Chapter 315: This Is Going to Be Bad
“That kid got beaten so badly—could he have run into some terrifying existence hiding on this ship?”
Ban Gongcuo pursued him, still harboring some doubts. “But didn’t that terrifying existence already escape?”
When Zhen Xingjun fled from the treasure ship, the commotion had been immense. At that time, Ban Gongcuo was searching the various rooms for his scattered attendants, some of whom were still waiting on the deck. It was then that Zhen Xingjun broke free from the ship. By the time Ban Gongcuo reached the deck, several people had already vanished, presumably swept into the Netherworld by the hurricane Zhen Xingjun stirred up during his escape—never to return.
That had been two months ago.
During this period, Ban Gongcuo and his men had ransacked every room, hauling away virtually all the treasures they could carry. The only obstacle they encountered was when they tried to plunder the bridge, blocked by Dragon Qilin and the two White Bat brothers, who held the entrance and prevented them from breaking in.
There was only one door leading into the bridge. To enter, they had to force their way through, but the two White Bats and Dragon Qilin were no pushovers. Guarding the door, even a Witch King at the Life-and-Death realm couldn’t breach it. Over these days, they had employed a rotation tactic, denying the two White Bats and Dragon Qilin any rest.
The moment Ban Gongcuo burst into that room, he immediately activated the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner. Countless locusts swirled around him, shielding his body.
Just then, he heard the door close behind him. Qin Mu appeared at the door, shutting it.
Ban Gongcuo charged forward a dozen paces before turning around, a faint smile on his face. “Chief Qin, why did you lure me here?”
The bruises and swelling on Qin Mu’s face were clearly the marks of a severe beating. He said with some resentment, “I’ve taken a lot of beatings these past two months, and my confidence has taken a serious hit. Brother, you know how it is—when a person fails over and over, keeps failing, it twists the mind. It makes you go crazy.”
Ban Gongcuo raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Who could have beaten Chief Qin into such a state? That piques my curiosity. I thought that besides me, no one else in this world could repeatedly defeat Chief Qin and make him feel such frustration. Could that person be a Seven-Star realm divine ability user?”
Qin Mu touched the wounds on his face. “He used cultivation at the Six Harmonies realm.”
Ban Gongcuo was even more astonished. He let out a breath of turbid air and praised, “That man truly has skill.”
Qin Mu said with utmost sincerity, “So, brother, I had no choice but to come find you during my break. To keep myself from becoming twisted and deranged, how about letting me beat you up a bit to vent my frustration?”
Ban Gongcuo’s brows lowered, his gaze falling on his hand gripping the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner. He chuckled softly, “Chief Qin, I’ve never been one to fight a battle without certainty. If I’m not sure, I’ll resort to underhanded tricks. But when I saw you sneakily waving me over, I came running immediately. Do you know why?”
He lifted his head, a smug smile on his face. “These past two months, I’ve trained hard and made tremendous progress compared to two months ago. You know I’m the Grand Venerable of the Golden Palace of Loulan, with eighteen reincarnations under my belt. Two months of my training is worth two years of yours! I didn’t chase after you to listen to your nonsense or to get beaten—I came to kill you!”
His anger surged, his black hair bristling as he swung the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner at Qin Mu, roaring, “To beat you to death! Hand over that silver helmet, and I’ll let you die a quicker death!”
Clang, clang, clang, clang—
Locusts clashed with a rain of swords. The golden locusts had wings as sharp as blades, while Qin Mu’s flying swords were incredibly heavy. In an instant, the room was filled with sparks flying everywhere.
Amid the sword light and locust swarm, Ban Gongcuo slammed the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner heavily into the ground. His footsteps flickered through the rain of swords and locusts, moving left and right as he closed in on Qin Mu.
Meanwhile, Qin Mu’s footwork was equally unpredictable, weaving through the storm of swords and locusts at lightning speed.
The room wasn’t large, especially with the constant clattering collisions of locusts and flying swords. A single misstep could result in injury or even death.
Over these days, both Qin Mu and Ban Gongcuo had been studying how to refine their divine abilities to a finer, more precise degree. In this cramped space, they minimized the size of their locusts and swords—Qin Mu’s flying swords were no longer than three inches, and Ban Gongcuo’s locusts no longer than five fingers.
But the smaller they were, the more dangerous they became. Navigating through the opponent’s rain of swords and locusts required exceptional eyesight and judgment.
The next moment, they clashed. Fist met palm, and their power erupted, producing a crisp thunderclap in the room.
Ban Gongcuo smirked. “With my current cultivation… Damn!”
He grunted, feeling the terrifying force from his opponent, and his heart jolted. He had trained diligently these past days, greatly increasing his cultivation. He had assumed his power would be overwhelmingly superior, but without using his full strength, Qin Mu actually had a slight edge!
How was that possible?
Had this kid also undergone reincarnation?
But then he sensed something off. It wasn’t that Qin Mu surpassed him in magical power; rather, the brat’s primal energy had become purer and more refined, and his application of techniques and divine abilities had reached a higher level. His physical body had also grown much stronger.
In other words, Qin Mu could use less primal energy to unleash greater power from his divine abilities. He was ahead in the precision of his techniques—when an attack missed, little energy was wasted, and when it hit, the explosive force was even greater!
Ban Gongcuo and Qin Mu had entered that mysterious corridor together, both glimpsing the marks of divine abilities and divine weapons on the walls, but they had only skimmed through them hastily without in-depth study.
