Chapter 610: Hot Potato

Zhe Huali's eyes flickered as he examined the small box, trying to open it. However, the box was perfectly sealed, with no visible seams or points to pry open. Even when he tried to strike it with his demon blade, it left no mark.

Cold sweat beaded on Zhe Huali's forehead. He attempted various divine arts to break the seal, even using the demonic arts taught to him by Bodhi, but the box remained stubbornly shut.

He looked up to see phoenix feathers drifting down from mid-air like autumn leaves, not withered yellow ones, but blood-red maple leaves.

In the air, Qin Mu was riding Qi Jiuyi, plucking feathers and striking him, leaving the nine-headed phoenix covered in blood.

Qi Jiuyi, however, was extremely fierce. Though his nine heads had been struck by blades, he twisted his neck, and his nine phoenix beaks opened, spewing streams of profound light to strike Qin Mu.

Qin Mu continued to relentlessly strike him, ignoring everything. The butcher knives embedded in Qi Jiuyi's nine phoenix heads suddenly flew out, leaving only the nine flying swords still lodged in them.

The other flying swords performed the "Sword Strides Across Rivers and Mountains" technique, forming a landscape pattern in front of Qin Mu. Despite the nine heads' relentless attacks, the landscape pattern remained unbroken.

Qin Mu's hammering was incredibly ferocious. The divine arts he used to attack Qi Jiuyi's body were not merely physical techniques; he employed abilities like the Yin-Yang Heaven-Overturning Hand and the Five Thunders Sky-Sustaining Bell. At times, myriad stars would even appear behind him, unleashing the Great Luo Heavenly Star Palm Force.

Each of these divine arts possessed mountain-splitting and rock-shattering power. Moreover, it wasn't just divine arts; Qin Mu occasionally unleashed eerie and sinister demonic arts. Although these demonic arts weren't as powerful as the divine ones—likely due to his lesser focus on them—they specifically targeted Qi Jiuyi's physical body, corroding his flesh and eroding his spirit, drastically diminishing his physical resistance!

This was the most terrifying aspect.

Zhe Huali watched, involuntarily shivering. If Qin Mu's divine arts were to strike him, he feared his own flesh would be ripped open, his spirit shattered, and his body turned to mush after just a few attacks!

"Qi Jiuyi's survival after being beaten like this truly shows he's stronger than me," Zhe Huali thought. "His body has a unique self-healing ability that allows him to endure longer. But he won't last much longer before Qin Mu beats him to death! If Qi Jiuyi dies, and I can't open the small box to get the God-Slaying Profound Blade, then the next person Qin Mu will kill is..."

Zhe Huali took a deep breath, ascended into the air, drew the demon blade from his back, and hurled it away. The blade flew horizontally, then suddenly shook, and a huge, eerie eye appeared behind it.

As the demonic eye appeared, blade light reflected within it, and suddenly, a myriad of blade lights filled the sky, surging towards Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi.

The long blade swept forth grandly. Zhe Huali's blade technique differed from Butcher's Nine Heavenly Blades. The Nine Heavenly Blades focused on uprightness and grand momentum, not intricate calculations, transforming the magnanimous spirit of a scholarly giant into blade light.

Zhe Huali's blade technique largely inherited from God Blade Luo Wushuang. God Blade Luo's technique was skilled in calculation, somewhat similar to the Daoist sect's Dao Sword. However, the Dao Sword used mathematical principles to deduce the Great Dao, while God Blade Luo's technique established the Great Dao through rules and order.

This was the greatest difference between them.

As Zhe Huali unleashed his blade, he laughed heartily, "Brothers, let's put today's conflict aside for now. I'm here to mediate between you two. We're all on this strange planet; we should live in harmony and collectively figure out a way to leave. Why fight amongst yourselves?"

Despite his words, his blade technique showed no intention of mediating. The majority of its power was directed at Qin Mu, while the blade light falling on Qi Jiuyi was merely a tap.

After all, Qi Jiuyi was severely injured; another strike might be more than he could bear. Qin Mu, however, still seemed vigorous and powerful, so his arrogance needed to be checked, forcing him to retreat when faced with difficulty.

As the blade light swept towards him, Qin Mu immediately reached out. The landscape map created by "Sword Strides Across Rivers and Mountains," with its myriad mountains and waters, instantly shrank into his hand, forming a sword pellet.

