Chapter 929: Facing the Sea
Qin Mu walked into the pavilion and stood shoulder to shoulder with another Qin Mu, gazing into the distance at the surface of the Jade Pool Sea.
“Patriarch Mu doesn’t seem surprised at all.”
The other Qin Mu glanced at him and chuckled, “If I saw another me standing right in front of me, I’d definitely scream in shock, and my next reaction would be to eliminate him. Because in this world, I am the only one.”
Qin Mu smiled. “Heavenly Court can create Imperial Deity Yu, and even made over a dozen of him. What’s so special about creating another me? This body was made in the Heavenly Court’s Zaofu Heavenly Palace, wasn’t it? It looks quite similar. But even if you create a copy identical to me, it’ll fall behind the very next moment.”
The other Qin Mu was observing his every word, every action, and every movement, mimicking his gestures and tone of voice. “It’s not about creating another you. My real goal is to replace you. That way, you die without a sound, while another you continues to live.”
He imitated Qin Mu’s subtle movements with uncanny precision, continuing, “After you die, you’ll still live on as the leader of the Yankang Reformation. You’ll still be Patriarch Mu, mingling among your allies. Earth Lord, Heaven Duke—none of them will see through any flaw. These ancient gods dream of preserving your life, hoping that the great mage who defies all calamities can resurrect them. You gave these decaying beings hope, but they’ll never realize you’ve long been dead.”
Qin Mu tilted his head, and the eyelids over his brow slowly parted to either side, revealing a third eye as he examined the body. “You’re Heavenly Deity Hao, aren’t you? My defeated foe, beaten twice by my hand.”
The Qin Mu opposite him narrowed his pupils, and a vertical eye also appeared on his brow, its eyelids parting slowly. The speed at which he opened his third eye was almost identical to Qin Mu’s, clearly still mimicking him.
His pupils were also diamond-shaped, showing that the Dao Ancestor had been meticulous in observing Qin Mu, ensuring every detail matched perfectly.
Even the clothes, the position of every hair, and the number of hairs were exactly the same!
The Dao Ancestor was that kind of meticulous person.
“The first time was in the early Longhan Era, right here.”
Qin Mu said with interest, “You were beaten by me like a stray dog, fleeing in panic. Your subordinates desperately tried to block me from killing you, but I slaughtered them like chickens. Their blood and your blood stained this Jade Pool red. Your mother, Lady Yuanmu, projected herself to save you, but even in her presence, I beat you like a dead dog. How long did it take you to recover?”
The other Qin Mu replied, “Medical skills were poor back then. The Heavenly Emperor summoned famous doctors to treat me, but those healers were useless—none could cure your sword intent and wounds. I lay on my sickbed for over a hundred years, unable to eat or drink, relying on others to feed me. I was incontinent and needed maids to attend to my needs. In those hundred-plus years, I thought of death more than once. I even begged my mother to kill me.”
Qin Mu smiled. “That’s what I gave you. You only lay there for a hundred-plus years, but Imperial Deity Yu lay there for a million years.”
“After that, my wounds slowly healed, and I could walk again. By then, I realized that the physical injuries had long since mended. What hadn’t healed was my Dao heart.”
The other Qin Mu’s pupils contracted, divine light swirling within them before fading, as he said flatly, “The wounds on my Dao heart took much longer to heal. For the next thousand years, every time I closed my eyes, I saw your sword piercing my body, your fists smashing into me, breaking my bones and tearing my sinews.”
Qin Mu said apologetically, “I should have killed you right then, so you wouldn’t have suffered so much torment.”
The other Qin Mu said coldly, “It took a thousand years for me to step out of your shadow. But after I did, I knew I was no longer the same person as before. The old me was just a blade in my father’s hand, used to eliminate Imperial Deity Yu, a threat to his position. You made me die and then live again. From that moment, I swore I would live for myself.”
