Chapter 1404: I Know Your Body Better Than You Do
The Empress Dowager's killing intent surged. Qin Mu sensed her murderous desire and said calmly, "Empress Dowager, you have stirred up a killing heart. That has set you another step back from attaining the Dao."
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable, when you eventually attain the Dao, it will be through your glib tongue!"
The Empress Dowager raised her hand and pointed. A Guixu Abyss materialized above Qin Mu's head. She said coldly, "My Guixu Ocean Eye has ground down countless deities and heroes. You, Pastoral Celestial Venerable, are neither the first nor the last! Today, I will use you to fill the Ocean Eye. If you can survive a hundred years without dying, then I will spare your life!"
Qin Mu's battle intent surged to the heavens. He extended a finger and made a gentle slicing motion. Instantly, boundless waters appeared, spreading out in a vast flood. In an instant, a Jade Sea emerged between the two of them, pushing their distance farther and farther apart. Qin Mu stood on a jade terrace at the edge of the Jade Sea, gazing coldly at the Empress Dowager from afar.
Behind him, a brilliant light blazed forth. Heavenly palaces materialized one after another, with primordial spirits seated within each palace. He stood above the Jade Sea, only the Carrying Ultimate Heavenly Palace remaining incomplete.
"If my primordial spirit were to cross the Jade Pool, pass through the Execution Platform, and enter the realm of the Nine Prisons Platform, could I then contend with a Celestial Venerable and remain undying?"
A gleam of sharp light flickered in his eyes. Within him, a terrifying conviction stirred restlessly—he wanted to face a Celestial Venerable head-on!
The Empress Dowager was not Yan Celestial Venerable herself in person. If Yan Celestial Venerable had descended personally, he would not have harbored such an audacious thought.
Yan Celestial Consort's strength was unfathomable, but the Empress Dowager was merely an ancient god. Even if she were possessed by Yan Celestial Venerable's primordial spirit, she likely could not match Yan Celestial Venerable's full combat power.
If Qin Mu were to leap across two realms in succession, even if those realms were incomplete, his cultivation and strength would still skyrocket, amplifying his power astonishingly. Under such circumstances, could he contend with a Celestial Venerable?
Ever since he had cultivated the Jade Pool, he had needed an opportunity to test himself—to see where his cultivation, his strength, and his Dao realm truly stood!
The two were on the verge of clashing!
Just as the Empress Dowager was about to act, the Taiji Ancient God within the egg sighed in unison, "Both of you, calm your tempers!"
The primordial spirits in Qin Mu's various heavenly palaces had already reached the edge of the Jade Pool, allowing his cultivation to surge continuously. His primordial spirits began walking toward the Execution Platforms of each heavenly palace.
The Taiji Ancient God's words made him halt his primordial spirits. The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow but also restrained herself.
The Taiji Ancient God said, "Your Majesty, Pastoral Celestial Venerable, take a step back and the sea and sky open wide; take a step forward and blood flows everywhere. There is no need to be angry over such a trivial matter. Pastoral Celestial Venerable, after we emerge into the world, we will temper ourselves in the mortal realm and hone our Dao hearts. We promise you that we will never become your enemy in the future. Is this promise satisfactory to you?"
Qin Mu dispersed his killing intent and battle fervor, laughing heartily as he bowed deeply to the ground. "I am deeply grateful for the goodwill of you two Dao brothers! I hope you will not forget the words spoken today!"
"We dare not forget," the Taiji Ancient God's voice, a blend of male and female, said from within the egg.
"With those words from you two, I can rest assured."
Qin Mu took a step back, glanced at the Empress Dowager, and turned to leave. "Empress Dowager, I will wait for you outside."
The Empress Dowager ignored him and asked, "Dao brother, when do you wish to emerge into the world?"
