Chapter 41: Pushing the Knife

While Qin Mu was sprinting, he created a strong wind, and Granny Si and the blind man were sitting on the edge of the wind, using its power to travel. Just like the edge of a wave is formed by the movement of water, the edge of the wind is formed by the movement of air. The wavehead of wind that Qin Mu created was the edge of the wind.

The young man on Qin Mu's back immediately got down and led the three of them to walk quickly towards his house, calling out, "Please, come quickly!"

Putting aside the matter of the edge of the wind, Qin Mu arrived in front of the house and surveyed his surroundings. He saw that this village was much larger than Canlao Village and had around a hundred households, with simple and rustic houses.

There was a large tree in this courtyard, its canopy covering half of the house. The expectant mother was inside a house beneath the tree canopy.

A village woman poked her head out of the house and said, "The amniotic fluid has broken. Hurry and bring some hot water! Oh, it's Granny Si from Canlao Village. That's great. The mother and child will definitely be safe now!"

Granny Si looked around and understood the situation. She said, "Mu'er, keep an eye out for anything strange. If there is anything unusual, handle it yourself. I'll go in and assist with the delivery. Blind man, be careful too, don't be caught off guard."

"Divine Heaven Eye, activate!"

Qin Mu opened his Divine Heaven Eye and looked around. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the dense canopy of the large tree, and he couldn't help but shudder, almost exclaiming in surprise.

He saw that the trunk of the canopy, at first glance, appeared to be a tree trunk, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a massive snake as thick as a water bucket!

The large snake was hiding within the canopy, with half of its body submerged into the tree trunk, and the occasional bulges on the trunk were the exposed parts of the snake's body!

From the snake's body, it was clear that its length was unprecedented. The other half of its body was probably hidden in the tree roots buried in the ground, larger than the Green Jiao Snake that they had encountered!

The entire tree, including the canopy, was enveloped in a thick black aura, surrounding the houses!

At this moment, the large snake was sticking out its crimson tongue, lowering its head, and intermittently spitting out some essence, as if doing something to the room where the expectant mother was.

Qin Mu, afraid that he might be mistaken, dispelled his Divine Heaven Eye and looked with his naked eyes. The tree remained a tree and not a snake. But when he activated his Divine Heaven Eye again, the large snake was still coiled within the canopy, waiting to devour the soul of the newborn from the expectant mother!

Evidently, for the past few years, every child born to the lady of the house had their souls consumed by this large snake!

A fiery anger ignited in Qin Mu's heart, and he said in a deep voice, "Blind Grandpa..."

The blind man remained calm and said, "Granny said to leave it to you to handle, so you handle it. This will be your first hunt. Hurry, the child is about to be born."

Qin Mu composed himself and walked directly to the base of the large tree, breathing slowly and steadily.

His vital qi went from still to active, accelerating as his inner anger grew, becoming more and more majestic!

The surging vital qi within him stirred and roared, fueling his raging fire!

Suddenly, the pig-slaughtering knife on his back resonated with the turbulent vital qi inside him. It leaped from his back, ringing out as it soared above his head!

Qin Mu raised his hand and grasped the knife, the vital qi raging madly, pouring into the pig-slaughtering knife as he swung it!

He swung the knife with all his might!

Let the vital qi erupt, let the fury explode, and revel in the release between each swing!

Slash!

The pig-slaughtering knife in his hand suddenly resounded, tearing through the air and emitting a piercing whistle. It ruthlessly cleaved into the trunk of the large tree!

A deafening sound echoed as Qin Mu's strike entered the trunk, cutting into the body of the large snake concealed within the tree. However, it only severed half of the snake. The snake's scales, flesh, and bones were incredibly tough due to its cultivation. Even though the pig-slaughtering knife was a silent weapon forged by a mute craftsman and surpassed ordinary spirit weapons, it still couldn't cut this large snake into two with a single strike!

Qin Mu grabbed the back of the knife with his other hand, exerted force with both feet, and displayed the leg technique of the cripple.

Qin Mu listened intently to the cripple's words, "Legs are wind, earth, the roots of strength!"

His legs rooted firmly into the ground, and with a sudden burst of power, the ground around his footsteps rumbled and sank. He unleashed all his strength, pushing the back of the knife, while his other hand tightly gripped the handle, pushing the knife forward!

Creaking and grating sounds pierced the air as the large tree, along with the snake inside, was severed in half!

Qin Mu steadied himself, the pig-slaughtering knife held horizontally in front of him, blood flowing continuously from the blade. The muscles on his back tensed one by one, still pulsating.

And behind him, the towering tree slanted and fell.

