Chapter 238: The Forbidden Zone
On the majestic Moon Ship, in the center of the towering pillars, Qin Mu spread his six arms wide, gripping those pillars like a punished giant, gazing at the other world that appeared before him.
Behind him, a crescent moon drifted high in the sky, occasionally sending down fiery meteors that crashed around the Moon Ship, illuminating the pitch-black darkness.
Behind the light was a chaotic mass of demons, bustling and lively.
And before him was a pure land that had never been invaded by darkness, isolated from the world, quiet, mysterious, and filled with the unknown.
It was hard to imagine that such a tranquil place existed within the Great Ruins.
Ahead lay a vast forest, endless mountain ranges, and further away, the earth suddenly broke away as if hollowed out. Across the sea of clouds, a city stood in mid-air, like a place where immortals dwelled.
Surrounded by golden cloud light, a sun shone in the sky. Towering palaces reached into the heavens, and floating mountains poked their golden peaks through the clouds.
Deep within the clouds stood towering divine statues, as if emperors guarding their own territory.
Massive machines floated in the air, thousands of feet above the ground, operating silently. Countless formations were branded into the mystic iron and mystic gold, combining into incredibly complex giant mechanical devices. Power materialized into streams of light, connecting to the city, connecting to the sky.
But...
All of this had been destroyed.
Qin Mu stood in a daze. Before him was the shattered Carefree Village. That magnificent sky city had already collapsed and cracked, its towering palaces riddled with holes, its floating mountains fragmented. Large and small debris floated in the air, bumping into each other in the sea of clouds. The majestic divine statues had also been struck by immense force, missing limbs and tilting askew.
In the center of the sun in the sky was a large black spot that had already swallowed most of the sun, leaving only a golden halo around its edges, like a golden ring.
The city above the clouds had become ruins. The giant machines standing in the clouds were also damaged, their broken components floating silently around them.
A few massive machines were still operating, maintaining the barrier of Carefree Village.
Not far ahead of the Moon Ship, an enormous plaque was tilted in the forest like a fallen monument, inscribed with the words "Xiaobao".
The plaque was broken.
A sudden wave of grief welled up in Qin Mu's heart. This grief grew wildly, instantly filling his entire being.
This world no longer had Carefree Village.
There was no longer a carefree place.
This giant standing on the Moon Ship, gripping the pillars, seemed to be helplessly bearing the punishment of heaven, lowering his head.
He knelt down, tears falling drop by drop onto the hard ground.
The hometown that had haunted his dreams had shattered, ceasing to exist.
So many months of searching, the dreams of what his hometown looked like, his family, his neighbors, his friends—all suddenly shattered with the appearance of the world before him, like a drawing in the sand that turned to dust and smoke with a single gust of wind.
He now had no home, no mother waiting for her son's return in his dreams, no stern father...
The dream was over. He was still an orphan taken in by many old, weak, and disabled people.
His hometown had been destroyed.
Dutian Demon King looked up, gazing through the window lattice at the giant kneeling between the pillars. The giant was shrouded in hazy moonlight, head deeply bowed, only his shoulders could be seen trembling.
In that moment, Dutian Demon King felt the same pain.
When his Dutian world had been destroyed, he had been just as heartbroken, just as devastated, overcome with grief, unable to suppress his emotions. He had wept bitterly, cursed heaven and earth, his rage boiling over. He had fought desperately against the messengers of Youdu, trying to save the lives of his people!
He had been knocked down countless times, his body broken, his soul shattered.
In the end, he had submitted, submitting to fate.
In Qin Mu, he saw another version of himself, the younger version of himself, one who was about to be knocked down, about to submit to fate.
In life, weakness leads to loss, one wanders lost, coming and going like a madman.
Playing with mud in the dirt, not recognizing the divine pearl's night light. How many storms, how many erasures, how willing to pause in fear.
Where is home?
Where is my home?
Qin Mu slowly raised his head, his gaze blank. His eyes shone like the bright moon, radiant and pure. When he closed his eyes, the light vanished. When he opened them, they were like two full moons.
He stood on the Moon Ship, his heart turbulent, thoughts surging, unable to calm for a long time.
"I didn't come here to find Carefree Village. I came to find Village Chief and Grandma. Grandma and the others are my family. Old and Weak Village is my hometown, it is the Carefree Village in my heart!"
Qin Mu steadied himself, looking around. Suddenly, he saw several stone statues placed at the edge of the barrier.
Even beings at the Divine Ascension Realm found it difficult to walk in the darkness of the Great Ruins, unless they carried divine statues. But the statues were extremely heavy—ordinary Cult Masters couldn't even lift them, let alone carry them far.
These stone statues must have been transported here by someone with great power, to force back the darkness.
After entering Carefree Village, the statues had been left here.
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. Village Chief could take the Herbalist walking in the darkness—he could counter the various eerie and ominous things in the dark. As for The Mute, he likely had his own means to resist the darkness.
Old Ma, The Cripple, The Butcher, and The Blind One would need the stone statues to walk in the darkness. Old Ma, The Cripple, and The Butcher's bodies had all been restored to wholeness. Carrying the divine statues, they could travel further.
