Chapter 337: The Secret of the Tyrant Body
"The Tyrant Body?"
State Preceptor of Yankang also felt a bit puzzled. After careful recollection, he indeed had never heard of such a constitution. He looked at the Village Chief in confusion. The name "Tyrant Body" was so resounding, sounding far more powerful than the Four Great Spirit Bodies. Could it be that there really existed a constitution superior to the Four Great Spirit Bodies?
Why hadn't he heard of it before?
Now it seemed there were actually two Tyrant Bodies in the world!
The Village Chief's face twitched slightly, feeling his old face couldn't hold up. His skin felt loose and ready to fall off. He thought to himself, "Another Tyrant Body! This little fellow Qin Mu really can't stay still..."
He couldn't help but sigh. He was getting old. Even telling a small white lie made him tremble with fear, worried someone would see through it. But who could see through him?
As the previous generation's Human Emperor, he was merely telling a small white lie. Why did he have to suffer this torment? Why did he always have to think about covering up his lies?
"Since I made up the Tyrant Body constitution, I've told more lies than I did in eight hundred years!"
The Village Chief rallied his spirit and shook his head. "Qin Mu, there cannot be a second Tyrant Body! This Xu Shenghua is definitely not a Tyrant Body!"
Qin Mu was confused, and State Preceptor of Yankang was also puzzled.
The Cripple excitedly clenched his fists. "As the only one who knows of the Tyrant Body's existence, the Village Chief has always been secretive about it. Now he's finally going to reveal some secrets of the Tyrant Body!"
The Village Chief's face remained as calm as an ancient well, speaking unhurriedly. "It seems there is a heavenly will at work. Throughout history, only one Tyrant Body appears at a time. All others that appear to be Tyrant Bodies are false Tyrant Bodies, not the real thing. This has been the case since ancient times. In any era, there can only be one true Tyrant Body! You must remember this!"
State Preceptor of Yankang couldn't hide his shock. The world's only Tyrant Body? All others were false Tyrant Bodies?
The depths of this world were indeed far greater than he had imagined!
The Village Chief's words made him feel wary and terrified. A heavenly will, a unique Tyrant Body, false Tyrant Bodies—it seemed there was some inexplicable force manipulating everything!
But The Cripple didn't think too deeply about it, excitedly saying, "Just as I guessed! There's only one true Tyrant Body in this world!"
Qin Mu was somewhat excited, but then疑惑 asked, "But Xu Shenghua's cultivation is almost on par with mine. The only one who can keep up with me at the same level is a Tyrant Body."
"There is only one reason for this."
The Village Chief's expression turned solemn, and he sternly said, "That is because you haven't worked hard enough! As a Tyrant Body, you've been caught up by the Four Great Spirit Bodies or a false Tyrant Body. You should blame and reflect upon yourself."
Qin Mu's expression became solemn, and he nodded heavily. "Rest assured, Grandpa Village Chief. I will definitely work even harder in my cultivation! Come to think of it, I have been a bit lax these days. I'm improving, but Xu Shenghua is also improving. If I relax, he might really surpass me!"
The Village Chief also felt relieved in his heart, thinking, "Qin Mu is indeed too naive. He's been deceived so easily and will work even harder in his training. If this kid is ever defeated by Xu Shenghua, he'll just think he didn't work hard enough. Then I'll have an explanation ready."
State Preceptor of Yankang's eyes flickered, and he humbly asked for advice. "Daoist brother, you just said there are Tyrant Bodies and false Tyrant Bodies. There seems to be some connection between them. Could you elaborate?"
The Village Chief's head felt like it was about to burst. Qin Mu was easy to fool, The Cripple only cared about stealing things and knew little about worldly legends, so he was also easy to fool. But State Preceptor of Yankang was not so easy to deceive.
"Ahem, the Tyrant Body and false Tyrant Body are in a contest of fortune."
The Village Chief spoke solemnly. "There is only one Tyrant Body in this world, and there can only be one, but there are many false Tyrant Bodies. I once heard a legend: if a false Tyrant Body kills the Tyrant Body, it can seize the Tyrant Body's fortune. By taking the Tyrant Body's fortune, it can grow from a false Tyrant Body into a true Tyrant Body. Whether this is actually true, I don't know."
State Preceptor of Yankang fell into deep thought, then suddenly looked up and asked, "The contest of fortune between Tyrant Body and false Tyrant Body is indeed thrilling. But how would a false Tyrant Body know who the true Tyrant Body is? If they don't know the other is a Tyrant Body, how could they kill them?"
The Village Chief grew angry. This fellow kept asking endless questions. How could he keep making things up?
"The Tyrant Body and false Tyrant Body actually have an incredible connection. When they meet, they can sense each other."
The Village Chief steadied himself and continued, "The moment they see each other, there's a feeling of mutual appreciation yet also an irreconcilable enmity..."
He could barely continue, but suddenly Qin Mu's eyes lit up. He clapped his hands. "I had that exact feeling when I met Xu Shenghua! No wonder, no wonder! We met on the river. He was in a painted boat, and when he saw me, he stopped and invited me over! It was the connection between the Tyrant Body and the false Tyrant Body at work."
State Preceptor of Yankang no longer doubted. He looked up at the sky, dazed. "Xu Shenghua comes from Heaven. That deity who brought the natural disaster also comes from Heaven. What kind of place is Heaven? To have both deities and a Tyrant Body? Daoist brother, you must know about this place too?"
"False deities, that's all."
The Village Chief also looked up at the blue sky. To their west was a fiercely contested battlefield, but neither looked toward it, indifferent to its situation.
"Heaven is just a pack of lackeys, used by the deities as eyes to monitor this world."
