Chapter 15: The Nine Heavens Divine Stone

"What were you doing just now?" the crippled man asked.

"I went to the water pool below," Er Mao replied. "I don't know why, but the water there was so hot, and all the fish in it were boiled to death."

The cripple didn't think much of it, casually responding, "It might be related to the earthquake last night."

Since the tremor had been intense, the path was scattered with stones that had rolled down from the mountain, and many buildings in the distant village had been damaged. Wooden and stone houses were okay, but many mud houses had collapsed.

There were fewer travelers on the road than usual. After walking for more than an hour to the west, the two of them only encountered two woodcutters.

At the first hour of Chen time, the two reached the city gate. Unlike usual, the gate was tightly shut, and soldiers with spears and halberds stood on the city walls.

This scene made Er Mao and the cripple exchange looks. The large troop of soldiers they had seen earlier and the closed gates confirmed their suspicions from last night. Mi Tiangang and his group had most likely trapped the deities in their divine realm and the underworld. The government must have received the news, which is why they increased their vigilance in case of any unforeseen events.

Before they could get any closer to the city, the soldiers on the walls shouted at them, ordering them to turn around and stay away from the gates.

Since they were headed to Liangzhou, they couldn't turn back and head east. Unable to pass through the city, they had no choice but to look for a mountain trail outside the city to go around it to the west.

Though the trail was passable, it wound around a lot and was difficult, with steep hills and poor road conditions. It was lucky they had switched to a mule; if they had been pushing a cart, they wouldn't have been able to navigate these paths.

They weren't the only ones taking this detour. Occasionally, they encountered other travelers, who were also puzzled by the events of last night and the current martial law in the city. They all sensed something major had happened, but no one knew exactly what.

By the afternoon, they circled around the city and returned to the main road. After traveling for more than ten miles, they reached a small town. Since the county city had closed its gates, all the people and vendors who would normally have passed through gathered here.

Er Mao was starving, having not eaten in the morning, and after traveling through the mountains for most of the day, he was famished. The cripple, knowing Er Mao's condition, immediately went to a local inn to buy some food.

The inn was packed, and everyone was talking about the events of last night. There were all kinds of wild guesses—some said the government's tyranny had angered heaven, causing divine retribution. Others claimed a massive ancient beast had broken its seal and emerged from underground, wreaking havoc on the world. Some even said that the tremors were caused by the people's lack of respect for the gods. During the Chongyang Festival, there had been fewer sacrifices, which made the gods angry, leading them to open the Nine Hells and release vengeful spirits to punish mankind.

The cripple bought some food and joined Er Mao, who was waiting outside with the mule. They sat under a large tree at the edge of the forest.

Just as Er Mao was about to take a bite of the rice cake the cripple had handed him, he saw a group of people darting through the trees from the south. Er Mao had been traveling with the cripple for many years, so he was familiar with the lightness of martial artists. There were five people in total, three young men in martial attire, and two middle-aged men in loose robes, their clothes fluttering. The two older men were obviously practitioners of Taoist arts.

Though they were from different sects, it was clear that they knew each other well and were in a hurry. They looked travel-worn and hurried.

The five of them didn't notice Er Mao and the cripple sitting under the tree as they passed overhead, leaping from tree to tree. One of the young men urgently called out, "The journey is long, I'll go to the town to buy some provisions."

Another voice answered, "The journey is too long; we can't waste time. If the Nine Heavens Divine Stone falls into their hands, we're done for."

After their exchange, the five hurried off to the north, disappearing from sight.

"Why did that voice sound so familiar?" Er Mao frowned, trying to recall.

"That person traveled with Mi Wenjun," the cripple casually remarked.

With the cripple's hint, Er Mao immediately recognized, "Yes, that's Mi Wenjun's second senior brother! What are they in such a hurry for?"

"Didn't he just say? They're looking for something called the Nine Heavens Divine Stone," the cripple replied.

"What's the Nine Heavens Divine Stone?" Er Mao asked.

The cripple glanced at Er Mao. "How would I know? Why don't you catch up with them and ask?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cripple seemed to realize he might have said something inappropriate and softened his tone. "I don't know if you noticed, but after the tremors stopped last night, there were two meteors streaking across the sky. They're probably looking for one of those."

"I saw them!" Er Mao eagerly replied. "One was red, and the other was white. The red one fell to the north, and the white one fell to the southwest."

"They're heading north, so they must be going after the red one," the cripple said.

The cripple, understanding Er Mao's curiosity, added, "They just sealed the passages to the divine realm and the underworld, and then those meteors appeared. This means that the meteors are somehow connected to their actions. This thing they're looking for is very important. You heard that young man say that if it falls into the wrong hands, they're done for."

Er Mao nodded slowly. While he still had questions, he could only keep them to himself. This matter was different from the tremors at Mount Taishan and Kunlun Mountain—there were enough clues to deduce the truth about those. But for the Nine Heavens Divine Stone, the only clue they had was the two meteors they had seen last night, and there was no way of knowing what it was used for.

Just as Er Mao was chewing on the rice cake, a rustling sound came from the forest behind them. Er Mao turned around and saw a hunched, ragged old man walking toward them from the woods.

The old man's clothes were so tattered that Er Mao thought he was a beggar. Guessing that the old man might ask for food, Er Mao quickly took a few bites of the rice cake, intending to give him the rest when he came closer.

As expected, the old man soon approached them, and a strong stench followed. The old man stared directly at the rice cake in Er Mao's hand, neither extending his hand nor speaking.

Er Mao looked up at the old man. He had encountered beggars before, but the old man's gaze was different—it was not the usual pleading or timid look, but rather greedy and urgent, with a hidden malice.

Suspecting the old man's mind wasn't quite right, and noticing the terrible smell, Er Mao decided to offer him the remaining rice cake. The old man grabbed it with one swift motion, gobbling it down greedily.

Er Mao froze in shock. What stunned him wasn't just the old man's ravenous eating, but the fact that he clearly saw the old man's teeth fall out as he chewed. But the old man, oblivious, continued to swallow both the fallen teeth and the rice cake.

After finishing the rice cake, the old man didn't leave immediately. Instead, he tilted his head rigidly and looked at the rice cake in the cripple's hand.

The cripple frowned, his expression grave. He slowly stood up and positioned himself between Er Mao and the old man. Then, he threw the rice cake far away.

As soon as the rice cake hit the ground, the old man scrambled on all fours, grabbing it and shoving it into his mouth.

Er Mao had already noticed the abnormal behavior of the old man's eyes and actions. Now, seeing him lunge at the rice cake like an animal, Er Mao broke out in a cold sweat.

"What's wrong with him?" Er Mao asked, nervous.

The cripple's voice turned cold as he spoke, "That man has been dead for at least seven days."

"What?!" Er Mao's hair stood on end.

"He's covered in corpse spots, and the stench of decay is overpowering. His body has started to rot," the cripple said, staring at the old man, who was now sniffing around on the ground.

Recalling how the cripple had joked about "pretending to be dead" the night before, Er Mao muttered, "Ah, you really do have the 'crow's mouth,' this is literally a corpse pretending to be alive."

"This isn't pretending," the cripple shook his head.

"Then what do you call a dead person moving around?" Er Mao asked.

"Have you ever seen a corpse move in broad daylight?" the cripple countered.

"I've never seen a corpse move at night either!" Er Mao said urgently. "So, is he dead or not?"

"He's long dead. What's happening now is that some beast's spirit has taken control of his body..."