Chapter 1533: Helping You Achieve Enlightenment
The Dao pattern array on the cliff wall—in order to appear as profound and unfathomable as possible, Qin Mu had used Primordial Chaos Yuan Qi runes as the core, supplemented by the transformations of the Five Tai, and then blended in Dao patterns from various great Daos.
His foundation was insufficient, so he had copied many fragments from the Dao patterns of the Miluo Palace Master, altering them to confuse the perceptions of these nine individuals.
But even so, in the span of a single night, Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the others had already delved into extremely deep territory.
Qin Mu carefully organized the insights gained overnight by the seven Heavenly Venerables and two ancient gods, discovering that each of the nine had their own areas of expertise.
Xu Tianzun had already groped his way to the threshold of transforming the Demon Dao into the Tai Ji Dao, while Ancestral God King had touched the edge of transforming the Heavenly Dao into the Tai Ji Dao—both of which provided great inspiration for Qin Mu.
Langxuan Divine Emperor, on the other hand, had seen the Dao of Tai Chu within the Dao pattern array and left behind many of his own insights. Some of these insights were things Qin Mu himself had not yet grasped, showcasing extraordinary talent and comprehension.
The Sun Ancient God had focused on comprehending the principle of Tai Ji's evolution, even touching upon the reverse deduction of Tai Ji's evolution back to Tai Su. Meanwhile, Tai Su himself had derived from this the principle of using Tai Su to reverse-prove Tai Shi and evolve Tai Ji.
The direction Xiao Tianzun had pondered was the combination of One Qi and divine consciousness to evolve Tai Chu, along with scattered exchanges between Tai Shi and Tai Chu.
Hao Tianzun had also groped his way to roughly the same step.
"These nine individuals possess extraordinary intelligence. In a single night, they were able to comprehend so much. They probably held back as well, only teaching Jiang Yunjian the unimportant parts while concealing what they considered most crucial."
Qin Mu couldn't help but admire: "I truly want to imprison them here, have them meditate day and night, and deduce all the secrets of the Miluo Palace's Dao patterns for me."
Even though the seven Heavenly Venerables and two ancient gods had all held back, not passing on everything they had comprehended to Jiang Yunjian, it still gave Qin Mu great inspiration, allowing him to understand even more.
Just as Qin Mu was about to calm his mind and carefully organize everything, Jiang Yunjian suddenly rushed over with a panicked expression, speaking urgently: "Godfather, Xiao Tianzun has returned!"
Qin Mu's expression shifted slightly. Jiang Yunjian took out a piece of paper and said: "Xiao Tianzun told me to give this painting to Tai Yi!"
Qin Mu took it and looked at it, seeing that the paper depicted a golden ship.
"So the flaw has been exposed after all."
Qin Mu took a deep breath. To display the majesty of Tai Yi and prevent these people from becoming suspicious, he had moved a golden hall from the Ferry World Golden Ship down to serve as Tai Yi's palace.
The golden hall contained Chaotic Qi, which could blind the divine eyes of Xiao Tianzun, Hao Tianzun, and the others, preventing them from seeing Qin Mu's true appearance and thus discovering that this Tai Yi was actually Qin Mu in disguise.
However, the only flaw was that the Sun Ancient God had once boarded the golden ship!
Presumably, the loose thread had been exposed there.
"Who is with Xiao Tianzun?" he asked.
Jiang Yunjian said: "No one else. Only Xiao Tianzun alone."
A gleam of light flashed in Qin Mu's eyes, and he said in a deep voice: "Yunjian, invite him here!"
Jiang Yunjian's heart trembled, and he lowered his voice: "Godfather..."
"Go! I have my own plans."
Jiang Yunjian had no choice but to leave hastily.
Not long after, Xiao Tianzun strolled over leisurely, walked up to Qin Mu, looked up at the stone carvings on the cliff, and after a moment, laughed: "Mu Tianzun was quite frightening last night. A few words of coaxing and bluffing nearly fooled me—your deception is even more skillful than Tai Ji Ancient God's. This means Tai Yi is not here."
Qin Mu said leisurely: "Tai Yi is elusive, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. Even I don't know where he is, so I had to resort to this inferior strategy. I didn't frighten you, did I, Dao Brother?"
"Not at all, not at all."
