Chapter 1542: Breaking Ming Fangyu's Attack
He walked very slowly, observing bit by bit the changes in Celestial Venerable Ming Fangyu's techniques when attacking Ling Celestial Venerable, even taking a few steps back to get a clearer view.
Ling Celestial Venerable's death repeated endlessly, and Qin Mu tried his best not to be disturbed by it.
He watched with increasing care, not underestimating the Grand Emperor just because the Grand Emperor had repeatedly suffered setbacks and losses at his hands.
After all, the Grand Emperor was still one of the most powerful beings in history. Even Celestial Emperor Taichu had not entrusted his soul to the Great Luo Heaven, yet the Grand Emperor had not only imprinted his divine consciousness onto the Great Luo Heaven but had also grown a Dao Tree, bloomed a Dao Flower, and borne a Dao Fruit.
One must know that even the Kaihuang, the foremost in the Dao realm, had yet to bear a Dao Fruit to this day.
To completely eliminate the Grand Emperor and rescue Ling Celestial Venerable and Yun Celestial Venerable, one had to face the Grand Emperor within the Great Luo Heaven, the one transformed from the Dao of Divine Consciousness!
That was the Grand Emperor's true origin.
Only by eliminating him could the Grand Emperor be thoroughly eradicated, leaving no hidden dangers behind!
"Since the dawn of the universe, no Dao-achiever has ever died. There have only been three or four Dao-achievers in total. But this time, it's possible that a Dao-achiever will die!"
His eyes flickered, and he silently thought to himself: "In the future, even more should die! But the prerequisite is—how can one completely kill a Dao-achiever like the Grand Emperor?"
The Grand Emperor was only half a Dao-achiever, but even so, Qin Mu had never dealt with such an opponent.
Whether he could slay the Grand Emperor would be crucial and instructive for future battles.
He repeatedly studied Ming Fangyu's moves, memorizing them thoroughly, then sat down silently to deduce the changes in Ming Fangyu's divine abilities.
He had to be this cautious because he needed to unravel Ling Celestial Venerable's Immutable Divine Ability in order to rescue her from that state.
But breaking the Immutable Divine Ability and freeing Ling Celestial Venerable also meant freeing Ming Fangyu, who controlled the Celestial Emperor's physical body!
Ming Fangyu, the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit, specialized in cultivating the primordial spirit. Being able to rank as a Celestial Venerable naturally meant he possessed vast divine powers.
The Celestial Emperor Taichu's physical body—the strongest in history—combined with this, made it extremely difficult for Qin Mu alone to deal with him.
Thus, Qin Mu had to master Ming Fangyu's techniques and understand everything about him clearly.
Qin Mu sat there, even closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep. Soon, snoring arose, and dreams began to appear on the Heavenly River. In those dreams, many tiny Qin Mu figures emerged, each mimicking the Grand Emperor's demeanor, gestures, and movements with lifelike precision.
They executed the Grand Emperor's ultimate moves, gradually deducing the evolution of his techniques. Many tiny Qin Mu even fought using the Grand Emperor's moves, naturally leading to a massacre, with rivers of blood flowing in the dreams.
It had to be said that the Grand Emperor was nearly a genius in every field.
He had many identities. The strength of the Grand Emperor's physical body could rival that of the ancient god Celestial Emperor. His divine consciousness incarnation, Qiang Tianfei, was the world's foremost expert in divine consciousness. And his primordial spirit, Ming Fangyu, was a Celestial Venerable renowned for the power of his primordial spirit.
With a powerful physical body, he excelled in close combat. With a powerful primordial spirit, he mastered Dao techniques. With powerful divine consciousness, he was skilled in visualization and soul control.
Apart from Gong Celestial Venerable, the Grand Emperor had almost no weaknesses!
Qin Mu had studied the Grand Emperor's Great Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness, and his Divine Consciousness Heavenly Palace was even built on that foundation. At one point, the Divine Consciousness Heavenly Palace had been his strongest heavenly palace.
After an unknown amount of time, Qin Mu suddenly woke from his dream, his heart stirring. Someone had touched the phantom images he had left behind!
But he didn't know whether it was Hao Celestial Venerable, Xiao Celestial Venerable, or Kaihuang Qin Ye.
However, he thought that since Kaihuang had cultivated his Dao realm to the thirty-sixth heaven and was a true Dao-achiever, his Dao heart was keen enough to discern the divine abilities hidden in those phantoms.
If he saw them, he wouldn't touch them.
