Chapter 856: A Sword Flying to the Sky

The Celestial Dragon King's enormous head hung suspended between them. This dragon king's head had undergone a corpse transformation, turning a sickly green. Even its long whiskers were green and dripping with putrid fluid.

Qin Mu and Yu Tianzun's divine arts erupted, separated by the Celestial Dragon King's head. Qin Mu raised his hand, seized a flying sword orbiting him, and thrust it forward. Countless other flying swords circling him moved in unison, forming a tide of blades that skimmed the Celestial Dragon King's head, each sword tainted with corpse poison.

As his flying swords reached the other side of the Celestial Dragon King's head, the green tide of blades transformed into a sword array, engulfing Yu Tianzun.

Simultaneously, Yu Tianzun directly unleashed Celestial Dao divine arts. The forty-nine Celestial Daos were activated by him, manifesting in forty-nine distinct forms of divine power.

Countless gods and demons resided on the body of the Celestial Lord of Xuandu, observing and measuring day and night. The Heavenly Court had largely deciphered the Celestial Dao divine arts, even structuring the Celestial Lord's body and deducing the Celestial Dao abilities.

Qin Mu had only deduced the Grand Dao of Celestial Fire from the Celestial Fire Prismatic Crystals. In contrast, the Heavenly Court had long since deduced all other Celestial Daos, their only deficiency being that their Celestial Dao was constructed using macroscopic calculations, lacking a microscopic foundation.

The Celestial Dao divine arts unleashed by Yu Tianzun took various forms: a Heavenly Net, a Celestial Fire Crystal Tower, a Celestial Mendicant appearing as a boat, a Heavenly Chronicle as a monument, a Celestial Dome as a canopy, a Celestial Yang as the sun, a Celestial Yin as the moon, and a Celestial Abyss. All these diverse Celestial Dao abilities suddenly converged, forming a single seal. The intricate runes of this divine art seemed to pass through the Celestial Dragon King's head with a whoosh, as if encountering no resistance, and shot directly towards Qin Mu!

Their divine arts did not collide but instead targeted each other directly, each aiming to eliminate the opponent immediately.

This was because the Celestial Dragon King's corporeal head was between them. Although the Dragon King was now a dazed corpse demon, its power was still considerable.

If the corpse demon were to attack either of them, neither could defend against it. Thus, eliminating the opponent first was crucial for ensuring one's own safety.

The Celestial Dao Seal felt as if the Celestial Lord had descended in person, radiating an overwhelming, unparalleled celestial might.

Meanwhile, on his side of the Celestial Dragon King's head, Qin Mu directly confronted the powerful Celestial Dao divine art. He suddenly tore off the willow leaf from his brow, opening his third eye, its gaze as profound as an abyss.

"My very being is Youdu!"

A torrent of wild, dark demonic energy from Youdu surged forth. In an instant, he seemed to sink into the abyssal darkness of Youdu. Flames blazed atop Qin Mu's head, forming two demonic horns from the Nine Nether Yellow Springs.

He resembled Earth Count emerging from Youdu, stirring the Grand Dao of Youdu. The rules of Youdu's Grand Dao transformed into countless chains that coiled around his body.

Qin Mu, enshrouded by chains, extended a large hand to meet the Celestial Dao Seal.

On the other side, the sword array's power erupted. Countless flying swords leaped with uncanny frequency. Each move was the second form of the Calamity Sword, "Lifting Calamity." Yet, as the flying swords vanished and reappeared, the calamities they formed precisely coalesced into different formations!

His sword dao comprised two parts: "Opening Calamity" and "Lifting Calamity," each containing distinct insights into the sword.

Originally, both "Opening Calamity" and "Lifting Calamity" sword forms were simple. While they contained profound principles, their movements were extremely minimalist.

Now, while each individual flying sword executing "Lifting Calamity" remained simple, the combination of different "Lifting Calamity" sword moves formed an incredibly complex sword array!

Furthermore, each time the sword array transformed after a leap, it was entirely distinct from the last!

This was a direct result of his recent studies of the Eternal Peace reforms under the guidance of the Blind.

The Eternal Peace reforms had yielded numerous achievements in the Way of Formations, building upon the foundational achievements of the Founding Emperor era.

The Blind was the great master of Eternal Peace formations. He spearheaded the reform of the Way of Formations in Eternal Peace, working with many virtuous individuals to apply the Way of Formations to civilian life and improve people's livelihoods.

Qin Mu, however, had applied the Way of Formations to his own techniques and divine arts, incorporating changes in formations into his "Lifting Calamity" sword.

As Yu Tianzun became ensnared in the constantly shifting "Lifting Calamity" sword array, his aura suddenly transformed. Behind him, a divine bridge appeared, spanning the void, with his primordial spirit standing at its far end, before the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Behind him, layer upon layer of celestial palaces emerged, forming a vast Heavenly Court, brilliant golden light illuminating the clouds.

