Chapter 1500: The Seventy-Two Halls of Jade Capital
The moment he entered the city, Qin Mu immediately felt that his lifespan, which had once been as eternal as heaven and earth, now had an end.
Cultivators who had reached the Divine Life and Death Hidden Realm could already sense when their lifespan would be exhausted, but after reaching the Divine Realm, deities would feel their lifespans stretch endlessly, coexisting with heaven and earth.
However, this Jade Capital City was likely affected by the Great Annihilation Calamity, causing the Dao itself to have a limit to its lifespan, and thus cultivators also had a limit to their lifespans.
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then activated the Overlord Body Three Dan Art. His primordial energy flowed through the World Tree, and the feeling of a finite lifespan immediately vanished.
The World Tree was like indestructible matter that pierced through various universes. Even as universes were destroyed and reborn, the World Tree remained unchanged. Although Qin Mu's World Tree was still a sapling and not powerful, it possessed this trait.
Moreover, the aura of the Annihilation Calamity in Jade Capital City was not too strong. Since he wasn't truly stepping into the Annihilation Calamity itself, the World Tree within his hidden realm could withstand it.
Of course, if it were the true Great Annihilation Calamity, the sapling of the World Tree would not be able to hold out. The sapling was still small.
Qin Mu walked into the city, carefully avoiding some dangerous areas. The Cold Stillness Wind and the Heat Stillness Wind here were the most bizarre. The temperature of the Heat Stillness Wind was enough to melt the Dao chains and domains of the Great Dao, while the Cold Stillness Wind froze everything, causing Dao chains to break and rendering all divine abilities useless. It was extremely perilous.
"This Cold Stillness Wind resembles the Ultimate Void..."
Qin Mu stood beneath a withered Dao Tree, observing the Cold Stillness Wind blowing around it, a look of surprise on his face.
The Cold Stillness Wind had some similarities to his Great Luo Heavenly Gathering Circle into One divine ability, but it was even more powerful.
He chased after the tail of this Cold Stillness Wind, carefully following it, observing closely and pondering the mysteries it contained. After an unknown amount of time, the Cold Stillness Wind burrowed into a patch of chaotic energy.
Qin Mu suddenly looked up and glanced around, realizing that he had deviated from Wei Suifeng's geographical map and didn't know where in Jade Capital City he had ended up.
This place was even more dilapidated. Withered Dao Trees were everywhere, forming a forest. Withered Dao Fruits hung from the trees, and some had even fallen to the ground.
The ground was covered with withered Dao Tree leaves and branches. As he stepped on them, the branches snapped and the leaves rustled.
He stepped on something hard and pushed aside the dead leaves, revealing a skeleton buried beneath.
This should be the remains of an Ascender, who had died here for some unknown reason.
"In the Great Annihilation Calamity of the universe, even Ascenders are but ants."
Qin Mu looked around, then suddenly raised his hand. The withered leaves and branches flew into the air, clearing the ground.
In this withered Dao Tree forest, the bones of Ascenders were everywhere, a shocking sight!
Qin Mu furrowed his brow and examined them one by one. After a moment, he let out a breath.
These Ascenders had not died naturally; they had been killed!
Every skeleton bore wounds caused by various sharp weapons!
"Who killed you?"
He stopped before a skeleton, knocked on it, trying to awaken it, but the skeleton remained motionless, devoid of any spirit.
He stood up, frowning as he looked around. This withered forest was like a burial ground, holding the remains of two to three hundred Ascenders!
"Did the Ascenders in Jade Capital City also have grudges? Could they have killed each other?"
Just as he was about to let the dead leaves and branches fall back, his eyes lit up, and he quickly walked deeper into the forest. There, hidden under the withered branches and leaves, was a deep well, now exposed.
Qin Mu approached the well and peered inside. The well was filled with a vast, deep, and immeasurable chaotic energy.
"What is this well used for?"
As he wondered, he saw the chaotic energy in the well churning, and something was climbing out from within.
He opened his vertical eye on his forehead and looked closely. He saw a massive creature climbing the walls of the well with all four limbs. After watching for a while, he realized it was a strange being, not as colossal as he had imagined.
This strange creature carried a Dao Tree on its back and was struggling to climb the well wall, trying to get out.
