In a life-and-death battle, what affected one's combat strength was not merely cultivation level, divine abilities, and cultivation techniques—there was also psychology, and there was also wisdom.
Qin Mu understood this deeply.
Among the Daoist sect there were many experts who, when facing a life-and-death battle, would often calm their minds before the fight, burning incense and bathing; some would even enter meditation for three days, expelling every distracting thought from their minds so that no stray idea would disturb the wisdom of their battle, letting their wisdom become clear and unimpeded.
Although Xu Shenghua claimed that he had fought his way unmatched across the Celestial Heavens, with no rival at the same realm, the duels in the Celestial Heavens were often not life-and-death duels.
His experience in this respect was far too thin—he could even be called a blank sheet of paper. And although the lower realm was "turbid" in his eyes, life-and-death struggles arose there in endless succession. Whether it was lofty figures like Dao Master Lin Xuan and Ban Gongcuo, or young experts such as Ling Yuxiu, Si Yunxiang, and Shen Wanyun, or renowned existences like the State Preceptor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng, all of them had risen to prominence through tempering between life and death.
In the wisdom of battle, they surpassed Xu Shenghua by too much.
If it had been Qin Mu, he would never have gone to examine the structure of the parts and components of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, and their formation diagrams and patterns, before a life-and-death duel—it drained too much of his mental energy.
When Qin Mu designed and forged the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, he had invited hundreds of masters of the art of calculation, along with all kinds of great craftsmen and talents of treasure forging; he had practically redesigned the Manufacturing Bureau from scratch. He had pooled the wisdom of all these people to create the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon. For Xu Shenghua to probe its mysteries, he would have to memorize in a very short time the wisdom of all these people—the toll on his mental energy was easy to imagine.
A drain on mental energy inevitably brought a drain on strength, slowing one's adaptability in battle.
To an expert like Qin Mu, even if Xu Shenghua's reactions slowed by a mote, a speck, or a wisp, it would be enough to decide victory and defeat!
In the Manufacturing Bureau, Xu Shenghua had examined the patterns and structures on the parts and components one by one, deducing the form and might of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon. Those parts and components numbered in the tens of thousands, and the formation runes on each one were all different, the formation patterns they used different as well. Without an order to follow, he would have to rely on his own tremendous mental energy to work out their combinations, which drained his mental energy even more.
Suddenly he felt dizzy, and he sharply came to his senses and hurriedly closed his eyes. Only after a long moment did he open them again and look toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu broke into a smile and nodded in acknowledgement.
Qin Mu's smile was very sunny, like that of a boy without a trace of scheming, but in Xu Shenghua's eyes, that brilliant, sunny smile seemed incomparably wicked.
"Thank you, Brother Qin—I've just learned a move."
Xu Shenghua steadied himself and walked over, doing his utmost to forget the formation runes he had just memorized as he came. It was merely mending the fold after the sheep were lost, but it was still better than doing nothing.
Qin Mu smiled faintly and walked out of the Manufacturing Bureau, saying leisurely, "Brother Xu, did you really think that lingering in the Celestial Heavens was such a good thing?"
Xu Shenghua shook his head. "Lingering in the Celestial Heavens, I never experienced true battle, and so I truly could hardly grow. The turbid world is the place where people grow. You grew up in this turbid world, Brother Qin—you are truly the strongest and most terrifying opponent I have ever met."
The two walked side by side, up onto the Tu River.
Behind them, the four girls—Hu Ling'er, Ling Yuxiu, Yu Liu, and Jing Yan—followed, stepping onto the surface of the Tu River.
At that moment, a great many Daoist priests walked out of the Manufacturing Bureau, led by Dao Master Lin Xuan, following the two step for step until they too came onto the river.
Dao Master Lin Xuan's gaze was strange. He ignored the four girls, his eyes falling on Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua, who were walking on the river.
"Dao Master, both of these young men are very strong!"
An old Taoist said in a low voice, "Cult Master Qin is one thing—his methods are unfathomable—but what is the origin of that other young man?"
