Chapter 861: A Sinister Aura
After a long silence, a bull-headed, human-bodied deity from the Northern Heavens spoke in a deep voice: "Is the Yan Kang Overlord Body a god? That old fox Wen Tian Ge never said the Yan Kang Overlord Body had already cultivated to the divine realm! If you are a god, then we should naturally select a divine-level expert to challenge you!"
Qin Mu's aura erupted, and his divine repositories opened, allowing everyone to see clearly. He shook his head and said, "I only opened my seventh divine repository not long ago."
An invisible pressure, like dark clouds pressing down on a city, enveloped Jiangling Academy. At that moment, everyone found it hard to breathe.
It felt as if a god was recklessly unleashing their aura; even from tens of thousands of miles away, one could sense their terrifying oppression!
Fortunately, Qin Mu did not go too far. After briefly releasing his aura, he restrained it.
The village chief and the villagers had often taught him to keep a low profile. Unless there were special circumstances, he wouldn't reveal his full strength right away.
"Showing off forty percent of my cultivation should still count as low-key."
Qin Mu smiled as he glanced around, thinking to himself, "I held back two things: I didn't reveal the willow leaf on my forehead, nor did I show my demonic path divine repository."
The many deities and demons of the Northern Heavens frowned, watching the phantom images of divine repositories that appeared behind Qin Mu, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
This man was far too strong—so strong he didn't seem human, didn't seem like a cultivator!
His strength wasn't in divine techniques or spells, but in sheer, raw magical power.
His magical power rivaled, or even surpassed, that of the venerable gods standing before the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Palace!
Such immense magical power made one suspect that if he stepped through the Southern Heavenly Gate, he might be able to withstand its crushing pressure and become a true god!
Of course, the stronger one's cultivation, the greater the pressure upon entering the Southern Heavenly Gate. So they were even more convinced that if Qin Mu walked through it, he would be crushed to dust!
What was even more terrifying was that Qin Mu's divine repositories were unlike anyone else's—they were integrated into a single whole, with no barriers between them!
His seventh divine repository was especially baffling; they couldn't tell if it was the towering tree of the Six Harmony Continent or the Heavenly River flowing from the Heavenly Palace.
"What kind of freak is this?"
Several deities exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing: "Is this what the Overlord Body is?"
"Although the young experts from the Northern Heavens this time are all carefully selected elites, facing such a terrifying opponent, they are no match at all!"
Duke Wei, however, understood Qin Mu well. When Qin Mu first arrived at Jiangling Academy, he had demonstrated his extraordinary power by levitating the Golden River with sheer magical force.
Based on Duke Wei's understanding of Qin Mu, he wasn't simply trying to establish his authority as the Overlord Body. Rather, he wanted to scare off some challengers first, avoiding fights with those of lesser skill.
Although Qin Mu was always kind to others, he was proud at heart. If someone's cultivation or skill was too low, he had no interest in fighting them.
"But it seems the Sect Leader isn't just scaring off a few challengers—he wants to frighten away all the young experts from the Northern Heavens."
Duke Wei looked around and thought to himself, "Although the young experts of the Northern Heavens are strong, they aren't absurdly so. Even if they all attacked together, the Sect Leader would likely slaughter them all in no time."
"Hahaha! The Yan Kang Overlord Body truly lives up to his reputation!"
Suddenly, the bull-headed deity burst into loud laughter and said clearly, "Lord Qin's strength is exceptional. We envoys have seen it, and you are qualified to compete with our Northern Heavens. We did not come to challenge Lord Qin, but to deliver a declaration of war."
As soon as he said this, the other deities and demons of the Northern Heavens looked confused.
They had clearly come thinking Yan Kang was a soft target, planning to bully this Yan Kang Overlord Body and take over Yan Kang in the process.
The bull-headed deity remained expressionless, his tone righteous: "Earlier, we saw the strength of your Yan Kang cultivators and worried that the Overlord Body might be nothing special. But now that we've seen your skill, we believe you are worthy of accepting our Northern Heavens' declaration of war!"
