Qin Mu immediately sat up and looked out the window. Bashan Jijiu's snoring was deafening, and although a cold wind blew into the room, he still did not wake.
From outside the window came a strange chanting sound, the tones uneven in intensity and pace. Qin Mu made a decisive move, using the Creation Heavenly Demon Art to seal his own soul. Then he activated his Qi. The Shao Bao Sword hanging at the head of the bed rang as it left its sheath, its silver sword light illuminating the room.
Outside the window, white shadows flickered, coming and going. The Shao Bao Sword hummed and vibrated, shooting out streaks of sword light like lightning. In an instant, several heads fell outside the window.
Shamanic Arts harming people sounds very eerie, but they are nothing more than targeting the soul or the physical body.
Although Qin Mu was not old, he understood these principles. Targeting the physical body meant using secret methods to enter the room and kill, slaying the opponent.
Targeting the soul involved even more inconceivable methods, such as Shamanic Poison, poisoning the enemy's soul. This poison was colorless, odorless, invisible, and traceless, leaving people defenseless.
Like piercing a straw man and bowing to the soul—writing the opponent's name and birthdate characters, bowing for ten days, each day bowing away one soul fragment. After seven days, seven soul fragments were gone, and then the three spirits were bowed away.
Or the Yansheng Method, using injury to the soul to injure the body. Using needles or sharp blades to harm the opponent's soul, exploiting the connection between soul and physical body—injuring the soul injures the physical body. For example, piercing the soul's hands and feet with needles would cause piercing wounds on the enemy's physical hands and feet. Piercing the forehead would confuse the mind, and so on.
Knowing a name could indeed kill someone, which was somewhat incredible, but it probably came down to these two methods.
Qin Mu had sealed his own soul and hung the Shao Bao Sword at the head of the bed to guard against these two methods.
Suddenly, a strange laughter came. Qin Mu quickly looked and saw many peculiar little people climbing in through the window, each jumping to the ground, wielding knives, axes, and steel forks, riding small horses, forming formations like an army of several hundred.
This little army rushed forward noisily, standing on Bashan Jijiu's chest. Bashan Jijiu still did not wake, snoring like thunder.
The leading little person held a long spear, sat on a fine horse, stood on Bashan Jijiu's nose, pointed the spear at Qin Mu, who was already sitting up on the bed. His eyes flashed with excitement, and he let out an incomprehensible shout. The other little people immediately surged toward Qin Mu like a tide!
These little people were extremely excited, shouting various incomprehensible cries, waving knives, swords, and steel forks, killing with overwhelming momentum. Although there were several hundred of them, Qin Mu felt he could crush these little people with just two or three steps.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was this what made the Butcher so wary, not daring to use his real name?
Qin Mu drew his sword with a flourish, sword light erupting. He was about to sweep away all these little people when he suddenly heard someone calling his name.
The voice came from the cold wind, drawn out as if very far from him. Qin Mu remained silent, but the voice was rapidly approaching.
When others called your name, even if you did not answer, your heart would involuntarily respond. This voice should be using that principle to sense his location!
The sword light in Qin Mu's hand was about to slay the oncoming army of little people when he suddenly felt a chill invade his forehead. He was about to reach for his sword when his soul froze.
With his soul frozen, his body immediately froze, and the sword light extinguished.
The little people cheered, climbing onto his body one by one, drilling into his body through his mouth, ears, and nostrils.
The next moment, Qin Mu "saw" these little people carrying "himself" running. They were not carrying his physical body, but had entered his body and were carrying his soul!
These little people had actually run into his body, tied his soul firmly, hoisted it on their heads, chattering in unknown tongues, and ran off.
Qin Mu felt unable to move. The scenery before his eyes changed rapidly, then suddenly went black, all light disappearing, leaving only darkness.
In the darkness, he saw a light glow beneath him. It was an altar, and he was lying on it.
The little people set him down, each looking up at the sky. The leading little person chattered a couple of sentences to the darkness, then suddenly the altar rose. Looking around, he saw enormous faces, like puppets, blocking all sides. These puppet-like faces were extremely large, showing expressions that were neither smiling nor crying.
Then the altar shook again, rising higher. A giant hand lifted both the puppets and the altar. Qin Mu immediately saw blazing flames in the darkness—a giant Single Eye appeared behind the puppets, its eye alone larger than the puppet faces.
Then more giant Single Eyes lit up the darkness, floating in the sky, extremely eerie.
"The Yansheng Method?"
Seeing this scene, Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. What Ban Gongcuo was using must be the Yansheng Method, using these little people to invade his body and trap the soul he had sealed inside such an altar!
This method was very eerie. Hearing the voice, even if you did not respond, it would find you, forming an altar within the body. Even sealing the soul inside would not stop it!
However, his soul should still be within his body. As long as it was inside, Qin Mu had hope of turning the tables.
"No matter what Shamanic Arts you use, they rely on your own magical power. Inside my body, your magical power cannot surpass mine, so don't think about killing me!"
