Chapter 320: Right and Wrong
"Lady Kui, even if you flee to the Great Ruins, what can you accomplish?"
The young man clasped his hands behind his back, watching as the other True Heaven Palace cultivators attacked the woman shielding the little girl. His expression was calm as he said, "You have already lost. True Heaven Palace now belongs to the Yu family. Don't blame me for being ruthless. There's a saying in the Central Lands: 'If you don't pull out the roots when cutting weeds, they will grow back when the spring wind blows.' True Heaven Palace no longer belongs to your Xiong family."
This place was a relic of the Western Heaven Palace within the Great Ruins. The experts of True Heaven Palace had to be extremely cautious when activating their divine abilities here. The cultivation method of True Heaven Palace held that all things have spirits, all things have gods—anything could possess a spirit. Mountains had mountain spirits, stones had stone spirits, water had water spirits, and grasses, trees, and wild beasts all had spirits. None of them could not be transformed into their divine abilities.
Their perception of nature was incredibly sharp, but within the relic of the Western Heaven Palace in the Great Ruins, they sensed danger. Everything here contained immense power, as if ancient, primordial deities were sleeping here!
Their spells and divine abilities could make heaven and earth fight for them, but if they awakened the deities of this place, it would likely bring tremendous peril.
The power within the Western Heaven Palace relic was not something they could control.
Thus, they had to be extremely careful, trying not to disturb this slumbering, colossal force. Fortunately, they had all forged their own spirit weapons. The spirit weapons of these cultivators were also different from those of the cultivators of the Yan Kingdom. Most of their spirit weapons took the forms of grasses, trees, mountains, stones, flowing water, and drifting clouds. There were also strange beasts they had refined into spirit weapons. When infused with vital energy, the bodies of these small beasts would suddenly expand thousands of times, devouring living people. It was quite peculiar.
Even if they couldn't use their divine abilities, they could easily eliminate these few people with just their spirit weapons. One of the two spotted deer was dead, the other severely injured. The woman had to protect the child and couldn't move her position to dodge their attacks. She could only stand and take the hits, extremely passive!
The woman spat blood and fell to the ground, but she struggled to stand up again, continuing to shield the little girl.
"Traitors!"
The man who had transformed from the stag leaped into the air, suddenly revealing his true form as a giant stag, charging to meet the group's attacks. He shouted harshly, "The Palace Lord treated you well! You rebel and cause chaos while the Palace Lord is on his deathbed! Where is your conscience? Why must you exterminate us completely?"
Bang bang bang—
In an instant, countless attacks landed on his body. The stag was killed mid-air, but before dying, he used all his strength to send his massive antlers flying, stabbing toward the young man!
The strength of these two deer was extremely high, not inferior to that of the Dragon Qilin. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered and could only meet their end in regret.
More than a dozen cultivators immediately leaped up, grabbing the branches of the antlers. These dozen or so people landed on the ground, but they still couldn't resist the force coming from the antlers and were forced back step by step. The soil and rocks beneath their feet churned as the antlers pushed them, continuing to charge toward the young man.
The young man, however, stood motionless, sneering, "The Xiong family has monopolized True Heaven Palace for so many years. It's time to give up the position of Palace Lord. To kill, you must see blood. To cut weeds, you must pull out the roots. If the Xiong family doesn't die out completely, our Yu family will still have to worry about your counterattack."
In front of him, a strange beast the size of a cloth doll suddenly swelled in size. It beat its chest with both fists, letting out a earth-shattering roar, and grabbed the charging antlers with both hands. The antlers came to an abrupt halt.
Thud.
The body of the stag in the air fell, landing motionless beside the doe.
The young man laughed heartily, "Kill Lady Kui and the little princess, then go back to report!"
The cultivators of True Heaven Palace stepped forward. One by one, their spirit weapons rose into the air. The woman showed a look of reluctance, turned around, and hugged the little girl tightly, saying softly, "Little one, it will be quick..."
"Mom, will I get to see Grandma and Grandpa?"
