Chapter 738: Qin Mu and the Clash with Kaihuang

The Jade Pool Grand Assembly was already a bustling place, teeming with people. When Qin Mu struck down Fire Heavenly Venerate, a massive uproar immediately erupted. Discussions spread like wildfire, and an ever-increasing crowd surged forward.

While a demigod might achieve striking down Fire Heavenly Venerate, it was utterly impossible for a mere practitioner of divine arts.

Fire Heavenly Venerate was one of the pioneers of the Divine Treasury cultivation system, having opened the Heavenly Human Divine Treasury himself. Blessed by ancient gods, his cultivation was immensely powerful, with only the other six Heavenly Venerates capable of matching him.

Furthermore, Fire Heavenly Venerate was by no means the weakest among the Seven Heavenly Venerates.

Fire Heavenly Venerate commanded the power of fire, and his mastery of fire-element divine arts was unparalleled. For him to be so effortlessly struck down by Qin Mu naturally caused a massive disturbance.

"Equal to gods?"

Qin Mu paid little attention to the surging crowd. He tilted his head, wondering, "Where does the definition of 'god' originate?"

If immortality qualified one as a god, then mastering Creation divine arts could indeed grant one the title of god.

Creation divine arts allow one's physical body to achieve immortality, maintaining all organs in an unaging state. From the perspective of lifespan, this alone would place them on par with ancient gods.

The cultivation method pioneered by Yu Heavenly Venerate, which later became the Heavenly Palace system, also conferred physical immortality.

These two methods differed significantly. The Heavenly Palace cultivation system featured clear, progressive realms, allowing practitioners to ascend level by level all the way to the Emperor's Throne.

Creation arts, on the other hand, lacked such distinct divisions. They focused more on using divine abilities to alter the body's structure, ensuring perpetual youth.

However, Creation arts were far more difficult to cultivate and remained merely a type of divine ability, unable to be widely propagated and accepted by the world like the Heavenly Palace cultivation system.

"Creation arts are too restrictive," Qin Mu concluded his thoughts and said to Ling Heavenly Venerate, "Sister Ling, while Creation arts can indeed bestow god-like status, they cannot truly rival the method pioneered by Yu Heavenly Venerate. It's not a matter of inferior power, but rather the immense difficulty in learning them."

Ling Heavenly Venerate chuckled, "Those are merely mediocre talents. We are pursuing the Dao; why concern ourselves with mediocrity? Your Creation divine arts can certainly help me refine my own. We must delve into them thoroughly!"

She took Qin Mu's hand and began pushing their way out of the crowd. Just then, with a thunderous boom, Fire Heavenly Venerate soared back, his body ablaze, causing the surrounding air to combust. He roared, "I was careless! That's why you sent me flying! You little brat, try that again!"

With one hand still held by Ling Heavenly Venerate, Qin Mu unleashed his other five hands, meeting Fire Heavenly Venerate's onslaught. With another deafening crash, Fire Heavenly Venerate was once more sent hurtling backward.

Founding Emperor, seething with anger, hissed in a low voice, "I told you not to make a move! How much more trouble do you want to stir up?"

Qin Mu, equally irked, retorted, "He attacked me! If I didn't defend myself, I'd get injured, wouldn't I? If it were you, would you just stand there and take it?"

Founding Emperor frowned as Fire Heavenly Venerate charged again, his fury palpable. "Everyone clear out!" he bellowed. "There are too many people; I can't fully unleash my power!"

The crowd roared and dispersed, leaving a vast open area.

Founding Emperor quickly interjected, "Fire Heavenly Venerate, this is merely a misunderstanding..."

Fire Heavenly Venerate's body blazed with intense flames, growing steadily larger until he transformed into a twelve-zhang giant. Fire dragons coiled around him, radiating boundless power.

Founding Emperor frowned deeply. Fire Heavenly Venerate clearly possessed considerable mastery in both fire-element and physical divine arts, though to Founding Emperor, it still seemed somewhat superficial.

Qin Mu gently freed his hand from Ling Heavenly Venerate's grasp and calmly stated, "Sister, please step back a few paces. What do you want me to do?" His second question was directed at Founding Emperor.

Founding Emperor stood unmoving, staring intently at him. "If you cause too much of a commotion," he said calmly, "neither you nor I can predict what future complications might arise."

"Always hesitant, that's you," Qin Mu remained rooted to the spot, a wry smile playing on his lips. "I'm not like you. I don't carry your burdens. If someone strikes me, I will, of course, strike back!"

As Fire Heavenly Venerate lunged, Qin Mu's twelve-zhang primordial spirit suddenly manifested behind him, standing tall with three heads and six arms, immediately forcing Fire Heavenly Venerate to retreat.

Behind Founding Emperor, a twelve-zhang primordial spirit also emerged, blocking Qin Mu's attack. Unable to contain his rage, he let out a hearty laugh. "I always knew you disliked me, constantly trying to undermine me, both overtly and covertly. Since that's how it is, let's fight!"

The pent-up anger in Qin Mu's heart towards Founding Emperor erupted uncontrollably. His aura exploded, and a ferocious surge of vital qi manifested in the sky, churning the clouds with furious energy!

