Chapter 1534: The Original Heart as a Sword
"Qiang Tianfei is dead? And at your hands?"
Kai Huang's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Qin Mu in surprise, and after a moment, said, "Your strength has greatly increased after forging the Calamity Sword. The sword is sharp, but you must not neglect the cultivation of the one who wields it. Over-reliance on a sharp weapon will cause you to lose the motivation to advance."
Qin Mu took out the God-Slaying Platform and said, "My cultivation has never fallen behind. In fact, I am now stronger than ever before! I can now compete on equal footing with Celestial Venerables! Kai Huang, at my age back then, what was your cultivation level? There's no need to worry about me."
Kai Huang thought for a moment. At Qin Mu's age, he was still a minor deity, far from achieving what Qin Mu had now.
He supposed he had set his expectations too high for him, which was why he feared he might fall.
On the God-Slaying Platform, the power of the two divine blades had recovered considerably, but they had still not returned to their peak state.
The two blood-fiend divine blades were entangled on the platform, their power astonishing—capable of severing the primordial spirit, the physical body, and the Dao heart!
"These two divine blades seem weaker than before, not as powerful as they were during the Xanadu battle."
Kai Huang examined them and said doubtfully, "Their power is too shallow now; they probably can't help me achieve the Dao. I am too strong; the God-Slaying Platform can't put enough pressure on me."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow. The power of the two divine blades on the God-Slaying Platform was terrifyingly immense. Even though they hadn't fully recovered, a single touch meant death, and a graze meant doom. Yet Kai Huang still thought their power was too shallow.
"A blade is only as good as the one who wields it. An empty God-Slaying Mysterious Blade without someone to drive it is naturally too weak for you."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "Besides, what you need isn't pressure, but to comprehend the Dao heart and Dao realm within the God-Slaying Platform. How about this: I'll control these two divine blades and lend you a hand. What do you think?"
Kai Huang's sword-like brows lifted slightly, and he smiled. "Fine. But I'm worried your skill isn't enough to handle these two divine blades."
Qin Mu twisted his waist, rolled his neck, and stretched his body, laughing. "In the Xanadu battle, I wielded the divine blade and cut down more than one Celestial Venerable. Back then, I didn't control the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades. Now that I have the blades in hand, I'm more worried about you. After all, you're old, while I'm still in my prime."
Kai Huang chuckled. "What is old or young for gods and demons? You jest, Mu Celestial Venerable."
"You flatter me, Qin Celestial Venerable."
Qin Mu raised his hand in invitation. "In that case, Qin Celestial Venerable, please ascend the platform?"
Kai Huang gripped the sheath of the Carefree Sword with his left hand and slowly stepped onto the platform.
Qin Mu soared into the air, hovering above the God-Slaying Platform, positioned between the two God-Slaying Mysterious Blades. The two divine blades, like two blood-fiend dragons, roared and circled around him.
He narrowed his eyes and raised his palm. The blood-fiend dragons slithered past his palm, their reverse scales rough and sharp, scraping against his skin.
Blood flowed from his palm, yet the two blood-fiend evil dragons appeared docile and obedient.
In recent days, he had refined the God-Slaying Platform. With the platform refined, the two God-Slaying Mysterious Blades were also under his control, and he wielded the divine blades with ease.
Below, Kai Huang resisted the baleful aura of the blades and walked step by step toward the platform.
Around him, it seemed as if layers of invisible sword Dao domains existed. The blade light of the God-Slaying Platform flashed, and wherever it invaded his domain, the clashing of sword light and blade light rang out with a sharp clang.
To Qin Mu, the God-Slaying Platform had only thirty steps. But to Kai Huang, it had thirty-five steps.
This was the peculiarity of the God-Slaying Platform: the higher one's Dao realm cultivation, the more steps the platform had, and the stronger the power of the divine blades upon it!
Finally, Kai Huang took his thirty-fifth step and ascended the God-Slaying Platform!
Back then, when Qin Mu, the Butcher, and other masters of the blade Dao had joined forces to ascend the platform, they had been forced to draw their divine blades and unleash their ultimate techniques early on. Yet Kai Huang, climbing the thirty-five-tiered God-Slaying Platform, had never once drawn his sword.
Whoosh—
The two God-Slaying Mysterious Blades paused briefly, their dragon heads turning, then plunged downward.
Qin Mu's gaze fell on Kai Huang, searching for his weaknesses, letting the two divine blades attack on their own.
