Chapter 607: The Divine Blade of God-Slaying
Tần Mục rushed out of the divine hall, whistling as he arrived at the steps of the divine mountain. He immediately lay flat on his side, hiding his body beneath the stone steps. Two thick beams of divine light swept past just above the ground, scorching the stone slabs of the divine mountain a blazing red!
After the two beams of divine light swept past, Tần Mục rolled twice, landing on the steps a few levels below before rising to his feet. Like an enraged dragon in full fury, he charged down the mountain with billowing smoke trailing behind him.
As he sprinted at full speed, he channeled his primordial energy to create mist behind him—truly shrouding the entire mountain in fog.
However, blood and qi leaked from the wound on his neck, drawn out of his body and flowing toward the mountain itself.
The wound had been inflicted by Xích Khê's fingernails digging into the edge of his neck. On this God-Slaying Platform, any minor wound could not heal on its own nor be cured by medicine. As long as a wound existed, the platform would absorb and seize one's blood and qi. The only option was to leave this mountain while still alive!
Tần Mục's blood and qi were being lost at an alarming rate. He didn't dare look back to see whether it was the God-Slaying Platform or Xích Khê absorbing his blood and qi. He could only grit his teeth and sprint downward.
Finally, he reached the foot of the mountain. His mind was already a blank slate. Due to blood loss, his ears rang with thunderous tinnitus, and both eyes went pitch black.
Tần Mục's primordial spirit left his body, using it to look around. His right hand quickly retrieved Long Diên from the Thao Thiết pouch and poured it onto the wound on his neck. He then took out a Linh Phật Đan for replenishing blood and nourishing vitality, swallowing it rapidly.
He felt his body and was horrified—in just this short moment, he had become skin and bones. It would likely take some time to recover.
The God-Slaying Platform and Xích Khê had both been seizing his blood and qi simultaneously. The fact that he hadn't been completely drained dry was already an impressive achievement.
"I wonder if Xích Khê was the one causing my blood and qi to drain so quickly just now..."
Tần Mục, now as thin as a bamboo pole, tucked the small box under his arm and staggered forward, moving away from this eerie divine mountain. He thought to himself: "My blood-dissolving powder was placed in the water. He first absorbed the blood of Triết Hoa Lê and Tề Cửu Nghi, using their blood to awaken himself, then used my three bags of water to nourish his body. The blood-dissolving powder should have seeped into every corner of his physical body along with those three bags of water. When he absorbs my blood, the powder will dissolve the blood he's seized along with it. He awakened through blood—once the blood is dissolved, he'll sink back into slumber. However, if Xích Khê was quick to realize what was happening, he might have managed to reserve a portion of clean blood."
As a master of both medicine and poison, he knew how one might reserve a portion of clean blood, and he also knew where Xích Khê would have stored it.
That would be Xích Khê's eyes—the very eyes that had emitted divine light earlier.
He should only have clean blood in his eyes.
Therefore, whether Xích Khê would fall back into slumber was something Tần Mục couldn't know. This was why he had to stay far away from this divine mountain.
"If he's clever, he'll expel the moisture from his body, completely drying himself out, then use the only remaining blood in his eyes to make himself stand up."
Tần Mục channeled his remaining primordial energy to help the Linh Phật Đan dissolve in his body, thinking: "I hope he isn't that clever..."
Inside the divine hall, Xích Khê knelt there like a wooden statue, completely motionless. From the fingertips of his six palms, turbid water trickled out in thin streams—murky water mixed with milky-white corrupted blood.
Tần Mục's blood-dissolving powder couldn't dissolve his divine blood. What it dissolved was the blood of Tề Cửu Nghi and Triết Hoa Lê that he had absorbed. Some of Tần Mục's blood had also been absorbed, and that too was dissolved.
After a long while, Xích Khê's body had expelled all its moisture. He had become a terrifying dried corpse with three heads and six arms, nothing but skin and bones—extremely horrifying. However, in the eyes of the head facing forward, a glimmer of light flowed within the pupils.
Xích Khê carefully separated a portion of the blood in his eyes, using that tiny bit of blood to activate a small part of his body's functions. He staggered to his feet.
