Chapter 1530: The Path to Enlightenment
Granny Si, Blind, and the others stood on the ship, exchanging bewildered glances. They saw that there were also several thousand primordial giant beasts on board, likewise staring at one another in confusion.
“Where did Mu’er get this strange ship?”
The crowd looked around and only then realized that this golden ship was far more massive than they had initially perceived. Standing outside the ship and standing on it were two entirely different worlds.
Golden palaces stood on the ship, their surfaces imprinted with strange runes that continuously flowed and shifted.
Those primordial giant beasts only dared to stand on the deck, not daring to wander around. But the group was much bolder, exploring the area, searching for a way to leave the ship.
“What’s inside these golden palaces?”
Blind carefully examined the door of an impossibly large golden palace and said, “This door isn’t locked. Let me try to open it.”
After a moment, the palace door swung open, and a musty, decaying odor surged out from within.
The crowd covered their mouths and noses, waiting until the stale air dissipated before cautiously stepping inside.
What met their eyes was a vast, magnificent heavenly realm—a world with sun, moon, and stars, countless cities, and within those cities, countless white skeletons busily moving about.
Hundreds of millions of white skeletons walked through the cities. In one city, a woman bared her chest to nurse a child; merchants conducted business; a skeleton haggled with a shopkeeper; and outside the city, many skeletons labored in empty fields.
The crowd stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
“These skeletons…?”
Just as Hua Xuanxiu spoke a single sentence, the entire heavenly realm suddenly collapsed. Countless skeletons disintegrated into chaotic energy in an instant, their bodies crumbling, cities collapsing, and the sun, moon, and stars collapsing inward!
Boom!
A tremor shook the golden palace, leaving only a mass of chaotic energy inside.
The crowd stared blankly at this sight, unable to speak for a long time.
Then, a figure emerged from somewhere, walking through the vast chaotic energy, which rose to his knees.
He was a phantom, like a lingering afterimage of history, imprinting his silhouette here.
He walked through the destroyed world, looking around in confusion. He could no longer find his loved ones, his old friends, or the beings he had protected.
He opened his mouth, like a wounded old wolf howling in the chaos, calling out, but no one answered him.
Granny Si, Blind, and the others watched that figure, feeling an inexplicable sorrow welling up inside them, tears streaming down their faces.
The figure performed a ritual in the chaos, wielding strange divine abilities. It was as if he were creating heaven and earth anew, re-enacting the cosmos, or perhaps tracing back through time to bring the dead back to life.
His abilities left the crowd in awe—exquisitely refined to the utmost. The chaotic energy gradually began to change. Stars appeared, the sun rose, and the moon set in the west.
Cities rose from the ground, and white skeletons stood up from the chaos.
What kind of heaven-and-earth-shaking divine power was this?
It showed them endless wonders of the Dao, the power to resurrect the dead, and the wisdom condensed from the ultimate civilization of a universe.
Yet, all of this collapsed again, destroyed in an instant.
After a long time, Blind and the others withdrew from this palace, closing its door behind them.
“Who was that person?”
Granny Si murmured, “When he cried out, it felt like my heart was being torn apart. It was like… like…”
“Like Mu’er during the Yan Kang Calamity—lonely and helpless.”
Blind said calmly, “Back then, Cripple told me this after carrying Mu’er out of the Yan Kang Calamity. Cripple always ran the fastest to save Mu’er, and he was the one who rescued him every time…”
The crowd felt a heavy weight in their hearts.
During the Yan Kang Calamity, all the pressure had fallen on Qin Mu alone. No matter how he struggled or resisted, he found he couldn’t save Yan Kang. He must have been just like that phantom in the chaos—pained, lonely, and helpless.
They left this palace and headed toward the next one.
At the edge of the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains, Qin Mu found Xu Shenhua and Lan Yutian. The two were repairing the cracked Black Mountain.
Qin Mu told them about his experiences in the ancestral court’s Jade Capital City, mentioning the Seventy-Two Treasure Halls and the Ling Xiao Trap and Zi Xiao Trap.
He didn’t want to distract them, so he said little about Tai Yi.
The two listened intently.
Xu Shenhua thought for a moment and said, “The Seventy-Two Treasure Halls have been divided among the Seven Heavenly Lords. That means the seven Heavenly Lords now control the greatest resources. By monopolizing so many treasure halls, no one else can achieve enlightenment through the Heavenly Palace system.”
Lan Yutian shook his head. “Not long ago, Jiang Baigui and Yan Fengdi came here. Jiang Baigui showed me his Seventy-Two Treasure Halls and Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, which deeply impressed me. One can achieve enlightenment without relying on the Jade Capital City’s Seventy-Two Treasure Halls. The ancestral court’s Jade Capital City isn’t the only path.”
“As I see it, there are currently four paths to enlightenment. One is Jiang Baigui’s path—acquired enlightenment. Another is yours and Qin Jiaozhu’s path—enlightenment through the Five Supremes. A third is Qin Tianzun’s Kai Huang path—enlightenment through the Dao realm. And the fourth is the traditional Heavenly Palace path—enlightenment through force, borrowing power from the Jade Capital City.”
Xu Shenhua mused, “The simplest of these is enlightenment through force, borrowing from the Jade Capital City. The deepest in Dao is enlightenment through the Dao realm. The hardest is acquired enlightenment. The most profound and extensive is enlightenment through the Five Supremes. In these past few years of repairing the Black Mountain, I’ve been thinking about my own path to enlightenment and have made some progress. I want to walk a path different from all of yours—a fifth path.”
