Chapter 839: Farewell Forever
The ground roiled like boiling soup, and a colossal creature burst forth from beneath the earth. Its body was so immense that distant mountains toppled like trees caught in a hurricane.
Qin Mu stood atop the head of the Dragon Qilin, who was sprinting at breakneck speed. Yet even so, the shockwave from the creature's emergence nearly knocked them off balance. This gargantuan form was only a few dozen zhang away from them, appearing from a distance as if they had brushed past it.
It was a body covered in wooden scales, resembling tree roots, yet the scales were adorned with various natural runic imprints, some even gleaming with metallic luster. Though made of wood, this massive body was incredibly agile. As it burst from the ground, Qin Mu saw its secondary roots unfurl like dragon claws—sharp, rugged, and powerful.
But the number of these dragon claws was staggering, easily several hundred!
Moreover, its body was covered in numerous fibrous roots, like dragon whiskers and beard, while those on its back resembled a dragon's mane—long and flowing!
Due to its incredible speed, lightning and thunder crackled all around. The bolts did not strike the ground but radiated outward from the monster, forming thick layers of electrical discharge. Electricity shot in all directions, crackling as it passed through Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin. Even as they simultaneously activated the Primordial Dragon's Grand Mystic Art to deflect the thunder's power, fine holes were burned into their bodies!
"Master, apply the medicine!" the Dragon Qilin cried out in panic. "There are places I can't lick!"
Qin Mu steadied himself, his body rapidly regenerating. He pulled out several dozen bottles of dragon saliva, crushed them, and let the liquid flow into the Dragon Qilin's wounds.
Looking up, he saw the creature's head had already emerged into the clouds, pushing them aside. Its mouth spewed torrents of air, thick with smoke and tinged with flames. The expelled air was so fast it ignited the atmosphere.
Yet the air it exhaled was foul and filthy, carrying the rotting stench of being buried underground, hence the billowing smoke.
This was an Earth Dragon, its physique truly colossal. Other divine dragons had sparse whiskers, but its whiskers were fibrous roots, densely sprouting from around its mouth, long and drifting like curtains.
The moment this Earth Dragon emerged, it opened its mouth and bit toward the battling Blind and Qu He. With a crunch, a chunk of the sky vanished—it had bitten off a large piece of the celestial map covering Yankang!
Blind and Qu He dodged frantically, barely escaping its maw, landing on the Earth Dragon's massive head. The two divine beings sprinted across its enormous skull, exchanging deadly blows as they ran.
Blind's Dragon Expansion Divine Spear transformed into a black dragon. With each thrust and withdrawal, the spear moved with lightning speed. Under Blind's control, the dragon coiled with incredible agility, precisely striking the nodes of Qu He's divine ability, disrupting his formations.
Qu He, on the other hand, employed a different attack style. Though he pressed forward relentlessly, his offense was not close-quarters combat. Instead, his thousand arms flailed, and the divine eyes in his palms shot beams of light. These beams collided mid-air, bounced off each other, and wove into a net.
Thus, each of his strikes formed a formation, each different from the last. He used formations as divine abilities, a sight to behold.
Formations typically required pre-arrangement; few people directly used them as divine abilities in battle, unless they had refined a set of formation-based spiritual or divine weapons.
For instance, the Western Desert formation master He Yiyi followed this path, using square stones as basic elements to construct formations with mathematical principles. The square stones were her spiritual weapons.
But if asked to use formations as divine abilities, she couldn't.
Qu He, however, was uniquely gifted. With his numerous arms, each palm bore an eye. He refined these thousand eyes into divine eyes, each concealing a formation within. When activated, the emitted light was not pure energy but woven from countless formation patterns. As the beams collided, these complex patterns combined, spreading out into various formations.
Of course, the power of such formations couldn't match killing arrays built with spiritual or divine weapons. Yet they could be freely combined, changing in an instant, leaving no time to break them.
Focusing on formations as a primary cultivation path made progress difficult, but combat prowess surpassed those who trained in other skills. This was why Celestial Master Zixi could defeat Celestial Master Wudou and earn his genuine submission.
Qu He was such a person.
But his opponent was Yankang's most renowned master of divine eyes and formations. Blind had already achieved great mastery in formations early on. In his youth, after having his divine eyes gouged out by Xing Han, he fell into despair and retreated into the Great Ruins. Later, he emerged with Qin Mu, coinciding with Yankang's reforms.
He absorbed the fruits of Yankang's reforms and studied the formation achievements of the Kaicheng Era, becoming a top-tier formation master.
Though Blind couldn't match Qu He in using formations as divine abilities, his spear technique of breaking formations precisely countered Qu He's formation-based divine abilities, preventing their full power from manifesting.
Overcoming the strong with the weak was a point of pride for formation masters. When two formation masters clashed, depth of cultivation was no longer the deciding factor—superior skill was.
The two raced across the Earth Dragon's back, their various divine abilities and techniques sweeping in all directions. But the next moment, both found themselves in danger.
The Earth Dragon had been startled by Qin Mu's heavenly fire divine ability, yet it didn't target Qin Mu—he was too weak. The two divine beings fighting in the air were its true prey, so it struck at them first.
After missing its bite, the two had already landed on its head. The Earth Dragon then shook its skull, and countless roots burst from beneath its wooden-scaled skin, writhing toward them.
These roots were like earth-yellow flood dragons, incredibly hard, piercing through their divine abilities without resistance.
Startled, Blind thrust his spear at one root. The strike was a masterpiece of divine artistry, perfectly aimed to break force, but when it hit the flood dragon-like root, it produced a dull thud.
The Dragon Expansion Divine Spear only penetrated five inches into the dragon's head, failing to pierce the root through.
