Chapter 1554: The Final Verdict
Although the number of Hongmeng runes he had left in the Heavenly Emperor's physical body was large, they could only be used once. Once these runes formed the Miluo Palace Dao patterns, they would dissipate as their power erupted.
Now, Qin Mu wanted to strike again, but his strength failed him.
Seeing his expression, Heavenly Lord Xiao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "It seems that Heavenly Lord Mu only tampered with my physical body once and left no other tricks. If he could leave ten or eight contingencies, even if I regained my physical body, I wouldn't dare to use it."
He was extremely vigilant, vowing never to let his physical body fall into Qin Mu's hands again.
Otherwise, who knew what bizarre things this brat would leave inside his body? He might be ambushed to death without even knowing how!
"The most dangerous thing in the world is Heavenly Lord Mu's schemes!"
The Imperial Emperor charged in, steam rising from the top of his skull. That was where Qin Mu's strike had blown off his cranial cap, exposing his brain matter.
The Dao wounds left by Emperor Kai, Heavenly Lord Hao, and Heavenly Lord Xiao were manageable. With the strength of the Heavenly Emperor's physical body, these Dao wounds were not severe. The Primordial Qi could assimilate and heal the traces of their Dao patterns, and the Creation Divine Art could repair the physical damage.
But the Dao wound left by Qin Mu's strike was something even the Primordial Qi could not assimilate.
The wound on his skull was caused by the Miluo Palace Dao patterns. These patterns could be called the crystallization of wisdom from the past sixteen universes, containing not only the knowledge of the Primordial Dao but also various great Dao divine abilities from Taiyi, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji.
Even Qin Mu, who had spent years trying to unravel the mysteries of the Miluo Palace Dao patterns, had made some progress but could not unlock all their secrets.
It was precisely because the Miluo Palace Dao patterns were so powerful that they suppressed the Heavenly Emperor's physical body, allowing Heavenly Lords Xiao, Hao, and others to break through its defenses and severely wound him.
What was even more infuriating was that Qin Mu not only left him with the Dao wound from the Miluo Palace Dao patterns but also thrust the Taiyi staff into his forehead, piercing through the top of his head, down his throat, and reaching his abdomen!
The Taiyi staff was another extraordinary treasure, refined by Taiyi from a branch of the World Tree he had cut down.
Taiyi left the staff to Qin Mu so that he could follow the map to rescue him, but the staff's power was immense. When Taiyi crossed the Chaotic Long River, he had used the staff to beat down prehistoric Dao-achievers, including some sons of the Miluo Palace!
The Dao wounds inflicted on the Heavenly Emperor's physical body and the Imperial Emperor's divine consciousness by the staff were also difficult to heal in a short time.
Moreover, although the Imperial Emperor had seized the staff, he could not use it. In Qin Mu's hands, it was a weapon that could strike wherever he pointed. In the Imperial Emperor's hands, it was at most an extremely hard wooden stick, unable to activate the staff's power.
Qin Mu urged the golden ship forward, charging straight at the Imperial Emperor. At the same time, the Imperial Emperor rushed toward him, murderous intent soaring into the sky. He directly unleashed his Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain, infusing it with Primordial Qi to guard against the Unchanging Divine Ability.
The people on the ship each shouted, layering their domains one upon another. Four different domains merged together and collided violently with the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain!
—Only the Taisu Goddess had not boarded the ship and had no domain. She stood alone outside the ship, constantly striking the Grand Bell, trying to disrupt the Imperial Emperor.
But the Imperial Emperor paid her no attention.
The Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm trembled, the Imperial Emperor's Dao Tree swayed, and his Dao Fruit burst forth with dazzling light, calming the residual power of all divine abilities!
Qin Mu, Emperor Kai, and the others shouted, unleashing various divine abilities simultaneously, attacking the Imperial Emperor. The Imperial Emperor fought with grand, sweeping moves, his Dao Tree standing behind him. This time, even he had to use all his means, activating even his Dao Tree and Dao Fruit, striking blow after blow at the group!
The five fought with reddened eyes. Qin Mu used his Divine Treasury Domain as a foundation to support the others. No matter how severely they were injured, his domain could heal them in an instant!