However, waves of the Annihilation Calamity surrounded it, repeatedly knocking it back down. Its physical body had been worn down to just bones, yet it persisted in climbing outward.
Qin Mu watched for a long time, but that Ascender still couldn't climb out of the well.
Qin Mu drew his sword and stabbed over a hundred times around the well's mouth, then drifted away.
Several days later, the crown of a battered Dao Tree emerged from the chaotic well. The Ascender inside had been nearly drained of all its magical power by the Annihilation Calamity, and the Dao it had cultivated was also mostly erased.
Yet, the mouth of the well was right in front of it!
This chaotic well was a passage that countless experts from its universe had painstakingly created by gathering chaotic energy, a passage leading to the Miluo Palace!
As long as it climbed out, as long as it reached Jade Capital City, it could rely on the power of the Miluo Palace's master to escape the Annihilation Calamity and secure a place in the new universe!
Even if its Dao was completely erased, even if its physical body was destroyed, as long as it preserved its Dao Fruit and Dao Tree, it could make a comeback!
It climbed the well wall, exerting all its strength to raise its Dao Tree, letting it go first, rising from the well.
Just then, a flash of sword light appeared at the well's mouth. The Ascender looked up and saw streaks of sword light, each containing terrifying power, stabbing into its Dao Tree and Dao Fruit with a series of sharp sounds!
The Ascender had been worn down to just bones. In the past, it could have easily blocked these sword lights, but now it could only watch helplessly as the sword lights pierced its Dao Fruit!
"Who is ambushing me, Fortune Heavenly Lord?"
It only had time to roar once before it saw its Dao Fruit cut down by those sword lights, falling from the Dao Tree and plunging into the chaotic energy of the well, where it was swallowed by the Annihilation Calamity.
With its Dao Fruit erased, the Ascender lost all its strength and fell from the well wall, along with its Dao Tree, into the Annihilation Calamity.
"That chaotic well is strange. The bottom should be connected to the previous universe. Strange, shouldn't that Ascender have directly entered Jade Capital City to escape the Annihilation Calamity? Why did it have to dig a well to sneak into Jade Capital City?"
Qin Mu arrived before a great hall, pondering. "The withered Dao Tree forest outside the well is also full of dead Ascenders. Could they have all sneaked over from that well? Then who killed them? Could it be the Ascenders of Jade Capital City who struck?"
He looked at this great hall and stopped his random thoughts.
This great hall gave him a feeling no less than that of the Pixin Hall. It should be an extremely important divine hall in Jade Capital City. In front of the hall was a Dao Tree that had been chopped down. There were also traces of a battle here.
From the traces, it seemed a fierce battle had taken place here about half a year ago, resulting in the Dao Tree being cut down.
He examined carefully and saw traces of the divine abilities of Heavenly Lord Hao, as well as those of Heavenly Lord Fire, Ancestral God King, and other Heavenly Lords.
"They came here, encountered something strange, fought fiercely with the opponent, and chopped down their Dao Tree."
Qin Mu skirted around the Dao Tree and entered the hall. The interior of this hall was covered with extremely complex runes and Dao marks. He examined them one by one, then suddenly noticed several meditation cushions and the lingering auras of Heavenly Lord Hao, Heavenly Lord Fire, and the others.
"After they came here, they stopped and began to comprehend the Great Dao contained in this hall."
Qin Mu's heart tightened. Heavenly Lords Hao, Fire, Ancestral, and Palace were all individuals of exceptional intelligence. The reason they had been delayed so long in Jade Capital City wasn't that they were trapped here, but that they had discovered the secrets of Jade Capital City!
They were using their wisdom to comprehend the Great Dao of Jade Capital City, using it to perfect their own Jade Capital!
Previously, Qin Mu had also thought that Jade Capital, like the Four Heavenly Gates, the Jade Pool, the Jade Terrace, the God-Beheading Platform, and other realms, was a natural Dao ground formed by the Ancestral Court, containing Dao knowledge. One could comprehend more Dao mysteries from Jade Capital City, allowing one's cultivation and strength to advance by leaps and bounds.
But now that he knew about the Jade Capital Trap, he no longer thought that way.
This Jade Capital City was a man-made sacred ground, jointly created by the master of the Miluo Palace and other prehistoric Ascenders!