Qin Mu asked, “What have you gained, Brother Xu?”
Xu Shenhua said, “I want to walk a path of enlightenment through the primordial spirit. I’ve been thinking that the World Tree is like the primordial spirit of this universe, and the universe is like the World Tree’s body. Perhaps enlightenment through the primordial spirit is the way to immortality. But I haven’t fully figured it out yet.”
Qin Mu’s eyes lit up, and he smiled, “Brother Xu, you really have some ideas. It might work.”
“But now I’m not sure I want to take this path.”
Xu Shenhua said seriously, “Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun are colluding with prehistoric enlightened beings. Once they achieve enlightenment through force, the pressure on you will be immense. If I also take the path of enlightenment through force, I can gain great power in a short time and contribute to the decisive battle against Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun…”
“What pressure do I have?”
Qin Mu laughed heartily, “Now the Ten Heavenly Lords have become Seven. In the battle between Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun, a few more Heavenly Lords will die! As long as I rescue Ling Tianzun, we’ll have this battle in the bag! Don’t worry about me. Walk your own path well. When you achieve enlightenment in the future, I’ll come to you for a bite!”
Xu Shenhua couldn’t help but smile. “Qin Jiaozhu, being with you makes even the heaviest worries vanish.”
Qin Mu grinned, “But I’ll still give you plenty of pressure. Lan Yutian, Xu Shenhua, didn’t you say that even if the Five Supremes emerge, their Dao will always be there? I need you to comprehend the great Dao of the Five Supremes! And also!”
He took out Wei Suifeng’s two Qian Kun Mirrors and handed them to them, saying, “Inside these is a Hong Meng primal energy rune, containing the method of transformation among the Five Supremes. I need you to comprehend it.”
He thought for a moment and added, “Also, I need you to organize the five paths to enlightenment. Can you do it?”
Xu Shenhua and Lan Yutian immediately felt the pressure. Each of the tasks Qin Mu had given them would require their full effort, and even then, they might not succeed. And now he was giving them three at once!
“We can try!” Lan Yutian gritted his teeth.
“Good!”
Qin Mu stood up and said solemnly, “The Jade Capital City was left by the master of the Mi Luo Palace, hoping that future beings of this universe could inherit the Dao techniques and research achievements of the past sixteen universes. Neither Hao Tianzun nor Xiao Tianzun can control the ancestral court’s Jade Capital City. Based on my understanding of them, once they leave the Jade Capital City, they will likely seal it again, preventing anyone else from surpassing them!”
Lan Yutian and Xu Shenhua nodded. The seven Heavenly Lords of the Heavenly Court were all such people—they wouldn’t give hope to those who came after.
“Therefore, as soon as the light of the Jade Capital City disappears, we’ll know that Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun have left. After Xiao Tianzun leaves the Jade Capital City, he will likely come here to visit Tai Yi. Besides him, the Tai Ji Ancient God will also come.”
Qin Mu felt a headache coming on. “Tai Su will also come. If Tai Su comes, Hao Tianzun will certainly follow. And now Tai Yi is missing…”
Lan Yutian and Xu Shenhua exchanged a glance. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll impersonate Tai Yi!”
Qin Mu gritted his teeth. “As long as they can’t see through it, everything will be fine, and we can send them off. But if I’m found out…”
Lan Yutian’s eye twitched. “What happens if you’re found out?”
“Yan Kang will be finished, and we’ll all be finished.”
Qin Mu comforted them, “Don’t worry. Although the Tai Ji Ancient God is an expert at forgery, I’m not bad either. I won’t slip up.”
Hearing this, the two couldn’t help but look worried.
Impersonating Tai Yi and fooling Xiao Tianzun, the Tai Ji Ancient God, and Tai Su Shen Nu—all of whom were among the Five Supremes—was practically impossible!
If Qin Mu were exposed, the seven Heavenly Lords would have no more scruples about the Great Black Mountain. A single Heavenly Lord could easily crush this place!
But if Xiao Tianzun and the others couldn’t see through Qin Mu, then Yan Kang and the Great Black Mountain could enjoy temporary peace.
As long as Tai Yi remained, Xiao Tianzun and the others wouldn’t dare touch the Great Black Mountain or Yan Kang.
Qin Mu smiled. “I need to prepare. You two focus on your cultivation.” With that, he hurried off.
The two looked at each other, filled with worry.
Over ten days later, the dazzling light of the ancestral court’s Jade Capital City gradually dimmed. This light had once illuminated the sky of the ancestral court, but now it grew fainter day by day.
A few more days passed, and the light of the Jade Capital City vanished completely.
Qin Mu gazed toward the direction of the Jade Capital City, his heart sinking. The seven Heavenly Lords had indeed sealed it, just as he had predicted.
“In six days, they will come here to visit Tai Yi. Whether I can bluff them and protect the Great Black Mountain and Yan Kang all comes down to this!”
Six days later, Xiao Tianzun, along with the two Tai Ji Ancient Gods, Hao Tianzun, Tai Su, and the other five Heavenly Lords, arrived together at the Great Black Mountain. They said to Jiang Yunjian, who had come out to greet them, “Tai Chu, Tai Su, and Tai Ji have come to visit Brother Tai Yi. Please trouble you to announce us.”
Jiang Yunjian glanced at the assembled Heavenly Lords and said, “Tai Yi already knew you were coming to visit and had me wait here. Please, come in.”