The woman's heart trembled. "Yes..."
"And Dad?" The little girl's eyes sparkled as she asked.
The woman shed tears. "You will see him..."
The little girl was calm, comforting the young woman, "Mom, I'm not scared anymore. Don't cry either. I miss Grandma and Grandpa. The way Dad looked before he died was so scary, covered in blood. It made me cry. But when I see him later, he should be smiling, right..."
Whoosh—
One by one, the spirit weapons transformed. Spirit trees and strange beasts soared into the air, charging toward them. Just as these spirit weapons were about to land on them, a flash of light streaked by, and Qin Mu appeared in front of the mother and daughter. He spread his arms, and the brocade robe he was wearing flew off, shooting forward.
The young man struck out with his palm, hitting the brocade robe. Qin Mu rotated his arm, and the brocade robe whirled, growing larger and larger. In an instant, it became a huge robe over ten zhang in diameter. The spirit weapons of the True Heaven Palace experts struck this brocade robe, which caught them all, and then the robe, along with all the spirit weapons, disappeared!
Then, a hundred zhang away, countless sword lights blazed. Eight thousand swords moved in unison, slicing the brocade robe and the spirit weapons inside it to pieces!
The cultivators of True Heaven Palace were startled, instantly losing their connection to their spirit weapons. Among them were experts at the Heavenly Human realm. The power of a Heavenly Human's spirit weapon was extremely strong, but even those were cut to shreds.
The crowd was about to attack, but the young man quickly raised his hand to stop them. He probed, "Fellow Daoist, this is a family matter of our True Heaven Palace."
Qin Mu felt a pang of heartache, grieving for his brocade robe. This robe had been "bribed" to him by the Mi River Pass's Sub-Commander Qu and the Hall Master of the Gu Hall. Since it was forged, it had repeatedly protected Qin Mu from injury. Moreover, Qin Mu's teleportation array patterns were imprinted on this robe.
Now, the brocade robe, along with the spirit weapons of these True Heaven Palace experts, had been destroyed by his own Sword Carving Mountains and Rivers technique. How could he not feel as if his heart were being cut by a knife?
"I knew doing good deeds would lead to no good. What a loss..."
Qin Mu forced a smile onto his face and said with a laugh, "Young master, how should I address you?"
"Yu Bochuan of the Yu family, True Heaven Palace."
The young man's face was full of smiles, making others feel as warm as a spring breeze. He said, "Fellow Daoist, you probably saw this orphaned mother and child and felt pity, wanting to save them. But you don't know that this mother and daughter have committed countless evil deeds, killing countless people in their daily lives. Our Western Land's True Heaven Palace has severed family ties for the sake of justice, so I was ordered to lead this group to exterminate them."
Qin Mu said solemnly, "So that's how it is. I was reckless. Please forgive me, Brother Yu."
The young man, Yu Bochuan, laughed, "Ignorance is not a crime. I ask that you, Senior Brother, grant me this small favor and let us complete this bitter task so we can return and report. To eliminate these two traitors, we have already lost quite a few fellow disciples."
Qin Mu said seriously, "Of course. Your important business comes first. But I cannot just take your word for it. I need to ask them if what you say is true."
Yu Bochuan's expression remained pleasant as he smiled, "Fellow Daoist, I have already given you a way out. Please don't be ungrateful."
Qin Mu also maintained a pleasant expression, smiling, "The Heavenly Demon Cult Leader doesn't need anyone to give him a way out. I will ask them. If it is indeed as you say, I will turn around and leave, and you can continue dealing with your traitors. If..."
"No need!"
Yu Bochuan raised his hand and ordered his men, "Kill him. Then go back and report."
"Yes!"
The many True Heaven Palace cultivators responded in unison, their bodies rising and falling as they pounced toward Qin Mu. Qin Mu laughed heartily, turned around, grabbed the mother and daughter, and fled.
A Heavenly Human realm expert roared angrily, "Do you think you can escape?"
