Chapter 963: Ling Tai Divine Hidden Domain

Luo Wushuang was startled. Qin Mu's sword was incomparably sharp, yet when it pierced his first "heaven" layer, he hadn't yet felt its true power.

He was relatively young when he began cultivating with the blade. His first Dao technique was called "Azure Sea Clouds Part," where the blade form, when unleashed, resembled an azure sea shrouded in mist. As the clouds parted, the blade technique transformed, and an overwhelming surge of sea power descended from the sky.

However, this was his inaugural Dao technique; his accumulation was insufficient back then, and it wasn't particularly refined, so its breakthrough was normal.

Yet, in the very next moment, Qin Mu's sword broke through his second blade-Dao "heaven," "Jade Pass Snow Flurry." As this Dao-infused divine ability unfolded, blade light transformed into swirling snow, icy jade locks appeared, and profound ice manifested as a jade pass.

Once the gate of the jade pass opened, it unleashed a fierce killing move: biting wind and snow assaulted, and the jade pass pressed forward, crushing with the might of an ice city and jade barrier.

Countless powerful individuals had fallen to this divine ability of his.

But this move, too, was shattered by Qin Mu's sword.

Qin Mu's sword pierced through his ice city and jade pass, sweeping away the wind and snow with a single strike, causing the jade pass to crumble and the ice city to disintegrate.

His third blade-Dao "heaven" was called "Iron Cavalry Charge." When this blade technique unfolded, celestial soldiers and generals seemed to descend from the heavens with iron horses and gleaming weapons. However, this move was also useless; the sword light swept away all the celestial soldiers and generals.

Luo Wushuang's fourth blade-Dao "heaven" was called "Light Shifting Towers." With a single slash, the blade light transformed into thirty-three towering structures, from which killing moves emerged.

However, the towers were pierced by the sword light and disintegrated on the spot.

Then came the fifth, sixth, seventh "heavens"...

His blade technique was named "Blade Dao Firmament." Currently, it comprised fourteen Dao-infused blade divine abilities, which collectively formed fourteen "heavens." This time, he intended to end the battle in one blow, so the fourteen "heavens" overlapped, descending like fourteen realms from above.

Qin Mu's sword struck, continuously piercing through layer after layer of these "heavens," causing Luo Wushuang's heart to tremble.

Fortunately, after Qin Mu's sword successively penetrated his nine "heavenly firmaments," its momentum and power significantly diminished, which somewhat relieved him.

If Qin Mu had pierced all fourteen of his "heavenly firmaments" in one go, there would have been no need for him to continue fighting; he would have simply discarded his blade and kowtowed in surrender.

Unexpectedly, as the momentum of Qin Mu's sword waned, his sword technique abruptly shifted from "Opening Calamity Sword" to "Lifting Calamity Sword." A single sword strike transformed into myriad dancing sword lights, each shimmering lightly to become a floating flower.

In an instant, thousands of flowers drifted, falling and flying everywhere, filling his ninth blade-Dao "heaven."

His ninth blade-Dao "heaven" was called "Changhe Nine Gates of Heaven Open," a majestic and grand move. However, the sword light permeated the heavenly gates, filling the Changhe Nine Gates, sweeping them flat and destroying the heavenly gates.

Luo Wushuang had long heard of Qin Mu's "Lifting Calamity Sword," the very sword technique Qin Mu relied on to gain his fame.

In the early years of the Dragon Han era, Qin Mu, using this sword technique, severely wounded Haotian Sovereign under the suppression of Lady Yuanmu's projection, leaving Haotian Sovereign bedridden and incapacitated for thousands of years.

From then on, this sword technique became legendary. Generations of exceptionally talented individuals tried to imitate and recreate it, but no one succeeded.

The "Lifting Calamity Sword" became a lost art with Qin Mu's disappearance, a fabled invincible sword, until the coming of the Eternal Peace era, when Qin Mu himself recreated this sword technique.

The most powerful aspect of the "Lifting Calamity Sword" was that it was a fundamental sword technique, also known as "Sword Nineteen."

Without the preceding eighteen fundamental sword techniques, one could not learn "Sword Nineteen." Yet, once mastered, this technique allowed one to directly enter the Dao with the sword!

This meant that the "Lifting Calamity Sword" could be combined with countless other sword techniques to form innumerable variations!

This was also the most powerful and extraordinary aspect of the "Lifting Calamity Sword."

In the Yuan World, Qin Mu had also used this technique to slay many powerful enemies, and it had never been broken by anyone. Even when Haotian Sovereign personally confronted him, he only exploited shortcomings in Qin Mu's cultivation method, not finding any flaws within the sword technique itself.

Just as the "Lifting Calamity Sword" was about to break through his thirteenth blade-Dao "heaven," the power within Qin Mu's divine ability finally ran out. Luo Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief as the thirteenth and fourteenth "heavens" descended upon Qin Mu, majestic and grand!

