Chapter 1812: Chaos Rune, Yuan
Young Master Zixiao's Dao-Achieving Sword had already struck the moment Qin Mu saw the sword light. Blossoms of blood exploded across Qin Mu's body!
The most fundamental difference between the Way of the Sword and other great Dao divine abilities was that this great Dao did not exist naturally; it was not an innate great Dao. The Way of the Sword was created for one purpose: killing. To defeat and slay an opponent in the shortest time, with the least effort and the most convenient method.
Young Master Zixiao's Way of the Sword adhered to this principle. He directly activated his Dao-Achieving Sword as soon as he started, severely wounding Qin Mu first!
The power of his sword path did not stop there. Where the blood blossoms exploded on Qin Mu's body, they immediately transformed into countless blood swords that pierced through Qin Mu's form.
At the same time, within the myriad foreign Great Luo Heavens, immeasurable sword light poured down, surging from all directions, passing straight through Qin Mu's body!
Qin Mu should not have used the Way of the Sword to duel him. A single point of difference in sword path attainment was enough to result in a crushing defeat.
Qin Mu's sword path was more than one point weaker than his. Holding the Chaos Sword, he couldn't even deliver a single sword move before countless beams of sword light pierced through his body!
Qin Mu exploded amidst the sword light. The World Tree behind him was also slashed to dust, his Dao Fruit shattered completely, and the Chaos Hall beneath his feet was destroyed, vanishing without a trace.
Young Master Zixiao sheathed his sword, his gaze cold.
Qin Mu's use of the Way of the Sword created too great a gap between them. He was practically a living target. If he had used other Dao techniques and divine abilities, Qin Mu might have had the strength to resist, but now he was dead on the spot.
However, he did not believe that Qin Mu would be killed by him.
"The Way of the Sword has the highest offensive power in the world, but it also has a huge weakness."
Everything about Qin Mu collapsed, turning into a mass of Primordial Chaos Qi. A figure walked out from within the Primordial Chaos Qi, and a voice emerged from it: "That weakness is that while its offensive power is too strong, it often cannot break through the deeper levels of the great Dao. Even someone as powerful as you faces the same predicament."
The weakness of the sword path he spoke of was also evident in the Opening Emperor Qin Ye.
After the Opening Emperor Qin Ye achieved his Dao, it was very difficult for him to kill opponents at the same cultivation level or even one level below him. While this was partly due to the Opening Emperor's relatively weak Dharmic power, it also reflected the weakness of the sword path.
The sword path was straightforward, directly killing the enemy's physical body and primordial spirit, even destroying their divine treasures with ease, thanks to its inherent sharpness.
However, when faced with various strange divine abilities and Dao techniques, the killing power of the sword path was somewhat insufficient.
This was determined by the basic sword techniques of the sword path.
Other great Daos, even the most common ones like Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire, each had hundreds or even thousands of basic runes. As for the Five Supreme Daos, the types and variations of runes were even more numerous and finer.
But the Way of the Sword only had twenty-three basic sword moves. These basic moves were the runes of the sword path. With only twenty-three runes, it struggled to effectively kill the opponent's great Dao.
This was why the Opening Emperor Qin Ye had high combat power but few notable victories.
Qin Mu had realized this long ago, which was why he chose to establish his Dao through divine abilities, using them to compensate for the sword path's shortcomings. His sword path techniques were more like divine abilities.
Young Master Zixiao flicked his sword, saying indifferently, "Old Seven, I knew about the weakness of the sword path earlier than you, and I understand it more deeply."
"Ding!"
The sword sang clearly, and Qin Mu's expression changed drastically.
"So I used Hongmeng runes to compensate for the sword path's weakness. The foundation of every one of my sword strikes is a Hongmeng rune. I fused the sword path with the teacher's Hongmeng Dao, transforming it into the Hongmeng Sword Dao."
Young Master Zixiao stared at the tip of his Dao Sword. At the tip was a faint purple light. The Dao Sword trembled, and the purple light flickered unsteadily.
Chi chi chi chi!
Suddenly, countless sword intents erupted from within Qin Mu's body, tearing him to shreds!
