Chapter 273: Three Fists and Two Blades
"Impressive!" Qin Mu activated the Creation Demon Heavenly Art, sealing his own soul, his heart filled with wariness.
The techniques of the Loulan Golden Palace were extremely sinister—they cultivated using souls, whether human, demon, or divine beast, all could be used for cultivation.
Ban Gongcuo's gaze was not an ordinary glance; hidden within his eyes was a divine ability targeting the soul. With a single look, the technique would already be acting upon the other party's soul. Had one not been prepared, one would truly be stared to death by him!
The Creation Demon Heavenly Art happened to be able to counter divine abilities that targeted the soul. Of course, this was also because Ban Gongcuo's eye technique was not powerful enough to break through the Creation Demon Heavenly Art's defenses.
If his eye technique targeted the physical body or the Dao heart instead of the soul, the Creation Demon Heavenly Art would not be able to defend against it.
"The blade technique of the Heavenly Blade?"
Ban Gongcuo's raised brows relaxed again, and he said, "Does the Heavenly Records Tower contain such a technique?"
"The Heavenly Records Tower does not, but I do." Qin Mu smiled, then raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the Butcher's Knife.
The moment his palm gripped the hilt, the books and papers inside this Six Harmonies Hall rustled and flipped wildly, as if an invisible giant had swung a blade, stirring up a fierce gale!
Across from him, Ban Gongcuo's facial skin was blown into wrinkles, and a few strands of hair silently snapped off.
Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, and the others felt their hearts tremble slightly, thinking to themselves: "Lord Qin's skills have improved greatly again. His blade has already developed blade intent! He only went home for the New Year—how did his blade technique improve so much after the New Year?"
They had all once followed Qin Mu to the southern frontier to suppress the rebellion, going through life-and-death trials together, and knew Qin Mu's abilities. At that time, Qin Mu's blade technique was already formidable, but nowhere near as formidable as it was now.
To refine blade intent into one's blade technique meant a qualitative leap—something that could not be accomplished through just a few days of hard training!
What they did not know was how difficult Qin Mu's journey home for the New Year had been. It could be said he had survived nine deaths and one life, facing ambushes from all sides, layers upon layers of pursuit and interception, bloody battles that stretched across the sky. It was only through immense hardship that he had managed to return to the Crippled Elder Village in the Great Ruins.
Moreover, in the Crippled Elder Village, he had not spent a peaceful New Year. After the New Year, he sparred daily with the elders of the village. The Butcher, Master Ma, the Lame Man, the Blind Man, and others fed him moves every day, explaining their various insights. There was also the Village Chief, a formidable expert, who practiced with him.
This trip home for the New Year had elevated Qin Mu's improvement as much as two to three years of bitter cultivation.
It was not just his blade technique that had made a qualitative leap—his sword technique, movement, Buddhist arts, hand techniques, eyesight, and Dao heart had all made qualitative leaps as well!
Ban Gongcuo's brow twitched, his blade intent pressing against his brow. It seemed that Qin Mu's blade could be drawn at any moment, and once drawn, it would strike right between his brows!
He was about to react when suddenly Grandmaster Hongfa stepped sideways, blocking between the two of them. Qin Mu's blade intent was cut off by the nun's sudden intervention.
"This is the Six Harmonies Hall, a place for cultivating the Six Harmonies and opening the Divine Treasury. It is not a place for you to fight and brawl."
Grandmaster Hongfa swept her gaze over the two of them and said calmly, "The Grand Academy has its rules. If you cultivate in my Six Harmonies Hall, you are my disciples and must obey my hall's rules. You have both just broken through to the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury, and your divine abilities are barely at the beginner stage. Your foundations are not yet stable. Why are you so hot-tempered?"
Ban Gongcuo revealed a smile: "The Grandmaster is right. Lord Qin, I shall seek your Heavenly Blade another day." With that, he walked toward the exit of the hall.
Qin Mu walked side by side with him, smiling gently: "Why wait for another day? Isn't class over now? Now is a good time. Once we leave the Six Harmonies Hall, the Grandmaster cannot control us anymore."
