First Dao Move? Second Dao Move? Twenty-Third Dao Move?
And these numbers corresponded to types of Daos—for example, martial Dao's Dao One, sword Dao's Dao One, Netherworld Dao's Dao Twenty-Three, Profound Capital Dao's Dao Two.
Qin Mu didn't know the rest in detail, but Profound Capital's Dao Two was actually the Heavenly Fire Dao—a divine art he built using the Heavenly Fire Dao.
If Heavenly Fire Dao was considered Dao Two in Lila Swallowfeather’s mouth, then just how many kinds of Daos are there?
Who would go so far as to number these Dao divine arts?
How could Lila Swallowfeather, so young, know so much?
These were visions triggered by the Dao being mobilized—the Celestial Cycle Star Gods represented different stellar Daos; the Sun, Moon, Five Luminaries, Four Symbols—Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger—and the Four Direction Emperors each stood for different Daos as well.
Right at that moment, he suddenly sensed a dangerous tremor from the other side of the mountain. The divine art Lila Swallowfeather was using felt utterly unfamiliar—a strange Dao, an unfamiliar technique—yet it carried an aura of grand, orthodox majesty!
"It's not the Netherworld system, not the Profound Capital system, and probably not the Origin-Capital divine art system either!"
Qin Mu acted instantly, bringing his index and middle fingers together to form a sword gesture. His Sword Pill, which had been thrust out, flew back and shot toward Lila Swallowfeather on the far side of the mountain.
He couldn't see Lila Swallowfeather, but he could sense her position by tracking her aura.
His sword fingers thrust forward—Piercing Sword Form; lifted upward—Lifting Sword Form; wrist drawing a circle—Cloud Sword Form; horizontal slash—Chopping Sword Form; vertical cleave—Slashing Sword Form!
Point, collapse, hang, lift; sweep, block, intercept; flower, circle, swim, drill—seventeen foundational sword moves flowed from him in seamless succession.
He couldn't see Lila Swallowfeather, but every strike he made was with absolute seriousness, gathering all his spirit, qi, and intent.
His swordsmanship was his strongest weapon—by attacking relentlessly, he threatened the enemy and forced them to defend, preventing them from unleashing their full power.
On the other side of the mountain, Lila Swallowfeather danced like a startled phoenix, dodging streaks of sword light. Suddenly, her divine art erupted and struck through the mountain!
Qin Mu, separated by the mountain, couldn't see the technique she was using—he could only sense an unstoppable Dao-rhyme and hear a booming Dao-sound, as if countless ancient gods were chanting together.
Before his eyes, it was as if a vast, majestic ancient Heavenly Court appeared: three hundred and sixty Celestial Cycle Star Gods stood atop the heavens and stars, seventy-two Earth-Fiend True Gods, thirty-six Heavenly-Gang True Gods, Five Luminaries True Gods, Sun and Moon True Gods, all forming a net of heaven and earth!
He even vaguely 'saw' a blazing giant standing above the Celestial Cycle Star Gods—that was Heaven Duke!
But he could also sense mountains, rivers, dragons soaring, phoenixes dancing, ancient gods standing tall, the Origin-Root Tree lush and towering, surrounded by countless ancient gods, all gathered around a mighty female ancient god beneath the tree!
That was Earth Mother.
And deep below, in the darkness, the Nine-Bend Horns turned into magma Yellow Springs flowing downward, while towering figures with ox heads and tiger faces formed Youdu.
A thousand palms returned from the wondrous peaks beyond the heavens!
He also 'saw' the Four Symbols ancient gods, the Four Directional Emperors—Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, White Tiger.
Most terrifying of all, Qin Mu saw an unimaginably ancient Heavenly Court—a vague Celestial Emperor sat upon the High Heaven Hall, ruling over the ancient Heavenly Court.
Qin Mu was sent flying, and behind him appeared the Gate of Bearing Heaven—Netherworld miasma surged from the gate, pouring into the vertical eyes on the brows of his three heads. Those eyes opened, unleashing annihilating Youdu light that carved black scars into the air.
Yet he still couldn’t block that palm.
Dao-sound thundered from Qin Mu's mouth, four arms swirling—countless primordial magnetism runes soared up, transforming into galaxies of stars. His four palms thrust forward, and in the violent upheaval, his arms exploded, flesh and blood splattering, shards of bone shooting in all directions.
These visions appeared because Lila Swallowfeather's divine art encompassed all these Daos, forging them into a complete system, refining them into a single divine art.
"Dao One—not Netherworld's Dao One, nor Profound Capital's Dao One, but Dao One of all Dao systems!"
"Hyaaah—"
His three heads opened their mouths and roared, hair bristling with fury—the binding ribbon snapped with a crack, and his Overlord Three-Core Art surged to its peak in an instant!
Qin Mu was like a god or a demon. Ahead, the great mountain, under the might of Lila Swallowfeather's divine art, became brittle and cracked—massive stones boiled up from below like magma, but in the next instant, countless rocks were shattered into dust!
The mountain began to collapse downward—not sinking into the earth, but because its base was completely destroyed and could no longer support the massive peak.
Yet no matter how far the mountain fell, its body was pulverized in an instant by that terrifying power.
In the blink of an eye, a third of the peak was gone!
Yet the power of Lila Swallowfeather's divine art showed no sign of weakening—it swept from the other side of the mountain, rolling in with unstoppable force, pressing down on Qin Mu!
Amid the billowing dust, Qin Mu seemed to glimpse the ancient Celestial Emperor stretching out his palm to strike!
