Chapter 547: Qin Mu's Nightmare

Qin Mu was overjoyed. His purpose in coming here was to travel, witness the power of the divine arts practitioners in the great world, learn from others' strengths, and grow strong enough to contend with the Human Emperor.

The demon divine arts practitioners in Supreme Emperor Heaven were numerous and skilled, making them excellent opponents for exchanging techniques!

Furthermore, with Black Tiger God, a deity, present, there was no need to worry about being unable to escape if they encountered a demon god.

Black Tiger God's speed was incredibly fast; even if facing three to five demon gods, he could calmly retreat.

Moreover, with Black Tiger God's statement, even if trouble arose, Black Tiger God would take the blame, not Great Cult Master Qin.

Sang Hua and Yu He also relaxed. With Black Tiger God, a deity, by their side, their journey would certainly be safe.

The group immediately descended the city wall. Yu He, bold yet meticulous, and more mature than Sang Hua, said, "Venerable Tiger, we are heading into demon territory this time. It would be best if you didn't release your aura, otherwise demon gods might intercept us. It's better to pretend to be an ordinary divine arts practitioner. The reason the gods of Supreme Emperor Heaven cannot enter demon territory is that demon gods are extremely sensitive to the aura of deities."

Black Tiger God reined in his aura and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't give myself away and attract demon gods. This is your training; I'll just watch from the sidelines and won't interfere."

They moved quickly; even lower-level divine arts practitioners could keep up. Because Sang Hua and Yu He needed to infiltrate demon territory, they had brought only elites, all experienced military experts who had faced life-or-death battles.

As they neared demon territory, the sky gradually darkened. Wisps of demonic energy drifted through the mountains and forests, as if the area was shrouded in a grey mist, allowing them to see objects but not far into the distance.

A divine arts practitioner intended to activate a flame divine art for illumination, but Shu Yao immediately suppressed his art, saying gravely, "This is demon territory. No one is to use illuminating divine arts unless it's a matter of life or death, or it will expose our presence! Remember, if you encounter enemies, you must resolve them quickly and end the fight. Do not attract more enemies!"

The group felt a chill in their hearts and quickly affirmed.

"Shu Yao has good foresight." Qin Mu secretly praised, then asked Sang Hua, "Have you been to the Suppressing God Pagoda?"

Sang Hua shook her head, her long braid resting on her chest, and replied, "I haven't had time to go. There have been too many things to deal with these past few days, leaving me no leisure. The demons have been unusually quiet lately, which frightens me. And the Celestial Master left with twenty-four gods this time and there's been no news since, giving me an ominous feeling."

Qin Mu frowned slightly. The Woodcutter Saint and the twenty-four gods had left and not yet returned, nor had there been any reports of a major battle. It was indeed somewhat strange.

"Be careful, we have officially entered demon territory! Ding Yun, send out your primordial spirit to scout the way!"

At Yu He's command, a divine arts practitioner immediately sat cross-legged and sent out his primordial spirit, while another practitioner stepped forward and carried him on his back.

Most of them were Seven Stars realm divine arts practitioners whose primordial spirits could already depart the body in that realm. However, unlike the divine arts practitioners of Eternal Peace, those in Supreme Emperor Heaven had not undergone the primordial spirit reforms, so their primordial spirits were not yet strong enough to fly very far, though they were sufficient for scouting.

The group continued their journey. After a moment, Ding Yun's primordial spirit flew back and reported, "Two hundred *li* to the southwest, there's a town where about two thousand people are being enslaved by demons, building something unknown. Nearby are several villages, inhabited by many elderly, women, and children. However, on the way there, there are six demon watchtowers. The watchtowers are very tall, and I didn't dare to examine them closely, fearing the demon divine arts practitioners inside might detect my primordial spirit."

Yu He inquired, "How far apart are the watchtowers?"

Ding Yun's face reddened slightly as he stammered, "I'm not good with calculations, so I didn't measure..."

Yu He frowned, troubled. "The demons in the watchtowers are all Six Directions and Seven Stars realm divine arts practitioners, and their vigilance is extremely high. If we alert them and they send out a message, we won't be facing just a few scattered soldiers, but powerful demon experts of the Celestial Human realm, or even Life and Death and Divine Bridge realms!"

Ding Yun shook his head, "There are also many other watchtowers in other locations."

Shu Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Then, we can only stealthily approach and eliminate the demons on the watchtowers at the first opportunity. However, if even one demon detects us in advance, we must retreat..."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. He asked, "Whose vital qi is the most resilient? And the strongest?"

