Chapter 1514: Beauty in Decline
"What exactly is this tree? It can actually withstand the onslaught of the destruction tribulation!"
The nine Heavenly Sovereigns all had flickering gazes, looking one after another at Qin Mu on the small boat, each harboring their own guesses.
They did not know of the existence of the World Tree in the world. Before they were even born, Taiyi had already cut down the World Tree and set it ablaze, leaving only the Great Dark Mountain behind.
They had been inside the Jade Capital City for three years now, unaware that the World Tree had already regenerated within the Great Dark Mountain, and even less aware that the newly grown World Tree had been chopped down by Qin Mu and transplanted into his own Embryonic Divine Treasury.
Now, there were two World Trees in the world—one growing in the Great Dark Mountain, and the other growing within Qin Mu's Divine Treasury.
They had entered the ancestral court's Jade Capital City and gained much, but they had also missed much.
On the small boat, Qiang Tianfei and Qin Mu were on guard against each other. One had profound cultivation, while the other relied on a sharp sword and superb swordsmanship. In such a cramped space, any conflict would only lead to mutual destruction.
Qiang Tianfei stared at Qin Mu, attempting to use divine perception visualization to repair her aging body, Heavenly Palace, and Heavenly Court, but the results were minimal.
—Even her divine perception was in the midst of destruction, let alone divine perception visualization.
Qin Mu, however, remained as he was, maintaining his physical vitality without any decline in his primordial spirit or any sign of his Great Dao collapsing.
Not only that, but as time passed, his cultivation visibly increased, deepening Qiang Tianfei's anxiety.
From time to time, Qin Mu would reveal the World Tree in his Embryonic Divine Treasury, like a peacock flaunting its tail, showing it off whenever he had the chance.
Qiang Tianfei ground her teeth in hatred, but she knew that Qin Mu was fishing—using the World Tree to lure her, to keep her following him until her body aged to the point where she could no longer defeat him.
At that point, Qin Mu would reveal his true intentions and kill her!
"He's not just luring me; he's also luring the other Heavenly Sovereigns."
Qiang Tianfei understood clearly. Qin Mu was ambitious, wanting to use his World Tree to bait the ten Heavenly Sovereigns, using the destruction tribulation of the prehistoric universe to make them all grow old and decrepit!
When their combat power fell below his, Qin Mu would eliminate all ten Heavenly Sovereigns in one fell swoop!
He wanted to accomplish a feat that would normally be impossible!
The ten Heavenly Sovereigns were all intelligent and could naturally see through Qin Mu's intentions, but none of them backed down. Hao Tian Sovereign did not retreat, and Xiao Tian Sovereign did not either.
The temptation of the World Tree was immense, and the temptation of the Jade Capital City was even greater. This time, with Qin Mu and Qiang Tianfei leading the way, it was their only chance to enter this ancient city and explore its mysteries!
To give up this opportunity was to abandon their own future and prospects!
If Qin Mu or Qiang Tianfei reached the deepest part of the Jade Capital City, mastered its secrets, and cultivated to the true Heavenly Court realm, then they would have no chance of turning things around!
Even if this path might lead to death, they had to keep going!
They steadily hung behind Qin Mu's small boat, crossing the sixth Chaotic Long River and then the seventh. The anomalies on the river surface grew fewer and fewer, no longer as dense as before.
But Qin Mu suddenly became alert. While urging the Tyrant Body Three Dan Art to convert more Yuan Qi into Taiji Yuan Qi, he cautiously watched the river surface.
Qiang Tianfei's heart tightened. She looked around and saw only a vast, chaotic expanse on the river. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but chaotic energy, making it impossible to see what lay within.
Yet Qin Mu had become much more cautious, steering the boat not in a straight line but in a winding path, as if avoiding something in the chaos.
Qiang Tianfei's eyesight was not as strong as his, and she whispered, "Mu Tian Sovereign, what do you see?"
Qin Mu lowered his voice. "There are people in the chaos."
Qiang Tianfei's heart leaped. "What kind of people?"
"Living people! I tried to avoid him, but he's always ahead..."
Before Qin Mu could finish, a cold, desolate wind suddenly blew from the Chaotic Long River, rising from the river and churning it like boiling water.
