Chapter 465: Thunder Rolls Across the Western Lands
The stone circle shifted continuously, countless cubes arranging and rearranging themselves, transforming into a floating stone formation that charged wildly into the battlefield.
Qin Mu stood atop the uneven, rising and falling boulders, watching the blocks of varying sizes shift and combine before him. Sometimes these stones formed barriers, and other times they dissipated like dust and smoke.
He Yiyi’s mastery of formations was extremely high. Under her control, the Jun City formation cut into the battlefield, opening a path for the He family’s divine ability practitioners behind her.
*Boom!*
A mountain giant charged in, its weapon extremely peculiar—a club as thick as a mountain peak, covered in bronze bells of all sizes. Even the smallest of these bells was terrifyingly large.
The mountain giant swung its club, smashing it heavily into the Jun City formation. The club spun, and the hanging bells clanged loudly. The terrifying sound waves struck the Jun City formation, shattering countless stones into dust.
He Yiyi immediately altered the formation. Countless massive stones stuck to the giant club, completely covering the fearsome weapon in an instant. The bells fell silent, unable to produce any sound.
The mountain giant struggled to lift its club, only to see countless stones rolling rapidly along it, climbing toward its arm.
He Yiyi activated the formation, unleashing its power, and snapped the mountain giant’s arm.
The mountain giant seemed oblivious, reaching in with its other hand, plunging it into the stone formation to grab at He Yiyi. In an instant, that hand was covered in countless stones, growing heavier and heavier.
“The He family’s formations are truly extraordinary!” Qin Mu praised.
Suddenly, he leaped out of the Jun City formation, landing on the mountain giant’s arm. He bounded along it like flying, rushing toward the mountain peak.
At the peak was another battlefield. Many divine ability practitioners from the True Heaven Palace were fighting against those from the Gong family. The battle was intense and deadlocked.
Qin Mu charged to the mountaintop and raised his hand. A ball of silver light exploded—his sword pellet. The two-foot-wide sword pellet soared into the air, spinning rapidly. Countless swords burst forth from the pellet, each one transforming into a beam of sword light, weaving through the crowd of combatants!
Thrust, lift, cloud, chop, slash, point, collapse, hang, scoop, sweep, frame, intercept, circle, wrap, drill—seventeen sword forms in endless variation. Eight thousand swords, seventeen changes, overwhelmed all the women on the mountaintop.
Qin Mu’s figure soared into the air, leaping down the mountain. Behind him, the eight thousand swords moved like wind-driven gray clouds, following him to hover above his head. They clinked and clattered together, once again forming a two-foot-square sword pellet.
On the mountaintop, the divine ability practitioners of the True Heaven Palace suddenly fell to the ground, dead, leaving only the female practitioners of the Gong family.
Below, at the mountainside, a grass dragon danced through the air, catching Qin Mu’s figure. The Xi family’s clan leader, Xi Yuting, stood atop the massive dragon’s head. Around her, green vines surged like flood dragons, roaring forward.
Countless green vines grew wildly in midair, bloomed, bore fruit, and the fruits took root and sprouted in the air, carrying them through the mountains. Endless vines carried the Xi family’s female practitioners as they climbed onto the bodies of mountain giants, taking root among the rocks.
The female practitioners activated their divine abilities, causing these mountain giants to become overgrown with plants and vines, dismembering them.
Suddenly, a terrifying fluctuation came from the Vermilion Bird Pearl. The massive Vermilion Bird spread its wings, and a sea of fire surged toward Xi Yuting in the mountains.
Xi Yuting performed a ritual atop the grass dragon’s head. Countless beams of green light enveloped her, forming a huge grass ball that charged into the sea of fire.
In an instant, the massive grass ball was set ablaze. By the time it emerged from the sea of fire, it had shrunk to only two or three zhang in diameter.
The grass ball split open, and Xi Yuting, carrying Qin Mu, shot into the sky on a leaf of green vine, rising higher and higher.
Qin Mu leaped from the vine leaf, arcing downward in a diagonal line. He reached up, grabbed the Carefree Sword from the sword pellet above his head.
The Carefree Sword grew larger in the wind. The other thousands of flying swords clinked against it one after another, merging into the Carefree Sword.
His descent accelerated, his momentum growing stronger. With a thunderous *boom*, his body slammed into the head of a mountain giant, causing even this colossal being to stagger.