Moreover, standing within his domain, no matter from which direction the Imperial Emperor launched his attacks, they would always come from the front, allowing them to respond immediately!
But even so, the four of them faced constant danger!
The Imperial Emperor was simply too powerful. With his Dao Fruit activated, he could even freeze the combined domains of the four!
Especially Qin Mu. The Imperial Emperor hated him to the bone and gave him special attention. Not only did he activate his Dao Fruit, sending countless Dao patterns flying out to completely suppress Qin Mu's domain, but he also activated his Dao Tree. Leaves fluttered from the tree, dancing among the various divine abilities, constantly approaching Qin Mu.
Meanwhile, the branches shot out like arrows, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, madly stabbing at Qin Mu!
To protect Qin Mu, Heavenly Lords Hao and Xiao, along with Emperor Kai, were repeatedly injured. They had to keep Qin Mu alive so he could activate his Divine Treasury Domain to save their lives.
Boom!
The Imperial Emperor landed on the bow of the golden ship. The faces of the four on board instantly turned pale, a sense of despair creeping into their hearts.
If the Imperial Emperor hadn't boarded the ship, they could still fight. Qin Mu could use the golden ship as a heavy weapon to ram the Imperial Emperor, alleviating their crisis.
But with the Imperial Emperor on the golden ship, the ship lost its effectiveness as a heavy weapon.
On the golden ship, the atmosphere was tense. The four's eyes were fixed on the Imperial Emperor before them.
The Imperial Emperor's face was dark. Behind him, the Dao Tree waved its branches and roots, rising from beneath the ship like a monster covered in countless tentacles.
The Imperial Emperor's Dao Fruit grew brighter and more sacred, as if the Great Dao within it had fully awakened.
So far, the Dao Tree and Dao Fruit had not suffered a single scratch!
Only the physical body of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor was damaged.
This scene was utterly despairing!
"Hao'er, shouldn't you use your full strength?"
Heavenly Lord Xiao suddenly looked at Heavenly Lord Hao, speaking calmly: "In the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, you nearly killed me. Your strength back then was more than what you're showing now."
Heavenly Lord Hao snorted coldly, replying indifferently: "Father God, what about you? When you entered the Lingxiao Hall of the Ancestral Court, surely that son of the Lingxiao Hall didn't just heal your wounds, did he? At this point, if you're still hiding your cards, you lack the spirit of a Heavenly Emperor. You've become so petty."
Heavenly Lord Xiao's gaze locked onto the Imperial Emperor at the bow, smiling: "As expected of my good son. Very well, then. Let's each use our full strength and see what we gained in the Jade Capital City!"
Heavenly Lord Hao raised his brows, smiling: "Father God is indeed Father God. But you've already lost to me twice. Father God is old. You will lose a third time!"
Heavenly Lord Xiao smiled faintly.
Qin Mu grew alert, glancing at the two of them, thinking to himself: "Both of them are old foxes, hiding their cards so well. But I'm not bad either. I have two big cards!"
He quietly looked at Emperor Kai, who nodded silently.
Emperor Kai was his first big card.
As long as Heavenly Lord Ling's Unchanging Divine Ability sent them back to the time when Emperor Kai achieved Dao, the Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm that Emperor Kai had imprinted in the Ultimate Void could sense this place.
At that time, when the two Grand Celestial Realms collided, Emperor Kai's Dao Tree and Dao Flower would arrive together, greatly increasing his cultivation and strength!
Heavenly Lord Ling was Qin Mu's second big card.
After forty thousand years of cultivation, Heavenly Lord Ling should have made up for her shortcomings in cultivation. Coupled with her forty thousand years of painstaking research into the Hongmeng runes and Miluo Palace Dao patterns, she would surely become the decisive factor in this battle!
Moreover, Emperor Kai sensing his own Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm meant they had reached the time period when they entered the Heavenly River. It also meant that Heavenly Lord Ling, forty thousand years later, was almost here!
"This battle is not only a struggle between us and the Imperial Emperor but also a struggle between us and Heavenly Lords Hao and Xiao!"
