Chapter 1519: Young Master Mu
"I should have let you die with more dignity."
Qin Mu stood up, his expression indifferent. "Dying in a decisive battle with me, letting you die like a Heavenly Sovereign. However, I don't want to give up this opportunity, nor can I risk the chance to rescue Ling Tianzun. Next time, Grand Emperor, next time, I will let you die honorably in my hands as the Grand Emperor!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded beside him: "Heavenly Sovereign Mu, have you always been this hypocritical, this insincere?"
Qin Mu turned around, looking at the woman within the Dao Fruit floating in the air, and said with a smile: "Perhaps it is hypocrisy. But didn't you, my friend, also see my arrival without warning Qiang Tianfei or saving her? If we're talking about hypocrisy, you and I are of the same kind."
He took out the God-Slaying Platform and placed the two God-Slaying Profound Blades upon it to nurture them.
Although these two divine blades in his hands would no longer be eroded by the aura of the Great Cataclysm, they could not return to their peak state either. They needed to be slowly nurtured on the God-Slaying Platform to recover fully.
The woman within the Dao Fruit said: "First, luring her here was my own idea, not an invitation from the master of the Miluo Palace. Therefore, her life is not as important as you and she imagined. If she were truly important, then not even Heavenly Sovereign Mu, nor all the powerhouses of this universe combined, could kill her. Second..."
She paused, then continued: "My personal strength has been too depleted. Escorting her here all the way, my power is no longer a match for Heavenly Sovereign Mu. So, for the sake of my own life, I will not risk being killed by you to save her."
Qin Mu looked up and surveyed the majestic palace before him. The magnificent Miluo Palace appeared in his sight.
The Miluo Palace generally referred to the Jade Capital City, not only the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court but also the Jade Capital Cities of past universes. However, the Miluo Palace could also specifically refer to the palace where the master of the Miluo Palace resided.
Qin Mu was slightly startled. His gaze was involuntarily drawn to a great hall.
That was the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, even more majestic and magnificent than the Lingxiao Treasure Hall of the Heavenly Court. From afar, it seemed like the foundation of all Daos.
Around it, Dao light swirled like lotus flowers, supporting the hall, allowing it to rise and fall within the chaos without being devoured.
When Qin Mu saw this Lingxiao Treasure Hall, he understood why the Heavenly Court used the Lingxiao Treasure Hall as its center of power, and why gods and demons used this hall as the two realms of Lingxiao and Imperial Throne.
"When the Grand Emperor, Grand Beginning, and the others broke into the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court back then, they must have seen this hall. How did they get here?"
Qin Mu looked around. Sixteen Chaos Long Rivers blocked the path of the Grand Emperor and the others. Logically, they couldn't have crossed these Chaos Long Rivers at that time.
There were still many unsolved mysteries in history, shrouding his path like fog, making it unclear.
"That's right. The master of the Miluo Palace needed the Grand Emperor to come here, to pass on the layout of the Jade Capital City and complete the Jade Capital Trap. There must have been prehistoric accomplished ones who guided the Grand Emperor here, allowing him to see the Lingxiao Treasure Hall."
Just as he thought this, the woman within the Dao Fruit said: "Heavenly Sovereign Mu, please."
Qin Mu steadied himself and walked forward, looking around, and said casually: "May I ask how to address you, sister?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit sneered: "Sister? Heavenly Sovereign Mu is glib-tongued, as expected of Heavenly Sovereign Mu."
Qin Mu stopped, looked at the woman, and said with a half-smile: "Have you seen me before?"
The Dao Fruit floated forward without answering his question.
Qin Mu followed her and probed: "You are an accomplished one who has ascended the shore, but your cultivation was destroyed, and you cannot leave the Jade Capital City. I am also here for the first time. This means we have never met before. Yet, sister, your words suggest you know me. That's strange. Could it be that in the future, I will return to a past universe and meet you?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit showed no kindness toward him and said coldly: "Heavenly Sovereign Mu, don't let your imagination run wild."
Seeing that she was unwilling to answer, Qin Mu didn't press further. He looked around with great interest and laughed: "Taiyi once said that after I achieve Dao, he would send me back to a past universe to stop you all from ascending the shore. Could it be that I will achieve Dao in the future?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit rolled her eyes twice.
Qin Mu stopped. He saw a golden ship floating by the shore of a chaotic sea. The ship was enormous, docked at the shore, but it was dilapidated, with broken masts and sails full of holes.
Even so, this golden ship had not been completely destroyed by the Great Cataclysm.
"What ship is that?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
The woman within the Dao Fruit said impatiently: "That is the Golden Ship of Salvation. I heard it was originally built by the master of the Miluo Palace to ferry people across the Chaos Long Rivers."
"What happened later?" Qin Mu became even more curious.
"I heard he loaded all the living beings of an entire universe into the golden ship, crossing the Great Cataclysm, trying to reach a future universe."
The Dao Fruit floated forward, and the woman said flatly: "When the golden ship arrived in the future universe, the master of the Miluo Palace found that there was no one on the ship, only himself. All the living beings of that entire universe had died during the crossing, turning into chaos. He then abandoned the ship."
Her words carried no emotion, but Qin Mu could imagine that apocalyptic scene. After a moment, he emerged from that sadness.
He stopped before a great hall, looked up, and praised: "What a magnificent hall! What is this hall called?"
