Chapter 818: The Prince’s Fall
“Killed an Immutable Constant?” Zhe Huali’s pupils contracted slightly. The demon saber behind him abruptly opened its eyes, staring fixedly at Prince Qiuming.
The little figure in the lamp, Lin Xiao, had revealed the secret of the Immutable Constants to them, sparking internal strife among the boarders. Zhe Huali had originally suspected that an Immutable Constant could die.
He just hadn’t expected Prince Qiuming to actually intercept and kill another boarder.
Prince Qiuming said leisurely, “I wanted to see if killing another Immutable Constant would have any effect on us. Perhaps it would allow one more person to emerge. However, I discovered that I’ve reached the brink of fading. In the last cycle, a portion of my power vanished. I’m afraid I won’t have time to test whether this idea is feasible before I fade into nothingness.”
Zhe Huali’s heart sank.
He hadn’t yet felt himself slipping into a state of fading, which meant the ghost ship judged Prince Qiuming’s power to be above his own. Thus, the ghost ship was fading Prince Qiuming, weakening his strength.
“I dare not sever my own cultivation, because if I do, I might very well die at the hands of others. So I set aside other matters and came to find the two of you.”
Prince Qiuming smiled. “My purpose in descending to the mortal realm this time is to eliminate Qin the Overlord Body and other reformers, nipping the threat from the lower realm in the bud. Zhe Huali, you are a member of the Heavenly Court’s Lingxiu Army, and I am a prince of the Heavenly Court. You are my subordinate. You know very well what you should do. After I eliminate Qin the Overlord Body, I will sever my own cultivation. You will fade, and I will survive. Once I break this strange ship, you will still have a chance to live.”
Zhe Huali was silent, then suddenly shook his head. “I don’t trust you. I only trust my blade.”
He lifted his head, gazing into the distance at Prince Qiuming. “The path I walk is one I carved out myself. The cultivation I have is one I refined myself. My life was given to me by my parents, not bestowed by a prince. Though I am a member of the Heavenly Court’s Lingxiu Army, I am no base-born wretch. My parents gave me this life, and I will hold it firmly in my own hands. I cannot hand it over to anyone.”
Prince Qiuming frowned slightly. “My method is simple: eliminate all other Immutable Constants, leaving only myself, and then commit suicide.”
Zhe Huali stared at him in shock.
Prince Qiuming continued, “Once this ship has no Immutable Constants, the stability of the divine abilities will drop to its lowest point, and the abilities will collapse. As soon as the abilities collapse, we will all return to our respective eras, and no one has to die. Rest assured, I am confident I have the strength to kill the strong from thirty-five different eras!”
He was extremely arrogant. “You studied under Luo Wushuang and then under Fu Riluo, entering the Dao through the blade. That is quite remarkable. But everything you learned was from unorthodox paths.”
Zhe Huali frowned.
Prince Qiuming said, “I studied the Heavenly Court’s Imperial Throne techniques, personally guided and taught by the Heavenly Court’s Celestial Masters. Many people underestimate the children of the Imperial family, thinking we are all idle wastrels. That is a grave error. There are many of us princes, and to stand out, we must work harder and be more diligent than anyone else. Otherwise, a prince is nothing but a fallen phoenix, worse than a hen-dragon! And the intrigues within the imperial household are numerous. The dangers I have faced in my life are no fewer than yours.”
Zhe Huali’s expression turned solemn with respect. He said gravely, “The prince was entrusted with an important mission. Clearly, you have carved a bloody path through countless princes.”
Prince Qiuming smiled. “So, Zhe Huali, will you follow me?”
“No.”
Zhe Huali said calmly, “Though I admire you, I will not be loyal to you, nor will I trust you. I only trust my blade. I am only loyal to my blade.”
“Why do you grass-root types, who rise from lowly origins, always love to flaunt your talent and arrogance?”
Prince Qiuming sighed. “I find you people most annoying. With just a little bit of skill, you turn your noses to the sky, thinking you’re something special. You don’t realize that I was born better than you, worked harder than you, and am stronger than you. I lower myself to speak with you politely, yet you remain so unruly and defiant.”