He continued mimicking Qin Mu’s speech and mannerisms, “I became more profound. Among the princes, I wasn’t conspicuous—after all, I was a failure, the one beaten like a dead dog by Patriarch Mu. But that only gave me more opportunities, and my father valued me more. I helped my father scheme to eliminate the Crown Prince, deposing and killing him. He was the son of the Empress and my father. He used to humiliate me, mock me as a bastard, and taunt me for being beaten by Patriarch Mu. So I named him Xie Wuqi, to shame him, ensuring he’d continue suffering in the Netherworld even after death!”
Qin Mu saw the smile on the face of his other self, as simple and honest as his own, but beneath that simplicity lay deep hatred and the satisfaction of revenge.
“After Xie Wuqi died, none of the powerful princes were my match. They died, were injured, or had their Dao hearts shattered by me.”
The other Qin Mu chuckled darkly. “My father felt that Heavenly Deity Yun and Heavenly Deity Ling were still threats to Heavenly Court, so he planned to support a loyalist to deal with them and rein them in. He chose me. Heh, at that time, he had no choice but to pick me. So I went to the Yuan Realm, established the Longxiao Heavenly Court, and fought against Heavenly Deity Yun and the others, risking life and death. But through that, I built my own faction. With that faction, I could slowly pursue my grand plan.”
Qin Mu praised, “Heavenly Deity Hao, you’ve grown up.”
“That’s all thanks to you.”
The other Qin Mu’s smile grew even purer and sunnier, like a big boy’s, as he said, “I fought with Heavenly Deity Yun for a long time. The human race and post-natal beings were too weak, no match for the demigods. To boost their morale, he actually transformed into your likeness to fight me. Ridiculous.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I was indeed scared at first, but I quickly realized that Patriarch Mu wasn’t you. No matter how well he imitated you, he couldn’t fool me.”
His expression wavered between a smile and a grimace. “Who else knows you as well as I do? The demon in my countless nightmares—it’s always you! Heavenly Deity Yun was too naive, thinking he could imitate you! But I didn’t expose him in front of everyone. I sought him out alone and told him my plan. And so, I, the one you hate to the bone, smoothly joined the Heavenly Alliance. Heh, I killed Imperial Deity Yu, earning the hatred of the human race and your hatred too. Yet I joined the Heavenly Alliance and became one of its founding elders! Because Heavenly Deity Yun wanted to join forces with me to deal with my father!”
He watched Qin Mu’s expression, trying to find disappointment or loss, but found none.
“I conspired with him to devise a plan to eliminate my father. At the same time, I kept inserting demigods into the Heavenly Alliance to rival him. I wanted not only to get rid of my father but also to seize the Heavenly Alliance!”
He smiled. “I succeeded. He failed.”
Those words were simple, but they concealed countless thrilling past events.
Qin Mu laughed. “Even if you succeeded, the Heavenly Alliance didn’t fully fall into your grasp. You suffered your second defeat, again because you met me.”
The other Qin Mu didn’t deny it, nodding. “I never saw your true face. I forged Imperial Deity Yu into the ultimate weapon, a divine artifact at the Heavenly Court level, to descend and eliminate Earth Mother Yuanjun. I never expected that the great mage who revived Earth Mother was you. You used Earth Mother to strike with your sword, employing the same move that left me bedridden for a hundred years. The shadow in my heart reappeared, and I was wounded by Earth Mother, taken advantage of, and lost the Yuan Realm. But that was just a surprise attack.”
He appeared calm and composed, speaking lightly. “Now, you no longer carry the same weight in my eyes. Over the long years, my cultivation has soared, and my understanding of the Dao has deepened. Looking back on that battle at Jade Pool, I just sneer, laughing at my own youth and naivety.”
He gazed at the waves of the Jade Pool Sea, saying leisurely, “I hold no hatred for you now. Any hatred I show is just to deceive others. You have no place in my Dao heart anymore—you’re just a tool to be used. And besides…”
A smile spread across his face, growing wider. “And besides, you’re going to die today. I’ve prepared a perfect death for you.”
