Chapter 154: Destroying Will

"Kill!" a female witch warrior with a leopard head and tail roared, raising a bronze mirror and directing its light toward Qin Mu. In the mirror, numerous fierce and terrifying souls appeared.

Suddenly, a flying sword appeared before the bronze mirror, pinning itself to the surface. The mirror, incredibly tough, managed to block the sword. However, in the next instant, the flying sword rotated, transforming into a drilling motion. It pierced directly through the bronze mirror, and the sword light shattered the mirror, impaling the witch warrior behind it.

"What is there to fear from witchcraft?" Qin Mu's clothes flapped in the wind as he raised his hand to retrieve the flying sword. Another witch warrior, whose body sprouted tiger fur, claws, and a tail, howled and lunged forward, stirring up a fierce wind. He attacked at close range, denying Qin Mu any chance to draw his sword.

Qin Mu turned sideways and struck with his fist. Their footwork became chaotic, and a relentless flurry of violent impacts echoed. The witch warrior's head swayed as a tiger's head emerged. He roared like thunder, a continuous booming sound, using the tiger's roar to assail Qin Mu's soul.

Qin Mu used his fist as a seal, unleashing the "Sun-Illuminating Yang Soul Sky Refinement" with one punch. He then splayed his fingers into a palm, shouting "Maha-yesha" to execute the "Heavenly Demon at Ease Sky Seal." His hand gestures transformed repeatedly, alternating between Buddhist, Daoist, and Demonic seals. The tiger's roar had only echoed three times before Qin Mu shattered the witch warrior's soul, causing him to fall straight to the ground.

Another great witch, of a higher cultivation realm, suddenly lunged forward. His power was far superior to that of the previous witch warriors. He moved with effortless divine abilities, maintaining the appearance and form of an ordinary person.

Although he had sealed his secret realm, upon activating his cultivation technique, he immediately transformed. He resembled a colossal ape, wielding a golden staff as thick as a pillar. He swept it with immense power, capable of crushing thousands of soldiers, yet he was incredibly agile.

Qin Mu reached out and retrieved his bamboo staff, countering the golden staff with it. The two clashed with lightning speed. Suddenly, the golden staff's countless light projections vanished, and the great witch's chest was struck by the bamboo staff, revealing a look of shock.

However, he was, after all, a great witch of a higher realm, not a mere witch warrior. He decisively unsealed his secret realm. Yet, precisely at the moment his secret realm was unsealed, his heart was pierced by the bamboo staff, and his body toppled to the ground.

Qin Mu withdrew the bamboo staff from his chest. Great witches of this realm were called "Divine Ability Practitioners" in Yankang Country; it was merely a difference in terminology, with no essential distinction.

If this Divine Ability Practitioner had not sealed his secret realm, Qin Mu would have found it difficult to kill him. But as long as they fought at the same cultivation level, Qin Mu possessed the strength to defeat his opponent, regardless of whether the opponent was previously at the Divine Ability Realm or Seven Stars Realm!

A golden warrior leaped onto the golden platform, landing heavily. He carried a blade scabbard taller than himself on his back. He suddenly opened his mouth wide and roared at Qin Mu. From the scabbard on his back, blade lights whistled out, and a torrential shower of blade shadows descended upon Qin Mu.

At the same time, the golden warrior, wielding two blades, spun them as he attacked. The two blades moved erratically, sometimes in front of him, sometimes behind, like two massive pythons entwined around his body, rolling toward Qin Mu.

Qin Mu held a butcher's knife in one hand in a standard grip and another in a reverse grip. From the sword casket on his back, flying swords whizzed out to meet the descending blade lights.

"Horizontal and Vertical, a Vast Line of Sky!"

One body was large, the other small; the golden warrior was half a head taller than Qin Mu. The two suddenly collided. Two streaks of blade light appeared, one horizontal, one vertical. The horizontal one was a mountain blocking the path, and the vertical was a blade cleaving through the mountain. The blade light, tinged with blood, shot into the sky, as if a giant were swinging a blade, carving a path through cliffs stretching for hundreds of miles. The golden warrior's body was split into four pieces, slain by these horizontal and vertical blade lights.

