Chapter 746: Sword Like a Dragon on the Sea
Jade Lake was like an ocean.
For ancient gods with vast physical forms, this place was merely a pond, but for humans, it stretched as wide as a sea. In fact, Jade Lake had another name—it was called the Jade Sea.
Within the sea, divine turtles carried sacred mountains and holy peaks on their backs, swimming leisurely. Huge lotus blossoms floated about, their petals like mountain peaks, colorful and vibrant in shades of red and purple.
When cultivators arrived at Jade Lake, they did not feel that the lake was too large; rather, they felt as if they themselves had shrunk countless times.
Ahead, Heavenly Lord Hao had already stopped. This place was far from the Jade Lake Pavilion and the Jade Lake Treasure Island. All around, demigods were approaching—some walking, others flying through the sky, hiding within the clouds.
Still others lurked beneath the sea. Qin Mu walked across the sea surface, seeing the bodies of massive beasts swimming lightly below, their scales the same color as the blue waves.
"Celestial Lord Yu, is it really you?"
Heavenly Lord Hao watched him approach and suddenly sighed, his expression desolate. "Strangely enough, I actually wish you were him. But I also know you shouldn't be him. You are already dead—you cannot come back to life. Under those circumstances, how could you possibly survive? Yet here you stand before me, alive and real, and that baffles me."
A look of confusion crossed his face. "I clearly killed you. I clearly shattered your soul until it scattered to the winds. But somehow, you've come back to life. How did you manage it?"
In the sky, an ancient god with large ears was monitoring all the commotion at Jade Lake. Upon hearing Heavenly Lord Hao's words, he suddenly shuddered, turned around, and fled.
At the same time, deep beneath Jade Lake, another ancient god with a single eye on his forehead changed expression drastically, burrowed out of the earth, and soared into the air.
The two ancient gods met, exchanged glances, and wore strange expressions.
They were none other than the generals Tian Ting and Di Shi, sent by the Heavenly Emperor to investigate this case.
"Should we tell His Majesty about this?" Tian Ting asked.
Di Shi shook his head and said gloomily, "Aren't you afraid of death? If we tell His Majesty, we'll both die."
Tian Ting frowned, his large ears curling up. He lowered his voice. "His Majesty ordered us to investigate this case. The assassination of Celestial Lord Yu is no small matter—he is a Heavenly Lord, the very first Heavenly Lord, and one for whom all ancient gods offered blessings and prayers. His death will likely cause great trouble in the future!"
Di Shi closed the single eye on his forehead and shook his head. "Even if we tell His Majesty, what can he do? He'll let it go. After all, Heavenly Lord Hao is too deeply connected—his mother is immensely powerful! If His Majesty punishes Heavenly Lord Hao, the trouble it stirs up will only be greater. At that point, His Majesty will only silence us and have us killed."
Tian Ting was at a loss. "Then what should we do?"
"See nothing, hear nothing."
Di Shi, the ancient god, said, "I am blind, and you are deaf. That will keep us alive."
Tian Ting nodded. "That's the only way. But Celestial Lord Yu will have died in vain. Lord Mu has transformed into Celestial Lord Yu, spreading his teachings and avenging him. He, too, will likely die in vain. How lamentable, how lamentable—two Heavenly Lords taking their leave..."
Di Shi sighed. "When he took out Celestial Lord Yu's remains, I was startled. When he transformed into Celestial Lord Yu's likeness, I was startled again. I didn't know what he intended to do, but when I heard him spread Celestial Lord Yu's teachings on his behalf, I couldn't help but admire him."
Tian Ting hesitated. "Then how do we report his matters?"
Di Shi hesitated as well. "Hear nothing, see nothing. Play deaf and blind. We never saw him, and we know nothing of his transformation into Celestial Lord Yu."
"Exactly. Whatever happened here, we know absolutely nothing!"
The two ancient gods finished their discussion and immediately flew away.
On the sea surface, demigods roamed through the air and drifted across the water, sealing off the area.
Beside Heavenly Lord Hao stood a group of demigods, surrounding him in a tight protective circle.
"Celestial Lord Yu, are you determined to force a confrontation?"
