Chapter 494 Part 1

Chapter 494 Part 1: Losing All Dignity (1)

The clouds floated like the sea, stirred up by the wind into waves of mist.

The ancestor of the Sword Sect walked slowly and carefully through the swirling clouds and mist.

His Bright Moon Wind Body Talisman was a charm left by a Mahayana talisman cultivator; it not only made him invisible but could also evade the sense and techniques of other cultivators.

Such a magical charm, used against a Mahayana cultivator, would naturally be…

Naturally, it would be asking for trouble.

Even if that former Mahayana talisman cultivator came personally, it would be very difficult to completely avoid the search of three Mahayana cultivators.

So he walked very carefully, afraid that his movement would attract the attention of Patriarch Qingmu or Qiao Mu.

Fortunately, until the two of them entered the Lingxiao Treasure Hall one after the other, he remained unnoticed.

When he saw the corpse on the Heavenly Emperor’s Throne, he was naturally shocked, and his heart was deeply shaken.

If Patriarch Qingmu attacked him at that moment, he would surely not escape a disaster, and the consequences would be worse than those for Patriarch Tianshu.

But Patriarch Qingmu did not attack him; instead, he targeted Qiao Mu, so he naturally reacted and regained his calm.

"Did Taoist Qingmu purposely lead a member of the Qiao family to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall? Is he just waiting for him to make a mistake?"

He saw the golden divine figure that suddenly lit up in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and his face twitched.

Patriarch Qingmu is the source of the Incense Path in Jiu Province and the first person to refine the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire.

However, as a Mahayana cultivator retreating in the Cave Heaven Small World, he does not need the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire to maintain his Mahayana Stage cultivation.

Among the many Supreme Elders of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates, he is the only Mahayana cultivator who practices the Incense Path and is the first "Incense Deity" to appear in Jiu Province.

This vast amount of incense willpower has been transformed by him into a divine form with three heads and six arms.

While Patriarch Qingmu fully controlled the Green Immortal Sword, the Six Armed Divine Man behind him burst forth with golden light, and a pair of giant hands shone like the sun, pressing down towards Qiao Mu.

"I will strike with my true self and the divine body at the same time, as if one person has two bodies; only Ancestor Qingmu has achieved such divine power in the Immortal Gate."

The Ancestor of the Sword Sect still had the thought of seeking fortune and danger in his heart. At this moment, he assessed the situation and realized that Qiao Mu had no way out.

If he was already at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight, how could he face two against one?

"I have long heard that the Qiao family members from Jiu Province are mysterious and extremely protective. If one of them is killed, their elders will come to help immediately."

"But all this time, no one has ever figured out how the Qiao family members arrive on the battlefield… The so-called teleportation said to happen once in a lifetime must be a lie."

The Ancestor of the Sword Sect instinctively sensed his surroundings. He was actually treating the Qiao family members as imaginary enemies, wanting to see if, after Qiao Mu’s death, he could find out how the Qiao family members appeared, unraveling a big mystery in Jiu Province…

Without sensing with his mind, he had not known, but once he did, he discovered a figure flying towards him at an incredible speed, skimming close to the ground.

"There really is… Huh? Another one? That doesn’t seem right."

"Three? … Four?"

The Ancestor of the Sword Sect was suddenly sweating profusely and felt very lucky that he had hidden himself this time and hadn’t confronted the Qiao family members directly.

"Not right, there is also a fifth member of the Qiao family standing guard at the gate of the South Heavenly Gate; this Qiao family member is truly cunning!"

Thinking of this, he could not help but take a few steps back.

In this heavenly court, flying is forbidden; even Mahayana cultivators can only crowd on the ground, and he is afraid of being caught in the chaos…

……………………………..

When Patriarch Qingmu’s Six Armed Divine Body pressed down with its gigantic hand, a strong wind swept away the floating clouds, creating a suffocating pressure.

Behind Qiao Mu, there was also a figure rapidly growing larger.

"Shape Changing Skill·Buddha’s Palm."

A flesh clone resembling Qiao Mu quickly collided and grew larger, and in the blink of an eye, it had reached nearly ten meters, striking the sky with a Buddha’s Palm.

