Chapter 1551: Cloud and Pasture Meet
Within the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven, Qin Mu watched Ling Tianzun depart and finally felt relieved.
Ling Tianzun's cultivation and strength were relatively weak, and her supernatural abilities were no longer invincible. With her by his side, it was difficult for him to act freely.
Now that Ling Tianzun had left, he could finally be unrestrained!
The Ferry World Golden Ship whistled back, and Qin Mu soared through the air, landing on the golden ship. He saw the Grand Emperor fighting against the Kai Emperor, Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the Tai Su Goddess, beating the four of them until they coughed up blood continuously. Even the Kai Emperor was injured.
The Grand Emperor had no match!
"After attaining the Dao, there should be the three realms of the Dao Tree, Dao Flower, and Dao Fruit. So the Grand Emperor is at the realm of the Dao Fruit, while the Kai Emperor is at the realm of the Dao Flower."
Qin Mu did not immediately join the battle. His eyes flickered as he maneuvered the golden ship, flying up and down around the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven, searching for the Grand Emperor's weakness.
The Grand Emperor had been ambushed by the Primordial Lord of the Mi Luo Palace, causing him not to be a true Dao attainder. Logically speaking, despite his power, he should have a significant flaw.
Otherwise, the Grand Emperor would not have been so scheming, wanting to devour the physical bodies of Xiao Tianzun and the Heavenly Emperor, trying to escape the drawbacks brought about by attaining the Dao through sacrifice.
He was trapped in the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven, with only a small amount of divine consciousness able to descend to the lower realms. This should be one manifestation of his flaw.
The Ferry World Golden Ship arrived at the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, where thousands of roots danced wildly. Although the fierce battle raged above, it was very peaceful here.
Suddenly, Qin Mu was slightly startled, and then a look of both surprise and joy appeared on his face.
"Pasture Tianzun, Cloud and Pasture never meet. In history, we have never been able to meet and talk in detail. I didn't expect to meet here, under these circumstances."
Amidst the layers of entwining roots, Cloud Tianzun sat very calmly. He was a primordial spirit, wrapped by the roots of the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, with roots all over his body, piercing into his primordial spirit.
His gaze was still warm, falling on Qin Mu, seemingly not at all embarrassed by his own predicament. He did not look like a prisoner at all, smiling: "Today, I have finally seen you, and I can have a high-minded discussion with you."
Qin Mu laughed heartily, urging the golden ship to sail under the Dao Tree roots. Those Dao Tree roots immediately coiled towards him. Qin Mu maneuvered the golden ship to dodge, but the Dao Tree roots were extremely soft and extremely tough, making it impossible for him to cut them off even with his strength.
These Dao Tree roots were like another Grand Emperor, their attacks strange and tricky, making it difficult for him to get close to Cloud Tianzun.
Suddenly, Cloud Tianzun stood up, the Dao Tree roots wrapped around him automatically falling off, and he walked towards him, smiling: "Pasture, do you know why I can remain undying in the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven even as a primordial spirit?"
Qin Mu noticed that strips of roots connected to the back of Cloud Tianzun's primordial spirit. These roots were deeply embedded in Cloud Tianzun's body, merging him with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree!
He couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, and he blurted out: "Are you the Grand Emperor? The Grand Emperor naturally wouldn't kill himself!"
Cloud Tianzun was stunned, not knowing how he suddenly came up with such a strange idea. He said with a mix of amusement and exasperation: "I am not the Grand Emperor. It's the effect of my Purple Firmament Azure Fall Technique. My Purple Firmament Azure Fall Technique is good at absorbing other people's techniques and supernatural powers, integrating them, and turning them into my own Dao methods. When I was killed by the Grand Emperor back then, the Grand Emperor couldn't destroy my primordial spirit, so he sent me into the Ultimate Void. He planned to torture me, refine me, and imprison me here."
Another batch of Dao Tree roots flew towards him, trying to wrap around him, and some even attempted to drill into his mouth to stop him from speaking. It was clear that the Grand Emperor had noticed this and was trying to make Cloud Tianzun shut up.
However, as soon as these roots touched Cloud Tianzun, they lost their target, passing through his primordial spirit.
Cloud Tianzun walked straight over, dragging long Dao Tree roots behind him, saying: "After I was imprisoned here, the Dao Tree roots pierced through me, and I couldn't move. However, the Grand Emperor attained the Dao through divine consciousness. The moment I touched the Dao Tree, I understood the mysteries contained within the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness."
Qin Mu understood. The Grand Emperor attained the Dao through divine consciousness, and his divine consciousness constructed this Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven, and his Dao Tree was also the path of divine consciousness.
Therefore, when Cloud Tianzun came into contact with the Dao Tree, he learned about the Grand Emperor's Dao through divine consciousness.
However, understanding was one thing; Cloud Tianzun might not necessarily be able to cultivate the Grand Emperor's Grand Celestial Supreme Divine Consciousness.
The next moment, Cloud Tianzun avoided the blockade of several Dao Tree roots and arrived in front of the golden ship, smiling: "After understanding the Grand Emperor's Grand Celestial Supreme Divine Consciousness, I absorbed its nutrients, making the Dao Tree think that I was one with it. The path of divine consciousness cannot harm itself, so I chose to merge with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, thereby avoiding death."
Qin Mu's expression was complex as he looked at this Dao friend who had been imprisoned here for hundreds of thousands of years. They had only met once at the Yao Pool Grand Ceremony, without exchanging words, and later, separated by the Heavenly River and time and space, they had toasted each other from afar.
They were two very similar people, one carrying the weight of the past years, the other shouldering the hope of the future.
Now, they were finally standing face to face!