The Taiji Ancient God was slightly surprised by Qin Mu's departure, but since the matter at hand concerned their own emergence, they set it aside and said, "Our strength is insufficient to break the eggshell. Therefore, we ask Your Majesty to strike and cleave the eggshell, aiding us in our birth. The Ancestral Court is likely not far from chaos now, so the sooner we emerge, the better."
"Very well!"
The Empress Dowager turned and walked out of the mineral vein, saying, "My true body will arrive soon. At that time, I will need your help to open the Guixu and bring it to the mining area. I need to borrow the power of the Twin Lotuses to break the eggshell."
The Taiji Ancient God quickly said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I still possess such means. However, Pastoral Celestial Venerable..."
"There is no need for you two to worry about his affairs. You have agreed not to oppose him, but I have made no such promise."
The Empress Dowager's figure vanished from the mineral vein, stepping into the flying sands of the Taiji Star Domain. Qin Mu had gone to the other half of the Taiji Star Domain, where white sands swirled wildly. The Empress Dowager's figure soon disappeared into the depths of the white sands, her voice echoing from afar.
"A person should know their place and understand the vastness of heaven and earth. When I say a word, even four horses cannot chase it back. I said I would use him to fill the Ocean Eye, so I will use him to fill the Ocean Eye! I said I would suppress him for a hundred years, so I will suppress him for a hundred years!"
The Taiji Ancient God sighed within the egg.
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable managed to survive in a perilous place like the Great Blackwood, which shows that his personal cultivation is extraordinary. There is no need to worry excessively about him."
The female voice from within the egg continued, "Besides, he threatened us, forcing us to hand over a piece of raw stone and a hundred divine stones. Being suppressed for a hundred years is only fitting for him."
The male voice said, "What you say is reasonable, but the fact that he survived in the Great Blackwood indicates that he has gained the recognition of that Dao brother. This is something we cannot afford to ignore. We must at least give some face to that Dao brother. Moreover..."
He pondered for a moment and said, "I sensed the aura of Taishi Dao brother on him. Just now, for a moment, there was a fluctuation of Taishi Dao brother's aura emanating from him."
"You are worrying too much."
The female voice in the egg laughed. "Worrying about Taiyi Dao brother is one thing, but why worry about Taishi? Taishi's fortune is not thick, far inferior to ours. He was the second ancient god egg to be unearthed, second only to Taichu, and he lacks Taichu's luck. Taichu was more mature, and although he emerged early, he also received the worship of the Creators, making him powerful and influential. What does Taishi Dao brother have? After being unearthed, he was suppressed by Taichu. Even if he has pledged allegiance to Pastoral Celestial Venerable, Pastoral Celestial Venerable is merely an insignificant figure."
The male voice said, "After all, we all originated from the same Ancestral Court mineral vein, nurtured by the five innate Daos. We must not underestimate him."
"Taishi is too far from the Dao. We are much closer to the Dao than he is. If we hesitate and waver, it will be difficult for us to attain the Dao. There is no need for too many worries."
The female voice said, "With Taishi's help, even if he is suppressed in the Guixu, he won't die. What does it matter if he extorted divine stones and raw stones from us? Suppressing him for a hundred years is nothing. He has offended Taisu Empress Dowager, and she detests him deeply. That alone will make it difficult for him to attain the Dao in this lifetime. There is no need to worry too much about him."
"That is true." The male voice fell silent, waiting quietly for Yan Celestial Consort's arrival.
The Empress Dowager traveled through the white sand desert. The Taiji Ancient God was still looking out for her. The white sands were composed of dead stars, highly condensed, and filled with terrifying geomagnetic forces that twisted space, greatly slowing down the rate of material change.
Material change creates the illusion of the passage of time, but here, matter was almost static, changing at an extremely slow pace, giving the illusion that time had frozen.
Because the material changes of these white sands were slow, they had accumulated a vast amount of energy. When that energy erupted, it would give birth to incredibly terrifying sword qi!
This sword qi could traverse the void of the universe, piercing through galaxy after galaxy, destroying planets and stars with immense power!
