Chapter 579: Male Roe Deer Hoof Ambiguity, Female Roe Deer Eyes Dazzling

Qin Mu swiftly retrieved the Solar Jade Eye and Lunar Jade Eye, positioning them in front and behind him. Simultaneously, flags whirled around him, drawing all living beings within a ten-step radius into their formation patterns.

These were teleportation flags. While his teleportation divine art required a moment to activate, the flags were more convenient, initiating instantly and covering greater distances.

He had crafted these formation flags precisely to guard against attacks from gods and devils, aiming to avoid being caught unprepared as he was when he fell into Boundless Luo's hands.

Although the teleportation flags were only marginally faster than his divine art, that tiny advantage could be life-saving!

Unexpectedly, just as the teleportation flags began to spin and their runes illuminated, they suddenly exploded with a series of bangs. The shattered flags scattered like colorful butterflies, leaving only their poles haphazardly stuck in the ground.

"The speed of the gods and devils' attacks is far quicker than I expected!"

Without any extraneous movements or thoughts, Qin Mu immediately activated the two jade eyes. Within them, Lunar qi transformed into intensely potent moonlight, and Solar qi into equally potent sunlight. He held the two jade eyes firmly, one in each hand, ready to confront an enemy at any moment.

Thick beams of light emanated from the jade eyes, sweeping around with a buzzing sound.

When the pupils of these two jade eyes were at their widest, they possessed little power and were only suitable for illumination. However, by manipulating the neural plexus of the jade eyes with his palms, Qin Mu could alter their internal formations, converging the light of the sun and moon into a single, focused beam.

These two light beams then possessed the power to injure deities!

He had already tested this on the Dragon Herder.

Qin Mu cautiously surveyed his surroundings, then stated in a deep voice, "Could it be Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou?"

"It is I."

A woman in snow-white robes slowly approached, bathed in the moonlight from the Lunar Jade Eye. She was indeed beautiful, with her elegant hair styled into a high bun resembling a cloud, two strands intertwined and falling slightly askew.

Her skirt was voluminous, and her imperial palace gown was loose-fitting, yet her waist was remarkably slender, delicate enough to be encircled with one hand.

She possessed a unique demeanor; her eyes were cool and indifferent, as if little could move or stir her heart.

Qin Mu's eye twitched. He knew that if such a woman made up her mind and was convinced of something, it would be extremely difficult to make her change it.

The group of silly roe deer around him showed no fear of the approaching Tianfeng Gou. They were biting at his hem, rolling it into their mouths with their tongues. A few other silly roe deer looked up at him curiously, and one buck let out a playful bleat.

Qin Mu felt as though he were facing a formidable enemy, staring intently at Tianfeng Gou, not daring to miss any of her movements.

However, the roe deer were pulling too tightly, so he had to tug at his collar to free his clothes from their mouths.

"Bleat! Bleat—" A few bucks grew angry, lowering their heads to butt his rear with their antlers. One would butt him, retreat a few steps to gather momentum, then another would do the same.

Qin Mu stood as firm as a mountain, unmoving, allowing the roe deer to repeatedly butt his rear. "No wonder the Great Honored Deity attached deer legs to himself; these roe deer are incredibly persistent!"

Tianfeng Gou glanced at the roe deer butting Qin Mu, then her gaze settled on the two jade eyes beside him. She said, "Sect Master Qin, can you give me an explanation? Why did you kill my disciples, and why did you eliminate all of them at once? I had only these few disciples, whom I taught diligently, yet they all died by your hand. Even as a Heavenly Master's disciple, you must explain yourself clearly."

"It appears Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou is unaware of what her disciples did."

The tension vanished from Qin Mu's face; he clearly let out a huge sigh of relief. With a sincere gaze, he said, "Tianfeng Gou, your disciple Guan He and her junior martial brothers had already defected to the devil race, intending to harm me. I had no choice but to use lethal force; otherwise, my life would have been in peril."

Tianfeng Gou uttered an "Oh" and said, "Sect Master Qin claims my disciples defected to the enemy. Surely you can provide proof?"

Qin Mu picked up the two jade eyes and slowly retreated, saying, "Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou, please follow me."

He retreated step by step, the two jade eyes still held firmly in his hands, ready to react at any moment. The Dragon Qilin, carrying the little fox, also slowly backed away. Behind them, the nine silly roe deer continued to foolishly butt them, very persistently.

Qin Mu slowly retreated to the small mountain village, then into the village itself, stating in a deep voice, "Tianfeng Gou, please look."

Tianfeng Gou looked at the corpse of the devil race expert at the Celestial Human realm, her pupils constricting slightly.

Qin Mu said, "The traces of divine arts left here, aren't they your disciples' techniques, Tianfeng Gou? These are not the divine arts of one person, but five. Guan He told me she dueled with this devil race expert and took great effort to kill him. So why are there traces of five different divine arts?"

Tianfeng Gou said faintly, "It's possible Guan He falsely claimed credit."

"Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou, can you not discern the fatal wound on the corpse? As a master swordsman, you should be able to tell that the individual who managed to stab and kill this devil race expert's primordial spirit with a single sword in such a short time must have been at an extremely close range."

Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "Judging from the corpse's expression, he never expected Guan He to attack him; hence his look of surprise. Guan He was so close to him, he had no defenses, and his primordial spirit was slain by her. Is this plausible if they were enemies? Since they weren't enemies, they must have been friends. Do you need more evidence that Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou's disciples colluded with the devil race?"

Tianfeng Gou's eyes flickered. She said softly, "Yes, I do. I'm still puzzled: if they colluded with the devil race, why would Guan He kill the devil?"

"Because she needed the head of this devil race expert to gain my trust."

Qin Mu continued, "That way she could approach me smoothly. Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou, look again: are there any traces of devil race divine arts here? If it was a duel, why did this devil race expert die without unleashing a single divine art? With your keen eyesight, Tianfeng Gou, it shouldn't be hard to discern this."

Tianfeng Gou's face was expressionless. "What else?"

Qin Mu said, "The traces of divine arts here suggest a fierce duel, yet no divine arts destroyed this small mountain village, nor did they even affect it in the slightest. This indicates that all five of them were involved, and at the time, four of them used their divine arts within this small mountain village to tamper with the scene. Can this also be considered evidence?"

Tianfeng Gou exhaled slowly, and a faint smile appeared on her otherwise expressionless face. She said softly, "Sect Master Qin is truly observant. It seems my disciples indeed defected to the devil race. I was negligent in accepting them as disciples and almost caused a great disaster."

Hu Ling'er looked at Qin Mu with a puzzled expression.

Qin Mu, however, looked relieved and smiled. "No blame to the ignorant. The devil race is truly malicious and cunning. Honored Deity Tianfeng Gou was merely temporarily deceived by them; you will certainly discover the truth in the future and righteously punish your kin."

Behind him, the silly roe deer continued to ram into his rear, making thumping sounds.

Qin Mu rubbed his rear, which stung painfully. He thought to himself, "These roe deer are truly stubborn and relentless..."

Tianfeng Gou then dropped her smile and said, "Since the misunderstanding has been cleared, I shall not disturb you further... Who is there?"

Her voice became somewhat sharp. No sooner had she spoken than Honored Deity Sang Ye's voice was heard, laughing, "Tianfeng Gou, don't misunderstand, it's me."

Qin Mu finally relaxed. His hands, which had been gripping the jade eyes, loosened, and his palms were clammy with cold sweat.

Hu Ling'er also looked relieved and whispered, "Young Master..."

Qin Mu shook his head, lowering his voice, "Don't ask yet."

He had already noticed that the divine light emanating from Honored Deity Sang Ye at the watchtower of the Boundless City ruins had suddenly vanished, understanding that Honored Deity Sang Ye had detected the commotion here.

After all, Qin Mu had used the first form of the Calamity Sword, 'Opening Calamity', to slay Guan He. The 'Opening Calamity' sword move created a massive disturbance, with sword light erupting almost instantaneously over ten miles, making it difficult for Honored Deity Sang Ye to miss.

Sang Ye had seen this sword technique of Qin Mu's before, and upon seeing the sword light, he would certainly rush over, knowing that any opponent worthy of Qin Mu using the Calamity Sword must be formidable!

His presence to investigate meant Qin Mu was safe, regardless of whether Tianfeng Gou was a devil spy.

Qin Mu's step-by-step retreat to this small mountain village appeared to be an explanation to Tianfeng Gou, but in reality, it was an explanation to Honored Deity Sang Ye about why he killed Tianfeng Gou's disciples.

"So it was Senior Brother Sang Ye."

Tianfeng Gou relaxed, her expression calm. "Sect Master Qin and I had some misunderstandings, which have now been resolved."

Honored Deity Sang Ye approached and said, "It's good that the misunderstanding is resolved. However, one thing puzzles me: why did all of your disciples, Senior Sister Tianfeng Gou, defect to the devil race? A single defection might be understandable, as it's hard to uphold right and wrong when facing life and death, but an entire group defecting—that is what's truly strange."

Tianfeng Gou's eyebrow arched upwards. "And what do you think, Honored Deity Sang Ye?"

Honored Deity Sang Ye stepped between Qin Mu and Tianfeng Gou, saying, "With all five disciples defecting to the devil race, it's hard not to suspect whether the master also defected. Tianfeng Gou, you were once the city lord of Gou City, right? Fifteen hundred years ago, Gou City fell, and only you and a few others survived. When my Li City fell, although almost my entire family died in battle, with only my daughter and I surviving, I managed to protect many of Li City's common folk—ten times more than the survivors of Gui Mei City."

He clasped his hands behind his back and continued, "And for the divine cities like Bi, Fu, Tongren, and Dayou, I've checked how many people survived after their fall. The number of common folk who survived was also far greater than in Tianfeng Gou's Gou City."

Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he looked at Honored Deity Sang Ye's hands clasped behind his back.