The terrifying shockwave from his landing formed a ring of impact, sending many female disciples of the True Heaven Palace on the mountaintop flying. Only a few at the Seven Stars and Heavenly Human realms managed to barely hold their ground.
At that moment, the air around him cracked and exploded, and space hummed with vibration—the power unleashed as the Carefree Sword swung downward.
*Boom!*
The sword struck forward. The moment it landed, the mountain giant’s head cracked with a series of sharp *crack* sounds. A massive fissure split the giant’s skull. Though the sword didn’t cleave the head in two, its power was still extraordinary.
As the Carefree Sword struck, countless flying swords spun out from it, slicing forward. *Swish, swish, swish, swish!* In an instant, the eight thousand swords spun from one side of the mountaintop to the other.
In midair, severed limbs and broken arms scattered everywhere. Before they could fall, Qin Mu had already charged forward, sword light flashing as he cut between the two Heavenly Human realm experts of the True Heaven Palace.
The two women were caught off guard by his attack. Already wounded by several sword strikes, they were now engaged in close combat with Qin Mu. The three of them fluttered like butterflies.
These two women were indeed experts of the True Heaven Palace. Though unskilled in close-quarters combat and injured by Qin Mu, their cultivation bases were far deeper than his. They quickly regained their footing.
Both women released their primordial spirits, their upper bodies materializing in midair. Just as they were about to strike down Qin Mu, several grass dragons shot in, taking root at their feet and rapidly binding them.
The Xi family’s clan leader, Xi Yuting, descended onto the head of this mountain giant. As she landed, she saw Qin Mu leap into the air and vanish.
The two Heavenly Human realm experts of the True Heaven Palace each had a red mark on their foreheads—their physical bodies had been slain by his Carefree Sword, their brains destroyed.
Xi Yuting had arrived only one step behind Qin Mu, yet she saw that he had already killed all the True Heaven Palace practitioners on this mountaintop, leaving only the two Heavenly Human realm experts. She knew that if their primordial spirits had left their bodies, Qin Mu would have been no match for them—they could have killed him with a single combined strike. So she had acted to trap their physical forms.
She hadn’t expected Qin Mu to finish the battle so quickly. By the time she landed on the mountaintop, he had already taken the opportunity to slay both Heavenly Human realm experts.
Xi Yuting looked outward and saw Qin Mu running through the air. Countless flying swords shot forward, spreading out beneath his feet, carrying him away into the distance.
“The Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect is truly extraordinary!” Xi Yuting praised.
Qin Mu was charging toward the next mountain giant when suddenly, terrifying auras erupted from the True Heaven Palace. Several experts of the palace burst out from the hall, heading straight for the battlefield.
“The True Heaven Palace has quite a few experts. Are the elders making their move? Their targets must be the leaders of the major clans!”
Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw Mu Yingxue riding a white cloud to meet those True Heaven Palace experts. Behind her, Fu Yunxi activated her divine abilities, causing a sea of clouds to surge as she followed.
Qin Mu sheathed his sword, activated the Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs, and sprinted. In a few breaths, he caught up to Mu Yingxue, standing shoulder to shoulder with her on the cloud.
“You poison! I supplement!”
They exchanged a smile.
They met the True Heaven Palace experts. The elders at the Life and Death realm directly released their primordial spirits, which transformed into the divine-demon forms of the Four Spiritual Bodies, charging at Qin Mu and Mu Yingxue.
Mu Yingxue and Qin Mu flicked their fingers repeatedly—one administering poison, the other a tonic. The tonic amplified the poison’s potency. Just as they unleashed their techniques, the sea of clouds behind them surged forward, engulfing them and carrying the deadly poison toward the True Heaven Palace elders. Fu Yunxi had made her move.
The sea of clouds churned, drowning the elders and their primordial spirits.
These elders were indeed extraordinary. Each used their own methods to break through the clouds. But suddenly, their expressions twisted in horror. Their flesh dissolved, their primordial spirits disintegrated, and they fell from midair as piles of dry bones.
When the third- and fourth-ranked poison masters of the current era joined forces, not even gods could withstand them!
Qin Mu and Mu Yingxue separated, each charging toward other mountain giants.
*Boom!*
A mountain giant collapsed, its massive body crashing to the ground, causing terrifying tremors. Cheers erupted from the He family practitioners. Then another *boom*—another mountain giant fell.