The Heavenly Court comprised thirty-six heavens and seventy-two halls, with the most exalted among them being the High Heavens Treasure Hall.

There, light and flames proliferated, and countless anomalies churned, transforming into the sight of a towering ancient god, the Heavenly Emperor, seated majestically.

"Myriad Daos Supreme, Myriad Daos Return to One!"

Yu Tianzun raised a hand and unleashed a seal to counter Qin Mu's "Lifting Calamity" sword array. The sword array's power erupted, but upon encountering his divine art, its might seemed to sink into a mire. Countless flying swords were frozen in place, and the array instantly scattered.

Yu Tianzun's divine art surged, shattering the sword array formed by countless flying swords.

After breaking through the array, Yu Tianzun leaped into the air, only to see the Celestial Dragon King's sickly green whiskers lashing out at him, barely missing him.

On the other side, Qin Mu forcefully shattered Yu Tianzun's grand Celestial Dao divine art. He then turned sideways, his body suddenly becoming extremely flattened, standing like a thin black line that merged seamlessly with the surrounding darkness.

The Celestial Dragon King's thick whiskers whistled through the air, without touching him in the slightest.

The Dragon King's enormous head, its eyeballs rolling, stopped before this black line, unable to locate Qin Mu.

This particular technique was one Qin Mu had learned from Ban Gongcuo, who was unmatched in the arts of escape and disguise.

"Ah, right. You are still the God Child of Youdu."

Yu Tianzun, running swiftly across the Celestial Dragon King's head, remarked with a smile, "Using the Grand Dao of Youdu to counter the Celestial Dao is not difficult for you."

The Celestial Dragon King's whiskers abandoned Qin Mu and struck out at Yu Tianzun, who was running across its head.

Yu Tianzun moved like a phantom, evading the striking whiskers. Those whiskers, capable of being both soft and hard, managed to pierce through patches of dragon scales, revealing the decaying flesh beneath.

At the same time, the scattered flying swords suddenly whistled back. From within the black line, a hand emerged and struck the flying swords with force. The corpse poison on the blades was repelled, revealing their gleaming, original forms.

With continuous clanging, the flying swords condensed back into a sword pellet, which Qin Mu caught in his hand.

The Celestial Dragon King's head charged forward, opening its vast maw and spewing putrid corpse gas. It swallowed Qin Mu whole. The moment it took Qin Mu into its mouth, teleportation runes flared.

As its enormous mouth closed, a flash of teleportation light appeared, and Qin Mu vanished.

The next moment, a flash of light appeared directly behind Yu Tianzun, who was still running across the Celestial Dragon King's head. Qin Mu thrust a sword towards his back.

Yu Tianzun's body abruptly transformed into a bird-headed humanoid. Behind his head, a solar halo appeared, and the great sun descended. Qin Mu's sword plunged into this solar halo, and the divine sword instantly glowed fiery red, molten gold and iron dripping from it.

Qin Mu put power into his legs, thrusting the sword forward. Yu Tianzun struggled, fleeing frantically ahead.

Both ran across the corpse-transformed Dragon King's head, each step immensely heavy.

Qin Mu's body swayed as two more heads rapidly grew, and four additional arms emerged from his armpits. His hands transformed in myriad ways, finally forming sword-fingers, each pointing at a brow.

The first form of Calamity Sword: "Opening Calamity."

As his sword-fingers pointed, three distinct sword-fingers simultaneously touched the divine sword, causing its power to erupt.

Yu Tianzun grunted as the solar halo was pierced. Suddenly, his body transformed again, becoming a goddess.

Originally facing away from Qin Mu, as he transformed into a goddess, his head, body, and limbs unnervingly twisted backward simultaneously, creating a bizarre form that now faced Qin Mu directly.

"Her" hands clasped the divine sword impaled in her chest, and between her hands, a bottomless abyss formed.

The Abyss of Return to the Ruins.

This was a colossal, furiously spinning vortex of darkness, unfathomably deep. Qin Mu's "Opening Calamity" sword whooshed into the abyss, along with Qin Mu himself, as both were swallowed!

Swallowed by his Return to the Ruins divine art, Qin Mu was surrounded by countless spinning runes. He activated his teleportation divine art again, flying out.

Yu Tianzun raised his hand to support the heavens. In the sky, countless stars exploded, then converged into a river of stars, forming a Heavenly Net.

As Qin Mu's figure just materialized from the stream of teleportation light, he was immediately snared by the Heavenly Net, unable to break free.

He activated his teleportation divine art again, but suddenly, amidst flashes of lightning and thunder, he was ensnared by the Heavenly Net once more.

He dodged repeatedly, yet time and again, he was caught by the Heavenly Net.

Yu Tianzun's hands flew, weaving the Heavenly Net ever tighter. Countless stars converged, making it denser. Qin Mu flickered unsteadily within the net, the space for him to maneuver growing increasingly constricted.

