Chapter 547: Qin Mu's Nightmare (First Update~)
Qin Mu was overjoyed. His purpose in coming here was to travel, to witness the formidable side of the great world's cultivators, to learn from others' strengths, and to grow himself to the point where he could contend with the First Ancestor Human Sovereign.
The demon clan cultivators of the Grand Heavenly Realm were numerous and powerful, absolutely excellent opponents for exchanging techniques!
Moreover, with the Black Tiger God, a deity, present, there was no need to worry about encountering a demon god and being unable to escape.
The Black Tiger God's speed was extremely swift. Even facing three or five demon gods, he could retreat with ease.
Furthermore, with the Black Tiger God's assurance, even if trouble arose, the blame would fall on the Black Tiger God, leaving Chief Qin Mu unaffected.
Sang Hua and Yu He also relaxed. With the Black Tiger God, a deity, by their side, there would certainly be no danger on this trip.
The group immediately descended from the city wall. Yu He was bold yet cautious, more mature than Sang Hua, and said, "Tiger Lord, this time we're going to the demon clan's territory. It's best if you don't release your aura, or the demon gods will block us. It's better to pretend to be an ordinary cultivator. The reason the gods of our Grand Heavenly Realm cannot enter demon territory is that the demon gods are extremely sensitive to the aura of deities."
The Black Tiger God restrained his aura and smiled, "Rest assured, I won't reveal myself and attract the demon gods. This is your training; I'll only watch from the sidelines and won't interfere."
Their pace was swift, and even cultivators with lower cultivation could keep up. This time, because Sang Hua and Yu He were infiltrating demon territory, they had brought only elites—all seasoned soldiers from the army who had experienced life-and-death battles.
As they neared the demon territory, the sky gradually darkened. Wisps of demonic energy drifted through the forests and mountains, shrouding the area in a gray mist. They could see things, but not very far.
One cultivator intended to activate a flame technique for illumination, but Shu Yao immediately crushed his technique and said in a low voice, "This is demon territory. Unless it's a life-or-death situation, no one may use illumination techniques, or we'll expose our position! Remember, if you encounter enemies, you must eliminate them as quickly as possible and end the fight. Never attract more enemies!"
The group grew solemn and quickly acknowledged the order.
"Shu Yao has good judgment."
Qin Mu silently praised him and asked Sang Hua, "Have you been to the Town God Tower?"
Sang Hua shook her head, her long braid hanging over her chest, and said, "Not yet. There have been too many things happening these past few days; I haven't had the time. The demons have been quiet lately, which frightens me. And this time, the Celestial Master left with twenty-four deities and hasn't returned yet, which gives me an uneasy feeling."
Qin Mu frowned slightly. The Woodcutter Saint had left with the twenty-four deities and hadn't returned, and there was no news of any major battle breaking out. It was indeed strange.
"Be careful. We've officially entered demon territory! Ding Yun, use your primordial spirit to scout ahead!"
At Yu He's command, one cultivator immediately sat cross-legged, and his primordial spirit left his body. Another cultivator stepped forward and carried him on his back.
Most of them were cultivators at the Seven Stars realm. At the Seven Stars realm, the primordial spirit could already leave the body, but the cultivators of the Grand Heavenly Realm hadn't undergone the Yan Kang Kingdom's primordial spirit reformation. Their primordial spirits weren't strong enough to fly very far, but they were sufficient for scouting.
The group continued on their way. After a while, Ding Yun's primordial spirit flew back and reported, "Two hundred li to the southwest, there's a town. About two thousand people are being enslaved by the demons, building something. Nearby, there are some villages inhabited by the elderly, women, and children—quite a few people. However, on the way there, there are six demon watchtowers. The watchtowers are very tall. I didn't dare look closely, afraid the demon cultivators inside would detect my primordial spirit."
Yu He asked, "How far apart are the watchtowers?"
Ding Yun's face flushed slightly, and he stammered, "I'm not good at calculations... I didn't count."
Yu He frowned and said worriedly, "The demon cultivators in the watchtowers are all at the Six Harmonies or Seven Stars realm, with high vigilance. If we alert them and they send a message, we won't be facing just a few scattered soldiers but demon cultivators at the Heavenly Being realm, or even the Life and Death realm or Divine Bridge realm!"
Ding Yun shook his head, "There are watchtowers in other places too, quite a few."