Boom!

The tree fell in the courtyard, raising a cloud of dust. Suddenly, the fallen tree came back to life!

The large snake, severed in the middle, was not dead yet. Its writhing half-body produced continuous explosive sounds. The snake's body hidden within the tree trunk caused the tree to split into pieces, with bark and wooden debris flying in all directions, even embedding themselves into the walls!

The bark and wood debris flung by the snake were more terrifying than spears, emitting a sharp whistling sound and carrying immense force!

It was a night battle in the wind and rain!

Qin Mu's pig-slaughtering knife danced in his hand, its blade shimmering. Earlier, his strike had unleashed a blade qi, powerful and heavy, gathering all his strength into that single strike. But now, his swordsmanship had become unusually fast!

The butcher's swordsmanship had only one principle: fast, faster, fastest!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of violent impacts was incessant as countless pieces of bark and wood collided with Qin Mu's pig-slaughtering knife, causing his arm to feel numb and tingly.

The strength of this snake far surpassed his own. However, the snake's attention was initially focused on the pregnant woman in the delivery room, preparing to absorb the infant's soul and vital energy at the moment of birth.

When a baby is born, the umbilical cord connects them to the mother's Zihe Cart (placenta). The vital energy within them is innate, transitioning from innate to acquired after birth. Since the baby's vital energy is not yet complete before birth, the snake chose to seize it at the moment of birth.

big snake, which had managed to infiltrate the village and hide within the tree, had eluded the villagers for all these years. It remained undiscovered while consuming the souls of several infants, and its cultivation had greatly increased as a result. This time, it had expected to successfully seize the vital energy and soul of the newborn, but it hadn't noticed Qin Mu and was swiftly struck down by his blade.

However, even though Qin Mu had severed it in the middle, the snake couldn't die in an instant.

Enraged, the snake immediately broke free from the tree trunk, opening its bloody maw wide and lunging at Qin Mu!

A violent gust of wind blew against Qin Mu's face, causing his skin to tremble uncontrollably, and even his eyes struggled to stay open.

Without hesitation, Qin Mu swung his knife forward like a raging storm. Then, an unimaginable force struck back at him. The young man let out a muffled groan as his body was forcefully pushed backward, crashing through the courtyard wall, creating a person-sized hole!

Before Qin Mu could regain his footing, he saw the two doors of the courtyard fly into the air like paper. The snake crashed through the entrance, bringing a pungent stench and an imposing aura as it lunged straight at him. The sight of its gaping maw and sharp fangs filled Qin Mu with trepidation, making him reluctant to directly confront the snake, and he couldn't help but consider seeking help from the blind man.

Meanwhile, the blind man stood calmly behind the snake, seemingly unperturbed by the scene unfolding before him.

A thought flickered in Qin Mu's mind: "Does the blind man think I can handle this snake? If he believes I can, then I can! Heavenly Vision of the Divine Sky, activate!"

His vital energy surged instantly, rushing into his eyes and forming intricate and splendid patterns, creating complex iris patterns in his eyes.

As the Divine Sky Vision activated, Qin Mu suddenly felt as if the world before him had been reconstructed. The dim village, the scattered houses, and the approaching snake all became vividly real. Every movement of the snake could be easily captured, every action it took was within his grasp.

Qin Mu swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the snake's attack. His pig-slaughtering knife grazed the snake's eye as it passed by.

Leaping into the air, he narrowly evaded the snake's sweeping body.

Every move of the snake became clear in his eyes, from the muscles beneath its scales to the angles of its exertion. Qin Mu could easily anticipate the snake's next move and evade it accordingly.

All of this happened as if it were the most natural thing, requiring no speculation.

The first level of the Nine Heavens Eyes Technique, Divine Sky Vision, not only allowed him to see through illusions but also greatly enhanced his perception!

The slash from Qin Mu's blade had cut open the left eye of the snake, causing it to scream in pain. It immediately lunged at Qin Mu, who had just landed, and in an instant, he swiftly sliced open the snake's right eye as well.

The snake suddenly fell silent and became motionless. Qin Mu also stood still, with just a little over ten feet separating him from the snake.

On both sides of the village road, several villagers had come out of their houses to witness the scene, staring in awe at the sight of this eleven or twelve-year-old boy fighting against the snake.

The sky was already dark, and in the small village with a dozen or so households, dim light seeped out from the window frames, barely illuminating the road.

Everyone held their breath, afraid to make any noise.

Suddenly, a little girl burst into tears from fright. The snake swiftly moved, crazily slithering towards the little girl, opening its jaws wide and lunging towards the paralyzed family of three!