Chapter 853: The Heavenly Dragon King's Corpse Transformation
Qin Mu returned to the hanging coffin, and Xing Han walked in carrying his box, glancing at the "Imperial Heaven Sovereign," Yan Qiling, Mu Qiubai, and the others who had jumped into the coffin.
The Blind Elder held no goodwill toward any of them, so they had no choice but to leave.
Suddenly, a blood-drenched dragon head emerged from the water and leaped into the coffin. It was the Heavenly Dragon King, now reduced to just a head after being gnawed on by corpse fiends.
Yet, incredibly, he was still alive, clinging to life by a thread.
The Heavenly Dragon King glared fiercely at them, retreating into a corner to gasp for breath, wary of everyone. His face was thick with corpse aura.
The corpse fiend, transformed from an imperial corpse, carried a corpse poison so virulent that it was now invading his brain and corrupting his primordial spirit.
The hanging coffin clicked shut.
Outside the coffin came the sound of water. Many had entered from the hanging coffin earlier, but now only a few of them remained alive. Many had perished while breaking the seals of the Fallen God Valley, some had died in mutual slaughter, and others had been devoured by corpse fiends.
Originally, Yan Qiling had many maidservants by her side, but now only one remained, and she was severely injured.
Nevertheless, this hanging coffin was still fraught with danger.
The Heavenly Dragon King was being assimilated by the corpse poison of the imperial corpse fiend. Though only a large head remained, he still panted heavily, emitting streams of corpse aura.
"Heavenly Dragon King, you are about to undergo corpse transformation."
Long Qilin couldn't help but whisper a reminder, "The Sect Leader is skilled in medicine; perhaps he can help you expel the corpse poison."
"Heh, trying to kill me?"
The Heavenly Dragon King's head panted heavily, air drawn in through his mouth but expelled from his neck, enveloping him in green corpse aura.
This divine dragon was extremely alert, sneering coldly, "If you can't kill me, you want to poison me? Not so easy! Heh heh..."
Long Qilin frowned deeply and looked at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu shook his head. "It's hopeless. I can't cure the corpse poison of an imperial corpse either. If Grandpa Medicine were here, there might be a chance."
Long Qilin felt disheartened. The Heavenly Dragon King had shown him kindness, helping him complete his cultivation technique, and he desperately wanted to save this divine dragon. But if Qin Mu had no solution, then he certainly had no means either.
The Heavenly Dragon King was still channeling his divine power, trying to expel the corpse aura, but everyone inside the hanging coffin could clearly see his vital energy gradually emulsifying, turning into a green slurry.
The divine ability runes within his energy were also being corrupted by the corpse poison, shattering one after another.
Xing Han shuddered in horror, silently leaving the pavilion with his box, retreating into the darkness until he vanished.
The Heavenly Dragon King's two enormous dragon eyes had turned white, their pupils gone, yet his eyelids still blinked, as if he could still see his surroundings.
Yan Qiling and Mu Qiubai felt a chill of fear and quietly retreated into the darkness, disappearing as well.
Qin Mu gestured to Long Qilin, who quickly followed him. Yan'er transformed into a green sparrow and perched on Long Qilin's head as they silently moved into the darkness.
"Imperial Heaven Sovereign" had also left the area at some point, his whereabouts unknown.
"I see you!"
The Heavenly Dragon King's mouth dripped corpse fluid, his eyeless eyes still glaring, shouting, "I see you all! No one can harm me! Hoo, hoo... I see you all..."
His breath ceased. After a moment, the massive dragon head silently rose, shrouded in green mist, emitting an eerie sound, chuckling, "I see you!"
He flew into the darkness, laughing, "I see you! Where did you hide my body? Catch you, eat your bodies, and I can grow a new one, hehehe..."
The interior of the hanging coffin was incredibly vast. When they first fell into it, they plummeted for an unknown time before hitting the bottom. Now, as Qin Mu groped his way through the darkness, he realized the coffin's internal space was even larger than he had imagined.
