Chapter 226: One Sword Opens the Emperor's Flood of Blood

In the main hall, Hu Ling'er lay motionless on Dragon Qilin's back. She secretly opened her eyes and saw human heads rolling down.

This scene was extremely eerie. Although there were no visible enemies, powerful Heaven Human Realm experts died instantly upon stepping into the courtyard.

The others were on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy. A Heaven Human Realm expert shouted, his sword qi like frost, silvery frost swirling around his body. He slowly entered the courtyard, his gaze vigilant, sweeping all around.

His swordsmanship was formidable, with countless sword lights moving around his body like tiny fish, joyfully circling him.

He adopted a passive defensive style. Thousands of tiny sword-fish swam around him, imbued with his immensely profound cultivation. They would immediately counterattack and deliver a fatal blow if any hostility was detected!

He was forced to resort to this, as the enemy was traceless, appearing and disappearing without a trace. It was impossible to discern where the enemy was or how they attacked, yet so many Heaven Human Realm experts had perished. It was truly utterly bizarre.

He encountered no danger, but still dared not relax his vigilance. He slowly moved towards the main hall where Qin Mu and the others were sleeping. Then, he saw the painting hanging in front of the hall.

Qin Mu had lit a candle in front of this painting, illuminating it.

The painting depicted the back of a middle-aged man carrying a sword. The man's face was turned slightly, as if he was looking at the painter out of the corner of his eye.

The corner of his eye revealed astonishing murderous intent.

This fleeting glance was captured by the painter, becoming this very painting.

Although only the middle-aged man was depicted in the painting, it gave the impression that the painting contained infinite information that had not been drawn, hidden within its blank spaces.

It depicted the aftermath of a horrific battle. The corpses of countless powerful experts lay fallen at the middle-aged man's feet. Bodies floated in a vast sea of blood, white bones stained crimson by blood, glowing with an unusual hue. Countless wronged souls slain by his sword were being captured by netherworld emissaries and dragged into the darkness.

And in that dark world, a demon god with two long, winding horns was holding a celebratory feast, celebrating these powerful experts' wronged souls becoming his guests and food.

This was the information hidden in the blank spaces of the painting!

In the courtyard, the Heaven Human Realm expert saw the painting and the figure within it. He suddenly froze, seeing his own head sliding from his neck. He felt everything become incredibly slow, as if he were slowly falling into a lightless darkness, sinking deeper and deeper, endlessly, never reaching the bottom.

His head hit the ground, rolled twice, his eyes still wide open.

Suddenly, a large hand reached out and snatched his head.

Outside the courtyard, nine other people stood there, their faces filled with terror. Only the white-browed elder, Daoist Qingshan, remained relatively calm. It was he who had grabbed the head of the Heaven Human Realm expert.

He was also the only grand master in the Life and Death Realm among them.

Daoist Qingshan looked into the Heaven Human Realm expert's eyes, let out a murky breath, and muttered, "What a sword."

The other eight hurriedly looked and stammered, "Daoist Qingshan, what have you found?"

"Look at his eyes."

The eight people leaned closer. They saw a ray of sword light in each of the Heaven Human Realm expert's eye pupils. The sword seemed to have pierced directly forward, and in the next instant, the expert's life was ended!

Daoist Qingshan lifted the head, facing the main hall where Qin Mu and the others were sleeping. He said, "The sword came from there. What exactly is in there?"

He slowly shifted his body, gradually seeking an angle. Then he saw the flickering candlelight, and then a corner of the painting. He said, "It's a painting. I saw the corner of the figure's clothes in the painting..."

"Daoist Qingshan, why go to such trouble? Wouldn't it be simpler to just destroy the house and everyone inside?"

A Heaven Human Realm expert suddenly attacked. His sword pellet shot into the air, with a pillar of sword light erupting from within it, whistling as it thrust towards the house where Qin Mu and the others were!

The sword pillar was incredibly massive, and everything in its path was pulverized by the rotating sword light!

This was the Circling Sword Style, created by the Imperial Master of Yankang!

The Imperial Master of Yankang was not one to hoard his techniques; many of the sword styles he created had already spread. Many sword sects in the martial world practiced his sword arts, and the attacker was one of the best among them!

His mastery of the Circling Sword Style surpassed that of many others.

"Do not direct murderous intent at that painting!"

Daoist Qingshan's expression changed dramatically. He tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

The sword pillar suddenly seemed to hit an invisible barrier, freezing in mid-air. Then it disintegrated inch by inch, followed by a *pop* as the sword pellet exploded.

The expert who had just attacked now had a red mark on his forehead. A drop of blood oozed from the mark, and then he swayed, stumbled, and collapsed to the ground.

"Be on guard!" Daoist Qingshan shouted sternly.

His aura erupted, and six rumbling sounds came from within his body as his six divine treasures—Spirit Embryo, Five Qiyun, Six Directions, Seven Stars, Heaven Human, and Life and Death—all opened!

Around him, Heaven Human Realm experts staggered, continuously forced to retreat by his immense aura.

Whoosh—

Behind Daoist Qingshan, a phantom of a god-demon appeared, with a dragon's head and a human body, like a deity descending. Half its body was in the void, and half stepped into reality.

Daoist Qingshan clutched a bright mirror in his hand, staring intensely at the main hall where Qin Mu and the others were sleeping. His voice hoarse, he said, "Why aren't you on guard quickly? Are you trying to die?"

Just then, Qin Mu, who was feigning sleep in the main hall, squinted his eyes. He saw a figure float down from the wall behind him. He could only see the back of a middle-aged man, his shadow stretched long by the candlelight.

