Chapter 221: Diamond's Invincibility

“Little Jade Capital in the sky?”

The Imperial Preceptor’s wife looked up at the sky. What a beautiful name.

Jade Capital, a capital city made of jade, a city where immortals reside, devoid of earthly smoke and fire, untouched by the mundane world.

“Once, from Little Jade Capital, this mysterious sacred land, emerged a Daoist Zhen, who came to stop me, but unfortunately failed.”

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace had a puzzled look in his eyes. He said softly, “Before he died, he told me that I must visit Little Jade Capital, saying there might be something there that could change my mind. Now, I am here.”

Before them, a beautiful fairyland, like something out of myth, appeared amidst the swirling mists.

Qin Mu’s treasure ship stopped in Fenzhou. Qin Mu disembarked with Hu Ling’er and purchased some New Year goods, which filled the ship’s hold. Fenzhou was still relatively peaceful; the Prefect of Fenzhou was gathering cultivators within the prefecture, refining various spirit weapons, and flying multi-decked ships into the sky to collect clouds and mist.

In some areas, sunlight was already breaking through, and the ice and snow began to melt, yet it felt even colder.

Fenzhou was known for its strong liquor, and people often drank it to ward off the cold. However, the chill was severe, so many villagers still went up the mountains to chop firewood and cut down trees for warmth.

Moreover, prices were soaring, with goods costing significantly more than before. Qin Mu, being wealthy, didn’t notice, but Hu Ling’er kept a meticulous account and told him, “Young Master, prices have doubled.”

Qin Mu was slightly surprised. He said, “It’s earlier than I expected. Stabilizing prices is the duty of the Minister of Revenue, not ours. As long as the dark clouds dissipate and the imperial court provides disaster relief, there won’t be major chaos in the North. My only fear is someone intentionally stirring up trouble.”

Not finding enough New Year goods in Fenzhou, the treasure ship stopped again in Liezhou. Here, prices had risen even more. Many merchants hoarded scarce goods, waiting for prices to climb higher to sell them for a significant profit.

The Deputy Prefect of Liezhou began to rectify merchants. In chaotic times, severe laws were applied, and many merchants who hoarded goods were dragged out and beheaded.

After two or three days, Qin Mu’s treasure ship arrived in Jingzhou, not far from the Great Ruins, still ten thousand li away. There were still many dark clouds; the clouds in the sky were like a sheet of white paper with many holes cut into it, and sunlight filtered through these openings.

This area was relatively remote and sparsely populated, already showing signs of disorder. Bandit gangs were active, plundering wealthy families, and along the road, many frozen corpses of impoverished people could be seen, stiff and rigid, propped against extinguished campfires.

There were also refugees, moving with their families through the icy wilderness, bundled tightly, walking south across frozen, hardened river surfaces, hoping to find a warm place.

These people walked in silence. Occasionally, someone would fall behind, squat down to warm themselves, but once they squatted, they could never get up again.

In areas where river water had accumulated, massive ice mountains and glaciers had formed, creaking and groaning intermittently, and then huge blocks of ice would slide off the mountainside, which was quite frightening.

Qin Mu noticed that some of the refugee groups included young people skilled in magic, who were looking after their migration. He stopped his ship on the ice and inquired, discovering that these young people were disciples of the Heavenly Devil Cult.

“Tell them not to go anywhere else; everywhere is frozen,” Qin Mu said.

“They won’t listen,” replied a disciple of the Heavenly Devil Cult, pulling down the mask that covered his face to shield against the cold wind, revealing a dark red, frostbitten face. He shouted to their young cult master and holy teacher amidst the howling wind, “These people lose hope if they stop. If they keep walking, they still have hope that they might find a warm place.”

Qin Mu was taken aback. He unloaded some of the New Year goods from the ship that could provide warmth and protection from the cold, handing them to the Heavenly Devil Cult disciples to distribute among the refugees. He advised, “With the severe cold, demons and monsters will also emerge to hunt for food. You must be extra careful.”

He did not linger long in Jingzhou. The treasure ship ascended into the sky and set course for the Great Ruins.

The winter in Eternal Peace was outrageously cold, and it grew increasingly frigid with time. Qin Mu’s treasure ship was adorned with many icicles, significantly reducing its speed and consuming more and more medicinal stones. Every few thousand li, they had to stop the ship to chip off the icicles before its speed could pick up again.

Hu Ling’er stayed by the alchemy furnace, occasionally feeding medicinal stones into it, while Qin Mu maintained the treasure ship’s course. The ship flew very low, and Qin Mu transformed his vital qi into Vermilion Bird vital qi, igniting a raging flame around his body to keep from freezing.

The further west they went, the more desolate it became, and the more refugees they encountered, along with an increasing number of people frozen to death by the roadside.

In remote areas, there were fewer cultivators, and more places remained without sunlight, still covered by thick dark clouds, making the weather even colder.

The intensity of this snow disaster was much greater than he had anticipated, the number of casualties exceeded his expectations, and the cold wave grew stronger.

Suddenly, flames billowed in the sky, and a giant serpent emerged from the clouds, spitting fire in all directions, driving back the surrounding cold.

The huge serpent, radiating monstrous qi, coiled and slithered out of the clouds.

Qin Mu’s heart leaped. He quickly urged the treasure ship to ascend and enter the clouds.

The giant serpent glanced around. On its head stood a seductive man who said, puzzled, “I clearly saw that boy’s ship just now, but now it’s gone? Sister Qiu, release the insects!”

From the clouds, countless insects flew out. A woman stood amidst the swarm, pointed her hand, and the tide of insects flew in all directions, burrowing into the clouds.

Qin Mu’s treasure ship wove through the clouds when suddenly a golden-yellow insect flew toward them. The insect was startled upon seeing the ship and quickly halted.

