Chapter 730: Not Inferior to Me
As he spoke, the Jianmu tree within Hu Bugui's divine repository had already successively broken through the Seven Star Divine Repository and the Heavenly Being Divine Repository. The immense, overwhelming pressure crushed Hu Bugui's skin until it began to crack, covering his body with fissures like a porcelain vase!
His blood was compressed into an extremely fine mist, shrouding his entire form.
His body became gaunt and withered, his height unchanged but his frame reduced to skin and bones. From within came the sound of snapping, like the sharp twang of a crossbow releasing an arrow.
"It sounds like his meridians are being crushed..."
Jing Yan's heart clenched. She glanced at Xu Shenghua and whispered, "If his meridians are crushed, his bones won't hold either. When the Jianmu breaks through the Life and Death Divine Repository, he won't be able to withstand it..."
Xu Shenghua frowned and sighed. "The experiment has failed. Even Brother Hu's formidable physique can't endure this pressure. Perhaps Sect Leader Qin's Overlord Body could. I've noticed his body has grown even stronger than before, not inferior to Brother Hu's. Coupled with his mastery of Creation Art, he might be able to withstand such immense force..."
Jing Yan murmured softly, "Husband, Brother Hu is about to die, and you're still thinking about that? That Martial Heavenly Master over there has been staring at you, and Old Ox seems to have a hostile look too."
Xu Shenghua remained confident, though it was confidence in Qin Mu. "The Sect Leader is a master of Creation Art; he won't let Brother Hu die. In this world, he is the only one who can keep up with my thinking."
Just then, the roots of the Jianmu finally pierced through the Netherworld, connecting to the Life and Death Divine Repository!
At the same moment, Qin Mu made his move.
He shifted his feet, leaving a trail of afterimages as he circled Hu Bugui. His arms flew, his fingers dancing, and a stream of Creation runes cascaded from his fingertips like leaping musical notes, jumping and burrowing into Hu Bugui's body.
These Creation runes didn't just enter his flesh to repair physical damage; they also penetrated his divine repositories and his primordial spirit.
The runes mended the cracks in Hu Bugui's divine repositories, repaired the fissures in his primordial spirit, and stabilized his spiritual fetus and soul.
Jing Yan stared in stunned disbelief. Xu Shenghua smiled at her and said, "The Sect Leader and I became friends through battle. He knows me deeply, and I know him just as well. Together, we could even take on gods and demons."
A flicker of jealousy and bitterness stirred in Jing Yan's heart, but she quickly came to her senses: "My husband and Sect Leader Qin are both men. Why am I jealous of Sect Leader Qin?"
The pressure on Hu Bugui's body grew stronger and stronger, yet under the protection of Qin Mu's Creation Art, he somehow managed to withstand it.
"Once the Jianmu Divine Bridge connects all the divine repositories, they can merge into one."
Xu Shenghua's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Once unified, Brother Hu's cultivation and power will skyrocket. His primordial spirit, body, and divine repositories will all advance at an astonishing rate! The Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge is a success!"
Qin Mu stopped, and all his afterimages swiftly merged back into his body. He watched Hu Bugui intently.
The Old Farmer and Old Ox also watched nervously as Hu Bugui stood motionless. The Old Farmer clenched his fists, while Old Ox stood on his hind legs, gnawing on his own hoof with his teeth chattering.
Long Qilin scratched the ground restlessly with his claws, quickly digging a large pit.
Hu Bugui stood there for a long time without moving. Suddenly, the blood mist around him surged and returned to his body.
The air cleared.
His aura began to surge violently, his energy growing increasingly wild. His primordial spirit became more stable, and his presence formed a raging vortex around him, spinning faster and faster, expanding wider and wider!
Jing Yan couldn't keep her footing; her robes fluttered as she was pulled toward Hu Bugui.
Her cultivation was weaker than the others.
Xu Shenghua quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Hu Bugui's aura grew stronger and stronger. The Jianmu Divine Bridge connected all his divine repositories, fusing them into a single unified repository. The Jianmu tree grew to its limit, forcing open another divine repository—the Divine Bridge Repository!
