Chapter 531

Chapter 531: Perfect Martial Arts

The Undead Immortal Lord shook his head slightly and pointed from afar.

The originally normal-sized finger quickly grew larger at an astonishing speed as it approached the top of the sky.

In the blink of an eye, this finger almost filled the whole sky, making it grow dark, as if night had covered the earth.

But in the next moment, this giant finger covering the sky rubbed violently against the air, shining like a great sun, emitting a bright red light.

This finger was not aimed at Qiao Mu himself.

Instead, it equally crushed everyone on the ground.

When the fingertip filled the sky, the fiery light seemed ready to burn through the heavens, and the entire Zhong Province could see this dazzling fire and the finger descending from beyond the sky.

"It is because Empress Reincarnation merged early," murmured Immortal Diyuan.

Among the many gazes before her, Immortal Diyuan identified one of the watchers as the Undead Immortal Lord standing right in front of her.

The Heavenly Emperor’s daughter, whom she saw as a hope for survival, was not the savior she imagined; instead, she brought greater disaster.

Just as Immortal Diyuan felt a mix of hope and worry, she heard a howling wind beside her.

Qiao Mu had soared into the sky, pure True strength transforming into clouds, gathering and dispersing behind him as he climbed step by step toward the heavens.

Tremendous true strength erupted from within, turning into a pale white whirlwind that swirled the clouds, and then, with a wave of the Human Emperor Sword, transformed into a mighty sword light shooting up to the sky.

The Undead Immortal Lord’s finger did not only aim at Qiao Mu but targeted everyone.

But as long as Qiao Mu was fast enough to be at the very front of the battlefield, he could exchange the long time he gained from each death in the Long Life Dream.

A moment could last a thousand years, or even longer.

Amidst the howling wind, Qiao Mu charged towards the sky alongside the soaring sword light, leaving only faint lasting marks behind him.

Compared to the giant finger blocking the sky, his figure was just a tiny black dot.

"Dying under the disaster of the True Immortal should not be the end for humanity."

Qiao Mu gripped the Human Emperor Sword tightly, feeling the stirring emotions in his chest.

Since more than one hundred thousand years ago, when he learned about his immortal nature and created the No Move No Thinking Skill, his life had become rather dull.

No strong enemy could match him, even the Great Collapse might not be able to kill him. After the great world of Jiu Province is destroyed, he may continue to exist alone in loneliness.

It is like forcing a person with a strange obsession to wear layer after layer of thick clothing. His memories and understanding remain unchanged, but life feels dull, and there is no longer any joy or sorrow.

If an old man loses his sense of smell and taste, he would find it hard to feel anything even in front of the finest foods.

But while holding the Human Emperor Sword today, he had a different experience.

Besides this, there was also the Undead Immortal Lord in front of him.

The two lingering thoughts from one hundred thousand years ago were the desire for the mortal world and the wish to understand the true nature of the Long Life Lock, perhaps to find another possibility.

Yet today, Qiao Mu encountered two good things in just one day.

This made goosebumps rise on his arms, and his heart began to race.

Under the vast shining sword light, the enormous finger covering the sky paused slightly.

A circle of visible ripples spread rapidly from the sky in all directions. In an instant, all the clouds within a hundred miles vanished, leaving the sky clear and bright.

This sudden change made the world around seem different, causing the remaining ordinary people within a hundred miles to instinctively look up at the sky and see a finger that had previously been hidden by clouds.

The Immortal Lord from beyond the sky had a narrow scar open at the tip of their finger, but it quickly blurred and healed.

Below Qiao Mu, the True Strength formed into clouds, standing in mid-air as he gazed at the giant finger that was about to fall, yet felt no fear at all.

Pain? Let’s not even mention his extraordinary ability to endure pain after experiencing countless deaths.

Pain is merely a signal from the nerves, and with his perfected Shape Changing Skill, he can control his body and block any feeling of pain with just a thought.

Death? To him, death is as simple as eating and using the bathroom.

Long Life Dream? Qiao Mu had long mastered the No Move No Thinking Skill.

The only thing that worried him was the fear that his No Move No Thinking Skill might not be as successful as he imagined, and that spending too long would turn him into a person he never wanted to become in his youth.

But like this…

Qiao Mu has confirmed that his No Move No Thinking Skill is real and effective; this unique ability, developed under the guidance of the Immortal Path, has now become perfect with the addition of the Human Emperor Sword.

So…

"So, what can stop me?"

