Chapter 609: As Before

Qin Mu's Calamity Sword clashed with the Nine Phoenixes. The two great divine arts were almost equally powerful. The Nine Phoenixes were pierced by the sword light, and the "sword within a sword" technique of the Calamity Sword immediately erupted. Eight thousand swords confronted the countless divine arts within the Nine Phoenixes' body.

At that moment, the Indigocrest Tree suddenly appeared, its branches dancing and radiating colorful light. In the collision, the power of the Calamity Sword was depleted.

Qin Mu retreated, drawing his sword back. As he activated the Three-Pillared Hegemon Body Art, eight dragon roars echoed within him. The Eight Ancestral Dragon Sounds — sticking, killing, seizing, capturing, pulling, dragging, rotating, hammering, and refining — instantly revitalized his somewhat depleted vitality.

Inside Qin Mu's body, his divine treasures suddenly reversed, transforming from divine path treasures into demonic path treasures. The Spirit Embryo, Five Elements, and Seven Stars instantly inverted their positions, with the divine path treasures below and the demonic path treasures above!

His primordial spirit, formed from the fusion of his spirit embryo and soul, descended into the demonic path spirit embryo treasure. It stood upon the demonic earth, which was the continent transformed from his demonic path spirit platform.

In the sky, a demonic sun and a demonic moon shone, and the demonic palaces of the Five Elemental stars were home to the Five Elemental Demonic Gods.

The instant Qin Mu drew his sword back, he thrust it out again, performing the first stance of the Calamity Sword: Calamity Unleashed!

The spherical light caused by their previous divine art collision expanded once more in the valley. However, this time it was mixed with black sword light. Streaks of ink-black sword light burst outwards from the center of the spherical light, instantly tainting the light sphere!

Both their divine arts were almost completely obliterated. The power emanating from the surrounding light had not yet fully burst forth, but all the trees in the valley had already fallen, collapsing outwards from the light sphere's epicenter.

Chunks of rock floated into the air, hurtling in all directions at astonishing speed.

Within the radiating light, Qin Mu retreated, drawing his sword for the second time. Qi Jiuyi stepped forward again, clasping his hands together. From the tree, a phoenix nest suddenly flew out, sending streams of golden straw and parasol tree branches hurtling towards Qin Mu.

Qin Mu drew his sword and shook his hand. Eight thousand swords suddenly merged into one, becoming the Carefree Sword in his hand. The sword light flashed as it met the incoming golden straw and parasol tree branches.

A Dao rhythm, almost approaching true Dao, appeared on him. The sword in his hand resembled flickering digital symbols, constantly evolving.

This was the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword.

"Dao nourishes all heavens and earth, uniting myriad laws under one!"

Even the Old Dao Master of the Dao Sect had not fully comprehended the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword, only mastering half of its stance. Yet, even that half-stance was considered an unparalleled divine sword art in Eternal Peace.

It wasn't that the Old Dao Master lacked talent or comprehension; rather, the Dao Sword involved the mathematical changes of all things in heaven and earth. If the mathematical calculations were incorrect, the Dao Sword could not be mastered.

Furthermore, the sun, moon, and stars in Eternal Peace were all false, and there were subtle errors in the calculations of the Heavenly Stardragon Array. It was naturally impossible to comprehend the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword using flawed calculations.

Qin Mu had also studied the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword. His mastery of calculations was already extremely high. The reason he could comprehend the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword so easily wasn't because his talent or comprehension surpassed the Old Dao Master's, but because he had seen the star map from 350,000 years ago and had also studied the star array left by the Founding Ancestor to guard the God-Slaying Profound Blade.

With this knowledge, he was able to deduce the method to break the Heavenly Stardragon Killing Array while simultaneously grasping the profound mysteries of the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword.

When he unleashed the "Unity of All Under Heaven" sword, it barely used any of his cultivation or consumed any of his vital qi. The sword art borrowed power from heaven and earth, and the flashing sword light shattered the incoming golden straw and parasol tree branches.

He had continuously used the Calamity Sword twice to break Qi Jiuyi's great divine art, and his own vital qi consumption was terrifying. The power of the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword was not necessarily greater than the first stance of the Calamity Sword, and might even be slightly inferior. However, for Qin Mu, the fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword was the best choice!

