Chapter 763: Heavenly Fire Burns the World
"You're ignorant!"
Yan Jiuxi saw Qin Mu charging straight at him and burst into laughter. "Prince of Youdu, you truly have no experience, daring to clash head-on with me. It seems you haven't learned your lesson from last time! You don't know the power of the Earth Mother's bloodline!"
Qin Fengqing hastily said, "Little brother, this shorty is formidable, his divine abilities are bizarre, and he wields two excellent swords, terrifyingly heavy—they hurt like hell when he cut me."
Yan Jiuxi's body was shrouded in Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, and his Primordial Magnetic divine power erupted. As Qin Mu charged forward, he suddenly felt as if countless planets were pressing down on him, making his physical body unbearably heavy.
The Primordial Magnetic Divine Light around Yan Jiuxi instantly transformed into two divine swords. He grabbed them and swung, the sword light flying as he slashed at Qin Mu's three heads and six arms, laughing, "No tricks left? The Earth Mother is my mother, and I inherited her bloodline. In my prime, who dares to face me?"
"Primordial Magnetic divine ability?"
Qin Mu struggled to raise one palm, his arm so heavy it was nearly impossible to lift.
Yan Jiuxi's sword light was already upon him. Qin Mu roared, and his palm force erupted. Countless crystalline heavenly fire surged out wildly, splitting apart with a clattering sound. In an instant, the area for thousands of miles was filled with crystalline heavenly fire!
Yan Jiuxi's Primordial Magnetic Divine Swords pierced through one crystal after another, but at that moment, the Great Sun Star Lord's voice rang out: "Prince Jiuxi, don't touch those crystals! Fall back—"
But it was too late.
The moment Yan Jiuxi's Primordial Magnetic Divine Sword pierced the first heavenly fire crystal, the power of the heavenly fire erupted. The blazing flames melted the divine sword, and the terrifying shockwave detonated the eight surrounding crystals. Those eight crystals exploded, triggering even more heavenly fire.
Boom, boom, boom—
All the heavenly fire crystals detonated in a chain reaction almost simultaneously. The explosion centered on Yan Jiuxi, shattering space itself. The terrifying heavenly fire invaded the depths of space, melting the sky and earth, revealing burning cross-sections of space.
Amid the earth-shattering tremors, a massive fireball rose slowly, incinerating everything. Even the demonic qi of Youdu and the continent beneath Tu Bo's feet were burned through!
The fireball expanded, evaporating everything in its path, leaving only a series of voids, their edges lined with burning space cross-sections.
This was the power of the Heavenly Lord.
The Heavenly Lord, the Earth Mother, and Tu Bo each controlled different forces, the most ancient of existences.
Qin Mu used the Heavenly Fire Great Path to break Yan Jiuxi's Primordial Magnetic Great Path, but Yan Jiuxi was no slouch either. Amid the terrifying waves of heavenly fire, this demigod shielded himself with countless layers of Primordial Magnetic Divine Light. The explosion shattered who knows how many layers of his divine light, but it couldn't threaten his core.
The surging heavenly fire surrounded him completely, and even the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light melted away in the flames, unable to pose a threat.
Within the flames, Qin Mu held a great sword in one hand and thrust it forward. The sword light hummed as it pierced through the Primordial Magnetic Divine Light, and with a *ding*, it struck Yan Jiuxi's brow.
Countless runes spun wildly at Yan Jiuxi's brow, blocking the strike. His Primordial Magnetic runes shattered under the force of the sword light as it slowly, painfully, drove into his brow.
Yan Jiuxi retreated, and the heavenly fire surged in, igniting his primordial spirit.
Yan Jiuxi roared in fury as his primordial spirit smoked and burned. Suddenly, a piercing shriek came from within the heavenly fire. The Great Sun Star Lord flew through the flames, his three talons reaching for Qin Mu.
Qin Mu's body shrank rapidly, returning to its normal size. The Great Sun Star Lord missed his grab and quickly shook his wings, transforming into a bird-headed, human-bodied deity with three bird legs. His wings flapped like divine blades as he tumbled and rolled, attacking Qin Mu with wings, talons, and beak in a frenzy!
Having witnessed the power of the heavenly fire, he knew he could no longer surpass Qin Mu in flame techniques, so he abandoned divine abilities and closed in for melee combat.
Though he was dead, his primordial spirit was still immensely powerful. After all, he was a renowned ancient god from the Dragon Han era, and he rarely feared anyone in close-quarters combat!
Feathers like swords, wings like blades, talons like hooks, beak like a spike—every part of his body was a weapon, enough to kill Qin Mu!
"Prince of Youdu, I've never lost in close combat!"
The Great Sun Star Lord's momentum was overwhelming as he shouted, "Great Sun Thousand Feathers Slash the Profound!"
