Chapter 530: A Beauty Like Jade, A Sword Like a Rainbow
Sang Hua sat up and turned her back, undoing her clothes to reveal a bloody wound beneath her snow-white, jade-like neck. She took out a small jade bottle, squeezed the stagnant blood from the wound, and began applying medicine to herself.
"That night, I said a lot of things to you, but I don't remember them anymore." Her earlobes flushed slightly red.
In truth, that night she had felt she had no chance of escape, so she had said many foolish things to Qin Mu. Some of those words would make even a boy blush and stammer, yet she had boldly spoken them, since Qin Mu couldn't hear her anyway.
Unexpectedly, she had survived. She had thought she would never see Qin Mu again in this lifetime, and those wild, crazy words from that night had become a unique emotion in her memories. She never imagined she would meet the dark boy who had listened to her in the darkness again.
Qin Mu looked up at the sun in the sky, barely restraining the urge to fly up and smooth it into a perfect sphere. He walked around to her front and reached out to help apply the medicine. Sang Hua quickly pulled her clothes closed. "Men and women should not touch..."
Qin Mu quickly said, "I'm an apothecary. I was planning to help you apply the medicine. A healer has a parent's heart; I won't have any improper thoughts."
Sang Hua remembered he had just mentioned being a somewhat famous apothecary, so she relaxed and watched curiously as he applied the medicine with practiced skill. Puzzled, she asked, "Your mathematical arts are clearly very advanced—how are you also proficient in medicine?"
Qin Mu examined the wound above her chest very carefully. "I studied medicine for over ten years. I studied mathematical arts for a shorter time, only three years. Actually, my medical skills are much better than my mathematical arts."
"How long do you need to look?" Sang Hua asked with mock anger, raising her hand to gather her clothes.
Qin Mu quickly stopped her, carefully pulling her clothes down to her shoulders. "A healer has a parent's heart. Hmm, your skin is very fair, and your shoulders are quite smooth... Don't move!"
He frowned slightly. Sang Hua's wound had been inflicted by a demonic cultivator expert. The wound carried demonic divine abilities and demonic energy, corroding flesh and blood and vitality.
This kind of wound was very difficult to stop bleeding from, and also hard to extract the demonic energy. The medicine paste just applied to the wound had already turned black, clearly because the medicinal power had been corrupted by the demonic energy.
Qin Mu squeezed out the blackened medicine paste from Sang Hua's wound, sniffed it, and shook his head.
This medicine paste wasn't suitable for the condition.
"It hurts! This medicine paste is for drawing out poison. After applying it, some demonic poison is drawn out, and then the medicine needs to be changed."
Sang Hua cried out in pain, then took out several more bottles of medicine paste. "This kind of wound needs to be dressed more than ten times to fully draw out the poison... Your eyes keep wandering—I'll apply the medicine myself!"
Qin Mu took some medicinal herbs from his glutton sack and began refining medicine using his own alchemical methods. "Demonic poison isn't actually poison. The problem is that you cultivate divine path techniques, while your opponent cultivates demonic path techniques. The vital energy attributes conflict, making you feel it's poison. The medicine paste you're using isn't a poison-drawing paste either—it's a variation of a spiritual pill that wasn't refined into its optimal form, hence the paste consistency. This spiritual pill is only turning black from demonic energy contamination; using it to extract demonic energy is somewhat wasteful."
As he spoke, a cauldron formed from vital energy appeared in his palm. He directly refined medicine within the vital energy, reversing water and fire, harmonizing dragon and tiger, employing various alchemical techniques that dazzled Sang Hua.
After a moment, Qin Mu dispersed the vital energy, and over a dozen pills fell into his hand.
Qin Mu crushed one and applied it to her wound. "In another world, I was the Heavenly Sage Cult Leader, also called the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader. I have some understanding of the demonic path. Demons arise from the mind; whether divine or demonic, they are manifestations of the heart, transforming from inner images to outer appearances. I have some experience treating wounds caused by demonic path divine abilities."
Soon, Sang Hua felt a cool sensation at the wound site. The demonic energy was completely extracted, and the wound transitioned from cool to warm to itchy—a sign that healing had begun.
"Healing so quickly? You said you were somewhat famous in your world?"
Sang Hua's eyes widened. She quietly grabbed her other braid to cover the other side of her chest, asking curiously, "A somewhat famous apothecary can refine a spiritual medicine to counter demonic energy this quickly?"
Qin Mu stuffed the remaining pills into her hand and smiled sheepishly. "I was being modest just now. Actually, I'm quite famous—I'm very well-known in my world. You didn't notice I was being modest, did you?"
He couldn't help feeling proud. "A lot of people don't notice!"
Sang Hua was puzzled. "Aren't you going to help me apply the medicine?"
Qin Mu walked toward the others to help treat their injuries. "I was just examining the wound earlier. You can apply the medicine yourself. There are others who need treatment."
Sang Hua pulled her clothes closed and watched him bustling about. She thought to herself, "He really did have a healer's heart just now, without any improper intentions. This person is a rare gentleman, though his eyes do tend to wander..."
Qin Mu gave rough treatment to the injured cultivators on the altar, then looked down. Below the altar and across the battlefield lay countless cultivators and demonic masses. People were moving the wounded, while others executed the dying demons.
Across this vast battlefield were flames from divine abilities, burning war chariots, fallen bodies, banners covering flames, and spiritual weapons stuck at angles.
In the distance, the slaughter continued.
This world was exceptionally cruel. Although Qin Mu had entered and exited battlefields countless times, the scene before him still shook his soul.
"Medicine cannot save this world."