The hanging coffin was merely a transport vessel, a tool to guide the celestial venerables to the burial site of Ling Tianzun. However, this coffin was crafted by the Blind Elder, whose abilities were unfathomable. He had used his immense power to warp space within the coffin, creating a vast realm. Qin Mu walked through the darkness for a long time without reaching its edge.
"Fatty Dragon?" Qin Mu whispered.
There was no sound behind him.
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly stopped, and with a thought, his vital energy transformed into a ball of fire, illuminating the surroundings. Long Qilin and Yan'er had somehow gotten lost in the darkness!
It was so pitch-black here, with no light, that he hadn't even noticed when Long Qilin had wandered off!
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. "With Yan'er on his head, Fatty Dragon should be fine..."
Just then, from afar came the Heavenly Dragon King's twisted, eerie laughter: "I see you—"
Qin Mu quickly extinguished the flame, activated the Demon Shadow Illusion Art, and his body flattened into a shadow clinging to the ground.
Whoosh—
The Heavenly Dragon King's massive head drifted unsteadily above him, its eyes glowing with a green light as it flew elsewhere.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. The shadow slowly rose, then shook, expanding from its paper-thin form back into his body.
"I see you—"
The Heavenly Dragon King's strange laughter echoed from a distance, followed by a scream as someone fell victim to his attack.
Qin Mu steadied himself. The Heavenly Dragon King's head flew farther away until his laughter faded.
Silence reigned.
Qin Mu took out his sword orb. With a thought, the orb dissolved into countless flying swords that silently circled him in the darkness, covering a radius of a hundred zhang.
He slowly moved forward, groping through the dark, the flying swords shifting with him, weaving up and down in ever-changing formations.
Meanwhile, near the pavilion, a figure slowly emerged and stepped inside. Mu Qiubai glanced around, sighed in relief, and muttered, "The Heavenly Dragon King has undergone corpse transformation and is chasing my maidservant. He won't return to this pavilion for a while. This is the safest place... Who's there?"
He spun around, his face tense as he stared into the darkness.
From the darkness came faint footsteps, and then a young man carrying a box came into view.
Mu Qiubai relaxed, smiled faintly, and said leisurely, "So it's the expert by Mu Tianzun's side. You hid nearby just like I did, thinking the most dangerous place is the safest. Seems you have some wit."
"Your body is excellent. I like it very much."
Xing Han set down his box, his gaze eagerly scanning Mu Qiubai as if appraising a work of art.
The box clicked open on its own, and Xing Han continued to study Mu Qiubai, his eyes growing more intense.
Mu Qiubai felt extremely uncomfortable under his stare and sneered, "We crossed paths in the Lingxiao Hall. I won't deny you're strong. But what you don't know is that I am a disciple of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. I've trained under His Majesty since childhood, mastering all the great paths of the world. Challenging me is suicide."
Xing Han kept observing him, nodding repeatedly, murmuring, "A disciple of the Heavenly Emperor, no wonder your physical body is so well-refined and your primordial spirit so strong. To deal with you, I'll need to use my trump card... Lord Qin has always thought my path was wrong, that I seize others' limbs for my own longevity. Everywhere I go, I'm hunted and reviled, but none of them understand me."
The box's contents were mostly depleted, most lost in the Fallen God Valley. But now, a terrifying aura emanated from within.
Xing Han smiled faintly. "They think I do it for immortality, but that was just my goal back when I couldn't become a god. Now I have higher aspirations."
From the box, a massive body slowly crawled out—a grotesque amalgamation of dozens of true god arms, heads, and torsos, crouching there, its many heads staring excitedly at Mu Qiubai in the pavilion.
Xing Han stood atop this demonic entity, looking at Mu Qiubai, and said softly, "You, I will collect."
The colossal creature rose into the air and lunged at Mu Qiubai.