Now, however, Qin Mu’s mastery in this area had surpassed his.
“This is going to be bad!”
Ban Gongcuo’s mind went blank, and he immediately sensed danger. Qin Mu’s cultivation had improved, his primal energy had become purer, consuming less magical power, and his physical body had strengthened. Under these circumstances, it was clear that Qin Mu’s combat endurance and stamina exceeded his own.
Even if the margin was small, a mere sliver of an advantage was enough to secure victory!
It would be fine in the short term, but over time, he would be in trouble!
Sure enough, as their ultimate techniques clashed, the Eight Thousand Swords and the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner consumed vast amounts of magical power, rapidly depleting their primal energy. The number of flying swords and locusts each could control dwindled sharply.
Yet Qin Mu’s physical vitality remained formidable. His moves were bold and unrestrained, sweeping through with overwhelming force. Every punch and kick could split mountains and shatter rocks, driving Ban Gongcuo back step by step.
Suddenly, Ban Gongcuo slammed backward, crashing through a door. He rolled into the room and immediately tried to close it, but before the door could shut, a powerful force struck him, sending him flying. He smacked against the opposite wall with a loud slap!
“I just need to hold out until my subordinates find me. Once they come, this brat is as good as dead!”
Ban Gongcuo remained calm. Over these two months, while searching for treasures on the ship and that mysterious corridor, he had taught several Witch Kings the method of calculating spatial alignment.
Those Witch Kings would surely find him!
Of course, their wisdom and mathematical skills were inferior to his, so it would take them some time to locate him. He just had to hold on until they arrived.
Qin Mu charged in like a gale, engaging in close combat. This time, they used even fewer locusts and flying swords. Qin Mu controlled nine swords, each extremely tiny, darting around him like finger-length flying fish. Ban Gongcuo’s nine locusts were equally minuscule, truly resembling golden locusts.
Even though their primal energy was severely depleted, their attacks remained fierce. Especially in close-quarters combat, a single misstep could mean death.
Ban Gongcuo fought cautiously, but his cultivation drained too quickly. Finally, his power was exhausted.
Qin Mu’s cultivation was also spent, but his physical body was still like a mighty wild ox. Ban Gongcuo managed to block only a dozen or so attacks before his defenses crumbled. In an instant, he was beaten black and blue.
Qin Mu pinned him to the ground and pummeled him. Ban Gongcuo’s eyes were swollen shut, but he still shouted, “Good hit! Hit me again if you dare!”
Qin Mu landed two more punches, then suddenly heard a door opening in the next room. His heart stirred, and he immediately stopped.
Ban Gongcuo yelled, “Come on, hit me again!”
Qin Mu gathered his flying swords and turned to leave, chuckling, “Brother, I’m satisfied. I’ll come find you another day. Oh, by the way, I’m taking the glutton pouch hanging from your waist!”
Ban Gongcuo’s heart chilled. He quickly grabbed at his waist, only to find it empty.
The glutton pouch at his side had vanished without a trace!
When had Qin Mu unfastened it? He hadn’t noticed at all!
“My skills are still a bit inferior to Grandpa Lame’s—otherwise, I could have even taken his underwear without him knowing.” Qin Mu tossed the glutton pouch in his hand, sighing inwardly. Grandpa Lame’s craftsmanship was truly superior.
“Kill him!” Ban Gongcuo’s voice rang out as several Witch Kings finally arrived at the room.
Qin Mu smiled, closed the door behind him, and returned to the first room. He gathered the scattered flying swords on the floor, placed them in the glutton pouch, and also stowed away the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner.
He opened Ban Gongcuo’s glutton pouch and glanced inside, frowning slightly. There were no books from the study inside—only treasures from the ship, like incense burners, tea tables, and candlesticks. It seemed Ban Gongcuo hadn’t stored those books here.
“What do the books on the shelves contain? Divine techniques? Or something else…”
Qin Mu tied both glutton pouches to his waist and returned to the study, thinking, “Next time I come to beat him up for fun, I’ll ask him where he hid the books.”
Ban Gongcuo staggered out of the building and onto the deck, catching the strange looks from the various great witches. He understood—seeing him beaten like this by Qin Mu, their awe of him was beginning to fade.
Ban Gongcuo said calmly, “Chief Qin didn’t fare well either. I gravely wounded him. I know his name. Once I recover my cultivation, I’ll perform a ritual to take his life!”
When he had recovered his cultivation, he immediately performed the ritual. Strangely, even though he knew Qin Mu’s name, he couldn’t locate him. It was as if Qin Mu had vanished from this world.
Ban Gongcuo performed the ritual again, but his witchcraft still couldn’t find Qin Mu.
“Impossible. He’s clearly on the ship, yet my witchcraft can’t locate him. Could he be hiding in some secret space, blocking my witchcraft’s perception?”
Qin Mu returned to the painting. The man in the painting continued to spar with him. Though Qin Mu still lost every time, he lasted longer and longer.
Time slipped by unnoticed. One day, the treasure ship suddenly shook violently. Even within the painted world, Qin Mu could feel the tremor.
The old man in the painting looked anxious and called him out. Qin Mu quickly followed him out of the painting and rushed to the deck.
In the distance, countless Netherworld creatures surged toward them, while the treasure ship accelerated away.
The old man in the painting stood at the door and waved at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu stood there, stunned. Was it time to part ways again?
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