Chapter 1367: Slaying the Earth Mother
"Hypocrite!"
The Earth Mother Sovereign sneered as she launched a ferocious attack. Above Wei Suifeng's head, the celestial dome materialized, the Dipper inverted, the Milky Way flowing within it, and beneath the Dipper lay his celestial palace!
His path of cultivation was unique, originating from the Great Nurturing Demon Scripture. He had merged various Imperial Throne techniques with this scripture, comprehending and creating his own Dipper Dao Art.
The path he walked was not one of refining different celestial palaces and gathering them together to form a celestial court, but rather the path of the Dao Realm.
After all, he was a disciple of the Woodcutter Sage, Wen Tiange. Among Wen Tiange's three disciples, he had received the most dedicated instruction and the longest period of teaching. When Kaihuang had opened the Dao Realm, Wen Tiange had also imparted the Dao Realm to him.
If one were to examine his Dipper closely, they would see layers upon layers of Dippers and rivers of stars above the main Dipper and Milky Way!
Wei Suifeng let out a long cry and clashed head-on with the Earth Mother Sovereign. Immediately feeling outmatched, he staggered backward.
The Nether Abyss Crown Prince attacked as well. The two of them, one before and one behind, were both top-tier Imperial Throne powerhouses of the current era. One was renowned for his immense dharma power, though slightly inferior in divine ability transformations; the other was famed for his versatile divine abilities, though his dharma power was somewhat weaker.
Yet both were existences on par with the Four Great Heavenly Masters and the Four-Colored Emperors of the Celestial Court. Even within the Celestial Court, they had few rivals!
The Earth Mother Sovereign faced the two of them without the slightest fear. Even the combined might of two Great Perfection Imperial Throne powerhouses could not harm her in the slightest!
She pressed forward step by step, drawing closer and closer to Qin Mu beneath the jade pillar of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy.
Her Primeval Wood had also completely immobilized the twenty-eight heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy, rendering them sluggish and unable to function.
The root tendrils of her Primeval Wood had also pierced through the twenty-eight heavens, coiling around the various precious treasures.
She now had a decisive advantage!
At that moment, beneath the jade pillar of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy that supported the twenty-eight heavens, Qin Mu bowed deeply to the Earth Mother Sovereign.
The Earth Mother Sovereign giggled, "Mu Tianzun, you're also a hypocrite, nothing but a false gentleman!"
Qin Mu straightened up after his bow and took a long breath. Suddenly, his celestial palaces erupted behind him. One after another, celestial palaces materialized, interlocking perfectly to form nineteen celestial palaces, merging into a vast celestial court!
Within those celestial palaces, various primordial spirits stood tall, gazing up at the twenty-eight heavens. Each urged their dharma power, and instantly, the numerous precious treasures within the twenty-eight heavens were activated by him!
Clang—
A great bell rang out, its sound shattering the Primeval Wood root tendrils coiled around its body.
A thirty-three-story tower blazed with light. Each story rotated in a different direction, and the various array patterns imprinted within the tower erupted, forming thirty-three different killing arrays that shredded the Primeval Wood root tendrils!
An ancient zither played itself, flying through the air. Its sharp, clashing notes severed the Primeval Wood root tendrils as easily as splitting bamboo!
...
The might of various precious treasures bloomed at this moment, instantly severing all the root tendrils within the heavens!
Suddenly, the power of all the treasures across every heaven erupted simultaneously. Countless Dao patterns and Dao chains materialized around these treasures, forming their respective divine abilities and killing arrays, all crashing down together!
The Earth Mother Sovereign was startled. Hastily forcing back Wei Suifeng and the Nether Abyss Crown Prince, she looked up and saw a sight that filled her with utter horror!
The myriad treasures within the twenty-eight heavens gathered all their might and struck the Primeval Wood Core from all directions, blasting flat the tree crown she had painstakingly cultivated and severing all the roots!
Even the bark of the Primeval Wood was stripped clean in a single blow!
Now, the Primeval Wood had returned to its former state as the Primeval Wood Core, a bare, smooth pole!
"Earth Mother Sovereign, the Primeval Wood Core was a gift from you to me. Later, seeing that you had no physical body, I returned this treasure to you."
Qin Mu's voice came, quite indifferent, clearly reaching the Earth Mother Sovereign's ears. "The Heavenly Lord interceded, asking me to spare your life, and I did. Between us, logically speaking, our grievances should have been resolved. To put it plainly, since I didn't kill you, you should thank me for sparing your life. Yet you have repeatedly opposed me."
