Chapter 81: The Dark Realm

The little girl who tended to the sun and her sunship had disappeared, and darkness quickly surged, engulfing the heavens and earth.

"What did the chieftain of the Mu Ri tribe want to say?"

Qin Mu fell into contemplation as darkness enveloped the land. The dragon pillars lit up again, and the braziers in the city were ignited. Temples emitted radiance in the night.

The jade pendant on his chest also emitted a faint light. According to the Mu Ri tribe, the pendant came from Wu You Township, and he might also be from there. However, the name "Wu You Township" didn't exist on the map of the Great Expanse. It seemed to be a place that didn't exist within the Great Expanse.

"Where is Wu You Township exactly? Why does it only appear when darkness descends?"

He stared blankly at the darkness outside the city, longing to step into the darkness and find that Wu You Township. However, the darkness spread far and wide, encompassing the vast expanse of the Great Expanse. Who knew where that elusive Wu You Township was located?

Moreover, how could he safely traverse through the mysterious darkness?

The darkness was so dangerous that the small jade pendant couldn't protect him. The stone statue, as a precious treasure, was too heavy. Carrying it would be akin to carrying a deity, something he simply couldn't do.

"Will my parents be in Wu You Township?"

Qin Mu's spirits sank. He stood on the head of the dragon pillar, raised his palm, as if trying to touch the dense darkness outside.

Boundless darkness surged outside the city, separated from the illuminated scenery within the city by a thin membrane. A gigantic palm appeared on the membrane, seemingly wanting to touch his palm.

Qin Mu looked up as the two palms drew closer and closer.

In the darkness, whispers could be heard, like many gentle voices engaged in secretive conversations, urging him to enter the darkness and become one with it.

The murmurs grew louder and louder, echoing in his mind, persistently persuading him.

Qin Mu's gaze became unfocused, and the two palms were on the verge of touching.

Gradually, the darkness in front of his eyes ceased to be darkness. Instead, it revealed another vast world. He saw a figure resembling a woman reaching out her hand from afar, as if wanting to make contact with his palm.

The woman's face was blurry and indistinct. He tried to see it clearly, but it remained elusive.

The jade pendant on his chest gently floated, seemingly drifting towards that world within the darkness.

"What are you doing, Mu'er?"

A startled and angry voice came from behind. Qin Mu retracted his hand as the deaf mute appeared behind him, waking him up from his daze. He hastily pulled back his palm, drenched in cold sweat.

What would happen if he truly touched that palm within the darkness? All the others who fell into the darkness met a gruesome end. Would he also be devoured by the monsters within?

The gigantic palm in the darkness also retracted on its own, disappearing from sight along with the strange phenomena within the darkness.

Qin Mu vaguely felt as if a sigh emanated from the darkness, but the deaf mute seemed oblivious to it.

The deaf mute grew furious, grabbing him and pulling him away. He angrily warned, "There are monsters in the darkness, adept at bewitching the hearts of men. Be careful not to be captured by them!"

"Monsters that bewitch the hearts?" Qin Mu questioned.

Qin Mu felt a sense of fear and quickly hid the jade pendant in his clothes, as if concealing his thoughts along with it. He thought to himself, "Someday, I will explore the darkness and seek the origin of darkness, find the realm of No Worries!"

"Grandpa Deaf, what was that in the darkness just now? Why could I suddenly see things within the darkness?" Qin Mu pondered and asked.

"That was the Dark Realm," the deaf mute replied. "The village chief knows about the Dark Realm. He has been there. Let's go to the Lord's Mansion, where the village chief is. He can tell you about it."

Qin Mu was shocked. The village chief had been to the world within the darkness?

The village chief must be incredibly powerful if he could venture into the darkness and still return alive.

"Mu'er, you actually saw the world within the darkness?" In the Lord's Mansion, the people of Canlao Village gathered, including Sipo Po, who still wore Fu Yundi's skin. The Apothecary, Deaf Mute, Old Horse, Blind Man, Lame Man, Butcher, and others were present. They listened as Qin Mu recounted his encounter aboard the Sun Boat and his confrontation with the hand in the darkness.

The village chief was astonished and said, "Indeed, I have been to the world within the darkness. Years ago, when I arrived in the Great Expanse, I was utterly hopeless, feeling that all my lifelong aspirations had nowhere to land. I was filled with despair, but death eluded me..."

He let out a bitter smile. The other villagers of Canlao Village understood this feeling well. They had the courage to sacrifice their lives, but they were unable to die because the responsibility still rested on their shoulders. They couldn't pass that responsibility onto someone else.

"At that time, I walked on the edge between life and death, repeatedly wanting to end my life. Once, I couldn't resist the temptation and walked into the darkness."

The village chief reminisced about the past, his expression calm as he continued, "I thought I would surely die by entering, but I was too powerful, so powerful that the darkness couldn't kill me even for a moment."