Qin Mu flipped up and shouted: "Sword, come!"
Suddenly, a Sword Pellet whistled through the darkness, stopping before him with a whoosh. This Sword Pellet was the one the Mute had given him when he returned to the village for the New Year. Qin Mu had once used this Sword Pellet to guide the residual divine powers within the National Teacher's body, causing the Sword Pellet to be ground down considerably by the residual divine powers, becoming much smaller.
With the Sword Pellet in hand, sword energy bloomed from it, sweeping the little people in all directions into chaos.
The little people were disemboweled by him, yet they did not die. Their broken limbs crawled around, pieced themselves back together, and continued charging at Qin Mu. Meanwhile, the puppet faces around the altar showed eerie smiles, stiffly raising arm after arm, smashing down at Qin Mu on the altar. Bang, bang, bang—sparks flew as they hit.
Qin Mu activated the Sword Pellet to contend with these strange puppets, feeling that the puppets' strength was enormous, each blow nearly unbearable.
Some of the little people were smashed by the puppets, flattened like paper, but the next moment they inflated like balloons, continuing to wave their knives and swords and charge at Qin Mu.
At this moment, the strange eyes in the darkness blazed fiercely, and beams of blazing fire shot from all directions.
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and endured, nearly having his soul scattered. These little people, puppets, and strange eyes seemed able to die and be reborn, endless and inexhaustible, constantly attacking him, never tiring.
But Qin Mu was exhausted to the point of despair, his heart unable to contain his anger: "Is Senior Brother Bashan still sleeping?"
Unconsciously, the sound of a rooster crowing came, and then he faintly heard a night watchman striking the watch—it was the fifth watch.
Then, Qin Mu heard Bashan Jijiu's yawn seemingly coming from a great distance: "Waited all night, and Ban Gongcuo still hasn't come in person. Disappointing. That kid is very cautious, not using the method to kill Junior Brother Qin himself, but having another great shaman do it."
Qin Mu was slightly startled: "Senior Brother Bashan knew I was trapped?"
"A pity I only caught a Seven-Star Realm great shaman."
Qin Mu heard the sound of Bashan Jijiu drawing his blade—the Tyrant Blade leaving its sheath.
"Golden Inlaid Saber with White Jade Hilt, at night it pierces the window and emits light. A man of fifty with unfulfilled achievements, draws his blade and stands alone surveying the eight wildernesses!"
Amid the song, suddenly a vast light tore through the darkness, coming from beyond the sky. One blade fell, striking heavily upon the altar. Immediately heaven and earth roared, trembled, collapsed, and disintegrated!
This blade seemed to cut two lines, which slowly parted left and right. Those were Qin Mu's eyes, slowly opening. But strangely, he felt that when he opened his eyes, his eyelids moved left and right.
"This is the Yansheng Method of the Loulan Golden Palace. I just helped you undo it. This Yansheng Method reversed half of your eyeballs, so what you see is flipped left and right."
Bashan Jijiu seemed to appear before Qin Mu standing on the wall: "First adjust your eye muscles, slowly turning your eyeballs back."
Qin Mu did as told, slowly rolling his eyeballs. After a moment, they returned to normal. He quickly said: "Senior Brother, I was hit!"
Bashan Jijiu nodded, pointing in front of him: "This is the thing that hit you."
Qin Mu looked down, slightly stunned. The altar that had trapped him was not a real altar, but a silver plate. Around the plate were four palm-sized puppets. The little people who had carried him earlier were soybeans, and the horses beneath them were bean sprouts.
The strange eyes floating in midair were the eyes of a giant spider—eyes growing side by side. Beneath the plate was a weasel.
The spider and the weasel had both been severed by the blade, dead on the spot.
"I thought Ban Gongcuo would make a move, but it turned out to be a Seven-Star Realm great shaman."
Bashan Jijiu shook his head: "Ban Gongcuo didn't act, letting a Seven-Star Realm great shaman do it—probably because he was worried I was by your side. He's truly cautious."
Qin Mu stood up and leaned out the window to look. The heads he had cut off with sword light were scarecrows, draped in white cloth.
Qin Mu asked: "Senior Brother, what about that Seven-Star Realm great shaman?"
"Dead."
Bashan Jijiu said: "He was casting a method in his dream, using the Yansheng Method to harm you. My blade broke his method, and the blade intent followed his spell into his dream, killing him in his dream. He passed very peacefully."
Qin Mu was half-believing, half-doubting: "Can sword techniques really reach this level?"
Bashan Jijiu laughed: "Heavenly Saber Teacher's saber technique is the real myth. He can cleave through the void. I cannot."
By morning, the Imperial Academy was buzzing with talk. Another envoy from the Mandi Kingdom had died. It was said that he had suddenly died violently at the fifth watch, bleeding from all seven orifices, a tragic death, and had shouted three times before dying.
Qin Mu thought to himself: "Didn't Senior Brother Bashan say he passed very peacefully?"
At noon, a Shaman came, bowing slightly: "The Prince invites Sect Leader Qin to a banquet."