With a thunderous sound, golden light burst forth, waves of energy swirled around, clearing the surrounding mist, revealing the full figure behind Qiao Mu.

That was a flesh clone that looked very much like Qiao Mu, but at that moment, it had grown so large that it was not any smaller than the Six Armed Divine Man.

Two massive figures stood behind Qiao Mu and Patriarch Qingmu, facing each other.

"It is a power of the same kind as mine," Qiao Mu said with a slight smirk, a bit mockingly.

"You just opened your mouth! This is not your power; it is clearly another member of the Qiao family!"

Patriarch Qingmu frowned deeply. Compared to the illusory divine body behind him, the enormous giant behind the Qiao family was clearly a complete flesh-and-blood creature!

"So there is another helper hiding in the shadows? It doesn’t matter."

Patriarch Qingmu’s gaze was icy; his resolve was as strong as iron and would not easily waver.

Furthermore, even if the other side had two people, he still had the Six Armed Divine Body with him.

Whether it was his own accumulation of Mahayana Stage cultivation or the strongest divine body from Jiu Province, he could overpower Qiao Mu.

"Today, let us completely wipe out the troubles of the world!"

In an instant, a continuous chanting sound seemed to rise up from nowhere in the empty space.

"Immortal Qingmu…" "May the Taoist Lord Qingmu protect us…"

The Six Armed Divine Man, who looked both sorrowful and compassionate, radiated a circle of golden ripples. Each of his six arms formed magical gestures, suddenly growing longer in the wind, his body swelling to five or six times its size in the blink of an eye, towering like a small mountain.

Behind Qiao Mu, the flesh clone slightly curled its lips, mimicking the Six Armed Divine Man’s gestures.

"Transform!"

Blood Meat Oven!

In an instant, his body of flesh and blood wriggled, changed, and expanded rapidly, growing close to a hundred meters with each deep breath.

Compared to the half-real, shimmering Six Armed Divine Man.

The flesh clone is a complete body made of flesh and blood, with muscles like a thick armor covering it. As it breathes, strong air flows out, creating a powerful feeling of pressure that can take your breath away.

Two enormous giants strike each other with their fists, creating a fierce wind that swirls and dances around them like waves in a storm.

The once calm white clouds, like ocean waves, churn violently as the two giant figures battle, echoing above the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

This scene caused the hidden Ancestor of the Sword Sect to be slightly taken aback; for a moment, it seemed as if the heavenly realm had truly returned, with two earth-shattering deities fighting in chaos.

"It is tough to fight against many enemies with so few allies."

Qiao Mu’s hands trembled fiercely as he held the sword, while behind him, shadowy figures appeared once more.

"Difficult tasks should be entrusted to others; let you fight against five."

Before the words were finished.

A figure dashed out from the side, like a swift wind passing through.

It was a flesh clone that had completed the Ex-human Transformation, its body becoming slender and smooth, diving toward the ground while its arms swung like blades, slicing past Patriarch Qingmu’s shoulder.

The robe moved on its own, creating a faint glowing aura. Although it was not pierced by the attack, the golden light rippled intensely.

A sharp spear cut through the air, precisely touching the flying sword tightly clutched between Qiao Mu’s palms, briefly halting its momentum.

At the same time, Qiao Mu released his hands, leaning back, while another sword-wielding flesh clone swung its sword, the sword light whistling as it sent the Green Immortal Sword flying far away.

The Green Immortal Sword returned to hover in front of Patriarch Qingmu, who frowned, looking toward Qiao Mu with uncertain eyes.

At this moment, behind Qiao Mu stood a giant made of flesh, towering in the sky, while two Qiao family members held swords and a spear stood beside him.

Another Qiao family member was hidden in the wind, invisible to the naked eye, only the clouds swirling like tides could be seen.

"Five people?" Patriarch Qingmu’s frown deepened.

He did not understand.

If just now a second person appeared, Qiao Mu mentioned something about "similar abilities," which made him think about "dharma body" and "incarnation."

Now he no longer believes it, feeling even more that that Qiao family member is just talking nonsense.

The other four Qiao family members, while slightly less powerful than their leader Qiao Chonggui, are almost equally strong as a group.

If it were a technique like splitting the body or creating a dharma body, it would be impossible to create four equally strong duplicates.

