Chapter 611 — The Magnetic Pole Tempest

"How are we going to get back to Luofu Heaven.

.

. " The three looked toward Luofu Heaven, and their scalps went numb: Luofu Heaven was gone.

Yes - Luofu Heaven had vanished, leaving only the dark starry sky. The three exchanged glances and saw panic and unease in one another's eyes.

The alien star moved beyond the heavens of Luofu Heaven. No one knew when it would again travel above Luofu Heaven.

Shen Mu swiftly took out a computing device, preparing to calculate the stars of the celestial sphere and determine when the alien star would return to Luofu Heaven.

Suddenly he froze. He looked up beyond the heavens. The stars there were utterly different from those of Jingping - which meant the art of star-calculating arrays he had learned from the Daoist sect was of no use at all.

He could, by observing the movements of the stars, deduce the orbit of this alien star through the celestial sphere and work out its astrological array - but at the very least it would take a year to calculate. Shen Mu's heart went cold.

"How long is a year on this alien star?

A few months of Jingping? Several years? Hundreds?

Or thousands?

" Qi Jiuyi looked around; suddenly his eyes lit up and he walked into the distance.

"There are traces of battle over there! You two, we'd best go take a look - perhaps we can find a way out!

" Shen Mu and Zhe Huali quickly followed.

They did indeed see the terrifying remnants of battle - a pure war of gods and demons.

Some mountain peaks had been sliced off flat; on some ground there were lakes in the shape of five-fingered palm prints; colossal corpses of demon gods lay fallen across the battlefield, their flesh and blood already dissolved, leaving only white bone.

In the distance a great shrine stood upon a tall sacred mountain, resplendent in gold, seemingly untouched by destruction.

Shen Mu was slightly startled, then suddenly halted and shot up into the sky. Seeing this, Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi hastily flew up too, looking about warily.

"Brother Shen, what danger have you found? " Qi Jiuyi asked, narrowing his eyes.

Shen Mu did not answer. Looking down from above at the mountains and rivers all around, his heart gave a slight jolt.

The lay of the land on this alien star was very familiar. He could not help thinking of the canyon hall outside the Ark of the Other Shore, where the great cauldron of the Celestial Sage Cult's founding patriarch had poured forth yellow star-sand that transformed into many maps of land and water.

The geography of this alien star was one of those maps. On that map there had been a mark for a shrine - surely the shrine on the sacred mountain ahead.

"Eldest Senior Brother has been here! Could he be here now? " Shen Mu steadied himself.

The founding patriarch had used the star-sand of the great cauldron to form many maps. The first had led Shen Mu to Old Man Qinghuang, who lived in seclusion in the Desolate Ruins, and had completely resolved the puzzle of the dragon race's script. What would this map lead him to discover? "I may have been mistaken just now.

" Shen Mu said sheepishly to the other two, "I thought it was some lingering divine power of the gods and demons. It's nothing.

Let's keep going.

" Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali were half convinced.

Qi Jiuyi cleared his throat and said, "This is an alien star; no one knows what may happen here.

If Brother Qi has found something, best to say it plainly.

Only by working together do we have any chance of leaving this place alive.

. . Eh?

" Qi Jiuyi stared at the sacred mountain drawing nearer, startled and uncertain.

Zhe Huali's eyes flickered.

"What has Brother Qi found now? " "Does this mountain not seem very familiar to you? " Qi Jiuyi said in a low voice.

Zhe Huali looked at the sacred mountain.

His heart suddenly stirred, and he nodded.

"It's very like the sacred mountain in the Heavenly Court - though this one surely isn't the real one. " Qi Jiuyi looked at Shen Mu ahead, smiled, and said quietly, "No need to tell him.

Victory is in our grasp. "