Qin Mu shook his head. His medical skills could only save some people. Healing all the wounded on the battlefield would take months. In this world, where battles erupted every three days and major wars every five, he simply didn't have the ability to heal everyone.
He looked up at the sky. The irregular sun was gradually dimming, turning red.
These two suns should have been fixed in the sky, never moving, only darkening at certain times.
"The sun-creating deity who built these two suns had interesting ideas, but their mathematical arts weren't very advanced..." Qin Mu withdrew his gaze, still finding the suns somewhat harsh on the eyes.
"Too ugly! If I look any longer, I won't be able to resist flying over to fix them..." he thought.
He walked slowly along the edge of the altar, mobilizing his vital energy and activating the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique. His spiritual fetus and soul suddenly merged into a primordial spirit, uniting flesh and spirit.
His primordial spirit stood on a spiritual platform, unifying the six directions, with sun and moon above its head and five luminaries spanning the sky. As his vital energy moved, it flowed through his limbs and bones, and strands of his hair gently floated, infused with vital energy.
This battle on the battlefield had shown him the power of cultivators from another world. Experiencing life and death on the battlefield had subtly changed his mindset.
After his battle with the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, he had sunk into a period of decline. When facing combat, he couldn't even deliver his own techniques, earning a harsh scolding from the Butcher.
It wasn't that he dared not strike, but that he felt no matter what technique or divine ability he used, it would be wrong.
The reason it was wrong wasn't just that his confidence and beliefs had been shattered by the First Ancestor Human Sovereign. The battle with him had also elevated Qin Mu's vision and insight to a height he had never imagined before.
Standing at this height and looking down at the techniques and divine abilities he had learned before, they were all full of flaws!
His vision had risen, but his foundation wasn't sufficient to allow him to transform and enter the next realm. This led him to feel, when facing an enemy, that no matter what technique or divine ability he used, it would be broken, and he would die at the enemy's hands in the next moment.
He had treated his opponent as if it were the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, hence this illusion.
But on the battlefield, Qin Mu had no time to think about these things. The battlefield situation changed in an instant. He couldn't afford to think about whether there were flaws—he just used his techniques and killed powerful enemies.
After this battle, Qin Mu suddenly felt he was on the verge of a great transformation.
As long as he crossed this threshold, there would surely be a clear sky and a grand path ahead!
A radiant glow gradually emanated from him. Vital energy circulated within his body, connecting the three divine treasuries of Spiritual Fetus, Five Luminaries, and Six Harmonies. The light from the sun, moon, and stars illuminated the divine treasuries clearly, making him shine like a being of light.
Even the Heavenly Being Divine Treasury within him was illuminated, revealing its divine treasury gate.
And below the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury, a deep, dark gate flickered in and out of visibility—the gate to the Life and Death Divine Treasury connecting to the Nether Realm.
Qin Mu walked unhurriedly. In Little Jade Capital, he had observed the divine treasury of the Little Jade Capital divine being Qin Chongming, traveling through that divine being's treasury for a long time.
From then on, he had begun to reform his own divine treasury, supplementing his deficiencies.
Roar—
Vital energy vibrated within him, emitting dragon roars. Dragon energy coiled around his body, drilling in and out, tempering his physical form. Suddenly, Qin Mu formed his hands into blades and began striking as he walked along the altar's edge.
The wind howled, and blades fell like rain—Night Battle Through a City in Wind and Rain.
The great sun rose, leaping from the sea surface—Sun Rising Over the Eastern Sea, A Thousand Layers of Waves.
A golden, wrong-bladed sword with a white jade hilt pierces through the window lattice at night, emitting light. A husband at fifty with no achievements stands, sword in hand, gazing at the eight wastelands.
After the hero's calamity comes the people's will; walking along the road, smoke rises all the way!
On this desolate, bloody battlefield, the Butcher's blade techniques suddenly became vivid and alive, reflecting the great calamity of this world.
His blade techniques grew faster and faster. Suddenly, the blade light dispersed, and the wind, rain, great sun, and sea surface all vanished. Qin Mu formed his fingers into a sword, and vital energy vibrated into sword threads. He gently lifted and slowly wiped, his sword techniques extremely delicate. Suddenly, the sword techniques accelerated, and in the blink of an eye, the long sword swept across the sky above the altar like a silver dragon dancing wildly.
Qin Mu wielded his sword as he walked on the altar. Sword light hissed and shot across the sky, faster and faster, more and more urgent.
The calamity of this world, Supreme Heavenly Realm, touched his heart. Unconsciously, he released his emotions and feelings through his sword techniques and vital energy!
The third form of the Sword Diagram—Supreme Sovereign's Calamity Stirred.
But at the moment when the calamity erupted most violently, Qin Mu suddenly dispersed all the sword light. His sword finger suddenly pointed at his brow. This finger didn't just touch his brow—it also touched the brow of his spiritual fetus primordial spirit. All his spirit, all his sword energy, gathered in this one finger.
He had comprehended calamity.
Calamity is disaster. It is the people struggling to survive amid catastrophe. It is seeking hope for life in hellish suffering. It is heroes like the Butcher cleaving out hope with their blades. It is village chiefs like the Human Sovereign blazing trails through hardship, struggling to survive. It is also the people sinking and struggling behind the heroes.
Flesh and blood buried in bone.
His two fingers thrust forward—one sword like a rainbow, spanning ten miles of sky.
The light of one half-sun in the sky completely dimmed, leaving only this sword light.
After thrusting this sword, Qin Mu stood blankly on the altar. With this one strike, he had completely abandoned the Village Chief's Sword Diagram. Suddenly, he felt he had found his own path.