At that moment, he saw the black-and-white Taiji diagram beneath Qin Mu's feet expand, instantly sweeping across a hundred miles, transforming the golden desert into a realm of black and white.

In the black-and-white desert, the sun set, the bright moon rose, and its light shone brilliantly.

"What profound cultivation!"

Luo Wushuang's heart was awestruck. As blade and sword clashed, Qin Mu stood firm beneath the Primal Wood, rooted in the desert like an unmoving mountain.

The crushing power of Luo Wushuang's two layers of blade-Dao "heavens" only caused the surrounding black-and-white Taiji diagram to tremble incessantly, yet it could not shake Qin Mu's body.

"Is this level of cultivation the result of his physical body and primordial spirit merging into one, with his Divine Treasure transforming into a domain?"

Luo Wushuang spun to his left side, and his blade light flared again. Yet, Qin Mu seemed not to have moved, and still, Luo Wushuang was facing Qin Mu's front.

The two fought at speed. Luo Wushuang swung his blade, darting swiftly, blade light pouring down like a waterfall. But to his astonishment, no matter which direction he turned, he always faced Qin Mu's front.

What terrified him was that Qin Mu had not turned his body at all, from beginning to end!

An incredibly absurd feeling arose in Luo Wushuang's heart, as if Qin Mu possessed countless faces. No matter from what angle he attacked, he always faced Qin Mu's front, with not a single flaw to be found, and what met him was Qin Mu's strongest attack!

In combat, a person's body movements—muscles, meridians, bones, qi and blood—and their movement trajectories inevitably create fleeting weaknesses.

Even the flow of vital qi on the surface of the skin could form weaknesses.

These weaknesses were not flaws in cultivation methods, but rather inherent flaws generated by the divine ability user themselves during movement. Beyond harming enemies, the combat techniques also served to compensate for these weaknesses.

However, facing Qin Mu in this state, Luo Wushuang could not find any physical weaknesses at all!

"This is a rogue divine ability!"

Luo Wushuang gritted his teeth. This situation must have been caused by Qin Mu's Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. He remembered that in the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain, when the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness invaded, Qin Mu had stated that within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, he was the Celestial Emperor, the sovereign.

Now, Luo Wushuang experienced the feeling that the Grand Emperor had back then.

Qin Mu had transformed the hundred-mile radius of the desert into his own Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, forming a peculiar domain. With his blade techniques, Luo Wushuang found it difficult to contend with him.

What truly shocked him was that after entering the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain, Qin Mu had flexibly applied its principles to his own Divine Treasure.

Yet, others could not transform their Divine Treasures into domains as he did.

The most crucial reason was that Qin Mu had merged the seven Divine Treasures into one, achieving unparalleled mastery in this field. Even Heavenly Venerables, purely in terms of Divine Treasure cultivation, could not surpass him.

Furthermore, he had pioneered a new path, transforming his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure into an internal micro-universe. From this micro-universe, souls were born, and these souls, combining with the spirit embryo, formed the primordial spirit. This primordial spirit naturally became the master of this micro-universe, making the formation of his unique domain a matter of course.

"To break this rogue fighting style of his, I must destroy his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure!"

As Luo Wushuang thought this, his blade light erupted again, not striking at Qin Mu, but rather at the surrounding world. The blade light ripped through the sky and cleaved the earth!

Qin Mu's domain immediately became unstable, and its aura diminished. At this moment, the heavens and earth suddenly inverted; the hundred-mile black-and-white desert flipped over, and the rules of the grand Dao abruptly changed.

Luo Wushuang watched in horror as his physical body rapidly withered away, leaving him standing there as a skeleton, unable to feel his own flesh!

This was the Netherworld.

It was a Netherworld created by Qin Mu's own power!

Without a physical body, Luo Wushuang's magical power sharply diminished. Qin Mu's sword light flew forth, and Luo Wushuang raised his blade to block. However, without a physical body, his magical power and strength effectively dropped an entire cultivation realm.

*Swoosh*—

The sword light pierced through his fourteenth blade-Dao "heaven," reaching his brow, and then abruptly halted.

Luo Wushuang let go of the blade in his hand, and the blade light flickering in his eyes gradually extinguished. His aura weakened, and he said hoarsely, "Forty thousand years... I waited for a full forty thousand years, always dreaming of a battle with you. I never expected to still lose..."

Qin Mu dispersed his sword light, and the domain formed by his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure vanished. The golden desert reappeared, with the blazing sun still high and waves of heat washing over them.

"You didn't lose to my sword technique, so there's no need to be so disheartened," Qin Mu said.

Qin Mu stepped forward and chuckled, "You only lost to my divine ability. In terms of sword techniques, mine may not necessarily surpass your blade techniques. In fact, there's much about blade techniques I'd like to learn from you."