His twelve-zhang, three-headed, six-armed primordial spirit stood within the surging vital qi, its three faces roaring like thunder: "A fight it is then! Do you think I'm afraid of you? Come on—"

All around, countless ancient practitioners of divine arts stared up at the celestial phenomena, utterly bewildered, unable to snap out of their daze.

So powerful. Unfathomably powerful.

This era had never witnessed a divine arts practitioner of such immense strength!

Fire Heavenly Venerate charged once more, only to suddenly catch sight of Qin Mu's primordial spirit in the sky, standing like a god or demon within the torrent of vital qi. He paled instantly. "Impossible," he muttered, "there can't be such a powerful divine arts practitioner..."

Founding Emperor, incandescent with rage, his aura suddenly erupting, sternly declared, "You're acting like a loose cannon! I cannot condone your reckless behavior!"

Boom—

His vital qi soared through the sky, and his primordial spirit leaped, standing atop the surge of vital qi. The domineering aura of the heroic lord who would usher in a new era was on full display!

Their primordial spirits and vital qi stood in stark opposition, their surging auras suppressing the entire Jade Pool Grand Assembly. Every practitioner there was utterly stunned, staring blankly at the breathtaking spectacle unfolding in the air!

Yu Heavenly Venerate and several other Heavenly Venerates, who had been deliberating within the Jade Pool Golden Palace, were now disturbed. They emerged one by one, looking up, their eyes widening in astonishment.

Such powerful primordial spirits and formidable vital qi evoked a sense of both grandeur and fierce intensity!

Ling Heavenly Venerate also gazed upwards, utterly astonished. "They're so powerful," she murmured, "how did they cultivate...?"

From behind her, the old ox's distressed voice spoke up, stomping his foot. "What are we to do? What are we to do!" he fretted. "These two are both as stubborn as oxen... no, as donkeys! Oxen are much more docile! If they really fight, it'll be disastrous..."

Ling Heavenly Venerate puzzled, "You came together, aren't you friends?"

Ox San Tou sighed, shaking his head. "They both wish to be friends, but both are too proud, unwilling to humble themselves or concede..."

The sky vibrated thunderously. Qin Mu's and Founding Emperor's primordial spirits simultaneously unleashed their divine arts, their formidable power instantly conjuring a hurricane in the sky that swept outwards in all directions. The clouds above were abruptly cleared by the spatial fluctuations, vanishing without a trace!

For the first time, the sky was utterly clear and perfectly azure.

The next instant, countless bolts of lightning interwove and struck down in mid-air with crackling ferocity, raining down like a storm!

"Your divine arts aren't bad," Below, Founding Emperor suddenly surged forward, charging towards Qin Mu with a sneer. "But your understanding of divine arts is still far from complete!"

His hands moved with fluid grace, divine arts contained and hidden within his palms. As his sleeves fluttered, countless minute divine arts revolved around him.

He was the progenitor of an entire era. Though still in his youth, his extraordinary talent and strategic prowess were fully evident. The most magnificent and captivating divine arts of the Founding Emperor Era were his creations, serving as the very foundation of that age!

He was the original creator of the "Overlord Body Three Elixirs Technique" cultivated by Qin Mu. The countless divine arts found in the Grand Creation Devil Sutra, with their myriad arrangements, were all compiled by the Woodcutter based on Founding Emperor's divine arts.

Qin Mu had learned the method of highly concentrated divine art power within the treasure ship corridor of his father, Qin Hanzhen, a technique that originated from Founding Emperor.

The explosive power of divine arts, capable of devastating an area over ten li wide, when condensed into a small space and then unleashed, inflicts immeasurable destruction upon the enemy!

Qin Mu let out a piercing cry. While others possessed seven divine treasuries, he had fourteen, categorized into two main types: god and demon. Excluding the Life and Death and Divine Bridge divine treasuries, all his other ten divine treasuries were already activated.

Furthermore, these ten divine treasuries had been forged into a single entity by him.

His vital qi flowed like an inverted waterfall, rushing within this magnificent unified divine treasury. It manifested as countless pillars and torrents of qi, thundering through the heavens and earth within his treasury.

Due to the unification of his divine treasuries, his vital qi circulated faster, more violently, and with greater explosive force and power than Founding Emperor's.

Though his divine arts were perhaps less refined than Founding Emperor's, he harbored no fear in a direct confrontation!

The two collided with a resounding crash, the power of their divine arts erupting the instant they met. Beneath their feet, the white jade slabs instantly shattered and lifted, rippling outwards from their epicenter in pieces and rings. Even the distant practitioners of divine arts were lifted by the heaving ground, involuntarily flung outwards!

*Boom, boom, boom!* Countless impacts, like a volley of thunderclaps, erupted in an instant. Amidst the storm of sound, two figures were sent flying backward, moving with the speed of comets striking the earth, before slamming into the walls of two grand halls a hundred li apart.

Meanwhile, in the sky, the two colossal primordial spirits moved with lightning speed, unleashing a relentless barrage of divine arts at each other, carving dazzling streaks of light and shadow across the heavens.