"Xu Shenghua of the Celestial Heavens. I met him when I accompanied my master as a guest in the Little Jade Capital."
Dao Master Lin Xuan's gaze flickered. "He defeated me in five moves."
The hearts of the many Daoist priests quaked. Even Qin Mu would not have dared claim that he could defeat Dao Master Lin Xuan in five moves. In these years, Lin Xuan had cultivated under the Old Dao Master, and his attainments in the art of calculation had grown deeper and deeper, his comprehension of the Dao sword more and more profound.
His strength was in no way inferior to the Old Dao Master's in his day—it had even surpassed it!
Dao Master Lin Xuan did not pause in his steps; leading the priests forward, he said softly, "His techniques and divine abilities grow stronger against the strong—that is what makes them most terrifying. The stronger the opponent, the more they rouse the power of his divine abilities and techniques. In the Little Jade Capital, he defeated many. I want very much to know whether anyone can withstand his divine abilities, whether anyone can force him to break through the limits of his techniques and divine abilities, until there is nothing left for him to break!"
"The Human Emperor, perhaps, may be such a person." His fighting spirit suddenly blazed, yet he reined it in, not letting it disturb the two men.
The river rolled on and on; the days flow away like these waters.
Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua did not stop, walking on until they reached the far bank, and still their steps did not cease.
"He is giving me a chance to rest."
Xu Shenghua had learned yet another move, and his heart quivered slightly. "He brought me to the Manufacturing Bureau to drain my mental energy and claim the upper hand for himself. Now he gives me a chance to rest, to show me that he does not care whether my mental energy is drained or not, because he holds the upper hand all the same! Just now he was draining my mental energy; now he is pressing on the level of the spirit, making me admit in my own heart that I am a step below him!"
Though he saw through Qin Mu's design, he had already fallen into Qin Mu's trap and could not struggle free.
Ever since he had met Qin Mu once more, from the moment they drank together in the Listening Rain Pavilion on Flower Lane, the battle had already begun!
From that moment on, he had fallen into Qin Mu's rhythm. And now Qin Mu's grand momentum was complete—if the two were to fight, one could well imagine how domineering, how exhilarating, Qin Mu's attacks would be!
"The Overlord Body is indeed extraordinary."
Xu Shenghua steadied his heart, his gaze flickering. "But I am an Overlord Body too! As fellow Overlord Bodies, I will not be weaker than him!"
Gradually an order formed in the steps of the two: Qin Mu would take a stride, and Xu Shenghua would follow with one, like his shadow, giving people a strange, uncanny feeling.
The four girls following behind them beheld this scene: one big boy walked in front, leaving his back exposed to the man behind him, while the youth behind followed his every step. He did not seize the chance to strike a killing blow; instead, he seemed tied to the one in front by a rope, following him along in spite of himself.
"The Young Master has fallen into a disadvantage!"
Yu Liu and Jing Yan's hearts quivered. It was the first time they had ever seen Xu Shenghua fall into a disadvantage before a single blow had been exchanged.
In the Celestial Heavens, Xu Shenghua had been so astonishingly brilliant that he had shaken god after god, hailed as the person of the highest natural talent in five hundred years.
And Xu Shenghua's descent to the lower realm had indeed proved worthy of his fame.
Ban Gongcuo of the Golden Palace had avoided battle; the Great Thunderclap Monastery had not fought at all; in the Little Jade Capital he had challenged Dao Son Lin Xuan, defeated the experts of the Little Jade Capital, challenged the Three Primes Hall and the Five Qi Hall, and cleared them without a hitch.
Now, at last, Xu Shenghua had met his most terrifying opponent!
Qin Mu led Xu Shenghua out over a hundred li, and his heart too was shaken—right up to this moment, Xu Shenghua's steps had not faltered in the slightest, and he still had not revealed the least flaw!
That was almost impossible to accomplish. Even Ban Gongcuo, that old monster who had lived ten thousand years, could not have kept his steps so steady!