Everyone looked at him, opening their mouths but saying nothing. Yu He and Shu Yao hesitated, then remained silent.

Qin Mu explained, "If one's vital qi is resilient enough, they can activate a sword pellet from a hundred *li* away. The sword pellet is relatively small and can directly reach a hundred *li* to eliminate the demons on the watchtowers, giving them no chance to react!"

Everyone still opened their mouths but said nothing.

Qin Mu was puzzled and was about to speak again when Sang Hua, being straightforward, said, "Brother Cult Master who threshes grain, among all the divine arts practitioners here, isn't your vital qi the most resilient and strongest, besides Venerable Tiger?"

Everyone quickly nodded.

Shu Yao said helplessly, "Cult Master, you slew four powerful demon experts consecutively in the battle of Li City. We are all thoroughly convinced; any more modesty would be insincere."

Qin Mu scratched his head, then remembered that among the few things he excelled at compared to Yu He, Shu Yao, and the others, besides his sword arts, divine arts, and primordial spirit, was his vital qi cultivation.

"Alright, I'll take out the watchtowers. You all follow closely behind me!"

Qin Mu stood up, touched his finger to his glabella, and declared, "Primordial spirit depart!"

His primordial spirit flickered and vanished.

"What a powerful primordial spirit!"

Everyone, including Yu He, was startled. Qin Mu's primordial spirit was almost as tangible as reality itself, comparable to that of a Celestial Human realm divine arts practitioner—truly powerful!

"Although I am the foremost Seven Stars realm practitioner in Supreme Emperor Heaven, believing myself to have reached the level of a young true god in all aspects, my primordial spirit is still far inferior to his," Yu He thought gloomily.

Sang Hua stepped forward, intending to pick up Qin Mu and carry him, but then she saw Qin Mu's body, without its primordial spirit, begin to run forward, gradually picking up speed, which startled her.

Black Tiger God took a step and followed Qin Mu, saying, "Don't stare, this is the Divine Control Art, my master's technique. Hurry and catch up!"

The group quickly followed. Just as they caught up to Qin Mu, his primordial spirit swiftly returned to his body. He slapped his Taotie Pouch, and a sword pellet flew out, spinning rapidly before accelerating and piercing through the air.

Qin Mu also suddenly accelerated, surging forward. With a resounding boom, he broke the sound barrier, making no attempt to conceal his presence.

Yu He and the other divine arts practitioners frowned. While Qin Mu's rapid movement could catch enemies off guard, the noise would undoubtedly alert other watchtowers.

Ding Yun had reported that besides the six watchtowers on their direct path, there were other watchtowers not along this route. Qin Mu breaking the sound barrier was too loud; startling the other watchtowers might expose their mission and force them to retreat.

Yu He gritted her teeth fiercely. "Catch up!"

The group quickly accelerated, pushing their speeds to the limit, causing successive sonic booms. Their individual speeds surpassed the speed of sound, though some were faster than others.

Yu He, Shu Yao, and Sang Hua were the fastest, slightly outpacing Qin Mu. The three caught up to Qin Mu and looked ahead, seeing that the sword pellet had already reached the first watchtower!

The sword pellet was still about ten *zhang* away from the watchtower. As it spun, countless flying swords shot out from it, piercing through the watchtower with a whoosh. Then, over a dozen flying swords suddenly pointed downward, flying close to the ground, while the countless flying swords in the air clinked against the sword pellet, returning to it. The sword pellet barely paused and continued to surge forward.

Qin Mu also sprinted forward. In a few blinks, the second watchtower became visible. Beneath it, several demon divine arts practitioners were drinking and carousing, while two more demons on the tower were looking around.

The dozen or so flying swords skimming the ground arrived. The carousing demons didn't even have time to react before their heads flew off. The swords, bathed in blood, shot into the air and clinked against the sword pellet that had flown out of the watchtower.

Whoosh— Qin Mu sped by, passing the watchtower like a gale, and surged towards the third.

Yu He, Shu Yao, and Sang Hua quickly followed. Upon reaching the third watchtower, they saw Qin Mu suddenly stop, but the sword pellet had already surged towards the fourth.

Qin Mu stood in an unhurried stance, forming sword gestures with his right hand. His vital qi steamed around him as he paced back and forth as if drunk. His sword-fingers occasionally thrust out, and then both hands formed sword gestures, continuously thrusting.