This statement might sound boastful to others, but the villagers of Canlao Village never had such thoughts. When the village chief said he was too powerful, it meant he truly possessed extraordinary strength.

How terrifying was the darkness? Every member of Canlao Village, apart from the village chief, was considered a top-notch expert. However, none of them dared claim they could enter the darkness and come out alive.

The village chief continued, "As I walked within the darkness, I became mad. I yelled and screamed at the monsters in the darkness, wanting to seek death. However, it was at that moment that the darkness in my eyes gradually faded, and I saw the world within the darkness, a world that overlapped with the Great Expanse but was different. It suddenly separated from the darkness..."

The crowd was shaken. Could there really be such a world?

What kind of scene existed within the darkness?

"At that time, although the darkness became faint, my vision was still hazy, as if shrouded in mist. I couldn't see very far, and the twisted figures made me regain my senses. I could see them, but not clearly. They were all powerful, some even more powerful than me. They beckoned to me, as if inviting me. But I thought about my responsibilities and couldn't die there, so I withdrew from the darkness."

The village chief spoke solemnly, "Later, I tried to enter the darkness again to find the hidden world within, but I couldn't find it. The world you saw, Mu'er, is likely the same world I saw. I call that world within the darkness the Dark Realm. Our world, where we currently reside, I call it the Bright Realm. They correspond to each other and alternate. During the day, the Bright Realm dominates, but at night, the Dark Realm takes over. Mu'er, the Sun Guardian of the Mu Ri Clan mentioned to you that you may come from the Land of No Worries, which sometimes appears within the darkness?"

Qin Mu nodded.

The group exchanged glances, and the Apothecary smiled, saying, "Mu'er, you should go back and rest. The Yan Kang Army has just retreated, and this city is full of treacherous characters. We all need to keep watch."

Qin Mu agreed and left the Lord's Mansion, returning to the inn to rest.

In the Lord's Mansion, the village chief, the Apothecary, the Lame Man, the Deaf Mute, Sipo Po, and others had serious expressions. After a while, the Lame Man chuckled and said, "Our child, whom we raised, might be born from the Dark Realm, a demon from the world of darkness..."

The Deaf Mute twitched his iron ear and sighed, "We should have suspected when he suddenly appeared in the darkness. A child from an ordinary family would have likely died long ago under such circumstances, but he managed to survive within the darkness. What do you think, Mute?"

The Deaf Mute gestured and said a few words. The Deaf Mute sneered, "Aliens from another race have different hearts! Don't speak up for him!"

"You're too extreme, Deaf Mute."

The Apothecary spoke in a deep voice, "Mu'er's jade pendant might come from the Land of No Worries, but it doesn't necessarily mean that Mu'er himself comes from there. Moreover, even if he comes from the Land of No Worries, what does it matter? No one has ever been there, and it doesn't necessarily belong to the Dark Realm or evil. Besides, not everyone in the Dark Realm is a demon from the darkness. Mu'er's origin could have other possibilities."

Sipo Po sneered, "Even if Mu'er is a little demon from the Dark Realm, so what? We raised him from his infancy, he is our child, our flesh and blood!"

The Lame Man was annoyed, "Sipo Po, you're being unreasonable..."

"Unreasonable? Lame Man, are you trying to kill Mu'er as well?"

...

As they argued back and forth, Ma Ye remained silent. Suddenly, he spoke up, "Mu'er grew up under our watchful eyes, and we are the ones who taught him. If we are demons, then what we teach will be demonic. What kind of people we are will determine what kind of person he becomes."

The group fell silent. Ma Ye rarely spoke, but when he did, his words carried weight.

"Ma Ye is right."

The Lame Man respected him the most and nodded, "I was overthinking things. Deaf Mute, what do you think?"

The Deaf Mute looked at the Lame Man, as they were the closest. With a face glowing from the warmth of the stove, the Deaf Mute gestured and said a few words. The Deaf Mute sneered, "I know you're not a bad person. I don't think I'm a bad person either. If Mu'er turns into a demon, then it's their fault. Except for you and me, none of the others in our village are good people!"

Sipo Po was infuriated, "You arrogant scholar, are you looking down on those who cultivate the demonic path?"

The Deaf Mute coldly smiled and pulled out his two iron ears, indicating that he didn't want to pay attention to them.

The village chief felt a headache coming on and said, "Everyone in a village should hold their tongues for a bit. Deaf Mute, put your ears back in. You're scaring people."

The Deaf Mute made two clicking sounds as he inserted his ears back. The village chief said, "I want to take Mu'er to the Dark Realm and explore if the Land of No Worries exists there."

The others were startled.

The village chief smiled, "Rest assured, the first time I entered the Dark Realm was four hundred years ago, and I've made some progress during these four hundred years. I will prepare for some time and then take Mu'er on a journey into the darkness."