This scene stirred his heart, surging with emotion, and it took a long time to calm down!
He suppressed the surging passion in his chest and voiced his doubts, saying solemnly: "Cloud, what you say sounds easy, but it's still hard to convince me! The Grand Emperor attained the Dao. You are not on the path of the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness. How could you merge with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree? Unless, you are the Grand Emperor!"
Cloud Tianzun was both amused and exasperated. Although he and Qin Mu were Dao friends, he knew that Qin Mu was a stubbornly terrifying fellow.
Sometimes, when strange ideas popped into his head, if they couldn't be satisfied, these strange ideas wouldn't subside.
"It's because the Grand Emperor's path of divine consciousness is not complete."
Cloud Tianzun patiently explained: "I sensed that his path of divine consciousness was incomplete, the Dao Tree was imperfect, and the Dao Flower and Dao Fruit each had their flaws. That's why I had the opportunity to find the gaps and fill them, treating myself as the missing part of the divine consciousness path, patching it into the Dao Tree, Dao Flower, and Dao Fruit, thus preserving myself."
Qin Mu thought about it. The path Cloud Tianzun described was feasible in principle, but he still had doubts.
First, the Grand Emperor's flaws were caused by the incomplete method of attaining the Dao through faith taught by the Primordial Lord of the Mi Luo Palace. Even the Grand Emperor didn't know how to solve them. How did Cloud Tianzun know?
Second, Cloud Tianzun's primordial spirit was sent to the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Heaven. Even if he came into contact with the Dao Tree and comprehended the path of divine consciousness from the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness, cultivating and practicing it would take time.
If the Grand Emperor discovered him secretly studying his techniques, how could he tolerate it?
And was Cloud Tianzun's talent really monstrous enough to cultivate the Grand Emperor's Grand Celestial Supreme Divine Consciousness in such a short time, even finding the gaps, detecting the Grand Emperor's shortcomings, and even filling them?
If that were the case, Cloud Tianzun's talent would be far too high.
"Also, if the Grand Emperor truly wanted you dead, you wouldn't be able to escape his deadly hand."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he looked at the primordial spirit of his Dao friend before him, saying: "The Dao Tree may not kill you, but the Grand Emperor can! If I were the Grand Emperor, seeing your talent and aptitude so monstrous, I would eliminate you immediately!"
Cloud Tianzun nodded: "The Grand Emperor does have this means. However..."
His expression turned strange: "The moment I touched the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, I sensed a peculiarity within it, and once I found that peculiarity, the Grand Emperor couldn't eliminate me. Hidden within the Dao Tree is a treasure. It is this treasure that allows the Grand Emperor to imprint his divine consciousness onto the Ultimate Void, thereby attaining the Dao, growing the Dao Tree, blooming the Dao Flower, and bearing the Dao Fruit. The Grand Emperor's Dao practice can be said to be entrusted to the Ultimate Void, but it is rooted in this treasure."
Qin Mu's heart stirred: "In the Ultimate Void, no treasure can exist! What treasure can take root here, turning into soil for the Grand Emperor to grow his Dao Tree?"
Cloud Tianzun raised his hand, and suddenly, a sacred sword emerged from the trunk of the Dao Tree. The hilt of the sacred sword seemed to be composed of Primordial One Qi, while the blade was covered with ten thousand Dao steel stamps, slowly rotating within the tree trunk!
As the sacred sword rotated, various ancient god phantoms emerged from the ten thousand Dao steel stamps!
Those ancient god phantoms were composed of divine light, varying in size, arranged in an orderly manner, surrounding the sacred sword, with solemn, majestic, and even ferocious expressions!
"Imperial Sword!"
Qin Mu blurted out: "Tai Chu's Imperial Sword!"
He had seen a similar sword before. It was the file in the hands of the Tai Chu Heavenly Emperor. Gu Xiao and Xiao Tianzun often took out a similar file to file their fingernails!
He had also seen Gu Xiao and Xiao Tianzun use the file, which could transform into an Imperial Sword with immense power, suppressing the ages!
However, there was more than one Imperial Sword. Gu Xiao's Imperial Sword was left behind in the Ancestral Court, and it was not the same as the one in Xiao Tianzun's hand. Could this Imperial Sword be a third one?
"It shouldn't be Tai Chu's Imperial Sword."
Qin Mu examined it carefully, puzzled: "The power of this Imperial Sword seems far stronger than those two! More importantly, the power contained within this Imperial Sword is divided into two types..."
His expression grew even stranger. The first type of power was naturally Primordial One Qi, which was obvious at a glance.
The second type of power was the ten thousand ancient god phantoms reflected by the ten thousand Dao steel stamps. Those ancient god phantoms had a gap in their foreheads, as if each ancient god had a third eye, but their third eyes no longer existed!
This gave Qin Mu a feeling that if a piece of Tai Chu Divine Stone were embedded in these ten thousand Dao steel stamps, the third eyes of these ancient god phantoms would grow out!
For some unknown reason, these divine stones had been removed from the Imperial Sword!
—In other words, the second type of power was the path of divine consciousness!
The path of divine consciousness, combined with Primordial One Qi, formed the complete Tai Chu Dao!
The other two Imperial Swords did not have such an effect. They seemed more like imitations or forgeries forged by the Tai Chu Heavenly Emperor himself, while this sword was the genuine article!
"Could this sword be the companion treasure of the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu?" Qin Mu blurted out.
He suddenly realized why even the Kai Emperor couldn't cut down the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, and why Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun couldn't harm this Dao Tree at all!
Because they weren't attacking the Dao Tree; they were attacking this Tai Chu companion treasure!
The power of any attack they made would ultimately fall upon this companion treasure!