"Qin my ass!"
Qin Mu thrust his sword forward, and immediately the Eight Thousand Swords all moved. The flying swords descended upon Ban Gongcuo like a tidal wave, and he growled viciously: "Qin Gongcuo, I'll never coexist under the same sky with you!"
"Qin Gongcuo? Why is he calling me Qin Gongcuo?"
Ban Gongcuo was stunned, but before he could think too much, he immediately slapped the waist pouch. He also had a gluttonous beast bag at his waist. The Taotie bag opened, and a great banner leaped out. He caught it in his hand and flipped it over, shaking the banner. Countless locusts flew out from the long banner, swirling around him before heading toward Qin Mu's rain of swords.
Those locusts actually turned mid-air, diving onto Qin Mu's flying swords, gnawing and crunching away—but they couldn't bite through them.
Qin Mu had forged the Eight Thousand Swords using almost the finest materials from the Heavenly Demon Cult. Although most of the Eight Thousand Swords were made of Mystic Gold, every single sword had been crafted by Qin Mu himself, a master weapon smith. During the tempering process, he had added the finest metals—materials superior even to the Shao Bao Sword carried by a first-rank minister.
Though Qin Mu's cultivation limited him from raising the power of the Eight Thousand Swords to the level of the Shao Bao Sword, in terms of hardness alone, every one of the Eight Thousand Swords was in no way inferior to the Shao Bao Sword.
Qin Mu drove his sword force, slashing at those locusts. A constant clanging sound rang out, sparks flying everywhere. His swords still couldn't wound these flying locusts. A jolt of surprise ran through his heart: "This fellow has quite the collection of treasures!"
His own Taotie bag had been stolen from the Loulan Golden Palace. He had looted countless treasures from the Loulan Golden Palace, but Ban Gongcuo, as the Great Sovereign of the Loulan Golden Palace, held a status far above even the Sorcerer Lords, with his own personal treasury that Qin Mu had never pillaged.
His spiritual weapons were of many types. These locusts were actually from the Insect Hall of the Heavenly Demon Cult's Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra—a wondrous treasure created through the art of refining gu insects.
In one of his past lives, he had joined the Heavenly Demon Cult and learned the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, though he had not obtained the Grand Unification Technique. However, he had studied all the various techniques within the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra.
The gu insects in his Taotie bag were sect-guarding treasures, further refined by integrating the soul cultivation methods from the Loulan Golden Palace. Each type of gu insect had been refined by him to attack not only the enemy's physical body but also their soul. The Sorcerer Lord Louluo Sutra of the Golden Palace contained techniques for soul insect attacks, which had actually drawn upon the gu insect dao from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra.
His flying locusts were harder than iron throughout, and in his previous life, he had refined them to be able to grow large or small at will. Ordinary spiritual weapons encountering these flying locusts would be devoured completely, without a single scrap remaining.
Moreover, the flying locusts contained soul-attacking sorcery, skilled at corrupting the spiritual weapons of others. Once a spiritual weapon was tainted by the sorcery, its master would lose control over it, leaving them at his mercy.
Most importantly, activating other sect-guarding treasures consumed enormous amounts of cultivation energy, but the flying locusts required relatively little. That was why he had immediately deployed this treasure the moment he clashed with Qin Mu.
He knew Qin Mu's cultivation energy was extraordinarily vast, even surpassing his own. Even though he had reincarnated and retrained, his cultivation speed far exceeding Qin Mu's, he still dared not be arrogant enough to believe he could outmatch Qin Mu in cultivation power.
Qin Mu had many flying swords, and Ban Gongcuo's locusts were equally numerous. Both of them were actually using sword techniques, sword style clashing against sword style. Qin Mu employed the Dao Sect's sword technique—the Third Chapter of the Dao Sword. Ban Gongcuo, surprisingly, also used the Third Chapter of the Dao Sword!
The five-colored auspicious clouds enveloped them, and celestial melodies rang from the three heavens above!
Identical moves, the same sword technique—in the hands of Dao Sect disciples, it would be ethereal and transcendent, free of any worldly dust.
