Chapter 1665: The Hall of the Spirit Official, the Blade of Lord Shang
Lord Shang had indeed grown dull. Not only had his blade dulled, but his Dao heart had also become blunt.
But upon hearing Qin Mu speak of slaying the visitor from the prehistoric era, his Dao heart sharpened once more!
Qin Mu sensed the razor-sharp blade aura and killing intent within the shadow behind him and couldn't help but reveal a faint smile.
Lord Shang had been consumed by guilt and self-blame for crushing the Ultimate Void with his Dao attainment, trapped in self-denial. He hated himself, hated himself deeply.
But he hated the prehistoric Dao attainers even more!
When there were no enemies, his blade wounded himself, cutting his own Dao heart with every stroke.
But when the enemy came, his blade would turn outward. As fiercely as he wounded himself, even fiercer would he wound the enemy!
In the Ultimate Void.
The master of the Spirit Official Hall forcibly imprinted his own Great Dao onto the void, his Great Luo Heaven taking shape.
What was called the Great Luo Heaven was, in truth, using one's own Great Dao to comprehend heaven and earth, to shape heaven and earth, thereby transforming it into a celestial realm.
The Great Luo Heaven was the form of the Dao.
Any kind of Great Dao was an interpretation of the universe. The more one comprehended the Dao, the deeper the understanding, the more complete and real the heaven and earth evolved from the Dao would be.
Take the Sword Dao, for example. When Kai Huang's Sword Dao reached the thirty-sixth heavenly realm, he used his Sword Dao to evolve the Sword Dao Great Luo Heaven. Within that Great Luo Heaven were mountains, rivers, trees, birds, beasts, insects, fish, the sun, the moon, and stars—like a real world.
However, when Kai Huang manifested his Sword Dao Great Luo Heaven in the real world, it was merely a divine ability that would dissipate after use.
But the nature of the Ultimate Void was different. Here, one could imprint one's own Great Dao, shaping the Ultimate Void into the form of the Dao, and it would not dissipate.
This imprinting required no forceful activation of the Great Dao to alter the structure of the Ultimate Void. One only needed to imprint one's Dao here, and the Ultimate Void would naturally change, transforming into the Great Luo Heaven.
The Spirit Official Hall Master's path to Dao attainment was twofold. One path was Dao realm attainment, the orthodox path of the Miluo Palace, comprehending the Dao realm to attain the Dao, resulting in the most perfect Great Luo Heaven.
It was through Dao realm attainment that he became one of the seventy-two hall masters.
He had already achieved Dao realm attainment four times, cultivating three Dao fruits and one Dao flower, with an immensely profound cultivation base.
In each cosmic epoch, he cultivated one type of Great Dao. By now, he had cultivated four Great Daos and four Great Luo Heaven realms. However, during the fourth time, the time was too short—he had not yet cultivated a Dao fruit when the sixteenth cosmic epoch was destroyed.
The other path was attainment through strength.
The path of attainment through strength followed the Jade Capital City system. It involved cultivating the seventy-two halls of the Jade Capital City, comprehending the Dao attainment methods of the seven young masters and the master of the Miluo Palace, borrowing the power of the ancestral court, the Jade Capital City, and the Miluo Palace to enhance one's own cultivation and strength, thereby imprinting the Ultimate Void.
Attainment through strength was a quick path, easier to cultivate than Dao realm attainment, but it was not orthodox and carried hidden dangers, making one susceptible to being controlled by the seven young masters of the Miluo Palace.
However, for the hall masters of the Miluo Palace, this hidden danger did not exist. After all, they were all subordinates of the seven young masters. When the master of the Miluo Palace did not appear, they had to obey the commands of the seven young masters.
—Of course, as the seventh young master, Qin Mu actually had little power within the Miluo Palace. Not a single hall master cultivated his Chaos Hall.
The Spirit Official Hall Master used both attainment methods, thus achieving extremely high accomplishments.
His Great Luo Heaven gradually took shape, and at a fast pace. Compared to methodically cultivating a new Great Dao, directly imprinting the void with one's own Great Dao was the simplest. However, the Spirit Official Hall Master was somewhat greedy, choosing to imprint all four Great Daos at once.