The other deities suddenly understood: "So that's it. The cultivators we brought are no match for this fierce fellow. Calling it a declaration of war saves face."
The bull-headed deity's face grew serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Our Northern Heavens are united under the name of Great Black Heaven. Since Lord Qin has this strength, we invite you to visit the Northern Heavens. We await your arrival!"
The other deities nodded in agreement, saying, "We await your arrival!"
Duke Wei asked curiously, "Where is your declaration of war?"
The bull-headed deity's expression didn't change as he said, "Yan Kang is a tiny nation. Why would we need a formal declaration? A verbal message is enough."
Duke Wei sneered.
The bull-headed deity, thick-skinned as ever, said solemnly, "The declaration has been delivered. We return to the Northern Heavens and ask Lord Qin to come soon. Let's go—"
He turned around, intending to lead the cultivators of the Northern Heavens away.
"Wait a moment." Qin Mu's voice came from behind them.
The bull-headed deity's back muscles tensed, and he quickly turned around to avoid being ambushed by Qin Mu.
Qin Mu said warmly, "The esteemed elders of the Northern Heavens lack etiquette, saying they deliver a declaration but not doing so. However, Yan Kang cannot be without manners. I must return a declaration of war. After you go back, let the heroes of the Northern Heavens see it."
The bull-headed deity relaxed and said with a smile, "Lord Qin, please!"
Zheng—
From Qin Mu's glutton pouch, the Carefree Sword flew out. Qin Mu pointed with his fingers, and the Carefree Sword pierced the air with a chi sound.
He moved his feet, changing his sword fingers continuously, tapping repeatedly. The Carefree Sword moved constantly, drawing in the air the image of a young man carrying a sword on his back, his spirit soaring.
Soon, Qin Mu finished the sword-back-carrying picture with the Carefree Sword.
He was imitating the Sword God's sword-back-carrying picture drawn by the Deaf Elder, but the person in the picture was not the village chief in his youth, but Qin Mu himself.
"This is my declaration of war."
Qin Mu grasped the Carefree Sword, gently flicked his wrist, and cut down the sword-back-carrying picture from the air. He pressed it with his hand, and the picture shrank to half a foot in length.
Duke Wei ordered someone to bring a visiting card. Qin Mu placed the sword-back-carrying picture inside the card and said, "After you return, select your young experts, and then open my declaration. Also, those with low cultivation should not look at the card. When I sense that the sword-back-carrying picture in the card has been destroyed, I will personally visit the Northern Heavens, one by one."
He hesitated for a moment, then said with utmost sincerity, "For the sake of your lives, do not open this declaration. Only after selecting the strongest cultivators from your realms should you open it. And outsiders must not see the contents of the card—it is very dangerous! Remember this well! Gentlemen, you may go."
The bull-headed deity took the card with a grave expression and shouted, "Let's move!"
One by one, the deities and demons led the cultivators of the Northern Heavens away swiftly.
When they were far from Jiangling Academy, a cultivator said, "Teacher, is this declaration really that powerful? Can we open it and take a look?"
The bull-headed deity shook his head and said, "It cannot be opened lightly. The sword-back-carrying picture in the card contains his divine technique. Opening it will trigger his technique."
Another deity laughed and said, "Isn't that an exaggeration? He drew a sword-back-carrying picture. Although it contains a divine technique, if opening it once triggers the technique, the card would be destroyed. In my opinion, as long as we don't use our energy, we won't trigger his technique. It should be fine to open it and take a look."
The other deities laughed in agreement, saying, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles!"
The bull-headed deity hesitated for a moment, then took out the card and said, "It's fine to take a look, but you must not have any energy fluctuations, so as not to trigger his technique. I still need to use this card to meet Great Black Heaven. There are no such terrifying experts in our realms; only under Great Black Heaven's command are there those who can contend with him."
He carefully opened the card. Sure enough, Qin Mu's technique did not activate. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You can come up and look now."
The crowd gathered around and looked at the sword-back-carrying picture inside the card.