Countless feathers on his wings flipped, divine feathers like swords, a thousand of them darting through the air. With a series of *shishishishi* sounds, Qin Mu's body was riddled with bloody holes.
The Great Sun Star Lord shook his wings, and the thousand feathers returned, reforming into two wings that slashed down at Qin Mu like spinning divine blades.
Qin Mu's wounds healed quickly, and his arms flew up to block the attacks, laughing, "You're bragging."
The Great Sun Star Lord's heart jolted. At the word "bragging," an image of a towering, ox-headed divine demon involuntarily flashed through his mind.
He had lost before, a long time ago. It was at the Jade Pool in the early Dragon Han era, when the Golden Guard General Niu Ben had beaten him with bare hands.
It was a humiliating disgrace!
Later, his mastery of Solar Divine Fire grew, and he believed he had long surpassed Niu Ben, wanting to avenge that defeat, but he could never find Niu Ben again.
Qin Mu freed a hand to deal with him, but the sword lodged in Yan Jiuxi's brow remained. Yan Jiuxi retreated frantically, surrounded by blazing heavenly fire, but Qin Mu stuck to him like a shadow.
The Great Sun Star Lord's attacks grew faster and fiercer, but he still couldn't breach Qin Mu's defenses.
Just then, Yan Qianzhong charged through the heavenly fire, joining the fray.
"Great Derivative Dragon Dance!"
Countless fire dragons writhed around Yan Qianzhong, weaving in and out. He looked like a demon god with dozens of divine dragons growing from his body, terrifying in both divine power and ability!
The Great Sun Star Lord breathed a sigh of relief. Yan Qianzhong, after all, had been at the Imperial Throne realm in life and possessed astonishing skill in flame techniques. He was a hegemon of Youdu, unafraid of the heavenly fire's burning.
The Great Sun Star Lord and Yan Qianzhong joined forces to attack Qin Mu. Yan Qianzhong shook his body, shrinking to Qin Mu's size, and the two attacked from left and right in a frenzy. Yet Qin Mu still held them both off, the sword still pressed against Yan Jiuxi's brow, the sword light already piercing into his skull.
The four of them moved frantically, their attacks erupting with earth-shattering roars.
Suddenly, the sound of a flute came from beyond the sky. A divine being in pure white robes, barefoot, stepped on the heavenly fire, holding a jade flute as he descended from the heavens. His ten fingers danced, and the flute's melody was melodious and soothing.
"It's the Heavenly Lord's disciple, the Fire Cloud Sage of the Heavenly Court!"
Yan Qianzhong was overjoyed and laughed, "What a fine tune! Could this be the Heavenly Fire Burns the Gods Melody?"
The Fire Cloud Sage played the jade flute, and the Heavenly Fire Burns the Gods Melody flowed forth. The sound waves stirred the heavenly fire, turning it against Qin Mu.
The Great Sun Star Lord laughed, "With the Fire Cloud Sage's help, even the Prince of Youdu can be killed!"
The Fire Cloud Sage moved his feet, circling the four of them within the heavenly fire as they ran, the flute's melody rising and falling, celestial sounds coming from all directions.
The Fire Cloud Sage was playing vigorously when suddenly Qin Mu's third eye on his brow opened wide. A beam of light shot out, slicing across the Fire Cloud Sage's neck.
The Fire Cloud Sage froze, and his head fell off.
Qin Fengqing quickly reached out, grabbed the two halves of the Fire Cloud Sage's primordial spirit, and stuffed them into his mouth, but then he let out a burp.
"Damn, I'm stuffed."
The big-headed doll was flustered. He had eaten Lady Wuji earlier without digesting her, and now he'd eaten the Fire Cloud Sage. His body felt bloated and swollen.
"And there are so many more dishes here. What do I do?" he fretted.
Outside the heavenly fire, the hundred or so other ancient beings watched from a distance, not daring to enter.
The heavenly fire was too intense. Most of them were primordial spirits without physical bodies, and heavenly fire caused severe damage to spirits. This was one reason why souls that fell into Youdu after death couldn't go to the Xuan Du.
The Heavenly Lord's body was covered in heavenly fire, and souls and primordial spirits simply couldn't withstand it.
Suddenly, a cultivator at the Heavenly Court realm brightened and called out loudly, "They're breaking out of the heavenly fire!"
Waves of fire surged, spewing out for thousands of miles, forced out like fiery serpents by the divine abilities of Qin Mu, the Great Sun Star Lord, and Yan Qianzhong.
Then, the four figures burst out of the heavenly fire. Many ancient beings immediately flew over, only to see that Qin Mu's sword light had already pierced through Yan Jiuxi's skull, emerging from the back of his head.
