Chapter 1524: A Single Finger Breaks the Vast Sky (Pleading for Monthly Tickets!)
Qin Mu stood at the bow of the ship, his excitement beyond words. The golden vessel was still in the process of self-repair; broken bricks and shattered tiles floated in the air, reassembling themselves. The collapsed great hall seemed to flow backward in time—fallen pillars rose, palace walls rebuilt themselves, and soon, from a state of ruin, bricks and tiles were added, restoring it to pristine condition.
This ship was like a giant beast awakening from slumber, possessing its own wisdom, its own thoughts. It often felt that its talents had gone unused, and now was the time to display its full capabilities.
It sailed into the Chaotic Long River, cleaving through the wind and waves like a colossal beast, forcing the chaos to part on all sides.
"This ship is perfect in every way, except its starting speed seems a bit slow..."
Qin Mu grew somewhat anxious. The World-Crossing Golden Vessel was still accelerating unhurriedly, improving itself as it went, but its current speed could not match that of the Celestial Venerables.
He swiftly moved to the stern and looked toward the shore. Even the slowest among them, Langxuan Divine Sovereign, had just reached the bank, while Fire Celestial Venerable and the others had quickly returned to their original positions, carrying the Dao Tree over and placing it in the Chaotic Long River to pursue the golden vessel.
At this moment, the golden vessel was still accelerating at a leisurely pace.
The Dao Tree drew closer and closer to the golden ship. The five Celestial Venerables stood on the tree, with Palace Celestial Venerable taking the lead. Her divine consciousness erupted, surging toward Qin Mu on the ship!
Qin Mu’s divine consciousness exploded outward, forming the Divine Consciousness Great Firmament to withstand Palace Celestial Venerable’s assault. Their divine consciousnesses shifted through myriad transformations, attacking and defending with skill. Even though Palace Celestial Venerable’s divine consciousness was far more profound than Qin Mu’s, she could not break through his Divine Consciousness Great Firmament, which he had learned from the Grand Emperor, in a short time.
However, the Dao Tree was drawing nearer to the World-Crossing Golden Vessel. It wouldn’t be long before they could board the ship.
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable, aren’t you very formidable?"
Suddenly, Ancestral Divine King leaped into the air, vaulting toward the golden vessel. Behind him, layers of celestial palaces formed a grand Heavenly Court that shone with divine light. His primordial spirit sat within that great Heavenly Court, his body vast and imposing. As he struck, boundless heavenly might surged forth!
With a thunderous boom, his primordial spirit’s massive hand shattered Qin Mu’s Divine Consciousness Great Firmament. He pressed down toward Qin Mu on the golden ship, laughing, "Didn’t you single-handedly contend with seven Celestial Venerables? A tiger on the plains is bullied by dogs. You took advantage of our aging to humiliate us—did you ever think this day would come?"
Qin Mu smiled faintly and pointed a finger. Ancestral Divine King’s expression changed drastically as he felt the irresistible power of that finger. In haste, he raised his defenses!
"Ten Thousand Realms Heavenly Seal!"
Though he used this technique in a rush, the vast and boundless heavenly dao resonated instantly. Before him, the dao of ten thousand realms vibrated in unison, converging to form a great seal!
This technique was his masterpiece after becoming the Heavenly Lord, his strongest defense!
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave sent him, along with his primordial spirit and Heavenly Court, flying backward. Ancestral Divine King’s body trembled violently. The Ten Thousand Realms Heavenly Seal collapsed and shattered. The immense impact caused excruciating pain throughout his limbs and bones. His skin burst open, evaporating into wisps of chaotic energy.
Behind him, the Heavenly Court rumbled and split apart, breaking from a single entity into thirty-five celestial palaces and twenty-nine divine halls!
Behind him, Fire Celestial Venerable reached out and caught the flying Ancestral Divine King, setting him down on the Dao Tree.
Ancestral Divine King groaned, trembling as he raised his arms. The skin on his arms had completely vanished, revealing flesh and white bone. His heart was filled with terror.
What terrified him was not his own injury, but the power of Qin Mu’s strike!
For a long time, Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s Divine Origin Finger had been the most powerful technique among the Ten Celestial Venerables, a rare great divine ability from the Primordial Beginning. Though it was no longer Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s strongest technique, its power still left a lingering dread.
Yet Qin Mu’s strike was far more powerful than even that finger!
Though it was also a single finger, and though Qin Mu’s cultivation was far inferior to Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s, the profound mysteries within Qin Mu’s finger surpassed the Divine Origin Finger and other Primordial Beginning great techniques by an unknown degree!
On the other side, Palace Celestial Venerable blew her horn, boosting everyone’s blood vitality. The horn’s sound suppressed Qin Mu’s blood vitality, causing it to decline sharply.
The others all leaped into the air. Even the decrepit Langxuan Divine Sovereign, his blood vitality surging, let out an aged roar and vaulted toward the golden vessel!
Qin Mu’s eyes flashed with ferocity. He pointed a finger from afar, and Palace Celestial Venerable’s horn flew out of her hands.
Qin Mu pointed repeatedly. Fire Celestial Venerable dodged in panic, Void Celestial Venerable’s lips stained with blood, Ancestral Divine King tumbled and rolled to evade. Only Langxuan Divine Sovereign managed to land on the golden ship, only to be kicked off by Qin Mu with a flying kick!
Palace Celestial Venerable hurriedly unleashed her divine consciousness to catch Langxuan Divine Sovereign. The others landed on the Dao Tree, still shaken.
"So powerful, that finger!"
Void Celestial Venerable praised, then suddenly said with confusion, "But it seems this fellow only has that one move. And that move has no variation at all..."