“Because…”
Zhe Huali drew his blade and charged at him, raising the demon saber high. In an instant, saber light filled the sky, and saber qi stretched like a rainbow. He roared, “The status and glory you were born with are achievements we might not reach even after centuries or a lifetime of struggle!”
His saber technique grew faster and faster, the blade imbued with his own aspirations, his own blood, sweat, and tears, his own integrity!
“You think being born into the imperial family is natural, but we see it as something unattainably distant!”
“You think we are flaunting our talent, but you don’t know how many of us humble commoners have died, how many bones we’ve trampled, just to reach this point today!”
“You think you work hard, but you don’t know the blood and sweat we shed with every step, how many companions’ and enemies’ corpses we had to climb over to get to this position!”
“Follow you? Let you become the Immutable Constant?”
Zhe Huali’s demon saber went wild, its cascading, water-like saber light becoming his brush, his ink, allowing him to pour out his heart freely, writing his own feelings.
“If I yield to you, follow you, how can I face the companions who died beside me? How can I be worthy of the enemies who fell to my blade?”
He laughed heartily, unleashing his long-saber Dao. “Why are the descendants of the Heavenly Emperor born superior and entitled? Why can’t they die?”
Prince Qiuming’s sword light met his blade. He laughed, “I’ve heard that those who enter the Dao through the blade all possess a unique boldness. Unfortunately, I was born noble. That is something even I cannot avoid. But if I had been born into a humble family like you, I would have risen up and achieved greatness all the same! This is not confidence, but…”
Suddenly, his sword light burst forth, like countless silver needles flying at incredible speed. Each needle precisely targeted Zhe Huali’s saber light, blocking it.
Prince Qiuming no longer held a sword in his hand. His body suddenly trembled, and behind him emerged forty-nine strands of Heavenly Dao principles. He pushed both hands forward, unleashing a terrifying divine ability. An overwhelming force crushed Zhe Huali’s demon saber, pushing it backward!
The barracks halls collapsed one after another, disintegrating under the might of his ability!
Zhe Huali grunted, spitting blood. He unleashed the second form of his demon saber, cutting through the Heavenly Dao principles.
Chi, chi, chi.
Silver needles pierced through his chest from the front and out his back, blood splattering everywhere.
Prince Qiuming shook his body, and behind him materialized the phantom of a demon god with ox horns, a tiger face, a human body, and an ox tail. He punched out, and rolling Youdu demonic energy transformed into a demonic Dao ability. A massive fist, bristling with countless silver needles, slammed into Zhe Huali, crushing him with a thunderous boom against the main hall in front of Qin Mu.
The main hall collapsed halfway from the force of the punch.
Prince Qiuming withdrew his hand, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked forward. His feet didn’t touch the ground; he walked three feet above the air, unstained by dust. He said calmly, “You toiled your whole life, comprehending the blade Dao, finally achieving entry into the Dao through the blade. How ridiculous. No matter how hard you try, you can never match my starting point. Those three moves I just used employed three great divine abilities from the Imperial Throne. Each technique is a divine art you would dream of your whole life but never obtain! You could spend your entire life trying and never even create such techniques, yet I acquired them with ease!”
Zhe Huali crawled out from under the collapsed hall, leaning on his demon saber as he gasped for breath. Blood and foam flew from the corners of his mouth. His body swayed, on the verge of collapse.
He wanted to fight again, but his injuries were too severe. He had no strength left to continue.
Prince Qiuming continued walking, looking at the struggling Zhe Huali with a faint smile. “True Imperial Throne techniques allow you to unconsciously comprehend the Dao during your cultivation, to unconsciously grasp Dao-entry abilities. Even if my comprehension is lacking, the Celestial Masters of my Heavenly Court would actively create an environment for me to enter the Dao, guiding me along the way.”
He said leisurely, “You struggle and fight, risking life and limb just to reach this point. You don’t realize how ridiculous it is in my eyes, all those deaths just for a mere entry into the Dao. You’re right, it is natural!”
He suddenly stopped, looking at Qin Mu, who had stood up.