Xiao Tianzun smiled faintly and said unhurriedly: "In fact, Tai Yi has encountered danger, hasn't he? He might even be dead!"
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.
"If Tai Yi were safe and sound, you wouldn't have gone to such great lengths, even risking us exposing you. You could have simply told us that Tai Yi wasn't here—what could we have done to you? Out of respect for Tai Yi, the one who achieved enlightenment, we wouldn't dare touch you."
Xiao Tianzun smiled: "It's precisely because Tai Yi has encountered unimaginable danger, possibly even death, that you took such a great risk to impersonate him! Your goal wasn't to have some fun, but to protect this sacred land and protect Yan Kang. I can keep your secret."
Qin Mu smiled slightly: "But it comes at a price."
Xiao Tianzun laughed: "Everything good in this world comes at a price. Back then, I helped you protect Yan Kang, and you paid a price too. Now it's the same. Mu Tianzun, you can never escape my grasp."
Qin Mu snorted coldly but said nothing.
"You can rescue Ling Tianzun, but we need to join forces."
Xiao Tianzun said calmly: "The moment you rescue Ling Tianzun will be the moment Tai Di dies, and also the moment I reclaim my physical body. Do you understand this?"
Qin Mu slowly nodded: "I understand."
Xiao Tianzun laughed: "I have the capacity to tolerate others. Whether it's you, or Kai Huang, or Yue Tianzun, or Ling Tianzun, I can tolerate you all, even grant you power and status—as long as you stop reforming the laws and stop trying to resist. Huo Tianzun has done very well. Can you understand?"
Qin Mu said: "Your servant understands. Kai Huang will understand too."
Xiao Tianzun laughed: "When the day of success comes, I won't treat you poorly."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
Xiao Tianzun laughed heartily, turned around, and walked away, saying leisurely: "During the Yan Kang Calamity, you couldn't defeat me. It's the same now. When you prepare to rescue Ling Tianzun, notify me in advance. Don't act on your own again. I won't give you a second chance."
"I see you off, Your Majesty."
Qin Mu watched him disappear into the distance, a smile spreading across his face, and murmured: "With Xiao Tianzun's help, rescuing Ling Tianzun is secure. Rescuing Yun Tianzun is also secure."
He let out a long breath, feeling lighter than ever before.
"Xiao Tianzun, it's not that you've grown old, but that I've grown up."
The smile on his face grew thicker, and he murmured: "In the past, I was weak and you could manipulate me at will. But now I've grown to the point where I can stand against you. You want to manipulate me, but unfortunately, you can no longer do so. Be careful not to hurt yourself."
The Sun Ancient God waited outside the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains. After a while, Xiao Tianzun walked out of the sacred mountains, and the Sun Ancient God quickly stepped forward, lowering his voice: "Dao Brother, how did your talk with Mu Tianzun go?"
"Very smoothly."
Xiao Tianzun smiled faintly and said: "Mu Tianzun is quite sensible. He has no choice but to be sensible. His greatest backer has fallen, and in this world, he can only rely on me. He is still ambitious, and when rescuing Ling Tianzun, he will surely make some move. But I will make him realize that any move he makes is futile."
He exuded a powerful confidence, as if the Tai Chu Heavenly Emperor who once unified the world and ruled the universe had returned: "When I reclaim my physical body, devour Tai Di's primordial spirit, kill my way to the Ultimate Void and devour Tai Di's Dao tree, I will become the most powerful existence in this world—invincible! Even if all the Heavenly Venerables join forces, including Qin Tianzun, Mu Tianzun, Yue Tianzun, and Ling Tianzun, none of them will be my match!"
The Sun Ancient God breathed a sigh of relief and laughed: "I congratulate you in advance here, Dao Brother."
Xiao Tianzun laughed heartily: "When I destroy the Other Shore Void and annihilate all the Creators, achieving enlightenment will be the simplest thing for me! And at that time, you and your sister can also achieve enlightenment!"
The Sun Ancient God showed a look of longing.
In the sacred mountains, Qin Mu was still meditating on the Dao patterns of the Miluo Palace Master, his mind immersed in them. The deeper he studied these Dao patterns, the more awe he felt. The Miluo Palace Master's knowledge was truly profound.
Just based on this single Dao pattern, he was worthy of being the number one person across seventeen universes!
