Chapter 921 — The Blood-Rust Domain

If the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals of the Tiangang and Disha clusters alone had routed the Yuan World, the Heavenly Court's power was unimaginable!

The Phoenix Ship flew on to the Disha star cluster and passed through it; the starry sky stretched on and on, the journey endless.

Suddenly they entered a shattered region of stars, where broken continents and stars drifted; the Phoenix Ship sailed through this starry debris. Shen Mu looked at Qi Jiuyi. "Brother Qi, where is this?

Why is the starry sky shattered? " Qi Jiuyi said, "This is the Heavenly Court's Blood-Rust Zone.

" "The Blood-Rust Zone?

" "The Blood-Rust Zone is a prehistoric relic.

It existed long ago, earlier than the Longhan Heavenly Court; I have heard it dates from before the rise of civilization. " Qi Jiuyi said, "As to how it came to be, I have heard only a few rumors. One says that in the primordial Hongmeng era there was a civilization here, later wiped out by the ancient god Heavenly Emperor and his host; after that came the age of the ancient gods, and so it is called prehistoric.

" The Phoenix Ship passed beside an enormous planet, utterly still, slowly turning; only when it rotated from back to front did Shen Mu realize it was a skull. A skull of unbelievable size!

Many similar colossal heads drifted in this Blood-Rust Zone along with ruined stars, dim and lightless.

A moment's carelessness, and one would crash into them. The ship slowed here.

Shen Mu stood at its side and peered out; an immense landmass drifted over the Phoenix Ship, bearing relics of a prehistoric civilization.

He looked up.

The palaces on the landmass were grand and strange; tall pillars swept past above the ship, and there were towering divine statues with enormous circular wheels behind them.

"Wheels like these resemble the halos that form behind the head after an ancient god's blessing. " Shen Mu was surprised.

Halos of various kinds behind the head must have been a tradition of the ancient god era; when he had returned to the early years of Longhan, he had seen many ancient gods and demigods with halos behind their heads. The most striking were the Seven Heavenly Worthies. The Seven Heavenly Worthies had received blessings from the ancient gods, and the halos behind their heads were the most numerous; especially the Yutianzun, whom all the ancient gods had blessed, so that the halos behind his head layered and overlapped in great complexity.

Of course, not all who bore halos behind the head were Heavenly Worthies; the ancient gods also blessed their own descendants. In the early Longhan era, it was not only ancient gods who could bestow blessings; powerful demigods could as well.

After studying the runes of the ancient gods' great dao and their blessings, Shen Mu too could grant blessings to others; to him, blessing held few secrets now.

But the statues in this Hongmeng relic showed that the tradition of ancient god blessings was not invented by the ancient gods, but was the achievement of the prehistoric civilization. Shen Mu asked Qi Jiuyi, "The prehistoric civilization of the Blood-Rust Zone, could they cultivate?

How did they cultivate? " Qi Jiuyi laughed.

"Sect Master Shen, I already said it is only a rumor, a rumor of such a prehistoric civilization. A rumor is only a rumor and cannot be taken as truth.

Why pursue it so earnestly?

" More serious still, Shen Mu said, "In this world, the thing most to be feared is earnestness. Since the Blood-Rust Zone dates to the Hongmeng era and a civilization once existed here, its structure may hold something worth learning from, worth exploring.

We could stop and study it.

" Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Qi Jiuyi said, "Sect Master Shen, my master lent you this ship to get you to the Heavenly Court as quickly as possible, not for you to wander about in. " Shen Mu smiled.

"We will only take a look; it will not delay us long.

Brother Qi, are you not curious about a prehistoric relic like the Blood-Rust Zone?

" "Not in the least! " Qi Jiuyi said flatly.

That said, he ordered the officers and men under the Red Emperor to slow the Phoenix Ship, and with a grave face said, "Sect Master Shen, we may drift slowly through the Blood-Rust Zone, but we absolutely cannot linger here! This is a prehistoric relic, after all; who knows what dangers lurk?

Every year in this place, many reckless fools from the Heavenly Court meet their deaths!

" Shen Mu nodded and smiled. "Rest assured, I only want a look.

. . " Suddenly his expression shifted.

He stared fixedly at a broken landmass drifting toward them, hastily took a roll of geographical charts from his Taotie pouch, examined them, then looked up at the landmass drawing nearer. "Brother Qi.

. .

" With a chuckle, Shen Mu said, "Could you stop the ship on that landmass?

Someone left something there for me. " Qi Jiuyi flew into a rage. "You just said you only wanted a look, and now you go back on your word! You there, surnamed Shen, do not think that because you are on good terms with my second brother I will let you have your way.

I was sent down to the lower world by the Black Emperor's order precisely to capture you!

Truth be told, I have endured you for a long time! " Shen Mu looked at Long Qilin, who cleared his throat and said, "Third Brother, the Sect Master wishes to take a look there; just let him.

" Qi Jiuyi could barely contain his fury, but he forced it down and said coldly, "If you die in there, do not blame me!

This chart of yours.

. . eh?

" His eyes widened as he looked at the chart in Shen Mu's hand, then up at the landmass drawing closer ahead, and suspicion showed on his face. "How do you have a geographical chart of the Blood-Rust Zone?

Do you truly have a senior brother who left something here for you? "