Outside the hall, two great shamans of the Loulan Golden Palace stepped forward, one on each side, following behind Ban Gongcuo. One of the great shamans said softly, "Why is Lord Qin in such a hurry? If your hands are itching for a fight, we servants can accompany you at any time."
Inside the Six Harmonies Hall, Wei Yong, Shen Wanyun, Qin Yu, and others filed out. Qin Yu frowned and said, "Lord Qin is being a bit too aggressive. After all, Ban Gongcuo is a foreign envoy who has come to our country to study. Even if he was an enemy before, we must follow proper etiquette and not be rude."
Monk Yun Que nodded and said, "He is indeed a bit aggressive. Lord Qin must have some grudge against him, right?"
Qin Mu glanced at the two great shamans of the Loulan Golden Palace and said leisurely, "I have been to the Loulan Golden Palace. One cauldron of medicine knocked out almost all the great shamans of the Golden Palace, scaring even the Witch King into fleeing in panic. You two were also knocked out by me, weren't you?"
The two great shamans' faces darkened, and they said nothing.
"Or perhaps you were beaten by me?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment but had no recollection. He shook his head and said, "Probably because I killed too many people in the Loulan Golden Palace, I don't remember you two. On that golden road of the Loulan Golden Palace, corpses rolled down one after another, staining the golden road red with blood. I wielded two blades, cutting down from the outer disciples of the Golden Palace to the inner disciples, then to the disciples of the Witch Venerable. How many shamans and great shamans did I kill? A hundred? If not a hundred, then eighty. I killed until the shamans and great shamans of the Golden Palace were chilled to the bone, and no one dared to move."
The faces of the two great shamans grew even darker, their hands trembling slightly. One of them, whose body was gradually emitting golden light and whose head was transforming into a bird's head, shrieked: "That was because I was not in the Golden Palace! I was traveling abroad! Had I been in the Golden Palace, ten of you would have been killed by me!"
Behind them, the scholars of the Six Harmonies Hall caught up and heard Qin Mu speak of this matter. Each of them was greatly shaken, some even horrified.
Although they were classmates with Qin Mu, none of them knew that he had actually gone to the sacred land beyond the border, the Loulan Golden Palace, to block their gates, and had even killed so many experts of the Loulan Golden Palace!
"I know now!"
Wei Yong suddenly cried out: "I know who defeated the Dao Son and the Buddha Son!"
Qin Yu, Shen Wanyun, and the others were shocked beyond measure and cried out: "Are you saying that when the Dao Son and the Buddha Son blocked the gates, it was Lord Qin who drove them back?"
Monk Yun Que said, "No wonder, truly no wonder! I was wondering which expert had defeated the Buddha Son and the Dao Son without even leaving a name. It was actually Lord Qin!"
Si Yunxiang's delicate brows furrowed slightly, feeling somewhat displeased, and muttered: "The Buddha Son was clearly defeated by me..."
Shen Wanyun said in a deep voice: "I heard news on the road that the Buddha Son is dead, killed by none other than our Lord Qin here."
Yue Qinghong said in a low voice: "Not long ago, the Crown Prince plotted to murder the Emperor and attempted to ascend the throne. I heard it was Lord Qin who led the Heavenly Sage... Demon Heavenly Cult's experts charging into the imperial city's Heavenly Altar, and Lord Qin chopped off the Crown Prince's head!"
Everyone exchanged the rumors they had heard, and the more they spoke, the more shocked they became. This classmate of theirs, Qin, had actually done so many astonishing and outrageous things.
Grandmaster Hongfa glared at them and said, "You few, stop gossiping! And stay away from Lord Qin in the future—he is, after all, the Demon Cult Leader of the Demon Heavenly Cult. Especially you, Yunxiang. You've been getting too close to him. If he drags you into the Demon Heavenly Cult, your life will be ruined!"
Si Yunxiang looked rather helpless and said, "I understand. I will definitely distance myself from him."
Grandmaster Hongfa raised her voice: "Lord Qin, this is the Grand Academy, not your Demon Heavenly Cult. The Grand Academy has its rules, and the Yan Kang Kingdom has its laws. Restrain yourself!"