Its purpose was to use the cultivation and comprehension of later deities of their Jade Capital to help them escape the Annihilation Calamity sooner!
The stronger the cultivator who cultivated the Jade Capital, the more stable their Ancestral Court Jade Capital City would become, and the more likely it would be to completely break free from the Annihilation Calamity, allowing this brilliant divine city to descend fully into the Ancestral Court from the Great Annihilation of the universe!
Currently, Jade Capital City had not fully descended into the Ancestral Court. The Ascenders in the city were either dead or injured. Qin Mu hadn't seen any living Ascenders on his journey, only Dao Trees and withered Dao Fruits.
But if someone among the Ten Heavenly Lords comprehended Jade Capital City, cultivated the Jade Capital, and even reached the Dao Realm, then the situation would be different.
The Jade Capital in a deity's Heavenly Palace borrowed power from the true Ancestral Court Jade Capital!
The cultivation system of the Heavenly Palace emphasized power, not the Dao Realm. The root cause of this might lie in this Ancestral Court Jade Capital City.
Previously, realms like the Honored Deity, the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Jade Pool, and the God-Beheading Platform all borrowed power from the Heavenly Court. At that time, the drawbacks were not significant. But the Jade Capital realm borrowed power from the Ancestral Court Jade Capital City!
Since it was borrowed power, it would have to be repaid in the future!
When an Ascender's Jade Capital was returned to the Ancestral Court Jade Capital City, the decline in their personal strength would be a minor matter. The Jade Capital City would become more stable, gaining greater power to resist the Annihilation Calamity!
Perhaps, a prehistoric Ascender would break free from the Annihilation Calamity and enter the current universe from the prehistoric one!
The actions of the Ten Heavenly Lords were like colluding with a tiger, acting as its accomplice, and making wedding clothes for others!
Qin Mu pressed his hand on his sword hilt, tempted to draw his sword and shatter the Dao marks on this hall into pieces, but he forcibly restrained himself.
Heavenly Lord Hao and the others had already been here and comprehended the Dao mysteries contained in this hall. Even if Qin Mu could now destroy these Dao marks, it would be of little use.
Moreover, the Dao marks in this divine hall were indeed exquisite and profound, containing deep principles. It wasn't simply about borrowing power.
Qin Mu calmed himself, sat down, and quietly began to comprehend the Dao marks on the hall's walls, grasping their mysteries.
He had to understand their mysteries. As for whether to cultivate them, he would decide only after exploring Jade Capital City.
After a moment, Qin Mu peacefully entered a dream. Layers of dreams unfolded, and countless tiny Qin Mu flew out, scurrying around the four walls of the hall, shouting "Maha! Maha!" as they calculated the mysteries of these runes.
More than ten days later, Qin Mu withdrew his dreams, stood up, and left this treasure hall.
He followed the path that Heavenly Lord Hao and the others had taken and continued forward. Before long, he encountered another treasure hall.
"There aren't seventy-two of these halls, are there?"
Qin Mu's heart tightened. "If there are seventy-two treasure halls, wouldn't that correspond to the seventy-two halls of the Heavenly Court? Then what Heavenly Lord Hao and the others want to complete isn't just the Jade Capital realm... but the thirty-six Heavenly Palaces and seventy-two Treasure Halls. They want to complete the Great Heavenly Court! This method was pioneered by the Woodcutter Saint. So who instructed Heavenly Lord Hao to cultivate this way?"
His expression turned grave. If Heavenly Lord Hao had thought of it himself, then his intelligence and comprehension would need to be reassessed!
If he hadn't figured it out himself, then who had guided him?
"The Woodcutter and my junior brother Jiang Baigui couldn't have guided him. Grand Pure One doesn't have such wisdom. The person behind Heavenly Lord Hao is definitely not Grand Pure One, but someone else!"
"This person's wisdom is no less than that of Teacher Woodcutter. But in the current world, besides Teacher Woodcutter, there is no such wise person. Unless... unless it's someone from the previous universe! An Ascender who crossed over!"
His expression was heavy. In his mind, the figure of Heavenly Lord Hao appeared, with a vast shadow looming behind him.
"Grand Pure One is a little lamb that has fallen into a wolf's mouth. He's dead for sure!"