Chapter 349: Triple Origin Breakthrough
Qingyou Shanren’s evaluation of Qin Mu’s swordsmanship could be said to be extremely high. Swordsmanship that could dominate the world was not simply about learning a few profound sword techniques; it required reaching an extremely high level of understanding of the sword, progressing from technique to method, and creating one’s own sword style.
Qin Mu’s current level had surpassed sword technique and reached the realm of swordsmanship. Although he claimed his own sword style was riddled with flaws, those who could see these flaws were all masters who had one foot in the door of the sword path or had already entered it!
Such figures under heaven were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, few and far between.
For Qin Mu to enter the level of method at such a young age, even if in his eyes his swordsmanship was full of flaws, in the eyes of others who had not yet reached this level, it was a masterpiece of exquisite subtlety.
And yet, the Village Chief was still dissatisfied with such a disciple, saying he was like a leaky sieve, full of holes, and wouldn’t even know how he died.
This requirement was truly too high.
And Qin Mu actually admitted it, without any dissatisfaction or complacency. This humility was far more sincere than his self-deprecation after defeating Long Yu.
Qingyou Shanren shook his head. “This master and disciple pair are both oddballs.”
A gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice, “Human Sovereign, defeating three disciples of my Little Jade Capital does not prove how remarkable your skill is. Your strength is only one or two points higher than Long Yu and the others. The Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall are the true tests!”
When he said this, Long Yu and Mu Qingdai both showed expressions of shame, thinking Qingyou Shanren was trying to save face for them. Wang Muran, however, looked thoughtful.
“Qingyou Immortal indeed has keen insight.”
Qin Mu nodded. “My strength is indeed only one or two points higher than theirs.”
This statement was not self-deprecation but a factual assessment.
At the same Six Harmonies realm, when one’s cultivation and strength reached this level, being one or two points higher than the opponent meant they could defeat them in one or two moves!
Being one or two points higher meant a completely different level of vision and insight!
When strength reached this level, continuing to improve required ten times the effort for just one point of progress. It was already very difficult to advance.
This one or two points of advantage was extremely rare!
If Qin Mu had not entered the level of method, defeating Long Yu, Mu Qingdai, and the others would not have been a matter of one or two moves.
“Murran, all of you, withdraw.” Qingyou Shanren walked down the mountain. “Human Sovereign, follow me. I will take you to the Triple Origin Hall.”
Wang Muran and the other two showed envious expressions. Long Yu murmured softly, “When will I be able to enter the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall…”
The Village Chief quickly said, “Thank you, Qingyou Daoist!”
Qingyou Shanren shook his head. “The Human Sovereign is qualified to enter the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall.”
Qin Mu followed him, feeling puzzled. “From what they’re saying, the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall don’t sound like tests, but rather a great opportunity. Village Chief has already thanked Qingyou Immortal twice. For him to express gratitude, it must be something extraordinary. But didn’t Xu Shenghua also enter the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall? He passed through them in ten days. That doesn’t sound like something worth the Village Chief’s thanks…”
He had always thought these two halls were tests personally conducted by the Little Jade Capital immortals against him, but now he wasn’t so sure.
The Village Chief floated over and said with a smile, “Since you’ve allowed Mu’er into the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall, why not go all the way and open the Six Harmonies Hall?”
Qingyou Shanren sneered, “Daoist, you’re pushing your luck!”
The Village Chief sneered back, “You let Xu Shenghua from the Upper Firmament enter the Triple Origin Hall and Five Qi Hall. Is the Human Sovereign inferior to Xu Shenghua?”
Qingyou Shanren shook his head. “The Upper Firmament is extremely powerful, no less than the Human Sovereign Hall, and perhaps even stronger. I need to be fair and impartial, or else I’ll give others a handle to criticize me.”
The Village Chief provoked, “The First Sacred Land is nothing special after all, still afraid of being targeted by the Upper Firmament.”
Qingyou Shanren said calmly, “You can’t provoke me. Little Jade Capital is called the First Sacred Land by outsiders; we never claimed that title ourselves. Daoist, don’t waste your thoughts on this.”
As they spoke, they arrived at a celestial island and ascended a divine mountain. The Triple Origin Hall appeared before them. Outside the hall, three elderly immortals of Little Jade Capital had already been waiting for some time. These three looked even older than the Village Chief and the Dao Lord, with deeply sunken eye sockets, making their eyes appear very round and small. Their white hair and long eyebrows dragged on the ground, and although they stood there, they seemed very short in stature.
These three old immortals were about the same height as Xiong Qi’er.
“Three senior brothers, I trouble you.” Qingyou Shanren greeted them.
The three old immortals returned the greeting. “The Human Sovereign visits; naturally, we must entertain him warmly.”
The Village Chief’s eyes flickered. “The Triple Origin of Little Jade Capital? How are you still alive? You’re much older than I am!”
The three old immortals glanced at him. One old woman, whose mouth was toothless and sunken, said, “Probably Lord Earth Bo forgot about us, so he never took our lives.”
The Village Chief was startled and uncertain.
The three old immortals, dragging their long eyebrows and white hair, walked into the hall. “Human Sovereign, please follow us.”
Qin Mu followed them, careful not to step on their hair or eyebrows, but fortunately, that didn’t happen. Their white eyebrows and hair seemed alive, automatically avoiding their steps.
“Could it be that because they’ve lived so long, their hair has become sentient?” Qin Mu speculated inwardly.
Suddenly, his foot stepped into empty air. He quickly leaped up, and as his primal energy vibrated, a pair of wings appeared behind him. Qin Mu flapped his wings and hovered in the air, rising and falling slightly.