The sky became a maelstrom of intertwined light and shadow, bursting with diverse phenomena: galloping dragons, soaring phoenixes, thousands of flying swords, blades cleaving the sky, mountain-sized fist prints, vast, surging rivers, rotating great bells...

Accompanying these phenomena were wondrous sounds—the Dao sounds reverberating from the explosive clash of divine arts!

Then, the roofs of those two grand halls exploded with a deafening crash. Qin Mu and Founding Emperor each rocketed skyward, before swiftly landing atop the respective halls, facing each other across a hundred li.

Their eyes locked.

"Aiyahyahyahyah—"

Qin Mu let out a furious roar, his vital qi soaring. He abruptly left the grand hall, treading on air. With a single stride, he covered over a li, his aerial footsteps leaving an enormous imprint on the ground below!

He sprinted through the air, a fleeting shadow. With each stride, countless fists blurred forth. Before him, fist imprints compressed the air into solid form, massive fists hurtling towards Founding Emperor at astonishing speed, their numbers increasing to form an ever-thickening wall.

The old ox, trembling with fear, quickly shouted, "Qin Ye... Qin Kai, don't clash with him head-on! His martial arts mastery has reached its absolute peak!"

On the other grand hall, Founding Emperor paid no heed to the old ox's cries. He moved, charging directly towards Qin Mu, his hands fluttering like a chaotic dance of butterflies. Countless minute divine arts streamed forth from his fingers, fingertips, palms, and beneath his sleeves. Before him instantly materialized towers, cauldrons, bells, and pagodas, blades, spears, swords, and halberds, along with dragons, tigers, Xuanwu, and Vermilion Birds—a myriad of divine objects, each pulsing with terrifying power and flickering with uncertain light!

These were fluctuations of immense dread, concealing incredibly fearsome power.

The old ox's fur bristled. He yelled, "Mu Qing, don't clash with him head-on! Qin Kai's divine art mastery has been honed to its absolute zenith!"

In mid-air, terrifying fluctuations emanated as fists met divine arts. The two young figures collided in an instant, and a brilliant white light exploded from their point of impact, like an impossibly sharp blade. With a *swish*, it sliced cleanly and directly through the center of Jade Pool Treasure Island, splitting it into two.

The earth trembled, and mountains and halls swayed. A vast chasm sliced through Jade Pool Treasure Island, its edges remarkably clean, growing ever wider, longer, and deeper!

Whoosh—

A fierce wind swept across every direction. The glazed tiles on the grand halls were instantaneously ripped away, exposing their structural frames. Countless emerald-green tiles formed swirling clouds of jade, scattering in all directions.

"Primordial Spirit, enter your orifice!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously. The surging vital qi in the sky abruptly receded, and Qin Mu's and Founding Emperor's mighty primordial spirits almost concurrently returned to their physical bodies.

Both exuded an untamed aura. Qin Mu's physical body swelled segment by segment, growing taller and taller, reaching twelve zhang, standing like a towering god or demon.

He channeled power through his six arms, his muscles crackling and expanding. His three heads roared, and his six palms slammed onto the ground.

"Refine treasures into weapons!"

The earth quaked, and grand halls cracked and crumbled amidst the tremors. Bronze pillars whistled skyward, dissolving in the fiery glow, transforming into flying spiritual weapons and swiftly moving flying swords!

On the other side, Founding Emperor abruptly brought his hands together before his chest, his aura exploding outwards. Other grand halls crumbled into pieces, floated into the air, and their divine metals and materials transformed mid-flight into various forms: thousands of dragons and phoenixes, and myriad exotic treasures, all whistling towards him.

These were the spiritual weapon forms that manifested once his divine arts solidified.

Both had clearly become enraged. The techniques they were employing now far exceeded the notion of a mere spar.

The old ox, utterly flustered, shielded Ling Heavenly Venerate and yelled, "Qin Kai, stop fighting him! He's an Overlord Body; you can't win against him!"

Founding Emperor ignored him. The old ox then bellowed, "Mu Qing, cease this immediately! His divine arts are boundless; a single flaw will be your undoing! Don't forget, his true strength lies in swordsmanship; his divine arts are merely a diversion!"

In the sky, the peerless divine arts of the two combatants stunned everyone on the island, leaving countless ancient practitioners of divine arts dumbfounded. And now, their ultimate techniques were on the verge of colliding.

"You two!"

Ox San Duo finally reached his limit. An earth-shshattering roar erupted from his mouth: "Have you two caused enough trouble? I am enraged!"

Ling Heavenly Venerate, who had been watching with excitement, suddenly froze. Beside her, the old man erupted with an earth-shattering aura, causing the surrounding space to crackle and burst.

Ling Heavenly Venerate stared in stunned silence at the old man whose body was growing ever taller, witnessing his formidable physical form, akin to an ancient god's, piercing directly into the clouds. The old ox, utterly enraged, unleashed a roar that reverberated through the Heavenly Court, causing the waters of the Celestial River to surge and boil as if in a tempest!

The sky was riddled with spatial cracks.

Jade Pool Treasure Island itself could barely contain the old man's colossal physical form!