"Kill!"
A female shaman with a leopard's head and tail shouted fiercely, raising a bronze mirror towards Qin Mu. Inside the mirror, spirits appeared one after another, their faces ferocious and vicious.
*Ding.*
A flying sword suddenly appeared before the bronze mirror,钉在 its surface. The bronze mirror was incredibly hard and actually blocked the flying sword. But in the next instant, the flying sword suddenly spun, transforming into a drilling sword style, directly piercing through the bronze mirror. The sword light broke through the mirror and impaled the female shaman behind it in one strike.
"What is there to fear from shamanic poison?"
Qin Mu's clothes rustled in the wind as he raised his hand to retrieve the flying sword. Another shaman's body grew tiger fur, tiger claws, and a tiger tail. He roared and lunged forward, stirring up a violent gale and charging close, not giving Qin Mu any chance to draw his sword.
Qin Mu sidestepped and threw a punch. The two's footsteps became chaotic as explosive blows rang out without pause. The shaman's head shook as he grew a tiger's head, roaring like thunder, the rumbling continuing as he used tiger roars to bombard Qin Mu's soul.
Qin Mu used his fist as a seal, throwing out a punch that "refined the sun and yang soul in the air." His five fingers spread into a palm as he struck with the "Heavenly Demon Heavenly Freedom Seal." His palm and fist changed repeatedly as Buddhist and demonic seal techniques alternated. The tiger roars only managed to sound three times before the shaman's soul was shattered by Qin Mu, and he fell straight to the ground.
Another ** realm great shaman suddenly charged out. His cultivation was far more powerful than the previous shamans, his divine abilities自如, maintaining a human appearance and form.
Although he had sealed his ** secret realm, once his technique activated, he immediately transformed into a violent ape, wielding a golden staff as thick as a pillar. He swept through with unstoppable force, his strength inexhaustible, and his agility extreme.
Qin Mu reached out and plucked his bamboo staff, using it to meet the golden staff. The two clashed like lightning. Suddenly, the sky full of golden staff shadows contracted sharply as the shaman's chest was pierced by the bamboo staff, revealing a look of shock.
However, he was ultimately a ** realm great shaman, not just a shaman. He decisively unsealed his ** secret realm. But the very instant his ** secret realm was opened, his heart was pierced by the bamboo staff, and his corpse fell face-first to the ground.
Qin Mu withdrew the bamboo staff from his heart. The ** realm great shaman was called a Divine Ability Practitioner in Yankang Kingdom—the name was different, but there was no essential difference.
If this Divine Ability Practitioner hadn't sealed his ** secret realm, it would have been very difficult for Qin Mu to kill him. But as long as they fought at the same realm, Qin Mu had the strength to slay his opponent, regardless of whether they had previously been in the ** realm or the Seven Stars realm!
*Thump.*
A Golden Giant leaped onto the golden platform, landing heavily. On his back was a knife sheath taller than a man, and he opened his mouth wide to roar at Qin Mu. From the knife sheath on his back, blade light whistled out as a rain of knife shadows slashed down at Qin Mu.
At the same time, the Golden Giant wielded double blades and charged with them dancing. The two blades appeared alternately in front and behind his body, like two great serpents coiling around him as he rolled toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu held a Butcher's Knife in each hand, one forward and one reversed. From the sword case on his back, flying swords hissed out to meet the descending blade light.
"A horizontal line across the vast emptiness!"
Their bodies were vastly different in size—the Golden Giant was half a head taller than Qin Mu. They collided fiercely as two blade lights crossed—one horizontal, one vertical. The horizontal one was like a mountain blocking the path, the vertical one like a blade cleaving through the mountain. The blade light, tinged with blood, shot skyward like a giant swinging its blade to carve a path through cliffs stretching hundreds of miles. The Golden Giant's body was split into four pieces, slain by the crossing blade light.
Qin Mu shook his blades, flicking off the blood, and sheathed the two Butcher's Knives back into their case. He suddenly raised a finger, and with a tinkling sound, a flying sword unsheathed itself, piercing through the forehead of a shaman who was drawing a bow with vital energy, about to shoot an arrow at him.
"Kill him! Avenge our brothers!"
More shamans continued to charge. Qin Mu dodged, twisted, and kicked, using blades, swords, fists, and feet to slay each challenger on the spot.
After a moment, there was no sound left. Before the mountain gate of Loulan Golden Palace, on the golden steps, over forty corpses lay scattered in disarray.
Qin Mu looked down from the platform. Below were faces filled with terror and eyes wide with fear. When their gazes met his, they involuntarily looked away, evasive and unable to meet his stare directly.
These shamans' mental will was strong, but after Qin Mu had killed over forty of them in succession, this spirit and will inevitably declined. Once it began to decline, it would only fall further, giving rise to fear, to the cowardice of believing the opponent unbeatable, and to a sense of both reverence and terror toward Qin Mu!
What Qin Mu had seen along the way filled him with anger toward Loulan Golden Palace. When General Tuolim ordered soldiers to collect the spirits of the rebels, he said they were to be offered to Loulan Golden Palace. Qin Mu hadn't understood then, but now he realized that Loulan Golden Palace actually used spirits as cultivation materials.
He hadn't come this time to block their gate, but to retrieve the lower half of the Butcher's body. But now that enemy and ally were clearly distinguished, he would shatter this sect's will and spirit, crush their confidence, trample their techniques and arts underfoot, and make them know that the divine abilities they cultivated with others' spirits were worthless!
"Which of you has cultivated Loulan Golden Palace's Wizard Lord Lou Luo Sutra?"
Qin Mu surveyed the area with an indifferent expression, then a slight smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips: "Come out. I want to kill one."
