Chapter 723: Like Shooting Stars

Qin Mu's vital energy surged, and he moved like a long rainbow, pressing forward. His martial arts spirit was not simply about achieving enlightenment through martial arts; if it were, he would be no different from the other martial artists in the Dou Niu World.

He did not seek to directly cross the Divine Bridge and ascend to the Celestial Palace while still in the life-and-death realm, as his Divine Bridge was already complete, making such a pursuit unnecessary.

What he sought was the transformation of the world and the advancement of magical arts. Therefore, his martial arts spirit was not limited to martial arts alone but connected the spirit of reform and change from the Era of Yan Kang with his martial arts philosophy.

The Era of Yan Kang was a time of radical reform and innovation, spreading like wildfire, burning fiercely and passionately!

If this spirit were to be embodied in martial arts, it would far surpass the mere pursuit of martial prowess!

And now, Qin Mu was using this martial arts spirit as an opportunity to transform the spirit of the Yan Kang Era into his own Martial Soul!

He arrived at the second divine hall. In front of it were several injured individuals, likely wounded by the gods and demons guarding the hall.

Qin Mu entered the hall, where he found a farm woman. Hu Bugui and the others were still nowhere to be seen.

"How long did it take me to comprehend the martial arts spirit?" Qin Mu looked at the ground, noticing some dried bloodstains on the hall's floor.

"Disciple of the Woodcutter, did it really take you ten days to pass the first hall?"

The stout woman chuckled, "My strength is greater than his. So, how long do you plan to take to clear my challenge?"

Qin Mu smiled, "Ten..."

The farm woman frowned, "Ambitious."

"Nine, eight, seven..."

On the God-Slaying Platform, two blood-colored evil energies intertwined like two crimson tornadoes. Hu Bugui had already arrived here. Among those who had passed through the Southern Heavenly Gate with him, only two remained by his side.

The God-Slaying Platform had no gods guarding it.

The God-Slaying Platform itself was an incredibly difficult pass. Over the past twenty thousand years, countless martial artists from the Dou Niu World had come here only to be struck down and killed.

In truth, this pass had its power suppressed, so it was not as terrifying as a true God-Slaying Platform. The Martial Arts Celestial Master had limited the platform's power to the life-and-death realm.

Nevertheless, this particular challenge remained the one with the highest death rate.

"Are you confident?"

Hu Bugui adjusted his breathing and said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother, Junior Sister, if you're not confident, then go back. You still have five hundred years of life left; being alive is better than anything."

The woman shook her head. "My entire life of cultivation has been for this very day. Senior Brother Hu, I was already married before attempting this trial, and I have two wonderful children. Leaving descendants has fulfilled one wish. This time, I intend to use my life to fulfill another. This time, it's either success or death with honor!"

The other man smiled faintly. "I, too, am married and have children of my own. My surname and my ancestors' bloodline can continue. Now I have no worries. I am prepared to sacrifice myself for the future of our race! My Wuluo clan needs hope, and my descendants shall stand among the gods in the future!"

"You two... first treat your injuries and restore your vital energy to peak condition. The God-Slaying Platform won't defeat me, but I have no means to protect you."

Hu Bugui sighed, looking back at the Jade Pond behind them. Numerous divine halls stood tall, and the path they had just traversed snaked through them—the very places they had just cleared as part of their trial.

"I wonder how Brother Qin is doing?"

He murmured, "It's been ten days. He's been practicing martial arts, and his martial arts divine abilities are clearly rusty. I wonder if he has awakened his Martial Soul and managed to embody it."

"How easy do you think it is to achieve Martial Soul embodiment?"

The woman said, "Years ago, to achieve Martial Soul embodiment, I entered the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts at the age of eleven and encountered wild wolves—not just one, but a pack. I fought and resisted within the wolf pack for over ten days and nights. My flesh was nearly torn to shreds by the wild wolves. In the end, I could no longer feel pain or even sense that I was alive. It was then that I suddenly felt my Martial Soul, and with a single move, I killed the alpha wolf, narrowly escaping death."

