Chapter 328 — Afterglow of the Past

"Good. Let them send them. I have no wish to deal with these monks and Daoists; they are forever telling Us not to reform. Without reform, how can the people's livelihood be changed? I do not wish to see them."

The foremost clump of mist walked toward the chasm, its voice coming from within: "I do not wish our Kaihuang Kingdom to meet the same fate. We must learn from the lessons of the previous dynasty. What a magnificent empire it was—gods governing the mortal world, working on behalf of men, so powerful—why did it leave behind only these ruins..."

...

Shen Mu's heart surged. He looked toward that mist. Kaihuang?

On the Shen clan's genealogy, the first name was Kaihuang—the founding ancestor of the Shen clan!

He hurriedly gave chase to those human-shaped mists. They were very fast, and in a few steps they had left him far behind. Shen Mu urged on the Sky-Racing Divine Legs, swift as wind and lightning, but the mists still vanished abruptly without a trace.

Shen Mu stood there dumbly, his soul seemingly lost.

Kaihuang.

The Kaihuang Kingdom.

It must have been a kingdom from before the catastrophe of the Ruins. But what connection was there between the Kaihuang Kingdom and Wuyou Township?

Xiong Xiyu and the others caught up. Her eyes roved, sweeping the surroundings, and she said, "Sect Master Shen, that scene just now?"

"The afterglow of history."

Shen Mu steadied himself and said, "There are many strange things at the source of the Yong River. This place may connect to several worlds, and when night falls many strange things happen. I did not expect strange things to happen in broad daylight as well. Judging by that afterglow just now, this place should be one of the Supreme Emperor's secondary palaces. Perhaps we can find relics of that era here."

"The afterglow of history?"

Xiong Xiyu and the others were all slightly startled, somewhat puzzled. How could things that had already happened shine back in afterglow?

But Shen Mu had seen the afterglow of history before. Aboard the treasure ship, he had witnessed the scene of his father Qin Hanzhen falling into an ambush.

This kind of afterglow of history was generally a time imprint left behind by a powerful being. When it shone back, it was usually triggered by a related person, object, or event, and was highly a matter of chance.

That afterglow aboard the treasure ship had been triggered by Shen Mu and the Wuyou Sword. And what had triggered this afterglow?

"This time there were two afterglows!"

Shen Mu suddenly understood—or rather, it was an afterglow within an afterglow!

Kaihuang had come to this place, and so triggered the first afterglow, seeing the gods under the Supreme Emperor's command in ancient times remake the desert. And the second afterglow was the appearance of Kaihuang and his people upon the Yong River!

The first afterglow was part of the second afterglow, and was likewise recorded by time.

"Then what triggered this afterglow? Could it be the Wuyou Sword again?"

Behind Shen Mu, the Wuyou Sword had grown quiet, no longer ringing. The afterglow of history had completely dispersed as well; there was not a trace of mist on the river, the clear sky was bright, and the sunlight was fierce.

That mist—no one knew whence it had come, or whither it had gone!

"Too strange. Why would these things happen here... Wait. The afterglow of history also occurred aboard my father's treasure ship. And the treasure ship was in the crevice between Youdu and the real world, where the honeycomb seal blocked the entrance between Youdu and the real world. If the conditions are the same, then the afterglow of history occurring here must also be because this place is an entrance connected to other worlds!"

Shen Mu pondered. Perhaps the afterglow of history was reflected upon the barrier between worlds, and once triggered, it would reproduce history.

He and the village head had also encountered the underworld courier near here, and from here entered the Fengdu Realm of the Dead. The second time he came to this place he had also met the underworld courier, and likewise from near here entered the Realm of the Dead to borrow the Soul-Borrowing Boat.

The Realm of the Dead was nearby; Youdu should be nearby as well.

"The source of the Yong River seems more like an important node connecting to other worlds. Perhaps there are passages here to other worlds. There must be a node here connecting to other worlds!"

Shen Mu's heart, which had just been shaken, returned to calm. Layers of radiance swirled in his pupils as the Azure Heaven Eye appeared, and he looked all around, but found nothing unusual.

He raised his head and looked up, gazing for a long while, when suddenly he noticed something strange.

The sky was the same azure blue as ever, but he actually saw two clouds meet—and then pass through each other!

By his understanding, if two clouds met and collided, they would merge together. Yet these two clouds, though they passed through each other, seemed not to have touched at all!

This situation was more like the two clouds existing in different spaces; they seemed to meet, but in truth did not touch!

In other words, above their heads there were two skies—two skies overlapping each other!

"No—perhaps three!"

Shen Mu leaped up and raced swiftly into the high sky. Suddenly a wind blew over him, making him shiver again and again: "It could also be four overlapping skies, or five..."