Chapter 594: How Could This Be?
“Such a formidable divine ability!”
Qin Mu grew excited. Before the nine-headed phoenix had even reached him, the hurricane stirred up by the might of this great divine ability had already blown apart the ribbon binding his hair, sending his jet-black locks streaming backward, pulled taut and straight!
The skin on his face was pressed into wrinkles, and the scorching air made it difficult for him to breathe.
Zhe Huali was on par with Qin Mu, yet Qi Jiuyi was attacking both of them simultaneously, a testament to his confidence.
He was certain he could take down both Zhe Huali and Qin Mu, these two young prodigies, at the same time!
As a disciple of an ancient existence in the Heavenly Court, he excelled even in that lofty realm. This time, descending to the mortal world on business, he appeared gentle and refined, behaving courteously and never failing in propriety, whether toward friend or foe. But deep down, he still looked down on these mortal experts, considering them nothing more than country bumpkins.
Now, his divine ability had been brewing for a long time. Taking advantage of the probing exchange with Zhe Huali, he had finally perfectly manifested this great divine ability, Nine Phoenixes Perching on the Parasol Tree.
This was a great divine ability from the Imperial Throne cultivation method. Once formed, it was enough to crush any opponent of the same cultivation level, absolutely without equal!
He would take down both Qin Mu and Zhe Huali at once, establishing the Heavenly Court’s authority and letting these mortal bumpkins know where the might of heaven truly lay!
Qin Mu’s blood boiled. Qi Jiuyi was attacking both of them, yet Qin Mu felt as if he were facing Qi Jiuyi’s assault alone. Clearly, this youth from the Heavenly Court was a terrifying opponent unlike any he had ever encountered—he had never faced such a dreadful foe!
Although Qi Jiuyi’s great divine ability required time to shape and condense, the power of this ability filled Qin Mu with an indescribable excitement!
Never had he met such a terrifying opponent!
He couldn’t help but let out a long howl. Within his body, dragon roars echoed one after another, eight roars in an instant. After the Eight Sounds of the Ancestral Dragon resounded, the Overlord Body Three Dan Art also completed one full cycle!
The nine-headed phoenix shrieked as it flew in, radiant and colorful, both dazzling and brimming with astonishing power and might!
The moment this nine-headed phoenix descended from the tree, it arrived before Qin Mu. On the tree, it had seemed immensely huge, but by the time it reached Qin Mu, it had shrunk to less than a foot in size.
Though its form had diminished, its power had only grown stronger, its threat even greater.
At the same time, Qi Jiuyi struck out with a seal. The parasol tree met the demon blade with a *shua* sound. As blade and tree collided, waves of energy spread in all directions. The hurricane was filled with flames and leaping blade light, howling past and sweeping the surroundings.
The ground instantly melted into magma, and within the magma, dancing blade lights were everywhere. The moment these two great divine abilities clashed, demon blades leaped out from the magma. Each blade wielded a different technique, and a bizarre demon eye grew from the hilt of each blade, locking tightly onto Qi Jiuyi. The path of each leaping demon blade seemed controlled by these eerie demon eyes.
At the same time, tiny parasol trees emerged from the magma, blocking the demon blades. On the trees were phoenix nests, radiating multicolored light, shattering the demon blades that leaped from the magma.
Simultaneously, Qin Mu’s sword orb rose, floating before his brow. As he lightly tapped his brow with his sword finger, the small sword orb, composed of eight thousand swords, began to deform rapidly.
The eight thousand swords transformed into a single beam of sword light. As his sword finger pointed outward, the sword light instantly became incredibly intense, gathering all his power and energy as it shot toward the nine-headed phoenix.
*Shua!*
The sword light collided with the nine-headed phoenix. The moment it burst from Qin Mu’s fingertip, it was as thick as a pillar, but after leaving his sword finger, it became extremely slender, like a cold gleam.
Yet, upon closer inspection, this cold gleam of Qin Mu’s seemed to contain myriad visions.
