Chapter 466: The Old Schemer
The moment eight thousand flying swords struck the Five Thunder Pot, the world fell into an eerie silence. No sound could be heard, not even the clash of swords against the pot.
Then, the space above the Five Thunder Pot exploded, leaving a trail of lightning in its wake.
A black lightning scar expanded upward, tearing through deeper layers of space as it surged toward the sky.
The True Heaven Palace Master stood at the palace gates, watching the black lightning writhe like a dragon baring its fangs and claws. Then, under her gaze, the black thunder split apart, its blinding radiance shooting into the sky like a swarm of dragons.
In that brief instant, the black lightning fractured into tens of thousands of bolts, each like a dragon charging into the heavens. Yet in the next moment, those tens of thousands split into hundreds of millions.
A cloud of lightning, dazzlingly bright, hung before the True Heaven Palace. The Five Thunder Pot floated in the air, continuously spewing more lightning upward, feeding the thundercloud.
Behind the thundercloud, Fu Yunxi led tens of thousands of women from the Fu Clan, channeling their divine abilities to manipulate the cloud, driving it toward the True Heaven Palace!
Her face twisted in shock as she urgently reached for the Black Tortoise Pearl, which the Yu Clan elder was activating.
Before her hand could grasp the pearl, the terrifying thundercloud had already reached the True Heaven Palace. Wherever it passed, the manifestations of the White Tiger Pearl, Vermilion Bird Pearl, and Black Tortoise Pearl crumbled—the great sea evaporated, the sea of fire extinguished, and the golden mountain collapsed.
Boom!
The first bolt of lightning struck, slamming into the True Heaven Palace with a deafening roar, hitting a divine statue.
That single strike was like a spark dropped into a vat of boiling oil, igniting the inferno. It was the first raindrop before a torrential downpour, followed by billions of lightning bolts tearing across the sky and pouring down, drowning the entire True Heaven Palace!
"Black Tortoise Divine Shield!"
The True Heaven Palace Master screamed, desperately channeling the Black Tortoise Pearl. The massive Black Tortoise Divine Shield hummed as it expanded, forming a colossal turtle shell that shielded the vast expanse of the True Heaven Palace.
Boom!
Countless thunderbolts exploded, striking the Black Tortoise Divine Shield. The shield was compressed, shrinking rapidly as the palace master coughed blood, fighting with all her might to hold it.
The Black Tortoise Divine Shield could no longer protect all the disciples of the True Heaven Palace. The ocean of thunder surged around the shield, flooding into the palace, and countless women of the True Heaven Palace were annihilated in the storm!
Even the eight divine statues, whose auras rivaled those of gods, could not withstand the thunderstorm. One by one, they charged toward the thundercloud, only to have their limbs melt under its assault, their bodies dissolving into streams of molten gold and bronze!
Xiong Qi'er watched from afar as the True Heaven Palace became an ocean of lightning, countless bolts erupting simultaneously, blindingly bright.
Earlier, she had been channeling the Azure Dragon Pearl to counter the other three spiritual treasures. Now, with their power shattered by the thundercloud, her pressure eased, allowing her to catch her breath.
"Qi'er, the Azure Dragon governs thunder."
Xiong Xiyu suddenly appeared behind her, speaking softly. "Let us, mother and daughter, use the Azure Dragon Pearl to bury our enemies."
"Mother!"
Xiong Qi'er was both startled and overjoyed. Xiong Xiyu smiled, reaching out to take her daughter's hand, placing it over the Azure Dragon Pearl. She whispered, "The blood debt of the Xiong Clan must be repaid with blood!"
Boundless azure light surged from the Azure Dragon Pearl, forming an azure dragon that charged into the thundercloud, amplifying its power tenfold.
The True Heaven Palace Master saw this and felt despair grip her heart. "The Yu Clan... is finished..."
The Black Tortoise Divine Shield shattered, and the endless thunderstorm engulfed her and the Yu Clan disciples behind her.
At that moment, a sword light pierced through the thunderstorm. Ba Gou broke through the tempest, his sword aimed directly at Xiong Xiyu and her daughter. The sword light was like a flowing ribbon, unstoppable, cutting even through the thunderstorm!
His swordsmanship was transcendent; even emerging from the thunderstorm left him unscathed.
The sword light was swift, as if flying from beyond the heavens. As it vibrated, countless thunderbolts turned to dust. Even the blinding lightning could not dim the brilliance of his strike!
Just as the sword was about to reach Xiong Xiyu and her daughter, another sword light appeared out of nowhere, clashing with his with a sharp *ding*.
"Yankang State Preceptor?"
Ba Gou smiled. "I knew you were in the Western Lands long ago, but you're a cowardly sort, always hiding in the shadows. Still, you never found an opportunity to strike at me, did you? This time, I've forced you out."
The Yankang State Preceptor stepped forward, walking through the air as if on solid ground. This middle-aged man's face was as calm as still water. He wore a blue robe, carried a single sword, and held his left hand behind his back, fingers forming a sword seal as he intercepted the attack.
Ba Gou, dressed in white, also held one hand behind his back, fingers forming a sword seal.
The two figures darted up and down through the thunderstorm. Though the thunder roared deafeningly, it could not drown out the clash of their swords—a rapid *ding ding ding* like pearls falling onto a jade plate.
Beneath the Five Thunder Pot, Qin Mu was pulled upward by the intense electrical force. The gravitational pull dragged him and the Dragon Qilin toward the lightning. Even the obese Dragon Qilin felt as light as a sheet of paper, its limbs flailing uselessly as it tried to grab onto something but found nothing.
Qin Mu also felt himself become incredibly light. His hair stood on end, bristling in all directions, with tiny bolts of lightning crackling and dancing between the strands, *crackling* incessantly!