Behind him, a towering tree appeared, its roots coiling like azure dragons. That was his primordial spirit. The cultivation method of this Western Land's True Heaven Palace was also different from that of the Yan Kingdom. The primordial spirits of experts in the Yan Kingdom were often divided into four types: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. When they reached the Heavenly Human realm, their primordial spirits manifested behind them. Their primordial spirits were often the deified forms of these four spiritual bodies, similar to the four stone statues in the Crippled Elder Village.
Even if there were differences, they were not significant, all falling within these four categories.
But the primordial spirits of the True Heaven Palace experts were more bizarre. Although this Heavenly Human realm expert's primordial spirit also belonged to the Azure Dragon lineage, it looked like a huge tree, which was very rare.
The roots and branches of that giant tree waved, and with a swish, countless roots and branches flew like azure dragons, spreading toward Qin Mu's back at incredible speed, leaving trails of azure light in the air!
Although Qin Mu was carrying two people, his movement technique was extremely fast. Like a fleeting shadow, he surpassed the speed of sound in an instant, producing a thunderclap!
The Crippled Elder's Divine Leg of Stealing Heaven was the fastest in the world, but Qin Mu was still at the Six Harmonies realm and couldn't unleash the Divine Leg of Stealing Heaven to the Crippled Elder's level. The strength of a Heavenly Human realm expert was too great. In the blink of an eye, the countless roots caught up to Qin Mu, stabbing toward his back.
But at that moment, sword light erupted all around again. Eight thousand swords swirled like wind and clouds. In an instant, a landscape pattern appeared behind Qin Mu. The sound of violent clashes rang out incessantly as the swords struck the incoming roots and branches!
The power of the Sword Diagram was extraordinary. Coupled with the fact that Qin Mu's swords were forged from the best materials, many of the roots and branches of that divine tree primordial spirit were severed.
But a Heavenly Human realm was still a Heavenly Human realm. The expert's divine tree primordial spirit moved, crashing forward with a deafening roar. The Sword Diagram instantly collapsed, and the eight thousand swords shot in all directions with a sharp whoosh!
"Fatty Dragon!" Qin Mu shouted loudly.
The Dragon Qilin came charging from ahead. Although his speed was fast, his tone was slow and deliberate: "Cult Leader, you're causing trouble again..."
This Dragon Qilin's body grew larger and larger, colliding with the divine tree primordial spirit with a thunderous impact. Flames of true fire blazed all over his body, the temperature so high that it scorched the divine tree primordial spirit, making it sizzle!
The Heavenly Human realm expert quickly withdrew his primordial spirit. Behind him, a burly man in a lined jacket charged forward with heavy steps. Behind him appeared a stone giant—his Mountain God primordial spirit, immensely strong. He threw a punch, sending the Dragon Qilin flying.
The Dragon Qilin flailed his four legs in mid-air, but he was too fat to control his fire cloud. He obediently tucked his legs in and shouted, "Bat brothers!"
Two white bats flew over, flapping their wings, emitting silent sound waves that sent the pursuers tumbling.
The Dragon Qilin crashed into the ground with a thud, pulled his head out of the dirt, shook it, and said angrily, "I told you to catch me!"
The two white bats flew around agilely, dodging attacks from below. Suddenly, they grabbed two people and hung upside down from a tree, drinking their blood. But then the tree suddenly transformed—it was an expert's primordial spirit—and tied the two white bats up tightly.
Qin Mu took out a large bone hammer and shook it lightly. Instantly, countless skeletons spewed out from the eye sockets, ears, mouths, and noses of the white bone skull, flying all over the sky, screeching strangely. They pounced forward, weaving through the crowd, biting anyone they saw, and then burrowing into their bodies.
The Dragon Qilin charged again, opening his mouth to spew blazing true fire, burning the azure tree primordial spirit and rescuing the two white bats.
Seeing this, Yu Bochuan quickly shouted, "Retreat! We can't fight here. Fight them outside!"
— Today has three chapters! Two more tonight!