Qin Mu swung his sword, and a sword beam as thick as a dipper emerged from the sword pellet. The sword pillar met the demon blade, causing Qin Mu's body to tremble and fly backward, away from Qi Jiuyi's back.

Having repeatedly used powerful divine arts, expending them like rain, his vital qi was nearly depleted, making him unable to directly confront Zhe Huali.

Zhe Huali sighed inwardly, unable to kill him with a single strike, and then withdrew the multitude of blade lights.

In the air, tens of thousands of blade lights merged, transforming into a single demon blade that whistled back into the scabbard on his back.

After all, Zhe Huali had also just been defeated by Qi Jiuyi and was covered in wounds. Although his remaining vital qi cultivation was deeper than Qin Mu's, if they were to truly fight, he wasn't confident he could defeat Qin Mu.

Moreover, if he killed Qin Mu, he would then have to face Qi Jiuyi alone, whose strength also surpassed his own, as evidenced by his earlier defeat.

Zhe Huali returned his blade to its sheath and smiled, "Brothers, on this strange planet, we're bound to cross paths. Why not each take a step back and enjoy boundless possibilities?"

Qi Jiuyi's true form landed, his body swaying. He cried out in pain and slowly transformed into his human form. The nine swords were still embedded in his nine heads. When the nine heads merged, the nine flying swords did not, almost tearing his wounds open.

Qi Jiuyi hastily pulled out the swords. His back was bloody, bones were broken, and countless ribs were shattered, forcing him to hunch over.

He was originally a graceful and handsome youth, but after this beating from Qin Mu, he looked even more miserable than when he was previously ganged up on by Qin Mu and Zhe Huali. The term "handsome youth" was no longer applicable.

Fortunately, his self-healing ability was astonishing; as long as he wasn't dead, his injuries weren't a major issue.

Qin Mu walked over, and the three stood in a tripod formation.

Qin Mu looked at his nine flying swords and said amiably, "Brother Qi, your abilities are formidable. If you hadn't insisted on using that mirror to fix me, you might not have lost. Our fight for survival was actually quite evenly matched. Brother Qi, could you return those nine flying swords to me?"

Qi Jiuyi snorted coldly, gripping the nine swords tightly. "Evenly matched? You underestimate the divine arts of the Heavenly Court too much. Brother Qin, will you return the mirror to me?"

"No."

Qin Mu waved his hand. "You can keep those nine swords for now; I'll take them back after I kill you. Brother Li, can you return this small box to me then? I risked my life for it. If not for my quick thinking, I would have died when you two divine beings blocked my path."

Zhe Huali gave a dry laugh and then said seriously, "Brother Qin, you can take it back after you kill me."

"How could I impose?" Qin Mu said with a wide smile.

Qi Jiuyi was also staring at the small box in Zhe Huali's hand. Zhe Huali's eyes flickered, and he probed, "Brother Qi, you have a distinguished status, and your teacher holds a very high position in the Heavenly Court. I assume you know how to open this box. Would you be able to tell me?"

Qi Jiuyi coughed violently, spitting out fragments of bone. His hunched body straightened slightly, and the sword marks left by Qin Mu on his forehead slowly shrank, causing both Zhe Huali and Qin Mu's hearts to tighten.

Qi Jiuyi's recovery speed was simply too strong; he seemed to have an indestructible body that couldn't be killed, able to recover so quickly even from such severe injuries.

The reason he was spitting out bone fragments was likely because new ribs were growing in his chest cavity.

Qin Mu was extremely envious. Such an indestructible body was truly useful, though he wondered if it was a result of Qi Jiuyi's Emperor's Throne-level cultivation method or a racial talent of the Nine Phoenix clan.

After a bout of coughing, Qi Jiuyi felt a bit better and said breathlessly, "Give me the small box; I'll help you open it." Clearly, even though he could rapidly heal wounds and regenerate broken bones, it placed a heavy burden on his body, otherwise he wouldn't appear so exhausted.

Zhe Huali shook his head. "If the small box falls into your hands, and you open it to reveal the God-Slaying Profound Blade, Brother Qin and I would instantly lose our heads."

Qin Mu suggested, "How about this, Brother Li? Let's take down Brother Qi first, and then we can both figure out how to open the small box. One mind is limited, but two are better than one. Combining our wisdom, we can surely open it!"