Honored Deity Sang Ye's hands were making strange gestures, signaling that the situation was critical and they should leave quickly.

"Could it be that Honored Deity Sang Ye is not a match for Tianfeng Gou?"

Qin Mu's heart grew cold. He coughed and said, "Honored Deities, I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first."

His direction of retreat was precisely behind Honored Deity Sang Ye's back. He retreated step by step, never leaving Sang Ye's shadow, as only this way could he avoid Tianfeng Gou's gaze.

Tianfeng Gou said, "Sect Master Qin, are you planning to go to the Boundless City watchtower? Can you be sure that Honored Deity Sang Ye isn't the traitor? My disciples defected, so why did they happen to appear nearby, precisely not far from the Boundless City watchtower? Honored Deity Sang Ye is guarding the watchtower. If he is the traitor, going to the Boundless City watchtower would be walking into a trap; a devil god must already be waiting for you there. You are so intelligent, surely you wouldn't put yourself in danger?"

Hu Ling'er's head spun, feeling her mind was struggling to process everything. She whispered, "Young Master, who is the traitor among them?"

Tianfeng Gou's voice came again, saying, "Honored Deity Sang Ye was the one who voluntarily proposed guarding the Boundless City watchtower, wasn't he? The watchtower is in the devil race's territory, and you've had it built for over half a month, yet no devil god has come to cause you trouble. Is it good luck, or is there another hidden reason?"

Qin Mu stopped, his head also beginning to ache.

Honored Deity Sang Ye built the Boundless City watchtower within the devil race's territory, and no devil god came to bother him, which was indeed a bit strange.

Tianfeng Gou continued, "Although few survived my Gou City, apart from me, two other deities survived. Sang Ye, how many deities survived your Lin City? Besides you, none, right? Did they all die at the hands of devil gods?"

Sang Ye said faintly, "Where are the two senior brothers who survived Gou City with you? As far as I know, although they survived the battle of Gou City, they died in the subsequent battle of Boundless City. They are all dead, and still, only you survived from Gou City."

Hu Ling'er nervously hugged her six tails to herself. "Young Master, I'm already dizzy..."

Qin Mu mumbled, "I'm dizzy too... But there's still one way to determine who the traitor is: go to the Boundless City ruins. If Honored Deity Sang Ye is the traitor, then there must be devil race experts waiting there for me to walk into their trap. If not, then..."

As he spoke, a tall figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing with a boom to his right.

It was a devil god!

Qin Mu's eye twitched slightly. He had seen this devil god twice before. The first time was during the Battle of Lin City, where he killed Sang Ye and Sang Hua's entire family!

The second time was in Li City. On that day, when Sang Hua and he were carried by the Black Tiger God to Li City, Sang Hua kept staring at this devil god.

This devil god bore flame-patterned markings on his body, and his eyes flickered like leaping flames!

With the descent of this devil god, three gods and devils stood in a three-way standoff.

Tianfeng Gou said softly, "Devil God Hu Tuo Luo, you came from your Boundless City watchtower, didn't you?"

Honored Deity Sang Ye's pupils constricted. He gritted his teeth and said, "Hu Tuo Luo killed my entire family; only my daughter escaped. How could I defect to the devil race, to him?"

Hu Tuo Luo frowned slightly, his voice incomparably loud, shaking the forest. "Things have come to this. It's two against one; do we still need to hide anything? Let's just drop the pretense and finish this quickly. Honored King Boundless Luo is already impatient to see that kid named Qin!"

Silence fell all around.

After a moment, Tianfeng Gou chuckled softly. "Sect Master Qin likes to infer the truth from subtle clues. I merely wanted to play a game and watch his reaction. Manipulating people's hearts, isn't that precisely what devil gods enjoy doing?"

Qin Mu's heart turned cold.

Tianfeng Gou smiled. "Hu Tuo Luo, you capture Sect Master Qin, and I'll send Sang Ye on his way."

Hu Tuo Luo turned to look at Qin Mu. Qin Mu nervously retreated, when suddenly he heard a thud. The silly roe deer were still butting his rear, causing sharp pain. Qin Mu couldn't help but become enraged. He furiously drew his sword and placed it against the neck of a buck, growling, "If you butt me again, I'll kill you!"

The buck beneath Qin Mu's sword suddenly split cleanly open. A stunning blade light shone from the forest, even slicing the sky. The blade light cut directly through Hu Tuo Luo's palm, then across Hu Tuo Luo's neck, leaving an incredibly thin black line in the air!

The black line was impossibly thin, almost without any discernible thickness.

That was the severed space; the space hadn't even had time to heal!

Then, that stunning blade light abruptly stopped at Qin Mu's neck. From the split buck, a tall old man stood up. His face was fleshy and bore a full, unruly beard that grew wildly in all directions.

The old man's face was full of rage. He held the blade to Qin Mu's neck and fumed, "Mu'er, what's wrong with butting your rear? Cripple, Blind, and Mute have been butting your rear, and I butt you just once and you want to kill me! And you say you're not biased? Do they love you as much as I do?"