Chapter 648: Friend or Foe, Hard to Tell (Third Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets!)
The great ship tossed about like a tiny boat in a violent storm upon a vast ocean, battered up and down by towering waves. Suddenly, one window frame after another burst open, and debris flew whistling out of the ship.
Whoosh—a whole deck snapped off and flew flat outwards. Tần Mục and Linh Dục Tú hastily clung to the pillars of the structure, hearing cracking sounds come from the wood.
"Hold onto my waist!" Tần Mục shouted.
Linh Dục Tú didn't catch what he said: "What?"
"Hold onto my waist—"
This time Linh Dục Tú finally heard him clearly. She immediately let go and wrapped her arms around his waist. Tần Mục felt something soft pressing against his back in two places, quite pleasant, but he had no time to ponder what exactly was so soft. He decisively activated the Thiên Địa Ấn pháp.
Thiên Chuyển Địa Toàn Tâm Bất Dị!
As he executed this seal technique, the violent fluctuations were drawn by his palms and began to spin around him. Tần Mục let out a muffled groan, feeling the pressure between his hands nearly snap his arms, but he had no choice but to keep enduring.
Suddenly, the pillar supporting the structure snapped with a crack, and the entire building flew up flat and tumbled into the starry void.
Linh Dục Tú was startled and hastily clung tightly to Tần Mục.
Tần Mục pushed the Thiên Địa Ấn to its limits, struggling against the ever-strengthening fluctuations. The great ship was still tumbling madly; the phoenix head at the bow had already been snapped off, the deck boards burst apart with sharp popping sounds, flying out continuously, the hull left battered and broken.
Bang—
The cabin door exploded open, and from within the divine ship's cabin came Ban Công Thố's startled cry. Linh Dục Tú heard the sound and thought to herself: "Ban Công Thố really is clever beyond measure, hiding in the cabin so early. Could he have foreseen the danger in advance?"
Ban Công Thố tumbled and rolled inside the cabin, slammed about by the tossing. Suddenly the fluctuations ceased, but the broken ship continued to spin, with no telling when it would stop.
Tần Mục crossed his hands and switched to the Địa Thủy Phong Hỏa Định Ngũ Hành technique from the Thiên Địa Ấn, and the great ship slowly ceased its rotation. His face was flushed red, his skin nearly splitting, but at last he stabilized things.
Tần Mục dispersed the Thiên Địa Ấn, his legs trembling, his hands twitching uncontrollably and unable to lift, his waist muscles feeling torn, pain making him hiss through clenched teeth.
The ship was a wreck. Of the six wings, three pairs were broken, the phoenix head snapped off, the mast toppled, the sails riddled with holes, the upper structure gone, the hull leaking air from every side—even the air inside the ship was rapidly escaping. It seemed the ship's nguyên khí shield had ruptured.
Tần Mục struggled to his feet and sprinted along the ship's nguyên khí shield, patching the cracks. After a moment, he landed and let out a sigh of relief: "That should hold for a while. I wonder how Sơ Tổ is doing... Tú muội, you can let go now."
Linh Dục Tú hastily released his waist, her face flushed red.
When Tần Mục had been sprinting along the ship's nguyên khí shield just now, she had held onto his waist without letting go, letting him drag her along for the whole circuit.
Tần Mục suppressed the aches across his body and tried to get his bearings, but this was unfamiliar starry space—no up or down, no distinction of six directions. And when he looked into the distance, he couldn't see where Sơ Tổ and Đại Nhật Tinh Quân's battlefield was!
Not only could he not find the battlefield, he couldn't even see the sun the ship had been circling earlier!
Tần Mục's heart turned cold. He grabbed the Trí Tuệ Châu hanging around his neck, flicked it a couple of times to steady his mind, and said: "We shouldn't move about recklessly right now. Best to stay put and quietly wait for Sơ Tổ or Xích Khê to find us."
Linh Dục Tú looked around and murmured: "What if they can't find us? What if..."
"If they can't find us, our air will run out before long."
Tần Mục took out a handful of medicinal herb seeds, then rummaged through his Thao Thiết bag for some soil. He scattered the seeds in the dirt and activated Tạo Hóa Địa Nguyên Công. To his surprise, the seeds sprouted and took root at astonishing speed, and soon a small medicinal garden grew across the surviving deck.
