Chapter 854: One Sword Ascends to the Heavens
The Heavenly Dragon King's head was incomparably enormous, suspended between the two of them. This dragon king's head had already undergone corpse transformation, turning a sickly green—even the long dragon whiskers had turned green, covered in dripping, slimy corpse fluid.
Qin Mu and "Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s divine powers erupted across the Heavenly Dragon King's head. Qin Mu raised his hand, grabbing a flying sword that circled around him, and thrust it forward. Countless flying swords orbiting him moved with that single thrust, the tide of swords skimming past the Heavenly Dragon King's head, every sword contaminated with corpse poison.
When his flying swords reached the other side of the Heavenly Dragon King's head, the green sword tide transformed into a sword formation, engulfing "Ngự Thiên Tôn."
At the same moment, "Ngự Thiên Tôn" directly employed Heavenly Dao divine powers—the Heavenly Dao's forty-nine aspects, forty-nine different Heavenly Daos he activated, manifesting as forty-nine different forms of divine power.
Countless gods and demons resided upon Huyền Đô Thiên Công's body, observing and measuring day and night. The Heavenly Dao divine powers had already been largely deciphered by the Heavenly Court. Even Thiên Công's body had been reconstructed by the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Dao divine powers had been deduced as well.
Qin Mu had only derived the Heavenly Fire Great Dao from the fire prism crystal, but the Heavenly Court had long since deduced all the other different Heavenly Daos. The only shortcoming was that the Heavenly Court's Heavenly Dao was constructed using macroscopic mathematics, lacking the microscopic level of construction.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s Heavenly Dao divine powers split into different forms—Heavenly Net like a web, Heavenly Fire Crystal Tower, Heavenly Prayer like a boat, Heavenly Chronicle like a stele, Heavenly Vault like a canopy, Heavenly Sun like a blazing orb, Heavenly Yin like the moon, Heavenly Abyss like a chasm. Suddenly, all the various Heavenly Dao divine powers converged into a single seal. The dense runes forming the divine power let out a *shua* sound as they passed straight through the Heavenly Dragon King's head, seemingly encountering no obstruction at all, and blasted directly toward Qin Mu!
Their divine powers did not meet each other—instead, both attacked the other's main body first, determined to eliminate the opponent in the first instant.
Because between them still lay the Heavenly Dragon King's corpse-transformed head. Although the Heavenly Dragon King was currently in a daze, having become a corpse fiend, his strength remained.
If the corpse fiend attacked them, no one could withstand it. Therefore, eliminating the opponent first was the only way to ensure one's own safe retreat.
The Heavenly Dao Seal seemed like Thiên Công himself descending—an overwhelming, heaven-shaking, invincible presence!
On this side of the Heavenly Dragon King's head, Qin Mu faced the great Heavenly Dao divine power directly. Suddenly he tore off the willow leaf at his brow, and his third eye opened, its gaze deep as an abyss.
"Wherever my body stands—that is U Đô!"
Violent U Đô darkness and demonic qi surged forth. In an instant, he seemed to sink into the darkness of U Đô. Flames blazed atop Qin Mu's head—two demonic horns formed from Cửu U Hoàng Tuyền.
He was like Thổ Bá emerging from U Đô, stirring the Great Dao of U Đô. The Dao rules of U Đô transformed into countless chains that wrapped around his body.
Qin Mu, bearing the chains, reached out his great hand to meet the Heavenly Dao Seal!
On the other side, the sword formation's power erupted. Countless flying swords leaped at bizarre frequencies—every strike was the second form of the Tribulation Sword, Đề Kiếp—yet all the flying swords vanished and reappeared, the tribulations they formed composing different formations!
His sword Dao had two chapters: Khai Kiếp and Đề Kiếp, each containing different insights into the sword Dao.
Originally, the Khai Kiếp Sword and Đề Kiếp Sword were extremely simple. Though the principles they contained were profound, the sword techniques were minimalist to the extreme.
Now, any single flying sword executing Đề Kiếp was also extremely simple and minimal—yet when different Đề Kiếp sword techniques combined, they formed an extremely complex sword formation!
Moreover, the sword formation formed after each leap was completely different!
This was precisely the fruit of his recent days studying the Diên Khang reforms under the Blind Man.
The Diên Khang reforms had achieved much in the way of formation Dao, and this achievement was built upon the foundation of formation achievements from the Khai Hoàng era.
The Blind Man was the great synthesizer of Diên Khang formations. He led the reform of formation Dao in Diên Khang, working with many like-minded individuals to apply formation Dao to the people's livelihood, improving their lives.
Qin Mu, however, applied formation Dao to his own techniques and divine powers, adding formation variations to the Đề Kiếp Sword.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" was trapped in the ever-changing Đề Kiếp sword formation. Suddenly his aura shifted dramatically—behind him, a divine bridge spanned the sky, his primordial spirit standing at the bridge's end, before the Southern Heavenly Gate.
