Chapter 1269: Above the Nine Heavens, Below the Nine Springs

Hao Tianzun quickly stood up, feeling a chill, but then seeing that the Demonic Qin Mu duplicates had not revived, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Without the power of the demonic clones, you are no match for me..."

Boom, boom, boom! His qi and blood surged out like a wild tide, lifting his head from his neck as his thirty-five Celestial Palaces nearly collapsed!

His injuries worsened after the full-force collision with Qin Mu. He was already severely wounded and had relied on devouring and refining the Demonic Qin Mu duplicates to recover. However, the Woodcutter's Reversion Divine Art had forced his thirty-five Celestial Palaces, which he had painstakingly sent out of his body, back inside, nearly killing him.

His injuries were further exacerbated, becoming even more severe, after his battle with the Martial Arts Heavenly Master and Bai Yuqiong.

And now, after the direct confrontation with Qin Mu, his injuries could no longer be suppressed.

Even though Qin Mu no longer had the Demonic Qin Mu duplicates to control, Hao Tianzun could not continue fighting.

He needed to find a safe place, transform his Celestial Palaces into a cocoon of grand dao, and absorb external energy to heal his wounds.

Previously, once his injuries healed, his cultivation and power would have advanced, surpassing his former state. But now, after the ordeal with the Woodcutter, Qin Mu, and others, even if his physical injuries recovered, the dao injuries to his thirty-five Celestial Palaces might remain incurable. His cultivation and strength had significantly diminished from before, and he didn't know how long it would take to return to his peak.

"What's more critical is that if this continues, I will truly die..."

Divine blood gushed from Hao Tianzun's neck, expelling excess qi and blood from his body, and his head flew back into place.

He no longer hesitated, flying backward. Before his feet even touched the ground, he suddenly tapped it, causing the earth to explode as his body shot skyward.

Qin Mu, controlling his Divine Treasure Domain, arrived instantly, grinding the spot where Hao Tianzun had stood. He then ascended into the air, as countless sword lights erupted from his Divine Treasure Domain, striking Hao Tianzun's body one after another like comets, passing through him!

The countless sword lights converged behind Hao Tianzun, revealing a hidden move within a move, transforming into a sword domain behind him!

Hao Tianzun's hair stood on end. He suddenly roared, and from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, countless threads of dao patterns emerged, rapidly forming a dense cocoon that instantly enveloped him.

Qin Mu's sword domain erupted, tearing apart the nascent dao cocoon, causing divine blood to gush into the air.

Hao Tianzun cried out. The Grand Emperor's Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven flew out, meeting Qin Mu's sword domain. Qin Mu clenched his five fingers, and the continuously expanding sword domain instantly contracted sharply, narrowly grazing the edge of the Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven without touching it.

The Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven was the Grand Emperor's divine ability, which trapped Hao Tianzun's primordial spirit. The Silkworm Girl's Seven Soul Grass, formed from divine sense sacrifices, could penetrate the Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven without triggering its power.

The Seven Soul Grass, once inside the Great Ruyi Heaven, thrived like a fish in water, rooting itself within Hao Tianzun's primordial spirit, drawing sustenance, and refining his soul.

However, if Qin Mu's sword domain had touched the Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven, he would have fallen into Hao Tianzun's trap, using another's strength to strike and making a 'golden cicada shedding its shell' escape.

The unleashed power of the Divine Sense Great Ruyi Heaven would not only severely wound Qin Mu but also provide Hao Tianzun's primordial spirit an opportunity to escape!

Hao Tianzun secretly cursed his misfortune, accelerating his ascent skyward. Beyond the sky was the entrance to the Primordial Realm, where Heavenly Court armies that had escaped the Primordial Realm surely awaited.

News of his battle with the Grand Emperor would undoubtedly reach the Heavenly Court, and his direct forces would immediately mobilize to the Primordial Realm. Once he exited the Primordial Realm, he would be safe!

Just then, Qin Mu spread his five fingers and struck upwards with his palm.

Hao Tianzun soared higher and higher. At that moment, he saw the sky growing thinner, becoming increasingly ethereal and lacking depth.

