Chapter 1485: Taiyi Falls
“If I can’t, then what?”
Wei Suifeng shouted at Taiyi’s retreating back: “Is it to follow the map and save you? I followed you here, and outside the city I left a geographical map!”
Taiyi did not turn around, his voice came back: “If you cannot stop him, then fend for yourselves!”
Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun shivered several times, obediently standing there, quietly waiting for Taiyi’s return.
They saw Taiyi arrive before the gate of Miluo Palace. The door creaked open automatically, as if it had not been opened for a very long time, the hinges stiff.
From within the gate, primordial chaos surged, deep and unfathomable. The moment the door opened, thick primordial chaos energy poured out. This energy felt full of vibrant life, causing the Great Daos cultivated within Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun to become excited, emitting pleasant Dao tones.
Yet within this energy was also a heavy death aura, so intense that the Great Daos they had cultivated trembled in fear, as if the slightest touch would cause their Daos to wither and decay!
The death aura was terrifying, like the accumulated decaying and perishing energy from the destruction of sixteen universes. As it surged toward them, both felt their own lifespans rapidly depleting!
Taiyi waved his sleeve, dispersing the primordial chaos energy surging toward them, and stepped into the Miluo Palace, his figure disappearing into the depths of the primordial chaos energy.
Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun looked into the gateway. The primordial chaos energy was extremely thick. Vaguely, they seemed to see a tall and majestic figure inside the palace, sitting on a throne, quietly waiting for Taiyi’s arrival.
They wanted to see more clearly, but the gate creaked shut again.
The two waited quietly. This Jade Capital City was completely empty. Not even the Dao trees that were common along the roads were present here. The silence was somewhat frightening.
Shu Jun couldn’t help looking around. He saw that the buildings here bore wondrous imprints—Dao imprints different from those of the present era, incredibly magnificent and beautiful, breathtaking to behold.
He wanted to get closer to look, but Wei Suifeng pulled him back.
“Divine King, Taiyi left this staff for a reason. We shouldn’t stray too far from it,” Wei Suifeng said.
Shu Jun looked at the staff, nodded, and praised, “As expected, Elder Cult Leader Wei is well-traveled and knowledgeable.”
The two waited for a moment, and even Wei Suifeng couldn’t resist looking at the Dao pattern imprints on the surrounding buildings. Only then did he realize that these Dao patterns contained infinite mysteries.
The Dao patterns did not appear complex, but when they fell into their eyes, each person comprehended something different, which was truly astonishing.
“How about we pull up the staff and get a closer look?” Wei Suifeng suggested.
Shu Jun nodded repeatedly, saying, “Good idea. Let’s get closer.”
Wei Suifeng pulled up the staff, and the two approached the Dao patterns. Shu Jun took out a mirror, trying to reflect the Dao patterns into it. This mirror was a treasure invented by Qin Mu, using the methods of the Painting Sage, the Deaf Man. Inside the mirror was another world. One only needed to shine it on an object, and an image would be generated within the mirror’s inner world—very mysterious.
Qin Mu had once used this method to examine the various seals on the Pifragrant Hall, trying to find a way to enter it. He had also used this method to copy all the ancient god Dao runes from the Heavenly Court’s Library Pavilion.
He passed the method for refining this divine mirror to the Eternal Peace civilization. Cultivators specializing in the Dao of painting in Eternal Peace used it as a livelihood, refining divine mirrors to sell to others. They named it the Universe Mirror, implying it contained a universe within.
Shu Jun used the Universe Mirror to shine on the Dao patterns on the wall of Miluo Palace. In the mirror, the image of the Dao pattern slowly revealed the internal details of the pattern. Then, the details increased rapidly, the internal details appearing faster and faster, dazzling to the eye!
Shu Jun’s expression changed slightly. In just a short moment, the details revealed in the Universe Mirror had already filled the entire mirror’s inner world!
Suddenly, with a crack, the Universe Mirror split in two, torn apart by the infinite details revealed by the Dao pattern!
Shu Jun’s heart ached. This was just a single Dao pattern on the wall of Miluo Palace, and it had already burst his Universe Mirror. There were countless Dao patterns here. Did that mean they could only stare at this infinite treasure trove, unable to obtain a single one?