Qiang Tianfei's face changed drastically. "Mu Tian Sovereign!"
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and urged the boat forward at full speed, no longer trying to avoid the person ahead.
Behind the small boat, the cold, desolate wind moved with incredible speed, turning everything it touched into emptiness—even the chaotic energy rising from the river became virtual!
Qin Mu said nothing, steering the boat forward. Behind him, Qiang Tianfei was less than a zhang away, but her hair had already been stretched infinitely long and infinitely wide by the cold wind!
Each strand of hair was infinitely wide, infinitely long, but also infinitely thin!
This was the Ultimate Void!
"Mu Tian Sovereign, faster!"
Cold sweat broke out on Qiang Tianfei's forehead. "If we don't hurry, we'll both become virtual!"
Qin Mu clenched his teeth, channeling all his cultivation to charge forward. Suddenly, the boat seemed to crash into something. In an instant, everything fell silent. The Chaotic Long River was gone, the pursuing cold wind was gone, and the surrounding chaotic energy had vanished.
The small boat seemed to be drifting on a tranquil, azure lake, but it wasn't on the water—it was sailing silently above the surface.
Qiang Tianfei was stunned, greedily breathing the air. This place was like a pure land within the chaotic field, untouched by the destruction tribulation.
But Qin Mu grew even more tense, speeding forward.
Then, Qiang Tianfei saw a towering tree standing on the tranquil lake. Its branches were lush and leafy, dense and thriving.
It was a Dao Tree, with a few Dao Fruits sparsely hanging from it. A figure resembling an emperor sat beneath the tree, holding a scroll in one hand, his eyes fixed on it, while the other hand plucked at a zither.
The scroll in his hand was probably sheet music, and the piece seemed difficult to play, requiring him to read the notes as he played.
"A powerful being in the chaos has survived the destruction tribulation!"
Qiang Tianfei's eyelids twitched, and she inwardly groaned. Judging by the Dao Tree of this emperor-like figure, he was an invincible powerhouse, using the Dao Tree to protect himself and create a pure land untouched by the destruction tribulation!
Such a powerful existence—even the cold wind couldn't reach here!
Why hadn't he gone ashore? What was he waiting for?
Had Qin Mu been steering the boat in detours all along just to avoid this emperor?
The small boat sped past the Dao Tree. The intermittent zither music suddenly stopped, and Qiang Tianfei's heart tightened as she looked toward the emperor beneath the tree.
At that moment, the woman in the tattered Dao Fruit on Qiang Tianfei's shoulder spoke, uttering Dao language of unclear meaning to the emperor beneath the tree.
The emperor showed a surprised expression, looked at Qin Mu and Qiang Tianfei, nodded with a smile, and said a few words in Dao language to the woman in the Dao Fruit.
The woman in the Dao Fruit slightly bowed, and the small boat continued forward.
Qiang Tianfei was unsettled. Only after the boat had left the Dao Tree's range did she hurriedly ask the woman in the Dao Fruit what had been said.
The woman in the Dao Fruit did not answer. Qiang Tianfei frowned, and Qin Mu suddenly said, "She said just now, 'Fourth Young Master, these two are guests of the Miluo Palace Master, no need to stop them.'"
Qiang Tianfei's heart skipped a beat.
Qin Mu continued, "That Fourth Young Master looked at the boat under our feet and said, 'The owner of this walking stick once struck me, knocking me into the destruction tribulation, greatly damaging my cultivation and strength. I cannot let that grudge go. But since you two are guests of the Miluo Palace Master, let them pass.'"
Qiang Tianfei breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. "Mu Tian Sovereign's Dao language skills are not weak—you can actually understand the Dao language conversations of those who have attained the Dao."
The woman in the Dao Fruit glanced at Qin Mu and sneered, "Of course he can understand! How could he not..."
The prehistoric cultivators who had attained the Dao, emerging from the inner Chaotic Long Rivers, were preserving more and more of their strength. Their Dao Trees were relatively intact, and their Dao Fruits were fuller. Although the dangers Qiang Tianfei and Qin Mu faced were fewer, the risks were greater.
