At these words, Si Yunxiang was also stunned, murmuring, "Could this place have been land before? No, that can't be—the Heavenly Demon Cult's history has no records of such an outrageous geographical change..."
The Heavenly Demon Cult had existed in the world for twenty thousand years, which was already an extremely long time. Yet throughout those twenty millennia, the Eastern Sea had remained the Eastern Sea, and there had never been any saying that the Eastern Sea was once land.
As for the history of the State of Yankang, it was even shorter, making it even less likely to know when the Eastern Sea had undergone such a transformation.
"This sea region is extremely deep. Even cultivators at the Six Harmonies realm like us find it somewhat unbearable to swim here. It's likely at least a thousand zhang deep at minimum."
Qin Mu approached the massive cauldron, extending a finger. His vital energy shot straight upward. After a moment, he withdrew his energy and said with a grave expression, "Deeper than I expected—one thousand six hundred and fifty-two zhang. Since this is a Mountain God, there should be a mountain. This temple must have been built on Mount Qu. A mountain capable of enshrining a god would be at least a thousand zhang tall..."
Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu immediately understood what he meant. The place where the Qu Mountain Temple stood should have been Mount Qu, and the surrounding area should have been vast land.
Then a cataclysm struck, and the land became the sea!
And the continent where Mount Qu had stood had likely sunk two or three thousand zhang into the ocean floor!
Just imagine—if the entire State of Yankang suddenly experienced an earthquake and sank three thousand zhang, being submerged by torrential waters, what would that look like?
The continent where the Qu Mountain Temple was located had likely experienced just such a terrifying catastrophe.
Qin Mu looked around. From the impossibly large cauldron, it was clear that the owner of this place had been refining pills when the cataclysm occurred. The elixir in this great cauldron had not been collected before the disaster struck.
Qin Mu peered into the cauldron. Inside, there were still some shattered metal fragments, likely broken weapons.
Qin Mu jumped back into the cauldron to examine. The weapons inside were thoroughly shattered, and he found nothing useful. However, the patterns on the cauldron walls caught his attention—these patterns were runes, but different from the ones he had seen before. They possessed a peculiar, alien beauty.
"This cauldron doesn't belong to this era. The runes are somewhat similar to those in the Great Ruins' relics, but also different."
After examining it briefly, he jumped back out.
Qin Mu dried the water from his body and stepped forward, saying, "Our spirit weapons were all taken by Long Jiaonan. Without proper weapons, there could be danger. Everyone, be careful."
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang followed him. Ling Yuxiu said, "The Six Harmonies divine repository can give birth to spirit weapons, which are better suited to us than others' weapons. If we can forge our own Six Harmonies spirit weapons, we should be able to protect ourselves."
Qin Mu was slightly taken aback and asked, "How does one give birth to a spirit weapon?"
He had once heard the great demon Xian Qing'er mention this matter. Xian Qing'er had said that spirit weapons were treasures born from the Six Harmonies divine repository, but he had never understood how a divine repository could give birth to a spirit weapon.
His understanding of the Six Harmonies realm was still too limited.
Si Yunxiang said in surprise, "Cult Leader, you don't know this? Dharma Master Hong of the Six Harmonies Hall once explained how the Six Harmonies divine repository gives birth to spirit weapons."
Qin Mu shook his head. "I've only been to the Six Harmonies Hall once, and I was kicked out the moment I arrived—then had to stand in the corner with you."
Si Yunxiang remembered standing in the corner with him and couldn't help but smile.
Ling Yuxiu said, "The Six Harmonies divine repository giving birth to spirit weapons is actually a general term. What the divine repository gives birth to is the form of a spirit weapon—form without substance. As long as you activate your cultivation method, you can see vital energy converging in the Six Harmonies divine repository, taking the shape of a spirit weapon."
She activated the Nine Dragons Emperor Art and continued, "I studied under Ba Shan, the Libationer, walking the path of combining combat and techniques. My spirit weapon takes the form of nine dragons."
She released her spirit weapon form. Dragon cries echoed as nine dragons soared around her, circling and dancing. Then the dragon heads gathered behind her, their bodies coiling together to form a massive hammer over sixteen feet long, with a head like a small mountain.
Si Yunxiang's expression was peculiar. "Princess Ling, your spirit weapon is a hammer?"
"Not just that," Ling Yuxiu replied. "I walk the path of combining combat and techniques, exploring whether the Nine Dragons Emperor Art can unify combat skills and magical arts. So this Nine Dragons Hammer is just one form of my spirit weapon—the nine dragons can separate and take other forms. Holy Maiden Si, what form does your spirit weapon take?"
Si Yunxiang smiled faintly. She activated her cultivation method, and vital energy flew from her Six Harmonies divine repository, transforming into a thread. That thread shifted and changed a thousand times, weaving and interlacing, dancing around her like a chain. She laughed, "This is my spirit weapon form. Cult Leader, what form does your spirit weapon take?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "My Six Harmonies realm cultivation method is still incomplete, so I don't yet know what my spirit weapon form is. You only have the form—so how do you actually forge a spirit weapon?"
They walked to the palace shrouded in mist. Ling Yuxiu said, "That requires a skilled craftsman to forge the spirit weapon. A good spirit weapon can perfectly match your spirit weapon form, maximizing its power. If the craftsmanship is poor, the forged weapon might even be less powerful than your magical arts alone. I plan to wait until my spirit weapon form stabilizes, then ask the Minister of Works to help forge a spirit weapon for me. However, my spirit weapon's structure is complex—it will likely be very difficult to forge. It might be better to just practice sword techniques. There's no need to specially forge one's own spirit weapon—any sword pellet will do."
