Chapter 685: Sprinkle Some Wildness

The closer one gets to the truth, the greater the danger.

This divine being from the Kai Emperor era had likely uncovered the truth of the darkness, but he couldn't convey the message. Instead, he died before the Heavenly Yin Boundary Stele and was only reawakened by Qin Mu's arrival.

Qin Mu followed him, continuing forward. The lake beneath the bridge increasingly resembled a vast ocean, with no land visible.

Qin Mu looked down from the bridge and vaguely saw massive, dark fish swimming in the water. These fish were tearing at each other, frantically devouring one another, yet they seemed perpetually hungry, as if they could never be sated.

"These sea creatures are also famished, constantly eating but never consuming anything."

Finally, Qin Mu reached the end of the long bridge spanning the waves. Although the bridge ended, the sea stretched boundlessly. Above the greyish-black ocean, a gigantic, transparent hourglass, seemingly crafted from delicate glazed glass, floated in the air.

Inside the hourglass was black sand, currently flowing from the upper end to the lower. More than half had already descended, indicating the black sand in the upper bulb was almost depleted, while the lower bulb was nearly full.

From a distance, Qin Mu observed a small cluster of palaces beside the hourglass. He called it "small" only in relation to the hourglass itself. However, after estimating the distance and size, he realized the palace complex was actually over ten miles long and wide—far from small, resembling an island in the sea.

This palace complex was connected to the long bridge. Qin Mu looked behind the complex and saw another long bridge spanning the waves, its destination unknown.

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era stopped and pointed towards the palaces.

Sealed by the Creation Demonic Divine Art, he could neither speak nor use his cultivation.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then took out paper and a pen. "Senior," he said, "if you have any insights, feel free to write them down."

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote rapidly on the paper. Qin Mu observed that the characters were strong and vigorous, like ancient pines, full of power.

"Is that a stronghold for Netherworld disciples in the Heavenly Yin Realm?"

Reading the text, Qin Mu said in surprise, "How many people are there? What are their cultivation levels... Are there Netherworld Gods? That makes things difficult... Are they dead or alive? They're alive..."

Qin Mu narrowed his eyes, pondering for a moment. "Whether they're dead or alive, they're not hard to deal with," he said. "What's difficult is figuring out where they came from and how they entered the Heavenly Yin Realm. Even if I kill the Netherworld powerhouses in the palaces, more will just keep coming. We need to cut off the Netherworld's path to the Heavenly Yin Realm at its root..."

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era picked up the pen and continued writing.

Qin Mu was slightly stunned, then exclaimed, "Heavenly Yin Empress? Why did you write her name? Didn't the famished ones already consume her... Wait a minute! I understand what you mean!"

He looked up, continuing to observe the palaces beneath the hourglass from a distance. "You're right," he whispered, "to solve this problem, we must involve the Heavenly Yin Empress. Senior, your idea is brilliant! Why couldn't I think of such a fantastic plan? Senior, you must have been an exceptionally intelligent person during the Kai Emperor era!"

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era looked bewildered, holding the pen motionless, unsure of what Qin Mu was talking about.

Qin Mu said excitedly, "Although the Heavenly Yin Empress was eaten, her skin should still be around, though I don't know where it's hidden. I've never done this before, and I'm not sure if it will succeed..."

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era remained bewildered; clearly, what he had intended to write was entirely different from Qin Mu's interpretation. Qin Mu had misunderstood.

Qin Mu patted his shoulder, chuckling. "Senior, you can rest assured," he said. "I've fought against Netherworld disciples before; while their divine arts are not bad, they are not invincible. I estimate that few of the Netherworld disciples here are true disciples of the Yin Celestial Emperor. If I don't fear the Yin Celestial Emperor's own disciples, why would I fear these? Your idea is excellent. Perhaps this time we can not only discover the truth of the darkness but also solve future troubles once and for all!"

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era became even more bewildered, holding the pen, unsure whether he should continue writing.

Full of confidence, Qin Mu took out his Sword Pellet. It floated before his chest. Qin Mu suddenly splayed his five fingers, and the eight thousand swords within the Sword Pellet shot outwards with a clanging sound, like countless fine needles, each pointing towards the center, perfectly aligned.

One by one, the flying swords descended beneath the bridge and plunged into the sea.

Qin Mu walked forward, saying in a deep voice, "Senior, ahead lies merciless blades. Although you possess a divine body, you cannot use any magical power. Let me handle this. You stay here and await good news; I'm going to cause some trouble in front of the Netherworld gods and devils!"

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era became even more bewildered. He suddenly realized something and hastily wrote a passage, intending to show it to Qin Mu. However, Qin Mu had already walked away.

The divine being from the Kai Emperor era stood bewildered, holding the paper, at a loss. On the paper, he saw the words "Lure Heavenly Yin Empress to attack them," which was clearly vastly different from the "excellent idea" Qin Mu had praised so profusely.

Qin Mu uncovered the willow leaf on his forehead and advanced unhurriedly. Beneath the bridge, countless flying swords moved rapidly beneath the sea surface, progressing as he did.

From the third eye on his forehead, Qin Fengqing's large eyes reappeared, curiously looking around, very intrigued by this dim world.

"So much good food..."

Qin Mu took out the God-Slaying Profound Blade from his Taotie pouch. Holding its scabbard, his eyes glinting, he arrived at the main gate of the palace complex.

Two Daoist youths by the gate were chatting idly. One said, "This Heavenly Yin Realm is so gloomy and dark. Staying here for hundreds or even thousands of years before our next rotation is truly stifling."