“Do you see the palace maids at Jade Pool? The divine officials and the army of gods and demons who came to announce the Heavenly Emperor’s decree on the night of the Jade Pool incident—I sent them. The palace maids here were also replaced on my orders. Even the divine turtles carrying the divine mountains in the Jade Pool Sea, the flower spirits in the lotuses—they’re all my people.”
He turned around, his smile deepening. “The people around you—I’ve also sent them away. I planted agents in the Yun Mansion, the Red Emperor’s Mansion, and the Southern Emperor’s Mansion, making it easy to divert your companions. When I kill you here, no one will know. Heaven Duke and Earth Lord won’t know either. The real Patriarch Mu will be dead.”
Qin Mu sighed. “Heavenly Deity Hao, I didn’t expect your schemes to run so deep. It seems I can’t escape today. But are you sure this Patriarch Mu you’ve crafted can really match me?”
He smiled. “You went to great lengths to create this Patriarch Mu, ensuring he’s identical to me and won’t arouse suspicion from other Heavenly Deities or ancient gods. You had to keep him at the Divine Bridge realm. Such a body can’t contain your primordial spirit—it’s too strong. You can only control this body with a wisp of consciousness. But I’ve killed too many cultivators at the Divine Bridge realm. Even weapons like Imperial Deity Yu, I’ve destroyed two of them.”
The other Qin Mu’s smile was radiant, sending chills down one’s spine. In this short time, he had already become almost indistinguishable from Qin Mu.
“You underestimate my achievements over these million years. In that time, I’ve pondered countless times, clashing with you in the depths of my consciousness billions of times. You and I have actually fought billions of times.”
He laughed heartily. “In the past, you won more and lost less. But as I grew, your chances of winning dwindled. By the Shanghuang Era, you had already been defeated by me. After that, every time I fought you in my consciousness, I was testing which method could kill you most simply. By the Kaiping Era, killing you only took one move.”
He exuded strong confidence, smiling. “I compiled the moves to kill you into a technique called ‘One Hundred Methods to Slay Mu,’ totaling a hundred divine abilities. By now, in my consciousness, you die before you even make a move!”
Qin Mu’s pupils contracted.
His aura surged, and his sword orb flew out as he struck with his sword!
He unleashed the second form of the Calamity Sword, the Sword of Tribulation!
Back at the Jade Pool gathering, he had used this move to severely wound Heavenly Deity Hao under Lady Yuanmu’s projection, leaving him unable to care for himself, needing help for everything!
Now, his Sword of Tribulation was even more powerful, with more variations. The Sword of Tribulation was a sword technique and a basic swordsmanship, also known as the Nineteen Sword Forms, which could merge with any other sword technique, offering infinite variations!
But before Qin Mu could unleash the full power of this strike, the other Qin Mu’s attack came after the fact but arrived first. He pointed a finger, light bursting from its tip, piercing through the Sword of Tribulation and striking Qin Mu’s brow.
Qin Mu’s brow showed no abnormality, but the back of his head suddenly exploded. His face filled with disbelief, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground. His legs kicked twice, and after a few convulsions, he went still.
The other Qin Mu slowly withdrew his finger, saying calmly, “Killing you is that simple—just one finger’s power. Lonely…”
He faced the Jade Pool Sea, his expression serene. On the sea’s surface, Qin Mu was walking toward him.
The other Qin Mu stood with his hands behind his back in the pavilion, waiting for Qin Mu’s arrival.
He watched Qin Mu approach, come to his side, and also face the sea.
“Patriarch Mu doesn’t seem surprised at all.”
He glanced at Qin Mu and chuckled, “If I saw another me standing right in front of me…”
He frowned slightly, feeling that something was off.
But in the real world, Qin Mu was sitting behind him, pouring himself a cup of tea, raising it to his lips, and thinking to himself, “That move isn’t bad. I’d have a hard time blocking it—only by trading life for life. Heavenly Deity Hao has indeed improved a lot.”
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