Qin Mu had used the Carefree Sword as a brush, painting in space and imprinting his sword technique into the space itself.
To achieve this, one needed the power of a venerable god, as only venerable gods could imprint techniques into space that would last for a long time.
As they looked at the sword-back-carrying picture, the Qin Mu in the image seemed as real as a living person, three-dimensional and lifelike.
"This Yan Kang Overlord Body is truly versatile. If he went to the streets to sell paintings, he would surely be a master!" the crowd laughed.
The bull-headed deity quickly shouted, "I told you to look, not to judge his painting skill, but to observe the trajectory of his sword technique and understand his depth! Perhaps from this picture, we can find his technique and a way to counter him."
The crowd became serious and looked closely.
Suddenly, a demigod cried out, his aura exploding. A series of booming sounds came from within his body as his divine repositories opened. He raised his hands as if to block something and shouted, "He's striking at me with his sword!"
The bull-headed deity's face changed drastically. Just as he was about to stop him to prevent the energy fluctuations from affecting the card, the demigod's forehead split open. His primordial spirit was severed by an invisible force, and his soul scattered, killing him instantly!
The bull-headed deity was startled and went to check. He saw that the demigod's forehead had a wound shaped like a sword mark, but the force had not come from outside—it had originated from within.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Just as he was thinking this, several other demigod cultivators panicked, activating their spiritual weapons and attacking wildly, shouting, "He's attacking me!"
Before the words faded, these demigods' bodies erupted with chi chi chi sounds. Countless blood arrows burst from all over their bodies. Their frames shook violently, and then their primordial spirits were extinguished, and they fell!
"Don't look at the card!"
The bull-headed deity realized what was happening and quickly closed the card, putting it away.
But it was too late.
The cultivators who had come with them to challenge the Yan Kang Overlord Body seemed to fall into madness, attacking in all directions with techniques and spiritual weapons, as if fighting an invisible enemy to the death!
The other deities hurried forward, trying to restrain them, but even when they suppressed these demigods, their bodies were riddled with holes. One by one, their primordial spirits were severed, and they died on the spot!
The bull-headed deity and the other deities felt a chill in their hearts, staring blankly at their surroundings. At their feet lay a field of corpses.
"Sinister!"
A deity cried out in anguish, "Damn it, this is truly sinister!"
The other deities were pale. Qin Mu had never personally attacked these challengers. He had only demonstrated his magical power in front of Jiangling Academy to intimidate the cultivators of the heavens.
Yet, although Qin Mu had not struck, his declaration of war had killed these cultivators!
"What is the reason? What kind of technique?" a deity asked, trembling.
"Sword technique."
The bull-headed deity said hoarsely, "A sword technique that has entered the Dao! When you see this sword technique, it imprints itself in your heart. This technique is too sinister—it attacks the spirit and will. When the spirit and will collapse, it steals your magical power and uses it to unleash the sword technique's power within your body. Their spirit and will could not withstand the sword Dao will contained in the sword-back-carrying picture, so they died. We are at the divine level, so the sword Dao will in the picture has no effect on us."
The many deities shuddered.
The bull-headed deity shouted harshly, "Let's go! We must see Great Black Heaven!"
The crowd hurried to follow him. A deity couldn't help but ask, "How can his sword picture contain such terrifying sword Dao will? Does such a powerful will exist in this world?"
"This is not will, but indestructible divine consciousness."
In the Black Heaven Palace, darkness spilled from this legendary palace, covering ten thousand miles around. Yet inside, it was brightly lit. Great Black Heaven, with a black sun behind his head, sat on his throne, unfolding Qin Mu's declaration and examining it carefully. He said leisurely, "This indestructible divine consciousness comes from the Chi Ming era, the technique of the Chi Ming era's first false emperor, Emperor Chi. You don't recognize it, which is only natural. Emperor Chi's technique is not even found in the Heavenly Court. This sword-back-carrying picture is not sinister at all; on the contrary, it is upright and grand, with a majestic aura."