Quinn Shepherd staggered forward, each step wracked with agony. His body twisted, his face contorted, and blood streamed down his legs, filling every footprint with crimson.
Yet as he kept moving ahead, his gait gradually steadied.
Crack, crack—the sound of bones shifting echoed as Quinn Shepherd’s broken neck began to reconnect, his grotesquely twisted head slowly returning to normal.
Quinn Shepherd’s shattered bones knit and regrew; at each wound, flesh squirmed and sprouted, growing new arms outward.
The flying swords scattered across the ground also rose one after another, their numbers swelling.
Lila Swallowfeather’s hair stood on end. She had never seen anyone with such terrifying regenerative power. If it were a god skilled in Creation Mystic Art, or certain naturally powerful demigod races, perhaps they could manage this.
But for a mere divine arts user, it was impossible to possess such mastery over the Creation path.
This was nearly an undying body!
The grand divine art she unleashed just now should have been enough to destroy Quinn Shepherd, yet he survived by sheer force of his monstrous recovery, healing with every step.
Lila could even see countless tiny runes flickering at Quinn Shepherd’s wounds, like minuscule needles weaving in and out, causing his flesh to regrow, dead skin to shed, rotten meat to be replaced, and shattered bone to be pushed out.
Her divine art wounded Quinn Shepherd not just in body, but in Primordial Spirit as well. After taking her blow, his Primordial Spirit was left shredded—yet Quinn Shepherd’s Creation Mystic Art was actually repairing his spirit too!
The Chiming Era achieved astonishing mastery in Creation arts: Crimson Emperor specialized in the spirit, Bright Emperor in the flesh. Their techniques combined reached the pinnacle of Creation Mystic Art for Quinn Shepherd.
Undying flesh, undying spirit!
Quinn Shepherd was still some distance from that pinnacle—but not far now!
Lila forced her yuanqi to circulate, suddenly grunting as pain wracked her body. She had thousands of wounds, large and small—though she’d sealed them shut by force, none had truly healed. Driving her yuanqi only made them threaten to burst open.
Besides, she had little yuanqi left to use.
That grand divine art just now was the Dao One ultimate—its power unmatched, but the cost was terrifying. Most of her yuanqi was spent, and the little that remained had to suppress her wounds, leaving her stretched thin.
Still, she was slightly relieved to see only a few flying swords rise from the ground. Clearly, Quinn Shepherd was also greatly depleted.
Under the might of her grand divine art, Quinn Shepherd had managed to survive, but his own yuanqi was more than halved—perhaps even more than hers.
To achieve undying flesh and undying spirit required tremendous yuanqi. Right now, Quinn Shepherd’s reserves might not be as deep as hers.
"Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, you said earlier that you already know my background. Then you should understand—there’s no need for either of us to fight to the death."
Lila continued to retreat, quickly taking out a jade bottle and swallowing a spirit pill, desperately channeling yuanqi to heal her wounds. She said, "I have great respect for you, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. I know that in ages past, you shook the world with your battle at the Jade Pool. But don’t forget—who gave you your Shepherd Heavenly Venerable title…"
"Shepherd Heavenly Venerable title? Like I’d care!"
Quinn Shepherd’s voice suddenly exploded. When he spoke the first word, he was still a hundred zhang from Lila; by the fourth word, he was right in front of her.
His speed was indeed far from what it once was. Even with Crimson and Bright Emperors’ Creation Mystic Art, his injuries were still severe.
Lila’s Dao One divine art had hurt him badly—she’d even struck his Divine Treasury!
Not only that, he felt his body’s functions were restricted. The loss was too great, and although he possessed the strongest Creation Mystic Art of the Chiming Era, his cultivation couldn’t keep up.
But Lila’s injuries were just as grave. Quinn had gone from the First Sword Form all the way to the Nineteenth, and his Calamity Sword had dealt her the worst wounds she’d ever suffered.
Quinn Shepherd’s fist crashed toward her—a fist battered and torn, with not a patch of whole flesh left, even the pale finger bones exposed.
"Like I’d care!"
His voice thundered, booming like a storm.