But when executed by these two, neither the sword qi nor the locusts carried a trace of celestial grace. Qin Mu's sword light was domineering; the Eight Thousand Swords formed five-colored auspicious clouds, with the Three Principles and Five Forces being overwhelmingly powerful. The clash of flying swords bore no semblance of celestial rhythm—instead, it sounded like thundering war drums, clashing arms, and killing intent that shot straight up to the stars!
And Ban Gongcuo, using sorcery to drive the Third Chapter of the Dao Sword, transformed the flying locusts into clouds. The five-colored spectacle was suffused with rolling demonic energy, appearing like various poisons spreading through the air. Combined with the eerie sorcery and venom, and the bizarre screeching of the locusts, it utterly ruined the celestial melody.
Rumble!
The power of the Third Chapter of the Dao Sword erupted as the swords and locusts collided, unleashing the full force of their techniques. Both men's bodies shook violently as they were thrown backward, slamming hard against the bridge walls, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
"Qin Gongcuo, your time has come!"
Qin Mu shook his body free from the wall, raising both hands high and bringing them together above his head. His little finger and ring finger interlocked, while his middle and index fingers stood straight, his thumb tucked inward—forming a sword seal.
The Worry-Free Sword flew over instantly, its tip pointing upward. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the Eight Thousand Swords came howling, assembling into one massive sword. The Eight Thousand Swords used the Worry-Free Sword as their core, spinning and orbiting ceaselessly as both the drilling sword form and the cleaving sword form were unleashed simultaneously.
Qin Mu brought both hands down in a slashing motion. Whoosh—
A massive sword thundered down upon Ban Gongcuo!
"Lord Qin, with so many swords to control, I'm afraid your cultivation might fall short, no?" Ban Gongcuo held the Ten Thousand Locust Banner, shaking it left and right. Countless flying locusts flew back, the rear locusts climbing onto the backs of the front ones, forming a great shield. The swords collided with the locusts, and the sword techniques shifted. Countless swords spun and whirled, transforming into the circling sword form. The locusts had been refined to be as hard as steel, impervious to the drilling form, but the circling sword form slipped through the gaps, thrusting toward Ban Gongcuo behind the shield.
"Qin Gongcuo, your mana is running low too, isn't it?" Qin Mu growled viciously.
Ban Gongcuo was inwardly baffled: "Why does this brat keep calling me Qin Gongcuo? My surname isn't Qin... strange..."
What he didn't know was that the owner of this ship bore the surname Qin—from the Qin clan of the Land of Carefree. And that terrifying being with eyes spaced two hundred and sixty-four zhang apart, standing guard here, was waiting for someone from the Land of Carefree!
Qin Mu had only just managed to deceive that horrifying entity, pretending to be some hapless explorer who had stumbled into this place by accident. He was about to leave this trap when Ban Gongcuo just had to call him "Lord Qin"—that was practically pushing him straight into the fire!
So Qin Mu decided they might as well suffer together. If there was blame to bear, they'd both wear it, and he deliberately called Ban Gongcuo "Qin Gongcuo"—all based on the reasoning that if they were going to die, they might as well die together.
But Qin Mu wasn't entirely wrong. Ban Gongcuo's mana was indeed running thin. Though the Ten Thousand Locust Banner required relatively little cultivation to activate, a sect-guarding treasure was still a sect-guarding treasure. It consumed less energy, true, but he was still only at the Six Harmonies realm, and driving a Divine Bridge-realm treasure was still a strain.
Having just clashed with Qin Mu using the Third Chapter of the Dao Sword, his vital energy was already seventy to eighty percent depleted. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to use the Ten Thousand Locust Banner as a shield to block Qin Mu's sword strikes.
And Qin Mu's losses were equally staggering, or he wouldn't have resorted to only using basic sword forms like the drilling, cleaving, and circling forms instead of unleashing a devastating move like the Dao Sword to overpower him head-on.
Both men controlled their spiritual weapons with tremendous effort, yet each weapon's power was terrifyingly immense, far exceeding the bounds of the Six Harmonies realm. The slightest slip in defense against the opponent's weapon would mean an excruciating death. They were both stuck on the tiger's back with no way down, forced to pour every last shred of their vital energy into the fight.
"Qin Gongcuo, can't you just let me pass?" Qin Mu gritted his teeth. His cultivation energy couldn't sustain control of so many precious swords—thousands of them clattered down, embedding into the floor and walls of the bridge.