Qin Mu's heart was tense. How much benefit had the Third and Fourth Sons of the Miluo Palace given to Heavenly Lords Xiao and Hao? Could Emperor Kai and Heavenly Lord Ling achieve true victory in this battle?
Could he save Heavenly Lord Yun?
It all depended on the outcome of this battle!
On the Ferry World Golden Ship, a figure flickered. The Imperial Emperor showed a hint of confusion, but he didn't see clearly who that figure was and paid it no mind.
"It's time to end this."
The Imperial Emperor clasped his hands behind his back, his skull cap blown off, brain matter steaming. He glanced faintly at the four, then at the Taisu Goddess still striking the Grand Bell, and said leisurely: "Unknowingly, forty thousand years have passed. The four of you have accompanied me for forty thousand years. The events of these forty thousand years fill me with emotion."
The four of them also felt emotional.
In these forty thousand years, the Era of Emperor Kai rose and fell, eventually retreating to Carefree Realm. The Ten Heavenly Lords held the reins of government, completely controlling the power of the Heavenly Court, creating a fake Heavenly Emperor's physical body, and using the Heavenly Emperor to command the vassals.
For them, these forty thousand years were relatively peaceful, until Qin Mu's sudden emergence.
From the Imperial Emperor's physical body breaking free to being killed and turned to ashes.
From Emperor Kai leaving Carefree Realm to slashing the fake Heavenly Emperor's physical body with his sword, splitting the Heavenly Court, and revealing the Ancestral Court.
From Qin Mu creating the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge to connecting all the worlds with bridges.
From the unification of the Heavenly Court's myriad worlds to the Heavenly Court's migration to the Ancestral Court.
From the alliance of the Ten Heavenly Lords, united in spirit, to the alliance's disintegration.
From the death of Heavenly Lord Hong to the death of Qiang Tianfei, and then to Yuanmu and the Empress merging and going mad.
From Taiyi's appearance to Taisu and Taiji's successive emergence.
From the appearance of the Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court to the Ten Heavenly Lords visiting the Miluo Palace.
Behind all this seemed to be a great black hand silently pushing forward. However, Heavenly Lords Xiao and Hao, as witnesses, knew that the mastermind behind all this was actually Qin Mu.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Qin Mu had led the changes of the past hundred years, pushing the situation of the entire universe to its current state.
This was a transformation unprecedented in a million years, a transformation unprecedented since the birth of this universe, all because of Qin Mu!
"Now, the final verdict can be made!"
The Imperial Emperor let out a long roar. Behind him, countless branches of the Dao Tree shot up, standing straight in the sky. The Dao Fruit blazed with light, and the Dao sound rumbled and shook!
The Imperial Emperor took a step forward, unleashing the full power of the entire Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm, crushing down on the group!
At the same time, behind Heavenly Lord Xiao, a great hall rose into the air. It was the phantom of the Lingxiao Hall of the Ancestral Court. This Lingxiao Hall was different from others. It spun, revealing countless densely packed Dao pattern textures, extremely complex!
His cultivation and magical power surged, rising to a peak he had never reached before!
In the same instant, behind Heavenly Lord Hao, a Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel stood upright. On the massive wheel, various complex textures also appeared, and at the center of the wheel was an Ancestral Court Zixiao Hall, emitting an overwhelming Dao might!
In that moment, the power of the two shot straight upward, even surpassing Emperor Kai's Sword Dao in strength!
Just as the two unleashed their respective cards, in the Ultimate Void, a Sword Dao Grand Celestial Realm cut across, colliding violently with the Divine Consciousness Grand Celestial Realm!
The two Grand Celestial Realms merged. The Sword Dao's Dao Tree appeared behind Emperor Kai, and on the tree, a Dao Flower bloomed. Emperor Kai's momentum surged!
On the other side, at the source of the Yong River, Heavenly Lord Ling looked up and saw the sky split open. Layer upon layer of void appeared, revealing the supreme Ultimate Void.
She saw the Grand Celestial Realm.
"Ling, is that you?" At that moment, a trembling voice came from behind her.
Heavenly Lord Ling turned around and saw Heavenly Lord Yue, trembling with excitement, walking toward her with an expression of disbelief.
Heavenly Lord Ling smiled.
—Mid-month, asking for monthly votes!