Chapter 1647: The Strongest of the Present Age
Heavenly Venerable Hao's gaze shifted away from Heavenly Venerable Ling and landed back on Qin Mu, observing his two short legs. Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "It seems the Supreme Emperor didn't come away empty-handed. I thought he had suffered a complete defeat, but it appears he still left you with a profound lesson."
Qin Mu laughed heartily, stood up, and walked over to him on his short legs, looking up at him.
Heavenly Emperor Hao lowered his head, and their eyes met.
Originally, Qin Mu had been slightly taller than Heavenly Emperor Hao, but now he only reached his chest.
Heavenly Emperor Hao suppressed his laughter and said, "Mu..."
Boom!
Qin Mu, still smiling, drove his fist into Heavenly Emperor Hao's chest. Heavenly Emperor Hao flew backward, and a series of booming sounds rang out as one layer of void after another was blasted through by his retreating figure!
Lady Yuanmu turned her head, staring dumbfounded at the cracks in the thirty-six layers of void, unable to speak.
The force of Qin Mu's strike was terrifying, and he had acted without any warning. How powerful was Heavenly Emperor Hao? Yet he had been punched straight into the ultimate void!
Qin Mu walked over to her on his short legs, looked up, and smiled. "Lady Yuanmu, under my cycle of reincarnation, you wouldn't last a single move against me."
Lady Yuanmu let out a tinkling laugh and retreated, the abyss of Guixu opening behind her as her figure vanished.
Qin Mu tilted his head and said, "Ling, Lady Yuanmu is the type who won't shed tears until she sees the coffin. I'm going to have a word with Heavenly Emperor Hao. Watch yourself."
Heavenly Venerable Ling walked out of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and said calmly, "Go ahead."
Qin Mu took a deep breath. A large door panel came flying out of the hall with a whoosh. Qin Mu leaped up and landed on it, and the panel carried him charging into the void!
The layers of void that Heavenly Emperor Hao had smashed through were rapidly closing, but the door panel was incredibly fast, rushing into the ultimate void before the thirty-six layers could fully seal.
The door panel came to a stop. Qin Mu looked around. The void was silent, with no sign of Heavenly Emperor Hao.
In the distance, two Great Luotian realms suddenly appeared, colliding with each other, almost overlapping. Beneath two Dao trees, Tai Chu and Yun Tianzun clashed, their Primordial Unity Qi and supreme divine consciousness transforming into Dao flowers and Dao fruits that nearly merged together!
Both were trying to devour and refine the other's achievements into a Tai Chu Dao Fruit, so their attacks were extreme, making this collision perilous!
Qin Mu swept his gaze over them, then suddenly felt a sense of alarm. The next moment, a Dao tree swept toward him, crashing into him with a thunderous boom and sending him flying!
Qin Mu and the door panel tumbled backward together, but he saw the Dao tree swaying, its branches writhing like countless tentacles of a giant octopus, following close behind.
Heavenly Emperor Hao stood on a protruding treetop. A Dao flower flew out and appeared before Qin Mu. Before Qin Mu could react, the Dao flower spun and bloomed.
The internal structure of that Dao flower was unusual—inside were layers of darkness alternating with layers of light, spinning continuously.
Shua—
Qin Mu was swallowed into the Dao flower. Heavenly Emperor Hao raised his hand, and the Dao flower flew back, pinched between his fingers.
"Ambushing me, Minister Mu? You've gone too far."
Suddenly, his expression changed drastically. The Dao flower split open, and Qin Mu swung the massive door panel, cutting the flower apart. Heavenly Emperor Hao's fingers bled, and he quickly let go as Qin Mu broke free.
Heavenly Emperor Hao sneered. Behind his head, seventy-two heavenly palaces suddenly appeared—one was the Great Heavenly Court of Primordial Unity Qi, and the other was the Dao of Guixu's destruction. They merged, spinning like a wheel, fusing into one!
His divine power skyrocketed. The two heavenly courts spun and met the door panel as Qin Mu brought it down.
