Chapter 1574: Curiosity Kills the Foolish Moose
Beneath the Chaos Sea, the woman looked up, watching Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager climb rapidly, the distance between them growing greater and greater as they gradually delved deeper into the Return to Ruins Abyss of the Sixteenth Universe.
"Finally, the day of my release has come, Teacher."
She murmured softly: "You said my methods were too extreme and imprisoned me here, but you never expected that in the end, it would be the Seventh who sets me free. Hehehe..."
She let out a low laugh: "You are old. I can feel the decay of your Dao heart. For an existence like you, once the Dao heart grows old, death is not far off. The moment your Dao heart dies, that is the moment you die. Teacher, I will weep for you, and I will also laugh for my own release!"
"You always say my methods are too ruthless. You, so merciful, wanting to save everyone, but every time you fail! Perhaps only someone like me can accomplish what you could not!"
Her gaze was fixed tightly on the figures of Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager. Gradually, they vanished into the darkness, no longer visible.
"Even if this time the Seventh and the Return to Ruins Goddess cannot save me, I still have another path to take."
She chuckled softly: "You know, I have many methods. You once said I was ruthless and merciless, that my actions defied the heavens. Heh, as long as that Return to Ruins Goddess cultivates my Return to Ruins Mirror, even if I cannot escape, what does it matter?"
Her face beneath the sea surface looked very pleased: "I will still come back to life. You know, when the Return to Ruins Goddess awakens, that is my awakening..."
On the stem of the Twin Lotus, Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager climbed rapidly. The entire history of the Sixteenth Universe flashed before them like a revolving lantern, rapidly depicting six hundred million years of history.
The Sixteenth Universe had existed for a much shorter time than the other universes. At the very beginning of this universe's birth, many Dao Achievers had smuggled themselves across, occupying the mass and energy of this universe.
The Sixteenth Universe was far smaller than Qin Mu and the others had imagined. The cycle of formation, existence, decay, and emptiness arrived much faster than they had anticipated.
So many Dao Achievers smuggling across required mass-energy exchange, swapping the mass and energy of the Sixteenth Universe into the Destruction Calamity of the Fifteenth Universe while they exchanged themselves over. Therefore, the Sixteenth Universe was very small.
Such a small universe, accommodating so many Dao Achievers, caused the cycle of formation, existence, decay, and emptiness to accelerate drastically!
In the end, in just six hundred million years, the Sixteenth Universe completely collapsed, everything turning to nothing!
"Six hundred million years..."
Qin Mu's eyelids twitched. Their universe was the Seventeenth Era. Taiyi had said that the Seventeenth Era had already passed for six billion years, ten times the lifespan of the Sixteenth Era!
Even so, the current universe was still in the "formation" stage of the cycle, not yet reaching the "existence" stage.
However, as the number of Dao Achievers in the Seventeenth Era increased, the universe would stop growing and expanding, and should enter the "existence" stage.
"If we allow these prehistoric Dao Achievers to cross over freely, I'm afraid our universe won't last until it fully matures before it is completely annihilated."
Qin Mu stopped climbing and fell into deep thought.
"Darling!"
The Empress Dowager also stopped. Lady Yuanmu lowered her voice and called out: "What are you planning?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. He said: "Ladies, since you have obtained the method of the Return to Ruins Mirror, why not cultivate it and avoid being driven mad?"
The Empress Dowager said flatly: "Pastoral Celestial Venerable should know the reason."
Lady Yuanmu laughed: "Although we have fought our whole lives, both wanting to kill the other, we have never thought of dying together. Besides, if we cultivate her Return to Ruins Mirror, my sister and I, that little slut, would have to submit to the so-called Return to Ruins Goddess, a fate worse than death. Naturally, we cannot cultivate it!"
The Empress Dowager said: "In comparison, Pastoral Celestial Venerable's Cycle of Reincarnation Dao is still fair. You taught us the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao, and we each rely on our own abilities. Whether I refine her to death or she refines me to death, it is our own fate."