Mu Qiubai's mind went blank. "What level of Dao is this? Even the Heavenly Emperor's treasury doesn't record such a path!"
In the darkness, Qin Mu sensed the surge of divine abilities from the pavilion's direction. His heart stirred, and he immediately moved toward it.
Suddenly, he stopped. Ahead, divine abilities erupted, casting light.
"Earth Mother Primordial Lord's Dao Three?"
Yan Qiling's voice rang out: "Great Sun Star Lord's Dao One! Empress's Dao Two! Heavenly Dao's Dao Sixteen! Who are you? How can you master these Dao principles?"
Beams of light tore through the darkness. Qin Mu looked over and saw Yan Qiling confronting "Imperial Heaven Sovereign."
Yan Qiling's cultivation and strength were formidable. When Qin Mu had fought her, she had nearly beaten him to death.
Yan Qiling had studied under the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, and the Dao Ancestor had supposedly compiled all the great paths of the world and passed them to this Heavenly Emperor. Thus, she was well-versed in all kinds of Dao techniques.
More crucially, she had received the Heavenly Emperor's true teachings, mastering his Dao One great divine ability, whose power was terrifying!
But her opponent, "Imperial Heaven Sovereign," was even more fearsome. Yan Qiling only knew the various Dao techniques, while "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" wielded them effortlessly, each one executed with exquisite precision and immense power, comparable to the ancient gods themselves casting them!
Yan Qiling fell into a disadvantage. Suddenly, she let out a sharp cry and finally unleashed the Heavenly Emperor's Dao One great divine ability.
At that moment, the rules of Dao erupted, as if the Heavenly Emperor himself had descended, sending a terrifying wave toward "Imperial Heaven Sovereign."
At the same time, "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" executed the same Dao One great divine ability. In Yan Qiling's horrified eyes, the two Dao One abilities collided, and in an instant, the light from the clash illuminated hundreds of miles!
Yan Qiling spat blood, stumbling backward. Suddenly, her body flickered, transforming into a black-and-white-bellied swallow, and she flew away.
"Imperial Heaven Sovereign" took two steps to pursue but stopped, turning to look in Qin Mu's direction.
Qin Mu's eyes met his. In the air between them, it felt as if two invisible fists had slammed together, stirring the air and kicking up a fierce wind.
"I see you—, hehehe..." A massive head flew through the air toward them.
Qin Mu made a gesture of invitation. "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" smiled faintly, and the two walked forward.
The light of the Dao One divine ability dimmed, and they vanished into the darkness, continuing onward.
The stench of corpse aura surged from the dark. The Heavenly Dragon King's head flew in from above, chuckling, "I see you..."
Qin Mu and "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" kept walking. "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" clasped his hands behind his back, moving through the dark: "Back in the Jade Pool battle, you shook the world with your unmatched divine abilities, earning admiration. Even now, I recall your techniques as flawless. I've already met Qin Tianzun, and once he matures, his skills will surpass the age. It's a pity he's had too little time to cultivate."
Qin Mu's steps were steady, his voice deep: "Right now, you're merely borrowing an imperfect physical form. Your cultivation and strength aren't that formidable. Killing you wouldn't be too troublesome for me."
"Imperial Heaven Sovereign" laughed heartily: "Do you think the Heavenly Court's divine abilities have stagnated? How naive. They've advanced beyond your imagination. A million years, Mu Tianzun—it's been a million years since you dominated the Jade Pool Gathering. You can't fathom how far divine abilities have come in that time."
He sneered, "You're still wallowing in your glory from a million years ago. A frog at the bottom of a well—that's what describes you."
Whoosh—
A massive dragon head wedged itself between them. The Heavenly Dragon King, surrounded by green corpse aura, his eyes looking left and right, drooled foul corpse fluid, chuckling, "I see you two..."
Qin Mu and "Imperial Heaven Sovereign" erupted almost simultaneously, attacking each other across the huge corpse dragon head!
— Apologies for the delay, but this chapter has 3,500 words!