Chapter 472: Crushing Overwhelmingly

The Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace nervously looked at the ruined wasteland, seemingly concerned for Qin Mu's safety. His worry, causing him to falter, finally revealed a weakness.

This was the weakness True God Old Mother had long awaited, now right before her eyes!

"Eeyah-ah—" True God Old Mother opened her mouth, letting out a strange, shrill, prolonged, and piercing cry. Her magic power erupted, causing countless muscles in her body to swell, instantly tearing her skin apart.

Her muscles grew wildly outward with explosive force. Tian Siyu's body was not her true form; now, as she fully unleashed her magic power, divine might surged forth, causing the small, womanly body to explode.

Simultaneously, the Flaming Desert seemed to come alive. Within a radius of several hundred miles, countless grains of sand swirled and flowed, and the ground beneath the Imperial Preceptor's feet transformed into a giant, madly spinning maw that gripped him.

The enormous mouth, like an abyss, exerted a terrifying suction force. At the same time, countless swirling sands coalesced into sharp lines, forming swords of sand that lunged towards the trapped Imperial Preceptor.

True God Old Mother's piercing cry had not yet ceased, but her body had already swollen to a height of a hundred zhang, resembling a towering giant whose divine might was overwhelming.

She had prepared for this ambush for a long time. Her sudden burst of power was truly overwhelming, a stark contrast to the demure, virtuous, and clinging Tian Siyu she had pretended to be throughout their journey.

While "overpowering aura" often described men, in the Western Lands, where women held sway, it was even more fitting for a woman.

True God Old Mother raised her hand, and the deserts on both sides surged upwards, forming two immensely thick walls that slammed towards the Imperial Preceptor in the center.

"Die!"

The moment True God Old Mother uttered the word, a sudden sword light pierced through the back of her head and emerged from her glabella.

True God Old Mother froze. The churning desert suddenly stilled, and the hundreds-of-zhang-tall, mile-thick sand walls standing in the desert abruptly collapsed, dissolving into a torrent of quicksand, incredibly resembling a great flood.

Beneath the Imperial Preceptor's feet, the spinning maw also ceased its rotation, filling with quicksand, and the sand swords around his body suddenly fell away.

"Where did this little brat come from? This is divine wine for the High Gods, something you're allowed to touch?" The Imperial Preceptor turned his head, looking up at the majestic, hundred-zhang-tall True God Old Mother, and said softly, "In the murals, the divine maiden Qin Cult Master kicked away spoke these exact words, nineteen characters in total. Qin Cult Master said many things to you along the way, and you spoke all nineteen of those characters. He is very clever; he knew if he asked you to say the full phrase directly, you would surely change your tone or style. But by scattering these nineteen characters across many sentences, you wouldn't be on guard."

True God Old Mother's voice was hoarse as she rasped, "So, you never believed me from the start?"

The Imperial Preceptor's gaze was peculiar as he shook his head. "Qin Cult Master is incredibly audacious. When he slipped the Black Tortoise Pearl into your hand, even I was startled. If you had suddenly erupted then and unleashed the power of the Black Tortoise Pearl, I might not have been able to handle you. He overestimated my strength, and I had no choice but to feign composure. You thought he and I were testing you, but in truth, that rascal was just acting on his own initiative. I was also on tenterhooks at the time. You missed many opportunities."

"That rascal again..." True God Old Mother sighed, then the sword wound on her glabella suddenly burst open, and she chuckled, "However, if you think this is enough to defeat me, then you are far too naive..."

The Imperial Preceptor's expression subtly changed. What flowed from the wound on True God Old Mother's glabella was not blood, but sand.

True God Old Mother smiled. The wounds on her glabella and the back of her head grew larger and larger, with more and more sand pouring out. She giggled, "Don't you know that the Myriad Gods Nature Technique was created by me? This desert was also created by me. To try and kill me in a place I created is utterly delusional!"

Her body suddenly collapsed with a rumble. True God Old Mother's voice echoed from all directions: "Here, I faced off against more than a dozen Sun Ships and Moon Ships and killed over a dozen Sun Guards and Moon Guards. Did you think my reputation was undeserved?"

The Imperial Preceptor shot skyward, heading directly for the Sun Ship that lay toppled in the desert. His sword was drawn, its light like a streak of moonlight: a shadow without light, light without form; when there was shadow, there was no light, and when there was light, there was no form!

He thrust his sword, but before he could reach the Sun Ship, the enormous vessel suddenly seemed to come alive, rumbling as it raised its legs and stood. Chains rattled, and the black sun, remarkably, shook free and soared upwards from its sandy burial.

The black sun rolled through the air with an earth-shattering roar, compressing space so intensely that lightning flashed and crackled wildly across the desert.

The Sun Ship charged towards the Imperial Preceptor. This colossal vessel, moving through the desolate and empty desert, presented an absurd and distorted sight.

"This is a masterpiece from the Ministry of Works during the Founding Emperor era! They believed they could create divine weapons through human effort, allowing a mortal to possess the power of a god!"

In the center of the Sun Ship, between four massive pillars, a god-like woman slowly rose. Her four arms tightly gripped the pillars, and she laughed heartily: "However, they merely created weapons for me! In the battle of the Flaming Desert, they were almost entirely wiped out, all dying by my hand!"

