Chapter 861 — The Broken Bridge in the Fallen God Valley

Only when Shen Mu gripped the Carefree Sword did the divine blade slowly cease its low humming.

"Kaihuang's sword art does bear a certain resemblance to mine. I learned part of the Carefree Land's legacy from my father, and I met Kaihuang at the Grand Gathering of the Jade Pool. I imagine we left some mark on each other."

He studied the scene a while. The round blob of light had not moved at all; it was the glow that drifted, creating the illusion that the light itself was on the move.

Ahead of them, bones lay everywhere. The enormous corpses of gods and demons were strewn across hill and plain, and the glow wandered all around. Some of the bones were covered in golden runes; when the divine glow swept past, those runes lit up with a crackling sound, then winked out into the radiance.

Shen Mu's heart went cold. This divine glow held a dreadful power, and it sealed the whole place shut.

"The light is the imprint a sword art left upon space, and the glow is likewise the imprint left by a divine ability."

Xing An carried his case and walked into the ruins. "Follow me carefully," he said. "These ruins are unlike any other. We must walk upon the divine abilities imprinted in space."

Shen Mu blinked. Walk upon divine abilities imprinted in space?

He had entered no few ruins in his time, and he had always avoided the imprints of divine abilities, for such imprints still held fearsome power. A single touch might set them off and grind an intruder to pieces.

To walk on them, then, was surely the most perilous path of all.

Just then a voice laughed, "Heavenly Venerable Mu! It has been a long time!"

Shen Mu's heart stirred. He looked toward the voice and broke into a broad smile, waving from afar. "Sister Yan Qiling! I have missed you greatly since we parted. How have you been these days, Sister?"

Xing An halted and looked that way. A painted barge came flying through the air, a throng of divine maidens gathered around a woman standing at its prow. Behind the girl's head drifted a halo, making her look utterly sacred; the halo was not a perfect circle but an ellipse, marked with many strange patterns.

Xing An did not recognize her, yet his eyes lit up. "That woman is worth collecting!"

"She is a disciple of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor," Shen Mu said. "Her abilities are about equal to mine, so of course she is worth collecting. But the woman beside her is formidable. Her skills are exceedingly high, unfathomable."

Yan Qiling too arrived at the edge of the ruins and halted her barge, still a hundred zhang or so from Shen Mu.

She and the women disembarked, and from the boat stepped a youth of about her age, a halo also drifting behind his head.

"Could this youth be a disciple of the Heavenly Emperor as well?" Shen Mu wondered.

Xing An noticed him too. "This one is also worth collecting!" he said in praise.

Yan Qiling laughed. "Last time you wounded me, Heavenly Venerable, and it took me a long while to recover. His Majesty is very angry with you, you know. You made a fool of him. You gave his blessing to a black wild boar. His Majesty talked with that boar for a long time before he noticed anything amiss. He flew into a rage and cursed you for ages."

She burst out laughing, but the youth beside her looked grim. "Junior Sister," he said in a low voice, "this brute has insulted His Majesty. He deserves death ten thousand times over. And you still joke with him?"

Yan Qiling said softly, "Senior Brother Mu, His Majesty still needs him for something. His life must be spared."

Mu Qiubai's expression remained dark. "Insulting His Majesty is a crime he cannot escape," he said coldly.

Shen Mu looked smug. "His Majesty wants to control me, so naturally I must take precautions. By the way, how is that black boar doing?"

Yan Qiling shook her head. "His Majesty was furious. He sent men to catch that pig demon, but the creature was clever and ran off with its whole family. His Majesty even sighed and said that this pig demon is so cunning that sooner or later it will use his blessing to become someone remarkable, and will end up a stain on his record. What brings you to the Fallen God Valley, Heavenly Venerable Mu?"

"This place is called the Fallen God Valley?"

Shen Mu was delighted. He hastily pulled out Xing An's map and wrote the name at the Fallen God Valley's location. "Thank you, Sister Yan Qiling. Sister Yan, how are the Earth Mother Yuanjun's injuries?"

Only then did Yan Qiling realize that he had no idea what this place was called. Before she could answer, the earth suddenly heaved upward. A chain of mountains burst from the ground one after another, and a dozen or so divine beings stood atop one of the peaks, sweeping toward them with a howl.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu is kind to ask. The Earth Mother Yuanjun is doing very well now."

A sonorous voice boomed like thunder. Shen Mu looked up at the mountain peak that had appeared so suddenly. At its head stood an old Dragon King, his brows and whiskers drooping, his old eyes dim, yet when they opened and closed, divine light shot in all directions. In a deep, muffled voice he said, "The Earth Mother misses you greatly. She is waiting for you to return and forge a soul for her!"

Shen Mu's heart went cold. This old dragon was the very Dragon King who had stood before the Earth Mother's underground palace, a being whose name ranked alongside Feng Qiuyun's.

Feng Qiuyun had been carried off by the ghost ship and had not been seen since. The Earth Mother Yuanjun had first been gravely wounded by another Earth Mother, then gravely wounded again by the scholar Zixi. Later, when she stormed the capital of Jingping, she was gravely wounded once more by the Martial Celestial Master Zhuo Cha and the Heavenly King of the Nether Capital, Tian Shu. She had made no move since.

Dragon Qilin said cheerfully, "Heavenly Dragon King, do you remember your little brother?"

The old dragon's face darkened. He pretended not to see him. Dragon Qilin had bribed him with spirit pills and called him brother, wheedling who knew how many benefits out of the underground palace. It was one of the great stains on his life, and naturally he had no wish to bring it up.

The Heavenly Dragon King said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, the Fallen God Valley is no place for you. For your own safety, Heavenly Venerable, you had best come over to my side. I will take you to see the Earth Mother."

Mu Qiubai's gaze was bright as snow as he looked at the Heavenly Dragon King. "Heavenly Venerable Mu must return with us. Heavenly Dragon King, you had best go back."

The Heavenly Dragon King's dim old eyes suddenly showed a savage light, and killing intent rose from him.

Shen Mu laughed heartily. "You all want me to go see the Earth Mother, but there are two Earth Mothers. Which one am I supposed to see? Better to wait until the two Earth Mothers have settled the matter of victory and death between them, and then I will make my decision."

The Heavenly Dragon King gave a cold snort.

Mu Qiubai said, "Heavenly Dragon King, are you loyal to the Heavenly Emperor, or loyal to the Earth Mother?"

The Heavenly Dragon King said flatly, "I know only the Earth Mother. I know no Heavenly Emperor. Whoever dares block the Earth Mother's path, I will kill."

Xing An glanced around. Their retreat had been sealed off by these two bands of powerful figures; only one road remained, and it led into the Fallen God Valley.

The sudden appearance of so many powerful figures made even him feel the situation was thorny.

Suddenly Yan Qiling laughed. "Everyone, we have all come for the Fallen God Valley, not to fight over Heavenly Venerable Mu. Why come to blows now? Since we are here for the Fallen God Valley, we ought to explore it first. What does the Heavenly Dragon King think?"