His other two heads hung low, and his six arms dangled limply at his sides.
The blood in his eyes was too little—it could only sustain a very small portion of his physical body's functions. The rest of his body would have to remain dormant for now.
He struggled to move toward the hall's exit. It took him a long while to finally crawl out of the divine hall and reach the edge of the stone steps. His legs gave way, and he tumbled—bump, bump, bump—rolling all the way down the divine mountain.
His rolling speed was naturally no match for the running speed of Tần Mục, Triết Hoa Lê, and the others. This time, it took him the better part of an hour to roll from the mountaintop to the foot.
Xích Khê rested for a long time before climbing to his feet. He moved his body with great difficulty, searching everywhere for water.
Tần Mục was by a lake in the distance, taking out bags of blood-dissolving powder and poisoning the water. When he caught sight of Xích Khê staggering toward him, he hastily scattered the powder into the lake and activated his divine ability. A mass of cloud appeared above the lake's surface, and from within the clouds descended a divine dragon whose tail plunged into the water, churning it vigorously.
Tần Mục waved his hand and sprinted away.
*Xuy—*
Two beams of divine light shot from Xích Khê's eyes, but they failed to hit him. He could only watch helplessly as Tần Mục fled into the distance.
"Water—!"
Xích Khê was consumed by rage. His body swayed, unable to support itself any longer, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground. Gazing at the mountain could exhaust a horse; walking along the lake could exhaust an ox. He had struggled so hard to reach this spot, only to find the lake poisoned by Tần Mục. To make his way to another water source would take a month or two—or even a year or two if his luck was bad.
Just then, thunder rumbled in the sky. The rolling thunder startled Xích Khê awake. He laboriously turned over, looked up at the sky, and opened the mouths of all three heads, joyfully waiting for rain to fall from the heavens.
Dark clouds gathered densely in the sky, lightning and thunder interweaving. The black clouds grew thicker and lower.
Suddenly, from a mountain in the distance, streaks of fire dragons soared into the sky, plunging into the cloud layer and dispersing the rain. After a moment, the sky cleared completely, turning a brilliant blue. The dark clouds transformed into white clouds drifting past.
Xích Khê turned his head with difficulty, and two beams of divine light shot from his eyes, blasting two massive holes into that distant mountain!
"If I ever find you..."
On the other side, after dispersing the rain clouds in the sky, Tần Mục immediately descended the mountain. The mountain behind him had suffered misfortune for no reason, its summit blasted with two gaping holes.
He had recovered considerably by now, though his physical body had not yet returned to its peak state.
"There won't be any more rain for a while now. I should be safe for some time—I can carefully recuperate and study what this little box is actually for."
He transformed into a black shadow hugging the ground, concealing his tracks as he moved far away from this place, doing his utmost to leave no trace whatsoever. This way, even if it rained later and Xích Khê awakened, he wouldn't be able to find Tần Mục's hiding place for some time.
After a long while, Tần Mục emerged from his shadow state, revealing his physical form. He picked up the small box and studied it slowly.
This small box was the core mechanism of the God-Slaying Platform. Its surface was imprinted with various patterns and textures, extremely ancient in appearance—presumably runic marks from the Xích Minh era, vastly different from the runic marks of the present day.
The Dao techniques and divine abilities of the Xích Minh era should differ from those of the present. Tần Mục examined it carefully, attempting to unravel the mysteries of these runic marks. But he had never been exposed to Xích Minh-era runes and was completely ignorant of them, so he had to give up.
Around the small box, there were faint wisps of iridescent light circling it. These lights were harmless to humans and beasts alike. Before obtaining the box, Tần Mục had already tested it with his spiritual weapons—the lights had no destructive power. They should simply be the treasure radiance emanating from whatever was inside the box.
The box had no lock or clasp, yet it was sealed tightly shut, with no place to pry it open.
No matter how Tần Mục tried, he couldn't open the small box. He even struck it several times with his Vô Ưu Sword, but couldn't leave so much as a scratch.
Suddenly, footsteps approached, and a familiar voice reached Tần Mục's ears. It said leisurely: "Brother Tần truly possesses remarkable abilities. Even in such a dangerous situation, you managed to escape. Tề mỗ is impressed."