Wei Suifeng chuckled softly and also took out a Universe Mirror, whispering, “Divine King, how long has it been since you last returned to Eternal Peace? You haven’t met the Painting Sage, have you? This mirror of mine was personally refined for me by the Painting Sage.”
“Personally refined by the Painting Sage?”
Shu Jun showed envy. The Painting Sage Wei Suifeng referred to was the Deaf Man, revered as the Painting Sage, who had entered the Dao through calligraphy and painting, cultivating the Painting Dao Heavenly Palace.
“My junior brother also learned his painting Dao from him, but only mastered thirty to forty percent of his skill.”
Wei Suifeng used the Universe Mirror to shine on the Dao patterns on the wall, speaking unhurriedly, “When I met him, he was invited to lecture at the Dao Hearing Academy, so I shamelessly begged him to refine two Universe Mirrors for me. This Universe Mirror contains a universe within, with layers of his Painting Dao heavens. It’s not comparable to that mirror of yours.”
Shu Jun leaned in to look. The Universe Mirror personally refined by the Deaf Man also displayed the infinite details of the Dao pattern. The details revealed by this single Dao pattern quickly filled the mirror’s inner world!
“Don’t let it continue, or the mirror will burst…”
Just as Shu Jun said this, suddenly another world emerged within the mirror’s inner world, continuing to reflect the infinite details of the Dao pattern!
Shu Jun stared wide-eyed. The second layer of heaven in the Universe Mirror was quickly filled by the details of the Miluo Palace Dao pattern. Then, another world was born within the mirror, continuing to reflect the Dao pattern details.
After a moment, this bright mirror actually contained eighteen layers of inner worlds, and all eighteen layers were completely packed with the details of a single Dao pattern!
And the details of this Dao pattern were still not fully revealed!
Wei Suifeng’s expression changed slightly. He quickly flipped his hand and took out the other Universe Mirror refined by the Deaf Man, shining it on the filled mirror!
The two mirrors shone on each other, instantly creating a mirror-within-mirror effect. In an instant, countless reflections of the Universe Mirrors appeared within both mirrors!
Strangely, each layer of mirror reflection contained eighteen inner worlds. No matter how many details this Dao pattern had, it couldn’t fill the infinite reflections!
“The Painting Sage is truly miraculous!”
Shu Jun stared intently. Layer upon layer of mirror reflections continuously copied the details of the Miluo Palace Dao pattern, revealing more and more details. The number of filled mirror reflections also increased.
Both of them felt their scalps tingle. The knowledge contained in a single Dao pattern of Miluo Palace was so rich—truly beyond their expectations!
“If the Painting Sage’s skill were cultivated to its peak, it might be even more formidable than Divine King Gong Yun’s illusion realm!” Shu Jun murmured.
Finally, the mirror reflections stopped revealing more details. At the very bottom of one of the mirrors, a runic imprint appeared.
This runic imprint was the core of the Miluo Palace Dao pattern!
Shu Jun and Wei Suifeng looked at each other. There were too many reflections, and they couldn’t clearly see that runic imprint at the moment.
“We’ll need the Painting Sage to personally take action to see the details of that runic imprint.”
Wei Suifeng carefully observed the scenes in both mirrors, and the corner of his eye twitched. He couldn’t count how many layers of reflections there were in the mirrors!
Shu Jun couldn’t count them either, and cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
They knew the steps for cultivating divine techniques and Dao methods.
Divine techniques and Dao methods first required understanding the Dao runes. Dao runes formed techniques and Dao methods. If one’s knowledge accumulated to a certain level, they could gather Dao runes to cultivate Dao patterns.
Dao patterns were the textures of the Great Dao, containing the mysteries of the Dao.
Using Dao patterns to form divine techniques and Dao methods resulted in greater power.
Basically, Dao realm techniques were often composed of Dao patterns.
But Dao patterns were not the endpoint. After cultivating Dao patterns, one could attempt to use them to form Dao rules, creating domains.
Forming a domain meant mastering rules, but this still wasn’t mastering the Great Dao itself.
They were called Dao rules because the Great Dao was above rules!
In other words, a domain might be a component of the Great Dao.
