Shen Mu stared blankly, lost in thought. This Tianyu World had collided and overlapped with the world in which the Ruin lay; the sky of the Tianyu World was the Ruin itself — a spectacle of truly extraordinary grandeur. A pity that it could probably no longer be seen now. In those days the Tianyu World must have been a subordinate world of the ancient Kaihuang Kingdom; later, when the Kaihuang Calamity broke out, the Kaihuang Kingdom lost its control over and protection of the Tianyu World, so that the many-bodied demon god found its way there and assimilated every last one of the Tianyu folk in that world. The Kaihuang Calamity had occurred exactly twenty thousand years ago. It was then, too, that this place had become the Ruin. "The Kaihuang Kingdom's domain was not only the Ruin — there were other worlds as well." He could not help letting his fancy wander: in that age the Kaihuang Kingdom's territory had already reached into other worlds, ruling over race after wondrous race like the Tianyu folk; to have lived in such a time, amid such a myriad of living beings, must have been a marvelous thing. "I have heard that in those years this place was called the Heavenly Court," Yu Zhaoqing said. "The emperor was the sovereign who ruled all the heavens." At once Shen Mu recalled how he had escorted Xiong Xiyu and her daughter through the Ruin, past the ruins of the Western Heaven Palace. That stretch of ruins was called the Western Heaven Palace: a vast expanse of land thrust slantwise into the wreckage, towering edifices reduced to broken walls and crumbling ramparts, pillars toppled every which way, fragments of giant machinery hidden among the rocks... He steadied himself and wiped the strange thoughts from his mind. "The many-bodied demon god is dead, so you may count yourselves safe now. What are your plans, Chief Yu?" "To rebuild our ancient nation and return to our native land." The garments on Yu Zhaoqing's body gave off a faint humming, and swiftly became a suit of armor; her fighting spirit blazed, her killing intent flooded the heavens. "I will lead my people back to the Tianyu World and take back our world! Many demon clans remain there — the wings of the many-bodied demon god — occupying the treasured lands of my Tianyu folk. We must take them back, slaughter every foe, and rebuild our homeland!" "There are still demon clans in the Tianyu World?" Shen Mu was startled. He calculated for a moment. "The Tianyu folk number only a few million now. Do you truly have the strength to retake the Tianyu World?" Yu Zhaoqing was full of confidence. "With the many-bodied demon god dead, the rest of my people in the Tianyu World will regain their senses as well. We Tianyu folk communicate through spiritual fluctuations; in battle we move as one body, as easily as a man moves his own arm. Retaking the Tianyu World will not be difficult." Shen Mu mused. "Chief Yu, the arts of the Dao and divine powers are not what they once were. You have been under the many-bodied demon god's control for so many years that I fear you no longer understand this age. On a battlefield, linking with your kin through spiritual fluctuations is all too easily disrupted. And after controlling you for so long, your enemies must have studied you through and through; in their eyes you are lambs waiting for the slaughter." His vital essence burst forth, and he performed a divine art. His vital essence turned into all manner of strange runes, which joined together into the form of a great cauldron, overturned and descending. The runes quivered without cease, giving off vibrations that ordinary people could scarcely hear; yet to Yu Zhaoqing's ears they were like a mighty bell and a great bronze chime tolling on and on, disrupting her spiritual thoughts, deafening her so that she could hear no sound at all and could not link with her kin. Shen Mu dispersed the divine art. "Chief Yu, I think you should take things slowly and not rush." Yu Zhaoqing's heart was in a tangle; the garments on her body kept shifting through colors, the hues forming chaotic patterns — plainly her mood was far from calm. Shen Mu had only just come into contact with the Tianyu folk, yet already he had realized that their spiritual link had flaws to be exploited; surely the demon clan experts in the Tianyu World had likewise studied every weakness of the Tianyu folk through and through! If the Tianyu folk could produce no new skills, rebuilding their ancient nation would be nothing but a joke, and returning to the Tianyu World would be walking to their deaths! "The Jingping Kingdom is in the midst of reform and transformation; its arts of the Dao and divine powers are renewed with each passing day," Shen Mu suggested. "Why not settle in the Jingping Kingdom first, learn new skills, and when you have the strength, return to the Tianyu World and take back your territory?" Yu Zhaoqing hesitated. As chieftain, she longed to return to the Tianyu World at once and sweep away all those monsters and demons; yet it was true, as Shen Mu said, that going back now meant death. They must take things slowly. The Sunherd chieftain spoke up suddenly. "Perhaps Chief Yu does not know that the one beside you is no outsider, but a prince." "A prince?" Yu Zhaoqing suppressed the conflict in her heart and asked doubtfully. "Which prince?" The Sunherd chieftain said with meaning, "The prince of my Sunherd clan — and the prince of your Tianyu clan as well." Yu Zhaoqing was greatly shaken. She rose hurriedly; the garments on her body became the robes of a subject, and she saluted Shen Mu once more. "Where do all these ceremonies come from? The Kaihuang Kingdom ceased to exist long ago, and I am no prince of yours. Sister Yu, do not frighten me." Shen Mu hastily raised her up, and pinched the garments on her body, finding them smooth and warm to the touch. He smiled. "Sister Yu, how were the clothes on your body made?" Yu Zhaoqing looked doubtfully at the Sunherd chieftain, and the Sunherd chieftain frowned as well. Shen Mu seemed unwilling to admit that he was the prince of Wuyou Township; he would not acknowledge his identity before the chieftain, nor would he acknowledge it before Yu Zhaoqing. "Prince, the clothes on my body are in truth my skin and my wings," Yu Zhaoqing explained. "The bodies of we Tianyu folk are a little different from yours. Many thin wings grow upon our bodies, and on those wings there are no feathers, but scales of skin. As our moods change, the scales change color. We Tianyu folk are quite accomplished when it comes to adorning ourselves." Hearing that her clothes were her skin, Shen Mu could not resist pinching again, and found that the scales she spoke of were not hard at all; on the contrary, they were as soft as skin. Yu Zhaoqing's face flushed faintly under his pinching. "Prince, you must not." Shen Mu let go, feeling some regret; he had meant to ask Yu Zhaoqing for a few sets of such garments, but the Tianyu folk's clothes grew upon their bodies and were part of them, impossible to take off, so he had to give up the idea. Si Yunxiang, Ling Yuxiu, and Xue Hu'er, however, crowded over, marveling at the garments on her body. Yu Zhaoqing's face reddened further; she did not want them to touch her, yet was too embarrassed to say so, and could only stand there in awkward unease. "It feels wonderful — smoother even than Ling'er's fur," the girls could not help exclaiming. Ling Yuxiu asked curiously, "Chief Yu, when winter comes and the cold freezes heaven and earth, do you not feel chilled dressed like that?" Yu Zhaoqing shook her head. "In our Tianyu World the four seasons are all warm and mild; there is no cold season. And even if the weather turned cold, the scales on our bodies can fill with air and keep us quite warm. Look." As she spoke, the garments on her body became thick and puffed up, yet the style remained most pleasing to the eye. Everyone exclaimed in admiration. The Sunherd chieftain stood to one s