Chapter 1284: Not Helping Is Helping (Second Update)
Qin Mu’s heart stirred at these words. He flew down from above the twenty-eight heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Celestial Canopy, and as he descended at a slant, the vertical eye on his brow had already opened.
Within that vertical eye, the Taiji Primordial Stone was activated. At the same time, countless runes on the Primordial Egg lit up, buzzing as they reflected onto the Taiji Divine Stone, causing it to rotate.
The pupil of that divine eye on his brow instantly transformed into black and white, spinning wildly.
*Hum—*
A beam of light, with black and white intertwined, descended from the heavens, slanting down to strike the throat of that gaunt figure.
As the light beam landed, the throat of the gaunt figure immediately petrified. The beam moved, and wherever it passed, his body rapidly turned to stone!
Qin Mu flew in at an angle. By the time his feet touched the ground, the gaze from his vertical eye had already swept over the figure from head to toe!
That gaunt figure was completely transformed into a stone statue, motionless.
Everyone within the Lapis Lazuli Celestial Canopy immediately felt a wave of relief. That terrifying suction force vanished, and their blood and qi no longer drained away.
Jiang Yunjian and the other younger experts crashed down from the high altitude with a series of crackling sounds, collapsing all over the ground, unable to rise for a time.
The First Ancestor, Yan’er, and the others were also shaken, their hearts still pounding.
Qin Mu’s movements did not stop. He swiftly circled the stone statue, the gaze from his vertical eye—a tangle of black and white—shining over every part of its body, reinforcing the petrification effect.
*Whoosh—*
He raised his hand, and the stone statue flew up. Qin Mu tilted his head back, the gaze of his vertical eye shining onto the soles of the statue’s feet.
*Thud.* The stone statue landed. Qin Mu continued his circuit, leaving no corner unchecked.
“Enough, enough! Mu Tianzun, you can stop now!”
The voice of the Taishi within the egg came from inside the stone statue, calling out: “His body is completely petrified, even his primordial spirit is stone now! There’s no need to shine any more! Think of a way to get me out of here!”
Qin Mu halted his steps, let out a sigh of relief, and nearly collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. He simply lay down on the spot, panting heavily.
That had been far too dangerous. If the Taishi Egg hadn’t actively allowed itself to be swallowed by that gaunt figure, letting him absorb the Taishi Qi from within the egg, and if Taishi hadn’t warned Qin Mu in advance to use the Taiji Dao for mass-energy conversion, they wouldn’t have had any chance of victory.
The Taishi Dao combined with the Taiji Dao—that was what resolved the greatest crisis of the Great Black Wood!
“Mu Tianzun, hurry up and get me out. I think I’m stuck in his throat.”
A muffled voice came from the throat of the stone statue, the voice of Taishi within the egg: “This stone statue is too hard. I can’t move. Mu Tianzun? Mu Tianzun, are you still there… You didn’t just abandon me and run off, did you?”
Yan’er rushed over quickly, transformed into her Vermilion Bird form, and extended her bird claw into the stone statue’s wide-open mouth to dig him out. After digging for a while, she finally managed to pull the Taishi Egg out of the statue’s mouth.
The Taishi Egg landed on the ground, rolled twice, and upon finding itself unharmed, finally relaxed. “Close call, close call! But I lost some of my Taishi Qi. Mu Tianzun, you must compensate me!”
Qin Mu lay there, still panting heavily. This was the first time he had ever felt so exhausted, so tired he wished he could just die.
The Taishi Egg stood propped up beside him.
The sky was growing pale. This night was finally coming to an end.
Seeing this, everyone felt a sense of relief. They sat down on the ground, lay down, leaned against each other, or rested against the rocks. They were all utterly spent.
This night had been a harrowing ordeal.
After recovering some strength, Qin Mu staggered to his feet. He walked around the stone statue, which stood with its mouth wide open, a few times. Seeing that the statue remained fixed in place without any change, he finally felt completely at ease.
“Brother Taiyi still didn’t come…” Qin Mu was somewhat disappointed.
“Trusting him is worse than trusting that unreliable Taiji fellow.”