From his sleeve, a coin with the image of an ouroboros jumped out and spun on Qiao Mu’s fingertip.

This is the token of the so-called treasure ship of the demon world, belonging to the supreme being of the demon realm, the Nine Dead Demon Lord Qiao Busi.

The ouroboros coin carries the spiritual mark left by the Nine Dead Demon Lord, but in Qiao Mu’s sharp intuition, it is not the same as the Undead Immortal Lord before him.

Nine Dead Demon Lord, Undead Immortal Lord…

"Are you really ‘immortal’? If I manage to defeat you, that will prove it."

Never has there been such a moment.

Qiao Mu was about to die, yet his heart was filled with anticipation.

………………………..

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a dream again.

Without hesitation, Qiao Mu immediately focused his mind on the Long Life Lock, and soon a message appeared in his thoughts.

This Death Assessment: S (The Royal Flame)

Death consumes lifespan: 50,000 (60*1000) years

Remaining revival attempts this week: 1/5

Current age: 121,000 years

Vitality: 99%

"I am so anxious, I really want to immediately smash the Undead Immortal Lord into pieces and see if he can come back to life."

Qiao Mu felt as if he was on fire, with a strong flame burning in his heart.

With a single thought, the scenery around him suddenly changed, freezing in a moment under the giant finger that covered the sky.

"The Undead Immortal Lord should be like Immortal Lord Qingxuan and Immortal Yanshen, all of them True Immortals who have stepped onto the path of blood sacrifice."

Immortal Diyuan hoped for the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter, but in truth, she counted on the Heavenly Emperor’s backup; she still had not fully accepted the Heavenly Emperor’s death to this day.

As a True Immortal who ascended 30,000 years ago, her age is considered young among True Immortals, and her magical power is relatively low.

Characters like Immortal Yanshen and Immortal Lord Qingxuan chose the path of strengthening themselves, believing more in their own abilities.

According to logic, True Immortals who embark on this path should be older and more powerful True Immortals.

"This type of True Immortal is different from Immortal Diyuan… After sacrificing many living beings, their magical power should have grown far beyond the other True Immortals…"

From the perspective of strength and power, there is no martial artist in the human world who can compare to Qiao Mu.

However, after accumulating for one hundred twenty thousand years, it still seems a bit weak in front of a True Immortal who is older and has walked the path of blood sacrifice.

But that is not important.

If one hundred twenty thousand years is not enough, then let it be one hundred eighty thousand years; if one hundred eighty thousand years is not enough, then even more, more, more and more!

"Kill me a few more times, and no matter what True Immortal or divine being, they all have to call me ancestor!"

In the end, Qiao Mu’s goal rested on one line from the Long Life Lock message,

Vitality: 99%

After leaving Jiu Province, he had left a topic for the younger martial artists of Jiu Province through the words of Peach Blossom Villa Master Qiao Xin,

Such as the unyielding martial arts after returning to youth, and the future direction of Superb Martial Arts…

It was like the homework the teacher assigned before the summer break. At that time, Qiao Mu was already mentally prepared for a one-way trip, so what he was doing was to clarify the future path of martial arts in Jiu Province.

Fifty years later, Xue Changhe and the Earth Sword Immortal, among others, informed him that the peak martial arts in Jiu Province was the Spiritual Refining Realm, where one’s intent replaces the will of heaven.

However, in terms of strength, power, and spirit accumulation, the martial artists of Jiu Province had yet to produce anyone who could catch up to Qiao Mu, let alone surpass him.

Marked by fifty years.

The Qiao Mu from Return Ruins and the martial arts of Jiu Province on Earth have grown in different directions.

"Vital energy is internal strength, and internal strength is vital energy…" Qiao Mu suddenly felt an epiphany and said.

This is what Hai Boping, the second martial master in Peach Blossom Villa, mentioned while explaining forbidden martial arts.

Although it came from his mouth, it was not solely his accomplishment but the result of fifty years of collective exploration by the martial artists of Jiu Province.

Knowing and doing are two different matters, sometimes they are separated by a great distance.

Hai Boping and the other martial artists have not yet gained enough experience, while Qiao Mu has a very solid foundation.

"The stones from other hills can polish jade. Any breakthrough in martial arts stands on the shoulders of those who came before us. Even a rare genius cannot create extraordinary skills out of thin air…"

Fifty years ago, Qiao Mu was one of those who came before.

Now, in front and behind him, there is a sea of people.

