Ban Gongcuo and his followers finally arrived before the Treasure Ship. Along the way, another twenty or thirty people had perished, killed by the bizarre attacks of the Netherworld Valley creatures.
"Your Highness, these two old monks possess considerable cultivation, their strength nearly reaching the realm of Tathagata!"
Gongmu Witch King's eyes lit up upon seeing the two old monks seated in niches on the cliffs on either side. "Their physical bodies could be refined into excellent treasures! I shall retrieve them!"
Ban Gongcuo remained noncommittal. Gongmu Witch King immediately led his men to fly up to the niches on the cliffs and took away the two old monks' bodies.
Although these two old monks were dead, Buddhist light still emanated from their bodies, and Buddhist chants resonated, resisting the demonic energy pouring in from the Netherworld. Now that their physical bodies had been removed, the demonic energy behind the Honeycomb Seal violently surged, shaking the seal so intensely that it trembled uncontrollably!
The demonic energy bursting from the cracks in the Honeycomb Seal also surged abruptly. The momentary impact added numerous new cracks to the seal, and many existing cracks suddenly widened considerably.
From behind the seal, a low voice was faintly heard, followed by the demonic energy suddenly withdrawing back behind the seal. That terrifying impact also suddenly fell silent.
Silent to an extraordinary degree.
"Finally here—a ship that can carry my hope of becoming a god!" Ban Gongcuo gazed at the extraterrestrial spacecraft, his ancient and ever-stirred heart now somewhat moved. With lotus blossoms appearing beneath his feet, he walked toward the Treasure Ship.
The group boarded the ship and began searching everywhere. Suddenly, a great shaman discovered the open door and hastily reported it.
Ban Gongcuo led the group into the room. Several warriors went ahead to scout, pushing open the door to enter. Suddenly, the door behind them closed. When those warriors opened the door again to look, they could no longer find Ban Gongcuo and the others.
The people around Ban Gongcuo searched in all directions, gradually dwindling in number. Even though Ban Gongcuo cared little for their lives, he could not help but feel a bit flustered at this moment.
"Do not wander around!"
Ban Gongcuo's expression was grave as he carefully examined the doors. He sneered, "The technique of interlocking gears—space interlocking, layer upon layer. I have seen records of this spell in Little Jade Capital. It is a spell from the Kaihuang era!"
Gongmu Witch King, who had not been separated, rejoiced upon hearing this. "Your Highness must know how to break it!"
Ban Gongcuo shook his head. "Little Jade Capital did not record any method of breaking it. However, the technique of interlocking gears is a spatial computational method. My attainments in the art of computation are very high—I dare say even the Dao Masters of the Dao Gate may not surpass me. Calculating a method to break it is not difficult for me! Let us proceed. I wish to see whether a god's technique of interlocking gears can withstand me!"
In the Treasure Ship's study, Qin Mu closed the genealogical records. "The last generation of the Kaihuang bloodline was named Qin Fengqing. Could the owner of this ship be this Qin Fengqing? The Qin family from the Kaihuang line, from Qin Ye to Qin Fengqing—its lineage stretches far and wide, unbroken across generations. This family is truly an ancient house. The owner of this ship, Qin Fengqing, bears the surname Qin. Could there be a blood relation to me?"
Just as he was about to place the genealogical records back on the shelf, he inexplicably paused and stuffed the thick book into his Gluttony Bag.
He had just put away the genealogical records when he saw the Old Man in the Painting somehow emerge from nowhere, running onto the desk and appearing on the paper there.
Qin Mu was about to capture this strange figure from the painting when suddenly a shadow flickered before his eyes. A young man abruptly appeared before the desk and walked toward him. Unable to dodge in time, Qin Mu watched as the young man passed directly through his body—it was a phantom.
This man possessed an extraordinary bearing, and his appearance gave Qin Mu a strange sense of familiarity. He walked through Qin Mu's body and appeared behind him.
Qin Mu was startled and hurriedly turned around. He saw the white-clad young man take measured steps, make a gesture as if opening a door, and then vanish.
He quickly stepped forward and indeed saw a doorway.
Qin Mu opened the door and entered, only to see the white-clad young man again. This was a grand hall within the ship. Suddenly, the empty hall bustled with activity as many people appeared from nowhere.
Qin Mu was caught off guard. Many people rushed back and forth, passing through his body. They appeared very busy, as if encountering a sudden crisis. Some of them could not maintain their balance, swaying unsteadily as the ship pitched and rolled.
It seemed the ship had suffered an impact—this collision even more violent than before, sending many people flying across the hall. Some were severely injured, appearing to cough up blood.
The white-clad young man raised his hand, freezing everyone in midair before slowly lowering them to the ground. Despite the ship's violent trembling, they remained steadily in place.
An elegant and dignified woman hurried toward the white-clad young man. The two spoke in hushed tones, with the young man seemingly offering gentle comfort to her, before he walked away.
Qin Mu's gaze fell upon the woman, his brow furrowed in confusion. An inexplicable sense of familiarity stirred within him—upon seeing this woman, he felt only warmth.
He hesitated briefly, but chose to follow the white-clad young man.
The white-clad man walked through corridors and passed through numerous doorways. With a wave of his hand, a sword flew up and landed behind him, following closely at his heels.