Qin Mu flicked his blades to shake off the blood, then reversed his grip and inserted the two butcher's knives into their scabbard. Suddenly, he raised a finger, and with a clang, a flying sword shot out, piercing the forehead of a witch warrior who was drawing a qi-powered bow, about to shoot an arrow at him.

"Kill him! Avenge our brethren!"

More witch warriors continued to rush forward. Qin Mu twisted his body, stepped back, and kicked. With blades, swords, fists, or feet, he instantly slew every challenging witch warrior.

A moment later, silence fell. In front of the Loulan Golden Palace's main gate, on the golden steps, lay over forty corpses, scattered haphazardly.

Qin Mu looked down at the platform. Below, he saw faces filled with terror and eyes wide with fright. When their gazes met his, they involuntarily shifted away, dodging and refusing to meet his gaze directly.

These witch warriors possessed strong spiritual will. However, after Qin Mu continuously slew over forty of them, their spirit and will inevitably waned. Once they began to falter, they would continue to decline, giving rise to fear, the cowardice of being unable to defeat their opponent, and a mixture of respect and dread toward Qin Mu.

What Qin Mu had witnessed on his journey fueled a surge of anger toward the Loulan Golden Palace. When General Tolimu ordered his soldiers to collect the rebel soldiers' souls, he had mentioned offering them to the Loulan Golden Palace. At the time, Qin Mu didn't understand, but now he realized that the Loulan Golden Palace actually used souls for cultivation.

His purpose in coming was not merely to block the gate, but to retrieve the Butcher's lower body. However, since the distinction between friend and foe was now clear, he decided to shatter the will and spirit of this sect, crush their confidence, and trample their techniques and methods underfoot. He wanted them to know that the divine abilities they cultivated using others' souls were utterly worthless!

"Who among you cultivates the Loulan Golden Palace's 'Witch Sovereign Lou Luo Scripture'?" Qin Mu scanned the surroundings, his expression indifferent. Then, a slow smile spread across his lips. "Come out, I want to kill one."

Silence fell before the main gate.

Behind the main gate, the faces of the Loulan Golden Palace's great witches, resembling golden statues, gradually turned ashen. After a moment, a young man stepped forward. A middle-aged great witch beside him said in a deep voice, "Si Mu Luo, his weakness is two parts from his left shoulder blade. This is a flaw in his cultivation technique, a place he hasn't refined."

The young great witch said in a deep voice, "I had already noticed it, but not the exact location. Thank you for your guidance, Witch King."

Ba Shan Libationer's face darkened, and he sneered, "Witch King, as an elder, isn't such shamelessness a bit inappropriate?"

"Martial Khan, please!" The middle-aged great witch, expressionless, raised his hand and said, "I was defeated by you back then, and after much bitter reflection, my cultivation and strength have advanced by leaps and bounds over the years. I've always wanted to wash away that humiliation. Heaven has been kind; you've finally come to my doorstep."

Ba Shan Libationer suddenly soared into the sky, emitting a light like a hundred-zhang-long saber slicing through the heavens, and vanished into the distance. His voice drifted back from afar: "The people here have too low cultivation. I fear our fight would shock them to death. Let us clash in the snowy mountains!"

The middle-aged great witch looked at the Witch Sovereign. The Witch Sovereign stood up and said in a deep voice, "Go!"

Whoosh— Streaks of golden light tore through the air, chasing after the blade light, heading toward the snowy mountains.

The towering mountains, vast with white snow, were suddenly engulfed in a brilliant golden light that melted the heavy snow. Within the golden light, dazzling blade light flashed. It was an earth-shattering battle, but only faint ripples reached the Loulan Golden Palace.

At the foot of the Golden Palace's main gate, Qin Mu turned around and looked at Si Mu Luo, who was descending from the Golden Palace's sacred hall.

Ba Shan Libationer had led away many experts from the Loulan Golden Palace, likely to make it easier for Qin Mu to search for the Butcher's lower body. However, a few senior Golden Palace experts remained before the sacred hall.