On the platform, Kai Huang moved as if strolling through a garden, casually drawing his sword and parrying, forcing the two God-Slaying Mysterious Blades back time and again.
His sword Dao was too strong. Using the God-Slaying Platform to hone his sword Dao proved difficult because the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades could hardly harm him.
His Dao heart was also too powerful. With such a formidable Dao heart, the platform, which was meant to sever and temper the Dao heart, had lost its effect on him.
When one reached his level, it was indeed hard to advance further.
This was why he had wanted to ascend the God-Slaying Platform during the Xanadu battle in the first place.
He was too strong. To achieve the Dao, he needed a great trial. Qiang Tianfei, a Celestial Venerable who controlled the God-Slaying Platform and the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades, could have stimulated his potential and helped him achieve the Dao!
But now, the power of the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades had greatly diminished, and they could no longer put pressure on him!
Suddenly, the overwhelming sea of blood-red blade light vanished without a trace. The two divine blades soared upward, and Kai Huang couldn't help but look up.
Above his head was a clear blue sky, without a single cloud. The sky was so transparent that he could almost see the stars beyond the heavens.
Kai Huang narrowed his eyes. He saw Qin Mu, with the two divine blades, spinning and shooting into the sky, moving farther and farther from the God-Slaying Platform. Soon, Qin Mu was as small as a tiny ant.
Kai Huang tilted his head back, looking across the distance at Qin Mu. Qin Mu continued to recede until he reached the outer reaches of Carefree Village's heavens, where he finally stopped.
Kai Huang raised an eyebrow. With a swoosh, he sheathed the Carefree Sword. He shook his right hand, flexing his fingers, then gripped the sword hilt, ready to strike.
Out in the heavens, Qin Mu grasped the blood-fiend God-Slaying Blade and gave it a forceful shake. The two divine blades merged into one, becoming a single divine blade.
This blade was entirely blood-red, with a dragon head as its hilt, dragon fins as its edge, and a dragon spine as its ridge. It carried an unmatched baleful aura, honed from slaying the Heavenly Duke!
Qin Mu gripped the blade, crouched, and gathered his strength. Suddenly, he grinned, and in the next moment, he took a step forward!
At that instant, it was as if a meteor had suddenly appeared in the sky above Carefree Village. The meteor broke through the atmosphere of Carefree Village's sky. At first, it was dim, but as it fell, it grew brighter and brighter.
The light was a blood-red radiance, casting Carefree Village in a crimson hue. Later, it became like a vast ocean of blood!
At the same time, the entire God-Slaying Platform blazed with light. All its natural Dao patterns lit up, and suddenly, the blood light surged upward like a tide!
The blade light and the blood light merged into one. Kai Huang looked up, unable to tell where the blade light ended and the blood light began!
Suddenly, a cut appeared on Kai Huang's face. Even before the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade had arrived, a wound had already opened on his cheek!
And from the wound on his face, blood began to flow upward! The blood and qi within his body also stirred, surging toward the wound!
"As expected of the number one fierce weapon under the heavens!"
Kai Huang couldn't help but grow excited. He fiercely drew his sword. The sword light merged with his blood, and his sword Dao infused each droplet of blood that flew upward.
Suddenly, a series of crisp clinks rang out. The moment his blood collided with the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade, the sword Dao hidden within the blood exploded!
Kai Huang's eyes lit up. He finally saw the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade within the ocean of blood!
The Carefree Sword met the God-Slaying Mysterious Blade in the blood-red frenzy. His sword Dao erupted in that single strike, and in an instant, thirty-five layers of heavenly sword domains emerged within the blood light!
Boom!
The sea of blood above the God-Slaying Platform exploded. Frenzied blade light and sword light intertwined. In the blink of an eye, Kai Huang was covered in blood, wounds appearing all over his body!
This was not Qin Mu's personal power alone, but the power of the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades and the God-Slaying Platform.
This platform was extremely marvelous. Standing on it, the number of Dao realm layers one possessed determined how many layers the platform would generate. Qin Mu's own blade Dao realm was only at the twenty-sixth layer. Even with the Butcher and others joining forces, they could only raise it to the thirtieth layer, which would not be enough to harm Kai Huang.
But by borrowing the power of the God-Slaying Platform, he could unleash the power of a thirty-fifth-layer Dao realm!
This was the strength of the God-Slaying Platform, and also the strength of Kai Huang.
Without Kai Huang, a being with a thirty-fifth-layer Dao realm, standing on the platform, he would never have been able to harness the power of a thirty-fifth-layer Dao realm!
