Ban Gongcuo was both angry and anxious, stammering, "Cult Master Qin, don't joke—I'm not surnamed Qin, I'm from the barbarian tribe..."
Qin Mu flew into a rage, shouting, "Qin Gongcuo, you won't even acknowledge your own ancestors? You once said you were from Carefree Village..."
"Shut up, you little thief!"
Ban Gongcuo, seething with fury, lunged forward to attack. Qin Mu immediately blocked. One of them used the Shaman Sovereign Louluo Scripture to transform into a grotesque figure with a bird's head and a human body, while the other wielded the Nine Dragon Emperor Art like a majestic emperor. Dragon roars and bird cries echoed as their dragon-shaped divine ability and bird-wing feather swords clashed repeatedly.
Though they both appeared quite young, they were ruthless and vicious, each move aimed at taking the other's life. In terms of sheer skill and technique, few at the Six Harmony Realm could compare.
The earlier battle had drained them greatly, so their vitality wasn't as robust as before, but the power of their techniques remained formidable.
They fought fiercely, as if they truly wanted to kill each other, yet their feet were subtly shifting toward the cabin door.
With an unspoken understanding, they fought while moving closer to the door. Just as they were about to break free, the treasure ship suddenly shook violently. The owner of the two giant eyes outside the bridge had grown angry, and the tremor sent the entire ship shuddering.
Suddenly, an invisible force wrapped tightly around them, pulling them to the porthole. They quickly stopped fighting, not daring to resist. This mysterious being's power was unfathomably deep—even Ban Gongcuo felt his scalp tingle, knowing that even at his peak in his past life, he might not have been its match.
The enormous vertical eyes outside the bridge glared with fury, and the voice came again from below, chilling to the bone: "Which one of you is surnamed Qin?"
Qin Mu and Ban Gongcuo pointed at each other simultaneously: "Him!"
The voice spoke again: "You're both surnamed Qin?"
Ban Gongcuo shivered and hurriedly called out, "I'm not surnamed Qin—I'm the Great Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace. You can ask around, Senior..."
The voice was bizarre, as if scraping across their souls, piercingly harsh, making their spirits go numb: "If you're not surnamed Qin, then there's no need for you to live."
"It seems I can't hide it from you any longer, Senior."
Ban Gongcuo said solemnly, "That's right—I am Qin Gongcuo! This fellow beside me is the Great Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace, who reincarnated and seized a body. His name is Ban Mu. Please, Senior, deal with this useless person right away!"
Qin Mu sneered, "You just called me Cult Master Qin—is your word just empty talk?"
They glared at each other, gnashing their teeth, wishing they could strike at each other's hearts and tear out those black hearts to take a bite.
The voice fell silent for a moment, then asked: "Which of you is sixteen?"
Ban Gongcuo and Qin Mu exchanged a glance. Qin Mu quickly said, "I'm sixteen!"
Ban Gongcuo also hastily added, "I happen to be sixteen as well!"
Though Qin Mu was nominally fifteen, his age had been counted from the time Grandma Si found him. There had always been debate in the village—some said he was fifteen, some said sixteen. Even Qin Mu himself didn't know his exact age.
Ban Gongcuo was only thirteen, but as a grasslander, weathered by sun and wind, he looked older. Both appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen.
Those inverted pupils showed a hint of confusion, clearly at a loss in the current situation.
This wasn't what he had expected. He had guessed that someone from Carefree Village would come, or that a sixteen-year-old boy surnamed Qin would arrive to take the treasure ship back to Carefree Village. Instead, two boys of similar age had appeared together, and both were surnamed Qin!
Which one was real and which was fake—it was impossible to tell.
"Both of you, activate this ship and head for Carefree Village!"
The voice continued: "No matter which of you is surnamed Qin, as long as you can activate this treasure ship and sail to Carefree Village, you will both be spared."
Qin Mu quickly removed the silver helmet from his head and stuffed it into Ban Gongcuo's hands, saying with utter sincerity, "Qin Gongcuo, haven't you always wanted this helmet? Now you can have it."
Ban Gongcuo held the helmet, his head pounding. He wanted to refuse, but Qin Mu insisted on thrusting it upon him. Inwardly, he cursed Qin Mu countless times, but still reluctantly put the helmet on.
His eyes flickered. Despite having lived for ten thousand years, witnessed countless major events in history, and knowing a great many secrets, he knew precious little about Carefree Village—and even less about where it was.
He had only learned from the records of the Dao Gate, the Great Thunderclap Monastery, and the Small Jade Capital that it was a place where one could become a god, where deities roamed—a remnant of the Founding Emperor Era.
He had come hoping to use this ship to reach that mysterious place and thereby achieve godhood. Now he had obtained the helmet he had always dreamed of for controlling the ship. But how exactly did one get to the so-called Carefree Village?
Once the helmet was on his head, he felt as though his own head had grown several sizes larger, and he let out a muffled grunt.
This was a trap.
Trapped by someone surnamed Qin.
No wonder this fellow had called him Qin Gongcuo the moment they met—he had been setting this up all along!