"Mine!"
One of Qin Mu's doll-like heads grinned with delight, grabbed Yan Jiuxi, opened its gaping mouth, and stuffed him in. But then it was so stuffed it kept burping, thinking regretfully, "I thought I could eat a lot, but I can't..."
"How dare you!"
The hundred or so Heavenly Court and Imperial Throne experts charged in, but immediately found themselves too crowded, getting in each other's way and unable to strike effectively.
Only a few could attack Qin Mu at once, but with his three heads and six arms, he could block all attacks around him.
Moreover, this Prince of Youdu was thick-skinned and tough, extremely resistant to damage. Even when they all attacked together, they could only wound him, not kill him.
Qin Mu's steps were swift, and he unleashed various divine abilities and techniques. When in danger, he would wave his hand and teleport nearby enemies hundreds or thousands of miles away.
"How is his magical power still so strong?" The Great Sun Star Lord was also injured, fuming with rage.
Yan Qianzhong roared in fury, "In Youdu, his magical power is endless!"
Suddenly, Qin Mu's third eyes on all three heads blazed with light. Beams of light shot out in all directions, slicing and spinning with a *shishishi* sound. Everyone scrambled to dodge, but many were still hit, cut cleanly in two!
Being cut as a primordial spirit was different from a physical body. Once split, it was like having one's soul severed—soul scattered, leaving only the spiritual embryo.
Qin Fengqing's eyes widened, pained. He quickly whispered, "Little brother, good little brother, I really can't eat any more. Go slower, don't kill them all... Big brother, you're the older one, don't kill..."
Qin Mu ignored him. Suddenly, he took a hit on purpose, using the Tribulation Sword Technique to cut down several people in a row. He lost two of his own heads and four arms!
Flesh surged at his shoulders, and two new heads grew back, fierce and menacing.
Qin Fengqing's hands trembled as he gathered the severed primordial spirits, trying to stuff them into his mouth, but he simply couldn't fit them. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck, and he said happily, "I've got it! I can store some food for later!"
With that, he stuffed the broken spirits into his own brow.
The Heavenly Lord's clone and the Red Emperor were anxiously watching the battle outside when suddenly the sky split open, and broken limbs and bodies rained down, quickly piling up on the ground.
The two exchanged glances.
Just then, the Great Sun Star Lord was thrown in, crashing to the ground.
This Star Lord, still alive as a primordial spirit, immediately flapped his wings to fly out, intending to escape.
The Heavenly Lord said kindly, "Little bird, don't bother running. None of us can escape, let alone you. How did you get in here?"
The Great Sun Star Lord was startled and finally noticed the two. He quickly kowtowed, saying, "Greetings, Heavenly Lord! Heavenly Lord, have you also been taken as food by the Prince of Youdu?"
"Ptoo, ptoo! Childish words, good luck and fortune."
The Heavenly Lord laughed, "How could I be taken as food? I came here willingly to reform this demon, to prevent him from harming the world. How did you end up here?"
The Great Sun Star Lord, deeply ashamed, replied, "I was beaten senseless by the Prince of Youdu, and then that doll-faced one grabbed my wings and stuffed me in here. Heavenly Lord, your noble intent to reform him is admirable, but why can he still run around outside, slaughtering everyone?"
The white-bearded old man blew his beard and sneered, "Little bird, do you know how you died?"
The Great Sun Star Lord stammered, "I spoke carelessly, knew too many secrets, and so I died inexplicably."
The Heavenly Lord snorted, "At least you have a primordial spirit after death. If you keep babbling, you'll be annihilated."
The Great Sun Star Lord nodded submissively, then asked, "But isn't the Prince of Youdu still going to eat me?"
The Heavenly Lord's clone laughed heartily, "I've been here a long time. The Prince of Youdu may have some skill, but as long as you stick with me, he won't dare eat you."
The Great Sun Star Lord was overjoyed.
The Red Emperor couldn't help but say, "Don't believe him. I believed him, and I got beaten countless times."
The Great Sun Star Lord quickly asked, "And you are?"
"Red Emperor of the Red Ming Heavenly Court."
The Great Sun Star Lord was horrified.
Outside, more broken limbs and bodies were being thrown in. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and there was no more movement from beyond.
"Lu Li and the others have made their move!"
The Great Sun Star Lord exclaimed, "The Life-Slaying Cauldron and the Chaos Sky Net have merged! They've trapped him! We're saved!"
The Heavenly Lord's clone looked worried and shook his head, saying, "You're overthinking it. This is bad. The Life-Slaying Cauldron and the Chaos Sky Net will likely refine us all, along with those inside the cauldron... Lu Li wants to become the second Tu Bo!"
—Wrote seven or eight hundred extra words, updated a bit late, sorry~