The other man said, "When I was thirteen, during the grand 'Dance Spoon Sacrifice' held by my clan, over a hundred of us young boys and girls were sent to the Underworld Demon Realm. Out of more than a hundred people, only three survived, and I was one of them. That year, I awakened my Martial Soul. Brother Qin has too little time, and he doesn't seem very old. He likely won't be able to awaken his Martial Soul. Let's ascend the platform and face the divine blade's strike."

Hu Bugui nodded.

The woman adjusted her vital energy, restoring it to peak condition. Taking the lead, she stepped onto the God-Slaying Platform and laughed, "You two wait. I'll test the blade first to see if my martial arts primordial spirit's attainments can withstand a single strike from the God-Slaying Blade!"

The moment she stood on the God-Slaying Platform, two streaks of blood-colored evil energy crisscrossed, rapidly shrinking into two blood-red lights. They rotated around her neck. No matter how she resisted or dodged, she could neither evade nor force back those two blood-red lights!

Just then, the divine hall in front of the Jade Pond suddenly shook violently, and dust billowed everywhere!

Hu Bugui, who had been focused on the battle on the God-Slaying Platform, felt a sudden premonition and quickly turned to look. He saw the back door of that hall suddenly fly off, and a streak of vital energy soared across the sky, drifting swiftly towards the next palace!

"Could that be Brother Qin?"

Hu Bugui's heart jolted. Before he could even turn back to the God-Slaying Platform, the back door of the second divine hall suddenly shattered into pieces. The vital energy rainbow continued to soar, moving rapidly towards the third divine hall!

"So fast!"

Hu Bugui was greatly shocked. The back door of the third divine hall had also exploded open. His third eye, located between his brows, opened, instantly capturing the scene of the hall's back door bursting open.

He was from the Three-Eyed Divine Race. Their third eye was a naturally divine eye, incredibly potent, capable of peering into the netherworld and gazing upon the Xuan Du.

He immediately saw Qin Mu's figure leaping forth from where the door had exploded.

In mid-air, Qin Mu was half-crouched, arms spread wide, one foot pressing down on a burly farmer's chest, like a hungry eagle swooping down on its prey.

Qin Mu stomped the burly farmer to the ground, and violent gusts of air swept in all directions.

"The one he's stepping on is Senior Martial Uncle Gu."

Hu Bugui's expression was odd as he thought, "Senior Martial Uncle Gu doesn't like to fight with fist intent or spiritual power; he prefers to personally engage in battle. When he fought us, he sealed his cultivation, sealing away his Celestial Palace and Divine Bridge divine treasures. But it seems he's met a stubborn opponent..."

Just thinking about Senior Martial Uncle Gu made his bones ache. Passing Senior Martial Uncle Gu's challenge had been the most grueling one, and Hu Bugui had won with great difficulty.

Yet, Qin Mu had sent Senior Martial Uncle Gu flying out of the hall in a single encounter, landing while stepping on him.

"What incredible speed!"

Hu Bugui and the other man were utterly astonished. Qin Mu, with the momentum of a galloping horse, charged through challenges, clearing more than a dozen halls in a row, and quickly reached the Jade Pond!

The farmers guarding the Jade Pond were even stronger and at a higher cultivation realm. A higher realm indicated greater talent and more effort. Yet, when Qin Mu arrived, his momentum showed no signs of slowing. He continued to break through hall after hall at a bewildering speed!

"Has his martial arts reached divinity?"

As Hu Bugui and the other man were just thinking this, they saw Qin Mu burst out from the shattered back door of the last hall at the Jade Pond. His vital energy streaked across the sky behind him, and his feet landed on the Jade Pond, walking on the waves as he rushed towards the God-Slaying Platform.