Young Master Zixiao said coldly, "Once you are struck by my Hongmeng Sword Dao, every great Dao within your body will be sliced apart. Even if you revive, you will be sliced apart again."
Qin Mu once again turned into a mass of Primordial Chaos Qi, and a rolling Dao sound came from within the chaos: "I have cultivated the Hongmeng Dao Body, the Hongmeng Primordial Spirit, refined the Guixu Dao, possess the World Tree, and am immortal and indestructible..."
Chi——
Countless beams of Hongmeng sword light shot out from all directions within that mass of Primordial Chaos Qi, tearing him apart again.
Young Master Zixiao shook his head and said, "Once struck by my sword, you will be forever trapped in this state. Old Seven, this is my Dao-Achieving Sword, which can only be considered my thirty-sixth sword. Above it, I have four more swords. Even if I can't kill you, what can you do?"
The Dao Tree Sword, the Dao Flower Sword, the Dao Fruit Sword, and the ultimate fortieth sword—the Dao Hall Sword, a sword path sanctuary that even the master of the Miluo Palace could not cultivate!
Just the Dao-Achieving Sword alone was something Qin Mu could not contend with!
That mass of Primordial Chaos Qi churned constantly. Qin Mu tried again and again to restore his physical body and primordial spirit, but was annihilated again and again.
"You and I come from the same school. If you had achieved the Dao through Chaos and cultivated the Dao Hall, I could not do anything to you. But you have never truly become the Seventh Young Master."
Young Master Zixiao sheathed his sword and turned around: "If you are not a Young Master, you are no match for me. But if you become a Young Master, you can only sit by and watch us annihilate the Dao Achievers of Yancheng and descend upon the Seventeenth Era. Old Seven, you lose."
He looked up towards the Chaos Long River outside the Miluo Palace, and his expression changed slightly.
Qin Mu was still struggling within the power of his Dao-Achieving Sword, being annihilated and reborn again and again. But strangely, the phenomenon of the sixteen Chaos Long Rivers sealing the Miluo Palace had not stopped!
If Qin Mu were completely trapped in this sword, the chaotic operation of the destruction tribulations of the sixteen cosmic eras would cease, and this place would no longer be sealed. Yet the chaos continued. This could only mean one thing.
His sword had not completely trapped Qin Mu. Qin Mu still had strength left!
Young Master Zixiao suddenly turned around, only to see that the mass of Primordial Chaos Qi had stopped changing and had become still.
"The seven Young Masters of the Miluo Palace may seem to have their own achievements, but they are all built upon the foundation of Hongmeng runes."
Qin Mu's voice came from within the mass of Primordial Chaos Qi: "The depth of one's understanding of Hongmeng runes and the Hongmeng Dao represents the level of their cultivation. The Eldest Young Master, Taishang, has the deepest Dao. The Second Young Master, Wuji, tried to break free from the Hongmeng rune system and went the furthest. In terms of Dao attainment, I indeed cannot compare to you. However, I am the only one who has truly broken free from the Hongmeng rune system."
Young Master Zixiao's expression changed. He drew his Dao Sword, and from within the myriad foreign Great Luo Heavens, countless beams of sword light flew over with a whoosh, stabbing into the mass of Primordial Chaos Qi.
However, these beams of sword light entered the Primordial Chaos Qi and vanished like clay oxen entering the sea, without a trace!
The mass of Primordial Chaos Qi gradually dissipated, and Qin Mu's figure became clear: "The teacher did not achieve the status of the seven Young Masters, but his understanding of the Hongmeng Dao surpasses all of us. That is why we cannot surpass him. The Second Young Master, Wuji, wanted to escape his shadow and chose to achieve the Dao through Guixu. However, the foundation of her Guixu Dao was still Hongmeng runes. But I am different. I developed Chaos Runes based on the Hongmeng runes. I call these Chaos Runes..."
His figure appeared, and immediately Young Master Zixiao's Dao-Achieving Sword thrust towards him.
Qin Mu raised his hand and caught the incoming sword light between two fingers, a smile appearing on his face: "Yuan."
