Teaming up with Zechariah Lee—could we kill a god?
Qin Mu pondered. He and Victor Bloom understood each other deeply, both exceptionally clever and able to anticipate each other's next moves, keeping up with each other's thinking. So even without rehearsal, they could coordinate flawlessly and join forces to slay powerful foes.
As for Zechariah Lee, Qin Mu wasn't worried about the strength of his saber or his blade‑dao. The only concern was whether Zechariah could keep up with his thinking the way Victor Bloom did.
If he couldn't, their teamwork would fall short of perfection.
Against an ordinary god, that might be fine. But Deputy Commander Lin Hawk is on a whole other level—he severed his own cultivation, dropping himself down to the Revered God realm.
Though his realm fell, his vision and experience far surpass other Revered Gods—it's why he escaped Village Chief's sword.
And the cultivation he cut off turned into that little sun inside his lantern, packed with terrifying energy—it blew a massive hole in Village Chief's sword diagram!
That little sun's power hasn't faded even now. Just imagine how strong Lin Hawk was at his peak!
If their teamwork slipped, Lin Hawk would absolutely kill them!
Suddenly, Qin Mu activated his teleportation art again. A beam of light swept from behind, vaporizing their previous hiding spot.
They entered the ship's interior and were awestruck by the spectacular sight before them.
They saw colossal dragon spines running north to south, stretching through the ship's interior. Though only bones remained, they still glowed with dazzling golden light, illuminating the space brilliantly.
In addition to the dragon bones, rows of giant kun ribs—each about ten zhang thick—were slotted into the dragon spine. On the kun bones, runes of various beasts appeared: bird, fish, water, cloud, mountain, and more. These runes lit up one after another, shining brilliantly in the golden glow of the dragon bones.
The ceiling—just beneath the deck—was packed with phoenix feathers, each feather seven-colored, like a rainbow cloud in the sky.
"What a ship!" the two exclaimed in unison.
Qin Mu stopped, took out his Sword Pill, and glanced around, eyes gleaming. "Having children—that's one thing I've never done. The Imperial Preceptor gave me a book about childbirth; the men and women in it were so embarrassing."
He tilted his head, recalling the men and women in the book, and blushed.
Zechariah and the demon saber both stared wide-eyed, caught between laughter and tears.
With a flick of Qin Mu's finger, the Sword Pill sent out a silver thread, measuring the Ghost Ship's interior, the length and circumference of its dragon and kun bones, quickly gathering the data he needed.
Outside the passage, light streamed in—Lin Hawk, riding the hundred-zhang sun, soared above the grand hall, his sword-light wreaking havoc.
Soon, the grand hall would collapse, revealing the passage.
Qin Mu grabbed the Sword Pill, closed his eyes and focused. After a moment, he snapped his eyes open and gripped hard—the Sword Pill transformed into a treasured sword!
He leapt into the air, sword in hand, racing through the ship's interior—moving like a startled swan, his sword like a swimming dragon. Sword techniques flowed out, as if a scholar wielded his blade as a brush, painting on dragon and kun bones, using the ship's walls as his canvas, letting his emotions run free.
In no time, he soared to the ceiling, body parallel to it, sword flying as he scattered rune imprints among the gaps in the rainbow phoenix feathers.
Whoosh—
Qin Mu plummeted from midair, stopping abruptly three zhang above the ground. His wrist flicked, and he began to write on the ground with his sword.
The sound of shhh, shhh, shhh filled the air. The Ghost Ship's interior was vast, stretching a hundred li. Qin Mu skimmed the ground, sword light raining down, quickly inscribing a string of runes from south to north.
He stopped abruptly, hovering in midair.
Zechariah looked around and saw a thick dragon bone clearly marked with runes, stretching from south to north. The sky above had a rune pattern running the same direction.
He also branded runes onto two other bones.
But the ship's interior was vast—Qin Mu's rune imprints covered only a small part, leaving much of the space untouched.
'Cult Master Qin, what does this mean?' Zechariah asked, utterly confused.
Qin Mu's chest heaved—he was clearly exhausted. Suddenly, the treasured sword in his hand shrank back into a Sword Pill.
The Sword Pill exploded!
Countless sword lights filled the ship's interior, darting everywhere. The runes Qin Mu had branded moments ago lit up, their brilliance dazzling—they seemed to be activated by the flying swords!
The glow of countless runes reflected off the flying swords. Suddenly, runes appeared everywhere—above, below, on all sides—growing in number and complexity.
Zechariah stared in shock as all the sword lights vanished, condensing into a rapidly spinning Sword Pill at Qin Mu's brow.
Yet inside the ship, countless runes still danced through the air.
