Chapter 1415: The World's Blade Path
"Grandpa Butcher, where are we going?"
"To visit the strongest blade cultivator in the world."
Several dozen days later, they arrived at the Yong River. On both banks stretched beautiful, majestic landscapes, and fishing boats drifted among the waves on the river surface.
It was already noon, and the sun was blazing. Those fishing boats sailed toward the shore to escape the scorching heat.
The two stood on the river surface. Qin Mu's hands were empty, and he couldn't help feeling puzzled—this time, the Butcher hadn't asked him to forge a blade. Could it be that no blade would be needed this time?
Moreover, wasn't the strongest blade cultivator in the world the Butcher himself?
Just then, a booming voice came from the riverbank, laughing heartily: "Hey, Qin! You're back in Yankang to leech off the old folks again?"
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw a young general clad in divine armor, carrying a demonic blade on his back, appear on the riverbank. The young general suddenly stepped through the void, leaping upward—countless blade glows surged beneath his feet, carrying him as he flew over!
Shua—
The countless blade glows beneath his feet suddenly converged, forming a demonic blade that slithered like a dragon, slashing toward Qin Mu!
Qin Mu raised his hand, gently pinching the blade glow between his index and middle fingers. With a crack, he snapped the blade light in two, saying calmly, "Zhe Huali, long time no see."
Zhe Huali landed on the river surface with a thunderous crash, the water exploding and splashing all over Qin Mu. He laughed loudly: "You've been living it up in the heavens, the esteemed Mu Tianzun, quite the fearsome reputation. But every time you come back, you shamelessly leech off the old folks! What are you here to mooch this time?"
Demonic Blade Zhe Huali—over the years, he had been responsible for guarding one of the divine cities on Yankang's western front, the Tianshen Divine City at the source of the Yong River, and had become a formidable general.
Qin Mu's face darkened, and he said awkwardly, "Leeching off the old folks? You people stay in Yankang and leech off them every single day. I come back occasionally to leech once, and you dare to criticize me..."
Zhe Huali laughed: "Yankang's dao techniques and divine abilities are no longer what they were when you left. Today, there are countless geniuses and experts beyond number. I'm really afraid you've fallen behind the times."
Though he said this, his eyes gleamed with fighting spirit, eager for a bout. The demonic blade Longya on his back also emitted a low, demonic dragon-like growl, seeming excited, as if it wished to immediately start a fight and teach Qin Mu a lesson.
Back in the day, when Qin Mu had taught Zhe Huali a lesson, the Longya blade had also been disciplined more than once.
This demonic blade was sentient—it was the tooth of the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon that had become a demon. It was highly spiritual and, moreover, held grudges.
After another moment, blade glows suddenly flickered in the sky—one layer of blade glow, one layer of heaven, eighteen layers in total.
These eighteen layers of blade light poured down, heading straight for Qin Mu in the middle of the river!
Qin Mu seemed not to notice. Suddenly, blade qi surged from the top of his head, forming a blade-dao heavenly palace. His blade-dao primordial spirit stood within the Nine Hell Platform, gathering qi into a blade, and struck upward against the eighteen layers of blade-dao heaven.
Dang—
A great clangor resounded through the air. The countless blade glows scattered wildly, then suddenly all converged into a divine blade that bounced upward.
Above, an arm reached down and grabbed the divine blade. A one-armed figure landed on the river surface with a crash—the splashing water turned into blades, scattering like flying jade and shooting in all directions.
Zhe Huali stood motionless on the river surface with his arms crossed, blade glows swirling before and behind him like ribbons, severing all the water-turned-blade lights.
That one-armed divine being was none other than Divine Blade Luo Wushuang.
Luo Wushuang greeted the Butcher and Zhe Huali. The Butcher returned the greeting, while Zhe Huali lowered his hand half a measure, saying, "Greetings, Brother Luo."
He had severed his master-disciple relationship with Luo Wushuang—Luo Wushuang had expelled him from the sect—so he could only address Luo Wushuang as "Brother." However, because he had once been his disciple, he lowered his hand half a measure out of respect.
Luo Wushuang greeted Qin Mu, saying, "Qin Overlord Body."