"So tough! What is this thing?"
Blind quickly withdrew his spear and leaped, trying to fly away, but stumbled and fell—his feet had been bound by roots, dragging him down. Countless roots surged forward, binding him tightly.
On the other side, Qu He was also attacked by the Earth Dragon. His thousand arms were tied up, unable to move. He shouted, "Earth Dragon, show some restraint! I am a squad leader of the Heavenly Court's Divine Capture Battalion..."
Before he could finish, the roots whipped around, lifting both of them upside down and carrying them toward the dragon's mouth.
The Earth Dragon opened its maw, revealing a pitch-black interior filled with smoke and faint flames.
Blind and Qu He struggled desperately, but the roots had already pierced deep into their muscles, wrapping around their bones. They couldn't break free.
Just then, Blind saw Qin Mu standing on the Dragon Qilin's head, the beast sprinting on fiery clouds straight into the Earth Dragon's mouth.
Blind roared in anger, "What are you doing here? Throwing your life away!"
The Dragon Qilin charged, chasing them into the dragon's mouth, quickly catching up to them at the throat.
Qin Mu took a few running steps on the Dragon Qilin's head, raised his arm, and countless formation patterns flew out, surging toward Blind. He laughed, "Squad Leader Qu, you're a formation expert. Do you know teleportation techniques?"
Qu He was struggling when he saw the teleportation formation patterns envelop Blind, and light burst forth.
Qu He sneered, "Teleportation won't save you! Those roots have drilled into our bodies, wrapped around our bones. Your teleportation can't cut through them!"
The teleportation light faded, but Blind was still trapped in the roots. The technique tried to shift space, but these roots carried the Earth Mother's bloodline—they couldn't be moved.
"If I could teleport away, I'd have done it long ago!" Blind shouted angrily. "You brat, do you think I've been slacking all these years? I learned your Heavenly Saint Sect's teleportation technique ages ago! If I could leave, I would have! Get out of here! Don't worry about me!"
The roots dragged them downward into an abyss of darkness.
Blind smiled, "Mu'er, go on your own. It's not in vain that this old blind man raised you. You're filial. This life was worth it. Go back!"
Qin Mu ignored him, urging the Dragon Qilin forward. He suddenly pulled out the Carefree Sword, leaped from the Dragon Qilin's head, and swung the blade, slashing at the flood dragon-like roots binding Blind.
The willow leaf on his brow peeled open, and a torrent of dark demonic energy surged out, wildly boosting his cultivation—he was forcibly borrowing Qin Fengqing's power!
His sword gleamed, severing one root with a crisp sound. Then the blade whirled, spinning rapidly around Blind.
Qu He watched the sword light and suddenly realized, sighing, "So it was you. The sword marks on the Dao Academy's walls—it was you. You killed the Heavenly Court's envoy, killed the disciple of the Heavenly Court's Star Lord. Truly audacious."
Qin Mu held the sword in his right hand, cutting through the roots around Blind, while his left hand struck forward. Teleportation formation patterns exploded, engulfing Blind.
"You're the Prince of Netherworld, aren't you?" Qu He sighed. "No wonder the name Qin Mu sounded familiar. There's a file on you in the Heavenly Court's Divine Capture Battalion. I glanced at it once, but only remembered Qin Fengqing; the name Qin Mu didn't leave much impression. So Azure Sky has betrayed us, as I suspected."
"Lord Qu, you live up to your reputation as a Divine Capture Officer." Qin Mu held the Carefree Sword reversed and bowed to him. "Unfortunately, I cannot save you. Farewell forever."
Behind him, the Dragon Qilin charged forward, reaching Qin Mu just as countless roots were about to ensnare him. It carried him up.
Countless teleportation formation patterns spun with a rustle, light exploded, and with a whoosh, Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin vanished.
Qu He was dragged by the roots into the darkness of the Earth Dragon's belly, murmuring, "I don't admire you or that blind man. I admire the little Daoist named Yuchenzi who brought me here. He's the truly ruthless one, with airtight schemes. I die by his machinations, and I accept it willingly."
His body disappeared into the darkness, leaving only a faint sigh: "After I die, when the Heavenly Court sends someone else, they'll blame the Earth Mother. Azure Sky will become a tumor within the Heavenly Court. Truly a formidable figure..."
Outside the colossal Earth Dragon, a flash of light appeared, and Blind emerged, drenched in blood. Some roots were still wildly growing from his wounds, trying to connect to the Earth Dragon's body.
Just then, another flash of light appeared, and Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin materialized. Before they could even steady themselves, Qin Mu was already casting spells. Countless teleportation formation patterns appeared, forming an array in the air.
The next moment, the three were a hundred li away.
In the sky, the Water Qilin was sprinting on a great river, carrying the Imperial Heavens, while Yuchenzi ran frantically above them.
Qin Mu pointed, and countless runes swirled around the river, rushing forward, quickly engulfing the Water Qilin and the Imperial Heavens.
He slapped his palm, and teleportation runes flew like yellow talismans, enveloping the fleeing Yuchenzi.
The Earth Dragon raised its claws, reaching for them.
Light flashed, and everyone vanished.
A hundred li away, before their forms even fully appeared, countless teleportation runes were already flying through the air, forming a teleportation array. The moment the array was complete, Qin Mu and the others materialized, exactly within it. Light burst forth, and they vanished again.
The Earth Dragon roared, chasing after them, but patches of light exploded and rapidly receded, soon leaving it unable to find Qin Mu and the others.
The Earth Dragon plunged back into the earth, disappearing. The ground swelled rapidly, a mountain ridge arching up from below—the Earth Dragon was tunneling underground.