Tần Mục tucked the small box under his arm and turned around, smiling warmly at Tề Cửu Nghi as he walked toward him.
Although Tề Cửu Nghi still maintained his elegant bearing, he too had lost a portion of his blood and qi to the divine mountain and Xích Khê. He had grown much thinner, but compared to the skeletal Tần Mục before him, he still appeared to have flesh and blood.
Tần Mục had first been drained by Xích Khê, then by the divine mountain. His physical body had been depleted far too much.
Tề Cửu Nghi and Triết Hoa Lê had trapped him in the divine hall for a time, nearly causing his death. The blood and qi he had lost were also greater than what Tề Cửu Nghi and Triết Hoa Lê had lost.
This time, Tề Cửu Nghi approached clearly well-prepared. Behind him stood a towering Thương Ngô tree, flames spreading through it. The phoenix nest in the tree was built from golden straw and parasol tree branches. Within the nest, golden light blazed brilliantly, and a nine-headed phoenix perched inside, its nine heads spitting fire to temper itself.
His great divine ability had reached full maturity—the momentum was already complete.
"Where is Senior Brother Triết Hoa Lê?" Tần Mục looked around and asked.
Tề Cửu Nghi said calmly: "He challenged me and was severely wounded by my hand. He had no choice but to flee. Brother Tần, you probably don't recognize this small box, do you? How about I enlighten you?"
Tần Mục's expression turned solemn: "I would be honored to hear it."
"I don't know what the Xích Minh Heavenly Court called this small box three hundred and fifty thousand years ago, but in our Heavenly Court, this box bears a rather fearsome reputation. It is called the Divine Blade of God-Slaying."
Tề Cửu Nghi halted his steps. The nine-headed phoenix in the nest atop the Thương Ngô tree behind him also raised its heads, its gaze fixed on Tần Mục. Tề Cửu Nghi's gaze, however, fell upon the small box. He said: "As for what this small box is used to hold—Brother Tần, since you've never served as an official in the Heavenly Court, you might not understand. This kind of small box is typically used to hold severed heads."
"Severed heads?"
Tần Mục was surprised. He shook the box, but there was no sound of a head rolling around inside.
Tề Cửu Nghi raised an eyebrow and smiled: "It's used to hold the heads of Đế Tọa-level powerhouses—serving as the divine blade for slaying gods. Brother Tần doesn't know how to open the box. Why not give it to me? I can open it and let Brother Tần have a look."
Tần Mục held the box out with both hands, offering it sincerely: "Take it."
Tề Cửu Nghi's gaze fell upon the small box. He took a long, deep breath, and the Thương Ngô tree behind him suddenly floated upward as he activated his Đế Tọa cultivation technique!
Tần Mục's hands released, and the box clattered to the ground. In his palm beneath the box was a spinning sword pellet.
Tề Cửu Nghi retreated, his body passing through the Thương Ngô tree. The tree surged upward wildly, growing to sixteen zhang in height. The nine-headed phoenix in the nest above screeched, spreading its wings and shooting forward—a streak of flowing light hurtling straight toward Tần Mục!
*Ong—*
The sword light suddenly became blindingly bright. The Khai Kiếp Sword erupted, meeting the nine-headed phoenix head-on. In an instant, sword light and firelight obscured the sunlight in the sky. Sword and fire exploded amidst the mountains, like a miniature sun blazing right next to them—a blindingly bright sphere of light frantically expanding outward!
Tề Cửu Nghi surged forward, forming the Phoenix Seal with his hands and blasting it forward. The Thương Ngô tree followed close behind the nine-headed phoenix, sweeping down with devastating force—irresistible and overwhelming!
— Advance notice: Trại Trư is not exploding with chapters today. After midnight tonight, once this month has passed, then there will be an explosion of chapters. There will be an update after midnight tonight.
PS: I'd like to recommend a new work by Hồng Manh Thụ, "Đỉnh Phong Tiểu Thảo Y" (The Peak Little Grass Doctor). Hồng Manh Thụ is one of the representative authors of the farming/management genre.