Chapter 1403: The Red Dust Becomes the Path
The Empress looked at Qin Mu, whose expression remained calm, as if he had long known about this and showed no surprise at all.
The Empress steadied herself, pondered for a moment, and said, "My late husband was born prematurely, excavated by the Grand Emperor for a sacrifice, which left him with significant flaws in his cultivation and power. You, Dao Brother, have been dormant here for countless eons, presumably having achieved perfect cultivation. Why are you two also so fearful of the future?"
The implication in her words was actually asking the Taiji Ancient Gods: since they had been hiding here, peacefully absorbing the power of the mineral veins for so long, they should have been able to emerge perfectly. Why hadn't they done so now? But being the Empress, she phrased it tactfully.
"By normal reasoning, we indeed could have emerged. Such a vast span of time should have been enough for us to absorb all the power and Dao insights from the mining area."
A male voice spoke from within the egg. "However, the Ancestral Court has restricted our emergence."
The Empress was greatly puzzled. Even Qin Mu felt a stir of curiosity, unconsciously leaning forward slightly.
A female voice from the egg continued, "We have been continuously absorbing the power of the Taiji mineral vein since the dawn of the universe, never ceasing. When the race of Creators rose, they began mining the veins, and all five major veins were excavated. One Dao Brother emerged before the Creators, leaving behind an empty mining area, free and unfettered. When he emerged, there was no worldly disturbance; his Dao was pure. He transcended immediately upon emergence and became the Dao."
The male voice added, "Then came Dao Brother Taichu. He had the potential to achieve the Dao after him, but unfortunately, he was only half-grown when he was dug out and treated as a treasure by the Creators for their rituals. Before he was even born, he was already polluted. For him to achieve the Dao is extremely difficult. He must sever the power of the Creators' worship upon him and also reclaim all the power of the Taichu mineral vein."
"The third Dao Brother was Taishi. He was also dug out and treated as a great treasure, worshipped and sacrificed to by the world. Later, he fell into the hands of the Grand Emperor Juyushi. After the Grand Emperor's defeat, he fell into Taichu's hands. Taichu was no longer in his egg state; he had developed desires for power and authority. Fearing that Taishi's perfect emergence would threaten his position, he imprisoned him."
"Taisu was also a tragic figure. She was dug out from the mineral vein by the Creator Nvxinshi, then taken to Juyushi, and later fell into the hands of the Northern Emperor Xuanwu, who treated her as a treasure and refined her into the Glazed Azure Canopy. She struggled to seek the path of transcendence, but unfortunately, she met the wrong person and was brought to the previous universe by someone, forcing her to emerge prematurely."
"For her to achieve the Dao, the karmic consequences are immense. She must not only avenge the grievances against Nvxinshi and Juyushi, and the grievance of being refined into a treasure, but also the grievance of premature emergence, and she must settle the karmic debts from the previous cosmic era."
When Qin Mu heard this, his heart turned cold.
The "wrong person" the Taiji Ancient Gods referred to was him.
He had emerged from the Great Black Tree at night, inadvertently bringing the egg of Taisu to the moment of the previous cosmic era's destruction. He had to raise the egg of Taisu high, trying to return to the World Tree, and it was then that Taisu was born!
Taisu's premature birth was greatly connected to him.
"As for us, we too have been polluted by worldly affairs."
The female voice from the egg sighed. "After observing the experiences of our Dao Brothers, we first developed a sense of vigilance. Once we had that vigilance, our Dao heart was no longer pure. From that moment on, we took a step further away from achieving the Dao."
"But we didn't realize this at the time. We created fake mines to deceive the Creators, while hiding the real mineral veins. In doing so, we took another step away from achieving the Dao."
The male voice sighed. "We mobilized the Taiji Star Domain to kill the Creators and other beings who entered the mining area, protecting ourselves. We developed a killing intent, which took us even further from the Dao. At the time, we didn't realize this; we thought we were clever."