The Village Chief spoke softly. "Your State of Yankang's snow disaster this time caused immense suffering, and it still hasn't recovered. That was merely Heaven's tribulation, using ordinary celestial attacks. If it were a true deity's tribulation, heh heh..."
He withdrew his gaze. "The Eastern Sea was ten thousand fathoms deep, yet it sank overnight. The eastern part of the Great Ruins was once an ocean, but it became land and mountains in a single night."
State Preceptor of Yankang felt his blood run cold.
"All my life, I've opposed Heaven. Heaven is not easy to deal with, but the existence behind Heaven is even harder to deal with."
The Village Chief looked at his severed arm and leg, lost in thought, and whispered, "You will encounter them. Qin Mu will encounter them too..."
State Preceptor of Yankang looked at his severed limbs. The sword wounds might seem ordinary to others, but to him, as the contemporary Sword God, they revealed endless mysteries.
He knew the terror of the person who had cut off the Village Chief's limbs!
"Heaven will bring tribulation upon Yankang again."
The Village Chief exhaled a turbid breath. "But Heaven's primary enemy is the Human Emperor. I've fought them for hundreds of years. Before, there was me. I have two or three years of life left. Now there's you, who have comprehended the Sword Dao and can contend with them. In the future, there will be Qin Mu. I'm leaving the Great Ruins. In the next few days, Heaven's guests will come seeking me. I can buy you all some time."
He spoke lightly, but all three heard a sense of resolute determination.
"The Human Emperor cannot die in a sickbed."
The Village Chief smiled gently. "A sickbed is not where I belong."
State Preceptor of Yankang looked up again, speaking softly. "Heaven... one day, the iron cavalry of Yankang will trample it flat! But for now, we must first trample Helan Pass!"
He stood up. "Everyone, please move to Helan Pass."
A treasure carriage arrived, reaching the city wall. The carriage was round on top and square below. Qin Mu lifted the Village Chief and placed him in the carriage. State Preceptor of Yankang took the reins, smiling. "We'll continue our discussion at Helan Pass."
The Cripple picked up the Golden Book and Treasure Scroll from the tea table and tossed it to Qin Mu. "The Great Venerable's book. I wonder what evil techniques it contains."
Qin Mu caught the Golden Book and shook his head. "This isn't the Great Venerable's. It's my Qin family's book, stolen by him."
The Cripple snorted. "Qin Mu, you really aren't working hard enough. You learned my Heaven-Stealing Earth-Swapping Hand but still got it stolen by that little brat. You'd better just settle for being the world's second greatest thief."
"I was always willing to be second. You were the one who insisted on pushing it on me."
Qin Mu opened the Golden Book and Treasure Scroll, surprised. "Ban Gongcuo actually opened this book! It originally had a seal on it. Oh, Grandpa Village Chief, I saw my father!"
The Village Chief's mind exploded, and he blurted out, "You saw a visitor from the Land of Carefree?"
Qin Mu set down the Golden Book, somewhat downcast. "I saw him on the treasure ship in Nether Valley. He had already used a forbidden technique, merging with the ship to become a tree person... He signed a contract with Tubo involving Town Star Lord and cannot open his eyes to see me. He taught me many things, but unfortunately we still had to part..."
Qin Mu stared blankly, shook his head, and cast aside his chaotic thoughts. He recounted his experiences in Nether Valley and the Netherworld. The three listened with wide eyes. Such bizarre and thrilling adventures were both fascinating and terrifying, but the secrets they contained were so numerous and dreadful that they couldn't help but ponder.
State Preceptor of Yankang was also greatly shocked. Qin Mu was a Tyrant Body, and he also had a god-like father!
"How do the people of the Land of Carefree become gods?"
State Preceptor of Yankang suddenly remembered something. The people of the Land of Carefree had their Divine Bridge connected to the Heavenly Court!
The people of Jade Capital had told him that everyone's Divine Bridge in this world was broken, except for those of the Land of Carefree, whose Divine Bridges were connected to the Heavenly Court!
Didn't this mean Qin Mu's Divine Bridge was also connected to the Heavenly Court?
He turned back to look at Qin Mu, but Qin Mu didn't know what he was thinking. Qin Mu picked up the Golden Book again and flipped through it.
Ahead, the towered boat fleet had been crushing everything in its path, approaching Helan Pass. At the duck-billed isthmus, bodies lay everywhere—corpse after corpse of barbarian sorcerers slain by True Essence cannons!
Sword Hall Master Jian Sansheng and General Gui de Yuyuan Chuyun used the towered boats as swords. These two great sword masters controlled the boats to slaughter the grassland army opposite them. After just the time it takes to burn a stick of incense in the skirmish, the barbarian army had already collapsed, blasted into submission by the fourteen thousand True Essence cannons, fleeing toward Helan Pass like a retreating tide.
Then followed a one-sided massacre. Even the Witch King and Khan fought desperately, but they couldn't stop the fleeing army or the advancing forces opposite them.
State Preceptor of Yankang drove the carriage slowly. Calculating the time, by the time Sword Hall Master leveled Helan Pass, their treasure carriage would be entering the city.
On the carriage, Qin Mu looked at the first page of the Golden Book and Treasure Scroll in his hand. His expression gradually grew serious. Suddenly he stood up, and essence energy shot from his fingertips, transforming into various rulers—round, square, triangular, oval—in different angles and measurements, beginning to measure the diagram on the first page.
"Qin Mu, what are you doing?" The Cripple asked curiously.
"Measuring the Magpie Bridge."
Without looking up, Qin Mu said, "The technique in my Qin family's Golden Book is peculiar. To cultivate it, you must calculate every angle of the essence energy's movement on this diagram perfectly. The diagram in this Golden Book might be... might be..."