Like other martial artists from the Bullfighting Realm, Hu Bugui lacked a Divine Bridge Repository. But now, the canopy of the Jianmu had formed this repository!
This was the main reason his cultivation had skyrocketed!
The Old Farmer was finally moved.
He had been trapped in the Bullfighting Realm for twenty thousand years, trying to solve the problem of its people lacking the Divine Bridge Repository needed to ascend to the Heavenly Palace.
His solution was to have the people of the Bullfighting Realm cultivate martial arts to the point of enlightenment, allowing their primordial spirits to ascend to the Heavenly Palace.
But in twenty thousand years, no one had ever succeeded. Even those who achieved martial enlightenment couldn't ascend their primordial spirits like the Old Farmer had.
Those who achieved martial enlightenment often lost their power during the ascent, their primordial spirits falling into the Netherworld, leading to death.
Hu Bugui was the only young man in recent years to achieve martial enlightenment. Qin Mu's sudden appearance had enabled Hu Bugui to do so, making him the most promising candidate to replicate the Old Farmer's path.
Yet even so, Hu Bugui's chances of ascending to the Heavenly Palace were slim.
The Woodcutter Saint was right: the Martial Heavenly Master was the greatest martial artist in history, unmatched by anyone. Though Hu Bugui had hope, the gap was still enormous.
The Old Farmer hadn't thought much of Xu Shenghua, whom Qin Mu had praised so highly. In fact, he had even considered killing Xu Shenghua with one punch and then Qin Mu with another. But now, Xu Shenghua and Qin Mu had worked together in a dazzling display of skill, somehow creating a Divine Bridge Repository for Hu Bugui out of thin air!
Hu Bugui now had a seventh divine repository!
Not only that, but his seven repositories had merged into one, forming an unprecedented unified repository!
This achievement might even surpass the Old Farmer's!
His eyes suddenly grew moist, tears blurring his vision. He remembered the Kaihuang Era, when there had also been a group of young people—just like Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua now—full of energy and wild ideas, wanting to change the times, bring better lives to the common people, and advance the path of Dao techniques and divine powers.
Those people from back then had died, fled, gone into hiding, drowned themselves in drink, or turned into stone statues weathered by wind and rain.
But recalling those days made the Old Farmer's blood boil with fiery passion!
"Brother Hu, you've just broken through to the Divine Bridge realm. It's best to stabilize first."
Seeing Hu Bugui's primordial spirit step onto the Jianmu Divine Bridge, ready to cross it and charge into the Heavenly Palace, Qin Mu quickly said, "If you ascend to the Heavenly Palace now with an unstable foundation, your understanding of the Divine Bridge realm will be insufficient. Even if you succeed, it will leave flaws."
Hu Bugui's momentum was still rising, his cultivation growing deeper and more terrifying.
His current cultivation had already surpassed most experts in the Divine Bridge realm, but in Qin Mu's eyes, he could still become stronger!
The Old Farmer said gravely, "Qin Mu is right. Bugui, don't rush. You need to spend a few years comprehending the Divine Bridge realm before ascending. The benefits will be greater. Forcing your way into the Heavenly Palace will only limit your future to the Lingxiao realm, barring you from the Imperial Throne."
Hu Bugui's primordial spirit halted, gazing at the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Palace, his heart surging with emotion.
Finally, his martial primordial spirit stepped down from the Jianmu and stood beneath the tree.
"Thank you, Brother Xu and Brother Qin, for your life-changing grace!" He bowed to them in gratitude.
Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua quickly returned the bow. Jing Yan smiled and said, "Brother Hu, the Supreme Academy has just been established and is short on staff. Would you be interested in becoming a libationer to teach the students?"
Hu Bugui agreed readily: "Alright!"
Qin Mu said softly, "The Dao of Heaven and Earth is changing."