Fortunately, along the way, the woman in the Dao Fruit would step in, making the blockers retreat.
From the conversations between the woman in the Dao Fruit and those blockers, Qin Mu learned that these people had all been knocked down by Taiyi's walking stick. When they encountered the stick again, they surfaced to take revenge!
They were cultivators who had survived many destruction tribulations, with immense strength. When Taiyi crossed the river, they blocked him and got beaten.
"Taiyi is truly fierce..."
Before they knew it, they had reached the thirteenth Chaotic Long River. On the small boat, Qin Mu still looked like a young man, his appearance unchanged. But Qiang Tianfei had become white-haired, with wrinkled, chicken-skin-like hands, clutching her two Divine Slaying Mysterious Blades. Her eyes were fixed on Qin Mu, never relaxing.
Here, the dangers grew fewer, but for Qiang Tianfei, the greatest danger was not from the river but from the boat.
Now, Qin Mu was in his prime, while she was old and weak. Her own Great Dao was collapsing, and her cultivation and strength were declining every moment.
Two years had passed since they began crossing these Chaotic Long Rivers, and that was enough time for a Heavenly Sovereign to age to this extent!
Just now, another of her teeth had fallen out, and she swallowed it back down, not daring to spit it out.
Because if she opened her mouth, Qin Mu would see that she had few teeth left. Then he would sense her weakness and strike!
She no longer had enough confidence to take him down with her, so she couldn't let him know how weak she had become.
Qin Mu ignored her, slowing the boat and looking into the Chaotic Long River.
The thirteenth Chaotic Long River was the destruction tribulation of the Fourth Universe.
"Taiyi was knocked into this destruction tribulation!"
Qin Mu's vertical eye on his forehead searched bit by bit for Taiyi's whereabouts in this calamity. According to the descriptions of Shu Jun and Wei Suifeng, when Taiyi fought the Miluo Palace Master and lost, he escorted them here and was struck down by the Miluo Palace Master, falling into the river.
That meant Taiyi had fallen into the destruction tribulation of the Fourth Universe!
From the shore of this river to the opposite bank, one could see the entire process of Taiyi falling into the river and surviving the destruction tribulation!
Qin Mu scanned carefully, not missing any corner, so the boat moved slower and slower.
He saw countless living beings struggling in this calamity, unable to withstand the destruction tribulation, falling one by one into death and turning into nothingness.
He also saw some powerful beings trying to escape the destruction tribulation, attempting to break through the chaos, using the World Tree or the Jade Capital City to reach the other shore and enter a new universe.
But after searching for so long, Qin Mu still hadn't seen any trace of Taiyi.
"Could Taiyi have changed into another form again?"
Qin Mu frowned, thinking to himself, "Maybe I should first reach the opposite shore, find the scene of Taiyi falling into the river, locate his true form, and see if he has changed into something else..."
Just then, an extremely aged voice came: "Qiang Tianfei, are you still going to share the boat with Mu Tian Sovereign?"
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and looked toward the source. He saw a Dao Tree drifting over, tattered and withered from the destruction tribulation. On the tree stood five Heavenly Sovereigns, their original appearances unrecognizable.
The speaker was likely Zu Shenwang, white-haired and hunched over, looking even older than Tian Gong. He grinned, revealing only three teeth—two on top and one on the bottom.
Zu Shenwang leaned on his Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure, staring at Qiang Tianfei and chuckling. "You've lost your beauty and youth. Mu Tian Sovereign is someone who likes the new and tires of the old. Do you think you can grow old together with him? As soon as he gets the chance, he'll sink you into the river and find someone younger!"
Qiang Tianfei spat at him, but a tooth flew out with the spit. Trembling, she said, "As long as you're following behind, Mu Tian Sovereign won't make a move against me, because he still needs my strength to deal with scum like you!"
Another old woman, likely Gong Tian Sovereign, chuckled, spitting out half of her remaining two teeth. "Tai Di, you're still so stubborn and self-willed! Only by joining forces with us and submitting to Hao Tian Sovereign can you survive! If the five of us Heavenly Sovereigns work together to eliminate Mu Tian Sovereign and get his tree, we can regain our youth!"