Chapter 41: Pushing the Knife
As Qin Mu sprinted, he stirred up the wind, while Granny Si and Blind simply rode on the crest of the wind, borrowing its momentum to move. The so-called "wind crest" was just like a wave crest—waves formed from the flow of water, and wind from the flow of air. The surge of wind Qin Mu created was the wind crest.
The young man Qin Mu had been carrying immediately jumped down and led the three of them quickly toward his house, shouting, "Hurry, hurry, all of you!"
Setting aside the matter of the wind crest for now, Qin Mu walked up to the courtyard and looked around. The village was much larger than Cripples' Village, with about a hundred households, and the houses were simple and rustic.
In this yard stood a large tree, its canopy shading half the house, and the woman in labor was in the room beneath it.
A village woman poked her head out from the room and said, "Her water has broken! Hurry and boil some hot water! Oh, it's the old midwife from Cripples' Village! That's great—mother and child will be safe!"
Granny Si glanced around, understanding the situation, and said, "Mu'er, open your eyes and look around for anything unusual. If there is, handle it yourself. I'll go in to deliver the baby. Blind, you be careful too—don't get ambushed."
"Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye, open!"
Qin Mu activated his Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye and scanned the area. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the dense canopy of the large tree, and a chill ran down his spine, nearly making him cry out in shock.
What he saw was that the tree's trunk, which at first glance seemed like wood, was actually a massive serpent as thick as a water barrel!
The serpent was hidden within the canopy, half of its body embedded inside the tree trunk. The occasional bulging lumps on the trunk were actually parts of the serpent's exposed body!
Judging by its size, this serpent was larger than any he had ever seen—its other half was likely buried in the roots beneath the ground, even bigger than the green flood dragon that Grandpa Ma had caught!
The entire tree, including its canopy, was shrouded in thick black mist that enveloped the house!
At that moment, the serpent was flicking its crimson forked tongue, inhaling and exhaling toward the room where the woman in labor lay, doing who knows what!
Afraid he might be mistaken, Qin Mu dispelled the Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye and looked with his naked eyes. The tree was still just a tree, not a serpent. But when he activated his eye again, the serpent was still coiled in the canopy, waiting to devour the soul of the newborn baby!
Clearly, the children born to this household over the past few years had all had their souls eaten by this serpent!
Rage surged in his heart, and he said in a low voice, "Grandpa Blind..."
Blind remained calm and composed, saying leisurely, "Granny said to leave it to you. Handle it. This will be your first hunt. Hurry up—the baby is about to be born."
Qin Mu steadied himself, walked directly to the base of the large tree, and began to breathe slowly and deeply.
His primal energy shifted from stillness to motion. As his anger grew, the circulation of his primal energy accelerated, becoming more and more vast!
His primal energy surged and churned within him, and his anger burned ever hotter!
*Zheng!*
Suddenly, the butcher knife strapped to his back resonated with the surging primal energy inside him. It leaped from his back with a sharp ring, soaring above his head!
Qin Mu raised his hand and grasped the knife. His primal energy erupted wildly, flooding into the butcher knife as he swung it!
He swung with all his strength!
Let the primal energy explode, let the fury erupt—a full, unrestrained release in a single slash!
*Slash!*
The butcher knife in his hand rang out sharply as it tore through the air, letting out a piercing shriek as it cut through the tree trunk with devastating force!
*Clang!*
A thunderous sound rang out as Qin Mu's slash embedded itself into the tree trunk, cutting into the serpent hidden within. But it only went halfway through. The serpent's skin, flesh, and bones had been tempered to an incredible toughness. Even though the butcher knife, forged by Mute, was superior to ordinary spirit weapons, it couldn't cleave the serpent in two with a single blow!
Qin Mu grabbed the back of the blade with his other hand, planted his feet, and unleashed the leg techniques Cripple had taught him.
Cripple had said that legs are the wind, the earth, and the root of strength!
Now, his legs were rooted in the earth. With a sudden burst of force, the ground around his feet sank as he channeled all his power, pushing the knife forward with one hand while gripping the hilt tightly with the other—*pushing the knife!*
A grating, screeching sound filled the air as the large tree, along with the serpent inside it, was severed cleanly in half!
Qin Mu steadied himself, holding the butcher knife horizontally in front of him. Blood dripped from the blade, and the muscles on his back tensed, still twitching.