Shu Yao thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll have to sneak over and eliminate the demons on the watchtowers in the first moment. But if any demon detects us in advance, we'll have to retreat..."
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he asked, "Whose vital energy is the most resilient and the strongest among you?"
Everyone looked at him, opening their mouths but saying nothing. Yu He and Shu Yao hesitated for a moment and also remained silent.
Qin Mu explained, "If the vital energy is strong and resilient enough, you can activate a sword orb from a hundred li away. The sword orb is small and can reach a hundred li directly, eliminating the demons on the watchtowers without giving them a chance to react!"
Everyone still opened their mouths but said nothing.
Qin Mu was puzzled and was about to speak again when Sang Hua, being straightforward, said, "Threshing Grain Chief Brother, among the cultivators here, besides Tiger Lord, isn't your vital energy the most resilient and strongest?"
Everyone quickly nodded.
Shu Yao said helplessly, "Chief, in the battle at Li City, you killed four demon strongmen in a row. We all admire you. Being modest now would just be hypocritical."
Qin Mu scratched his head, only then remembering that the few things in which he surpassed Yu He, Shu Yao, and the others, aside from his sword techniques and primordial spirit, were his vital energy cultivation.
"Alright, I'll clear out the watchtowers. You all follow closely behind me!"
Qin Mu stood up, touched his brow with his finger, and said, "Primordial spirit, leave!"
His primordial spirit flickered and disappeared.
"Such a strong primordial spirit!"
Everyone, including Yu He, was startled. Qin Mu's primordial spirit was almost solid, no less than that of a cultivator at the Heavenly Being realm—truly formidable!
"I may be the best among the Seven Stars realm cultivators of the Grand Heavenly Realm, reaching the level of a young true god in every aspect, but my primordial spirit is still far inferior to his." Yu He felt dejected.
Sang Hua stepped forward, intending to pick up Qin Mu and carry him while they traveled, but she saw Qin Mu's physical body, now without its primordial spirit, running forward, gradually picking up speed. She was startled.
The Black Tiger God strode after Qin Mu and said, "Don't stare. This is the Divine Control Technique, a method of my master. Hurry up and follow!"
The group quickly caught up. Just as they reached Qin Mu, his primordial spirit returned swiftly, re-entering his body. He patted his gluttony pouch, and the sword orb inside flew out, spinning rapidly before suddenly accelerating and breaking through the air.
Qin Mu also suddenly accelerated, charging forward. With a thunderous boom, he surpassed the speed of sound, making no effort to conceal his movements.
Yu He and the other cultivators frowned. Qin Mu's rush could certainly catch the enemy off guard, but the sound would inevitably alert the other watchtowers.
Ding Yun had reported that besides the six watchtowers on the necessary path, there were others not on that route. Qin Mu's sonic boom would alert those watchtowers, likely exposing their mission and forcing them to retreat.
Yu He gritted her teeth. "Follow!"
The group quickly accelerated, sprinting with all their might. One after another, booming sounds rang out as they each surpassed the speed of sound, though some were faster and others slower.
Yu He, Shu Yao, and Sang Hua were the fastest, slightly quicker than Qin Mu. The three caught up to him and looked ahead. The sword orb had already reached the first watchtower!
When the sword orb was still over ten zhang from the watchtower, countless swords flew out from within it as it spun. With a whoosh, they passed through the watchtower. Then, over a dozen flying swords suddenly pointed downward, flying close to the ground, while the countless swords in the air clinked against the sword orb, returning to it. The sword orb didn't pause at all and charged straight ahead.
Qin Mu was also sprinting forward. In just a few breaths, he could see the second watchtower. Below it, several demon cultivators were drinking and making merry, while two demons on the watchtower were looking around.
The dozen or so flying swords that had been flying close to the ground arrived. The drinking demons didn't even have time to react before their heads flew off. The dozen swords, stained with blood, shot into the air and clinked against the sword orb as it flew out of the watchtower.
Whoosh—
Qin Mu sped past like a gale, rushing past this watchtower and charging toward the third.
Yu He, Shu Yao, and Sang Hua quickly followed. When they reached the third watchtower, they saw Qin Mu suddenly stop, but the sword orb had already charged toward the fourth.
Qin Mu stood with his feet neither parallel nor at an angle, his right hand forming a sword seal. His vital energy steamed as he paced back and forth like a drunkard, occasionally thrusting his sword finger. Then, he formed sword seals with both hands and thrust repeatedly.
