Chapter 315: Trouble Ahead
"This kid got beaten up so badly—could he have run into some terrifying existence hiding on this ship?"
Ban Gongcuo chased after him, still somewhat puzzled. "But wait, didn't that terrifying existence already escape?"
When Zhen Xingjun fled from the treasure ship, he made quite a commotion. Ban Gongcuo had been searching the various rooms for scattered attendants at the time, with some attendants still waiting on the deck. It was then that Zhen Xingjun escaped the ship. By the time Ban Gongcuo reached the deck, the few people there had already vanished—likely swept into the underworld realm by the hurricane Zhen Xingjun kicked up during his escape, never to return.
That was two months ago.
During this time, Ban Gongcuo and his group had ransacked every room, carrying off virtually all the treasures they could move. They only hit a wall when they tried to plunder the bridge, blocked by Long Qilin and the two white bats, unable to break through.
There was only one door into the bridge, and to enter, one had to fight through it. But the two white bats and Long Qilin were no pushovers, holding their ground behind the door. Even the shaman king at the life-and-death realm couldn't break in. These past days, they'd been using rotating tactics to keep the two white bats and Long Qilin from resting.
Ban Gongcuo had just burst into that room when he immediately activated the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner, countless locusts swirling around his body to protect him.
Just then, he heard the sound of a door closing behind him. Qin Mu appeared at the door and shut it.
Ban Gongcuo dashed forward a dozen paces before turning around, smiling slightly. "Patriarch Qin, what business do you have luring me here?"
The bruises and swelling on Qin Mu's face were clearly marks left from a severe beating. He said with some chagrin, "I've taken a lot of beatings these past two months, and my confidence has taken a serious hit. Brother, you know how it is—when a person fails again and again, keeps failing, their mind twists. They go crazy."
Ban Gongcuo asked in surprise, "Who could possibly beat Patriarch Qin into such a state? This makes me curious. In this world, besides me, there's actually someone who can defeat Patriarch Qin repeatedly and make you feel such frustration? Could that person be a cultivator at the seven-star realm?"
Qin Mu touched the wounds on his face. "He used cultivation at the six-harmony realm."
Ban Gongcuo was even more shocked. He let out a turbid breath and praised, "That person truly has skill."
Qin Mu said with utmost sincerity, "So, brother, I had no choice but to come find you during my rest period. To keep my mind from twisting and turning me into a lunatic, how about you let me beat you up a bit to vent my frustration?"
Ban Gongcuo's brows lowered, his gaze falling on his hand gripping the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner. He chuckled softly. "Patriarch Qin, I've never fought a battle I wasn't sure of winning. If I'm not confident, I'll resort to underhanded tricks. But when I saw you sneakily waving me over, I came running right away. Do you know why?"
He raised his head with a self-assured smile. "I've been training diligently these past two months, and I've made tremendous progress compared to two months ago. You know I'm the Grand Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace, with eighteen reincarnations under my belt. Two months of my training is worth two years of yours! I didn't chase after you to listen to your nonsense, nor to get beaten—but to beat you to death!"
His anger surged, hair standing on end as he swung the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner at Qin Mu, shouting fiercely, "I'll beat you to death! Hand over that silver helmet, and I'll let you die more quickly!"
Clang clang clang clang—
Locusts collided with a rain of swords. The golden locusts had paper-thin wings like blades, while Qin Mu's flying swords were heavy and ponderous. In an instant of collision, sparks flew everywhere in the room.
Amidst the sword light and locust swarm, Ban Gongcuo slammed the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner heavily into the ground, his footsteps flickering through the rain of swords and locusts, his form darting left and right as he closed in on Qin Mu.
Qin Mu's footwork was equally unpredictable, also closing in rapidly through the sword rain and locust swarm.
The room wasn't large, especially with flying locusts and swords clanging everywhere—one misstep could mean getting stabbed, or even killed.
Both Qin Mu and Ban Gongcuo had been studying how to refine their techniques to greater precision these days, so in this small room, they both tried to shrink their locusts and swords as much as possible. The flying swords were no longer than three inches, and the locusts no longer than five fingers.
But the smaller they were, the more dangerous. Navigating through the opponent's sword rain and locust swarm required extremely sharp eyesight and judgment.
The next moment, they clashed. Fists met palms, power exploded, and a crisp thunderclap echoed through the room.
Ban Gongcuo smiled. "With my current cultivation... damn!"
He grunted, feeling the terrifying force of his opponent, and his heart jolted. He had been training hard these days, his cultivation greatly increased. He had assumed his power would be overwhelmingly superior, but without even using his full strength, Qin Mu was actually holding the upper hand!
How was this possible?
Was this kid also a reincarnator?
But then he sensed something was off. Qin Mu wasn't surpassing him in raw magical power—rather, his vital energy had become more refined and pure, his application of techniques had reached a higher level, and his physical body had grown much stronger.
In other words, Qin Mu could use less vital energy to make his techniques unleash greater power. He was ahead in the precision of techniques—when a strike missed, little power leaked out, and when it hit, the explosive force was stronger!
Ban Gongcuo had entered that mysterious corridor with Qin Mu, and both had seen the technique and divine weapon imprints on the walls, but both had only skimmed through them hastily without deep study.
Now, however, Qin Mu's mastery in this area had surpassed his.
"Trouble ahead!"