Within the twenty-eight heavens, the myriad treasures shifted, gathering at the zenith of each heaven. The treasures blazed with light—bell mouths facing downward, cauldron mouths facing downward, zither surfaces facing downward, tower bases facing downward—and suddenly, all the treasures' power erupted!
This terrifying wave of energy blasted from the first heaven to the second, merging with the power of the treasures in the second heaven to strike the third, then combining with the third heaven's treasures to blast into the fourth!
"Even just now, my senior brother and the Crown Prince advised you to let go of your grievances and seek out the Great Brahma Heaven. But you refused to listen."
Qin Mu coldly urged the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy. The combined might of the myriad treasures converged, striking the top of the upright Primeval Wood Core.
This power was so immense that it directly blasted open the top of the Primeval Wood Core, shattering it to pieces, destroying all its internal structure, and hammering all the way down!
The Earth Mother Sovereign let out a piercing shriek and flew like lightning toward the Primeval Wood Core.
"What needed to be done, I have done." Qin Mu's expression was calm.
The Nether Abyss Crown Prince showed a trace of reluctance and suddenly said, "Mu Tianzun values life. Earth Mother Sovereign, why not bow your head and admit defeat?"
Wei Suifeng also showed reluctance and said, "Junior brother, the Earth Mother Sovereign's crime does not warrant death..."
Boom—
The might of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy crashed down, completely shattering the Primeval Wood Core into dust!
The Earth Mother Sovereign rushed there but was flung back by the surging power.
Her physical body began to disintegrate, turning to ash. Soon, only a wisp of her soul remained, and her cultivation rapidly dissipated.
At that moment, the power of the myriad treasures in the heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy activated once more. Dao chains from the treasures descended from the sky, locking onto the Earth Mother Sovereign's soul.
The Nether Abyss Crown Prince suddenly shouted, "Mu Tianzun, think twice! The Earth Mother Sovereign has merit for the Primordial Realm!"
"But she has also brought calamity upon the Primordial Realm."
The primordial spirits within Qin Mu's celestial palaces simultaneously urged their dharma power. The might of the myriad treasures in the heavens converged into a single force, crashing down toward the Earth Mother Sovereign's soul.
"Over three hundred thousand years of the Sovereign Era, countless beings perished. The Earth Mother cannot escape responsibility."
Qin Mu closed his eyes, also feeling reluctant, and chose not to witness the scene.
The might of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy descended, reaching the top of the Earth Mother Sovereign's soul. She shrieked, "Mu Tianzun, I admit defeat! Please, for the sake of the Heavenly Lord, consider my years of protecting the beings of the Primordial Realm—"
Boom!
A wave of destructive tremor erupted, completely engulfing her soul. The terrifying power surged back and forth within the twenty-eight heavens, transforming into earth-shaking fluctuations that swept through every heaven.
Wei Suifeng and the Nether Abyss Crown Prince stood there, their robes billowing in the gale, their minds unable to calm for a long time.
They saw the black sand of the Earth Mother Sovereign's soul scattering through the various heavens, unable to coalesce.
The Earth Mother Sovereign had perished, both body and spirit.
"Mu Tianzun, you..." The Nether Abyss Crown Prince's expression was complex.
Qin Mu's face was as still as an ancient well. "The one who protected the Primordial Realm was the Earth Mother Sovereign, and the one who slaughtered the Primordial Realm was also the Earth Mother Sovereign. She had merit and she had fault. Her past merits cannot be used to overlook her crimes. I believe I have done nothing wrong."
Wei Suifeng said, "Junior brother, but you must know that when future generations speak of your slaying of the Earth Mother Sovereign, many will surely say you were ruthless and venomous, giving her no chance."
Qin Mu grasped the jade pillar of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Canopy, expressionless. "Right and wrong, merit and fault, let future generations judge. But future generations are often nothing but mediocrities with the heart of a saint but none of a saint's ability, skilled only in empty talk, lacking true capability."
Clang, clang, clang—
The twenty-eight heavens retracted, forming layers of canopy, drawing the myriad treasures back into the canopy.
He leaned on the Azure Sky Canopy, his face shadowed by the canopy, revealing only his thin lips.
He pressed his thin lips together and said softly, "What right do such vulgar mediocrities have to accuse me? Rumors and slander cannot kill enemies, cannot pacify the world; they only kill upright people. But I have long ceased to fear them."