As the power of the sword, golden straw, and parasol tree branches erupted, Qin Mu advanced instead of retreating, moving towards Qi Jiuyi. His physical body suddenly swelled, muscles bulging. Countless tiny sword lights flew out from the Carefree Sword in his hand, transforming into a butcher's knife.

The knife was five chi long and two chi wide. Qin Mu held it in his hand as if gripping a small door panel.

This butcher's knife then split into two, one in each hand, like two door panels.

Qi Jiuyi retreated, avoiding close combat. A pair of phoenix wings suddenly appeared behind him, sweeping out from his back and slashing continuously.

His magical power was also running low. His great divine art, "Nine Phoenixes Perch on Indigocrest," had been brewing for a long time. However, activating this move took a long time and consumed a vast amount of energy. To continuously withstand two of Qin Mu's Calamity Unleashed moves and then exhaust Qin Mu's fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword was already incredibly impressive.

Among the younger generation in the world today, he was definitely the first to push Qin Mu to such an extent!

His pair of phoenix wings possessed extraordinary power. Qin Mu rushed forward like a whirlwind, his door-panel-sized butcher's knives flashing up and down. Knife light swirled around his body as he wielded the Butcher's blade techniques, while his footwork was the Cripple's Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs, making his movements unpredictable.

The unique techniques of the Cripple and the Butcher, these two grand masters, were perfectly integrated within him!

As Qi Jiuyi unfurled and retracted his wings, countless feathers flew like swords, clanging as they collided. His sword arts were all-pervasive, assaulting Qin Mu's knife techniques.

His phoenix feathers executed sword arts, while his wings performed blade techniques, demonstrating mastery of both sword and blade.

His attainment in combat techniques was in no way inferior to Qin Mu's.

The two fought at high speed. Qin Mu's two blades darted forward and back, left and right, like a whirlwind. At times, the blade light seemed like towering waves crashing forward, with a great sun illuminating the East Sea within them. At other times, it was like a long blade suspending the moon's essence, a swift blade on a fast horse, rapid as a shooting star. He continuously pressed Qi Jiuyi, forcing him to retreat.

*Whoosh*—

The two butcher's knives in his hands suddenly shrunk. Tiny flying swords, like silver fish, swam out from the blades, flying through the air with lightning speed!

These hundreds of flying swords appeared as if invisible sword masters held them, attacking Qi Jiuyi from all angles around his body!

The Village Chief's sword art was also unleashed by Qin Mu.

Qi Jiuyi let out a long cry. The head on his neck suddenly exploded, splitting into nine. The nine phoenix heads, their plumes swaying, instantly projected clusters of light that clanged as they struck down the flying swords in the air.

Qi Jiuyi's nine heads pecked downwards. Qin Mu held his two knives horizontally and vertically, about to chop off the phoenix heads, when Qi Jiuyi's wings suddenly came up to meet him.

Qin Mu's butcher's knives struck the wings, embedding themselves in the bones, making it impossible to pull them out.

Qi Jiuyi's phoenix heads pecked one after another, heading directly for Qin Mu's chest. Their beaks opened, and a ball of light began to form within their mouths.

Qin Mu suddenly drew his knives, one slashing at a throat, the other striking into a phoenix's mouth. Meanwhile, the two butcher's knives embedded in Qi Jiuyi's wings transformed into two flying swords, remaining lodged there.

His two butcher's knives were each composed of eight thousand flying swords. They were originally individual entities; only the blades of two swords were embedded in Qi Jiuyi's wings. Leaving these two swords behind, the other flying swords could still form two butcher's knives.

The phoenix head on Qi Jiuyi's neck that was struck suddenly pulled its neck back, pressing against the blade to prevent it from severing its throat bone. Simultaneously, its beak closed, biting down on the blade of another knife.

Qin Mu drew his knives again. Qi Jiuyi could only bite down on one flying sword, and his throat was locking another. But then, Qin Mu's two knives slashed towards another pecking neck and head, exactly replicating his previous moves, striking the throat of the second neck and the mouth of the second head!

Qi Jiuyi had no choice but to open his mouth and take the knife, his neck also struck.