Qin Mu formed sword signs with both hands—index and middle fingers together, thumb pressing on the ring and little fingers.
He held his right sword sign before his brow, his left hand supporting his right wrist, and slowly lowered both hands.
At the same time, phantom arms appeared behind him—seemingly a thousand, each forming a different sword sign, slowly converging and merging into his own arms.
Eventually, the thousand phantom arms vanished.
Stop!
Qin Mu called out. In the vast space inside the ship, the darting runes embedded themselves in the walls, floor, and ceiling. The runes dimmed, revealing seventy-two paintings, each unique!
Qin Mu panted, falling from the air to land on one knee—his vital qi nearly depleted.
Cult Master Qin, did you just break down your sword path and embed it into the ship's interior?
Zechariah studied the fading seventy-two murals and said gravely, "No, it's not just sword path divine arts—there are martial, formation, saber, and even magnetic divine arts! I saw magnetic arts at the Earth Mother's. You even used painting arts—seventy-two paintings, seventy-two divine arts, forming a deadly chain formation! You’re a jack-of-all-trades!"
Qin Mu nodded, activating the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique to recover. His voice was hoarse: "The formation is set, but my vital qi is spent. I’ll have to rely on you, Zechariah. Can you merge into my seventy-two paintings and slay the chicken-dragon?"
Zechariah took a long breath and said calmly, "The war to slay gods—killing Lin Hawk is ninety percent done. All that’s left is for me to take his head. If I can’t, how can I face Xu Shenghua? Or you?"
Qin Mu smiled.
Just then, a thunderous rumble echoed from the passage. Lin Hawk’s voice reached their ears, laughing: "I’ve been on this ship so long and never found a way inside. I can’t believe Shepherd Heavenly Venerable found it! I have to admit, when I heard you tell that sword god you were Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, I was shocked. Never thought I’d catch such a big fish here!"
He was beside himself with excitement.
Blazing light burst in—Lin Hawk soared in, the great sun rolling beneath him, sword-light roaring out in all directions.
Suddenly, the golden sword energy froze in midair—the swords of light stopped, suspended.
Lin Hawk, rooster-headed and human-bodied, spread his wings and gently landed on the great sun, clawing it tightly and looking at the two with excitement.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The great sun trembled—more golden swords appeared ahead, locking onto Qin Mu and Zechariah.
The Heavenly Emperor and the gods conferred nine Heavenly Venerables: Yu, Hao, Ling, Yue, Huo, You, Yun, Mu, Qin. Each achieved greatness.
Lin Hawk stared at Qin Mu, ignoring Zechariah: "The title of Heavenly Venerable is legendary—Hao is already Hao Heavenly Emperor, ruling Dragon Sky Court; Yun is Yun Heavenly Emperor, ruling Sky Vast Court; the others are all extraordinary. But Mu and Qin are elusive, rarely seen. Who would’ve thought I’d slay the Shepherd Heavenly Venerable from the future here on this Ghost Ship!" He cackled.
Zechariah looked bewildered.
Qin Mu replied coolly, "I don’t know what you’re so proud of. Lin Hawk, do you know the chicken-dragon will be nothing but a dish on the table in the future?"
Bullshit!
Lin Hawk’s dragon scales burst open, feathers sprouting from beneath, his body swelling rapidly. He cackled, "The chicken-dragon is the offspring of the golden rooster and divine dragon—noble and exalted, ruler of the sun’s path. You humans are the real dishes!"
Attack!
Qin Mu shouted, and the ship’s interior blazed with light—the power of the seventy-two array diagrams erupted at once!
One array was magnetic divine art—instantly, Lin Hawk’s body became unbearably heavy, as if countless Sumeru Mountains pressed down, slamming him and the sun to the ground!
The other arrays exploded, unleashing terrifying divine arts from every direction, crashing into the suppressed Lin Hawk!
The ship’s interior was nearly torn apart by these extraordinary divine arts. Where the powers passed, space twisted and folded into countless shapes—making movement nearly impossible!
Zechariah drew his demon saber, surging with power—entering the path of the blade and reaching his peak in an instant!
At that moment, the light of an array diagram shone on him—it was the teleportation diagram.
Zechariah felt as if he’d entered the world of a painting, tossed up and down, flying through violently shaking space.
Now he finally understood why Qin Mu had asked about his sense of space—he was so disoriented by the teleportation art that he lost all sense of direction!
Zechariah fought off nausea and frantically drove his demon saber, pushing his cultivation to the limit.
Whoosh—
He appeared beside the battered rooster-headed god. Zechariah roared, stepped forward, and with a swing of his saber unleashed all his strength!
Shock still flickered in Lin Hawk’s eyes as his head flew off, divine blood gushing.