Hao Celestial Venerable and Xiao Celestial Venerable's Dao realm levels were not as high as Kaihuang's, so it could only be one of them who had triggered his phantoms.
"Whoever it is, they're fast!"
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. The visitor had passed through his phantoms at an extremely fast speed. At that pace, they would arrive here soon.
Unexpectedly, just as this person was about to reach him, they suddenly vanished from his perception!
Qin Mu frowned and looked back along the path, but saw no one.
"All old foxes!"
Qin Mu steadied himself. The one who entered was either Hao Celestial Venerable or Xiao Celestial Venerable. He thought to himself: "Not showing up directly makes Hao Celestial Venerable more likely. Hao Celestial Venerable isn't in a hurry because he isn't the one with the most to gain. The biggest stakeholders are me, the Grand Emperor, and Xiao Celestial Venerable. So Hao Celestial Venerable can completely play the fisherman and reap the rewards."
He waited quietly. After two or three days, he sensed someone touching the phantom images he had left behind.
This person was extremely cautious. The moment they touched the first phantom, they avoided the second.
Qin Mu waited for a long time, but this person didn't touch any other phantoms.
"This person is Xiao Celestial Venerable."
Qin Mu frowned slightly. Xiao Celestial Venerable had arrived a few days later than he had expected, giving him an uneasy feeling.
"Kaihuang left Carefree Village—could Xiao Celestial Venerable have taken advantage of his absence?"
He pondered briefly and silently thought: "If I were Xiao Celestial Venerable, I would definitely sneak into the Other Shore Void while Kaihuang was away, collect the Taichu Primordial Stones, destroy the Creators there, absorb all their divine consciousness, and strengthen my own power. If that kid Mu Celestial Venerable wanted to ambush me and use the Grand Emperor to get rid of me, then he would be waiting for me, making sure I enter Ling Celestial Venerable's divine ability."
Thinking this, Qin Mu looked up and exhaled a turbid breath: "Xiao Celestial Venerable delayed for a few days, which means the Other Shore Void is in grave danger! And Xiao Celestial Venerable's strength will likely increase dramatically!"
He steadied himself. Trying to scheme against an existence like Xiao Celestial Venerable was indeed extremely difficult.
"Moreover, I don't know if Xiao Celestial Venerable has already entered the Ultimate Void and forcibly imprinted his power there. If he can achieve that step, then his strength will see another astonishing increase! Whether Kaihuang can defeat him is still a fifty-fifty chance."
Qin Mu closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and spread his Divine Treasury Domain.
His domain expanded further and further, gradually enveloping the entire misty Heavenly River. Qin Mu lightly tapped his right index finger on his brow, and the vertical eye on his forehead slowly opened.
The moment this eye opened, his domain and form immediately separated from the misty Heavenly River!
Before him, only a section of the Heavenly River remained!
That was the section of the Heavenly River that Ling Celestial Venerable had cut off, now transformed into Immutable Matter!
Previously, Qin Mu had stood on the Heavenly River. Now, he had detached himself from that section, observing everything happening within it from an outsider's perspective!
The Heavenly River surged and flowed mightily. Qin Mu stood outside it, gazing into the distance. He saw that after the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu killed Ling Celestial Venerable, he repeatedly charged toward the edge of the Heavenly River, trying to break out, but each time he failed.
Qin Mu stood outside the Heavenly River, with nothing above or below him, and nothing visible around him. He seemed like a mass of Primal Chaos Qi, the Qi of Taichu, existing between form and formlessness.
The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu killed Ling Celestial Venerable once more, then attacked the Heavenly River with his spear again. Immediately, the Immutable Divine Ability erupted, returning everything to its origin. Ling Celestial Venerable was resurrected, only to be killed again.
Qin Mu watched this scene quietly. Each time, Ming Fangyu used different techniques and divine abilities, trying various methods to break the Immutable Divine Ability, but every attempt ended in failure.
He observed Ming Fangyu's divine abilities, then compared them with the deductions he had made earlier, correcting some shortcomings.
When everything was ready, he slowly activated the great divine ability of the Taichu Dao, his gaze fixed firmly on Ming Fangyu.
He had to break Ling Celestial Venerable's Immutable Divine Ability before she died, and block the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu's attack before he killed her. Only then could he save Ling Celestial Venerable!
Thus, timing was of the utmost importance.
The only chance for survival was fleeting, allowing no room for error.