If it were a paper-cut spell to become a person, with his Mahayana Stage cultivation, he could easily create a thousand or ten thousand, but they would ultimately be useless.

Not to mention that each of these Qiao family members has a different style and way of fighting.

So, are there really five people?

What does this heavenly realm think it is, with a family of five here on a sightseeing tour?

"It seems that this Qiao family member is indeed a disaster in the mortal world, capable of wiping out the Immortal Gate, and not just boasting."

Patriarch Qingmu secretly thought:

"I dealt with a small one, and now an old one comes; they have no shame coming in such a large group."

He silently formed a spell with his hand, and in the blink of an eye, a flash of lightning shone in his palm, which then split into two, and two became four, four became…

Before four could become eight, a strong wind approached; it was the flesh clone of the Ex-human Transformation closing in.

"Wondrous lightning, go—-" Patriarch Qingmu formed the spell with his hand, but before he could say ‘go.’

"Don’t go!!" A voice like thunder roared, its sound echoing in all directions.

In an instant, Patriarch Qingmu felt a slight numbness in his body, and the lightning before him paused for a moment.

At that moment, two figures had already approached from both sides.

"Birds Adoring the Phoenix Spear!"

"Blood Sword Technique, Shadow Transformation Sword!"

In the hands of these two Qiao family members were the battle swords and battle spears of the heavenly soldiers. Though old and damaged, they were still far better than weapons made by ordinary martial artists.

At that moment, a spear light shot through the air like a cold star, and was deflected by the Green Immortal Sword.

Over there, a blood-red sword light came howling towards Patriarch Qingmu, roaring as it struck him, causing the golden light of his robe to tremble violently once again.

Meanwhile, the four rays of lightning that had split off did not even have time to strike, as they were interrupted by continuous attacks, bursting into the air with hissing sounds.

"Where did so many highly skilled Qiao family members come from in this world?"

Thoughts echoed in Patriarch Qingmu’s mind; it was a question every cultivator had pondered at some point.

In the next moment, he was overwhelmed by the furious storm of attacks from the five Qiao family members.

One main body and four clones.

Five people fought together, their minds connected. Every time one person struck, another would attack right after.

The light from the swords and spears linked together to form a tight net that instantly surrounded Patriarch Qingmu.

"Enough!"

The Six Armed Divine Man shouted loudly, his presence majestic.

Suddenly, a wave of golden electricity moved around him, sweeping through the area and pushing away the giant made of flesh nearby.

A brilliant golden light gathered between his fists, quickly taking shape on six arms.

Long spear, long sword, battle halberd, curved knife, precious pagoda, ancient mirror.

Each arm held a magical artifact and a weapon, shining brightly like a god.

It was just at that moment when the golden light gathered to form the weapons.

A few members of the Qiao family standing in Lingxiao Treasure Hall also lifted their heads at the same moment.

Four or five gazes all focused on the Six Armed Divine Man, each gripping their weapons tightly.

The Six Armed Divine Man was not a living being, but a divine figure formed by Patriarch Qingmu.

However, when these Qiao family members looked at the giant figure at the same time, it stiffened unexpectedly.

"Sigh…" In the distance, amidst the swirling clouds, the Ancestor of the Sword Sect sighed.

He and Patriarch Qingmu were indeed life-and-death rivals, but both were cultivators of the immortal path.

Seeing Patriarch Qingmu being stunned under the shameless attack of five Qiao family members, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow for both sides.

…………………………………………………

Deeper within the Heavenly Palace.

"What was that noise?"

In a palace that had become ruins, Patriarch Lingxu of the Great Dao Sect opened his eyes, showing a hint of tiredness.

He was not in perfect condition, and his magical power was not yet full.

The Great Dao Sect was faintly considered the leader of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates, partly because it had the deepest roots.

Patriarch Lingyuan was skilled in the way of formations, and the Mountain Protection Formation was the strongest, while Patriarch Lingxu also had the highest cultivation, at the peak of the Mahayana Stage.

Strength is strength, and cultivation is cultivation.

His level of cultivation was indeed the highest among the many ancestors of the Immortal Gates.

But because of this, he became the target of other Immortal Gate cultivators in this Return Ruins.