But during his attacks, hundreds of flying swords still rose continuously, executing various sword techniques with fierce precision.
Ban Gongcuo couldn't control that many locusts either. Thousands of locusts fell to the ground, and he didn't have enough vital energy to make them all fly again, so he could only control a few hundred to meet Qin Mu head-on.
"As long as Lord Qin removes the helmet from his head, I'll let you live!" Ban Gongcuo sneered.
Both men could control fewer and fewer of their spiritual weapons. Suddenly, Qin Mu activated the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, transforming his body into a great Buddha, engaging Ban Gongcuo in close combat. A great palm seal descended, and behind him appeared eight layers of divine Buddhas. The Buddha's voice rang out clear and resonant.
The first of the Eight Thunder Sound forms: Alone in the Eastern Sea, Carrying the Spring Thunder!
"Invincible Diamond!"
Ban Gongcuo sneered, also activating the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, channeling the Diamond Invincible Victory technique within it. His entire body gleamed with gilded light, like a Dharma-protecting Vajra, as he exchanged a hard blow with Qin Mu.
He had studied both the techniques and divine abilities of the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, while Qin Mu had only learned the techniques—so in terms of divine abilities, Qin Mu was definitely inferior. Yet despite using the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, Qin Mu's legwork suddenly shifted. His kicks became unpredictable and ghostlike, his body moving like a phantom as he spun frantically around Ban Gongcuo!
Caught off guard, Ban Gongcuo took a knee strike to the groin. He was immediately doubled over in pain, tears streaming down his face, gasping sharply.
Pop, pop, pop—Qin Mu unleashed countless kicks to his face, driving him backward until his body was pressed against the wall. Just as it seemed Ban Gongcuo was about to die, his body suddenly transformed into a shadow, sliding along the wall. He had deployed the Shadow Demon Phantom technique from the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, dodging Qin Mu's Heaven-Stealing divine kick.
Qin Mu, elated, dashed toward the cabin door while simultaneously controlling his swords by qi. With a thought, hundreds of swords stabbed toward the shadow on the wall in unison. He had just reached the cabin door and was about to fling it open and rush out when his feet were suddenly pinned down. Ban Gongcuo had used his locusts to block Qin Mu's flying swords, then kept his shadow close to the ground, extending two black shadow hands to grab Qin Mu's ankles.
"Lord Qin, leave the helmet behind!"
Ban Gongcuo pulled hard, and Qin Mu's body immediately turned into a black shadow, pressed against the ground as well. Both of them activated the Shadow Demon Phantom technique, becoming two shadows, flickering along the walls and floor, striking at each other with lethal intent.
Boom!
The bridge wall shook violently. Ban Gongcuo was blasted out of the wall, his form reverting from shadow to solid. He immediately sent his locusts to gnaw at the shadow of Qin Mu on the wall.
Qin Mu moved swiftly across the wall, then suddenly dropped down from the ceiling. His feet remained as shadows, but his body was restored to normal. A single palm seal descended, sending Ban Gongcuo tumbling.
Ban Gongcuo leaped to his feet but didn't attack. Instead, he stared blankly behind Qin Mu, beads of sweat rolling from his forehead.
Qin Mu was about to charge at him when he suddenly felt something was wrong—his body went rigid as he sensed two terrifying gazes falling upon him.
Involuntarily, he dismissed the Shadow Demon Phantom technique and landed on the ground. With great difficulty, he turned his head to look.
Outside the bridge, in the darkness, two enormous eyes had materialized—one on the left side of the bridge, one on the right, two hundred and sixty-four zhang apart.
These two eyes had vertically slit pupils, eerie and sinister, their gazes fixed upon the two of them.
Ban Gongcuo's body trembled, his legs shaking, his voice hoarse: "Lord Qin, now I understand why you wanted to leave this place..."
"You motherf***ing Qin Gongcuo!"
Qin Mu gritted his teeth: "If it weren't for you, I would have left long ago!"
From beneath those two pupils came a deeply unpleasant sound, like fingernails scratching against steel: "Which one of you is surnamed Qin?"
"Him!" Qin Mu and Ban Gongcuo simultaneously raised their hands, pointing at each other.