Before the mountain gate, there was silence.
Behind the mountain gate, the faces of the great shamans who looked as if cast from gold gradually turned an iron-blue color. After a moment, a youth stepped forward. A middle-aged great shaman beside him spoke in a deep voice: "Simuluo, his flaw is at a point two-tenths of an inch from his left shoulder blade. This is a flaw in his technique—where he hasn't fully cultivated."
The youth great shaman replied solemnly: "I already noticed, but couldn't pinpoint the exact location. Thank you, Wizard King, for your guidance."
Bashan Jijiu's expression darkened as he sneered: "Wizard King, as an elder, isn't such behavior rather shameless?"
"Wu Kahan, please!"
The middle-aged great shaman remained expressionless, raising his hand and saying: "Back then I lost to you. After reflecting on that painful defeat, my cultivation and strength have improved tremendously over the years. I've always wanted to wash away that shame. Heaven is merciful—you've finally delivered yourself to my door."
Bashan Jijiu suddenly soared into the air, the light he emitted like a giant blade a hundred zhang long cutting through the sky as he fled into the distance. His voice came from far away: "The people here have too low a cultivation. I fear our fight might kill them. Let us battle in the snowy mountains!"
The middle-aged great shaman looked toward the Wizard Lord. The Wizard Lord rose and said solemnly: "Go!"
*Swish—*
Golden light streaked through the sky, chasing after the blade light and heading toward the snowy mountains.
The towering mountains were vast and white with snow. Suddenly, golden light blazed brilliantly, melting the falling snow. Within the golden light, bright blade light flashed—it was a heaven-shaking battle. But filtering through to Loulan Golden Palace, only faint ripples remained.
Below Loulan Golden Palace's mountain gate, Qin Mu turned around to face Simuluo walking down from before the palace's sacred hall.
Bashan Jijiu had lured away many of Loulan Golden Palace's experts, presumably wanting to make it easier for Qin Mu to search for the lower half of the Butcher's body. But several of Golden Palace's older-generation experts remained before the sacred hall.
Simuluo's expression was grave, but there was some excitement in his eyes. His body was also golden. Just now, he had watched from the sidelines as Qin Mu fought these shamans.
The reason he hadn't stepped forward directly was not only to see if Qin Mu had any flaws, but also because these shamans were wearing Qin Mu down through轮战, consuming his vital energy and giving Simuluo a greater chance of victory.
Now he had found Qin Mu's flaw, and after Qin Mu had fought over forty people in succession, his opportunity had arrived.
Qin Mu's expression was as calm as an ancient well without a ripple, impossibly peaceful for someone who had just fought over forty fierce battles. Suddenly, both figures moved. Beneath Qin Mu's feet, vital energy erupted as he moved with incredible speed, arriving before Simuluo in an instant and throwing a punch.
"Bringing spring thunder to the Eastern Sea alone!"
Simuluo took the punch, but it erupted with the sound of a great bell. Qin Mu immediately felt that his overwhelming fist force, like a mighty river rushing to the sea, had hit an impenetrable bronze wall—not getting through in the slightest.
Simuluo's body seemed forged from the hardest metal—and solid at that.
Simuluo's body swayed, then suddenly transformed into a bird-headed human form, wings growing from his back. Those wings were brilliantly golden, composed of countless golden swords that rang with a clear sound as they cut forward!
Qin Mu stumbled backward as flying swords unsheathed themselves from the sword case on his back, meeting the incoming sword feathers.
Suddenly, he noticed that Simuluo's two wings were extraordinary. Between each sword-shaped feather, threads of vital energy connected them. His heart trembled slightly as he immediately sensed danger.
*Whoosh—*
The countless sharp swords composing Simuluo's wings suddenly swelled in size, flying off the wings and stabbing at Qin Mu from every direction.
On each golden sword grew a pitch-black eyeball that rolled around eerily, grotesquely. These swords—each golden sword contained a soul, trapped within the blade and transformed into a sword spirit.
Qin Mu's gaze fell on those eyes, and he suddenly felt dizzy. Knowing something was wrong, he immediately closed his eyes and reached to draw his blades.
"Battling through the city in a night storm!"
His blade light was swift, dancing around his front, back, top, and sides without pause. The clashing sounds rang out continuously. The phrase "night battle" in this technique already indicated that it required no eyes to observe the surroundings.
Simuluo's swords were extremely strange—one would fall victim simply by looking at them. So using this technique was the correct choice.
"The Wizard Lord Lou Luo Sutra is indeed remarkable—truly sinister."
Qin Mu's blades clashed with his opponent's swords, and he immediately felt that the power within them was inferior to his own. The strength of the battle technique school lay in wielding weapons, allowing one to unleash all their power.
Simuluo's golden swords were forced back by the night storm technique and returned behind him, instantly forming two golden wings again. The wings fluttered as he blocked the flying swords shooting from Qin Mu's sword case.
Suddenly, Qin Mu released both blades and threw a punch like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, illuminating the yang soul. Simuluo's soul wavered slightly under the punch's intent, but his technique remained completely unbroken. However, the eyes on his swords were forced shut by the illumination, each one letting out a miserable cry before dissolving into wisps of green smoke.
Qin Mu struck back with the Heaven Freedom Seal, but Simuluo still stood unmoved. The Wizard Lord Lou Luo Sutra used others' souls as cultivation material, refining his own soul to be incomparably solid.
His body was also incredibly hard—even the Thunder Sound Eight Forms couldn't shake it.
Qin Mu frowned slightly, then suddenly pointed a finger. The thirty-six flying swords from the sword case merged together with a clattering sound, transforming into the drilling sword style, and stabbed down at Simuluo with a single strike!
————Second update! Three more to come tonight!