...
"Then I looted the Golden Palace's treasure vault."
Qin Mu walked forward unhurriedly, his expression indifferent, turning a deaf ear to Grandmaster Hongfa's words. He continued: "Your Golden Palace had accumulated treasures for so long—all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, various spiritual treasures and strange weapons—I took them all. However, I did not take a single one of the Golden Palace's own treasures; I left them all on the ground. A thief never leaves empty-handed, and even a thief has his code. I understand this principle."
Ban Gongcuo's expression did not change, but the two great shamans of the Golden Palace behind him could no longer contain themselves.
Suddenly, the bird-headed, human-bodied great shaman let out a piercing shriek, so sharp it was like silver needles stabbing into one's brain, piercing into one's very soul.
Amidst the shriek, the great shaman's golden-feathered wings spread wide with a rustling sound. With a single flap, countless golden feather swords shot forth, converging into a stream in the air, stabbing toward Qin Mu from all directions with golden light.
At the same time, the great shaman raised his foot, his two legs already transformed into sharp golden bird claws, sharp enough to split rocks and crack stone, clawing at Qin Mu's head!
"The transformations of the Witch Venerable's Lou Luo Sutra are indeed interesting. You are a disciple of the Witch Venerable and have already cultivated divine abilities."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up. The two Butcher's Knives on his back leaped out, and a dense, rapid series of clanging collisions rang out like a storm of pear blossoms in a downpour. In an instant, blade light burst forth, breaking through the golden sword light!
The blade light was like a bolt of white silk, three zhang and seven chi long—one horizontal, one vertical, a vast line between heaven and earth—and with it, a bird claw was severed.
The next moment, Qin Mu closed in, raising his blade in a reverse grip.
Raising the blade from the forbidden zone.
The great blade lifted, splitting open belly and chest.
Before the great shaman's corpse had even hit the ground, the other great shaman behind him shook his body, transforming into a giant with an elephant's head and a human body. His fist was like a small hill, smashing toward Qin Mu.
Qin Mu discarded his blade and turned, his primordial energy erupting. The band tying his hair snapped with a crack, and his long black hair stood straight up, driven by the surging primordial energy.
Boom!
Their fists collided, muscles all over their bodies leaping and dancing, some muscles writhing and coiling beneath the skin like pythons.
On Qin Mu's body, primordial energy coiled like a green dragon. The Nine Dragons Imperial Art and the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra were activated almost simultaneously. It was as if a great Buddha sat in solemn meditation, a dragon coiled around the Buddha's body. With a thunderous boom, another fist was thrown.
That great shaman was like a golden elephant god, possessing immense strength. Every fist and kick contained incredibly powerful force, each strike like a giant splitting heaven and earth.
Bang, bang, bang—their fists collided three times. Qin Mu withdrew his fist, dispersing his awe-inspiring aura, and the leaping muscles across his body calmed down. Meanwhile, the elephant-headed, human-bodied great shaman roared in fury and threw another punch at his face, majestic and grand, stirring up a fierce gale.
Before that punch could land on Qin Mu, a series of crackling explosions suddenly sounded from within his body. In an instant, all the bones in his body snapped, his muscles disintegrated, his primordial energy collapsed, and he fell to the ground like a pile of mud, with only breath going out and none coming in.
Those three punches of Qin Mu's—the fist force and fist intent had reached directly into his body, shattering his bones, muscles, and primordial energy completely!
Behind them, the scholars of the Six Harmonies Hall watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths, standing there dumbfounded. Grandmaster Hongfa was even colder than ice all over. Qin Mu was simply a lawless thug—three fists and two blades had killed two foreign envoys, and he had done it right in the Grand Academy!
Qin Mu paid them no mind. He turned to look at Ban Gongcuo, a smile on his face, looking nothing like a murderer who had just killed over a disagreement, and said: "Who's going to drag away the corpses and wash the ground? Little Prince, my skills are passable, aren't they? Feeling the urge to make a move?"