In this white sand desert of the Taiji Star Domain, such sword qi was everywhere, making it impossible to guard against.
Under normal circumstances, the Empress Dowager would not willingly set foot in such a dangerous place.
Fortunately, with the help of the Taiji Ancient God, she did not need to expend much effort dealing with the white sand desert. She only needed to move forward.
Ahead, amidst the swirling sandstorm, the Empress Dowager vaguely saw a tall figure. It was Qin Mu.
Compared to other adults, Qin Mu was tall and had a youthful appearance, with a hint of boyishness still on his face. However, the stubble on his chin was stubborn, always piercing through his otherwise impenetrable skin.
Qin Mu had already stopped in the white sand desert, his aura growing increasingly intense and powerful.
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow slightly. She saw the youth standing firm in the desert as the terrifying white sands howled past. The universe-shattering sword qi passed straight through his body without causing him any harm.
Form without substance—the Dao of Taishi!
Unbeknownst to her, Qin Mu had been maintaining his Dao realm at the twenty-fourth level, the state of "Taishi's Form and Substance Question the Azure Sky."
In this state, he was immune to all techniques and unharmed by all Daos. Even in a dangerous place like the Taiji Star Domain, he remained perfectly safe!
This was an inherently undefeatable position!
The Five Innate Tai: Taiyi was chaos, vast and empty nothingness. Taichu was formless and substanceless, the primordial Qi that could change with the mind.
Taishi had form but no substance. Taisu had form and substance but no body. Taiji was the transformation of yin and yang, giving birth to all things.
These were the five most ancient and primordial Daos. Mastering even one could place one in an inherently undefeatable position!
What Qin Mu was now activating was a great divine ability of entering the Dao derived from his understanding of the Dao of Taishi. Although it was only one expression of the Dao of Taishi, under these circumstances, to harm him would require using a divine ability at the level of the Five Tai, or having strength far exceeding his own.
However, divine abilities were divine abilities, and the Dao was the Dao.
Divine abilities had flaws in their transformations. Only by attaining the Dao could one be without flaws. Otherwise, Heavenly Emperor Taichu would not have died, the Taiji Ancient God would not have needed to hide, Taishi would not have suffered a turbulent fate, and Taisu would not have emerged early.
"Empress Dowager, we cannot assist you. Please forgive us." Suddenly, the voice of the Taiji Ancient God reached the Empress Dowager's ears.
The Empress Dowager nodded slightly and said calmly, "I do not need your help."
As her words fell, the white sand desert around them suddenly calmed. The sands settled, and everything became peaceful.
Buzz—
Qin Mu's Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasury domain suddenly expanded. The Empress Dowager's eyes twitched. Just a moment ago, Qin Mu had been facing away from her, but now he was directly facing her. Qin Mu had not turned around, yet she could see his front. This puzzled the Empress Dowager.
"Playing tricks!"
The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, raised her hand, and pointed. A Guixu Abyss appeared above Qin Mu's head, stretching for ten thousand miles like a cone-shaped rift, directly swallowing him!
This was the Xuanpin!
The Empress Dowager turned and walked away. "Pathetically weak."
Just then, a deafening roar came from within the Guixu Abyss, like a giant monster that had swallowed something it could not digest, stuck in its throat, unable to swallow or spit out.
The Empress Dowager frowned, stopped, and turned around. She saw Qin Mu standing within the Guixu Abyss, his body unmoving. No matter how terrifying the Guixu Abyss was, it could not harm him in the slightest.
"Your Majesty, don't forget that your physical body has always been in my hands."
Within the Guixu Abyss, Qin Mu extended a hand and clenched it tightly. "All the secrets of your physical body have been thoroughly explored by me! I have used microscopic and macroscopic mathematics to construct a detailed model of your physical form and structure."
He smiled proudly. "I know your body better than you do!"
"Stinking man!"
The Empress Dowager sneered. "It seems I will not only have to cut off your hands but also chop off your head!"