"Who can master all the Grand Dao divine arts of the ancient gods?"

Yu Tianzun suddenly transformed into Star Lord Kui Mulang, a wolf-headed humanoid. He sprang into the air, dodging the Celestial Dragon King's whisker attacks, and lunged directly at Qin Mu, saying with a smile, "Only I, only this physical body! Celestial Wolf Howls at the Moon!"

He let out a prolonged howl, and a torrent of light erupted from his mouth, blasting towards Qin Mu, who was caught in the Heavenly Net.

The divine sword in Qin Mu's hand suddenly transformed into a golden brush. He wielded the brush, drawing a portal within the Heavenly Net, and then simply stepped through it.

The "Celestial Wolf Howls at the Moon" divine art blasted into the portal, disappearing without a sound.

Yu Tianzun, surprised, flew into the portal, remarking with a chuckle, "The Grand Dao divine arts of the lower realms are becoming quite interesting."

No sooner had he rushed into the portal than the Celestial Dragon King's whiskers also pierced through. The whiskers then latched onto both sides of the portal, and the Celestial Dragon King's sickly green head squeezed itself into the doorway, chuckling, "I see you both!"

Yu Tianzun leaped up, transforming into a Vermilion Bird with a wingspan of several hundred zhang. He flapped his wings and flew, evading the Celestial Dragon King's attack. Ahead, he saw Qin Mu holding the golden brush, with a sweep of which, a section of a Celestial Palace sprang forth.

Qin Mu ran like lightning through the Celestial Palace, his brush strokes flowing like a dragon and serpent. He continued to surge forward, and with each sweep of his golden brush, layers of space continuously manifested before him.

Next, a River of Heaven flowed from beneath his brush. A torrent of water descended from the sky, roaring and surging directly towards the Vermilion Bird that Yu Tianzun had become.

The Vermilion Bird was flying too fast to dodge. It suddenly spun, and by the time the River of Heaven reached it, Yu Tianzun had transformed from a Vermilion Bird into a Black Tortoise. The Black Tortoise roared, walking upon the river with a coiling serpent around it, its wings vibrating, making its speed even greater.

Behind him, the Celestial Dragon King's large, corpse-transformed head was buffeted by the River of Heaven, its face drenched.

Enraged, the Celestial Dragon King opened its vast mouth and powerfully inhaled, causing the River of Heaven to flow out from beneath its neck.

The Celestial Dragon King, mouth agape, charged forward along the river.

Yu Tianzun was about to catch up to Qin Mu when he suddenly saw Qin Mu draw a Heavenly Shuttle. Qin Mu leaped into the shuttle, which was pointed at both ends and whistled as it soared into the air.

Inside the Heavenly Shuttle, Qin Mu wielded his brush, and a colossal, majestic deity began to materialize under his strokes.

It was the Heavenly Emperor.

When Qin Mu drew the Heavenly Emperor's eyes, he opened them and, still aboard the Heavenly Shuttle, surged inside.

Yu Tianzun was about to follow him in, but found himself colliding with the Heavenly Emperor's eyes.

"Where did he go?"

Yu Tianzun's heart seized with alarm. Behind him, the Celestial Dragon King's enormous head was charging forward.

Qin Mu's figure appeared within the hanging coffin. He leaped from the Heavenly Shuttle and turned around, revealing a Celestial Palace painting behind him, standing in the darkness and flickering with a dim, eerie glow.

Qin Mu shook the brush in his hand; it transformed into a sword pellet, which then erupted into a vast ocean of swords surrounding the Celestial Palace painting.

Qin Mu's body swayed, transforming into his God Child of Youdu form, and darkness permeated the area.

He extended his hand, grasped the Celestial Palace painting, and gave it a forceful shake, instantly annihilating the space within the painting!

As the Celestial Palace painting was annihilated, the sword array's power erupted. The roars of the Celestial Dragon King and Yu Tianzun echoed from within the array as sword light surged like a tide, submerging them. Yet, both figures flickered in and out of sight within the sword light, on the verge of breaking through the array!

Suddenly, the Celestial Dragon King's large, corpse-transformed head burst out of the sword array, rolling away to an unknown destination.

Yu Tianzun followed closely behind the Celestial Dragon King, emerging from the sword array right after it. No sooner had he broken free than his body stiffened, sensing a killing intent from behind.

He whirled around abruptly, to see the River of Heaven flowing behind Qin Mu, with a Celestial Palace faintly visible. Qin Mu's primordial spirit stood on the River of Heaven, holding a precious sword, descending from the sky atop the rushing river, delivering a swift sword strike!

By the time Yu Tianzun saw the sword light, it had already reached his brow. By the time he fully perceived it, Qin Mu's primordial spirit had already pierced his skull with a single sword thrust, reappearing behind him.