He did not address Qin Mu as Tianzun, but rather as Overlord Body. Although the grudge between the two had long been resolved, and Luo Wushuang had broken free of the shackles of his own blade path, they had once been enemies, and Luo Wushuang still harbored a lingering resentment, so he called him Qin Overlord Body.
"Divine Blade Luo." Qin Mu returned the greeting.
"Divine Blade Luo" was Qin Mu's title for Luo Wushuang. They had fought side by side through life and death in the Taixu, and Qin Mu deeply admired both his blade character and his personal character.
Especially when Luo Wushuang drew his blade and cut down the avatars of Lady Yuanmu and Empress Dowager—Yunchu Xiu and Lian Huahun—he was utterly ruthless, showing no mercy. No beauty was more important than his blade. He was, in Qin Mu's eyes, a peerless cold-blooded figure!
Luo Wushuang said, "Heavenly Blade, those who have come today are all of Yankang's blade-dao experts. Can we begin?"
The Butcher shook his head: "Not yet. We must wait for one more person. I sent someone to invite him several months ago."
He took out a small boat from his glutton sack, loaded with jars and jugs, all sealed and containing fine aged wine.
Zhe Huali was visibly moved and said, "Didn't that person go to Wuyou Village? Will he really come?"
He glanced at Qin Mu and continued: "I heard that person owes much to Mu Tianzun and owes even more to Yankang. He swore he would never set foot in Yankang again in this life, so he hides in Wuyou Village."
The Butcher laughed: "He came long ago. When the heavenly court's army occupied the Taixu and sealed the Void Bridge, he broke through the encirclement and slipped into Yankang. Besides him, many others entered Yankang through the three rooms of the Void Bridge and went into hiding. He did indeed honor his oath by not entering Yankang proper, operating in the northern territories instead. But a drunkard's oath is no better than a fart."
He smiled slightly, his voice loud and resonant, and said leisurely: "This wine of mine is no ordinary vintage. It was stolen by the Thief God from the deities of the various heavens—including wine offered to the Heavenly Emperor by the heavenly court, brewed by the number one Wine God of the heavenly court!"
"The heavenly court's Wine God's brew? Of course I must come!"
A grand laugh echoed from the sky. Tian Shu, one of the Four Heavenly Kings under Emperor Kaihuang, strode over with his chest bare, carrying the Imperial Gate Divine Blade on his shoulder, reeking of alcohol. He laughed heartily: "The Heavenly Blade knows me well, knows I have a taste for this. To be honest, I was bound by my oath and didn't dare set foot in Yankang. But before I came, I got myself thoroughly drunk. A few jars of horse piss down the gullet, and all those damn oaths don't mean a thing!"
He landed on the small boat, reached for a jar of wine, tilted his head back, and drank deeply, draining it in one go. He praised: "This is Buddhist wine brewed in the Great Brahma Heaven of the Buddhist realm—it has a hint of bodhi flavor!"
He cracked open another jar and drank deeply again, praising: "The wine of the Daoist Qingyun Heaven—after drinking it, your head fills with strange mathematical talismans! And this jar is the Wine God's brew, offered to the Heavenly Emperor—it's something else entirely!"
Each of the various heavens' fine wines had its own unique flavor.
Soon, Tian Shu was thoroughly drunk, his eyes bleary, yet he continued to drink without pause.
"Is this drunkard still fit to fight?" Luo Wushuang frowned.
Tian Shu glanced at him sideways and chuckled: "The heavenly court's number one divine blade—too much craftsman's air, no bearing of a blade-dao grandmaster. My blade severs souls and captures spirits, something you cannot match. I must drink to unleash its full power."
Luo Wushuang snorted and said flatly: "In cultivation realm, I am beneath you. But in blade path, you are far behind."
Qin Mu looked at these old acquaintances, his heart surging with emotion. Some of these people were his elders, some had once been his enemies, some were his friends—and now they had all gathered together.
"Mu'er, your blade path—the first heaven, knocking on the Southern Heavenly Gate—is about striking out the boldness and heroism of the blade wielder. The second heaven is the blade of law and order—establishing rules, pacifying grievances. The third heaven is the blade of protection—carrying the will of united purpose."