Si Yunxiang said, "The Heavenly Artisan Hall Master has superb skills. I also plan to ask him to forge a spirit weapon. My spirit weapon changes too much—it will also be difficult to forge."
They were both talking about the same person. The Heavenly Artisan Hall Master was Minister of Works Shan Youxin.
Qin Mu opened his Azure Sky Celestial Eye and walked into the hall, saying, "I can help you both forge them. My skills in smithing are also not weak. I can forge spirit weapons for both of you. If we can find some mystic gold and mystic iron here, I'll only need a day or two to craft them."
Ling Yuxiu was surprised. "Divine Doctor Sage Hand, skilled at painting—is he also skilled at smithing?"
Si Yunxiang was equally surprised. "Cult Leader has made achievements in smithing as well?"
"Achievements is too strong a word," Qin Mu said modestly. "I just know how to forge iron and use a bit of brute force. In my village, I cleverly passed Grandpa Mute's test. Grandpa Mute is the finest blacksmith in the surrounding area of ten miles—his tests are very strict."
The two women exchanged glances, caught between laughter and tears.
The interior of this great hall was vast. Qin Mu took one look and showed a stunned expression, then exited the hall and walked around it, pacing out its dimensions.
"So big!" Ling Yuxiu peeked inside the hall and exclaimed.
Si Yunxiang also looked inside, her eyes widening as she cried out, "How can it possibly be this large inside?!"
Qin Mu returned to the hall and swiftly walked along its walls, a thoughtful look on his face.
"What's wrong, Ox-herder?" Ling Yuxiu asked, puzzled.
"The hall is ninety paces long and fifty paces wide on the outside. Inside, it's nine thousand paces long and five thousand paces wide."
Qin Mu looked up toward the ceiling, where the vault soared like the sky. Enormous gemstones carved into brilliant stars adorned the dome—the star patterns completely different from the current heavens. The stars hung some two or three thousand zhang above them.
Besides the stars, there was also a bright moon and a brilliant sun—treasures forged through some unknown magical art. The sun still burned, illuminating the great hall.
This was no mere hall—it was clearly a small world unto itself!
"The space inside the hall is ten thousand times larger than it appears from outside!"
Qin Mu suppressed his shock and said in a deep voice, "The positions of the sun and moon on the ceiling correspond to the eye sockets of a glutton beast! This hall was built upon the divine bones of a glutton—likely a glutton that had already ascended to godhood! Even more powerful than my Gluttony Bag, it is a true pure-blooded glutton! Princess Ling, if you're feeling oppressed, that's likely the reason."
Si Yunxiang's eyes lit up, then dimmed. "What a pity this hall is far too large to move..."
Qin Mu shared her sentiment. "What a pity..."
His gaze fell upon the sun, and a thought suddenly struck him. "This sun is also an artificial object. I wonder if it could light up the sun on the Sun Ship?"
His heart pounded. If he could ignite that sun, Sun Keeper Yan Jingjing wouldn't have to be devoured by the Sun Ship.
Qin Mu had once been a Moon Keeper and knew all too well how terrifying it was to be consumed by the Moon Ship. He had always been concerned about that Sun Keeper and didn't want her to die like that.
If he could light the sun on the Sun Ship, he would certainly do it.
He leaped into the air and raced toward the ceiling. The hall's interior was immensely tall. Qin Mu charged upward with all his strength, intending to retrieve the sun. But the closer he got, the more intense the heat became, until he could no longer endure it!
Qin Mu shook his body and activated the Mars Star Lord Fire Marquis True Art, transforming into the form of the Mars Star Lord—a bull-headed humanoid standing upon twin dragons—continuing his approach toward the sun.
The closer he drew, the higher the temperature. The brilliant light pierced his eyes, tears streaming down his face, but the tears were instantly evaporated.
He stared at the increasingly close sun and saw that this treasure was a massive orb, radiating fierce flames. It appeared to have been forged from the eye of a strange beast—the pupil still visible, a perfect circle. Terrifying heat and blinding light emanated from that pupil!
As he drew even closer, his skin suddenly stung, as though pierced by countless needles.
Qin Mu hastily dropped down. The light shooting from the pupil was like scalding needles. If he rashly approached further, even if he weren't melted by the heat, he would be killed by the sunlight.
Thud.
Qin Mu landed and flicked his ox-tail, a thoughtful look on his face.
Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu stared in surprise, examining him up and down. Si Yunxiang boldly reached out and touched Qin Mu's plump, round ox-buttocks, which resembled those of a hippopotamus, and exclaimed in surprise, "They're real buttocks! Princess Ling, come touch them yourself!"
"Not a chance," Ling Yuxiu replied, though she too reached out and gave Qin Mu's ox-bottom a pat.
"They're real buttocks!" the princess exclaimed in shock. "So fat!"
Slap.
Qin Mu flicked his tail, swatting the two girls' hands away, and strode toward the hall's entrance. The two girls clutched their hands, crying out in pain, watching the great Cult Leader's bull form waddle away, his plump buttocks jiggling with each step—yet still unable to resist the urge to touch them again.
Qin Mu stepped outside the hall. Suddenly, he stood upon the twin dragons and soared into the air, flying to the roof and lifting a glazed tile.
This great hall was extraordinary. Every tile was branded with rune imprints—even attacks from magical arts and spirit weapons would hardly damage it.
After a moment, Qin Mu removed many glazed tiles, and light shone through from behind. He laughed, "Just as I thought—the back of the eye doesn't glow."
Si Yunxiang looked up and saw an ox-head poking down from beyond the sky, appearing behind the impossibly large sun. Then a giant hand reached down behind the sun in the sky, grasped it gently, and with a light shake, the sun went dark.