The female voice said, "We hid ourselves, living in constant fear and anxiety, always worried that the Grand Emperor or Taichu would discover us. It wasn't until Taichu led the other Ancient Gods to seal the Ancestral Court that we felt at ease, thinking we could absorb the Taiji mineral vein and achieve the Dao."
The male voice sighed again. "It was only then that we realized we had long been polluted by the red dust of the mortal world. Although the worldly disturbances were gone, we were drifting further and further from the Dao. Not only that, but we also discovered another terrifying thing."
Both the male and female voices fell silent.
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He had a terrifying guess and opened his mouth to ask, but held back.
The Empress was more composed than him, waiting quietly.
After a moment, the male and female voices overlapped, speaking in unison: "Although the Ancestral Court was sealed, we discovered that we were not the only ones here! There were others!"
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. "Just as I guessed!"
"The Ancestral Court was sealed, but it couldn't seal that Dao Brother who emerged early. He is elusive and unfathomable. But the others in the Ancestral Court are not him."
"The others came from beneath the earth, yet not from beneath the earth. They are remnants from the previous cosmic era. They came from that previous era."
"They had prepared long ago, setting up countless traps and schemes within the Ancestral Court. Even our Taiji mining area fell into their calculations."
"When you sealed the Ancestral Court and all left, we sensed a terrifying prehistoric relic moving into our mining area. It locked down our ability to absorb the power and Dao of the vein, slowing our progress over these millions of years."
The voice of the Taiji Ancient Gods in the egg carried a hint of fear. "We gave birth to fear, taking another step away from the Dao. That is why, when an uninvited guest visited the mining area, we lent out the Taiji Primeval Stone. Over the past million years, we could barely draw any power from the Primeval Stone or the mining area, so lending it to him for a while was no loss."
Qin Mu immediately opened his vertical eye on his forehead, looking into the depths beneath the mining area. His divine eyes were unparalleled, even capable of penetrating the fragments of the Great Luo Heaven beneath the Jade Pool. In an instant, he saw the entire Taiji mining area laid bare.
Beneath the vast and boundless Taiji Star Domain, an ancient fragment of the Great Luo Heaven was devouring the star domain, encroaching upon the Taiji mining area. There, a mysterious relic sat beneath the mining area. It had strange structures built from the finest divine metal, covered in mottled rust, yet the ripples of Dao could still be seen flowing on its surface.
It should be the remains of a highly advanced civilization, a divine city built with supreme divine metal in an attempt to survive the great destruction of the universe, to pass through the cataclysm and enter the new universe.
However, Qin Mu saw no living beings there. It seemed all life had been destroyed. But since it was a fragment of the Great Luo Heaven, it couldn't be that simple.
The Empress couldn't see this scene and didn't understand the Taiji Ancient Gods' fear. She said, "Dao Brothers, since you are locked down and cannot improve your cultivation or Dao here, you cannot emerge perfectly. You have stopped growing. How can you speak of helping me?"
She said flatly, "Forgive my bluntness, but interests come first. If I have no sufficient benefit, why should I cooperate with you? Allying with you to jointly face future calamities is nothing but a joke."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "So, you two Dao Brothers are planning to emerge prematurely?"
The Empress's heart trembled. His reminder made her realize the key point.
The Taiji Ancient Gods had come to her precisely because they intended to emerge early!
If they emerged and left the mining area, they could indeed become her allies!
The Ancient God in the egg praised, "The Mu Heavenly Venerate is indeed exceptionally intelligent. He understands the hint. Unfortunately, your strength is insufficient; otherwise, we would definitely choose you as our ally instead of the Empress. You guessed correctly. We have indeed decided to emerge."
The female voice said, "We are trapped here, unable to draw power or comprehend the Dao from the mining area. Our Dao hearts have been corrupted and disturbed by the red dust. Rather than stubbornly guarding the Taiji mining area, it's better to emerge early and walk through the mortal world."