Zhe Huali smiled faintly, "If I were to trust you, it wouldn't be two minds better than one, but me being a fool alone."

The three were locked in a stalemate.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from behind them: "You're fighting over it, but have you asked me, its rightful owner? The small box, it should return to its original owner."

Qin Mu's expression and those of the other two changed drastically. They quickly looked in the direction of the voice, seeing the emaciated Chi Xi walking towards them on legs like dry branches, not far from their location!

This executioner from the Crimson Light era had three heads like shriveled black eggplants, deep-set eye sockets, and eyeballs resembling dried dates.

The necks beneath his three heads were also withered, seemingly unable to support their weight.

He resembled a large shrimp with three heads, his three left arms propping him up with a crutch, indicating a difficult journey.

Qin Mu and Qi Jiuyi had been fiercely battling here, causing a great commotion, so it wasn't difficult for Chi Xi to find them. However, his struggle with the crutch suggested a arduous journey, and it was unclear how he had managed to travel so far, given that Qin Mu had escaped a considerable distance before encountering Qi Jiuyi.

It was likely that Chi Xi possessed vast divine powers, allowing him to use some of his magic even with difficulty walking.

Veins bulged on Qin Mu's forehead, but he was thinking of something else, murmuring, "Is it raining?"

"Yes, it's raining."

Chi Xi, looking as if he could die at any moment, said weakly, "Not long after you left, it started raining again. Heaven be praised, I finally drank some non-toxic water."

Qin Mu blinked, standing motionless. Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali were already slowly retreating, then suddenly, both turned and fled!

Thump, thump.

They crashed into an invisible wall and bounced back.

Chi Xi calmly stated, "No one in this world has ever escaped from my grasp... Hmm, you were the first. You escaped; you should be proud."

He was referring to Qin Mu, who displayed a simple, honest smile.

Suddenly, Zhe Huali directly tossed the small box into Qin Mu's hand, shouting, "Brother Qin, here's your treasure! Mountains don't change, green waters flow on forever, Senior, I bid you farewell!" He turned to leave, only to crash into the invisible wall again.

Zhe Huali had no choice but to turn back and stand obediently.

On the other side, Qin Mu's simple smile froze. Catching the small box, he immediately shook his hand and threw it, tossing it to Qi Jiuyi, laughing, "Brother Qi, you can open the box, so it's yours!"

"A mere dried corpse from the Crimson Light era dares to defy the Heavenly Court? Let me kill him!"

Qi Jiuyi smiled faintly, his fingers flying, runes continuously flowing from his fingertips as he tried to unlock the box.

A moment later, his face turned ashen. He couldn't open the box at all!

The Heavenly Court's box containing the God-Slaying Profound Blade also had a seal, and he knew the rune sequence to unlock it. However, the rune array needed to unlock this box from the Crimson Light era was clearly different from the Heavenly Court's!

The muscles around Qi Jiuyi's eyes twitched wildly as he looked at Qin Mu in despair. Qin Mu looked up at the sky, tapping his foot on the ground, pretending to admire the clouds.

Qi Jiuyi looked longingly at Zhe Huali, who was meticulously picking at his fingernails, then put his thumbnail in his mouth and bit it.

Qi Jiuyi trembled as he looked at the three-headed, six-armed "dried corpse" walking towards him. Suddenly, inspiration struck him. He fell to his knees with a thud, holding up the small box, "Senior, spare my life!"

Chi Xi sneered, wobbling forward with his crutch. "This box is naturally sealed with runes from the Crimson Light era. Using your so-called Heavenly Court runes to unlock it is like playing a lute to a cow, isn't it? This box, you three aren't fighting over it anymore, are you? It was quite a lively dispute; continue fighting then."

Qin Mu blinked, looking at Zhe Huali.

Zhe Huali also looked at him, thinking, "He must be thinking the same thing as me, wondering if he should also kneel and beg for his life. To kneel or not to kneel?"

His heart was filled with torment.

Qin Mu thought, "It seems Zhe Huali is indeed a formidable rival, thinking exactly what I am. Chi Xi is determined to take our lives to nourish his body with our blood. He must be preserving his integrity just like me."

"Is no one fighting for this box anymore?"

Chi Xi sneered, leaning on his crutch as he moved forward, walking towards Qi Jiuyi. "If no one wants it, then I'll..."

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "I want it!"

A hand reached out and gently took the small box from Qi Jiuyi's grasp.