The sword pellet crashed through one watchtower after another. Behind it, countless flying swords darted around like schools of fish, slaying the demon divine arts practitioners within the watchtowers. As the sword pellet flew out, it consecutively breached the fourth, fifth, and sixth watchtowers.

The other divine arts practitioners caught up and had just stopped when Ding Yun immediately sent out his primordial spirit to pursue Qin Mu's sword pellet. However, after piercing the sixth watchtower, Qin Mu's sword pellet fragmented with a clatter. Eight thousand swords split into two groups, colliding with each other to form two smaller sword pellets, which then flew off in opposite directions.

Ding Yun was startled. His primordial spirit pursued one of the sword pellets and watched as it replicated the process, making a half-circle detour at terrifying speed, slaying the demons in each watchtower along its path before they had any time to react.

By the time this sword pellet reached the last watchtower, Ding Yun heard the thunderous roar of their speeds exceeding the speed of sound, though the sound was not very loud. The demon divine arts practitioners on that watchtower peered out, and behind them, the sword pellet flew into the tower, its light erupting and engulfing them.

Ding Yun quickly retracted his primordial spirit. Just as he returned to his body, he saw that sword pellet flying back towards them. Simultaneously, the other sword pellet also whistled back.

The two sword pellets collided with a soft clang in front of Qin Mu, combining into a slightly larger sword pellet, which then gently floated into Qin Mu's hand.

"I'm glad I didn't fail the mission," Qin Mu said, looking up with a smile.

The group was so tense they could barely breathe. They had just stopped and hadn't yet gotten a clear view of the surrounding terrain.

Shu Yao looked at Ding Yun, who nodded and said, "Within a radius of one hundred and fifty *li*, all watchtowers from which the sonic booms could be heard have been destroyed by the Cult Master. Farther places couldn't hear the sound."

"One hundred and fifty *li*?"

Yu He looked incredulous. Qin Mu had only mentioned a hundred *li* earlier, yet now he had dismantled all watchtowers within a radius of one hundred and fifty *li*. His vital qi cultivation was truly formidable!

"It seems he was indeed being modest," she thought to herself.

Shu Yao said gravely, "Let's move quickly! Cult Master, you controlled many swords just now, do you need to rest?"

Qin Mu shook his head. "I'm fine. My vital qi is still very abundant."

Shu Yao was startled, silently thinking, "What a freak!" The group proceeded along the path of the destroyed watchtowers. Before long, they were not far from the small town Ding Yun had mentioned.

Each person concealed their presence and looked ahead, their minds shaken.

Ahead, it could no longer be called a small town, but a gigantic altar, no smaller than the one the Woodcutter Saint had descended upon!

Thousands of human youths and adults were constructing this altar under the supervision of demon soldiers.

The altar was largely built, and many demon divine arts practitioners carried large buckets, dipping into the blood within them to imprint runic symbols onto the altar.

"Haven't the demons already broken through the world barrier of Supreme Emperor Heaven? Logically, the world barrier between the demon world and Supreme Emperor Heaven should no longer prevent demon gods and devils from descending. Why are they still building an altar?" Qin Mu whispered, perplexed. "Could it be that the gods and devils they intend to summon are not from the demon world? Could it be..."

He remembered Zha Huali's origin and felt a stir of unease.

Zha Huali was Luo Wushuang's disciple, from the so-called True Heavenly Court!

Shu Yao quickly said, "There's a Celestial Human realm expert! Everyone, avert your gaze, don't look!"

Everyone retracted their gaze. Beside the altar, behind the Celestial Human realm demon expert, stood a colossal primordial spirit over ten *zhang* tall, imposing and muscular. His primordial spirit seemed to sense something and glanced around, but found nothing unusual.

Qin Mu took out a mirror and used it to reflect the surroundings of the altar. He said, "There aren't many demons here. Besides that Celestial Human expert, the others won't be difficult to deal with..."

Just then, he saw a figure emerge from inside the altar, and his expression instantly changed.

"Fu Riluo!"

Qin Mu's hand trembled. In the mirror, Fu Riluo emerged from the altar, raised his head, and looked out of the mirror at Qin Mu.

"Run..."

Qin Mu's voice was hoarse. Fu Riluo in the mirror took a step, walking out of it, his figure growing larger and larger as if a nightmare was descending, filling the entire mirror.

"Run quickly—" Qin Mu shouted sharply.