Chapter 688 — The Tribulation of the Divine Descendants' Degeneration

Probably because Taihuang Heaven was so high, the sun could shine here even at night, and there was no need to fear being swallowed by darkness—so even the strange beasts of the Wilderness Ruins liked this place. "Twenty thousand years.

The descendants of the gods and demons of the former Celestial Court have all become ignorant, uncomprehending strange beasts. How lamentable, how lamentable. " The Angler shook his head.

Shen Mu was greatly shaken and murmured, "Uncle Master, you mean these strange beasts are all. .

.

" The Angler said, "The remnant clans of the gods of the Kaihuang Celestial Court—but they have degenerated severely.

" Shen Mu's voice trembled.

"Then the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon is also a remnant of the Celestial Court.

.

. " He thought of how he ate Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon every festival, and could not help feeling a little guilty. "The Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon? " The Angler shook his head. "These creatures didn't die when the Celestial Court fell? The Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon is not a remnant of the gods.

In the Kaihuang era, some divine dragon or other took a fancy to a chicken and sired the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon.

Those divine dragons led thoroughly messy private lives.

. . Later everyone discovered that the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon tasted rather good, and since dragon liver and phoenix brains were not to be had, they began to breed Crested Fire Pheasant Dragons and kept them as poultry. " Only then did Shen Mu breathe a sigh of relief.

They went around by way of Luofu Heaven, and after a day or two arrived at the western side of the Wilderness Ruins. Shen Mu gave a cry of surprise.

The place where Taihuang Heaven had fallen was not far from the source of the Yong River.

Now that great canyon spanning the land had grown deeper and steeper, and the cracks in the cliffs and precipices were more numerous; light burst from many of the cracks, casting its glow upon the reverse side of Taihuang Heaven. Years ago, it was here that he, fleeing the pursuit of the Star An, rode a box and, together with the Dragon Qilin and Ban Gongcuo, went back to the era of the Supreme Emperor forty thousand years past!

Yet these cracks were not roads through time, but strange worlds one and all.

He and Ban Gongcuo had entered a desert world, and when darkness shrouded the desert, they had suddenly and inexplicably crossed over into the years forty thousand years past.

And the strangeness of the Yong River did not end there—he had once seen Kaihuang upon the Yong River!

"Uncle Master, is there something peculiar about the source of the Yong River? " Shen Mu asked suddenly. "Of course there is—and a great deal of it. " The Angler seemed long accustomed to the source of the Yong River and had the Great Red Kun avoid those lights. "Many entrances to the heavens are hidden here.

Some of these heavens are ruins left from the era of the Supreme Emperor, others are ruins from the Chiming and Longhan eras.

Kaihuang once mobilized many gods and demons to explore them, but in the end nothing came of it. Do not touch those lights—be careful not to be drawn in!

" The Great Red Kun avoided the light at the cliff and carried them away from the place, heading for the Po Spring. Shen Mu looked back at the source of the Yong River receding into the distance. "Then, could someone return from here to an age tens of thousands of years past? " The Angler laughed.

"How could such a thing be? I have never heard of it.

As far as I know, these entrances to the heavens should be relics left by several Celestial Courts throughout history.

These Celestial Courts may have overlapped, and the heavens connected to them were thus smashed together in one place—which is why so many bizarre and grotesque things appear.

" Shen Mu thought it over from every angle and still could not quite understand how he, Ban Gongcuo, and the Dragon Qilin had been able to return to antiquity.

His meeting with Bai Qu'er in antiquity had not been a mere pipe dream. "When will the secrets of the Yong River all be unraveled? " He withdrew his gaze and turned back, thinking, "I will surely unravel these mysteries!

" At last they came to the Po Spring. Shen Mu jumped down from the Great Red Kun's back; the red Kun grew smaller and smaller, turning back into a little red fish that leaped into the basket, where the two red fish nestled together, billing and cooing. Yan Jingjing looked around and saw that the Po Spring too was upheld by an invisible barrier of moonlight from the well, guarding the place and forming a world of its own. If an outsider came here without knowing the path, they could certainly never enter the Po Spring, for from the outside one could not see the Po Spring at all—only a stretch of forest.

The Angler had clearly been here before and knew the way well.

The space shrouded by the Po Spring was a scene of devastation, strewn everywhere with rubble and broken buildings, and on the ground lay countless skeletons. Shen Mu knew what had once happened here: enemies had invaded and broken into the Po Spring, yet the Moon Guardian abandoned his clansmen and fled alone in panic aboard the Po Boat, escaping to Fengdu. His clansmen had all died in battle around the Po Spring, and because this Moon Guardian had betrayed his people, even King Yama was unwilling to take him in; he could only moor the Po Boat on the outskirts of Fengdu. What was more infuriating, a demon god had followed him into Fengdu and likewise entrenched itself outside the city. This female demon god had seduced Shen Mu and nearly captured him; fortunately the village chief had wounded her.

Later, because Shen Mu took his place as the new Moon Guardian, this Moon Guardian was devoured by the Po Boat—a fitting end, one might say. Shen Mu carefully avoided the bones of the Moon Herders and said to the Dragon Qilin, "These Moon Herders were the guardians of the Wilderness Ruins and deserve our reverence.

Do not tread on them and injure them. " The Dragon Qilin was most afraid of things like white bones. It immediately tucked in its dragon tail, wishing it could leap into Shen Mu's arms, and said in a trembling voice, "Injure them?

Sect Master, are they still alive? " "In a moment I will wake them and have them dig their own graves and bury themselves.

" Shen Mu said calmly, "The brave who guarded the Wilderness Ruins should not be left without a burial place. " The Angler set down his little folding stool and sat by the well, smiling.

"You have the bearing of a benevolent man. When the Heavenly Master Zhuocha meets you, he will surely like you very much.

" Shen Mu said, "The Heavenly Master Zhuocha is.

.

. ?

" "One of the four Heavenly Masters of the Kaihuang Celestial Court.

A farmer, leading an ox.

" The Angler cast down his fishing line; the little female fish leaped from the basket and swam into the Po Spring. The Angler said, "He is the martial Heavenly Master among us four, the strongest of us all. "