The first form of his Tribulation Sword was called the Tribulation Initiation Sword. This sword technique was centered on the Carefree Sword. The Carefree Sword had an eight-sided blade, and on each side, runes from Qin Mu’s Overlord Body Three Dan Art were etched, radiating light.
The sword light reflected these runes onto each sub-sword, activating their power. The light then rebounded from one sub-sword to another. Each sword’s blade was like an eight-sided mirror; in just a brief instant, all eight thousand swords would be lit, unleashing their full might!
The positions of the eight thousand swords were constantly shifting, each following a different trajectory. In the end, all the power of the eight thousand swords converged on the Carefree Sword.
This was the mystery of the Tribulation Initiation Sword.
On the surface, it seemed Qin Mu merely tapped his brow and thrust out a single sword, extremely simple. But behind this apparent simplicity lay the culmination of his lifelong cultivation insights, encompassing his physical body, primordial spirit, Dao techniques, and divine abilities—all his strength.
Both the Butcher and Boundless Sun had spoken of reducing complexity to simplicity. Why did Qin Mu deeply resonate with this? Because he had already reached this stage!
Compared to Qi Jiuyi’s great divine ability, which was slow to activate and required time to prepare, Qin Mu’s great divine ability—his Tribulation Sword—was exceptionally fast to initiate!
This was the difference between self-creation and learning. Qin Mu had entered the path of Dao through his cultivation method, creating his own Tribulation Sword, so his reaction speed was incredibly swift.
Zhe Huali followed the path of Dao through blade techniques. Although his blade techniques were self-created, his cultivation method belonged to others—he had learned both Luo Wushuang’s method and Boundless Sun’s demonic arts. Thus, his Dao-initiation blade techniques were a fraction slower than Qin Mu’s.
But even being a fraction slower, they were still faster than Qi Jiuyi’s great divine ability.
What set Qi Jiuyi apart from the two was that his cultivation method was the Imperial Throne method of the Heavenly Court. The power of his divine abilities was overwhelmingly strong, rarely seen in the world. In terms of sheer power alone, it surpassed divine abilities from True God methods by an unknown margin!
However, his great divine ability was split in two: the nine-headed phoenix attacked Qin Mu, while the parasol tree attacked Zhe Huali, dividing the power of this technique in half!
*Chi!*
Qin Mu’s sword light pierced through the head of the nine-headed phoenix. The Carefree Sword passed through the body of the phoenix formed by this technique. Though the phoenix appeared small, it was composed of countless sub-abilities, and the divine abilities forming its body now erupted!
But the power of the eight thousand swords hidden within Qin Mu’s strike also burst forth. The eight thousand tiny swords leaped at an imperceptible amplitude, each executing different sword techniques, severing the divine abilities within the phoenix’s body.
In the brief instant of collision, the nine-headed phoenix was annihilated. The slender sword light shot straight toward Qi Jiuyi.
Qi Jiuyi grunted as his divine ability was broken. Suddenly, flames burst from behind him. He twisted his neck, and from around his neck grew eight long necks, densely covered with tiny phoenix feathers, each feather shimmering with seven colors.
At the ends of these necks were phoenix heads, crowned with plumes like the king of birds. One by one, the phoenix heads pecked down, *ding ding ding*, striking Qin Mu’s sword light.
Just as he diverted his attention to deal with Qin Mu’s Tribulation Initiation Sword, Zhe Huali’s pressure eased. The countless demon blades leaping from the magma suddenly clashed together, *zheng zheng zheng*, merging into one. The demon blade swung down toward Qi Jiuyi’s head!
Behind Qi Jiuyi, a magnificent pair of wings spread open, the wings like blades, the feathers like swords, meeting this strike.
Qin Mu followed close behind his sword light. His feet moved, erupting with a thunderous *boom* as he punched. The air around Qi Jiuyi was instantly sucked away, compressed onto Qin Mu’s fist!