Everyone stood quietly, sensing the subtle shifts in the Dao of Heaven and Earth. A single divine repository reaching the Heavenly Palace was an unprecedented achievement—a monumental reform far more significant than changes like the Primordial Spirit Guidance or the Eighteen Sword Styles. Only the change in the Dao of Heaven and Earth caused by Qin Mu resurrecting the Heavenly Yin Goddess could compare.
This change was subtle, like rain moistening things silently. It wouldn't cause obvious phenomena or alarm the world, but those who had achieved enlightenment could sense it from any corner of the universe.
The Old Farmer stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly snorted coldly. "Your Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge can at most change people like Hu Bugui, who have a solid foundation. It's of little use to others. Besides Hu Bugui, no one can cultivate the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge. Moreover, the process is so troublesome—requiring exceptional mathematical skill and a Creation expert like Qin Mu to assist—that it can't be widely promoted."
Xu Shenghua frowned. The Old Farmer had pointed out the very flaw of the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge. Although Hu Bugui had successfully cultivated it, the contributions of Xu Shenghua and Qin Mu were even greater.
Without their help, Hu Bugui could never have succeeded.
And Xu Shenghua and Qin Mu weren't the type to babysit everyone who wanted to cultivate the Jianmu Divine Bridge. They preferred to create techniques and then hand them off to others.
"So we need to make some adjustments."
Qin Mu's eyes sparkled with wisdom as he spoke rapidly. "The Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge uses the Dao Heart Demon Seed method. I think we can modify it so that cultivators or martial artists plant the Jianmu seed at the Spiritual Fetus stage. The Jianmu will grow along with the cultivator, breaking through divine repositories layer by layer. That way, the danger won't be as great."
Xu Shenghua's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. "So we need to revise this technique. But I'm not very good at modifying techniques. That's where the Sect Leader comes in."
"When it comes to modifying techniques, I'm indeed the best in the world."
Qin Mu said without modesty, "When you planted the Jianmu seedling in Brother Hu earlier, I already grasped about seventy to eighty percent of the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge technique. There are still some details I don't understand. Brother Xu, explain it in detail, and I'll see how to revise it."
Xu Shenghua then explained the Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge from beginning to end, skipping the mathematical models since Qin Mu was already a master of mathematics.
The two of them huddled together, pacing back and forth, discussing heatedly, completely ignoring everyone else.
The Old Farmer couldn't understand a word. Hu Bugui and Old Ox were also lost, staring blankly at them.
Jing Yan sighed helplessly, thinking, "Once those two get into their research, they forget everyone else exists."
This discussion was led by Qin Mu. His thoughts jumped rapidly, and only Xu Shenghua could keep up. Moreover, Xu Shenghua's thinking was more meticulous, perfectly compensating for Qin Mu's shortcomings.
Soon, they finalized the revised Jianmu Primordial Divine Bridge, each running through several calculations to fix any flaws.
Xu Shenghua glanced at Hu Bugui, who was still completely lost, and a thought crossed his mind. He lowered his voice and said, "Sect Leader, I originally thought Brother Hu was so strong and powerful that he must be an Overlord Body. Turns out he isn't."
Qin Mu smiled. "I figured that out long ago. He's simple-minded, single-minded, only focused on martial arts. Not as clever as us."
The two exchanged knowing glances and nodded in unison.
Xu Shenghua's eyes flickered. "Now, Brother Qin, can you admit defeat to me? We should have a conclusion on who's the male and who's the female, right?"
Qin Mu chuckled, squinting his eyes. "I am indeed inferior to the collective wisdom of so many people. I concede defeat."
Xu Shenghua raised an eyebrow. "So many people?"
Qin Mu said leisurely, "If you had created this technique on your own without inviting Teacher Woodcutter, Xing Han, Lin Xuan, and the others, I would admit that I am the female Overlord Body and you are the male one. But since you borrowed their wisdom just to match me, you're still a tiny bit short. Even so, Brother Xu, you're already remarkable—not inferior to me!"
Xu Shenghua grunted in frustration.
— Three thousand five hundred words. Who dares say I'm short? Today is the 29th, the last three days of the month. Brothers and sisters with monthly votes, don't hold onto them anymore. They'll expire next month!