The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu seemed to have noticed him. Suddenly, he charged toward Qin Mu. The power of the spear in his hand was overwhelmingly strong, combined with the Celestial Emperor's physical body and the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit. As he thrust the spear, that section of the Heavenly River violently churned and evaporated. The tip of the spear swept up the river's water, hurtling straight toward Qin Mu's brow!
At that moment, the Immutable Divine Ability erupted, sweeping him away and returning him to the origin point.
At the origin point, Ling Celestial Venerable turned her head to look at Qin Mu. The girl in the leopard-skin skirt and straw sandals smiled at him radiantly. Though not beautiful, it was captivating.
The next moment, Ling Celestial Venerable died. The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu pinned her with his spear, then charged at Qin Mu again, thrusting once more!
The spear tip came closer and closer to Qin Mu's brow, but it could never strike him.
Qin Mu's vertical eye followed his movements closely. Just as the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu thrust his spear again, the tip touching Qin Mu's brow, Ling Celestial Venerable's Immutable Divine Ability erupted, reorganizing all matter and returning it to its original state!
At the same time, Qin Mu flicked his wrist, and his divine ability erupted!
Taichu Form and Formlessness Question the Primal Chaos!
As his divine ability unfolded, in an instant, the entire section of the Heavenly River composed of Immutable Matter violently vibrated, transforming from matter into Primal Chaos Qi. The Immutable Divine Ability was completely broken by his single move!
The moment Qin Mu flicked his wrist, he stepped forward, and the Execution Platform spun and flew out!
In the next instant, the Primal Chaos Qi transformed, and the Heavenly River, Ling Celestial Venerable, and Ming Fangyu all reappeared, but in a state of energy without physical form.
Just as Qin Mu's foot landed beside Ling Celestial Venerable, the energy state immediately began to revert to physical form. Ling Celestial Venerable was raising her hand to activate the Immutable Divine Ability when suddenly her hand was firmly grasped by Qin Mu.
The woman showed an expression of utter astonishment, staring at Qin Mu's face.
But Qin Mu was looking up, watching the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit descending from above, controlling the Celestial Emperor Taichu's physical body. In Celestial Emperor Taichu's hand, that divine spear was terrifyingly powerful—supreme in strength, fierceness, and hardness!
The primordial spirit contained magical power. Ming Fangyu's magical power was so strong that even in the present age, he was one of the few top-tier experts!
Whoosh—
As the spear thrust down, its ferocity concealed infinite variations. However, Qin Mu had already simulated this scene thousands of times in his mind.
The moment the divine spear descended, the Taiyi Staff in his hand thrust out.
The Grand Emperor's divine spear, with its tip dotting, had complex and intricate techniques.
The Taiyi Staff, with its tip dotting, had equally complex and intricate techniques. Every strike accurately hit the tip of the divine spear.
Ling Celestial Venerable was still staring at Qin Mu's face, but she saw his serious expression. Through his hand, she felt the vibrations from the force of his clash with the Grand Emperor.
Qin Mu held her hand, stepping back along the Heavenly River, gradually dispersing the excess force.
The Heavenly River exploded, turning into towering waves. The Grand Emperor's divine spear pierced through wave after wave, his assault like a violent storm. The combat power of the strongest physical body was terrifying. Even though Qin Mu had understood all his techniques and divine abilities, the direct clash still left blood trickling from the corner of his mouth!
At that moment, the Execution Platform suddenly rose from beneath the Heavenly River. On the water's surface, the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu happened to rush to this spot, landing directly on the Execution Platform!
Qin Mu suddenly stopped and charged forward, holding Ling Celestial Venerable's hand. The Execution Platform was something he had hidden beneath the Heavenly River when he broke Ling Celestial Venerable's divine ability, all for this moment!
The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu's foot landed on the Execution Platform. The platform immediately transformed into thirty-five steps, and two Execution Divine Blades circled around him like vicious dragons, whistling.
He held his divine spear, thrusting like a dragon. Just as he cleaved the two Execution Divine Blades apart, a teaching whip flew over and smacked him on the forehead!
The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu was struck senseless by this blow, his primordial spirit almost knocked out of the Celestial Emperor Taichu's physical body. Terror filled his heart!
At that moment, the Taiyi Staff pierced through the dense net of blood-colored blades.
Ding.
Qin Mu used the Taiyi Staff as a sword, striking the Celestial Emperor Taichu's physical body between the brows. The Grand Emperor's primordial spirit shook violently, flying backward out of Taichu's body!
Qin Mu withdrew his staff, turned his head, and smiled at the girl beside him: "Ling, I'm here."