The hall was towering, with an aura of Dao that rivaled the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. Standing beneath it, Qin Mu felt insignificant and trivial.
"This is the Tai Shang Yu Qing Hall."
The woman within the Dao Fruit grew impatient and urged: "Hurry up! Don't you want to see the master of the Miluo Palace?"
Qin Mu peered into the hall and asked: "Can I go inside?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit sneered: "If you're not afraid of death, you can go in. This hall has an owner. The master of the Tai Shang Hall is not as easy to deal with as the master of the Miluo Palace. Besides, you haven't achieved Dao yet; entering the hall would be suicide! The sky of this hall is refined from the Great Luo Heaven, and inside are the Dao Tree and Dao Fruit of the master of the Tai Shang Hall."
Qin Mu was startled and abandoned the idea of entering the hall to see the master of the Tai Shang Hall. He followed the woman and asked: "Then whose hall is the Lingxiao Treasure Hall? Was it also refined from the Great Luo Heaven?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit said: "Of course. Only extraordinary beings can settle in the Miluo Palace. If the Lingxiao Treasure Hall weren't refined from the Great Luo Heaven, how could you cultivate the Lingxiao realm? This Lingxiao realm is an imitation of the process of ascending to the Great Luo Heaven. From below the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, to entering the hall, to ascending the throne, it corresponds to the process of rising step by step in the Great Luo Heaven."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. His curiosity about the Lingxiao Treasure Hall grew stronger, and he wished he could immediately rush in to see its layout.
However, besides the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and the Tai Shang Hall, there were other halls in the Miluo Palace, presumably each with its own purpose.
"If I treat other treasure halls as the Lingxiao realm, could I also cultivate to an extremely high level?" Qin Mu asked again.
The woman within the Dao Fruit said: "Of course. But the master of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall is the Third Young Master. His strength is immense. Cultivating his hall will enhance your power even more."
Qin Mu frowned.
The master of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, the Third Young Master?
Earlier, when he was on the same boat as Qiang Tianfei, he had encountered a Fourth Young Master. Were the accomplished ones here all addressed as young masters?
Since there was a Third Young Master and a Fourth Young Master, were there also a Second Young Master and a Fifth Young Master?
Who were they?
Could they be the sons of the master of the Miluo Palace?
When he encountered the Fourth Young Master, the latter was on the seventh Chaos Long River, seemingly unharmed, waiting for the opportunity to ascend the shore and seeking revenge for being beaten by Taiyi. However, because Qin Mu and the others were guests of the master of the Miluo Palace, the Fourth Young Master let them go.
The woman within the Dao Fruit stopped before an ancient hall, spoke in Dao language, and addressed the hall.
After a long time, the hall emitted creaking sounds as its ancient doors opened. A stale, decaying aura rushed out, along with a burst of Primordial Qi that invigorated the spirit, as if the death and withering brought by the Great Cataclysm had disappeared.
"Primordial Purple Qi!"
Qin Mu swallowed hard, his scalp tingling: "As I expected, this is a Taiyi, the Taiyi of the First Universe!"
Purple light swirled, and purple radiance rippled like water, preventing him from seeing what was inside the hall.
The woman within the Dao Fruit said: "The master of the Miluo Palace permits you to see him. Go, Young Master Mu."
Qin Mu's mind shook violently. He turned to look at her, and after a moment, he said softly: "Which young master am I?"
The woman within the Dao Fruit said expressionlessly: "The Seventh Young Master."
Qin Mu steadied himself, steeled his nerves, and stepped into the Primordial Qi, disappearing into a sea of purple light.
The hall's doors creaked shut, sealing him off from the outside.
The hall seemed to have no floor. He walked through a void, looking around, seeing only purple light, some areas bright, others slightly dim.
The light also flowed, and he couldn't see the source.
Even when he opened his vertical eye on his forehead, he couldn't see what was inside the hall.
After walking for a long time, Qin Mu vaguely saw a towering figure sitting in the purple light ahead. No matter how far he walked, the distance between him and that figure never shortened.
Qin Mu stopped, bowed, and said: "A humble latecomer, Qin Mu, Heavenly Sovereign Mu of the Seventeenth Universe, pays respects to the master of the Miluo Palace."
He used Dao language. Communicating with such an ancient existence required either divine consciousness or Dao language; any other language would risk semantic flaws.
"Heavenly Sovereign Mu..."
The towering figure's voice came, deep and heavy, echoing through the vast space: "You come to see me to ask about the Jade Capital Trap?"
Qin Mu slightly bowed: "Exactly."
"The Jade Capital is not a trap."
The voice of the master of the Miluo Palace came: "It is a shortcut to help you achieve Dao."
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and laughed: "Then, brother, why did you turn the Ancestral Court into an altar, using our blood sacrifice to bring about your descent?"
"The one who set up the blood sacrifice altar was not me."
The voice of the master of the Miluo Palace came: "It was someone else. You should not be wary of me; you should be wary of Taiyi. The Taiyi you have seen, the Taiyi you think you know, is not the true Taiyi."
Qin Mu frowned.
"Because the true Taiyi died before he was even born."
The voice of the master of the Miluo Palace shook: "The first accomplished one to ascend the shore invaded the Chaos Egg, eliminated him, used his Chaos Axe to cut down the World Tree, preventing other accomplished ones from descending."