Chapter 1171 – Grand Derivation patches the mountains
The dragon qilin, Yan’er and Tiny Earth Court turned their heads back simultaneously. They saw an elder dressed in simple clothing walking over with a small metal bucket; the bucket contained a small willow branch and was filled with water.
The dragon qilin looked around in astonishment. The 28 heavens of the Gla.s.sy Sky PaG.o.da were still around, and they were still guarding this place. It wasn’t easy to pa.s.s through the heavens of the number one treasure in the world!
In that case, where did this elder come from?
That elder came to the top of the black mountain that had split open and put down the small iron bucket. He took out the willow branch inside and swirled the water in the bucket. Panting, he said, “I’m already old, are you fellows not coming to help?”
The dragon qilin immediately transformed into a qilin-headed human and landed on the mountain. Yan’er transformed into a young girl and also came to the side of the elder. Tiny Earth Count had a solemn expression and planned to transform as well; he gave two snorts but was unable to transform. He could only walk over dejectedly.
The elder handed the willow branch to the dragon qilin and let Yan’er carry the small metal bucket. “Use the willow branch to stir the water and sprinkle it on the crack. Sprinkle all the cracks once so that the thing from the past doesn’t come here.”
The dragon qilin complied and used the willow branch to sweep the water in the bucket. He pulled out the willow branch and sprinkled the water on the crack in the mountain.
“Xia?” Tiny Earth Count raised his head and asked solemnly at the ordinary-looking elder.
“I’ve always been staying here. I didn’t barge in.”
That elder had a kind expression and seemed to understand what it was asking. He smiled and said, “I’m not an invader, you people are the invaders. You barged into my home, built a house, and even attracted a void beasts.”
The tiny Earth Count was puzzled, “Moo?”
The elder sat beside it and supervised the dragon qilin and Yan’er. He said loudly, “Be careful, don’t waste all the water. This water isn’t easy to find.”
He said to Tiny Earth Count, “I could have left here but I’m not welcomed elsewhere. Furthermore, this tree is dead and some people want to use this tree to crawl to the present from the past. I can only stay and guard this place. I can’t let any of them climb out.”
The tiny Earth Count revealed a puzzled expression and pointed down the mountain, “Moo?”
“Correct.”
The elder nodded. “They live below, but they have been dead for a long time. Or rather, they died before this universe was born.”
The tiny Earth Count was even more puzzled and scratched his head, “Xia?”
“You can say that.”
That elder thought for a moment and said, “The boundary between life and death isn’t that strict. Life and death are just two different states of matter. They seem to have died when the universe was destroyed, but they were still alive before its destruction. As long as they can seize the chance and crawl from the past to the present before the universe is destroyed, they can indeed survive.”
The tiny Earth Count scratched his head, still puzzled.
That elder had a good temper and continued to explain, “Why did the corpse of these void beasts disappear? It is because they were pulled into the past, and now that there’s an additional part of this universe in the universe of the past, they can take the chance to replace it here. This is the reason behind their ability to crawl out.”
“Moo?”
“There’s no need to doubt it. It’s very simple. This big black tree is actually still alive. Its roots are deeply connected to the previous sixteen Universe Eras. One Universe Era is one year. It has lasted for a countless duration of time.”
The elder explained patiently, “Some terrifying lifeforms had the idea to crawl along its roots form the past to the present. It’s fine if you don’t understand. Think back to that Celestial Venerable Mu who created you; he brought you back to the past the ghost s.h.i.+p.”
The dragon qilin and Yan’er used the willow branch to sprinkle some water and returned to the mountain top. They saw that the elder was still talking to Tiny Earth Count, chatting about some unknown topic.
The dragon qilin placed the willow branch into the small metal bucket and returned it to the elderly man. The elderly man stood up and supported himself with both hands. He stretched his muscles and sighed, “This sin is also my fault, so I can only stay here to cultivate and nourish myself. I can’t blame your Celestial Venerable Mu. The water is almost gone, so I have to get some more. Thank you, little friends, I’ll see you again another day.”
The dragon qilin was about to speak when he saw the elder carrying the small metal bucket and leaving. He soon vanished.
“Another strange incident!” Yan’er said in horror.
She didn’t see how the elder had vanished.
Right at this moment, the huge black mountain suddenly rumbled and the crack closed. The black mountain returned to its original state and even the five scratches on the mountain vanished.
That night, the dragon qilin and Yan’er brought Tiny Earth Count to stay on the black mountain. Strange phenomena appeared again, and all kinds of strange phenomena rushed over. It was as if there was some huge creature trying to break open the mountain peak and collide frantically, causing the mountain to tremble violently.
However, the mountain didn’t split open. This torment only gradually stopped after midnight.
At daybreak, the dragon qilin looked around and saw two more mountain peaks splitting apart in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The inner wall of one of the mountains even had a face-shaped dent!
He and Yan’er were discussing if someone had grown inside the mountain when they saw a beautiful lady carrying a small metal bucket walking over and waving at them, “We meet again.”
Both of them were bewildered.
That woman put down the small iron bucket and burst into laughter. “That body of yesterday was too old and couldn’t do any work. Today, I changed to a younger one. I brought more water and also a willow branch. This time, two mountains have split open, so the time needed to repair them might be longer.”
The dragon qilin opened his mouth wide and stuttered, “Lady, are you that old man from yesterday?”
That woman said with a smile, “I am but I am not. May the three of you lend a hand and quickly patch up before its dark and they run amok.”
The dragon qilin and Yan’er immediately went forward to help, and the dragon qilin carried the willow branch to sprinkle water. He asked carefully, “May I ask where you are from?”
That woman said with a smile, “I’m the same as all of you, just an ordinary person and I’m also born to be nurtured by Heaven and Earth. However, our way of living is different; mine is far more tiring. If the sky is leaking or the earth has split, I’ll go and patch it. If there’s something broken, I’ll go fix it. It’s a laborious life.”
The dragon qilin and Yan’er helped her repair the two mountains, and the water in the buckets was also used up. The woman sighed and said, “My spring doesn’t produce much water. If a few more mountains, there won’t be any water to repair them.”
She carried the small metal bucket and left into the distance. The two black mountains closed up and returned to normal.
The dragon qilin looked at her disappearing just like that and was even more astonished. He thought to himself, “This big black tree doesn’t seem like a good place. It frightens people to the point of being unable to sleep every night. Should I tell Cult Master to choose another location?”
Another night pa.s.sed, and the ground shook as dozens of black mountains split open. The dragon qilin saw over a dozen youths with small metal buckets in their hands. Willow branches were stuck in the buckets.
One of the youths said to him, “Help me sprinkle water these few days and I’ll give you guys a benefit. A new void beast mother has been born and is still very weak. Now is the perfect chance to subdue the void beast mother.”
The dragon qilin was greatly moved and asked, “How do we subdue the void beast mother?”
The youth said with a smile that wasn’t a smile, “Didn’t your cult master already impart it to you?”
The dragon qilin carefully recalled what Qin Mu had told him. After a long time, he finally remembered that both the Three Enclosures Higher Knowledge and the Grand Overarching Supreme Divine Consciousness[1] had methods to subdue the void beast. His heart settled, and he smiled. “May I ask Dao brother for the location of the void beast mother?”
[1] The t.i.tle of the technique is “Grand OVerarching Divine Consciousness” just like how Founding Emperor’s technique is “Carefree Sword”. However, when the person is at the forefront of their path, they get the word “Supreme” attached.