The God-Slaying Platform stood high above. Though called a platform, it was actually like a jade mountain with countless steps.

They could barely make out Qin Mu's figure, only seeing a vital energy rainbow streak across the sky, rushing towards the mountaintop at astonishing speed!

"I can't hold on!"

Suddenly, the woman's voice came from the God-Slaying Platform. Hu Bugui and the other man quickly turned to look. The woman turned her head, offering a sweet smile laced with apology. "Senior Brother Hu, Senior Brother Lu, in the next life..."

A flash of blood-red light appeared at her neck, and her primordial spirit, along with her physical body, was beheaded by the two blood-red lights!

Hu Bugui and Senior Brother Lu's faces turned somber. "Rest well, Junior Sister..."

Just then, a figure swept past them, stirring up a whirlwind that flapped their clothes.

That figure was precisely Qin Mu. He ascended the God-Slaying Platform without pausing, and with a pointing finger, darkness suddenly surged within the platform. The dark Youdu appeared on the ground, and the woman's primordial spirit, now headless, was falling towards Youdu.

His hands moved swiftly, fingers dancing as strange and profound characters continuously sprang from his fingertips, transforming into various peculiar Youdu scripts that spun and danced around the woman's neck.

These odd combinations of characters then formed Youdu runes, abstruse and difficult to comprehend, which successively imprinted themselves upon the woman's neck.

Simultaneously, her primordial spirit's head flew back and, astonishingly, reconnected with her headless primordial spirit body.

Her physical body was about to fall, tumbling towards the God-Slaying Platform, yet it did not. Blood was about to flow from her physical body's neck, poised to be absorbed by the two blood-red lights, yet it did not.

This brief instant seemed to stretch on endlessly, as if time had frozen.

Flesh surged at Qin Mu's neck, and astonishingly, two more heads sprouted, while four additional arms emerged from his armpits. Each performed a spell. The woman's head, encircled by rings of Creation runes, flew towards her neck and settled onto it.

*Buzz—*

The light from all the runes suddenly became incredibly intense, bursting forth and making it difficult for the two men below the platform to clearly see what was happening on it. They could only vaguely discern Qin Mu, now with three heads and six arms, standing there. He gently raised a hand, and the Youdu on the platform vanished. The woman's falling figure incredibly stopped, and then, as if time were reversing, her collapsed form returned to a standing posture.

As the light dissipated, Qin Mu raised his hand and flicked a finger, sending the woman rocketing off the God-Slaying Platform at astonishing speed!

On the God-Slaying Platform, the two blood-red lights, having lost their target, seemed to grow furious, hissing as they spun around Qin Mu's neck!

"I myself possess a God-Slaying Profound Blade."

Qin Mu burst out laughing. "That blade itself cannot cleave me, much less these two blood-colored evil energies that have been suppressed to the life-and-death realm?"

Vital energy surged at his neck, coiling like a great dragon. The Eight Tones of Ancestral Dragon rang out, a continuous dragon's roar, actually forcing back the blood-colored evil energy formed by the God-Slaying Profound Blade.

Qin Mu raised his hand, tapping his fingertips repeatedly with a series of crisp *ding-ding-ding* sounds, forcing the two blood-colored evil energies to retreat continuously.

Qin Mu strode across the God-Slaying Platform. Only then did the two blood-colored evil energies abandon him, suddenly expanding into two blood-colored evil energy tornadoes, like two blood dragons writhing on the God-Slaying Platform.

Hu Bugui was horrified. He blurted out, "Brother Qin, your physical body divine abilities have been perfectly mastered, and you've even refined your Martial Soul! How are you so fast? It's only been ten days..."

On the other side of the God-Slaying Platform, Qin Mu smiled sheepishly and said modestly, "To be honest, I'm a Hegemon Body. I learn everything quickly. I've been like this since childhood; if I learned slowly, my parents would say I was disgracing the Hegemon Body. This is already very slow..."