The sword orb crashed through one watchtower after another. Behind it, countless swords darted about like flying fish, slaughtering the demon cultivators inside. As the sword orb flew out, it successively broke through the fourth, fifth, and sixth watchtowers.
The other cultivators caught up and just stopped when Ding Yun immediately sent his primordial spirit out to chase Qin Mu's sword orb. He saw that after the sword orb broke through the sixth watchtower, it suddenly scattered with a clatter. Eight thousand swords split into two groups, colliding with each other to form two smaller sword orbs, which flew off in opposite directions.
Ding Yun was startled. His primordial spirit chased one of the sword orbs and saw it replicate the same method, flying in a semicircle at terrifying speed. Along the way, the demons in the watchtowers were slain without any time to react.
By the time this sword orb reached the last watchtower, Ding Yun heard the thunderous sound of it breaking the sound barrier, but the noise wasn't loud. The demon cultivator on that watchtower poked his head out to look around. Behind him, the sword orb flew into the tower, and sword light erupted, engulfing him.
Ding Yun quickly withdrew his primordial spirit. Just as it returned to his body, he saw the sword orb flying back toward them. At the same time, the other sword orb also whistled in.
The two sword orbs clinked together in front of Qin Mu, merging into a slightly larger one, which gently landed in his hand.
"Mission accomplished." Qin Mu looked up, revealing a smile.
Everyone was breathless with tension. They had only just stopped and hadn't even gotten a clear look at the surrounding terrain.
Shu Yao looked at Ding Yun, who nodded and said, "Within a radius of one hundred and fifty li, all the watchtowers that could hear the thunderous sound have been destroyed by the Chief. Farther away, they couldn't hear the noise from here."
"One hundred and fifty li?"
Yu He showed an expression of disbelief. Qin Mu had only mentioned a hundred li earlier, but now he had cleared out all the watchtowers within a hundred and fifty li! His vital energy cultivation was simply too formidable!
"It seems he really was being modest," she thought to herself.
Shu Yao said in a low voice, "Let's move quickly! Chief, you've controlled the swords a lot. Do you need to rest?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "No, my vital energy is still abundant."
Shu Yao was startled and silently called him a freak. The group hurried forward along the path of the destroyed watchtowers. Before long, they were not far from the town Ding Yun had mentioned.
They each concealed their tracks and looked ahead, their hearts shaken.
Ahead, what could no longer be called a town was a massive altar, no smaller than the one that had appeared when the Woodcutter Saint descended!
Thousands of able-bodied humans, under the watch of demon soldiers, were constructing this altar.
The altar was already more than half-built. Many demon cultivators carried large buckets, dipping brushes into the blood inside and imprinting runic marks on the altar.
"Haven't the demons already breached the world barrier of the Grand Heavenly Realm? Logically, the world barrier between the demon world and the Grand Heavenly Realm can no longer stop demon gods and demons from descending. Why are they still building an altar?"
Qin Mu was puzzled and whispered, "Could it be that the gods and demons they intend to summon aren't from the demon world? Could it be..."
He thought of Zhe Huali's origin and felt uneasy.
Zhe Huali was a disciple of Luo Wushuang, hailing from the so-called True Heavenly Court!
Shu Yao quickly said, "There's a Heavenly Being realm expert! Everyone, withdraw your gazes and don't look!"
Each of them withdrew their gaze. Beside the altar, the demon strongman at the Heavenly Being realm had a towering primordial spirit over ten zhang tall behind him, robust and imposing. His primordial spirit seemed to sense something and looked around but found nothing unusual.
Qin Mu took out a mirror and used it to reflect the area around the altar. "There aren't many demons here. Besides that Heavenly Being expert, the others shouldn't be hard to deal with..."
Just then, he saw a figure emerge from inside the altar, and his expression instantly changed.
"Fu Riluo!"
Qin Mu's hand trembled. In the mirror, Fu Riluo walked out of the altar, looked up, and stared at him from outside the mirror.
"Run..."
Qin Mu's voice was hoarse. In the mirror, Fu Riluo took a step, walking out from within the mirror. Like a nightmare descending, his figure grew larger and larger, filling the entire mirror.
"Run now—" Qin Mu shouted sharply.
——First update! A pseudo-large chapter of 3,800 words! Big brothers and sisters, do you have any monthly votes?