Fire Celestial Venerable, Palace Celestial Venerable, and Ancestral Divine King all exchanged strange glances, then looked at Langxuan Divine Sovereign. In the past, Langxuan Divine Sovereign had also relied on a single move—the Divine Origin Finger—to get by among the Celestial Venerables for many years, until he obtained a Dao Fruit and comprehended other Primordial Beginning techniques.
Now, Qin Mu’s situation was quite similar to Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s back then.
Langxuan Divine Sovereign, kicked in the face by Qin Mu and missing all his teeth, panted, "If he only knows that one move, then we have nothing to fear from him..."
Qin Mu stood at the stern, hands on his hips, laughing heartily, "Who says I only have one move? I just used my index finger, called the Shangyang Finger. I also have the Guanchong Finger, the Shaoze Finger, the Shaochong Finger, and the Shaoshang Finger! Don’t believe me? Come and try!"
But the others already knew his secret. Langxuan Divine Sovereign sneered and said hoarsely, "He talks big, but it’s just the same move performed with different fingers."
Fire Celestial Venerable said solemnly, "If he only has that one move, then boarding the ship will be simple!"
The Dao Tree charged forward again.
Qin Mu was also greatly troubled. Indeed, he only had one move—the Hongmeng Finger—which was easily seen through. No matter which finger he used, it was always the same technique.
This technique, which he had comprehended from the dao patterns on the walls of the Miluo Palace, was indeed powerful, full of profound mysteries. But the biggest problem was that he had never truly grasped the secrets of the Hongmeng Primordial Qi runes; he could only barely imitate them.
Moreover, his Hongmeng Finger imitated the Hongmeng dao patterns of the Miluo Palace’s master, but it imitated a static structure of dao patterns, roughly copied without any variation.
This was why he could only use that one move, unable to change it.
Compared to treasures, the greatest advantage of techniques was their versatility. For example, a dragon-shaped technique could allow the dragon to soar through the sky, shift and change, grow or shrink, and move freely under the practitioner’s control.
But Qin Mu’s Hongmeng Finger was straightforward—once fired, it couldn’t change its trajectory. Whether it hit depended entirely on whether the opponent dodged or could dodge in time.
"The World-Crossing Golden Vessel is still accelerating, and I can’t avoid these five Celestial Venerables..."
Fire Celestial Venerable and the others adjusted their strategy and attacked again. Qin Mu gritted his teeth and continued using the Hongmeng Finger. But this time, the five Celestial Venerables dealt with his straightforward move much more easily, simply using the air to shift their positions and dodge.
Qin Mu groaned inwardly, thinking, "This ship is too big. If it were smaller, it could accelerate faster..."
The moment he thought this, the massive World-Crossing Golden Vessel suddenly shrank rapidly, soon transforming from an immeasurable behemoth into a ship about a hundred zhang long!
Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted, feeling that the golden vessel’s acceleration was now much faster than before.
Fire Celestial Venerable and the others, seeing this, urgently pushed the Dao Tree to its limit, lunging toward the golden ship.
They grew anxious. At the current rate of acceleration, the ship would soon surpass their speed and leave them far behind!
Qin Mu laughed, "The golden vessel forged by the master of the Miluo Palace to cross the Great Destruction Tribulation is truly extraordinary! But as a World-Crossing Golden Vessel, how could it lack means to defend against the tribulation’s assault? If it can withstand the Great Destruction Tribulation, how could it not withstand a few mere Celestial Venerables?"
As his words fell, the runes on the great ship lit up. Layers of Hongmeng golden light flowed like water, covering the entire vessel, then radiated outward, forming layer upon layer of golden firmaments, like golden heavens imprinted with Hongmeng runes.
Fire Celestial Venerable and the others attacked, unleashing various techniques against the Hongmeng golden light. The light rippled with impact, but they couldn’t even break through the outermost layer.
The World-Crossing Golden Vessel sped up even more, leaving the Dao Tree and the five Celestial Venerables far behind as it sailed away.
The five Celestial Venerables chased for a while, then the Dao Tree gradually slowed and finally stopped.
On the Dao Tree, the five Celestial Venerables stood on its branches, looking at each other, unsure whether to continue the pursuit.
"Let’s go back."
Langxuan Divine Sovereign said shakily, "There’s no way to catch up to him. I’m about to die of old age; I can’t hold out much longer. I need to wait for Heavenly Lord Hao to save me..."
They turned back, each wearing a worried expression.
Qin Mu’s escape from their grasp this time made them uneasy. The current Qin Mu could no longer be ignored.
On the World-Crossing Golden Vessel, Qin Mu stood on the mast. The chaotic air rushed toward him, stirring his clothes. The wind stirred up by the Great Destruction Tribulation was so refreshing.
"The Celestial Venerables hold all the power in the world, their influence overwhelming. The young masters of the Miluo Palace are locked in open and secret struggles, scheming for the future era!"
Qin Mu gripped the golden ropes of the mast, spread his arms wide in the wind, and laughed heartily, "They are all petty, scheming creatures!"
The World-Crossing Golden Vessel rumbled as it crossed the ruins of Jade Capital City between two Chaotic Long Rivers, charging onto the surface of the second Chaotic Long River and speeding away.
He laughed loudly. Waves of chaos rose on the river, as if enraged demons and monsters stirred up trouble. Suddenly, a massive whirlpool formed ahead, and countless arms reached out from it, grabbing at the golden vessel!
The World-Crossing Golden Vessel accelerated further, darting beneath hands that could nearly cover the sky, riding the wind and waves as it fled!
"A long boat breaks waves for a hundred billion years, dangerous on the way here, swift on the way out! Once I have leveled the Celestial Venerables and cleared the foul miasma, I will return to the past era and fight you all to my heart’s content as Young Master Mu!"
—A new month begins, begging for monthly tickets!!