Si Mu Luo's expression was grave, but his eyes held a hint of excitement. His body was also golden. He had observed Qin Mu's previous battles with the witch warriors from the sidelines.

He hadn't immediately stepped forward because, besides wanting to identify Qin Mu's weaknesses, he also wanted the witch warriors' continuous attacks to wear down Qin Mu's cultivation, thus giving him a greater chance of victory.

Now, he had found Qin Mu's weakness, and Qin Mu had fought over forty people consecutively. His opportunity had arrived.

Qin Mu's expression was as calm as an ancient well, betraying no sign of having just endured over forty fierce battles. Suddenly, both figures moved simultaneously. Qin Mu's vital qi erupted from his feet, granting him extreme speed. In an instant, he appeared before Si Mu Luo and unleashed a punch.

"Lone Body Traversing the East Sea with Spring Thunder!"

Si Mu Luo took the punch, yet it resonated with the sound of a great bell. Qin Mu immediately felt his punch, as powerful as a mighty river flowing into the sea, strike an impenetrable copper wall, with not a trace of force penetrating.

Si Mu Luo's body seemed to be forged from the hardest metal, solid through and through.

Si Mu Luo's body swayed, then abruptly transformed into a bird-headed, human-bodied form with two wings on his back. Those wings gleamed golden, composed of countless golden swords. The golden swords rang out as they sliced forward!

Qin Mu's footwork became erratic as he retreated. From the sword casket on his back, flying swords unsheathed, meeting the incoming sword feathers.

Suddenly, he noticed that Si Mu Luo's two wings were extraordinary. Each sword-like feather was connected by threads of vital qi. His heart slightly trembled, and he instantly knew something was amiss.

Whoosh— The sharp swords forming Si Mu Luo's wings suddenly elongated and flew off, stabbing at Qin Mu from all directions.

These golden swords shockingly bore dark, rolling eyeballs, making them look bizarre and sinister. Each golden sword contained a soul, confined within the blade, transforming into its spirit.

Qin Mu's gaze fell upon those eyes, and he suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented. Knowing something was wrong, he immediately closed his eyes and reached for his blades.

"Night Battle, Continuous City Wind and Rain!"

His blade light was swift, whirling around him, front and back, up and down, left and right, without cease. Clanging sounds of collision rang out. The name "Night Battle, Continuous City Wind and Rain" contained the words "Night Battle," indicating that this move did not require visual observation of the surroundings.

Si Mu Luo's swords were extremely bizarre; looking at them would cause one to be affected. Therefore, using this move was the correct choice.

"The Witch Sovereign Lou Luo Scripture is indeed extraordinary, very demonic."

As the blades in Qin Mu's hands clashed with the opponent's swords, he immediately felt that the power within the opponent's swords was inferior to his own. The strength of a combat technique school lay in wielding weapons, allowing one to unleash all their power.

Si Mu Luo's golden swords were repelled by "Night Battle, Continuous City Wind and Rain," returning behind him. With a whoosh, they reformed into two golden wings. The wings flapped, clanging as they blocked the sharp swords launched from Qin Mu's sword casket.

Suddenly, Qin Mu released both blades and unleashed a punch, like a sun hanging in the sky, illuminating the yang soul. Si Mu Luo's spirit was slightly shaken by the illumination of Qin Mu's fist intent, but his techniques remained perfectly ordered. However, the eyes on his swords were forced to close, and each eye shrieked, turning into wisps of green smoke.

Qin Mu then struck out with the "Heavenly Demon at Ease Sky Seal" in a backhand motion, but Si Mu Luo remained completely still. The "Witch Sovereign Lou Luo Scripture" used the souls of others as cultivation materials, making its practitioner's own soul incredibly stable.

His body was also exceptionally hard, so much so that even the "Thunderclap Eight Forms" couldn't shake him.

Qin Mu frowned slightly. Suddenly, he pointed a finger, and the thirty-six flying swords that had emerged from his sword casket clanged together, merging into a drilling sword formation, and stabbed down toward Si Mu Luo!