"If I had known the inside story of the Supreme Sovereign, I wouldn't have come this time."
The scholar teased his donkey with a carrot, sighed, and said, "The Supreme Sovereign Era has been wiped out, the Origin World vanished, and only the Supreme Sovereign Great Ruins remain. Even if you want to uncover the secrets of that age, it's impossible. Even the Supreme Sovereign Sword God was just a child back then and knew little about those times. I've encountered some remnants from the Supreme Sovereign Era, but none could speak clearly about it. This time, with the Earth-Mother Origin World appearing, I came out specifically to search for its secrets."
Suddenly, the fog over the sea thickened, sweeping in and shrouding the Jade Sea. Ahead, someone shouted, "This is where Earth Mother fell! The mist's gotten heavy—there must be ghosts! Everyone, be careful!"
The voice wasn't far from them—most likely a god or demon powerhouse from another heaven who had rushed here.
Just then, Qin Mu suddenly saw a massive shadow sweep through the fog ahead. Instantly, shrieks and furious shouts erupted, followed by terrifying shockwaves of divine arts. Saber-light and sword-light exploded across the surface of the sea!
Bruno the Dragon-Qilin and the water kirin tensed up. Each opened their mouths and spat out a bead—the water kirin produced a kirin pearl that churned the surrounding sea, forming a barrier against the impact of the gods' and demons' divine arts.
But Bruno spat out two beads—one was a fire kirin pearl, the other a dragon pearl.
The water kirin glanced at him, thinking, "This guy's bloodline isn't as pure as mine, and his skills aren't as good."
But just as he thought this, he saw the qi and magical power surging violently within Bruno's two beads—each over a zhang wide. Countless rays of divine light shot out from them, stabilizing the ripples all around!
The water kirin was left speechless.
The saber and sword remnants were the lingering divine arts of Logan Cross and Queena White. When the crowd ahead triggered them, chaos erupted across the sea—then, just as suddenly, all fell quiet again.
Cautiously, they moved forward. Soon, they saw a crowd standing before a lone pillar floating on the water, each one grinning strangely and staring at them, their smiles unbroken.
Fog thickened, making the figures ahead appear hazy and indistinct.
That pillar drifted atop the waves, and those before it were gods and demons—some towering and broad, radiating intense divine and demonic might.
Other gods and demons had formed a large circle, watching the fog nervously, while most eyes remained fixed on the pillar floating on the sea.
Qin Mu felt his skin crawl at their grins and had Bruno the Dragon-Qilin halt.
The gods and demons kept grinning at them, their faces stiff and unnatural.
'What are they laughing at?' Heaven-Guide Venerable asked curiously.
Before he finished speaking, the gods, demons, and the pillar all floated up, drifting into the mist above.
'Hee hee hee...'
The laughter of those gods and demons echoed through the thick fog, darting from left to right, front to back.
"There's a monster in the sea! Join forces to fight it!" shouted the gods and demons who had formed a circle.
Qin Mu glanced at the scholar. The scholar said, "They're a big group, an obvious target. The monster will attack them for sure—let's slip by while it's distracted."
The expert gods and demons, hearing this, cursed furiously. The scholar, riding his donkey, grinned and circled around them.
Qin Mu told Bruno and the water kirin to keep close, glancing back to see the gods and demons still standing in a circle, braced for battle, their curses filling the air.
Suddenly, a massive shadow swept through the fog. When it passed, the sea was empty—the hundred or so expert gods and demons had vanished without a trace!
The scholar glanced at the Gate of Bearing Heaven behind Qin Mu, surprised. "Your portal is truly remarkable," he said.
He produced a qin and casually plucked its strings twice. From within the thick fog came a muffled grunt, and the faces twisted, halting their rotation. Suddenly, two dazzling lights flared in the mist—like twin little suns, their glare piercing through.
"Heh, so it's a real expert!" came a voice from near those two little suns, accompanied by a stench of blood.
The scholar drew three strings taut and released them with a snap—the qin rang out, three notes merging into a single beam. Both little suns went dark, and with a heavy splash, something massive dropped into the water.
Bruno the Dragon-Qilin was terrified, nearly crying out, as more faces emerged from the mist, forming a wide circle around them.
Those faces belonged to the very gods and demons they'd just seen!
The faces of these powerful gods and demons spun around them, their smiles growing stranger. Uncanny laughter echoed from every direction.
Suddenly, a pitch-black portal—the Gate of Bearing Heaven—appeared behind Qin Mu. It swung open, and the faces passed through, yet still continued to circle them.
Qin Mu's heart sank. In a low voice, he said, "They're corpses, not living people."
His Gate of Bearing Heaven could absorb the souls of the living, but these faces passed through unharmed—meaning they had no souls at all.