His body was even stretched and elongated, as if it too would become incredibly thin with the sky, eventually dissolving into the void!

Great Ruyi Heavens Gather and Complete!

"So it was you who stole from Zhaoyang Palace with Heavenly Venerable Yun back then!"

Hao Tianzun's heart stirred. Back then, he and Heavenly Venerable Yun had stolen from Zhaoyang Palace one after the other, encountering another master who had used this move. However, that master's magic power was far inferior to his, and he had forcibly broken it with his overwhelming power.

Now, with Qin Mu using the same move again, Hao Tianzun immediately recognized it.

Qin Mu's voice reached him: "Hao Tianzun, back then you had the magic power to break my divine ability. Do you still?"

"No, but I have cultivated the Primordial Qi!"

Countless wounds burst open on Hao Tianzun's body. He discarded a portion of his uncontrollable cultivation, his body lightly trembled, merging with Qin Mu's Great Ruyi Heaven. Then, with a slight shake, he escaped from the "Great Ruyi Heavens Gather and Complete" move.

Qin Mu was surprised. Immediately, another pair of arms emerged from his armpits. His four arms clasped towards the center, and the vast Milky Way surged, encircling Hao Tianzun, as the Four Extremes Heaven hummed into formation!

The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise appeared, all striking simultaneously at Hao Tianzun in the center!

Milky Way Scrutinizes the Four Extremes!

Boom—

Hao Tianzun vomited blood, plummeting from the sky like a comet striking the earth, crashing into the Primordial Realm. Flames immediately shot skyward from the ground, and a mushroom cloud slowly rose.

Qin Mu, upside down, pressed his palm downwards. His palm strike remotely impacted the spot where Hao Tianzun had fallen. The ground did not sink; instead, it rumbled and tore itself from the earth.

His dao laws formed a Primordial Wood in the Primordial Realm. The Primordial Wood supported Hao Tianzun's tattered body, surging to meet Qin Mu's palm.

The Primordial Wood quickly grew to the top of the mushroom cloud, colliding with Qin Mu's palm print. Violent tremors spread in all directions, and a ring of white light formed in the air. This white light, like a blade, swept outwards, seemingly attempting to cleave the sky of the Primordial Realm in half.

The instant Qin Mu's palm force solidified, Hao Tianzun's figure suddenly vanished. The next moment, he reappeared in the Primordial Realm's Youdu, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. He tumbled and rolled, like a scarecrow falling, bouncing, falling again, and bouncing again, rolling an unknown distance.

He transformed into the Youdu Grand Dao using his Primordial Qi, hiding within Youdu to avoid Qin Mu's killing blow.

Bang, bang, bang—

As he tumbled, his physical body repeatedly burst open. He desperately dispersed the excess energy within him, willing to sacrifice even a portion of his cultivation if it meant escaping Qin Mu with his life!

He only needed to escape to the territory of the Yin Emperor, and Qin Mu would be powerless against him. The Yin Emperor was closely connected to him; for millions of years, he had been looking after the Yin Emperor, who would surely protect him.

However, the sky above the Primordial Realm's Youdu suddenly cracked open. With a thunderous roar, giant dark pillars rose from the earth. These pillars emanating thick black smoke, accompanied by flickering flames that swirled around them, revealing countless Youdu Grand Dao runes.

"Brother Hao, Youdu is not the Yin Emperor's territory; it's mine!"

Qin Mu's massive body descended from the sky. Upon landing, he had transformed into a demonic god with the head of an ox, the body of a human, and the face of a tiger, akin to an ancient deity born with the death of the first life, controlling all souls.

Patterns emerged on the black pillars wreathed in flames, growing clearer and clearer, transforming into the faces of Earth Count. Earth Count's three eyes swiveled, constantly staring at the tumbling Hao Tianzun.

Buzz—

All the pillars erupted with dazzling light. From each pillar, Earth Count's three eyes shot out beams of demonic light that intertwined, sealing off an area of a thousand miles!

————Fourth update is here! Fellow Daoists, it's double