Behind him, layer upon layer of heavenly palaces materialized, forming a vast Heavenly Court, golden light blazing and filling the clouds.
The Heavenly Court's thirty-six heavens, seventy-two halls—the highest of the seventy-two precious halls being the Linh Tiêu Precious Hall.
There, light and flames layered thickly, countless visions churned, manifesting as an ancient god—the Heavenly Emperor—seated in majesty, towering between heaven and earth.
"Lord of Ten Thousand Daos, Ten Thousand Daos Return to One!"
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" raised his hand in a seal, meeting Qin Mu's Đề Kiếp sword formation. The formation's power erupted, yet when it met this divine power, the formation's might seemed to sink into quicksand. Countless flying swords were frozen in place, and the formation immediately scattered.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s divine power exploded, shattering the sword formation formed by countless flying swords into fragments.
After breaking the formation, "Ngự Thiên Tôn" leaped into the air—only to see the Heavenly Dragon King's green dragon whiskers curling toward him, passing perilously close as they whipped past.
On the other side, Qin Mu smashed through his great Heavenly Dao divine power with raw force, then turned sideways. His body suddenly became extremely flat, standing there like a black line, merging with the darkness.
The Heavenly Dragon King's thick dragon whiskers pierced through with a *chi chi* sound, not touching him in the slightest.
The dragon king's enormous head rolled its eyeballs back and forth, stopping before this black line—but it could not see where Qin Mu was.
This technique was something Qin Mu had learned from Ban Công Thác. In the arts of escape and disguise, Ban Công Thác was unmatched in the world, second to none.
"Ah, right—you're still the U Đô Thần Tử."
On the Heavenly Dragon King's head, "Ngự Thiên Tôn" sprinted over, laughing: "Using U Đô Great Dao to counter the Heavenly Dao—that's not difficult for you."
The Heavenly Dragon King's whiskers abandoned Qin Mu and stabbed toward the "Ngự Thiên Tôn" running across his own head.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s form moved like a ghost, dodging the attacks of one whisker after another. Those whiskers could be soft or hard—they actually pierced through patches of dragon scales, exposing the rotting flesh beneath.
At the same time, the scattered flying swords suddenly came whistling back. A palm reached out from the black line, striking heavily against the flying swords. The corpse poison on the swords flew backward, revealing the gleaming bodies of the blades.
*Ding ding ding*—the sounds of collision rang without end. The flying swords returned, forming into a sword orb, which Qin Mu caught in his hand.
The Heavenly Dragon King's head charged forward, opening its massive mouth. Stinking corpse qi blasted out as it swallowed Qin Mu in one gulp. Just as it drew him into its mouth, teleportation runes exploded.
By the time its massive jaws closed, teleportation light flashed—Qin Mu had vanished.
The next moment, behind "Ngự Thiên Tôn" who was still running across the Heavenly Dragon King's head, light suddenly flashed. Qin Mu thrust his sword toward his opponent's back.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s body transformed abruptly, becoming bird-headed with a human body. Behind his head, a great solar halo descended—the great sun itself sinking down. Qin Mu's sword pierced into the solar halo, and the divine sword was instantly heated to a red glow, streams of molten gold and iron dripping from it.
Qin Mu pushed off with both feet, driving the sword forward. "Ngự Thiên Tôn" strained under the pressure, sprinting ahead.
The two raced across the corpse-transformed dragon king's head, every step heavy and weighty.
Qin Mu's body shook. Two more heads rapidly grew from his shoulders, and four additional arms emerged from his armpits. His palms transformed through a thousand changes, ultimately forming sword fingers, each pressing against his brow.
First form of the Tribulation Sword—Khai Kiếp.
His sword fingers thrust out. Three sword fingers each pressed against the divine sword, and the sword's power erupted instantly.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" grunted. The solar halo was pierced through. Suddenly his body transformed again—becoming a goddess.
He had been facing away from Qin Mu, but as he transformed into the goddess, his head, body, and limbs all twisted backward simultaneously, becoming a bizarre form facing Qin Mu directly.
"Her" hands clamped down on the divine sword thrusting toward her chest, and between her hands formed a bottomless abyss.
The Quy Khư Abyss.
This was a massive vortex spinning madly in the darkness, unfathomably deep. Qin Mu's Khai Kiếp Sword sank into the abyss with a *chi* sound, dragging Qin Mu himself in!
He was swallowed by the Quy Khư divine power. Around him, countless runes spun as he once again employed teleportation divine power to fly out.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" raised a hand to the sky. Countless starlights exploded in the heavens, myriad stars converging into a river of stars, forming a heavenly net.
Qin Mu's form had just emerged from the teleportation stream of light when he was immediately caught by the heavenly net, unable to break free for a moment.
He employed teleportation divine power again—but suddenly lightning flashed and thunder roared, and he was caught by the heavenly net once more.