The Great Luo Heaven forged from four Great Daos was exquisitely perfect and indestructible. As long as the imprinting was successful and his Dao tree was planted, he would have a firm foothold in this universe.
If the imprinting was completed and the Dao tree planted, even if he were killed, his Dao would not perish even if his body died. He could be reborn from his Dao fruit, though his physical body would be much weaker than before!
The only difficulty was that his Dao tree was from a past universe. Planting it in the Ultimate Void of this universe would cause some trouble, attracting resistance from the Ultimate Void, but this was not a major issue for him.
Finally, his Great Luo Heaven was complete!
This Great Luo Heaven displayed four colors: red, gold, blue, and black. Red like blazing fire, gold like yellow gold, blue like the sky, and black like ink!
These four colors represented his achievements in the four Great Daos: Fire, Gold, Heaven, and Nether!
With a thought from the Spirit Official Hall Master, the Spirit Official Treasure Hall flew out. This hall was the Dao achievement he had comprehended from the master of the Miluo Palace's Hongmeng runes. Though inferior to the treasure halls of the seven young masters, it was still no small matter.
"Planting the Dao tree, using my treasure hall to suppress the resistance of the Ultimate Void—that should be enough."
He raised the treasure hall, suspending it above his Great Luo Heaven. Then, the Dao tree emerged, countless branches and roots dancing, swimming through the void, descending toward the Great Luo Heaven!
At that moment, the void erupted in chaos. Various kinds of Dao light burst forth from the void, attacking his Dao tree and Great Luo Heaven!
The Spirit Official Hall Master activated the treasure hall, blocking the Great Dao assaults from the void. He looked and chuckled, "So it's the Dao of Divine Consciousness. The Dao of Divine Consciousness split from the Primordial Beginning Dao. It seems someone has cultivated the Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven and imprinted it in the Ultimate Void. My forceful planting of the Dao tree has triggered the Ultimate Void's upheaval, drawing the Dao of Divine Consciousness to attack me!"
Suddenly, another kind of Dao light broke through the void, shaking his treasure hall, but it was blocked by the Spirit Official Treasure Hall.
The Spirit Official Hall Master looked and smiled slightly. "The One Qi Great Luo Heaven—this is the One Qi Dao within the Primordial Beginning Dao. It's not the true Primordial Beginning Dao and poses no threat to me. Two types of Primordial One Qi indicate that two people in this universe have attained the Dao through Primordial One Qi, but their Dao resonance is shallow. They likely attained through strength. Probably the Heavenly Emperor Hao and this universe's Primordial Beginning."
Chi!
A sword light broke through the void, slashing toward his Dao tree. The Spirit Official Hall Master moved his mind, and the treasure hall blazed with Dao light, blocking this strike. He chuckled, "This is the Sword Dao of a later-age Dao. Tsk tsk. I didn't expect this universe to be so primitive, yet there are already living beings beginning to create their own Great Dao and cultivate it to the Great Luo Heaven realm! Rare, truly rare! Unfortunately, the one who imprinted the Sword Dao Great Luo Heaven lacks magical power and hasn't cultivated a Dao fruit. A mere four Great Luo Heavens cannot harm me in the slightest!"
He relaxed.
The Ultimate Void had no power of its own. Its resistance to his Dao tree planting only involved mobilizing the power of the Great Daos imprinted in the Ultimate Void's Great Luo Heavens. Clearly, although the seventeenth cosmic epoch had developed for six billion years, its Dao techniques and divine abilities were still very backward.
The most powerful beings in this universe had only just begun to touch upon Dao attainment. Only four had attained the Dao, and they had only reached the Dao flower stage of the Great Luo Heaven realm. They posed no threat to him.
He had just breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly another wave of Great Dao fluctuation surged toward him. The Spirit Official Hall Master's face changed drastically. He quickly leaped into the air, landing in front of the Spirit Official Treasure Hall!
He roared in fury, activating the treasure hall with all his might. The Dao light surged, incredibly powerful and terrifying. As the wave struck, the surface of his Spirit Official Treasure Hall erupted with crackling explosions, and with a thunderous boom, it fell from above the Great Luo Heaven toward the ground!
Boom!
The treasure hall crashed into the Great Luo Heaven, shaking the earth and splitting the land. Mountains toppled, and the terrifying impact whipped up a gale, uprooting the Dao tree that had just taken root!