The Butcher looked at Qin Mu and said solemnly: "This is all I can teach you. Your three forms of dao-entering blade techniques have already exhausted my fifteen heavens of blade path. From here on, you must walk your own road."
Qin Mu's heart felt warm. No matter how great the difficulties he faced outside, how much criticism and blame he endured, when he returned here, to Yankang, he would always be the child of the nine elders of Canlao Village.
When he came back, the Butcher and the others would do everything in their power to help him, to guide him, never with selfish motives, never with refusal!
"The courage, the law, the responsibility that the blade path requires—you already understand all of them. What remains is tempering and power."
The Butcher said: "And the simplest way to increase power is still to contend with blade-dao masters. Zhe Huali is a master of the blade path. He entered the dao through the blade, combining the blade path with the strangeness of the demon race and the grandeur of the blade path. Luo Wushuang is the heavenly court's number one blade, a great master of the blade path. His blade techniques are unparalleled in ingenuity and discipline, while also fusing the courage and strength to strike at heaven itself—even a Tianzun, he dares to cut down!"
"King Tian Shu's blade is the most powerful blade in the world."
The drunkard Tian Shu chuckled upon hearing this.
The Butcher continued: "The divine blade is indestructible, named Imperial Gate. A drunk Tian Shu is the emperor among blades—his blade path can sever the Horn of Tuba! His blade carries the spirit of the Kaihuang era! And my blade..."
The Butcher slowly drew his blade and said calmly: "Is the Heavenly Blade. This heavenly blade is not the blade of heavenly dao, but a blade that strikes at heaven. My blade path does not depend on heavenly dao, nor on the great dao of heaven and earth. My blade is the spirit of defiance and unyieldingness in the human heart!"
He shook his blade, and the qi within it shot up like a long ribbon from the middle of the river, splitting the sky!
"The blade nourishes the spirit. First, you must defeat us before you can possibly defeat the Divine Execution Platform of the ancestral court!"
The Butcher said solemnly: "Mu'er, are you ready?"
Zhe Huali flipped backward, and in the next moment stood high in the sky, his movements strange and demonic. He laughed: "I'm honored that the Heavenly Blade thinks so highly of me, letting me instruct this lad. I won't disappoint the Heavenly Blade's expectations!"
Though he was wild and unrestrained, he held great respect for the Butcher.
In this world, there were two people he respected. One was Divine Blade Luo Wushuang. Luo Wushuang cherished talent and loved ability. Knowing that his own blade technique was a one-armed style, and that Zhe Huali had both arms intact, he realized that if Zhe Huali studied under him, he would either have to cut off his arm like the other disciples or forge his own path.
So Luo Wushuang sent him to the demon race's Futu Luo, to study under him. His magnanimity and boldness were admirable.
The second person Zhe Huali respected was the Heavenly Blade.
Zhe Huali had long been contemplating the blade path but could never enter its gate. His blade techniques were passed down from Luo Wushuang, whose style was strict and disciplined, emphasizing composure within inches—which had always constrained his temperament.
Futu Luo, meanwhile, was a demon race expert whose techniques were sinister and strange. Zhe Huali had learned some, but could not integrate them fully.
It wasn't until he met the Butcher and witnessed his Heavenly Blade that, with a single glance, he achieved sudden enlightenment, his mind clearing, and he stepped through the gate of the blade path.
Though the Butcher had not accepted him as a disciple, Zhe Huali regarded him as another master, and thus respected him deeply.
Tian Shu laughed heartily, smashed all the empty jars, and sprayed a mouthful of wine onto the Imperial Gate blade: "I'm honored the Heavenly Blade thinks so highly of me. Today, we meet as friends through the blade! Mu Tianzun, do you have horns?"
Qin Mu's chest swelled with heroic spirit. He smiled slightly: "I may not have grown horns, but my dao heart has horns of prominence."
"Stick your head out!" Tian Shu swung his blade.
Luo Wushuang raised his blade with one arm, cradling the moon against his chest, and said softly: "Qin Overlord Body, the sword is your forte, but in the blade path, you are still far behind."
Qin Mu laughed heartily. A surge of primordial qi shot into the azure sky, condensing into a long blade. He bowed deeply: "I ask all fellow daoists for their guidance!"