The pillar in front of Qin Mu had been shattered by the earlier battle. The poem left by Ling Tianzun was gone, and his expression was displeased.
“Qin the Overlord Body is the same.”
Prince Qiuming laughed. “Even if you make waves in the mortal realm, called a Cult Leader, called an Overlord Body, in the eyes of the Heavenly Court, you are nothing but pigs rolling in the mud, small fish and shrimp struggling for survival in a shallow pond.”
His gaze held some pity. “To the Heavenly Court, the so-called Overlord Body of the mortal realm, the so-called sage born once every five hundred years, the so-called Yankang Reforms—all of it is a joke. You are just grasshoppers hopping in a jar, ready to be crushed at any moment. Though the truth is a bit harsh, that is the reality.”
Qin Mu opened his palm, and the sword pellet flew out, spinning rapidly beneath his palm as he stepped forward.
Prince Qiuming walked toward him, smiling. “Qin the Overlord Body, my purpose in descending to the mortal realm this time is to crush you grasshoppers. Now, I can eliminate you first.”
Qin Mu pressed his right index and middle fingers together, forming a sword seal. He raised his hand and touched it to his brow. The sword pellet hummed as it flew up, hovering three inches in front of his brow, spinning wildly.
Prince Qiuming smiled. Countless silver needles flew over, gathering in his hand with a series of clinks to form a precious sword.
Qin Mu’s speed increased. Suddenly, he thrust his sword fingers forward!
Hum—
A blazing sword pillar stretched over ten miles long!
Qin Mu shook his body, manifesting three heads and six arms. His other two right hands also rose, touching his brow.
Hum, hum.
A second and third sword pillar followed in succession!
Prince Qiuming roared, also manifesting three heads and six arms. A third eye split open on the brow of each of his three heads. His aura was even stronger than before, his divine abilities even more ferocious!
In an instant, he unleashed three great divine abilities from the Imperial Throne techniques, each different from the last. Their might exploded, forcibly receiving these three moves of the Calamity Sword.
Suddenly, within the sword light, countless flying swords paused, leaped, and moved in bizarre, unpredictable trajectories before his nine eyes, causing his divine abilities to miss one after another.
The second form of the Calamity Sword: Lifting Calamity.
Chi, chi, chi. The sounds of flesh being pierced came in succession. Prince Qiuming’s body was riddled with flying swords, and his eyes were filled with shock.
“Xuan Du Divine King Body!”
He suddenly roared, light flowing around his body. This was yet another Imperial Throne technique, a divine art from Xuan Du known for its physical prowess.
His body radiated light, forcing the flying swords out one by one. But in that instant, he was met with Qin Mu’s fist—a thousand peaks from beyond the heavens striking back—slamming heavily into him. Even the Xuan Du Divine King Body couldn’t withstand it.
Prince Qiuming heard the sound of his bones breaking. The sound came from his chest, and the cracking quickly spread to his ribs. All twenty-four ribs exploded from the front of his chest to the back, all the way to his spine.
He was sent flying backward.
He looked forward and saw Qin Mu’s figure already in front of him, peeling back the golden willow leaf on his brow.
The willow leaf opened, revealing Qin Mu’s third eye.
Qin Mu’s steps circled around him as he flew backward. He turned to one side, and a beam of light shot from the third eye of one head, piercing into Prince Qiuming’s third eye. He turned again, and another beam shot from another head.
In three steps, Qin Mu circled around him once, and each of his three heads fired a beam of light, piercing through Prince Qiuming’s three heads.
Boom.
Prince Qiuming landed, stumbling backward dozens of steps before stabilizing himself. Countless silver needles flew over, reforming into a silver sword in his hand, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground.
“You…”
He looked at Qin Mu, and suddenly his three heads exploded. The headless body swayed for a moment before collapsing into the dust.
“You smashed my pillar, preventing me from reading the poem in peace.”
Qin Mu snorted. “And you talked so much! Now I have to wait until the next cycle to see the poem on the pillar. My deaf grandfather hates people like you the most! Ptooey—, die!”
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