Both pushed their power to the limit. Heavenly Emperor Hao immediately sensed Qin Mu's weakness in divine power and felt a surge of joy, but then he detected the terror of Qin Mu's physical body. Swinging the door panel, Qin Mu even cut through the cold, still wind of the ultimate void!
Qin Mu possessed unmatched physical strength, while Heavenly Emperor Hao's divine power was also unrivaled in the world!
Qin Mu used the door panel as a blade, employing only the Dao of the blade from his combat techniques, while Heavenly Emperor Hao pushed the power of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel to its extreme!
The moment they clashed, Heavenly Emperor Hao shattered Qin Mu's divine power, but the door panel cut through the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, splitting the two heavenly courts and heading toward his head.
Heavenly Emperor Hao roared. The Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel spun, unleashing the power of the thirty-first level of the Dao realm. Waves of terrifying force struck Qin Mu's physical body. At the same time, Primordial Unity Qi surged from his head, blooming like a Dao tree in midair!
Another Heavenly Emperor Hao appeared atop that Dao tree formed from Primordial Unity Qi, pointing a finger diagonally at Qin Mu's brow. Primordial Unity Qi erupted!
From Heavenly Emperor Hao's original body, another stream of Guixu's Dao shot up, forming a third Heavenly Emperor Hao. His hands clasped together, and a lotus flower appeared between them. Its petals flew off, wrapping around Qin Mu with a series of rustling sounds.
The door panel fell, striking Heavenly Emperor Hao's head, while the force of his attack, containing the power of the thirty-first level of the Dao realm, struck Qin Mu without reservation.
Their figures separated. Qin Mu's flesh and muscles twitched, shattering the lotus petals wrapped around him. A large hole split open in his brow, piercing through to the back of his head.
Then, the hole slowly healed.
Heavenly Emperor Hao's head was nearly split in two by the door panel, but the other two forms of Heavenly Emperor Hao turned back into Primordial Unity Qi and Guixu's Dao and flew back. His split head slowly healed, restoring itself completely.
Qin Mu shook the door panel and turned around.
The One Qi Great Luotian spun, and Heavenly Emperor Hao faced him directly.
Their eyes met, and they said in unison, "You're not bad!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily, looking at his healed head, and asked curiously, "Is this formed from your Primordial Unity Qi and Guixu's Dao, creating zero and one? Guixu's Dao is the Dao of destruction, reducing everything to zero, while Primordial Unity Qi is the 'one' born from the Dao. This way, you can fight endlessly, healing quickly even when injured. Did you comprehend this during your battle with the Grand Emperor in the Great Void?"
Heavenly Emperor Hao nodded approvingly. "I also have you to thank, Minister Mu. At that time, I was already trying to understand how to achieve this. My injuries were severe, and I planned to undergo nirvana and rebirth, but unfortunately, you found me and chased me for six hundred thousand li, forcing Tai Su to appear and save me. From Tai Su, I comprehended the principle of unifying my techniques."
Qin Mu pondered and said, "Tai Su is about the transformation of substance and form. Tai Su wanted to control you, but she was too inexperienced, and in the end, you controlled her, turning all her cultivation and Dao into your spoils. It's very difficult for you to achieve the seamless transition between zero and one, but by comprehending Tai Su's Dao and devouring the Tai Su Divine Maiden, you gained the capital to unify your techniques."
Heavenly Emperor Hao smiled slightly. A stream of Tai Su Qi surged out, constantly changing into various forms of divine treasures. He said leisurely, "Minister Mu, you're also extraordinary. Your skills have achieved a grand unification of techniques, making you one of the hardest people to kill. I've never worried about Kai Huang. Kai Huang has plenty of fortitude but lacks strategy and doesn't understand change. You, on the other hand, know how to endure, how to assess the situation—lurking when you should and rising when you must. You're much more troublesome than him. But after I refined Tai Su, my momentum was complete, and I had no more opponents. Do you know why?"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the mass of Tai Su Qi and said, "With the Dao of Tai Su, you can achieve anything you desire, evolving all the treasures and techniques in the world. Whether it's Kai Huang's sword Dao, Void Heavenly Venerable's Netherworld Dao, the Heavenly Dao, or even the Tai Ji Dao, you can manifest them all."