Qin Mu was slightly startled and activated his own Wuyou Sword. The Wuyou Sword trembled softly, seeming identical to the sword behind the white-clad man—as if they were the very same blade.
The white-clad man walked to the bow of the ship and looked up at the sky, speaking of something. Suddenly, the sky shook violently as an immense serpent appeared, its massive jaws gaping open.
The serpent seemed far distant, yet was enormous. It appeared against the black sky, revealing only its head and neck, the rest of its body vanishing into the darkness.
Upon the serpent's head stood terrifying beings—no mere humans, but like the divine statues found in the temples of the Great Ruins. Yet these were living gods.
They were attacking the ship. Each strike carried the terror of world-ending power.
Qin Mu was captivated by the white-clad man's swordplay. The style of this swordsmanship was unlike any earthly art—it possessed a mystical resonance. This resonance gave Qin Mu the same sensation that both the Village Chief and Dao Master had described as "Dao."
The difference was that the Village Chief's concept of Dao was "swordsmanship approaching Dao," while the Dao Master's was "mathematics approaching Dao."
The white-clad man's swordsmanship followed a path different from both the Village Chief's and the Dao Master's, containing yet another kind of sword Dao within it. But what precisely it was, Qin Mu could not discern.
His eyes had not yet reached such heights.
He watched, utterly entranced. In the past, when he learned swordsmanship, he learned "technique"—mastering technique to its pinnacle made one formidable in the sword. Since the Village Chief had appointed him as the Human Emperor and had him hone his swordsmanship in the village, he had entered the stage of "method," beginning to create new sword techniques.
Afterward, guided by the State Preceptor of Yankang, his attainments in the stage of "method" grew ever deeper.
Reaching the stage of "method" already qualified one as a grandmaster.
Above "method" lay "Dao"—the level of the Village Chief. Even the Dao Master had not reached that realm, and the State Preceptor of Yankang still fell short.
Now, from the height of "method," Qin Mu could appreciate the elegance of the white-clad man's swordsmanship. Though he could not comprehend the Dao within it, he could still contemplate its wonders.
The white-clad man's swordsmanship approached Dao, concealing infinite mysteries. His enemies were formidable—divine beings—yet he managed to hold them at bay.
Suddenly, a catastrophic change erupted. A terrifying force shook space and time—a colossal palm that met the Wuyou Sword head-on. The Wuyou Sword melted instantly, its blade dissolving and then breaking. The ship, along with the fractured sword, pierced through the sky and plunged into the dark earth below.
Behind that enormous palm, the giant serpent carried the divine beings in pursuit, chasing the falling ship.
Qin Mu plummeted along with the ship. He could feel the Treasure Ship's violent descent from the sky, slicing through the heavens as the colossal White Bat god statue flashed past before slamming into the earth androar toward the depths.
Then, he felt a violent shock as the Treasure Ship pierced through colossal divine statues underground and crashed into the Honeycomb Seal.
In the tremors, Qin Mu witnessed the devastating casualties aboard—many perished in the collision. The woman emerged, gathering the survivors and leading them away from the ship, fleeing into the Netherworld.
The white-clad man, gravely wounded, chose to remain behind, guarding the ship before the Honeycomb Seal of the Netherworld.
Outside, a giant serpent lowered its head from the abyss, its flat crown bearing the imposing figures of gods.
The serpent slid down the abyss, swimming into the depths, slowly drawing near.
Suddenly, the phantoms before Qin Mu vanished, leaving him alone on the ship's deck. A cool wind blew, whipping at the young man's garments.
He looked back and saw the Netherworld shrouded in darkness.
He stood at the bow of the Treasure Ship, having entered the Netherworld realm.
He did not see the colossal eye that surfaced beneath the hull—larger than the ship itself—silently watching him with keen interest.
Qin Mu stared blankly at the Netherworld world in the darkness. There, creatures of various colors emitted strange lights, keeping their distance.
A group from this ship, led by that woman, had burst into the Netherworld, while the white-clad man had chosen to stay and hold back the giant serpent and the pursuing gods.
Was the white-clad man still alive?
Had he fallen in battle here, or had he repelled these gods before entering the Netherworld to search for his kin?
Had they come from the Land of Carefree?
Did they also bear the surname Qin? Could they be his relatives?
Who were the ones hunting them?
Qin Mu rallied his spirits. Perhaps all he needed to do was make the ship rise into the air, and it could return to the Land of Carefree!
His heart burned with excitement. He walked from the bow toward the ship's cabin doors. Surely the ship possessed something like a compass, a route record leading to the Land of Carefree.
The Village Chief had once given him a mirror, saying it contained the route to the Land of Carefree. However, the mirror bore the Village Chief's seal, which Qin Mu could only break when he had the strength to do so.
That mirror had been found aboard the Peerless Behemoth—a ship bound for the Land of Carefree, now shattered. But this ship remained intact. If so, then it must contain the same thing—a route map that had not been sealed!
He pushed open a door and entered the bridge. Meanwhile, at the bow, the colossal eye slowly rose, and then the other eye also brightened—a pair of vertically slit pupils.
An enormous serpent head appeared in the darkness, silently flicking its tongue, fixing its gaze upon Qin Mu as he entered the bridge.
Qin Mu sensed something and looked back. He did not see the two eyes quietly vanish into the darkness.