Combined with the power of the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades, he had already managed to wound Kai Huang!
For the first time, Kai Huang faced such a ferocious assault. The overwhelming blade light that came at him from all directions left him feeling defenseless. Not only that, but the terrifying blade light was pervasive, cutting into his physical body and his primordial spirit time and again!
Even his Dao heart was invaded by the blade light, riddled with holes!
With the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades, combined with the God-Slaying Platform, and Qin Mu—a formidable existence proficient in the blade Dao—Kai Huang found himself on the defensive!
He saw Qin Mu within the blood light. The Mysterious Blade split into two, then merged back into one, changing length, now near, now far, like a gale, like thunder, like a rainstorm—incredibly fast, unbelievably fast!
Qin Mu attacked him from every angle. Even his Dao realm could not withstand it, and his sword domains were torn apart by the two divine blades time and again!
Though the wounds to his body and primordial spirit were severe, even more severe were the cuts left on his Dao heart.
The repeated attacks of the God-Slaying Mysterious Blades were like repeated Dao interrogations, rebuking his Dao heart, rebuking his actions, making him doubt himself, making him deny himself!
This was an attack he had never seen before, and he did not know how to defend against it.
For the first time, he hesitated, wavered.
His once unbreakable Dao heart now grew weak. In the blood light, he seemed to see his own life's deeds, his failures. He saw the consequences of his decisions when the Kai Huang Calamity erupted.
He saw himself, during the Kai Huang Calamity, leading the most powerful forces of the Kai Huang Heavenly Court to take refuge in Carefree Village. He saw the people under the protection of the Kai Huang Heavenly Court, displaced and separated from their families after they left. He saw countless innocent lives dying horribly at the hands of the gods and demons of the Heavenly Court!
He saw those lives he had promised to protect, facing suffering and helplessness amidst natural and man-made disasters. He saw them crying out to heaven and earth, but he never fulfilled his promise.
He saw his old subordinates, filled with despair, turning into stone statues one by one.
He saw the Kai Huang Era turn into the Great Wasteland. He saw the tragic deaths of the Heavenly Artifact Divine Clan. He saw the disappointment of the Woodcutter Saint. He saw the First Ancestor of the Human Sovereigns, leading the remnants of the Kai Huang Era, struggling to survive.
He saw the First Ancestor of the Human Sovereigns, ultimately consumed by guilt, turning into a stone statue in the Lesser Jade Capital, refusing to awaken.
This was Kai Huang's sin, yet it was the First Ancestor of the Human Sovereigns who bore it.
Kai Huang's Dao heart wavered.
Qin Mu's blade light had shaken him. He could not live his life without regret. Qin Mu, using the wonders of the God-Slaying Platform, had struck at the regret within his Dao heart!
Shing!
A blood-stained blade light fell. Kai Huang raised his sword to block, but was forced to one knee. The God-Slaying Mysterious Blade pressed down on the Carefree Sword, driving the sword into his shoulder.
He knelt on the ground, as if returning to the past, to the moment he first grasped a sword.
In a haze, he saw his master, an obscure swordsman. When he knelt and begged his master to teach him swordsmanship, the old swordsman's voice echoed in his Dao heart: "Qin Ye, why do you wish to learn the sword?"
In the mud, a young child looked up, his eyes filled with determination: "I learn the sword to protect those who suffer injustice and hardship, just like me!"
"I learn the sword to gain the power to level the injustices of the world and protect the common people!"
"I learn the sword to use it as a plow, to carve out riverbeds so that floods no longer rage, so that the gods in heaven dare not send down calamities. I learn the sword to use it as a weapon, to vanquish fierce beasts, to eliminate demons and monsters, to establish laws for the gods, and to return a peaceful and prosperous world to the people!"
...
"Can you do it?"
"I can!"
The old swordsman placed his sword on the child's shoulder and smiled gently. "Qin Ye, never forget this. This is your original heart. Everything you do in the future must not betray your original heart."
In the blood light, the blood-soaked Kai Huang looked up at the two blood-fiend evil dragons slashing toward him. The eyes of the dragons seemed to mock his actions over the years, mocking him for having long forgotten what his original heart was!
Kai Huang's face was streaked with tears, tears of blood.
Snap.
The Carefree Sword in his hand suddenly exploded, turning into dust.
The sword that had accompanied him through countless battles was shattered, broken into nothing.
Yet in his hand, there was still a sword, radiant with light!
His sword Dao, now without Carefree, had only the original heart left.
The original heart became the sword.