Heavenly Emperor Hao sighed in admiration. "To have an enemy like this brings me great comfort. Minister Mu, since I achieved the Dao, I have never used my full strength. Even in the Netherworld battle against Kai Huang, I didn't exert my full power. Because I already stand at the pinnacle of the world, and no one is worthy of my full effort anymore."
He spread his palm, and the Tai Su Qi fell into it, shifting unpredictably. He said leisurely, "I can target anyone's weakness and transform into a divine weapon to counter them. Even with Heavenly Venerable Ling, I can find her flaws and capture her alive. Even with the Supreme Emperor Tai Chu, I can use Tai Su Qi to target his fatal weakness. Even with Kai Huang, I can kill him calmly with my full strength."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "Then how will you deal with me?"
"I plan to use Tai Su Qi to transform into the Dao of divine consciousness, filling the missing link in my Tai Chu Dao."
Heavenly Emperor Hao smiled. "I intend to unleash the Tai Chu Dao realm that the Supreme Emperor has always dreamed of, the Tai Chu Dao tree, to send you on your way."
He smiled, unhurriedly continuing, "If that fails to kill you, I have another path: using Tai Su Qi to transform into the Dao of life from Guixu, filling the gap in my Guixu Dao. I will achieve two supreme accomplishments. Will that be enough to bury you?"
Behind Qin Mu, the World Tree rose from the ground. He said solemnly, "Your Majesty's achievements are extraordinary. Please, make your move and send me on my way!"
The Tai Su Qi in Heavenly Emperor Hao's hand suddenly transformed!
Qin Mu's heart leaped, and his pupils contracted. Heavenly Emperor Hao's Tai Su Qi had turned into a Tai Yi Divine Axe!
At the same time, Heavenly Venerable Ling stood quietly before the Lingxiao Hall in the Yongjiang Heavenly Palace. Suddenly, Guixu surged forth, swallowing the entire Yongjiang Heavenly Palace!
The Yongjiang Heavenly Palace, a heavenly palace visualized by Qin Mu, covered a vast area, but against Guixu, it couldn't resist at all, torn to shreds by its terrifying force!
Countless fragments, along with Heavenly Venerable Ling, fell into Guixu!
Heavenly Venerable Ling stood there motionless, letting Guixu's power pull her toward the great abyss.
She had little achievement in combat and couldn't resist Guixu's force. Once pulled into Guixu, she would be unable to escape its terrifying gravitational pull.
Suddenly, a twin lotus flower crashed down with a boom. Lady Yuanmu leaped up, swinging the twin lotus flowers down hard at Heavenly Venerable Ling's head!
"Ling, no one can kill you, but that doesn't mean Guixu can't!"
Lady Yuanmu shouted fiercely, "Guixu dissolves everything!"
The twin lotuses erupted with immense power, striking downward. Heavenly Venerable Ling raised a finger and met the twin lotus flowers, touching the lotus hammer.
Boom.
The Guixu great abyss shook violently. The twin lotus flowers in Lady Yuanmu's hands suddenly exploded with a bang, turning to dust!
Lady Yuanmu was startled. Only a bare stem remained in her hands.
The Guixu great abyss pulled Heavenly Venerable Ling downward. Lady Yuanmu gritted her teeth but didn't pursue, thinking, "She'll fall into Guixu and surely die. Even if she doesn't, she won't be able to climb out..."
Just as she thought this, Heavenly Venerable Ling suddenly pointed at the abyss's stone wall. The sacred land of Guixu rumbled, nearly exploding!
Lady Yuanmu was alarmed. This sacred land was her birthplace. If it were destroyed, her power would greatly diminish.
She gritted her teeth and charged downward with a whoosh, unleashing a series of divine abilities that struck Heavenly Venerable Ling from a distance!
The two women, one after the other, fell into the deepest part of the great abyss.
—June 1st, happy birthday to our reader, Kong Cheng~