Chapter 847: South Xinjiang Dragon and Snake Chaos

"Ling'er!"

Qin Mu's heart swelled with joy. He took the little fox off his head, intending to get a better look, but the white fox squirmed out of his hands, climbed back onto his head, and covered his face with its tail.

"Ling'er, stop messing around. I already knew it was you."

Qin Mu gently removed her again. Only then did the little white fox settle down, wrapping her tail around his arm and making a cozy nest on his chest. She curled up comfortably, occasionally blinking her dark, gleaming eyes at Qin Mu's face. The fox's blinking was quite charming.

"Young Master," she said.

Qin Mu hummed in response. Hu Ling'er called "Young Master" again, and Qin Mu hummed once more. The little white fox relaxed, half-closing her eyes as if dozing, and then a few of her fluffy tails subtly lifted, playfully nudging Qin Mu's chin.

Yan'er, seeing her nearby, was delighted. She picked Hu Ling'er up from Qin Mu's arms, but Hu Ling'er quickly squirmed out of her embrace and burrowed back into Qin Mu's arms. Yan'er picked her up again, and Hu Ling'er was about to run back when suddenly a spirit pellet was popped into her mouth. She immediately stopped, lying docilely in Yan'er's arms.

High Priest Ba Shan said, "Hu Ling'er is currently in charge of the Demonic Arts Academy here at Li River Academy. When you leave, you'll see the most chaotic and disreputable area of the academy; that's the Demonic Arts Academy. However, Hu Ling'er has extensive connections. She's invited Fox Immortals, Grey Immortals, Tiger Venerable, Grand Venerable, King Mingdu, and others to teach there. The Demonic Arts Academy is actually more prosperous than the other academies. It's just that Priestess Hu has a bit of a gang leader's air about her; she always likes people to call her 'Big Sister'."

"That's just Ling'er for you. Green Ox and Fatty Long are both her sworn brothers." Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He tilted his head to look at the little fox in Yan'er's arms, trying to count Hu Ling'er's tails one by one. Her tails danced and swayed, dazzling him. He counted for a long time but couldn't get a clear count of how many there were.

"To be honest, King Mingdu Tian Shu is her sworn elder brother. Fatty Long also became sworn brothers with this King and enjoys drinking, so his relationship with Ling'er is actually better than his relationship with Fatty Long."

Qin Mu said in surprise, "It's beyond my expectation that Ling'er could invite Grand Venerable to teach here."

High Priest Ba Shan slapped his thigh. "I kept wondering why King Mingdu kept coming to my place. Turns out he was after my liquor; I thought he admired me! Priestess Hu even invited Xing An to teach at my Li River Academy once, but he only taught a few lessons and then left. I figure these notorious characters are probably rejected by other academies, and only my Li River Academy is open enough to let these unorthodox individuals teach."

Qin Mu remained silent, thinking to himself, "Senior Brother Ba Shan's Li River Academy is indeed the most chaotic and unruly of all academies." Even before he arrived at Li River Academy, he had observed from a distance a mixture of various phenomena above it: the sharp auras of martial arts masters, such as a fierce tiger descending a mountain, a white elephant stepping on the sea, or a hungry eagle hunting prey; terrifying demonic phenomena formed by demonic path masters; the demonic clouds of demon tribe masters; the sword qi of sword path masters; and the auspicious clouds of spell masters.

Ba Shan had just mentioned the Demonic Arts Academy was chaotic, but in truth, the entire Li River Academy was chaotic. But it was precisely because of this that Li River Academy allowed for the clash of various divine arts and spells, and the collision of different ideologies.

After arriving at Li River Academy, Qin Mu discovered it was the wildest among all the academies. Along the way, he had witnessed dozens of brawls, both big and small! However, the Imperial College officials and high priests of Li River Academy paid them no mind; instead, they cheered them on from the sidelines and took pride in their disciples' victories.

High Priest Ba Shan's eyes gleamed. "Junior Brother, you've come to study, but attending lectures isn't actually the best way to gain knowledge."

"Oh?" Qin Mu replied, humbly asking, "Senior Brother, then what is the best way?"

High Priest Ba Shan chuckled. "Fighting, of course. All the academies within my Li River Academy have made achievements. The forefront of Yan Kang's reforms isn't in the Imperial Academy; the Imperial Academy is too traditional, hesitant to develop divine arts and spells for fear of imperial punishment. But out here, the emperor is far away, and Emperor Yanfeng can't control us. Any divine art can be developed here, and we have all sorts of martial arts and divine abilities."