Luo Wushuang sighed, looking desolate. "Your sword technique defeated me back then, and I spent forty thousand years diligently cultivating my blade techniques, hoping that one day your sword would fall to my blade. Now, though your sword techniques haven't surpassed mine, your divine ability has defeated me. How many more years must I painstakingly cultivate and comprehend to defeat your divine ability?"

Despite his loss, he suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

"One hundred and twenty thousand years," Qin Mu replied.

Qin Mu walked forward, saying, "You owe me three lives, each life worth forty thousand years. You have one hundred and twenty thousand years to comprehend, striving to defeat me honorably after that time."

He looked back and chuckled, "Blade God Luo, aren't you coming along?"

Luo Wushuang paused, then quickly followed him. "Your Spirit Embryo domain has significant flaws. As long as one breaks through your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, killing you wouldn't be difficult. The way you comprehended this usage from the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain is actually not yet perfect."

Qin Mu humbly sought advice, saying, "I realized that point when your blade technique cleaved the heavens and earth just now. So, Blade God Luo, how do you think I should modify and perfect it?"

Luo Wushuang hesitated, then said, "Qin Hegemon Body, you don't always have to call me Blade God Luo. I am forty thousand years older than you. If you don't mind, you can simply call me Brother Luo."

Qin Mu laughed, "I call Zhe Huali my brother. How can I call you Brother Luo?"

Luo Wushuang said seriously, "Zhe Huali and I have severed our ties; he is no longer my disciple. You are a Heavenly Venerable; if you call me Brother Luo, I would be taking advantage of you."

He paused, then revealed a slight smile. "I'm not very good at handling social relations in the Heavenly Court, and I have few friends. My disciples are usually children from powerless and humble families, who struggle to emerge from my shadow and often self-mutilate. They are all poor folk. Zhe Huali is the only one who truly walked out of my shadow and my blade Dao. I admire him greatly."

As he thought of Zhe Huali, a warmth involuntarily bloomed in his heart.

Zhe Huali had only emerged from his shadow after encountering Qin Mu, which was why Luo Wushuang's feelings towards Qin Mu were complex. It was also one of the reasons he hadn't attacked Qin Mu after descending to Eternal Peace.

"Regarding domains, I don't understand them well enough to guide you. However, I think that the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain is constructed from divine consciousness, and the Creators and Grand Emperor did not use their Divine Treasures or Heavenly Palaces."

Luo Wushuang pondered for a moment, then said, "When you use your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure to form a domain, you are actively exposing your weakness to the enemy. If you could directly form a domain without using your Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, then there would be no weakness. It's just that the subtle applications might be somewhat inferior, not as unpredictable as a Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure domain."

Qin Mu suddenly understood. "Brother Luo, what you said makes perfect sense. It's just that I can only form a domain using my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure; if I don't use it, my cultivation can't keep up, and I won't have so many variations."

Luo Wushuang pondered, "Then, perhaps, during normal times, you could continuously temper your domain using your magical power and Dao runes, and then release it during battle?"

Qin Mu's eyes lit up, and he praised, "That's a great idea! I can also engrave divine abilities within the domain, refining it countless times, making the domain stronger and stronger, no weaker than a Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure domain! Oh, and Brother Luo, you can also achieve a Blade Dao Firmament Domain!"

Luo Wushuang stopped, his gaze dazed. After a moment, he suddenly showed an expression of ecstatic joy and couldn't help but burst into laughter, his voice echoing across the golden desert.

"A Blade Dao Firmament Domain! Good, truly good!"

"Brother Luo, this is reform! You've already stepped into the ranks of reformers!"

"This is reform?"

"This is reform! I also have a humble request. Since you can't stay in the Heavenly Court, I happen to have some establishments in the lower realm. Have you heard of the Heavenly Saint Sect? This humble one is unworthy, but I serve as its Sacred Cult Master. Now is a time when we need talent like you, Brother Luo. To be frank, Yan Shaoqing, the Heavenly Court's top divine consciousness expert, has already joined us, and now, with the Heavenly Court's top divine blade..."

They walked further and further away. Not long after, at the location where Qin Mu and Luo Wushuang had fought, space tore open, revealing a deep abyss. Lianhua Hun emerged from the abyss, looked around, and then followed the footprints of Qin Mu and Luo Wushuang.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu, you vanished for half a year. This queen thought you were dead, but unexpectedly sensed your divine ability. Today, this queen will send you on your way using Haotian Sovereign's Eighteen Methods of Slaughtering Mu."

Not long after she left, another Great Abyss of Gui Xu appeared. A flower bloomed within the abyss, and Yunchu Xiu lay lazily within it. She then leaped out of the flower, skipping along and following Lianhua Hun's footprints, her two braids bouncing and swaying behind her, her long hair reaching her waist.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu disappeared for half a year. Where did he go during that time? He didn't even take me along to play. How stingy! Since he's appeared, my sister will definitely deal with him. After she kills him, he'll drop my crystal coffin, and many other treasures too!"

The young girl said excitedly, "And after I kill my sister, I can rest easy!"