The Taishi within the egg said, “He’s probably hiding somewhere, trembling in fear.”
Qin Mu smiled wryly and shook his head. Yao Shi bustled about, treating everyone’s injuries, and one by one, they all recovered.
That night had been too dangerous. Recalling it still made their hearts race.
They climbed out of this valley. The sunlight shone down, so bright and beautiful, intoxicating to the soul.
“It’s good to be alive.” The mute squinted, sighing with emotion.
Qin Mu looked into the distance. Several more Great Black Mountains had split open, emitting billowing white vapor. A young man carrying a bucket was hurrying over.
His face darkened. He walked over, and the young man set down the bucket, smiling: “Mu Tianzun, a good night’s rest? Now, do you know what is buried beneath this Great Black Wood?”
Qin Mu stood beside him, silent for a moment, then said: “Brother Dao said you would come to support us.”
“I only said I would come to help, not that I would act personally.”
The young man pulled a willow branch from the bucket and sprinkled water over the cracked Great Black Mountain, saying: “I cheered you on from above—that was also helping.”
Qin Mu was speechless. He was about to speak when he saw the cracked Great Black Mountain slowly closing.
“The best way to help you is not to drive away the strong ones from the previous universe for you, but to help you understand who your enemy truly is. To take possession of the Great Black Wood and become its master, you must face all of this.”
The young man Taiyi continued sprinkling water as he spoke: “If you can’t even realize this, how could you possibly help me intercept these prehistoric monsters’ invasion? Among them are beings of immense power, capable of even creating Void Beasts to send here, stopping at nothing to enter this universe. If you couldn’t even pass last night’s small test, then you wouldn’t be qualified to occupy this place.”
He handed the bucket and willow branch to Qin Mu, a faint smile playing on his lips: “Mu Tianzun, master of the Ten Thousand Black Mountains, your mountain has split open. Repair it yourself.”
Qin Mu took the bucket and willow branch. Imitating him, he dipped the willow branch in water and sprinkled it into the cracks of the Black Mountain. Within the cracks were terrifying, shocking sights, like traces left by claws of some dreadful creature trying to crawl out from within.
“My not showing up last night had another purpose.”
The young man Taiyi continued, guiding him on how to sprinkle the water from the bucket to repair the Black Mountain: “And that was for our friend Taishi. After being suppressed by Taichu for so many years, Taishi’s mind is no longer simple or pure. The person he envies most is actually not me, but Taichu, who suppressed him.”
Qin Mu listened quietly.
“He wants to become another Taichu, the ruler of the entire universe.”
The young man Taiyi said: “In his conversation with Taisu within your brow, what they discussed was actually how to break free from you, how to reclaim his own mineral veins, and how to join forces in the future to rule the world. They even discussed Taishi becoming the emperor and Taisu becoming the empress.”
Qin Mu paused, thought for a moment, and then smiled: “That makes sense. I’ve been guessing what he discussed with Taisu, and I’ve already prepared for the worst.”
The young man Taiyi said: “If I had helped you last night, would Taishi still have helped you?”
Qin Mu was startled. He looked into the distance. The Taishi Egg had been placed on a mountaintop by the caring Yan’er. The diligent Vermilion Bird was scurrying around, gathering twigs and leaves to build a nest for the egg, planning to sit on it and hatch it.
Qin Mu couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.
“The Taishi of now is no longer the same Taishi who escaped Taichu’s suppression. He is slowly being moved by you.”
The young man Taiyi said: “This is a good thing. He has now come to realize the duty that this universe, which nurtured him, has bestowed upon him. The desires and ambitions in his heart are gradually fading. Look, he is very peaceful now.”
Qin Mu looked over. The Taishi Egg in the nest, taking advantage of Yan’er not looking, was quietly trying to sneak away, only to be caught by the diligent Yan’er and stuffed back into the nest.
“If I had helped you, Taishi would have become a different Taishi. When he emerged into the world in the future, the calamity he would bring would be even worse than Taichu’s!”
The young man Taiyi said calmly: “Therefore, I chose to help you by not helping.”