This middle-aged man who had emerged from the painting was tall and slender, carrying a precious sword on his back. He was very quiet, like a spirit without a physical body, floating towards the courtyard.

The figure looked up at the sky, drew the sword from his back, and danced with it, singing softly. Sword light moved, and fish-dragons danced.

"One sword rends a vast ocean of imperial blood. Mountains and rivers remain, but my heart is lost. I look around, my old homeland is gone, people no longer wear old clothes..."

Qin Mu dared not move an inch, feeling as if the entire world was suddenly filled with sharp sword qi and sword light, weaving around him, traversing through space and time.

He closed his eyes, but sword lights still flashed in front of his eyes from the darkness, tearing through it.

He heard the sound of sword qi tearing through the air near his ears. It was very swift and very brief.

He opened his eyes. His vision was filled with crisscrossing sword lights. Outside the courtyard, angry shouts rang out again, and terrifying fluctuations surged violently. In the dim night, the other houses in the small village flew into the sky, disintegrating and shattering in mid-air.

Qin Mu's heart thumped wildly. "Grandpa Deaf has imbued it with a soul," he thought, "he's imbued the village chief in the painting with a soul..."

Suddenly, all sounds and lights vanished. The soft singing also disappeared.

Qin Mu's eyes were half-open, half-closed. He vaguely saw a figure approaching him, seemingly about to return to the painting behind him. Suddenly, the figure dispersed, becoming a puddle of ink on the ground.

Qin Mu was stunned. He quickly opened his eyes and cautiously looked back, seeing that the painting hanging on the wall had turned into a blank sheet of paper.

The candlelight flickered, and silence surrounded them.

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief. Hu Ling'er opened her eyes and whispered, "Young Master..."

"It's safe now. Go to sleep."

Qin Mu said, "Tomorrow we still have to cross the mountains; it's a long journey."

Hu Ling'er buried her head. Qin Mu also lay down completely, looked at the blank paper behind the candlelight, and felt a sense of peace.

The next day, Qin Mu woke up and got up, walking into the courtyard. He saw that the small village from last night had become a blank expanse, all other houses having vanished without a trace. Only their half-collapsed courtyard remained, with most of its walls fallen, the east house half-ruined, and the roof of the west house gone.

Qin Mu washed up, set up the pot, and made breakfast. Hu Ling'er got the Dutian Devil King's mechanism ready and ran out with him, shrieking in surprise.

Dragon Qilin groggily woke up, glanced outside, yawned, licked his paws, and haphazardly wiped his face with his damp paws. He asked curiously, "Where are we now? Where did the village from yesterday go...? Cult Master, is breakfast ready? Can I have some cumin on my Red Fire Spirit Pills today? I want to try a different flavor..."

Qin Mu grabbed some cumin, took out half a *dou* of Red Fire Spirit Pills, and sprinkled it on top.

Dragon Qilin looked down at his food, then looked up, confused, and said, "Only half a *dou*?"

Qin Mu said angrily, "You're so fat now you can barely run. Half a *dou* is more than enough!"

Dragon Qilin said, "I'm still growing. If you cut back on my food, I won't grow properly..."

"You're still growing?"

Qin Mu was furious. He tried to pinch the flesh on its belly, but found he couldn't pinch it at all. "You're not growing; you're just gaining weight!" he fumed. "Try pinching yourself and see if you can even make a fold!"

Dragon Qilin also stretched out a paw and pinched, realizing he couldn't pinch it either. He said, "I have a constitution where I gain weight even from drinking cold water..."

Hu Ling'er ran over, annoyed. "Fat Dragon," she fumed, "you can just drink cold water from now on!"

Dragon Qilin quickly shielded the Red Fire Spirit Pills in front of him and chuckled apologetically. "It's just that I'm afraid of being hungry; I always want to eat a bit more. Half a *dou* is half a *dou*; it can't be any less, or I'll really be skin and bones."

The Dutian Devil King approached, seeing that Qin Mu had finished eating and drinking and was taking down the painting, which was now just blank paper, from the front of the hall. He asked, "Did your elder draw this painting?"

Qin Mu nodded.

The Dutian Devil King was silent for a moment. He said, "Is the person in the painting also your elder?"

Qin Mu put the scroll into his Taotie Pouch and nodded again.

The Dutian Devil King said, "I'm not afraid of them. However, keeping me locked inside this devil god statue isn't a solution. How about you unseal me, and my consciousness leaves your world and returns to Dutian, never to step foot here again?"

Qin Mu neither confirmed nor denied. He said, "Ling'er, eat faster. We need to get going."

The Dutian Devil King was vexed.

After Hu Ling'er finished eating, Qin Mu stepped forward to help wash the bowls and chopsticks. He put the clean dishes into his Taotie Pouch, checked the remaining food in the pouch, and said, "It should last until the Great Ruins. Devil King, let's go."

The Dutian Devil King followed. He said, "I'm not afraid of them. If my true form descends, I fear no one..."

The Divine Mountain Range stretched for countless miles. Qin Mu and the others arrived at the foot of the mountain, seeing that the range was incredibly steep, difficult for spirit apes to climb and for birds to fly over.

Qin Mu took out the Yankang geographical map, searched it carefully, and smiled, "The Desolate Ridge Canyon isn't far from here. Let's go!"

As he spoke, suddenly, a rift appeared in the dark clouds in the sky. A gigantic red serpent peered out from the clouds, spewing flames from its mouth, burning the clouds away. Then, a golden swarm of insects flew out from the rift, scattering in all directions, with a few flying towards their location.