Behind him, the towering tree tilted and fell.
*Boom!*
The tree crashed into the yard, sending dust flying everywhere. Suddenly, the fallen tree came to life!
The serpent, cut in two, was not yet dead. Its lower half writhed, and with a series of sharp *bang bang bang* sounds, the serpent's body within the tree shattered the trunk into pieces. Bark and wood chunks flew in all directions, some even embedding themselves into the walls!
The flying bark and wood were more terrifying than spears, their piercing sounds carrying immense force!
*Night Battle Amidst the City's Wind and Rain!*
Qin Mu's butcher knife spun in his hands, its blade flashing. Earlier, his slash had unleashed a blade aura, concentrating all his strength into a single, heavy blow. Now, his knife technique became incredibly fast!
The butcher's knife technique had only one key principle: speed, more speed, and even more speed!
*Clang clang clang clang!*
The rapid impacts sounded like rain as countless pieces of bark and wood struck Qin Mu's butcher knife, numbing his arms from the force.
This serpent's strength far surpassed his own. However, its attention had been focused on the woman in labor in the room, waiting to absorb the baby's soul and essence the moment it was born.
When a baby is born, the umbilical cord connects it to the mother's placenta. Its essence is innate, but after birth, it becomes acquired. Before birth, its essence is incomplete, so the serpent chose to seize it at the moment of birth.
Somehow, it had infiltrated this village, hiding within the tree to cultivate, fooling everyone. Over the years, it had remained undetected, devouring the souls of several infants and greatly increasing its power. This time, it had expected another easy harvest, but it hadn't noticed Qin Mu, who struck it with a single, decisive blow.
Even though Qin Mu had cut it in half, it wouldn't die immediately.
Now, the serpent was enraged. Knowing its body was broken and it couldn't survive, it burst out of the tree trunk and lunged at Qin Mu with its massive jaws wide open!
A gust of wind blasted into Qin Mu's face, making his skin ripple violently and his eyes nearly impossible to keep open.
Without thinking, Qin Mu swung his knife like a storm, slashing wildly forward. Then, an unimaginable force slammed into him. The boy grunted as his body was hurled backward, crashing through the courtyard wall with a loud *crack*, leaving a human-shaped hole!
Before he could steady himself, he saw the two courtyard doors fly up like paper. The serpent smashed through them, its stench filling the air as it charged at him ferociously. Its gaping maw and fangs sent a chill through Qin Mu's heart. He didn't dare face it head-on and almost called out to Blind for help.
But behind the serpent, Blind stood there calmly, completely ignoring the scene.
Qin Mu's heart stirred: "Could Grandpa Blind think I can handle this serpent? If he believes I can, then I can! Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye, open!"
His primal energy surged, flowing into his eyes and forming intricate arrays of runes, creating a complex pupil pattern in his irises.
With the Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye activated, he felt as if the world around him had been restructured. The dim village, the scattered houses, the charging serpent—everything became more vivid. He could easily track every move the serpent made.
Qin Mu sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the serpent's lunge, and slashed his butcher knife across the eye of the serpent as it passed by.
He leaped up, dodging the serpent's sweeping tail by a hair's breadth.
Every movement of the serpent was now crystal clear to him. From the tension of the muscles beneath its scales to the angle of its force, he could predict its next move and evade accordingly.
It all felt natural, requiring no guesswork.
The first level of the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, the Divine Firmament Heavenly Eye, not only saw through appearances but also greatly enhanced his perception!
The serpent, its left eye sliced open by his knife, let out a hiss of pain and lunged at Qin Mu as he landed. Then, its other eye went dark as Qin Mu slashed it open as well.
Suddenly, the serpent fell still, motionless. Qin Mu also stopped, not moving. Man and serpent stood barely ten feet apart.
On both sides of the village road, many villagers had come out to watch, staring in stunned silence at the scene of the eleven- or twelve-year-old boy battling the serpent.
It was late, and the small village of a dozen households was lit only by the dim glow of oil lamps from the windows, barely illuminating the path.
Everyone held their breath, afraid to make a sound.
Suddenly, a little girl burst into tears, frightened. The serpent moved instantly, slithering toward her with terrifying speed, its massive jaws opening wide as it lunged at the family of three, who stood frozen in terror!