However, in a short time, Qin Mu still found it difficult to grasp the transformations of the Dao pattern. He could only make his Primordial Chaos One Finger slightly more powerful.
He stood up and walked to the Ferry World Golden Ship. Inside the ship, Blind Man, Granny Si, and the others were still coming and going, searching every golden hall.
"Mu'er, this ship holds many secrets."
Granny Si saw him coming and quickly said: "From time to time, we can see the owner of this ship inside! When we were exploring the golden halls, we would occasionally encounter him!"
Qin Mu said: "This ship was forged by the Miluo Palace Master to ferry the world. He poured too much of his heart and soul into it, so his figure is imprinted in the ship, occasionally appearing as a historical echo."
Granny Si shook her head: "Sometimes it doesn't seem like a historical echo. Occasionally, we even see the real Miluo Palace Master. We've even spoken with him!"
Qin Mu was surprised but shook his head: "The Miluo Palace Master is already dead. What you encountered must be a historical echo. As for speaking with him, that's probably the ship playing tricks. This ship has a spirit."
Blind Man's expression was grave, and he said: "Mu'er, this ship is indeed strange. What we saw was definitely not a historical echo—it was the real Miluo Palace Master! Let me take you to see!"
Qin Mu shook his head with a smile and followed his steps. Blind Man pushed open the door of a great hall and said: "This is where we encountered the Miluo Palace Master. He even guided us in our cultivation... Huh!"
A look of confusion appeared on his face. The interior of this great hall was completely empty, with no one there.
Blind Man was puzzled and said: "There was someone here before! Many people saw it!"
Granny Si, Wei Suifeng, Youming Crown Prince, and others all nodded, speaking in unison: "We all saw it!"
Qin Mu laughed: "Your cultivation is shallow. It's probably that the Miluo Palace Master is too powerful, and his imprint is too real, affecting you and making you mistake a historical echo for reality. Don't make a fuss. When you cultivate to my level, you'll be able to see through all of this."
Everyone was furious but helpless.
Now, Qin Mu indeed had the right to say their cultivation was shallow.
Qin Mu sent them off the ship, but the golden ship stubbornly refused to let them disembark. Qin Mu patiently whispered to the golden ship, persuading it for a long time, appealing to emotion and reason, until finally the ship agreed to let them down.
Everyone watched him muttering and talking endlessly to the ship, exchanging glances.
"Mu'er is under too much pressure. He's probably gone mad."
Granny Si felt very sorry for him: "He should find a partner..."
Qin Mu sent everyone off the golden ship, then sailed the ship away from the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains, thinking to himself: "Is the Miluo Palace Master's imprint really so strong that it can cause even beings at the Emperor Throne level like Wei Suifeng and Youming Crown Prince to misjudge? Hmm, their eyesight is far inferior to mine. They probably can't distinguish between an imprint and reality..."
The Ferry World Golden Ship sailed out of the sacred mountains. Suddenly, Qin Mu caught a glimpse of a figure flashing past in one of the golden halls, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Is it an imprint?"
His heart pounded as he went to search, but found nothing.
"Never mind. First, go to Carefree Village to see Kai Huang and Yue Tianzun!"
Two months later, the golden ship arrived at Carefree Village. Along the way, Qin Mu indeed felt that he might not be alone on this ship. From time to time, he saw other figures flash by.
But whenever he went to look for them, he never found them.
This figure was like the ghostly Feather Forest Army specters on a ghost ship—when looked at, it would turn into nothingness. Even when he activated the Matter Invariance Divine Ability, he couldn't fix the figure in place.
Kai Huang came forward to greet him. Qin Mu set aside his distracting thoughts and stepped forward, laughing: "Kai Huang, I've come to help you achieve enlightenment!"
Kai Huang landed on the ship, examined the golden vessel, and said: "I'm still a bit short of achieving enlightenment. Without the Execution Platform, my Dao realm can never advance further. But the Execution Platform in the Ancestral Court is controlled by Qiang Tianfei. I went to her place, but she took the Execution Platform away, cutting off my path to enlightenment... There's someone else on this ship!"
Qin Mu's heart leaped, and he quickly looked around but saw no one. He laughed: "Qiang Tianfei has already been killed by me. I've not only brought the Execution Platform but also the Execution Mysterious Blade, enough to perfect your Dao realm!"