Heavenly Lord Hao sighed and smiled. "You know my origins. You can't touch me. You've suffered a loss, but you have to endure it."
"Celestial Lord Yu, stand down."
A demigod before him, with tiger whiskers and dragon scales, shook his body and revealed his half-human, half-divine form. He said calmly, "You've suffered some loss, but you haven't died. You are a genius—you should be able to see the current situation clearly."
"Indeed."
Another demigod also transformed into a half-human, half-divine form and laughed. "When you died in the Man Hui Corridor Pavilion back then, you should have realized you couldn't defeat Heavenly Lord Hao. Don't you remember why you could never escape from the Man Hui Corridor Pavilion? Don't you remember who used their divine power to seal it off?"
Yet another demigod shifted into a half-human, half-divine body and chuckled. "You may be a human genius, honored as a Heavenly Lord, blessed by the ancient gods, but you are still just a human. That certain someone ordered us to seal the Man Hui Corridor Pavilion, leaving you with no one to call upon in heaven or earth."
Another demigod stepped forward and smiled. "Humans are born weak. Even if you've cultivated your Heavenly Palace, you cannot be a match for demigods. If you force this transgression, you will only die here again! And this time, you will never revive!"
Heavenly Lord Hao beamed. "Celestial Lord Yu..."
Qin Mu remained silent for a long time, then suddenly interrupted. "Shouldn't you call me Father or Elder Brother?"
Heavenly Lord Hao burst into laughter. "Call you Father or Elder Brother? Do you deserve it? Do you know who my father is? Who my elder brother is..."
Boom!
Qin Mu took a single step, and the sea surface exploded. Heavenly Lord Hao's heart jolted as darkness flooded his vision: "So fast!"
He was surrounded by numerous demigods, carefully chosen followers, each immensely powerful—some even stronger than him.
He, too, was a demigod, with bloodline superior to others. Once he matured, his strength would far surpass theirs.
But for now, he was still young, and the demigods who followed him were older and stronger.
Yet, with that single step, Qin Mu moved like a ghost, appearing right before him before any of the demigods could react!
The darkness in his vision wasn't the sky turning dim—it was Qin Mu's fist blocking out everything!
Heavenly Lord Hao's face twisted. Qin Mu's fist slammed into his face. He heard the crack of his nose breaking, the snap of his brow bone splitting, and then the sharp sound of his ribs fracturing.
That was the first rib.
Then the second, the third!
As Qin Mu's fist struck his face, his knee drove heavily into Heavenly Lord Hao's ribs.
Both forces erupted simultaneously. Heavenly Lord Hao flew backward, still seeing nothing.
Slap.
He bounced high, landed on the water, bounced again, and fell once more.
"How dare you!"
The demigods finally reacted. The tiger-whiskered, dragon-scaled demigod roared in fury, his divine blood boiling, his divine power surging explosively, his aura becoming terrifying and violent!
But before his attack could land, a sword light pierced through his skull!
Qin Mu drew his sword, twisting his body in an eerie motion to dodge an attack from behind. He clenched his palm, grabbing another demigod's hand. That demigod's arm was covered in scales, which flew off and spun toward Qin Mu like blades.
Qin Mu's sword suddenly transformed into a blade of light. The light split in two, crossing like scissors. The two streaks of light intersected, and the demigod clutched his neck, but his head was already blasted into the air by his own surging blood energy.
The other demigods surrounded Qin Mu, roaring in unison. Pillars of water shot up from the sea as massive figures launched their attacks at him from all sides!
"Peaks Beyond the Heavens!"
Countless afterimages of Qin Mu formed around him, then suddenly merged together.
"Thousand Palms Return!"
Boom!
His martial-arts-into-Dao technique erupted. Massive bodies flew in all directions, crashing into the sea and churning the waves.
Qin Mu wiped the blood from his mouth and strode toward Heavenly Lord Hao, who lay on the water.
Suddenly, the sea split open with a crash. A demigod beast lurking beneath the surface opened its sky-devouring maw to bite down on him.
Runes flew around Qin Mu as he activated a teleportation technique. The demigod's head was instantly teleported away, leaving only its headless body to plunge into the sea, staining the water red with divine blood.
