Chapter 1280: Ambush in the Valley (Second Update)
Above the Great Dark Wood, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged wildly, pouring frantically into a valley on the outskirts.
The valley was vast, shaped like a basin, with continuous mountains within. Qin Mu was currently standing atop a peak, surrounded by his divine aperture domain. The Heavenly River flowed, connecting the various realms, subtly aligning with the geography of the Ancestral Court.
The divine bow in his hand was drawn to its absolute limit. Countless rays of light converged madly, gathering at the arrowhead!
The Great Dark Wood spanned a vast territory of ten thousand Great Dark Mountains. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged in, forming massive, wildly spinning vortexes above this blasted valley!
Streams of spiritual energy beneath the vortexes resembled tornadoes, yet they were not sucking downward. Instead, they surged toward Qin Mu, pouring into the divine bow.
The bow's power grew stronger and stronger, becoming so formidable that even Qin Mu struggled to maintain his grip. The muscles in his arms trembled violently.
He silently counted in his mind.
The tremors from the earth grew increasingly intense, shaking the mountains within the valley. Amidst the rumbling, terrifying divine light erupted from the ground, shooting upward. The extraordinary phenomenon surged into the sky above the valley floor, forming a curtain of light!
Within that light curtain came the exceptionally clear sounds of battle—clashing and killing cries that shook the heavens. Vague figures of countless immensely powerful beings could be seen fighting and contending within the light.
That was a projection of the previous universe!
This mineral vein belonged to the outermost ring of the World Tree's growth rings. In other words, these projections of powerful beings came from the previous cosmic year—the memories of the World Tree.
Qin Mu paid them no heed, his gaze fixed firmly on the cracked roots of the World Tree.
There, an even more intense light erupted from the thick roots of the World Tree, producing a sound like surging tides crashing against cliffs—a grand, roaring noise, crashing and rumbling!
The light projected onto the cliff face behind the roots. Within the light, a figure could faintly be seen walking forward, growing closer and clearer!
The figure was initially small, but as it took steps, it grew larger and larger, as if it were about to step out of the stone wall!
It had no right arm, and its gait was somewhat unnatural. This should be the powerful being from the previous universe whose arm had been severed by the Mute Apothecary and the others during the day.
Back then, its body had no flesh, only withered bones. Now, however, it had grown flesh!
Yet strangely, though it now had skin and flesh, from a distance it looked like a dried corpse—extremely gaunt!
Suddenly, the figure's hand reached forward, and its withered palm pierced through the cliff face!
The cliff face was part of the Great Dark Mountain, and the Great Dark Mountain was part of the World Tree's growth rings!
It was trying to crawl along the World Tree's growth rings from the past to the present, from the destroyed universe to the current one!
Just as its hand emerged from the cliff face, Qin Mu happened to count to ten!
*Twang!*
The sound of an arrow rang out. The divine bow vibrated violently, and the arrow on Qin Mu's bow flew forth!
The moment the arrow was released, Qin Mu's entire body shook violently, his bones nearly rattled apart. The arrow's light tore through the space ahead, arriving at the cliff face in an instant!
The arrow pierced through that six-fingered hand, carrying terrifying power as it shot into the cliff face, embedding itself in the gaunt figure and sending it flying backward.
Soon, its figure on the cliff face shrank into a small black dot, rapidly receding!
Then its figure vanished from the cliff face, leaving only an enraged roar that made Qin Mu's ears ring and his blood churn!
After the roar, the divine light in the sky suddenly receded, like a tide returning to the valley, disappearing into the mountains.
The basin fell silent.
Qin Mu panted heavily. This single arrow had nearly drained all his cultivation. His magical power was only enough for one such shot; he had no strength left for a second.
Suddenly, the Apothecary appeared above the valley on the back of the Dragon Qilin, tossing down a basket. He laughed, "Mu'er, I've refined some spirit pills using herbs from the Great Dark Wood. I don't know if they're poisonous, so I'm letting you test them! Don't die on me!"
Qin Mu caught the basket, which was filled to the brim with spirit pills. Each pill was crystal clear, and within each one, the sound of Dao rang like chimes.
Qin Mu was moved. The Apothecary must have gone back immediately to gather herbs and refine these pills, producing so many in such a short time for his use.
He took one pill and immediately felt its potent medicinal power dissolve, his primordial energy swirling and surging.
Qin Mu promptly activated the Overlord Body Three Dan Art, pacing back and forth on the cliff top. His speed increased rapidly until his figure became a streak of light, circling around the peak!
His Overlord Body Three Dan Art was unique; the best way to cultivate it was not through seated meditation but through movement.
Before he could fully refine the medicinal power and restore his primordial energy, divine light suddenly erupted from the valley again, even more magnificent than before!
Qin Mu was startled. "So soon?"
The Primordial Egg suddenly spoke. "Mu Tianzun, I think we'd better change locations!"
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he immediately rolled up the Primordial Egg, leaping into the air and landing on another cliff.
The broken mountain he had chosen earlier was the best spot, perfectly facing the cracked roots of the World Tree, making it easy to see everything in the valley.
The cliff he was on now was somewhat inferior.
Just as he moved to the new cliff, the gaunt figure reappeared on the opposite cliff face. Qin Mu grabbed a handful of spirit pills and stuffed them into his mouth, immediately drawing his bow and counting.
At that moment, a rainbow of light shot out from the cliff face. With a thunderous roar, the broken mountain Qin Mu had just occupied was reduced to dust in a violent tremor!
Qin Mu's hair stood on end.
He had tested the strength of that broken mountain before; even with his full-powered sword strike, he couldn't cut through it. Yet a strike from a being in the previous universe, separated by an entire cosmos, had shattered that mountain to pieces!
He shuddered to think—if not for the Primordial Egg's warning, he would have been reduced to dust along with that mountain!
"...Eight, nine, ten!"
Qin Mu released another arrow!
An enraged roar came from the cliff face. The powerful being attempting to crawl from the previous universe into this era was once again shot back to its own time!
Qin Mu panted heavily, suppressing the spasms in his muscles. He immediately began to run, activating the Overlord Body Three Dan Art.
Once he had recovered somewhat, he quickly moved again, switching to another peak.
From within the egg, the Primordial Being said, "Mu Tianzun, the height of this peak is similar to the previous one. It's quite dangerous."
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he leaped into the air, carrying the Primordial Egg to a higher peak.
*Boom!*
The valley's phenomenon reappeared. A fan-shaped rainbow of light suddenly sprayed from the cliff face, leveling the surrounding peaks!
The high peak where Qin Mu stood was severed at its waist!
*Twang!*
Qin Mu released an arrow, once again sending that terrifying being back to its own era!
From the cliff face came an extremely furious voice, roaring incessantly, clearly enraged beyond measure.
"Brother Primordial, you truly are an old hand at this!"
Qin Mu couldn't help but praise him. "What do we do next?"