His two fingers clamped down on Young Master Zixiao's Dao Sword. All the changes hidden within the sword light came to an abrupt halt. Young Master Zixiao immediately withdrew his sword and executed the Dao Tree Sword, attacking Qin Mu.
"Yuan is the name of the Chaos Rune."
The World Tree reappeared behind Qin Mu, the Guixu Lotus reappeared, and the Ancestral Court stretched out boundlessly. He raised his hand and pointed at the tip of the Dao Tree Sword, saying in a deep voice: "The Hongmeng Rune has only one rune. The teacher used One to evolve the myriad things. But Yuan is different. Yuan exists between being and non-being. It can be a Hongmeng Rune, or it can transform into all other runes. Vast and indistinct, chaotic and unfathomable."
A Chaos Sword suddenly appeared in his hand, meeting Young Master Zixiao's Dao Flower Sword. It was the Tiandu Heaven-Opening Chapter!
The two swords clashed, and the Chaos Sword exploded.
Young Master Zixiao's sword light passed through Qin Mu's body. Qin Mu seemed oblivious. Another Chaos Axe appeared in his hand, and he executed the Taiyi Tree-Felling Technique. Young Master Zixiao let out a long howl, and the Dao Fruit Sword severed the Chaos Axe!
Above the Miluo Palace, the two figures flashed and moved. Young Master Zixiao finally activated his strongest sword, the Dao Hall Sword, meeting Qin Mu's attack!
Although he could not understand Qin Mu's Chaos Runes and Chaos Dao, Qin Mu's cultivation was still inferior to his.
Moreover, the crucial point was that despite Qin Mu having the so-called Yuan Rune, his divine abilities were not Chaos divine abilities; they were still his old techniques.
How to counter Qin Mu's divine abilities was something Zixiao had pondered for thirty-five billion years. Countering Qin Mu's divine abilities came naturally to him.
At the same time, Young Master Lingxiao, who was sprinting across the Chaos Long River, suddenly changed expression. He flipped and leaped, narrowly dodging a beam of sword light that shot out from the Primordial Chaos Qi on the river's surface.
"Old Fourth's sword path divine ability!"
His heart trembled. On the long river, the chaos was vast and boundless. Suddenly, from within the mist, the power of the Fourth Young Master Zixiao's Dao Sword came howling towards him. Young Master Lingxiao's expression changed drastically. He swung his Dao Spear, breaking one sword technique after another, his heart sinking.
"This is the Chaos divine ability that killed the Heavenly Lord Hao!"
His mind was as clear as a mirror. He had once studied the death of the Heavenly Lord Hao.
The Heavenly Lord Hao was struck by Qin Mu's sword, and ninety-three years later, was killed by countless divine abilities from the Boundless Old Man!
The Boundless Old Man's divine abilities were launched at Qin Mu during the Guixu War, and they disappeared after falling into the sixteen Chaos Long Rivers surrounding Qin Mu.
That was the first application of Qin Mu's Chaos divine ability.
Now, Young Master Zixiao's divine abilities came unexpectedly, indicating that Young Master Zixiao's divine abilities were also being used by Qin Mu to attack him!
"Old Fourth is within his Chaos divine ability and probably doesn't even know that his own divine abilities are being borrowed by Old Seven!"
Ding ding ding ding!
The spear was like rain, blocking one great sword path divine ability after another. Young Master Zixiao's expression grew increasingly grave. He was very close to the Miluo Palace, but now he was blocked by the power of Young Master Zixiao's sword path, slowing him down.
And the order of the sixteen long rivers was constantly changing. He would likely only get farther and farther from the Miluo Palace.
"Old Seven's Dao heart has a flaw. He is being used without knowing it."
He tried his best to control the power of his Dao Spear, striving not to let Qin Mu borrow it to use against Young Master Zixiao. But his strength was not much different from Young Master Zixiao's. If he didn't use his full power, he would likely be wounded by Zixiao's sword!
At the same time, in Yujing City, Qin Fengqing controlled the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel and immediately charged towards the Dao Tree Forest within Yujing City. The Six Paths Heavenly Wheel, made of Chaos Stone, spun wildly, grinding into the Dao Tree Forest!
On the wheel, three thousand Yancheng Dao Achievers began a great slaughter!