The next moment, Qin Mu reappeared, punching through the demigod's head. Not a single drop of blood stained him as he continued forward.
Ahead, Heavenly Lord Hao, his face unrecognizable, forcibly suppressed his injuries and turned to flee, shouting, "Stop him!"
A whistling sound came from above. A demigod with bird wings spread wide dove down from the sky, falling like a meteor.
Demigods possessed the blood of ancient gods, each with unique skills and strengths. Their combat power was immense, especially as they neared adulthood.
Some demigods were even on par with ancient gods.
Though the demigods following Heavenly Lord Hao were young, their strength was considerable. But as the bird-winged, human-bodied demigod swooped down, he lost sight of Qin Mu.
He felt a chill at his neck, then saw his own headless body plunge into the sea.
"What technique is that? I've never seen it..."
Qin Mu pressed on, his gaze locked on Heavenly Lord Hao's stumbling, fleeing figure. The sea exploded ahead as a snow-white divine elephant charged across the water toward him, parting waves a hundred zhang high on either side.
The elephant trumpeted, its voice deafening, as it hurtled toward Qin Mu with terrifying speed.
Qin Mu raised both hands high. A blade of light descended, splitting the elephant in two. The halves continued charging, racing past him on either side.
Heavenly Lord Hao looked back and saw this, horrified.
The sea surged. A great fish soared into the air, controlling the water to rise and crash down on Qin Mu!
The sea shook violently, covering Qin Mu beneath the waves.
"He's dead! He's dead!" the fish demigod exclaimed joyfully.
Other demigods flew over, landing on the water, their divine eyes scanning for Qin Mu's whereabouts.
Heavenly Lord Hao stopped and spat out the filth in his mouth.
Just then, a pitch-black gate appeared on the sea surface. It spun with a roar, sweeping past the demigods. They screamed and tried to flee, but their souls were dragged into the Netherworld, leaving their bodies to sink into the sea.
Heavenly Lord Hao's pupils contracted. He saw Qin Mu's head emerge from beneath the water, his body rising slowly. Even in the sea, he walked unhurriedly toward him.
Qin Mu's form rose higher and higher, reappearing on the surface.
"You are not Celestial Lord Yu. He didn't have such astonishing techniques..."
Heavenly Lord Hao retreated, staring at Qin Mu. Other demigods attacked—some spewing fire, some shooting divine light from their eyes, some using their feathers as blades. But to Qin Mu, these primitive techniques were far too crude.
Before the techniques could reach him, their users were already cut down by his blade or pierced by his sword.
In this era, there was no technique worthy of his notice!
Even if they possessed divine power, their techniques were riddled with flaws in his eyes. The moment they struck, they were doomed!
He continued forward. Heavenly Lord Hao gritted his teeth and fled, shouting, "I know who you are! Lord Mu..."
He reached a sacred mountain and cried out, "Lord Mu wants to kill me!"
The divine turtle carrying the mountain turned its body, watching Qin Mu approach step by step. It said in a deep voice, "Celestial Lord Yu, you may be immensely powerful, but this is Jade Lake. Do you know who Heavenly Lord Hao's birth mother is? If you knew..."
Qin Mu raised his hand. Countless sword lights raced beneath the sea. The old turtle grew furious and sneered, "A grain of rice dares to shine before the sun..."
"Open the Calamity!"
A sword light blazed like a pillar, over ten miles long, shooting from behind the island through the old turtle's brow.
The sacred mountain sank.
Qin Mu sheathed his sword, the light condensing into a sphere that rolled swiftly across the sea.
As the mountain sank, Heavenly Lord Hao leaped up and fled.
Runes flew around Qin Mu as he teleported, closing the distance.
Suddenly, a heavy, obscure aura spread, causing the surrounding space to tremble incessantly.
Heavenly Lord Hao rejoiced and shouted, "Mother!"
Qin Mu's pupils shrank. He pointed a finger, and the speed of his sword sphere increased tenfold! All his power, all his essence, spirit, and energy, poured into this single strike!
He had to kill Heavenly Lord Hao before that immensely powerful being arrived!
—A few minutes late, and this chapter is also longer, at 3,700 words.