Ban Gongcuo's mind went blank, immediately sensing danger. Qin Mu's cultivation had improved, his vital energy had become purer, consuming less magical power, plus his physical enhancement—in this situation, it was clear that Qin Mu's combat power and endurance both exceeded his.
Though not by much, even a sliver of advantage was enough to win!
In the short term it was fine, but over time, he was in trouble!
Sure enough, as they clashed with their ultimate techniques, the Eight-Thousand Swords and the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner consumed enormous amounts of magical power, draining their vital energy at terrifying speed. The number of flying swords and locusts they could control was rapidly dwindling.
But Qin Mu's physical functions remained formidable. His techniques were grand and sweeping, each fist and kick capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, with astonishing power, forcing Ban Gongcuo to retreat step by step.
Suddenly, Ban Gongcuo slammed backward into a door, breaking it open. He rolled into the room and immediately tried to shut the door. Before it could close, a tremendous force slammed into him, sending him flying, and he smacked flat against the opposite wall!
"I just need to hold out until my subordinates find me. Once they get here, this kid is dead for sure!"
Ban Gongcuo remained calm. During these two months, in order to search for treasures on the ship and that mysterious corridor, he had also taught several shaman kings the method of calculating spatial alignment.
Those shaman kings would definitely come looking!
Of course, those shaman kings weren't as intelligent or skilled in numerology as he was, so finding this place would take some time. He just needed to hold out until they arrived.
Qin Mu came roaring in, engaging in close combat with long and short strikes. This time, they used even fewer locusts and flying swords. Qin Mu controlled nine swords, each extremely tiny, darting around him like finger-length flying fish, while Ban Gongcuo's nine locusts were equally minuscule, truly resembling golden locusts.
Even with their vital energy severely depleted, their attacks remained ferocious—especially in close-quarters combat, where one misstep meant death and annihilation.
Ban Gongcuo fought carefully, but his cultivation still drained too quickly. Finally, his power was exhausted.
Qin Mu's cultivation was also depleted, but his physical body was still like a mighty wild bull. Ban Gongcuo barely managed to block a dozen or so attacks before his defenses were broken, and in an instant, he was beaten black and blue.
Qin Mu pinned him to the ground and pummeled him. Ban Gongcuo's eyes were swollen shut, but he shouted, "Good hit! If you've got the guts, hit me again!"
Qin Mu threw two more punches, then suddenly heard the sound of a door opening in the next room. His heart stirred, and he immediately stopped.
Ban Gongcuo yelled, "Come on, hit me again!"
Qin Mu gathered his flying swords, turned, and walked away, laughing. "Brother, I'm satisfied now. I'll come find you another day. Oh, by the way—that glutton sack on your waist, I'm taking it!"
Ban Gongcuo's heart jolted. He frantically grabbed at his waist, and his heart turned to ice.
The glutton sack at his waist was gone!
When had Qin Mu unfastened his glutton sack? He hadn't noticed a thing!
"My skills are still a bit short of Grandpa Cripple's—otherwise, I could've taken his underwear off without him ever knowing."
Qin Mu tossed the glutton sack in his hand, sighing inwardly. Cripple's skills were truly superior.
"Kill him for me!" Ban Gongcuo's voice rang out as several shaman kings finally arrived at the room.
Qin Mu smiled, turned to close the door behind him, and returned to the first room. He gathered the scattered flying swords from the floor, placed them in the glutton sack, and also stowed away the Ten-Thousand-Locust Banner.
He opened Ban Gongcuo's glutton sack and looked inside, frowning slightly. The books from the study weren't there—just treasures from the ship, things like incense burners, tea tables, and candlesticks. It seemed Ban Gongcuo hadn't stored those books here.
"What exactly do the books on those shelves contain? Divine techniques? Or something else..."
Qin Mu tied both glutton sacks to his waist and returned to the study, thinking, "Next time I come to beat him up for fun, I'll ask him where he hid those books."
Ban Gongcuo struggled out of the building onto the deck, and seeing the strange looks from the various great shamans, he understood. These people, seeing him beaten into this state by Qin Mu, were beginning to lose their fear and reverence for him.
Ban Gongcuo said calmly, "Patriarch Qin didn't get off easy either—I wounded him severely. I know his name and title. Once I recover my cultivation, I'll perform a ritual to take his life!"
When he recovered his cultivation, he immediately performed the ritual. Strangely, even though he knew Qin Mu's name, he couldn't locate him at all, as if Qin Mu had vanished from the world entirely.
Ban Gongcuo performed the ritual again, but his shamanic arts still couldn't find Qin Mu.
"Impossible. He's clearly on the ship, yet my shamanic arts can't locate him. Could he be hiding in some secret space, blocking my shamanic senses?"
Qin Mu returned to the painting, where the figure in the painting continued to spar with him. Though Qin Mu still lost every time, he lasted longer and longer each bout.
Time passed imperceptibly. Then one day, the treasure ship suddenly shook violently. Even within the world of the painting, Qin Mu could feel the tremor.
The old man in the painting showed an anxious expression and called him out. Qin Mu quickly followed the old man out of the painting and rushed to the deck.
In the distance, countless underworld creatures were surging toward them, while the treasure ship accelerated away.
The old man in the painting stood at the door and waved to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu stood there, stunned. So it was time to part ways after all?
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