Chapter 571 — The Youth Reflected in the Mirror

Shen Mu stepped out of the Spirit Energy Transit Bridge with the little dragon Jiang Miao, glanced around, and could not help but show surprise.

The Spirit Energy Transit Bridge of the Wasteland stood right in the heart of the Wasteland. Two stone-paved avenues, each thirty-six zhang wide, ran past either side of the altar, while clustered around the bridge were ancient temples, shrines, and divine palaces, forming a city two or three times the size of Crimson Dragon City, bustling with people coming and going.

These temple relics had all been transported from the Wasteland to ward off its darkness. Countless stone statues were enshrined within them, receiving an unending stream of offerings.

Many villagers of the Wasteland had also been settled in the city, no longer living the desperate, life-risking days of old. Some had become merchants connecting the Central Land and the Western Land.

There were also academies here, with primary and advanced schools teaching cultivation arts and divine abilities, though none were sacred grounds on the level of the Four Great Academies or the Grand Academy.

Beyond these, there were vast clusters of ruins outside the city, presumably meant to give the nearby Wasteland beasts shelter from the darkness—a thoughtful arrangement.

In this new city, old and new structures were arranged in harmonious interplay, each setting off the other. Even from a cursory look, Shen Mu could sense that its builders possessed considerable cultural refinement and architectural talent, and a highly cultivated appreciation of beauty.

"Old trees putting forth new branches, the new branches setting off the ancient charm—it really is quite fine. Then again, perhaps I saw too many crooked buildings and suns in Taihuang Heaven, and returning to the Wasteland simply feels familiar..."

The Box came clattering out of the Spirit Energy Transit Bridge behind him. Shen Mu shook his head. The Box had always been clingy with him; ever since the Dragon Qilin and Snow Fox were taken to the battlefield by the Black Tiger God for training, the Box had followed him with unflagging persistence.

"Hierarch, I feel the divine dragon's call again."

Jiang Miao looked around and suddenly said, "Follow me!"

He transformed in a flash into a little dragon and sped off out of the city. Shen Mu followed with the Box, heading deep into the Wasteland.

Although the Imperial Teacher Jingping had built two great roads linking the Western Land, the Wasteland, and Jingping, the vast Wasteland still held endless reaches untouched by human feet, places as mysterious and unfathomable as ever.

Shen Mu followed Jiang Miao deeper and deeper into the Wasteland, crossing countless mountains and rivers, passing through one ancient ruin after another. When night fell, he let Jiang Miao lie on the Box while he himself walked into the darkness, the Box following close behind.

The Wasteland in darkness was utterly different from its daytime self. Walking through the dark, Shen Mu could see Taihuang Heaven transformed into darkness, along with countless demon clans.

Beyond Taihuang Heaven, he also saw demon monsters of unpredictable movement, drifting about, now leaping into trees, now hiding behind rocks, silently observing them, not daring to come close.

"These demon monsters aren't from Taihuang Heaven! The dark realm of the Wasteland is more than just Taihuang Heaven!"

Shen Mu was astonished. He had thought the demon monsters in the Wasteland's darkness might be demon clans from Taihuang Heaven, believed he had uncovered a secret—but now it seemed these monsters had no connection to Taihuang Heaven at all!

For when the people of Taihuang Heaven looked upon the Wasteland in darkness, they saw only hazy shadows. When Sang Hua had first seen Shen Mu, he was a dark boy, his body composed of darkness, dissolving like black sand when the time came.

And in the darkness of the Wasteland, Shen Mu saw the people of Taihuang Heaven in the same way. They were separated by two worlds, unable to touch or communicate with each other.

But these demon monsters in the Wasteland's darkness were different—they truly appeared within the dark Wasteland!

"The Wasteland holds so many secrets..."

Shen Mu sighed. Jiang Miao pointed the way, and they pressed on.

Two days later, they arrived in the northwest of the Wasteland. The sun rose as usual. Shen Mu scanned the surroundings and smiled. "We're not far from the Ark of the Other Shore. I once rode the Soul Boat here. Look—these are the footprints it left."

The marks left by the Soul Boat had become small lakes, with strange fish swimming to and fro within them.

"The divine dragon's call is nearby!"

Jiang Miao looked around, then suddenly soared into the air, searched in all directions, and headed west.

Shen Mu hurried after him. They came to a canyon, and suddenly everything fell silent—not a sound to be heard. Shen Mu frowned, surveyed the surroundings, and caught hold of Jiang Miao, who was about to enter the canyon following the divine dragon's call. "Patience."

Jiang Miao was puzzled.

Shen Mu surveyed the area, his gaze falling on the footprints left by the Soul Boat. "This is where the Ark of the Other Shore was sealed. We're very close to the seal. The Ark of the Other Shore was a divine ship built by the Heavenly Craft Divine Race for migration. They intended to carry the living beings, gods, and demons of the Kaihuang Era into the Land of No Sorrow aboard it, but it was shattered here. The divine dragon's call appearing nearby may be a problem—this place shouldn't be so empty that there isn't even a single beast..."

When he had ridden the Soul Boat through this place, he had also entered the folded-space seal of the Ark of the Other Shore from somewhere nearby.

The footprints left by the Soul Boat vanished here, leaving a few small lakes before the canyon.

Here too, he had encountered many demon monsters and demon gods, madly attacking the Soul Boat, and he had slain countless of them.

Yet now, returning to this place, he saw not a single bone.

The canyon before the lakes was filled with sand—fine and crumbled. Not a single stone was in the sand, not even a pebble the size of a fingernail.

The cliffs on either side were covered with enormous characters. These were not the script of the human race, not square and upright, but runes of extreme complexity.

Shen Mu did not enter the canyon. Standing outside, he studied the runes on the cliffs. "It's a kind of divine script, used for sealing."

He activated the Myriad Gods Nature Art. A small whirlwind appeared on the sand of the canyon, attempting to transmute a sand dune giant.

But the sand stirred briefly, then fell still again.

"Impossible! The Myriad Gods Nature Art can transmute all things and give them spirit. Why can't it transmute the sand and stone here?"

He crouched down and grabbed a handful of yellow sand, then suddenly grunted, struggling to lift his hand.

Jiang Miao, suspicious, also stepped forward and tried to grab a handful of sand, but could not lift it. Every grain of this yellow sand was unimaginably heavy—a single handful weighed nearly as much as a mountain!

Shen Mu released his grip. The tiny grains trickled down one by one, striking the yellow sand of the canyon with peals of thunderous sound.

"These aren't yellow sand—they're Primal Soldiers!"

Shen Mu kept the last grain in his palm. He blew a gentle breath of primal energy, and the grain of yellow sand immediately flew up, whirling with a whistle, becoming unimaginably vast—dozens of acres in size—flying through the air, its whirling passage through the sky producing a deafening roar!

When the energy in Shen Mu's breath was exhausted, the sand shrank and fell back down as a grain of sand.

Jiang Miao was startled and looked at the yellow sand in the canyon.