The major clans fought together, their eyes bloodshot, toppling one mountain giant after another. The Fang family controlled the terrain, breaking the mountain giants down into hundreds of smaller hill giants, which continued to charge into battle. Coordinating with the He family’s formations, the Fu family’s weather attacks, the Xi family’s plants, the Gong family’s rivers, the Mu family’s poisons, and the Luo family’s sword techniques, they steadily expanded their advantage.
Finally, the battle began to subside. Before the True Heaven Palace, only thousands of hill giants remained. Countless practitioners from various clans stood panting in the ruins. The mountain giants of the True Heaven Palace had finally been swept away.
Tens of thousands of female practitioners looked up, their eyes shining with excitement as they gazed at the lofty True Heaven Palace.
This time, they had truly done it. They had fought their way to the doorstep of this sacred ground, about to step into this place symbolizing divine authority, to conquer the divine power of the Western Lands!
Though countless sisters had been sacrificed, overthrowing the True Heaven Palace was a monumental achievement—any sacrifice was worth it!
Silence fell over the True Heaven Palace. Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal rang out. Divine might began to emanate from the hall, growing stronger and spreading outward in all directions, suppressing the practitioners of the major clans below, making it hard for them to breathe.
The clashing of metal grew louder. Finally, a gleaming golden divine-demon statue, its eyes tightly shut, walked out of the palace gate. It was over ten zhang tall, its body covered in runes that flickered on and off.
The statue opened its eyes. Divine light pierced the sky, sweeping across the earth, as if it were a living god!
Then a second statue emerged, followed by a third, a fourth, a fifth…
Seven statues in a row walked out of the True Heaven Palace, standing before the gate. The divine light in their eyes illuminated the surroundings.
These were statues awakened by the Spirit Summoning Art, having endured countless years of baptism, becoming extraordinarily powerful, like gods.
From within the True Heaven Palace came the sound of marching troops. Tens of thousands of divine ability practitioners from the Yu family filed out. The True Heaven Palace Master appeared beneath the gate, looking down at the assembled clans preparing to attack the palace, a sneer curling on her lips.
A chill ran through everyone’s hearts. To clear the mountain giant guardians of the True Heaven Palace, their clans had already suffered over a hundred thousand casualties. Yet this was merely the palace’s outer defense force. Its core strength remained intact—and was far more terrifying!
These seven statues awakened by the Spirit Summoning Art were likely enough to sweep through all their major clans!
Coupled with tens of thousands of Yu family experts, what awaited them was total annihilation!
Qin Mu looked around. Even He Yiyi, even Fang Caidie, even Luo Yinyu—despair had crept onto their faces.
“Sister Yunxi, you can control the weather. Can you control thunder?” Qin Mu approached Fu Yunxi and asked.
Fu Yunxi nodded, her expression dark. “My Fu family is skilled in weather manipulation. Thunder is part of the weather. But after this battle, the weather arts of the Western Lands may become a lost art…”
Qin Mu smiled slightly. “How much thunder can you control?”
Fu Yunxi was taken aback, looking at him.
Qin Mu took out the True Dragon Nest and said in a deep voice, “Fatty Dragon, come here!”
The Dragon Qilin hurried over. Qin Mu leaped onto its back and took out the Five Thunder Pot, placing it on the Dragon Qilin’s forehead.
The Dragon Qilin’s fur stood on end. It quickly put on a flattering smile and said, “Sect Leader, Human Sovereign, Master Qin! What are you doing, ah? This humble beast is frail and skinny—how can it withstand being struck by ten thousand thunders to death, huh?”
Qin Mu reassured it, “With the Fu family’s experts here, not a single hair on you will be harmed. Rise, fly forward.”
The Dragon Qilin trembled, stepping onto fiery clouds as it rose into the air.
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, “Sister Yunxi, have all the Fu family disciples follow me!”
Before the True Heaven Palace, the Palace Master smiled as she watched the Dragon Qilin carrying Qin Mu into the air. Qin Mu grinned at her, then suddenly tossed his sword pellet into the air. The pellet split with a *clang*, and eight thousand swords moved in unison, stabbing into the Five Thunder Pot with a series of sharp *shish* sounds!
— A chapter of 3,600 characters. Zhuzhu, his wife, and daughter have a 5 AM flight tomorrow and need to get up at 4:30. They won’t arrive in Xuzhou until the afternoon, so the midday chapter won’t be updated in time. Advance notice given. In the evening, Zhuzhu will do his best to make up for it!