Qin Mu extended his sword-finger, his vital qi transforming into sword qi, which pierced the insect with a clang.

But the insect, instead of dying, whistled as it grew larger, becoming over a zhang long, and shrieked as it lunged at him!

Qin Mu channeled his vital qi into his Taotie Pouch, and the Shaobao Sword flew out with a clang, slicing the large insect in half with one stroke. Just then, a voice cackled, “So the Cult Master of the Heavenly Devil Cult is here!”

Qin Mu looked in the direction of the voice and saw the clouds behind them suddenly turn red. Knowing something was wrong, he quickly shouted, “Ling’er, open all three alchemy furnaces!”

Boom—

A huge blast of fire erupted, sweeping from the clouds and striking the stern of the treasure ship. Qin Mu quickly grabbed the rudder to avoid being thrown off.

The treasure ship swayed precariously, nearly plummeting from the force of the divine ability. Immediately, the bronze beasts beneath the ship spouted flames, and the two bronze beasts at the stern unleashed their full power, dramatically increasing the ship’s speed. Within a few breaths, it shot out of the clouds, leaping up and breaking through the air.

“So cold!”

The biting wind lashed his face, making Qin Mu shiver. The Vermilion Bird vital qi around him was also cooled by the wind, and his face and hands quickly became covered in frost.

With a loud roar, the treasure ship surpassed the speed of sound and vanished into the air.

Hu Ling’er shut down the alchemy furnaces at the bottom of the ship, and the flames spouting from the bronze beasts at the stern shortened. She said, “Young Master, we don’t have much medicinal stone left from the capital!”

Qin Mu looked back and saw fire erupting from the clouds behind them. A giant serpent soared out of the clouds, followed by a glittering swarm of insects, hurtling toward them, though their speed was much slower than the treasure ship’s.

Now that the treasure ship had slowed down, there was no way they could catch up.

Qin Mu relaxed, bound the rudder with vital qi threads, and entered the cabin. “How much medicinal stone is left?”

Hu Ling’er, busy feeding medicinal stones into the alchemy furnace, pursed her lips.

Qin Mu looked and frowned slightly. He saw that all the medicinal baskets were empty, with only one and a half baskets of medicinal stones remaining. The multi-decked ships of Eternal Peace were equipped with pre-packaged medicinal stones, wrapped in kraft paper, and simply throwing packets into the alchemy furnaces was enough to sustain the ship’s flight.

They had purchased over ten baskets of medicinal stones in the capital, originally enough to fly into the Great Ruins, but the frequent stops along the way to melt icicles from the ship had consumed a lot of them.

Hu Ling’er said, “The weather is too cold. If the alchemy furnaces are running at full power, I estimate we won’t make it to the Great Ruins.”

Just then, the treasure ship violently vibrated. Qin Mu quickly exited the cabin, but as soon as he peeked out, he hastily slammed the cabin door shut. A series of incredibly rapid clangs resounded; a dozen flying swords were impaled in the cabin door.

Qin Mu pushed open the cabin door and saw a sword orb flying and spinning above the treasure ship. The ship’s deck and cabin walls were filled with impaled flying swords. As the sword orb rotated, these flying swords vibrated, detaching one by one from the deck and cabin, and returning to the sword orb.

Cleaving Sword Form!

Qin Mu raised his hand and struck down. With a clang, the Shaobao Sword cleaved the sword orb, which burst open, sending hundreds of broken flying swords plummeting from the sky.

“Good sword!”

A voice came. Qin Mu looked in its direction and saw a scholar sprinting towards them thousands of zhang above the clouds, moving at an astonishing speed.

“Cult Master Qin of the Heavenly Devil Cult, your identity has been exposed, and your path ahead is fraught with difficulties!”

The young scholar leaped and soared across the clouds, divine abilities erupting behind him from time to time, propelling his speed ever faster. His voice came steadily, laughing, “Many fellow Daoists are waiting for you up ahead!”

Qin Mu’s eyes flickered. He pointed his finger, and the Shaobao Sword streaked with a cold light, stabbing towards the young scholar. The young scholar, with wide sleeves and flowing robes, floated towards the Shaobao Sword. Suddenly, his sleeves were pierced by the sword light, startling him. He quickly flicked his fingers repeatedly, each movement of his fingertips causing a divine ability to erupt, transforming into many flaming sparrows that clanged against the Shaobao Sword.

Qin Mu’s sword-finger rotated, transforming into the Circling Sword Form, crushing all the sparrows. The Shaobao Sword was also burned red, but the sword spun and danced around the young scholar, flying up and down, and in an instant, the young scholar was stark naked.

“Excellent swordsmanship!”

The young scholar quickly halted, creating distance from the treasure ship. Qin Mu felt his vital qi thread control reach its limit. He then took out his sword sheath, shook it against the wind, and the sheath transformed into a fish-dragon. The Shaobao Sword turned into a streak of light, flying back and being swallowed by the fish-dragon.

“Amitābha!”

A Buddhist chant resonated from above. Qin Mu hastily looked up, met by blinding sunlight. The sun’s rays were intensely bright, and he vaguely saw a colossal golden Buddha descending from the sky, falling towards the treasure ship!

Qin Mu’s vital qi burst forth, and the Shaobao Sword flew out from its sheath once more, transforming into the Piercing Sword Form as it stabbed towards the descending Buddha above!

“Vajra Invincible!”

A thunderous roar echoed in mid-air. Qin Mu immediately felt the Piercing Sword Form become incredibly sluggish. Immense pressure descended, transferring through his body to the treasure ship. Qin Mu’s bones groaned under the unbearable strain, and the treasure ship also creaked, forced down into the clouds under the immense weight.