Lila raised her hand—primordial magnetism runes burst forth, and geomagnetic force instantly acted upon Quinn Shepherd.
She had little cultivation power left; a direct clash with Quinn Shepherd would be foolish. Her primordial magnetism divine art was her best option.
With it, Quinn Shepherd should feel his body heavy as a mountain; every punch and kick would be dragged down, his aim thrown off, his attacks pulled toward the ground.
But to her surprise, Quinn Shepherd’s fist still crashed forward, seemingly unaffected by the geomagnetic force.
"Xuandu’s Dao Seven has no effect on him? Of course—it’s his physical strength. Even my Dao One divine art couldn’t kill him!"
Startled, Lila raised her arm to block Quinn Shepherd’s punch—when suddenly his other five fists came raining down like a storm.
Lila fought desperately to defend herself, but Quinn Shepherd’s three heads and six arms overwhelmed her. She took over a hundred blows, tumbling backward, and midair, her wounds burst open like a water-filled ball turned to a net, blood spraying everywhere.
She hurried to seal her wounds, but Quinn Shepherd suddenly crouched, sprang high, six arms raised and fists joined, appearing above her.
"Youdu’s Third Dao Move!"
Lila frantically forced her divine art—before her, a thin film of utter darkness snapped open with a swish. Quinn’s figure vanished into that dimensionless black, sent directly into Youdu.
She barely had time to breathe when suddenly, Quinn’s feet appeared from that darkness, followed by his joined fists slamming into her chest.
One blow, two blows, three!
Lila heard the crack of her ribs breaking, then a thunderous crash as she was driven into the ground, leaving a huge pit.
"No good—if this keeps up, he’ll beat me to death!"
Flat on her back at the pit’s bottom, she summoned her last reserves of yuanqi and, in one surge, blasted open her Life-and-Death Divine Treasury: "I can’t keep suppressing my cultivation—if I don’t break through Life-and-Death now, I’ll never stop him!"
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As her Life-and-Death Divine Treasury broke open, she instantly felt a power bridging life and death flood her body—violent magic surged, sweeping away her earlier exhaustion.
Though not yet fully restored, with the power of the Life-and-Death Divine Treasury, she no longer feared Quinn in the slightest.
Delighted, Lila looked up—only to see Quinn falling through the air, spinning madly parallel to the ground, like a top on a string!
"What move is this?"
Lila sealed her wounds and suddenly realized: "It’s a sword technique—the eighteenth form of the basic sword art! Not good!"
She hurriedly retreated, leaping from the pit, only to see Quinn Shepherd rolling toward her parallel to the ground, a swarm of spinning, slicing flying swords barreling straight at her!
Lila crossed her arms—primordial magnetism divine blades appeared, two blades weaving and clashing with a constant metallic clang, blocking the Eighteenth Sword Form.
Both fought at breakneck speed, too fast to follow. Lila lost the initiative, forced to retreat again and again.
"He can use the Eighteenth Sword Form? His yuanqi should be nearly spent—how can he manage such a draining move?"
Just as she thought this, she caught sight of the Earth Yuan Dao Fruit in the halo behind Quinn’s head and instantly understood: "The energy within the Earth Mother’s Earth Yuan Dao Fruit is immense—he’s refining that energy into cultivation!"
Suddenly, Quinn stopped rolling, landed on his feet, and formed a seal with one hand, striking forward.
"Xuandu’s Second Dao Move!"
Lila’s hair stood on end—she instantly tossed aside her two primordial magnetism divine blades, which intertwined in midair, transforming into a wall of magnetism to shield her.
Boom—
Celestial fire erupted, its terrifying force shattering layer after layer of magnetism walls—over a hundred broken, stopped only by the last one.
Lila breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly, behind the final magnetism wall, a blinding blade light flashed. Quinn Shepherd raised his six hands—flying swords swarmed in, now over two thousand gathered in his palms, merging into a single divine blade.
Slash.
The last magnetism wall was cleaved apart—Quinn Shepherd’s six arms split, and the divine blade divided into six. All Lila could see was a crisscrossing storm of blade light, horizontal and vertical!