He even felt every hair on his body filled with tiny lightning, the terrifying energy striking his skin.
It was as if he had been pierced all over by Bai Xian's silver needles, every inch of him in agony.
Qin Mu strained to activate the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, his pupils also filled with lightning, *crackling* and flashing.
He could barely make out the Dragon Qilin, whose mane was standing on end, its dragon scales also bristling. Lightning flashed and crackled between the scales, striking them with a *clang clang clang* as the electricity bounced around.
Qin Mu took out the True Dragon Nest. The weight of the nest pressed down on him, causing him to grunt. It suppressed the lightning's pull, allowing him to fall from the air, landing on the Dragon Qilin and pushing it downward.
He clutched the nest, using its weight to escape the thunder's attraction, and looked up at the sky.
The Five Thunder Pot floated there, rising higher and higher. His eight thousand flying swords seemed frozen, hovering around the pot as bolts of lightning passed through them, using them as conduits to draw out the thunder.
The swords were now glowing red-hot from the terrifying lightning, making him worry whether they could withstand the divine thunder from the pot.
As Qin Mu broke free from the lightning's pull, azure light suddenly illuminated the sky. He looked up just in time to see the Azure Dragon Pearl triggering the thundercloud.
"The Yu Clan... is finished..." he murmured.
But the thunder was too loud; he couldn't hear his own voice.
Then, he saw Ba Gou's sword flying toward him, followed by the Yankang State Preceptor intercepting him. The two figures—one in blue, one in white—clashed within the thundercloud.
"Old schemer!"
Qin Mu spat, watching the battle between these two masters. Neither used sword techniques or divine abilities; they simply held their swords, their left hands behind their backs, fingers forming sword seals.
Their movements were incredibly fast, their postures ethereal, alternating between stillness and motion. The sword seals behind their backs changed constantly, as if they were calculating something.
Qin Mu was startled. The sword seals changed so rapidly that he could barely follow them. He strained to memorize their lightning-fast gestures, sensing that these seals were extremely important.
As for the sword duel between the Yankang State Preceptor and Ba Gou, it had reached a level of extreme simplicity. There were almost no variations in their swordplay—just a dozen or so basic stances. But with each thrust, the space around their swords trembled, revealing hidden divine abilities within the vibrations. The sword principles embedded in those movements were beyond his comprehension.
"No wonder he's a freak born once every five hundred years. His mastery of the sword has advanced so quickly!"
Qin Mu managed to memorize a few sword seals when suddenly, the eight divine statues, enduring countless thunderbolts, charged into the thundercloud. Their terrifying divine might erupted as they struck together, shattering the thundercloud. Countless bolts of lightning scattered in all directions.
The eight statues were battered and broken, few remaining intact, but their combat power was still immense. They joined forces to strike at the Yankang State Preceptor.
The preceptor seemed oblivious, continuing his deadly duel with Ba Gou. Meanwhile, Xiong Xiyu led Xiong Qi'er forward, raising the Azure Dragon Pearl high. Azure light burst from the pearl, and the eight statues instantly turned to wood, frozen in midair.
Suddenly, one of the petrified statues twisted its neck, a sinister smile spreading across its face. It reached out, and the Azure Dragon Pearl in Xiong Qi'er's hand flew uncontrollably toward it. "Thank you, little girl!"
Xiong Qi'er was stunned, losing all control over the pearl. Xiong Xiyu's hair stood on end as she shouted, "Be careful! That's a god from the True Heaven Palace—"
Before she could finish, a radiant bridge shot up from above the Yankang State Preceptor's head. This bridge seemed to connect to an unimaginable place, with boundless divine light pouring from the end of time and space, filling the heavens. At its end was a faint, indistinct celestial palace.
The preceptor's primordial spirit rushed out from that hazy palace, stepping onto the divine bridge. With a single sword strike, it seemed to ignore space, the sword light piercing through time. Just as the statue was about to grasp the Azure Dragon Pearl, the primordial spirit's sword pierced through the statue's forehead, emerging from the back of its head!
Blood flowed from the statue's forehead and the back of its head, along with brain matter. It was no longer a statue but a living being!
The Yankang State Preceptor's usually calm face broke into a smile. His primordial spirit soared into the air, one hand behind its back, the other holding a sword as it joined him in encircling Ba Gou. He said with a faint smile, "My target was never you."
*Shing, shing, shing!*
He and his primordial spirit struck together, the sword light flashing as they severed Ba Gou's limbs. With another strike, they cut off his head.
"Divine Bridge!"
Qin Mu exclaimed, his heart finally settling.
The Yankang State Preceptor truly was a sage born once every five hundred years. It had been less than a year since Qin Mu and the others had established the spatial mathematical model for the Divine Bridge, yet the preceptor had already refined it!
"Old schemer, you've completed the Divine Bridge and entered the celestial palace, becoming a god, yet you still hide in a corner to ambush others..."
Qin Mu grumbled inwardly. Behind him, the war cries of countless women rose as the divine ability users of various great clans, led by their leaders, charged toward the True Heaven Palace.
Mu Yingxue passed by him, whispering, "Little man, as long as the Yankang State Preceptor lives, don't even think about rebelling. You can't outsmart him!"
He Yiyi also rushed past, murmuring, "If you rebel, you'll die very quickly! The Yankang State Preceptor is too cunning!"
Qin Mu was amused despite himself. "I never thought about rebelling. But that preceptor... he really is cunning."
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[Author's Note: The second chapter may not be written today, so don't wait up. There's a blizzard in Xuzhou, and the house has been empty for over ten days. It's freezing cold, and even with the heater and air conditioner on, it's hard to warm up. I'll try to make it up tomorrow!]