His form flickered and dodged repeatedly, yet time and again he was captured by the heavenly net.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s hands flew in complex motions. The heavenly net wove tighter and denser, countless starlights converging, growing more concentrated. Qin Mu flickered within the net, the space he could maneuver growing narrower and narrower.
"Who could possibly master all the divine powers of the ancient gods' Great Daos?"
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" suddenly transformed into the Khuê Mộc Lang Star Lord—wolf-headed with a human body—leaping into the air, dodging the Heavenly Dragon King's whisker attacks, and charging straight for Qin Mu, laughing: "Only I! Only this fleshly body! Heavenly Wolf Howling at the Moon!"
He let out a long, piercing howl. Light from his mouth converged into a torrent, blasting toward Qin Mu trapped in the heavenly net.
The divine sword in Qin Mu's hand suddenly transformed into a golden brush. The brush swept across, painting a gate within the heavenly net. Opening the gate, he stepped through and fled.
The Heavenly Wolf Howling at the Moon divine power blasted into the gate—vanishing without a sound.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" was surprised. He flew into the gate, laughing: "The lower realm's Dao divine powers are getting more and more interesting."
Just as he charged into the gate, the Heavenly Dragon King's whiskers also pierced through. Then the whiskers hooked onto both sides of the gate, and the Heavenly Dragon King's big green head squeezed into the doorway, cackling: "I see you two!"
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" leaped up, transforming into a Chu Tước—a Vermilion Bird with wings spanning hundreds of trượng—soaring through the air, dodging the Heavenly Dragon King's attack. Ahead, he saw Qin Mu holding the golden brush, sweeping it across. A stretch of heavenly palaces emerged from his strokes.
Qin Mu ran swiftly through the heavenly palaces, his brush moving like a dragon serpent, still charging forward. With each sweep of his golden brush, layers upon layers of space manifested ahead of him.
Then, a heavenly river flowed from beneath his brush—a torrent of great water crashing down from the sky, roaring and surging, rushing straight toward the Chu Tước that "Ngự Thiên Tôn" had become.
The Chu Tước's flight was too fast to dodge. Suddenly its body spun—by the time the heavenly river reached it, it had transformed from Chu Tước into Huyền Vũ. The black tortoise roared, treading the river as it charged forward, the Đằng Xà coiling around its body, wings vibrating—its speed even greater.
Behind him, the Heavenly Dragon King's corpse-transformed head was struck by the heavenly river, its face drenched with water.
The Heavenly Dragon King flew into a rage. Opening its massive mouth, it inhaled forcefully—the heavenly river flowed out from beneath its neck.
The Heavenly Dragon King opened its mouth wide, charging forward along the river's current.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" was about to catch up to Qin Mu when suddenly he saw Qin Mu paint a heavenly shuttle. Leaping into it, the shuttle—pointed at both ends—whistled into the air.
Inside the shuttle, Qin Mu wielded his brush. A colossal, majestic deity took shape beneath his strokes.
That was the Heavenly Emperor.
When Qin Mu painted the Heavenly Emperor's eyes, he lifted the eye open and rode the shuttle, charging inside.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" tried to follow him in—only to crash against the Heavenly Emperor's eye.
"Where did he go?"
"Ngự Thiên Tôn"'s heart jolted. Behind him, the Heavenly Dragon King's massive head came charging.
Qin Mu's form appeared within the hanging coffin. He leaped down from the heavenly shuttle and turned around—behind him hung a Heavenly Palace painting, standing upright in the darkness, shimmering with faint light.
Qin Mu shook the brush in his hand. The brush transformed into a sword orb, then the sword orb burst open, forming an ocean of swords spread around the Heavenly Palace painting.
Qin Mu's body shifted, transforming into the U Đô Thần Tử form. Darkness spread everywhere.
He reached out his hand, grabbed the Heavenly Palace painting, and gave it a violent shake—the space within the painting instantly annihilated!
At the same moment the painting annihilated, the sword formation's power erupted. From within the formation came the roars of the Heavenly Dragon King and "Ngự Thiên Tôn." Sword light surged like tides, engulfing them—yet the two figures flickered in and out of visibility within the sword light, about to break free of the formation!
Suddenly, the Heavenly Dragon King's corpse-transformed head burst out of the sword formation, rolling and tumbling, heading off in some unknown direction.
"Ngự Thiên Tôn" followed closely behind the Heavenly Dragon King, charging out of the formation right after him. The moment he emerged, his body stiffened—he sensed the killing intent behind him.
He whirled around. There stood Qin Mu, the heavenly river surging behind him, heavenly palaces faintly visible. Qin Mu's primordial spirit stood upon the heavenly river, holding a precious sword, riding the river's torrent down from the heavens—one sword strike descending!
When "Ngự Thiên Tôn" saw the sword light, it had already reached his brow. By the time he could see its full form, Qin Mu's primordial spirit had already pierced through his skull in a single thrust, appearing behind him.
————End of the month! Don't hold onto your monthly tickets! Mục Thần Ký begs for monthly tickets—if no monthly tickets, recommendation tickets work too——