He stood up, shaking off his large cloak to reveal a broad, muscular chest beneath. He said faintly, "And for any divine art or spell, whether it's effective or not depends on its outcome in a real fight. Since you've come to my Li River Academy to study, you should naturally fight your way through each academy here, once each."

Qin Mu showed a timid expression. "Fighting my way through... isn't that a bit much?"

High Priest Ba Shan cast a disdainful glance at him. "Junior Brother, you're not scared, are you?"

Qin Mu nodded repeatedly, sighing, "Yan'er loves to feed things, and she's already used up all my spirit medicines. I restocked once on the way here, but those are almost gone too. If I injure the high priests and Imperial College officials of Li River Academy, what will I use to heal them?"

High Priest Ba Shan clenched his fists, his bones cracking. He chuckled, "Junior Brother, you've made great progress these past few years out there. Your words carry much more spirit than before, and even your breathing has grown heavier."

Qin Mu, breathing weakly, said feebly, "I'm certainly not as good as Senior Brother. You've long since broken through the Divine Bridge and become a deity. Meanwhile, I've only just managed to open the Celestial River Divine Treasure, and I don't know how much longer I'll need to cultivate before ascending to the Celestial Palace. Grandfather Butcher must have taught you some new blade techniques, right? And Martial Saint Heavenly Master, I imagine he's also taught you quite a few good things. From the Chishang Remnant Tribe, Senior Brother has probably learned a lot of excellent things too. I wouldn't dare claim to be slightly stronger than Senior Brother."

High Priest Ba Shan waved his hands repeatedly in a panic. "I'm not as diligent as you. You're a Hegemon Body and more hardworking than me. I definitely can't beat you; at most, I could only beat you half to death."

Qin Mu stretched his body, and a dragon's roar emanated from within him. He laughed, "Grandfather Butcher is right here. How could he bear to see me beat his proud disciple until he's spitting teeth?"

"Indeed, Master Heavenly Blade wouldn't want to see me thoroughly thrash you. If that old man saw me beat you so badly you couldn't get out of bed, wouldn't he draw his blade and kill me?"

As they spoke, the two walked outside. Qin Mu activated the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art, stretching his muscles and bones. High Priest Ba Shan, meanwhile, drew his Overlord Blade, held it upright before him, and sprayed wind, fire, clouds, and lightning from his mouth to temper the divine blade.

Yan'er blinked, watching them walk out the door. Hu Ling'er quickly jumped from her arms, transforming into an eight or nine-year-old girl as she landed. She opened her mouth, and Yan'er promptly placed a spirit pellet into it.

"Young Master is going to fight? Can he win?" Yan'er continued to offer food, saying, "That person just now was very strong. His primordial spirit cultivation is formidable."

Hu Ling'er chewed the spirit pellet with crunching sounds. "Young Master is also very powerful. It's uncertain if High Priest Ba Shan can beat him... Can these spirit pellets be made hollow? If each one had some fine wine added, the taste would be even better."

Yu Tianzun approached them, opened his mouth, and Yan'er fed him a pellet. Yu Tianzun rumbled, "Spirit pellets with wine? Does it taste good?"

Hu Ling'er glanced at him, her face breaking into a wide smile. "You must be Young Master Lan Yutian? I heard about you when I went to the capital last time; you're Young Master Qin Mu's younger brother. Why is your surname Lan? Spirit pellets with wine taste wonderful, though I've never eaten them quite like that. I usually eat spirit pellets from a plate, alongside wine. Senior Brother San Duo also said they were good when he tried them. But I do think, if the wine was added *inside* the spirit pellets, they would taste even better."

Yu Tianzun looked eager to try.

The three walked out of the hall. Outside, Qin Mu had already begun fighting High Priest Ba Shan. The two went from fighting on the ground straight up into the sky. High Priest Ba Shan was the founder of the combined combat and spell arts, and he had contributed to Yan Kang's reforms.

In recent years, with the great surge of divine arts in Yan Kang, High Priest Ba Shan's expertise in combat techniques had become even more astonishing. Although the Southern Border was geographically remote, it was a melting pot of cultivation methods, a place of lawlessness, yet divine arts and spells progressed rapidly there. Furthermore, with Martial Saint Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha, Heavenly Blade Butcher, Chishang Divine Son, Xing An, and others coming to teach, High Priest Ba Shan's abilities had grown even more remarkable, showing earth-shattering improvements in both martial combat techniques and divine arts.

