It's nighttime in Eternal Peace right now."

Bai Qier hummed in acknowledgment.

"After we light the sun, both the moon and the sun will appear in the night sky," Qin Mu continued.

Bai Qier hummed again, a look of regret on her face.

Qin Mu smiled broadly and said, "Then let's do it!"

Bai Qier cheered and quickly moved to the center of the palace. There was a large crimson cloth, woven from unknown material, embroidered with a three-legged golden crow pattern. Something beneath it propped the cloth up.

Bai Qier vigorously pulled away the cloth, revealing a stand. On the stand was a handprint composed of exquisite runic patterns.

She pressed her palm onto the pattern, looked at Qin Mu, and hesitated: "Do we really want to light up the sun? Wouldn't it be too shocking?"

Qin Mu laughed, "The people of Eternal Peace are already used to it. As for shocking, a sun appearing at night can't compare to the Primordial Realm breaking its seal. In recent years, the people of Eternal Peace have witnessed natural disasters erupt, Yongjiang River transform into a celestial river, countless gods and devils revive, and various heavens appear in the sky. Their tolerance is stronger than we imagine."

Bai Qier's mind was at ease. She activated her vital qi, and a hum emanated from the stand, followed by a buzzing sound that spread across the ground in all directions.

Soon, the array runes outside the Sun Palace lit up, turning crimson. The array rotated and spread outwards.

At this time, Eternal Peace had not yet entered deep night. Countless homes still had lights on, city lights were even brighter, and pedestrians strolled through night markets.

However, suddenly, the sun abruptly rose into the sky, hanging in the firmament and instantly dispelling the darkness!

Not only that, there was also a moon in the sky, and its light was no less brilliant than the sun's, extremely dazzling.

The people of Eternal Peace were stunned, and the gods, devils, and demigods of Metropolis were also stunned. Countless people raised their heads, gazing blankly at the sky.

Inside the Sun Palace, Bai Qier grabbed Qin Mu's hand and sprinted, her laughter ringing out ahead: "Hurry, let's slip out before the gods and devils come looking for us!"

Qin Mu's heart pounded. He followed her to the center of the sun array, where he saw a large sunspot, its dark patch extremely unsightly.

Bai Qier led him as they leaped into the sunspot, her robes fluttering and brushing against Qin Mu's face.

Qin Mu raised his other hand to push aside the girl's skirt and folds of clothing, only to see that they had already leaped out of the sun array, out of the Heavenly Map, and emerged from the false celestial phenomena.

They were floating in the vast, boundless cosmic starry sky. Behind them stretched the Heavenly Map, of unknown length and distance, and in front of them was a massive fireball floating in the silent universe.

It was unimaginably huge.

Standing before this sun, they were as tiny as ants.

Bai Qier suddenly took him flying, flitting like light and shadow, soaring upwards at an unimaginable speed. She pointed in a direction and laughed, "Look over there!"

Qin Mu looked in the direction she pointed and saw various heavens, like jewels, embedded beyond the Primordial Realm's sky. Within these enormous jewels were suns, moons, and stars, like glittering specks embedded in gemstones, flickering in and out of existence.

They flew past the outside of these giant jewels. The world barriers, like invisible membranes, gently repelled them as they approached.

Bai Qier used the world barriers to gain leverage, accelerating herself and taking Qin Mu on a tour through the void.

They flew away from that real sun. Qin Mu looked up and saw another sun, but it was dim, emitting a dark red light. Then, above this sun, he saw yet another dark red sun.

"That was the Founding Emperor's Thirty-Three Heavens back then."

Bai Qier continued to lead him through space, saying, "The Founding Emperor built thirty-three worlds here, but those heavens have already been shattered and destroyed."

She led Qin Mu past the first extinguished sun. Rounding this sun, they saw a colossal galaxy.

"That's Celestial Venerable Heaven's eye! He should be able to see us!" Bai Qier excitedly waved towards the galaxy.

Qin Mu also excitedly waved at the galaxy, his face flushed with excitement.

In the Qin Continent, Celestial Venerable Heaven's clone snorted and said to Lava Earth Count, "I see that kid. He's quite pleased with himself."

Lava Earth Count, meanwhile, looked at "Little Earth Count," who was excitedly burying his large head in the Killing Cauldron, his rear end exposed. He said, "Is *he* pleased with himself?"

Qin Fengqing was meticulously counting his spoils inside the cauldron, oblivious to their conversation.

Great Sun Star Lord, on the other hand, spread his wings and lay prone on the Qin Continent, his three claws gripping the firmament, like a giant bat clinging to a rooftop. Through Qin Mu's vision, he greedily gazed at the world outside.

"That brightest sun just now is where I was born. The sole divine sun of Metropolis!"

Great Sun Star Lord murmured, "The place where I was born, my first brightest caw... I still remember pulling the sun and running across the sky..."

Suddenly, his vision went dark. Qin Mu had taken out a willow leaf and covered his third eye, preventing him from seeing the outside world anymore.

"Bastard, uncover it, quickly uncover it!"

Great Sun Star Lord cried, "I want to see my homeland!"

Chi Huang's consciousness pulled him down, saying, "They're having a romantic moment out there; why are you butting in? We've only just managed to find a place to stay; don't make any more demands."

Great Sun Star Lord recoiled his head: "You're just staying as a guest, but I'm imprisoned; we're not the same. What do you think they're doing now that they won't let us see?"