Qin Mu smiled slightly: "So, since you two have no intention of using the Return to Ruins Mirror method, why not teach it to me, and I will teach you the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao."
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu pondered for a moment, then each imparted the Return to Ruins Mirror method they had obtained to him.
"These two methods are different."
Qin Mu organized them and was greatly surprised. He mused: "Strange! Logically speaking, the method she taught Yuanmu and the one she taught the Empress Dowager should be the same. Because although you appear to be two people, you are actually two different minds of the same Return to Ruins Goddess. Therefore, one method should apply to both. But she divided it into two types. This is unreasonable..."
He carefully studied the Return to Ruins Mirror. His current understanding and comprehension of the Return to Ruins Dao were no less than that of the Empress Dowager and Yuanmu, and in some aspects, he even surpassed them.
Therefore, he could comprehend the Second Young Master's Return to Ruins Mirror very quickly, understanding all its various subtleties.
The more he pondered, the tighter his brow furrowed, and the more he felt that the Return to Ruins Mirror harbored hidden malice.
Although Qin Mu was an enemy of both the Empress Dowager and Yuanmu, it was clear that the harm these two could cause was far less than that of the Second Young Master of Miro Palace.
Moreover, under the current circumstances, he needed to join forces with them.
"This Return to Ruins Mirror technique is probably cursed!"
Qin Mu suddenly said: "You two, protect me. I will test this Return to Ruins Mirror!"
He immediately entered a dream state. Within the dream, countless tiny Qin Mus emerged, chattering and discussing noisily.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu quickly resisted the power and might of the Return to Ruins Abyss, protecting his safety, watching him with tense expressions.
They were mortal enemies with Qin Mu, yet now they had no intention of harming him. And Qin Mu, surprisingly, showed no wariness towards them, entering his dream right in front of them and asking them to protect him!
Now, if they wanted to kill Qin Mu, it would take no effort at all. But with such a perfect opportunity, they could not bring themselves to do it. Instead, they had to protect him.
In the dream, many Qin Mus were cultivating the Return to Ruins Dao. Their cultivation directions were roughly divided into three categories. One category cultivated the Dao of Destruction of the Return to Ruins, similar to Lady Yuanmu. Another category cultivated the Dao of Creation of the Return to Ruins, similar to the Empress Dowager. The last category cultivated the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao that Qin Mu had comprehended.
After a long time, the Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu could barely withstand the power of the Return to Ruins Abyss. Suddenly, a strange change occurred.
In the dream, those tiny Qin Mus began to merge, two by two, becoming tiny Qin Mus with two faces, their forms strange, similar to the current state of the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu marveled.
The remaining tiny Qin Mus activated the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao, guarding these merged tiny Qin Mus.
Then, these tiny Qin Mus activated the method of the Return to Ruins Mirror. Bright mirrors, shaped like the Abyss, floated before these tiny figures.
This was the Return to Ruins Mirror refined according to the method.
In the dream, these tiny Qin Mus looked into the mirrors. Once their gazes fell upon the mirrors, they could not look away.
It seemed that within those mirrors were incredibly beautiful things, captivating their attention.
Just then, the mirrors suddenly blazed with light. Strange rays shot out, shining into the eyes of those tiny Qin Mus.
The Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu watched this scene intently. They saw the body structures of those tiny Qin Mus begin to change. They were originally male, but gradually their skin became fair, their chests swelled, their Adam's apples receded, and their waists became soft and slender!
In a short moment, these tiny Qin Mus had all transformed into women!
Not only that, but their appearances also changed, becoming identical to that woman, the Second Young Master of Miro Palace, beneath the Chaos Sea!
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu were horrified.
Those women seemed to sense something was wrong and immediately tried to escape Qin Mu's dream. At that moment, the remaining tiny Qin Mus, who were cultivating the Cycle of Reincarnation Dao, erupted with reincarnation techniques, locking the women in place.
Those women suddenly turned their heads in unison, looking at the sleeping Qin Mu, and said in unison: "Seventh, you are good at everything, but you are a little too curious!"