Qin Mu pulled out his knives, leaving two more flying swords in Qi Jiuyi's wounds. Yet another two butcher's knives slashed towards his third head and third neck.

Qi Jiuyi was furious: "Are you ever going to stop?!"

Despite his words, he had to take another knife in his mouth and use his neck to lock another butcher's knife.

Qin Mu again drew his knives, again left swords embedded, and again slashed towards his fourth head and fourth neck.

Qi Jiuyi's claws itched with hatred. All four of his heads were gushing blood from the cuts. It was false to say it didn't hurt; the simultaneous pain from four heads was heart-wrenching, bone-deep!

"I..."

Qin Mu drew his knives for the fifth time, cutting off his words. One butcher's knife sealed a throat, the other sealed a mouth.

Qi Jiuyi was incandescent with rage. He bit down on another knife, sealing it. Qin Mu drew his knives again. Qi Jiuyi, unable to suppress his anger, had to take another knife in his mouth and seal it again. Qin Mu then drew his knives once more.

In an instant, eight of Qi Jiuyi's nine phoenix heads had swords hanging from their necks and swords clamped in their mouths.

"Qin, you've angered me! Do not underestimate the Heavenly Court's Daoist arts and divine abilities! Phoenix's Cry to the Nine Heavens!"

Qi Jiuyi's last phoenix head let out a piercing shriek that reached the heavens. The phoenix cry reverberated through the sky, transforming into a cloud of qi. Then, divine sounds resonated within the cloud, as if thousands of great gods were chanting profoundly. With the blessings of myriad deities, streaks of light pierced down from the cloud, illuminating Qi Jiuyi's body.

Qi Jiuyi was enveloped in golden light. His remaining phoenix head pecked down. Qin Mu replicated his move. Qi Jiuyi did not dodge or evade, instead meeting the blade light head-on. His phoenix beak was split open, forming a large gash, and his trachea was severed. However, the golden light from the Phoenix's Cry to the Nine Heavens divine art allowed him to forcefully block Qin Mu's blade, and his phoenix beak savagely pecked Qin Mu's chest!

Qin Mu was sent flying backward, tumbling and rolling before landing, propping himself up with his knives to stabilize his posture.

Qi Jiuyi, gleaming with golden light, flapped his wings and flew forward, his nine heads swaying. The flying swords fell to the ground. His nine phoenix heads slowly retracted, transforming back into his human form, and the resplendent golden phoenix wings behind him also vanished.

"Qin Fengqing, Halt!"

Qi Jiuyi sneered, raising a mirror and aiming its light at Qin Mu. He calmly stated, "Son of Youdu, sealed by Earth Count, did you truly think I wasn't your match? I was merely ordered to descend to capture you. My purpose isn't to take your life, but to shatter your seal and release your true self. This mirror was forged by the Black Emperor, who governs the Northern Heavens in the Heavenly Court, specifically to restrain you, the Son of Youdu! You are quite impressive, to be able to injure me..."

"Restrain me? Let me see!"

Qin Mu reached out and grabbed the mirror. Qi Jiuyi was aghast as Qin Mu snatched it from his hand. What came next was a gleaming white great knife, which struck him squarely on the forehead!

Qi Jiuyi cried out in pain. His brain and cerebellum were almost shattered by the single blow. Involuntarily, he transformed into his true form: a nine-headed phoenix. A butcher's knife hung from each of his nine heads, likely embedded deep into his brain matter!

Qi Jiuyi flapped his wings and soared upwards, about to fly away. However, Qin Mu had already stepped onto his back, unleashing punch after punch at the nine-headed phoenix beneath his feet. Each punch connected solidly, sending phoenix feathers flying and rendering the flesh a bloody mess.

Below, the injured Zhe Huali swiftly walked over, picking up the small box from the ground with a look of delight. But then he looked up and saw Qin Mu battling while riding the phoenix, a look of horror appearing on his face.

"Brother Qin is indeed formidable. To be able to suppress Qi Jiuyi, his strength is truly a cut above mine. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it... I am that oriole! The box is in my hand. My God-Slaying Profound Blade, it should help my blade techniques advance further into the Dao..."

----There will be an update after midnight tonight. Please look forward to it.