Ban Gongcuo was versed in the techniques and divine abilities of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Daoist sect, the Little Jade Capital, and the Heavenly Demon Cult. If Qin Mu had pressed him under and led him along, then by ten li his steps would have lurched this way and that, and he would have had to strain and shift his form just to keep from showing a flaw.
By twenty li, Ban Gongcuo would have shown a flaw and could barely change any longer; at twenty-one li, Ban Gongcuo would have to strike at Qin Mu first, fighting to snatch the initiative—or die without any doubt!
And if Ban Gongcuo had kept following Qin Mu's steps without striking, then at twenty-four li would come his day of death—he would absolutely be slain by a single blow!
Yet Xu Shenghua had followed Qin Mu's steps the whole way. Though led along by him, his footwork stayed perfectly composed, impregnable!
From the Tu River to this place, over a hundred li, and he had not revealed a single flaw!
"Wang Muran said his techniques and divine abilities are very strange—that they grow stronger against the strong, and the stronger the opponent, the faster they fall before him! His divine abilities are all improvised, created on the spot in the midst of battle. Such a cultivation art must be of an extremely high order—it transcends the level of skill from the very first step and enters the level of law!"
Qin Mu grew more and more excited, and without looking back he walked on faster and faster!
Xu Shenghua's cultivation art was truly marvelous. Such a marvelous art let him leap straight past skill and enter the level of law, where one creates divine abilities. It was the first time he had ever encountered such an art.
He wanted to probe this art to its limits—how would it compare to the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique!
His steps grew faster and faster, his aura stronger and stronger, until he was nearly flying forward like the wind, and yet every stride he took still seemed composed, without the slightest sense of haste.
Xu Shenghua, carried along to keep up with his steps, remained steady in his footwork, not the least bit disordered.
The two moved faster and faster. Suddenly Xu Shenghua's face went pale, then paler and paler. Dragged running by Qin Mu for over a hundred li, he could bear it no longer and spewed out a mouthful of blood.
Qin Mu did not pause; Xu Shenghua ran on after him, and spewed out another mouthful of blood.
He ran and vomited blood at the same time, yet still showed no flaw at all—but if he went on vomiting blood like this, sooner or later he would vomit out every last drop in his body and die!
From beginning to end, Qin Mu had never struck at him. The one who had wounded him was himself.
Qin Mu's walking was in truth a duel of aura, footwork, and divine abilities between the two men. Though it looked entirely free of peril, the decisive battle had already begun, and it brooked not the smallest error.
His techniques and divine abilities relied on improvisation and creation, and placed immense demands on his mental energy.
He had drained a great deal of mental energy in the Manufacturing Bureau. Though Qin Mu had given him a chance to rest and recover, drained mental energy was not something so easily restored.
He was already so exhausted that he vomited blood. If this went on, the drain on his mental energy would be so great that Qin Mu would not need to lift a hand—he would simply drag him to death!
Keep walking, and his mental energy was certain to run dry.
Xu Shenghua's hair began to turn gray, black hair becoming strands of white as he coughed blood and kept pace with Qin Mu's steps. The drain on his mental energy had already begun to eat into his flesh; before long, he would work himself to death!
Suddenly Qin Mu stopped dead in his tracks and said with a laugh, "Killing you like this, you would never accept it, and it would not feel satisfying to me either. Brother Xu, heal your wounds well and restore your vitality. Next time, we will settle it in a duel of life and death."
Xu Shenghua stopped. He opened his mouth, about to speak, when suddenly he toppled to the ground with a thud and fainted away.
"A worthy and terrible opponent." Qin Mu said a word of praise, left the fainted Xu Shenghua lying where he was, and turned to leave.
Blood seeped from the corner of his own mouth, and he hurriedly swallowed it back down his throat. He had very nearly worked Xu Shenghua to death, but he himself had also very nearly failed to hold on. Still, the villagers had said: even when losing to a person, never lose the formation—no matter what, never show weakness.