……………..

The way of the martial artist has been summed up by generations of martial artists as strength, energy, skill, and spirit.

Strength is physical power and vital energy. Energy is internal strength and true strength.

The three elements of strength, energy, and spirit can all be seen as measures of a martial artist’s strength.

The four paths of strength, energy, skill, and spirit can also be seen as vitality, combined with the martial artist’s energy used in real combat to unleash powerful "skills."

The path of true strength is the combination of spirit and inner strength.

Forbidden martial arts techniques, like the typical Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, harm one’s own life force but can temporarily explode into several times the inner strength; this extra inner strength does not come from thin air.

The "Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method can also be seen as the rough transformation of life force and inner strength."

"So, if we let strength, energy, and spirit unite—or say if vitality and spirit completely merge—then vitality is inner strength, and inner strength can also be spirit…"

This is not a direction Qiao Mu just began to explore today.

Since leaving Peach Blossom Villa, he started to ponder this perfect martial path while dealing with the Immortal Yanshen’s tens of thousands of years Long Life Dream, yet he had not succeeded.

Now, with his obsession fulfilled, it feels like a fire burns within him.

Although it is a road never walked before, he has plenty of time to explore.

Moreover, on the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate battlefield, Qiao Mu had scattered Immortal Yanshen hundreds of times in five days.

Qiao Mu knew Immortal Yanshen’s body better than anyone else, as he had punched into Immortal Yanshen’s body countless times, exploring every inch of the inside and outside.

Immortal Yanshen’s immortal body had reached the level of "soul equals physical form," able to reunite with just a thought; only complete annihilation of the immortal body could truly kill it… this can serve as a reference.

"Internal strength Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, Blood Sword Technique, Desperate Strategy, Bloodthirsty Skill, Red Moon Burning Blood Technique…" Qiao Mu suddenly unleashed dozens of martial arts forbidden techniques he had mastered, trying to explore the martial path of the future.

Boom…

Qiao Mu’s physical body exploded into a mist of blood. He once again used the most radical method to deduce martial arts, practicing various forbidden techniques on himself, trying to explore the perfect martial path of the future.

………………….

In the state of No Move No Thinking Skill, Qiao Mu almost became the embodiment of martial arts, tirelessly practicing his skills over and over again, deducing the martial path.

The thirty-thousandth year.

After his body shattered into a mist of blood many times, Qiao Mu suddenly felt a jolt, pulling himself out of a mindless state.

At this moment, his body had already exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist, and he could no longer sense his limbs and torso, yet Qiao Mu was still alive.

As he focused his mind, the blood mist scattered in the air quickly condensed inward, gradually forming a human shape.

"Every inch of my flesh, every cell, seems to be controlled perfectly by my spirit and will."

If the Shape Changing Skill could heal the body’s tissues and organs, then now Qiao Mu felt that he could control any cell that makes up his body, even rebuild any part from the inside out if he wished.

"Vital energy is internal strength, and internal strength is also spirit…."

With a thought, Qiao Mu’s body returned to its original form; he clenched his fist and felt no difference from before his body exploded.

"I can achieve something similar to the True Immortal’s ability to reunite the body with a single thought…. but that is still not enough."

If Qiao Mu could freely guide his body to evolve in any direction, then he would naturally want his body to change into a more perfect and powerful form.

To defeat a True Immortal, one must be stronger than the True Immortal!

With a single thought, the dream world changed once again.

On the left appeared Immortal Yanshen, the towering Immortal Lord Qingxuan, the Undead Immortal Lord, and… the corpse of the Heavenly Emperor from the ruins of the heavenly palace.

On the right appeared the giant from Kuafu Mountain in the Western Province, along with Qiao Yuan.

Qiao Yuan’s body had merged with too many bones and blood; he had already embarked on a different path from martial arts. Before leaving the Western Province, Qiao Mu had asked him for essence blood, trying to uncover the secrets of Giant Kuafu’s body.

The so-called giants of the Kuafu tribe can be considered ancient divine and demon lineage; they possess unique powers, and the "sun" they nurture in their hearts grows larger and further, allowing their bodies to expand quickly.

One side is the True Immortal, and the other side is the divine and demon lineage.

This is the ultimate embodiment of the postnatal beings and the innate beings in all the worlds, representing the endpoint of the path of evolution.

Humans cannot imagine something they have never seen.

Just right, Qiao Mu had seen and learned enough, and he was already used to deducing martial arts.