No one knew how strong The Deaf truly was, but his paintings held unpredictable powers. The State Preceptor of Yankang was his mad admirer, proud to collect his paintings.
And Grandma Si harbored the previous Cult Master, Li Tianxing, within her. She should also be able to carry the divine statues.
These statues were most likely left by them.
"So they also found this place. Could it be they entered but became trapped, unable to return to the village for the New Year?"
Qin Mu opened his eyes, gazing intently around. Mighty power surged into his eyes. The Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique that The Blind One had taught him was pushed to its extreme: "I'm here, Village Chief, Grandma. I'm taking you home for the New Year!"
He didn't step directly into Carefree Village. Instead, he first surveyed the movements within.
How powerful Village Chief and the others were. If they had truly entered Carefree Village, then it wouldn't be as tranquil as it appeared. There must be considerable dangers within, which was why they had been trapped.
Even with the Moon Ship, Qin Mu's safety couldn't be guaranteed. There might still be...
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the forest before Carefree Village. He saw the traces left by Village Chief and the others. Village Chief and The Mute were great beings with heaven-reaching powers. Their divine abilities would cause incredible destruction.
But strangely, although Qin Mu saw the battle marks they had left, the destruction wasn't that significant.
Qin Mu followed the traces with his gaze and saw several ruins in the forest. The route Village Chief and the others had taken followed these ruins exactly.
The reason they followed these ruins was that this was the only safe path, the only way to enter Carefree Village.
Outside this route, all was forbidden territory!
Qin Mu looked with his Nine Heavens Divine Eye and could only see faint glimmers of light emerging within the forest. It was extremely dangerous, but he couldn't tell exactly what these restrictions were.
These restrictions held great danger. Compared to them, following the ruins was actually safer.
Qin Mu continued to gaze intently. Then, he saw several faint rays of light burst from one of the ruins, about three hundred li away from here, but not far from the forest's end.
Qin Mu's qi burst forth. He removed the jade pendant from the barrier, activated the Moon Ship, and strode forward into the barrier.
Hum.
A slight vibration came, as if he had crossed from one world into another. The Great Ruins shrouded in darkness behind him vanished instantly. Qin Mu turned to look back but couldn't see anything.
Just then, strange laughter suddenly echoed. Countless demons that had been clinging to the Moon Ship's hull leaped up, jumping off the ship and rushing toward the forest like a tide.
A demon god soared into the air—two heads, five tails, with eight long legs that were shaped like hands. It moved swiftly through the air, screeching: "Halakala (Sanskrit, kill)!"
Dutian Demon King was startled. He hadn't expected so many demons to have secretly hidden on the ship during the darkness.
That demon god turned back, grinning at Qin Mu on the ship: "We've searched high and low for something, only to find it right under our noses! We've wanted to enter Carefree Village for a long time. Thanks for showing us the way!"
This demon god was the same one Qin Mu and Village Chief had encountered when entering the Realm of the Dead. It was also this demon god who had tempted Qin Mu in the darkness after encountering the Sun Ship at Xianglong City, trying to lure him into the dark to abduct him.
Obviously, this demon god had been hiding on the Moon Ship long ago, waiting for the right moment.
She had apparently foreseen that Qin Mu would inevitably re-enter the Realm of the Dead to borrow the Moon Ship to return to Carefree Village.
And now, she had finally succeeded.
"Children, occupy this last pure land! From now on, this world belongs to us!"
The demon god shrieked, leading a sky-covering tide of demons toward the other side of the forest.
Qin Mu's expression remained unchanged, his gaze fixed on these Heavenly Demons.
Suddenly, a subtle fluctuation emanated from the forest. The tens of thousands of Heavenly Demons that had rushed into the forest suddenly had their bones and flesh dissolve, leaving only empty skins. A gust of wind blew, turning them to ash that scattered away.
That demon god also rushed into the sky above the forest, immediately trying to flee outside, screeching: "Sapalomi!"
A massive vortex appeared, swallowing the demon god.
Qin Mu had seen this technique before. When fighting Village Chief, that demon god had created a Banyan Space, pulling Village Chief into the space she had created, trying to trap him. Unexpectedly, she had fallen in together with Village Chief.
Now she used this technique not to trap anyone, but to enter the Banyan herself to escape the dangers of the forest!
Just then, a ball of fire rose from within the forest. A ray of light shot from the fire, penetrating deep into the space.
In the sky, a thread of fresh blood trickled out. Then the demon god's corpse appeared from the sky, falling down, crashing into the forest, and immediately turning to ash.
On the Moon Ship, Dutian Demon King stood silent as a cicada in winter, his body and mind ice-cold: "Does this damned world have to be this dangerous?"
In Qin Mu's eyes, pure white moonlight drifted like mist. His voice rumbled as he muttered to himself: "Your deaths have verified my thoughts. This forbidden zone wasn't meant to guard against external enemies, but to prevent the people of Carefree Village from leaving! This is the forbidden zone left by the existence that destroyed the Great Ruins."
Note ①: From the Yuan Dynasty, Ji Yi's lyrics, "Taichang Yin".