Chapter 1302: Masculinity

Being praised as beautiful by Little Seven, the handsome white cat, he was indeed very pleased.

The silver-armored general was furious. "Revered Heaven-Venerable Mu," he raged, "don't think that just because you are handsome and manly, you can do whatever you want!"

Qin Mu became even more pleased and enjoyed the moment. "Though you are also beautiful," he said, "you are too charming and feminine. You certainly lack some manliness compared to me. Little Seven, for that comment, I can spare your life."

The silver-armored general was beside himself with rage. His celestial palace unfolded behind him, and his primordial spirit stood before the Hall of Supreme Heaven within it. Surprisingly, his primordial spirit was also a white cat, with a cat's head and a human body, handsome and charming.

He had once faced Yan'er in battle and remained undefeated, demonstrating exceedingly profound strength.

He thrust out his spear, and the white cat primordial spirit, standing before the Hall of Supreme Heaven, also thrust out a spear. The two spear shadows merged. The power contained within the spear was terrifying, yet there were no power fluctuations from this attack!

Qin Mu let out a soft exclamation of surprise. "A divine art from the Kaihuang Era?" he murmured. "Are you a cat demon from the Kaihuang Era?"

He raised his palm. The silver-armored general's spear pierced his palm with a 'ding'. The instant the spear tip collided with his palm, his divine treasure domain suddenly erupted!

*Buzz—* The power of the divine treasure domain expanded outwards, sending the silver-armored general flying backward. His figure vanished into the mist in the mining area.

Qin Mu withdrew his hand and looked down at his palm.

His palm had been pierced by the silver-armored general.

Divine arts of the Kaihuang Era had a very distinct characteristic. Compared to other eras, the Kaihuang Era embodied the spirit of craftsmanship, striving for perfection.

Divine arts from this era were often designed to be subtle yet exquisite. Their power was compressed to the extreme; before striking the opponent, their force would not leak out, and their power would not erupt.

By highly concentrating the power of a divine art and reducing the area of its eruption, the divine art could achieve stronger attack power.

In fact, the sword techniques of Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye were also like this.

He could pierce through the flesh of Heaven-Venerable Fire with the Carefree Sword and penetrate the palm of Heaven-Venerable Hao, all for this reason.

And Qin Mu's palm being pierced by the silver-armored general's silver spear was also for this reason.

Qin Mu himself had studied the divine arts and methods of the Kaihuang Era, but completely internalizing the power was still difficult for him. Someone not from that era would find it hard to fully grasp the Kaihuang Era's spirit of meticulous craftsmanship.

The silver-armored general being able to achieve this level meant only one possibility: he was a powerful demon from the Kaihuang Era!

Little Seven, the white cat's voice, came from the mist, ethereal and unpredictable. Sometimes it came from behind Qin Mu, sometimes from above his left, and sometimes it appeared at Qin Mu's feet, making it impossible to pinpoint his location.

"You might be able to deceive Empress Tianfei, but you can't deceive me," came the voice. "Though I don't know why you are so confident that you can enter the mine and obtain the raw stone, based on my understanding of you, you must have a way to acquire the raw stone!"

He himself was an incredibly agile spirit cat. Using the peculiarities of the Grand Initial mine to conceal his movements, he sneered, "Her Majesty doesn't understand you and thinks you'll die in the mining area, but I'm different. I know you too well!"

Qin Mu paid him no mind and continued walking forward.

Little Seven's voice continued to drift about, as if nagging him in his ear. "You appear very curious, like a naive roe deer foolishly seeking death," he said. "But every time, you return alive. It's not just good luck. Rather, you're very measured in every adventure. Even if your life is at risk, you always have a means of escape."

Qin Mu looked around, trying to find the raw stone. He chuckled, "What means of escape could I have? If I were assimilated by this mine, wouldn't I die?"

"Wrong!" came the voice. "This time, your confidence is even greater because you know you won't encounter any danger at all!"

From the mist, a silver spear silently thrust towards Qin Mu's back.

Little Seven, the white cat, was like an assassin, or a large venomous snake hidden in the dark, making him impossible to guard against.

Qin Mu turned and swung his sword. With a single stroke, he deflected the tip of the silver spear. The power that erupted from the spear tip in that instant left his arm aching and numb!

The instant he deflected the spear tip, a gigantic white cat primordial spirit suddenly appeared behind him. It bared incredibly sharp claws and violently swiped down at him!

When a divine art practitioner's primordial spirit cultivated to the Divine Bridge realm, it would already begin to transform into something almost substantial.

When cultivated to the True God realm, the primordial spirit would already be equivalent to a physical entity, extremely fast, possessing immense power, even surpassing divine weapons!

Upon reaching the God-Slaying Platform and undergoing its baptism, the primordial spirit would essentially become equivalent to the sacrificial ancient gods. Although it might not match the ancient gods in terms of Dao laws, its power would be exceedingly formidable.

And when cultivated to the Numinous Sky realm, the primordial spirit's power would be strong enough to easily slay beings of the Jade Capital realm, annihilating their physical body and spirit!

The instant the white cat's primordial spirit swiped its claws down, Qin Mu chuckled derisively. "Little Seven, do you not know that I was once the Ghost City Divine Son?" he said. "No one has ever dared to attack me directly with their primordial spirit in front of me. You are the first."

Within his divine treasure domain, Earth Count Qin Mu slowly rose and stood protectively behind Qin Mu.

The white cat primordial spirit's sharp claws landed on Earth Count Qin Mu. The power of this strike was truly immense, but the recoil force was even stronger!

The white cat primordial spirit let out a piercing shriek, "Meow!", like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Its three souls and seven spirits were shaken out of its body, separating from its spirit embryo!

"You've resided in the Celestial Emperor's harem for too long."

Earth Count Qin Mu's colossal body stood between heaven and earth. He reached out and seized the three souls and seven spirits that were trying to escape; even the spirit embryo fell into Earth Count Qin Mu's palm.

"Though many Numinous Sky realm experts have fought me," he continued, "they all know that using their primordial spirit in front of the Ghost City Divine Son is a sure path to death. Therefore, they often rely on the might of divine weapons and the power of divine arts to fight me."

Earth Count Qin Mu opened his palm. The white cat's soul and spirit embryo trembled. Facing this colossal being, it felt an innate fear, like a mouse encountering a cat.

In an instant, his primordial spirit was stripped of its spirit embryo and soul. Even the soul was separated into its three souls and seven spirits; each soul and each spirit was divided.

Earth Count Qin Mu then reassembled his three souls and seven spirits, put them back into his spirit embryo, restoring his complete primordial spirit, and set him down.

"Little Seven, you may leave. I promised to spare your life."

Qin Mu retracted his domain and chuckled. "But it's only one life," he said. "If you attack me again, I won't hold back. Just one compliment isn't worth two lives."

Not far away, the silver-armored general, pale-faced, emerged from the mist. He swiftly retracted his primordial spirit, then crouched down, transformed into a white cat, and sped back along the path he came.

The white cat looked back, glanced at Qin Mu, then turned and vanished into the mist.

Qin Mu smiled faintly. His vertical eye between his brows opened, and he scanned his surroundings.

After Little Seven's antics, he had arrived at an uninhabited part of the mining area. There were no ethereal divine beings here, nor any tapping sounds; only wisps of mist, some thick, some thin, filled the air.

This was a region no one dared to set foot in.

"Revered Heaven-Venerable Mu, the raw stone is here!"

Inside the vertical eye, the Grand Initial Egg became excited. The Daoist voice within the egg was also a little hoarse: "I shall summon it out!"