Before him, boundless flames surged forward, dazzlingly bright. Layers of formation patterns appeared in Qin Mu’s eyes as he activated the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, opening his Azure Sky Eye, allowing him to gaze at the blazing light.
In front of him, the great fire covered the entire sky, then rapidly receded. A scorching sun moved farther and farther away from him before stopping in the sky.
The heat remained. The sun radiated fierce firepower. If Qin Mu hadn’t quickly activated his Vermilion Bird primal energy, his physical body wouldn’t have been able to withstand it.
At that moment, a chill came from behind him. Qin Mu quickly turned around and saw a huge moon blocking the sky behind him, also rapidly receding.
“Heavenly Origin is the sun, Water Origin is the moon. Then where is Earth Origin?”
Qin Mu looked down. Boundless earthy yellow currents surged, rolling and churning beneath his feet. Amidst the restless yellow energy, towering mountains rose one after another, forming a scattered mountain range.
The three origins converged, and suddenly the landscape became clear and beautiful, all things flourished, and heaven and earth were harmonious.
“Human Sovereign, do you choose Heavenly Origin breakthrough, Earth Origin breakthrough, or Water Origin breakthrough?” a rumbling voice came, deafening.
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw a golden, radiant divine figure standing in the sun. Behind him, three-legged golden crows fluttered about. That divine figure also had three legs, a third eye on his forehead, and held a large bell.
Qin Mu looked back and saw another figure in the moon, a woman, shimmering with silver light, her hair like silver threads. Behind her floated a giant toad with drowsy eyes. The female divine figure held a cassia tree, her silver-white robes fluttering.
Qin Mu looked down and saw the third divine figure, with a majestic and towering stature, coiled by a yellow dragon. Yellow energy rose and fell beneath his feet, constantly surging.
Qin Mu breathed the air here and immediately felt several different kinds of power flowing into him, causing his spirit embryo to grow unconsciously.
He was astonished. At his level of cultivation, the mysteries of the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury had almost been fully developed, and no further improvement was possible. Yet here, it seemed the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury could still be enhanced!
“What place is this?”
Qin Mu called out loudly, “Where are the three elders from before?”
“This is the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury of a deity.”
The voice of the golden, radiant divine figure in the sun came, sounding like thunder: “This deity is dead, leaving only a husk. I am Heavenly Origin True Person, who used a secret technique to become this deity’s Heavenly Origin.”
“I am Water Origin True Person.”
The voice of the silver-clad woman in the moon behind Qin Mu came: “I used a secret technique to become this deity’s Water Origin.”
“And I am Earth Origin.”
Beneath Qin Mu’s feet, the earth rotated and rose. The giant stood motionless, his body also rotating as he ascended. A twisted mountain lifted him to face Qin Mu.
The giant looked down at Qin Mu from above. “Earth Origin True Person greets the Human Sovereign!”
Qin Mu’s mind buzzed, and he suddenly understood. He exclaimed, “You are much older than Village Chief. The reason you haven’t died yet is not because Lord Earth Bo forgot you, but because you survived by borrowing this deity’s Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury!”
Earth Origin True Person, who had none of the decrepit appearance he had outside the hall, said in a deep voice, “Your guess is correct! Human Sovereigns are indeed all intelligent. The three of us have lived for over two thousand years. If it were anyone else, they would have died three or four times over. Even those close to the gods cannot escape the end of sickness, aging, and death. But we managed to survive by this means.”
Heavenly Origin True Person’s golden light rippled, and flames stretched like rainbows or wings, sweeping through the air. “We are not merely clinging to life. We are here to select the best talents of Little Jade Capital and help them take another step forward, allowing them to glimpse the mysteries of a deity’s divine treasury and achieve breakthroughs.”
“However, to gain benefits, one must pass the Triple Origin Trial.”
Behind Qin Mu, Water Origin True Person’s ribbons turned into rainbows as she floated to his side, her voice also reaching him. “The Triple Origin Trial is to challenge the elites formed by this deity’s three origins. Do you feel it? Here, the three origins are dense enough to allow your spirit embryo to advance further! But since ancient times, few have obtained the deity’s three origins. Even obtaining one origin marks an exceptional figure.”
“Little Jade Capital has such a place?”
Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. The three origins were Heavenly Origin, Earth Origin, and Water Origin. If he could obtain all three, his Spirit Embryo realm would surely break through once more!
His spirit embryo was already monstrously powerful. If it broke through again, what level would it reach?
But from what these three true persons meant, he needed to challenge the deity’s three origin elites to gain the benefits. The thought of fighting a deity made him quite uneasy.
“The Triple Origin Hall only allows one challenge! So, do you choose Heavenly Origin breakthrough, Earth Origin breakthrough, or Water Origin breakthrough?” the three divine figures asked in unison.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and called out, “Three seniors, which breakthrough is the strongest?”
“Of course, the Triple Origin Breakthrough is the strongest!” the three said simultaneously.
Qin Mu’s spirits soared, and he declared loudly, “Then I will challenge the Triple Origin!”
The three divine figures exchanged glances, showing surprise.
“As you wish!”
The sun trembled, and a beam of fire flew out. At the same time, a beam of silver light flew from the moon, and a beam of yellow light flew from the earth. They transformed into three youths, their auras extremely powerful. Strangely, they all looked the same.
The three youths were all at the Six Harmonies realm. Suddenly, they walked together, their bodies overlapping, and their momentum surged again. Qin Mu’s eyelids twitched!
“Perhaps a Heavenly Origin breakthrough would be safer…” he thought uneasily.
—Tomorrow, there will be a burst of chapters~