The male voice said, "The trivialities of the mortal world have damaged our Dao hearts, giving us cunning, fear, joy, anger, sorrow, greed, worry, killing intent, scheming, power, desire, profit, deceit, and other negative emotions that hinder our path to the Dao. Since the red dust gave us these, we must walk through the red dust."
The female voice said, "Only by walking through the red dust can we see through greed, worry, power, desire, and profit. Only then can we shed our cunning and fear, allowing our Dao hearts to return to the simplicity before the emergence of all beings, thus achieving the Dao and attaining liberation."
The words of the Taiji Ancient Gods brought different insights to Qin Mu and the Empress, each touching their hearts in unique ways.
The Empress recalled the moment of her birth, when the Dao of the Return to Void gave her consciousness. Her consciousness was pure and simple then, most in harmony with the Dao of the Return to Void.
The Dao heart was her heart.
She was born from a lotus in the Abyss of the Return to Void, serene and beautiful.
But when did it all start to change?
Was it when the Creators discovered her, a Dao-born Ancient God, felt her power of fertility, and began to worship her, praying for her protection so their race would be blessed with many children?
Was it when the Creators tried to use her power to eliminate their enemies?
Was it when she met Taichu and they fell in love?
Or was it when she felt the worship of the Creators and all beings, and began to enjoy power and desire?
But she didn't have the high awareness of the Taiji Ancient Gods. She didn't realize it herself, and so she sank into the red dust.
Qin Mu, however, thought of something else.
He felt that the Taiji Ancient Gods' approach of tempering their Dao hearts in the red dust was indeed feasible. After all, he himself had grown through the struggles of the mortal world, his Dao heart maturing along the way, and his Dao realm gradually improving.
He also thought of another matter: Lan Yutian.
The former Yu Heavenly Venerate had been disturbed by worldly trivialities, so his Dao heart wasn't as pure as Lan Yutian's. But now, although Lan Yutian walked through the red dust, he was more like an egg-born Ancient God from before the emergence of all beings. He had no desire for profit or fame (gong li xin), no desire for power, no distracting thoughts—only an incredibly pure Dao heart.
Compared to the other egg-born Ancient Gods except Taiyi, he was more like an egg-born Ancient God, silently absorbing nutrients and improving himself within the vast mining area of the red dust.
He was the one closest to achieving the Dao.
And in Qin Mu's Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury, the Taishi in the egg also had his own insights. Unconsciously, he stopped absorbing the power of the Taishi Primeval Stone and the Taishi mineral vein, quietly contemplating his future path.
"Although the Taiji Ancient Gods were formed after me, their understanding of the Dao has already surpassed mine."
He couldn't help but sigh, feeling greatly benefited. "The Empress has occupied my Taishi mining area. Even if I can reclaim it through the Mu Heavenly Venerate and fully absorb the vein's power, I still cannot achieve perfection, cannot attain the Dao, cannot transcend. I too need to walk through the mortal world like the Taiji Ancient Gods, tempering my Dao heart, to reach the level of Dao Brother Taiyi."
Each of them gained something, each understood something different, but their insights were not the same.
The Taiji Ancient Gods in the egg said, "This time, we invited the Empress here because our power is insufficient to break open the divine egg. We ask for the Empress's assistance."
The Empress stood up, her expression solemn. "It is only right to help."
Qin Mu also stood up, his expression serious. "Two Dao Brothers in the egg, after you emerge, how will you treat me? I want to know your stance."
The Empress looked at him, a glint of killing intent flashing in her beautiful eyes. "Mu Heavenly Venerate, you and we Ten Heavenly Venerables are now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. You should recognize your place and not have too many thoughts. Otherwise, you will only invite death. The Return to Void is one of the few places in the world that can annihilate you, and the Dao of the Return to Void is one of the few Daos that can break the Divine Art of Indestructibility!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily, his killing intent surging. "If in the future, you two Dao Brothers intend to be my enemies, then today I will fight to the death! Think carefully, Dao Brothers!"
He turned around. "Empress, if you think the Divine Art of the Return to Void can annihilate me, feel free to try!"