Around his fist, bolts of lightning shot out in all directions!
Qi Jiuyi raised a hand to meet the blow. Meanwhile, on the other side, Zhe Huali charged forward like an enraged demon god, roaring a demonic word. His blood energy surged wildly as he struck out with a seal!
Qi Jiuyi formed a seal with his other hand to meet it, resisting both opponents at once. Two terrifying forces clashed, and two thunderous sounds erupted simultaneously.
Qi Jiuyi grunted, and all nine heads spat blood.
Qin Mu opened his other hand. The flying swords scattered by the eight phoenix heads fell back into a sword orb in his palm. He clenched his fist, and a dazzling column of sword light, formed by the frenzied rotation of eight thousand swords, swept toward Qi Jiuyi’s necks, aiming to sever all nine heads.
The spinning sword light emitted a *chi chi chi* sound as it cut through the air. If this strike landed, Qi Jiuyi would be shattered, dismembered into the finest bits!
Zhe Huali reached out and grabbed his demon blade. With a *dang*, the blade met Qin Mu’s sword strike. Bursts of blade light erupted, scattering Qin Mu’s sword light. He said coldly, “He’s mine, Chief Qin. Best not to interfere.”
Both men’s bodies shook violently, their arms numb. The demon blade and sword orb were each knocked from their hands. Qin Mu’s other hand shot out, snatching the demon blade mid-air. He shifted his steps, swung the blade down, and said coldly, “Zhe Huali, you’re too foolish. This man is a formidable foe for both of us. We must kill him first before we can fight in peace!”
His strike was grand and imposing, inheriting the Butcher’s wild and domineering blade style. Its power was hardly inferior to when it was in Zhe Huali’s hands.
Suddenly, his palm stung. The demon eye on the blade’s hilt grew a mouth, full of sharp teeth, biting into his palm, drawing blood.
At the same time, Zhe Huali caught the sword orb. He paused briefly, nearly dropping it. He hadn’t expected Qin Mu’s sword orb to be so heavy; he almost failed to hold it.
Zhe Huali clenched his fist, and the sword orb’s light surged. But he had little skill in swordsmanship, and the orb contained eight thousand swords, making it difficult to control. The tiny swords were hard to manage, so he simply swung the sword light to meet Qin Mu’s descending demon blade. Expressionless, he said, “He’s the same as you—both are opponents I must kill. Both of you will die by my blade!”
The moment sword and blade clashed, Zhe Huali grunted and staggered back. Qin Mu was proficient in blade techniques, and though the demon blade had bitten him, his strike still carried immense power. Moreover, his magical power was more abundant than Zhe Huali’s, making it hard for Zhe Huali to withstand.
Both lost their weapons. The demon blade vibrated in mid-air, and countless blade lights danced wildly around the three of them, clashing with each other.
Qin Mu immediately used his own magical power to control the sword orb. The sword light soared, transforming into a scroll of mountains and rivers that crashed down with a *boom*, engulfing all three.
Sword of Mountains and Rivers!
“How dare you! Do you dare ignore me?!”
Qi Jiuyi was both shocked and furious. He shook his body again, revealing his nine-headed, human-bodied form with bird feet and wings. Just as he was about to erupt and kill them both, Qin Mu and Zhe Huali struck together, severely wounding him.
Qi Jiuyi spat blood. Qin Mu and Zhe Huali circled around him, attacking each other with deadly intent, locked in a chaotic melee. Whenever Qi Jiuyi tried to resist, he was immediately struck down by both. And whenever Qin Mu attacked him, Zhe Huali would block it; whenever Zhe Huali delivered a killing blow, a sulking Qin Mu would intercept it.
Qi Jiuyi was drenched in blood, a mix of fear and confusion in his heart. Facing either Qin Mu or Zhe Huali alone, he was confident of victory. But against the two of them together, he could only take the beating.
“How could this be?” he wondered, utterly perplexed.