Village Chief blinked, probing, "Wait, does he also have the surname Qin...?"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil snorted, "That’s right, his surname is Qin. Are you telling me Qin Chongming is an Overlord Body too? Brother, you’re really losing me here. In Little Jade Capital, we’ve never heard of this Overlord Body business—so how are you so sure it even exists?"
Village Chief’s thoughts churned, but he didn’t explain. He just shook his head and said, "I’m just puzzled. Why would a god from Carefree Haven show up in Little Jade Capital?"
"That senior was one of Little Jade Capital’s founders from the very beginning."
Sage Nicholas Tranquil explained, "I learned from Little Jade Capital’s records that he once made an Earth Lord Pact with someone, but later decided to break that promise. There were things he simply had to do, so Tu Bo took his Primordial Spirit, leaving only his body behind. Before dying, he transformed his Divine Treasuries into seven great halls. It was painstaking work—he wanted to leave those halls behind, even after death, to nurture future generations."
Village Chief looked toward the Three Origins Hall, puzzled. "Seven halls? So besides the Three Origins Hall, Five Qi Hall, and Six Directions Hall, there’s also Seven Stars Hall, Heaven-Man Hall, Life-and-Death Hall, and Divine Bridge Hall? Why don’t we see the other halls?"
"All seven Divine Treasuries in the body are part of a single whole, so the seven halls are naturally one as well. The other halls are hidden within the Three Origins Hall itself."
Sage Nicholas Tranquil said, "You just asked why, since we’ve opened the Three Origins Hall and Five Qi Hall, we don’t just go all out and open the Six Directions Hall too. The truth is, Little Jade Capital simply doesn’t have the ability to open the Six Directions Hall. That god from Carefree Haven left behind many secrets; whether the Six Directions Hall can be opened isn’t up to me. Our Three Origins Elder and Five Qi Elder can only open the first two halls—the Six Directions Hall is beyond us. We don’t have enough top experts, and even with the old Dao Lord and Elder Buddha, they’ve only just arrived and need time to get familiar with the Six Directions Hall."
There are only a dozen or so elder immortals in Little Jade Capital, but opening the Six Directions Hall requires six of the absolute strongest. The Seven Stars Hall needs seven experts of that level—no wonder Little Jade Capital is always shorthanded.
Village Chief grinned, "So you’re stingy, but not so stingy you’d keep Carefree Haven’s people out. Now I get it."
Sage Nicholas Tranquil snorted, "Everything about that god was refined to the true god level—eyes, hands, legs, flesh, even his Primordial Spirit was unbelievably pure. His mana was immense, truly godlike. And his wisdom? Also at the god level! Brother, if the Human Emperor tries for a Three Origins breakthrough, I doubt he’ll get a single benefit from it!"
Village Chief thought for a moment, then said slowly, "His mana is at the god level too? Then it looks like Quinn’s finally met his match."
Sage Nicholas looked baffled.
Village Chief said mildly, "All us old-timers in Oldridge Village have our specialties. Out of the nine of us, some have reached the god level in certain ways, but none of us has mana on par with a true god. But Quinn’s yuanqi is another story—it’s already reached that tier. His cultivation might still lag behind, but the sheer force of his mana leaves everyone else in the dust. If anyone in the world has godlike mana, it’s not the Imperial Preceptor of Everpeace—it’s Quinn!"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil knew just how powerful Quinn Shepherd’s cultivation was. He said, "Earlier you mentioned his sword art still has plenty of flaws—if he meets someone with greater experience, he won’t even know how he died. Well, I think he’s met his match now."
Village Chief’s heart jolted. "So this god is also a sword god?"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil nodded, half-smiling. "Brother, now will you finally tell me what’s up with this Overlord Body business?"
Village Chief smiled faintly and replied, "The Overlord Body is one of a kind—rarer than any of the Four Great Spirit Bodies, the rarest physique under heaven. If one true Overlord Body appears in the world, there can’t be a second. But sometimes you get false Overlord Bodies popping up, trying to steal its luck..."
Inside the Three Origins Hall.
Quinn Shepherd strode straight toward the youthful god, his steps heavy but lightning-fast. Every time his foot landed, dirt flew and the ground rippled like waves.
As dirt and crushed stone flew up, they were instantly melted—some transformed midair into clay swords, some into stone swords, and wherever ore was hidden in the rocks, it was smelted and refined into sharp flying swords!
Integrating weapon forging into combat is Quinn’s specialty—Mute Smith never taught him this, but improvisation has always been Quinn’s greatest strength.
He couldn’t use any of his own spirit weapons here, so he forged them on the spot!
By the time the two were a hundred zhang apart, Quinn already had over a hundred flying swords at his side. At that moment, he unleashed his sword technique.
His opening move was Sword Treading the Rivers and Mountains!
Quinn’s chest swelled with pride—can a god be slain? He answered: Yes!
His sword-light surged—the flying swords rushed toward the youthful god. Their sword-light flashed, but a hundred swords weren’t enough; Quinn’s inner sword-light exploded forth to make up the difference.
He charged forward, Sword Treading the Rivers and Mountains unfurling before him—mountains and rivers spread like a scroll, surging ahead. In this sword, he poured in everything he’d learned: Village Chief’s teachings, the Imperial Preceptor’s insights, Hansen Keane’s guidance—all fused into his blade.
His sword-light’s power soared—this was his strongest move. Even the second move of the Sword Diagram, One Sword Opens the Pioneer Era, Blood Like an Ocean, wasn’t as powerful, because he’d poured all his effort into refining Sword Treading the Rivers and Mountains.
Compared to the version Village Chief taught him, Quinn’s Sword Treading the Rivers and Mountains was now nearly twice as powerful!
Opposite him, sword-light burst from the youthful god’s fingers—countless sword-lights flew forth. Quinn was startled, but instantly saw the trick.
“Carefree Haven sword technique! He’s from Carefree Haven!”
There was no time to think—their sword techniques collided, countless sword-lights engulfing both of them. The power hidden in the mighty mountains and rivers erupted, and Carefree Haven’s sword technique surged in strength too!
From atop the sun and mountains, the Three Origins Elder looked down—mountains and rivers collapsed in an instant, and endless energy exploded outward, like two dazzling spheres swelling and expanding.
[SKIP]
“Remarkable,” exclaimed the Heaven Origin True Person from within the blazing sun.
The force of both moves spent, Quinn and the youthful god were sent flying, crashing to the ground and tumbling uncontrollably, like rag dolls rolling down a hillside, their limbs flailing helplessly.
Smack—
Quinn slammed against the cliff, sword wounds bursting open across his body, blood painting the rock face with blossoms like plum flowers.
My sword technique...