The dust enveloped the space around him, leaving him blind to everything else—before his eyes, there was only a giant palm descending!
"Lila Swallowfeather, I know your origin now!"
Qin Mu roared with all his might, controlling his sword with both hands—his sword fingers changed rapidly, unleashing countless sword moves. At the same time, his other four arms grew thick and muscular, veins bulging beneath his skin, surging like azure dragons and giant pythons. In an instant, he struck out with countless punches, pouring all his strength and destructive power into every blow!
A thousand palms returned from the wondrous peaks beyond the heavens!
His martial divine art erupted at that moment, meeting the ancient Celestial Emperor's palm—but was instantly crushed by that unmatched force.
The martial path pioneered by the Martial Celestial Teacher was utterly useless before that palm, brimming with vast celestial might.
Qin Mu was sent flying, and behind him appeared the Gate of Heaven—Netherworld demonic qi surged from the gate, madly pouring into the vertical eyes on the brows of his three heads. Those three vertical eyes opened, unleashing rays that could annihilate flesh and soul, carving black scars into the air itself.
Yet he still couldn't block that palm.
Dao-sound rumbled from Qin Mu's mouth, his four arms swirling—countless primordial magnetism runes rose up, transforming into stars and galaxies. His four palms thrust forward, and amid the violent turmoil, his arms shattered, flesh and blood splattering, shards of bone shooting in all directions!
He was blasted away by that peerless force, his body stretched out straight as an arrow.
Qin Mu spat blood from three mouths; his four shattered arms were regrowing at breakneck speed. Suddenly, he began overlaying his palms, stacking them forward again and again in an instant—channeling a storm of blows at the giant hand pressing down on him!
Countless Heavenly Fire crystals detonated, exploding in an instant. The terrifying shockwaves surged in every direction, and torrents of divine fire swept across the land like a flood, engulfing hundreds of li and shrouding the region in blazing flames!
The gale from the Heavenly Fire blast swept even farther, igniting forests and turning a thousand-li stretch into a sea of fire.
Boom!
The giant palm descended, covering Qin Mu beneath its center. In that instant, he was still trying to activate his teleportation divine art—countless teleportation runes whirled around him, but they were instantly destroyed by the overwhelming heavenly might.
His teleportation divine art was interrupted outright.
As the giant palm fell, even the mountains within the Heavenly Fire trembled. The impact was so fierce that even the normally inextinguishable Heavenly Fire was snuffed out, its internal rune structure utterly destroyed.
Crack, crack—the earth shook, and ravines split in all directions, a shocking sight.
The mountain that had separated Qin Mu and Lila Swallowfeather was completely obliterated by the force of the divine art. Amid the rolling dust, a muffled groan came from Lila.
As Lila Swallowfeather's Dao One divine art erupted, Qin Mu's remaining two hands kept wielding sword techniques, progressing from the Seventeenth Sword Form to the Eighteenth, slicing into her divine art’s defensive circle with unpredictable swordwork. The Eighteenth Sword Form then transformed into the Nineteenth.
The second move of Calamity Sword, the Nineteenth Sword Form—Raise the Calamity—erupted. Lila Swallowfeather sometimes moved like a startled swan, sometimes like a swimming dragon, sometimes unfurled like a rainbow phoenix in flight. She truly followed the path of Dao, making it impossible to pinpoint her location.
But the Nineteenth Sword Form was the Raise the Calamity Sword Qin Mu created in Dragon-Han First Year to avenge Heaven-Guide Venerable. Countless sword lights circled the girl, leaping unpredictably; each transformation was a calamity—either to be met or evaded.
But dodging only brought more calamities!
Those darting flying swords had already sealed off all her escape routes, forcing her to accept calamity!
At the same instant her giant palm sealed Qin Mu beneath it, Lila Swallowfeather pushed her movement technique to its utmost—then was struck by the swords. Clang, clang, clang—thousands of flying swords pierced her body almost simultaneously!
Lila froze in midair like a giant porcupine, blood trickling from her lips, even a few sword hilts protruding from her mouth.
The girl trembled in pain, and suddenly the swords fell from her body one by one. Her wounds closed rapidly to prevent excessive blood loss.
When all the flying swords were finally drawn out, the girl spat a mouthful of blood—not red, but golden, with auspicious radiance steaming upward from it.
"I know your origin now..."
Lila coughed up blood again and again, bracing herself on her knees, raising her head to look toward Qin Mu.
She was gasping, surrounded by fallen flying swords. In a low voice she said, "I also know why you must protect Heaven-Guide Venerable. I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have struck so hard..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
From the swirling dust came a sudden, violent bout of coughing. Lila Swallowfeather's pupils contracted; she looked toward the sound and saw a staggering figure rise from the haze.
The figure was utterly mangled—six arms shattered, leaving only one; three heads twisted at unnatural angles, each missing a large chunk.
His chest cavity seemed torn open, spine warped, yet he walked step by step toward her.
With each step, more chunks of flesh sloughed off his body.
Lila’s eye twitched; the falling blood and flesh showed how brutally Qin Mu had been battered. Yet she could see new flesh sprouting, his body repairing itself!
"Crimson Emperor and Bright Emperor's Dao One..."
Lila straightened and retreated, saying, "Cult Master Quinn, stop. You and I are not enemies. Heaven-Guide Venerable can stay with you—I have no wish for us to fight to the death! I already know who you are..."
Hum, hum, hum.
The flying swords on the ground began to tremble. Lila’s scalp prickled; she forced herself to retreat despite her wounds, calling out, "Stop! Heaven Venerable Shepherd, I am not afraid of you!"