A sky of lines, stretching boundless in every direction!
Golden blood burst forth—Lila was nearly sliced into dozens of pieces. She retreated at lightning speed, shouting, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, don’t you want your title anymore?"
Quinn Shepherd’s wounds had mostly healed; he charged like thunder, each step exploding with a peal of thunder, shattering the ground beneath him. He sneered, "If I don’t want it, I don’t want it! If you’ve got the guts, have him come take it himself!"
Furious, Lila forced her magic, letting her wounds burst open: "If you dare show disrespect, you leave me no choice! Dao One!"
She unleashed the Dao One divine art again—a terrifying wave surged forth. Ancient Celestial Court phantoms appeared around her: a thousand palaces, myriad halls, Jade Capital deep, walls towering, Celestial River rushing by.
The phantoms of the Celestial Court’s star deities appeared, forming a net that spanned heaven and earth. Celestial River’s navy surged forth, their true gods wielding banners and commanding mighty warships—sun and moon high in the sky.
Beneath the Celestial Court lay Xuandu, where the Primordial Tree and Earth Mother were taking shape. Above the net, Xuandu’s Heavenly Duke was forming; below Xuandu, Youdu’s Earth Count was also gradually coming into being!
At that moment, Quinn had already entered the Celestial Court—charging straight through the Southern Heavenly Gate, smashing it with a single punch, then striding across the Celestial River to leap over the Jade Pool!
Boom!
He shattered the gates of Jade Capital City; everywhere he passed, palace phantoms broke to pieces—shattered bricks, ruined walls, debris flying in all directions!
Within the phantom of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Lila stood before the imperial throne. Quinn arrived too quickly—faster than any wounded man should move. Her divine art was not yet ready before Quinn reached the hall.
"His cultivation’s recovered? No—he’s entered the Life-and-Death realm!"
Lila’s hair stood on end—suddenly the Hall of Supreme Harmony shook as Quinn’s fist shattered the phantom of the ancient Celestial Court’s highest sanctuary.
The next instant, his fist crashed into Lila’s beautiful face, unleashing tremendous force.
Their figures flashed through the ruins of the ancient Celestial Court’s phantom, and dozens of miles away, a mountaintop exploded—rocks flying, stones arcing through the air before finally crashing to earth.
Then came a deafening crash, and the phantom of the ancient Celestial Court finally dispersed.
Lila’s body skidded along the ground, morphing form as she smashed through countless trees and rocks, sliding dozens of miles before finally coming to a stop—unable to move.
A bare foot appeared beside her, then another—Quinn stood before her.
"That Shepherd Heavenly Venerable title the old Heavenly Emperor gave me? I don’t care about it."
Quinn spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "I earned my Shepherd Heavenly Venerable title with my own fists—not from that old Heavenly Emperor!"
Golden blood bubbled from Lila’s mouth; her eyes stared blankly at him.
Quinn raised his still-healing arm, fingers splayed—sharp whistles split the air.
A flying sword dropped into his hand, then, with a rapid series of clangs, other swords collided and fused with it—so fast only phantom trails could be seen.
Quinn pointed the sword tip down, lifting Lila’s chin, wiped blood from his lips, and smiled lightly: "Where is Imperial Heavenly Venerable?"
Lila swallowed her blood, her voice hoarse: "Bring them up."
"Cult Master, we’re over here!" came Long Qilin’s voice, trembling with fear.
Quinn followed the voice and saw the women who’d been with Lila escorting Imperial Heavenly Venerable Gongsun Yan and the others over. Long Qilin hung his head, dejected: "Cult Master, we didn’t get far before we were caught…"
"I know."
Quinn said calmly, "You led them away, which let me capture this woman and trade her for you. That’s called 'luring the tiger from the mountain.'"
Long Qilin stared, blurting out, "Cult Master, wasn’t the idea for you to distract these women so we could escape first?"
Quinn was taken aback, scratched his head, and blurted out, "That’s right, Fat Dragon, that’s exactly what I meant. You understood perfectly. Yes, very good…"
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