In the blink of an eye, these women were all beaten back to their state before looking in the mirror. None of them could escape Qin Mu's dream!
Layer after layer of dreams shattered. All the tiny Qin Mus disappeared. Qin Mu woke from his dream.
Lady Yuanmu let out a scream. The Empress Dowager said coldly: "Stop screaming. You're not dead yet!"
"If we had cultivated the Return to Ruins Mirror, we would be dead!"
Lady Yuanmu still could not calm down: "And that woman is down there in the Chaos Sea. Going down there is certain death! More importantly, when she fought against the Dao Chains, she directly pulled off this Twin Lotus and used it as a weapon! We are doomed!"
The Empress Dowager was also flustered and had no idea what to do. She murmured: "Curiosity kills the foolish moose. Pastoral Celestial Venerable, you are too curious..."
Below, the Chaos Sea raged with surging waves and towering billows. The Twin Lotus trembled violently, clearly because that woman was stirring up trouble, attacking the seal of the Dao Chains!
The Twin Lotus was pulled by an immense force. It was obvious that the woman was trying to pull the Twin Lotus down, dragging them back into the Chaos Sea!
Qin Mu suddenly shouted: "Keep climbing up!"
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu immediately joined forces and climbed up rapidly. But that woman's power was immense, far surpassing theirs combined. Even though they climbed with all their might, the Twin Lotus still brought them closer and closer to the sea surface.
Qin Mu had exposed her true intentions, which enraged her. She no longer bothered with pretense and directly struck to kill!
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu could not bear it any longer. They leaped up, jumping off the Twin Lotus. Qin Mu gritted his teeth and jumped as well. The three of them, resisting the immense gravitational pull of the Return to Ruins, charged upward.
But the gravitational pull of the Return to Ruins grew stronger and stronger, locking them in place, making their progress difficult.
Below them, streaks of white light danced—that was the Second Young Master's white hair, getting closer and closer!
Qin Mu let out a roar, channeling all his cultivation, and activated the Dao Chains left by the Master of Miro Palace. The Dao Chains blazed with power, tightly locking down the Second Young Master.
Chi!
A flash of white light shot through Qin Mu's chest, piercing him. Qin Mu coughed up blood. The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu rushed over, activating their techniques to sever this strand of white hair, saving Qin Mu.
Blood trickled from the corner of Qin Mu's mouth. He forcibly suppressed his injuries, mobilized his cultivation, and activated other Dao Chains, fighting desperately against the woman.
However, the woman's strength was truly formidable. Even though he could activate a fraction of the Dao Chains' power, he could not completely suppress her. More white hair surged towards them.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu knew that if Qin Mu fell, they would surely die. Therefore, they went all out to fight against the white hair.
Below, the woman pulled the Twin Lotus back, swinging it to counter the suppression of the Dao Chains, shrieking incessantly. The shrieks shook the three of them, making their minds dizzy, blood flowing from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.
"This time, I'm afraid we won't escape..." Qin Mu's mind was hazy. He thought to himself.
Suddenly, the Return to Ruins tide erupted, lifting their bodies and carrying them upward towards the sky above the Abyss!
The three were both shocked and overjoyed. The Return to Ruins tide erupting at this moment had likely saved their lives.
Their bodies moved faster and faster in the tide, quickly leaving the woman's white hair behind!
"Hahaha, a good man has heaven's protection!" Lady Yuanmu laughed excitedly.
As soon as she spoke, they saw the six hundred million years of this universe's time quickly drain away in the Return to Ruins tide. They looked up and saw the Great Destruction of the Sixteenth Universe. An unimaginable amount of terrifying energy converged, surging towards the Return to Ruins Abyss!
In an instant, they felt the supreme power of the Destruction Calamity. Their own Daos began to disintegrate rapidly!
The three were so terrified that every hair on their bodies stood on end. Qin Mu reached out and grabbed a Dao Chain. Then, with a powerful swing and flick, the chain wrapped around the Empress Dowager's body.
The tide howled. The Dao Chain was pulled taut, nearly strangling the Empress Dowager to death.