Whoosh— Sand snakes, formed from countless swirling grains, emerged from the desert. Their enormous bodies coiled and burrowed through the sand, roaring and surging like immense serpents of sand, stirring up chaos as they lunged towards the Imperial Preceptor!

"Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace, do you feel it? Do you feel my magic power raging and surging?" True God Old Mother propelled the Sun Ship forward, swinging the black sun to smash down on the approaching Imperial Preceptor. She laughed heartily, "I'll make you feel true despair! Eeyah-ah—"

A prolonged and piercing cry echoed across the desert. Accompanying the sound were the gigantic, moving ship, the whistling, sweeping black sun, and immense sand snakes, all swirling and battling around one incredibly tiny figure.

This scene was earth-shattering.

True God Old Mother was utterly brutal. Her body was enormous, and the Sun Ship was even larger; in comparison, the Imperial Preceptor's physique appeared insignificant. True God Old Mother propelled the Sun Ship in an overwhelming assault against the Imperial Preceptor. The force of each attack was beyond imagination. Her assaults were varied, the sand sea boiled, and the entire desert seemed to be her body and her weapon!

The Imperial Preceptor continuously retreated, his small figure repeatedly breaking through True God Old Mother's attacks. Though he was retreating, the distance between him and the Sun Ship was steadily closing.

True God Old Mother grew tense. The Imperial Preceptor's retreat seemed to indicate a disadvantage, and the Sun Ship advancing step by step, closing the distance, appeared to show her dominance. However, this was not her gaining the upper hand; instead, she felt an incredibly strong sense of danger.

If she allowed the Imperial Preceptor to close to a certain distance, she would face his most ferocious attacks. Being approached by the Imperial Preceptor would undoubtedly mean her death.

Now, she was in an impossible situation. Perched atop the Sun Ship, she could only wield such immense and terrifying magic power by drawing upon its strength. However, relying on the ship's power also came with a significant drawback: she had to remain between the four pillars, gripping them.

This restricted her movement and agility, meaning if the Imperial Preceptor got close, she would have no choice but to surrender or be defeated.

Yet, without relying on the Sun Ship's magic power and without the Four Spirit Pearls, her combat strength would be inferior to the Imperial Preceptor's.

Currently, her only option was to kill the Imperial Preceptor from a distance before he could close in.

The shorter the distance, the closer she was to her demise.

True God Old Mother's magic power grew even more furious, her attacks more relentless, pushing him back step by step. Yet, with each retreat, the Imperial Preceptor drew closer, each inch closing like a tightening spring of death, awaiting the final harvest.

True God Old Mother's shriek grew louder and louder, sweat beading on her forehead and falling like rain.

Meanwhile, the Sun Ship and the Imperial Preceptor moved farther from the ruins. Within the ruins, Qin Mu and Grand Tutor Ban stood at opposite ends of the dilapidated hall's roof.

When True God Old Mother attacked and the Imperial Preceptor struck her down with a single sword, the sheer magnitude of the commotion startled Grand Tutor Ban, almost causing him to flee.

How powerful was the Imperial Preceptor? The battle at True God Palace had completely extinguished Grand Tutor Ban's desire to contend with him in this world; he only thought of defeating him after reaching the Divine Bridge realm.

However, when he saw that True God Old Mother's false body had escaped and the Imperial Preceptor had merely slain a sand giant with his sword, he finally sighed in relief and ceased his thoughts of escape.

Only when he witnessed True God Old Mother controlling the Sun Ship and overwhelming the Imperial Preceptor did he finally fully relax.

Grand Tutor Ban smiled, leisurely saying, "Qin Cult Master's calculations are indeed astute. Bringing both the Imperial Preceptor and True God Old Mother to find me—I understand your little scheme. It's nothing more than killing two birds with one stone. The Imperial Preceptor ambushes and assassinates True God Old Mother, while you, taking advantage of my shock, ambush and assassinate me. A truly good plan, but alas, the heavens' calculations are not as good as man's. You still didn't account for True God Old Mother's overwhelming strength. This is your first mistake."

He clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely continued, "Your second mistake was misjudging me. You treated me as an ordinary divine arts practitioner, and that is your biggest error. I have undergone more than ten reincarnations; the speed of my cultivation's progress is unimaginable to you, and the rate of my power's increase is equally beyond your comprehension!"

His aura erupted, and chaotic vital qi twisted the surrounding air, forming numerous tornadoes that spun wildly around the dilapidated hall, kicking up countless debris and even tearing thick pillars from the ruins, creating a terrifying display of power!

"What power do you have to contend with me?"

Grand Tutor Ban roared. His cultivation was significantly stronger than during their last encounter in the desert; his progress was truly astonishing!

Grand Tutor Ban strode forward, and behind him, the ethereal figures of numerous gods and buddhas appeared, forming layers of Grotto-Heavens. His body glowed with golden light, like a Buddha, as he activated the Mahayana Sutra of Tathagata, reaching the realm of the Great Eloquence Heaven!

Grand Tutor Ban raised a hand and unleashed a palm strike that stirred wind and thunder, causing booming thunder and showering heavenly flowers, all directed at Qin Mu!

Qin Mu raised his hand, and with a rumble!

Qin Mu stretched his body and abruptly stomped. The remaining part of the hall collapsed with a roar, and a large crater instantly appeared in the ground. Grand Tutor Ban was deeply embedded in the desert beneath his foot.

"Great Venerable, what did you say?" Qin Mu asked, tilting his head.