The other chuckled. "If you feel bored," he said, "you can go to the Land of Pleasure. There are all sorts of beauties there for your indulgence, and their skills are excellent. Where in the Netherworld could you find such a delightful place? And if you're still bored, you can always go kill some of these famished ghosts in the Heavenly Yin Realm; there's always a way to amuse yourself."

"Senior Brother is right," said the first. "There truly isn't such a vibrant world in the Netherworld. It's just that we've been in the Heavenly Yin Realm for too long, and we haven't seen a living person. Huh?"

The two Daoist youths guarding the gate suddenly saw Qin Mu and couldn't help but widen their eyes, looking bewildered.

Just then, two flying swords, one from the left and one from the right, shot from beneath the sea surface and pierced through their temples.

Before the two Daoist youths could even react, their primordial spirits were slain by a single sword strike.

Eight thousand flying swords slowly rose from the sea, silently skimming the ground, surrounding Qin Mu as he walked into the palace complex.

Behind him, a primordial spirit over ten zhang tall silently appeared, standing behind him and drifting forward, following his every move.

Countless strands of vital qi flew out from his primordial spirit, connecting to the eight thousand flying swords, controlling them with his primordial spirit.

"Dong, dong, dong!"

A melodious bell chime resounded. Someone shouted, "Day has passed, the sun has set, switch the celestial dipper."

As the last grain of black sand flowed out of the giant hourglass suspended over the palace complex, figures of gods and devils flew out from the palaces, each applying their magical power to rotate the hourglass.

Qin Mu looked up and opened the box. The head of the Emperor's Throne inside excitedly flapped its membrane, which vibrated with a rustling sound.

Two streaks of blood light shot up into the sky. Before the Netherworld gods in mid-air could even react, the blood light had already slashed across their necks!

The blood light returned to the box, carrying away the vital essence and blood of the Netherworld gods. Not a single drop of blood splattered in the sky; only their divine corpses fell.

Before the divine corpses even landed, a clamor of human voices was heard. Numerous Netherworld disciples swarmed out from the palaces, shouting loudly, "Who's there?"

"Enemy attack!"

"Who dares to be so presumptuous on Netherworld territory?"

Swish, swish, swish!

Countless sword lights erupted from the ground, forming a sea of light. The moment the Netherworld disciples rushed out, an untold number of them stumbled and fell, their legs essentially severed at the ankles.

And those who fell, before their heads even hit the ground, were pierced through the forehead by streaks of sword light!

Even powerful opponents who managed to dodge the initial sword lights quickly perished under a relentless barrage of attacks.

Flying swords, like small silver fish, were everywhere in the air and on the ground. These flying swords moved along different trajectories, and the techniques they unleashed were varied and bizarre. Under Qin Mu's sword control art, the eighteen basic sword moves had countless combinations.

Not only that, but the eight thousand swords varied in size, appearing large or small, long or short. Some could even bend and deform, and different flying swords could combine to form other spirit weapon shapes, transforming into various spirit weapons such as cauldrons, furnaces, bells, pagodas, towers, sabers, spears, axes, and halberds, or even taking the forms of dragons and phoenixes!

These eight thousand swords actually gave the illusion of countless flying swords!

Even if opponents unleashed the Netherworld's most outstanding divine arts, instantly vanishing and hiding within the Netherworld itself, they were still slain in the next moment by Qin Mu's sword lights, which flew directly into the Netherworld.

Qin Mu was already at the Celestial Being realm, a stage where any divine arts practitioner experiences another significant leap, a leap brought about by the primordial spirit leaving the body.

Qin Mu's primordial spirit could already leave his body long ago. His current attainments in primordial spirit cultivation had begun to transform towards achieving a tangible divine form.

Achieving a tangible divine form requires the primordial spirit to become substantial, solidifying as if real. Although he had not yet fully achieved this, the strength and control of his primordial spirit far surpassed that of countless other divine arts practitioners at the Celestial Being realm.

Qin Mu continued forward, his ten-zhang primordial spirit silently following behind, controlling the eight thousand flying swords, killing people as easily as cutting grass.

"Presumptuous!"

A grand hall exploded open, and a Netherworld god leaped out. Just as he jumped into the air, the small box in Qin Mu's hand opened, and two streaks of blood light instantly reached the Netherworld god's neck. With a gentle snip, his body was severed in two.

He strode towards the central grand hall. Wherever he passed, gods, devils, and divine arts practitioners alike all met their demise. Opponents he could defeat were slain by flying swords; those he couldn't were killed by the God-Slaying Profound Blade.

The Netherworld disciples were chilled to the bone by the slaughter and continuously retreated. About a hundred Netherworld disciples had already gathered in front of the grand hall, taking down the large bell that hung beneath its eaves.

"Use the Heaven's Mourning Bell to blast him to death!"

The hundred or so Netherworld disciples roared in unison. The great bell flew up, its mouth facing Qin Mu. The bell was composed of eighteen interlocking rings, each adorned with countless complex patterns and textures formed by the yin-engraved runes of the Netherworld.

As the Heaven's Mourning Bell was activated, the rings began to rotate in different directions, and the yin-engraved runes on them lit up individually. As the rings rotated to different positions, the rune fragments between two rings would combine to form various new runes, each possessing different powers and might.

As the power of the rotating Heaven's Mourning Bell was activated, its mouth suddenly vibrated violently, and an invisible force surged towards Qin Mu!