He had studied under Heavenly Blade Butcher and learned the Nine Heavenly Blade Forms from him. However, Butcher had his body severed at the time for striking at the heavens, faking his death and hiding in the Great Ruins. Ba Shan hadn't been able to fully learn the Nine Heavenly Blade Forms, so he created his own Seven Overlord Blade Forms, using the combined combat and spell arts to compensate for his shortcomings in the blade path. Later, when Butcher reappeared, he disparaged Ba Shan's technique, saying he had practiced his blade arts to an unrefined level.

Now, however, High Priest Ba Shan had advanced the path he forged even further, enough to impress Heavenly Blade Butcher. His blade techniques concealed divine arts, wielding immense power. His Overlord Blade was incredibly domineering, handling both close-quarters and long-range attacks against Qin Mu with ease. His strength was also extraordinary; each time Qin Mu blocked an attack, he was sent flying hundreds of feet before he could regain his balance.

Qin Mu repeatedly retreated, fighting with extreme difficulty.

Inside Li River Academy, Niu Sanduo and Green Ox stopped pummeling Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin. They looked up, exclaiming in unison, "Excellent blade technique, excellent divine art! High Priest Ba Shan is remarkable; the combined combat and spell arts are truly powerful! If applied to martial divine arts, they could elevate martial power even further!"

Green Ox put his front hooves on his hips, boasting, "My master beat your master, and my godfather made you cry out! Fatty Long, let's see how you'll compete with me now!"

The old farmer and Butcher walked over, glancing up. The old farmer said, "Your disciple's skill isn't bad, but he's going to lose."

Yu Zhaoqing, clad in iridescent robes, walked over, looking up at the sky. "Martial Saint Heavenly Master, why do you say that? High Priest Ba Shan's combined combat and spell arts are a unique specialty of Yan Kang. In terms of sheer power, few venerated gods are his match. I've seen him contend with Tiger Venerable, and even Tiger Venerable couldn't defeat him."

Butcher explained, "It's already remarkable for him to have reached this point with his combined combat and spell arts. However, achieving Dao entry in blade arts, Dao entry in martial arts, and Dao entry in divine arts—all three methods simultaneously—is incredibly difficult. Although he is the founder of combined combat and spell arts, his aptitude is not as good as the Ling family's Sixth Princess. As long as Mu'er unleashes his Dao-entered divine art, Ba Shan will lose."

The old farmer said, "He's too greedy. Those who can achieve single Dao entry are already rare in the world; how difficult is it to achieve three Dao entries? Not to mention, there aren't many who have achieved Dao entry through martial arts. Qin's son is one of them."

As they spoke, a clattering sound approached, and a few more people came up the mountain. A handsome young man stood on top of a six-legged box that ascended the mountain as easily as walking on flat ground. Behind this peculiar box was a deer-legged youth, accompanying a young man in purple robes.

"Xing An." Butcher snorted coldly, and the divine blade behind him emitted a crisp drawing sound.

The box raced forward, stopping abruptly before the group. The young man on the box had been gazing up at the battle in the sky. Hearing the blade sound, he withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Heavenly Blade, you are not my opponent."

Butcher laughed heartily. "Who was it that chased you all over the ground back then? I heard you went to the South Sea to ask Chishang Divine Son to reconstruct your physical body with his creation divine art. Are you not snatching other people's bodies anymore? Has your physical body only just regenerated? I won't take advantage of you. If you want revenge, you can come find me anytime!"

Xing An shook his head. "I'm not interested in you. I came to see Cult Master Qin Mu... such a captivating body..." His gaze turned fervent as he looked up at Qin Mu, who was fiercely battling High Priest Ba Shan in the sky.

Chishang Divine Son walked over, smiling. "Heavenly Blade, don't misunderstand. Xing An heard that Cult Master Qin Mu had arrived and has a problem he wants him to solve. His mastery of the Profound Creation Art is no less than mine. He came to the South Sea to consult me, and although I helped him solve some issues, there were still some drawbacks in his desire to recreate his physical body. I told him that Cult Master Qin Mu is the ultimate master of the Way of Creation, which is why he came upon hearing the news."

Xing An said calmly, "In the Way of Creation, Cult Master Qin Mu is first in the world. Chishang Divine Son and I are tied for second."