He spread his five fingers, and a ball of fire rose from his palm—a miniature sun formed from pure yang energy—using its light to shine upon the lush green herbs. His pure yang energy was far more abundant than others' because, before crossing forty thousand years, he had encountered a dead god-demon from the Thượng Hoàng era who gifted him two strands of divine energy: one pure yang, one pure yin.
Tần Mục raised a miniature moon in his other hand and said softly: "Let's hope this lets us hold out a while longer."
Ban Công Thố crawled out of the cabin and saw that he had even packed a pile of dirt in his Thao Thiết bag, and blurted out: "Tần giáo chủ, you even carry dirt in your Thao Thiết bag?"
"Better safe than sorry."
Tần Mục released his palms, and the tiny sun and moon revolved around the medicinal garden. He said: "I was worried I might end up in a desert or somewhere I couldn't grow herbs, so I prepared some. Never thought I'd use it here."
Ban Công Thố's expression turned strange, and he sighed: "Now I know why I could never kill you."
Tần Mục endured the pain in his body and smiled: "You've never once beaten me, so how can you talk about killing me?"
Ban Công Thố's face darkened and he said no more, nor did he dare make a move.
Tần Mục mused: "Three of us consuming air is slower than two of us. So..."
Ban Công Thố's face changed drastically, and he was about to flee when suddenly the great ship lurched downward. The three of them hastily turned to look and their faces turned ashen. There stood Đại Nhật Tinh Quân at the stern, his body riddled with holes, wings broken, leg lame, covered in wounds, two of his three eyes seemingly blinded—a miserable sight.
"Cough, cough!"
He coughed violently and spat out a glob of fiery phlegm that continued burning upon landing, setting a patch of the divine ship alight.
"Such formidable Khai Hoàng divine abilities—"
Đại Nhật Tinh Quân winced as he drew breath, blood streaming from his wounds, and chuckled darkly: "That nearly cost me my life. But nearly isn't quite. What was I saying just now? Ah, right. You're already dead."
His single remaining eye opened wide, and within it seemed to brew a great sun of divine fire!
Tần Mục hastily grabbed the small box, and without a word of explanation, opened it. Two beams of red light shot toward Đại Nhật Tinh Quân!
Đại Nhật Tinh Quân's tattered wings suddenly wrapped around his body. The two beams of blood-red light swept around him, severing countless feathers, blood bursting forth.
"It hurts—" came Đại Nhật Tinh Quân's furious and startled voice from within the feathers.
Tần Mục's heart turned cold. The Trảm Thần Huyền Đao couldn't even kill this severely wounded Đại Nhật Tinh Quân. What made it even more despairing was—if Đại Nhật Tinh Quân was here, did that mean Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng had already fallen in battle?
The two red beams returned without success, and the box snapped shut with a click.
"Without the Trảm Thần Đài, a mere Trảm Thần Huyền Đao can't do anything to me."
Đại Nhật Tinh Quân spread his wings, blood pouring from both. Where his blood fell on the deck, it immediately ignited, and the stern was now fully engulfed in divine fire.
The air was being consumed at terrifying speed, and soon both Tần Mục and Linh Dục Tú were struggling to breathe.
Đại Nhật Tinh Quân strode forward, panting: "To kill a Đế Tọa powerhouse's head, you need a Đế Tọa powerhouse's Trảm Thần Đài to unleash a killing blow. Unfortunately, you never got your hands on that divine mountain. Now, you can die..."
Suddenly, the great ship gave another slight tremor. Đại Nhật Tinh Quân's body stiffened, and he twisted his neck to look behind him. There, within the divine fire at his rear, a tall, slender figure walked out from amidst the flames, holding a divine sword, its tip angled toward the deck.
Wherever the sword tip passed, the divine fire immediately extinguished, leaving only pools of golden blood.
"You're still alive?"
Đại Nhật Tinh Quân's single eye filled with terror. He retreated slowly, then suddenly spread his wings and launched into the air, a pained shriek escaping his throat as his body shot away like a streak of light into the distance.
Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng's face was sallow. He suddenly raised a hand and struck, murmuring: "Tạo Hóa Thanh Nguyên!"
The great ship suddenly revived like a withered tree meeting spring. The wooden structure of the ship rapidly sprouted roots and branches, and in the blink of an eye, towering trees burst forth in every direction, quickly turning into something like a primeval forest!
The ship became like a small planet covered in trees on all sides, drifting lonely through the starry void.
Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng walked over to Tần Mục and the others and said calmly: "Xích Khê đạo hữu, how long will you keep hiding? If you had struck just now, you could have fought Đại Nhật Tinh Quân to the death instead of letting him escape."
After a moment, Xích Khê suddenly appeared at the bow, holding the Trấn Thiên Lâu, his three faces and six eyes fixed on Sơ Tổ. He said: "I too am badly wounded. I could have fought him to the death, but even if I killed him, I wouldn't survive either. Since he's fled, he won't dare come back, and even if he did, he couldn't catch us. We've achieved our goal; there's no need to take risks. How are your injuries?"
There was a note of concern in his tone, but Tần Mục's heart tightened: "Xích Khê asking that question right now bodes ill! If he kills Sơ Tổ, Xích Minh can swallow Diên Khang with ease! Xích Khê is contemplating murder!"
The reason Xích Khê was willing to ally with Diên Khang was precisely because Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng existed, giving Diên Khang the strength to form an alliance with the Xích Minh thần triều.
And if Sơ Tổ died, there would be no need for an alliance—he could simply annex Diên Khang outright!
Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng said calmly: "How heavy my injuries are—you can find out by testing me."
Tần Mục grabbed the small box and smiled: "Xích Khê tiền bối, we're still allies after all. Turning on each other wouldn't look good."
Xích Khê stared at the small box in his hand, then suddenly smiled: "Well said. I was only expressing concern, no ill intent. Disciple, come over here."
Ban Công Thố walked over and said in a low voice: "Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng's injuries are severe. If we can seize the Trảm Thần Huyền Đao, they'll be at our mercy!"
Xích Khê shook his head: "I know his injuries are heavy, but mine aren't light either. I have no confidence in facing the Trảm Thần Huyền Đao. Wait until my injuries recover somewhat, then we'll talk."
Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng sat down heavily. Tần Mục carefully examined his wounds and frowned slightly.
Sơ Tổ's injuries were extremely severe—like a porcelain vase about to shatter into pieces. It should have been the Thiên Khuynh Tam Thức that caused this damage.
The Thiên Khuynh Tam Thức was a divine ability with a strong self-destructive tendency. Tần Mục didn't know how many moves Sơ Tổ had used, but the damage to both his physical body and primordial spirit was grave, with cracks even in his thần tàng and the celestial palaces at the end of the thần kiều.
The most severe injury Tần Mục had ever treated was the one Diên Khang Quốc Sư suffered in his battle with Thượng Thương Ngọc Quân, but back then the Quốc Sư's celestial palaces hadn't been damaged. Now Sơ Tổ Nhân Hoàng's celestial palaces were injured.
How to deliver medicinal power to the celestial palaces and heal the damage there—that was still uncharted territory for Tần Mục.
"All I can do is treat this as a last resort—heal his other injuries first, and figure out the celestial palace damage later."
Tần Mục handed the small box to Linh Dục Tú and taught her how to open it to release the Trảm Thần Huyền Đao. He said in a low voice: "If Xích Khê starts walking this way, open the box without a moment's hesitation!"
Linh Dục Tú nodded firmly, clutching the box, and began practicing the opening technique Tần Mục had taught her.
Tần Mục took a long breath and immediately began preparing herbs and refining spiritual pills!
————Third update is here, asking for monthly tickets!
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Three chapters posted today, and my heart is full of emotion. Trại Trư has finally become a Bạch Kim author.
Yeah, I don't know what to say. Let me gather my thoughts and words...
...
Okay!
When my editor-in-chief told me I was to sign the Bạch Kim contract, I didn't believe it. I asked several times: really, really?
The truth is, I lack a bit of self-confidence. I don't interact with people much—I just bury my head in writing, studying how to improve myself. Whatever success Mục Thần Ký has achieved is all thanks to the unwavering support of old and new readers alike. Everyone can see that this is a pig who buries his head in writing and doesn't like to socialize.
Trại Trư can still clearly see all sorts of flaws in his writing. I have a mind to settle down, to improve, to refine myself, and I feel that calling myself Bạch Kim is a bit of an overstatement, too much praise.
This Bạch Kim author title was really lifted up by all you old and new readers. Thank you for your support!
Trại Trư's heart surges with emotion—a thousand words and ten thousand feelings, yet I struggle with long thoughts and short words, unable to express them. All I can say is...
Thank you, everyone!
Always grateful!