"But if you think you can dispose of me here, you underestimate me! In ten thousand years, countless prodigies have died and their Dao has been destroyed. What about Dao Masters, Tathagatas, immortals? When their time came, they all perished. Yet I alone have survived—and not through talent or enlightenment, but through my extraordinary abilities! My survival to this day is no empty boast!"
Ban Gongcuo's eyes flickered, and he quickly figured out how to operate the silver helmet. He tried tapping the geographical map on it. The treasure ship trembled slightly but still couldn't break free from the honeycomb seal.
"Senior."
Ban Gongcuo hastily said, "This ship is stuck—it can't move."
Suddenly, the treasure ship shook violently, dislodging the surrounding honeycomb seals. Clearly, the terrifying existence outside the ship had intervened, shaking the ship free from the seal.
The honeycomb seal loosened, and countless honeycomb-shaped seals developed cracks, then collapsed like shattered glass. The demonic qi from the Netherworld suddenly surged, pouring toward the Great Ruins.
At the same time, in the Underworld Valley, the two colossal white bat statues—like mountains—rumbled and shook. Gravel cascaded down from the towering sculptures.
Where the stone fell, the two white bat statues revealed a fleshy hue, and one could faintly see blood coursing beneath the skin.
Thump!
The sound of a heartbeat suddenly echoed from within the two statues, deafening.
And before the treasure ship, the enormous statue half-buried underground also began to shake. Black stone shards flew in all directions, crashing into the surrounding cliffs and cracking the rock walls with terrifying force!
Where the black stone fell from this statue, a fleshy color emerged—as if a petrified god were awakening!
Ban Gongcuo's heart leaped with joy. He knew many hidden secrets, and he knew a great deal about the Great Ruins as well. In one of his past lives, while traveling through the Great Ruins, he had discovered a treasure trove. While exploring it, he had encountered an unbelievable event.
There had been a seal within the treasure trove. He had assumed there must be some earth-shattering treasure inside. But after breaking the seal by force, what was sealed inside wasn't treasure—it was a demon god!
Just as he thought he was certain to die, a divine beast statue in the treasure trove suddenly transformed from stone to flesh, as if the beast god had been resurrected. It struck the demon god that was about to devour him half to death and sealed it once more.
After that, the divine beast returned to its stone platform, gradually petrifying back into a stone sculpture.
From that time on, Ban Gongcuo rarely set foot in the Great Ruins. He knew that the Great Ruins concealed far too many secrets, far too many dangers and lethal traps—one wrong move and you would die in the most baffling way.
But this time, he was using the eerie nature of the Great Ruins to counter this mysterious being!
The treasure ship was embedded in the honeycomb seal. If the ship was moved, the seal would break, and the gods and demons who had established the seal would awaken from their stone forms!
That way, he could resolve the crisis before him!
From the violent tremors coming from outside, things were proceeding as he had predicted. The awakened statues would soon clash with the terrifying being that controlled them, leaving it no attention to spare for him!
And he could then claim the treasure ship—and the silver helmet that controlled it!
Sure enough, the tremors outside grew even more intense. Though he couldn't see the scene, from the fluctuations of the collision, he could imagine the terrifying being had been discovered by the awakened statues and was now locked in battle with them!
"Hahaha, this ship is finally mine—"
Boom—
His laughter hadn't even faded when a fist slammed into his chest. The helmet was ripped from his head. Qin Mu grabbed the red tassel of the silver helmet with one hand and sent Ban Gongcuo flying with a punch, laughing heartily.
Ban Gongcuo flew into a rage. One by one, locust-like flying blades buzzed into the air, attacking Qin Mu.
Qin Mu raised his hand. The Carefree Sword, along with the other flying swords, blocked the locust attack head-on while he moved toward the cabin door. Ban Gongcuo guarded the door, his face twisted with killing intent, striking with full force.
The two clashed again, exchanging hundreds of blows in an instant. Suddenly, the treasure ship lurched slightly and slipped free from the shattered honeycomb seal, falling into the darkness of the Netherworld.
Both of them were startled. They hurriedly looked out from the bridge and saw the ship drifting silently through the gloom. Behind them, the honeycomb seal was collapsing, the glowing honeycombs extinguishing one by one, growing farther and farther away.
Qin Mu hastily put on the helmet, trying to steer the ship back. The honeycomb seal was their gateway out of the Netherworld—if they drifted into the Netherworld, no one knew what dangers awaited.
But the moment he donned the silver helmet, Ban Gongcuo struck him hard, sending him slamming into the porthole. Ban Gongcuo snatched the silver helmet and placed it on his own head.
Qin Mu's sword flew out, lifting Ban Gongcuo into the air. In the next instant, he appeared beside Ban Gongcuo and reclaimed the silver helmet.
They landed, glaring viciously at each other. Then, the last honeycomb seal shattered, its light vanished, and the treasure ship moved. Both felt a chill run through them—no one knew where the entrance to the real world was.
"This is all your fault!" Qin Mu and Ban Gongcuo shouted in unison.