The Opening Emperor’s Sword Dao domain had already reached thirty-five layers. When he unleashed his sword, thirty-five sword domains overlapped, each layer different, expounding different principles.
Only by cultivating the thirty-sixth layer of the Sword Dao domain could he achieve Dao attainment!
And now, a single Dao pattern on the wall of Miluo Palace revealed such complex structural details, nearly infinite, while the walls were covered with countless different Dao patterns!
What level of mastery did the master of Miluo Palace possess? Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun couldn’t even imagine!
Wei Suifeng said hoarsely, “Can Taiyi contend with such a powerful master of Miluo Palace? This kind of divine being must be beyond the scope of Dao attainers, right?”
Just then, an incredibly terrifying tremor came from within Miluo Palace!
Both of them felt their scalps tingle. Clearly, Taiyi’s negotiations with the master of Miluo Palace had broken down, and they had started fighting!
Wei Suifeng flipped his hand and put away the two mirrors, hiding them in his divine storage. The two stared intently at Miluo Palace. Inside, it seemed as if a giant splitting heaven and earth was using a Chaos Axe to cleave through chaos, splitting the primordial chaos, opening up a bright world with each axe stroke!
The other terrifying tremor was even more unfathomable. The tremor from Taiyi’s attacks could still be sensed and analyzed, but the other tremor was utterly elusive!
Boom—
The gate of Miluo Palace suddenly opened. The giant Taiyi, his back to them, was covered in blood, wielding the Chaos Axe. The great axe flew up and down as he fended off attacks surging from within the palace. With each swing of the axe, a world seemed to be born from the sides of the axe blade—heaven opening, earth splitting—truly a world-shaking force!
Yet his injuries grew more and more numerous.
Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun quickly retreated, rushing toward the Chaos River. Behind them, Taiyi stepped back step by step. With each step, his blood filled his footprints, leaving lakes of Dao blood behind!
Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun ran at full speed, not daring to look back. Just as they were about to reach the riverbank, the path ahead disappeared. Suddenly, Taiyi kicked backward, striking the staff in Wei Suifeng’s hand.
The staff whistled and expanded, transforming into a long boat with a raised prow, carrying Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun as it sped across the river’s surface!
Taiyi swung his final axe, then leaped, stepping onto the river surface and chasing after them.
The long boat and Taiyi, one ahead and one behind, crossed one Chaos River after another. When they reached the fourth Chaos River, a loud Dao sound suddenly rang out, speaking a phrase of unclear meaning.
The two on the boat quickly turned to look. A massive hand struck Taiyi down from the Chaos River, forcibly plunging him into the water.
The giant Taiyi struggled desperately, trying to break the surface, but suddenly countless skeletal hands reached out from the river, grabbing hold of his entire body.
The giant Taiyi struggled for a moment, then looked up at the two on the boat and smiled, before being dragged down into the Chaos River.
“Follow the map and save me!”
On the long boat, Wei Suifeng and Shu Jun heard Taiyi’s voice coming from the Chaos River.
“Brother, what map?” Wei Suifeng asked hoarsely.
But the long boat was extremely fast, crossing one Chaos River after another. The sixteen Chaos Rivers flashed by in an instant, and neither of them heard Taiyi’s answer again.
Whoosh—
The boat transformed from the staff flashed through the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, breaking through the various strange phenomena there. The two on the boat were dazed and confused. Inadvertently, they even caught sight of figures like Hao Tianzun and Ancestral Divine King.
These people stared in astonishment at the long boat speeding away.
Before long, they encountered Xiao Tianzun, Yan Tianfei, and others. The Taiji Ancient Gods also looked at them with surprise, clearly shocked.
Thud!
The long boat stuck into the ground outside the city. The two on the boat were thrown off. By the time they steadied themselves, the long boat had already turned back into a wooden staff, stuck right next to the great tripod Wei Suifeng had left outside the city.
“Is it the geographical map in the tripod?” Shu Jun rushed to the tripod, asking anxiously.
“Absolutely not!”
Wei Suifeng shook his head solemnly, pulled up Taiyi’s staff, and put away the great tripod. He said in a deep voice, “We must return to the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains immediately and see my junior brother!”