In the sky of the Great Luo Heaven, the sun directly extinguished, plunging into the earth, causing the Great Luo Heaven to sink and tilt. The moon in the sky shattered into pieces, obliterated by that Great Dao impact!
His treasure hall even emitted creaking sounds, with Dao stones constantly cracking, unable to withstand the immense, terrifying pressure. Even the Spirit Official Hall Master in front of the hall was crushed, his physical body shrinking continuously, unable to stabilize his form!
"The Taiyi Dao! I forgot about that person!"
The Spirit Official Hall Master took a long breath. The hundreds of bones in his physical body, his five viscera and six bowels, his large and small intestines, his hundreds of muscles, even his hair and skin—all transformed into ancient gods!
He was too ancient. Every part of his physical body had become a god. Now, with all his magical power mobilized, he was truly formidable to the extreme!
"It's that person's Great Luo Heaven! The nameless strongman who fought with the teacher!"
The Spirit Official Hall Master's physical body expanded wildly. He shouted fiercely, forcefully enduring the crushing pressure of this terrifying Taiyi Dao. The Taiyi Dao was mixed with Primordial One Qi and the Dao of Divine Consciousness, as well as the Sword Dao, leaving wounds all over his body!
The Spirit Official Hall Master seemed oblivious. His physical body broke and reformed with each wound. These injuries could not harm him. Only the Dao of Divine Consciousness, invading his mind, would cause him considerable trouble.
But having attained the Dao across four cosmic epochs, his Dao heart was so stable that even if the one who cultivated the Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven were to appear in person, it would be difficult to cause him much harm.
"It's that strongman who crossed the sixteen chaotic long rivers and went to the Miluo Palace to see the teacher! He was struck down by the teacher into the Fourth Epoch. The eldest young master had been searching for him but never found him. It wasn't until the Sixteenth Epoch that he was located and suppressed!"
The Spirit Official Hall Master's physical body continued to expand, growing stronger and stronger. Behind his head, various Daos danced like ribbons. His form gradually rose from in front of the treasure hall, while the treasure hall was entwined by his Daos. The hall's power was pushed to its limit, and Dao sounds like the ringing of golden bells and bronze drums echoed without cease!
"I forgot—he attained the Dao in the Seventeenth Epoch. I almost suffered a great loss!"
On the Dao tree, three Dao fruits rose, and the Dao flower bloomed, causing the Spirit Official Hall Master's aura to surge even higher!
He withstood the Taiyi Dao, stabilizing his form. His entire body floated up, hovering above his Dao tree, and he chuckled, "If Taiyi were still in this universe, I would retreat and not imprint the Ultimate Void or plant the Dao tree. But he has already been suppressed by the eldest young master. Relying only on the Taiyi Dao imprinted in his Great Luo Heaven, he cannot harm me!"
He bore the impact of five Great Luo Heaven Daos, and his Dao tree took root again. His Great Luo Heaven ceased to collapse. The sun that had sunk into the land of the Great Luo Heaven reignited and slowly rose.
The blazing sun was like fire. As it rose, the land of the Great Luo Heaven was bathed in flames, the earth flowing with gold.
At that moment, on the golden earth, a figure slowly walked forward, walking through the flowing fire of the sun.
"Seventh Young Master!"
The Spirit Official Hall Master's face changed drastically. His Dao heart finally wavered. The moment his Dao heart wavered, the killing intent within the long shadow behind Qin Mu boiled over, rushing into the Spirit Official Hall Master's mind in an instant!
The next moment, he saw another figure already beside him. The killing intent that filled the sky connected with the killing intent in his mind, becoming the blade in that person's hand.
That figure turned, blade at his back, the blade light connecting to the brain deep within his brow, and slashed upward!
The Spirit Official Hall Master's brow split open, and he roared, "Lord Shang——"
That young man's killing intent was so intense. His steps shifted, moving around him back and forth at incredible speed. With every step, a slash of the blade!
The blade light was like a ribbon, spinning unceasingly around the Spirit Official Hall Master.
Suddenly, a blade light flashed like a bolt of silk, slashing from top to bottom. With a deafening crack, the Spirit Official Hall Master's Dao tree split down the middle and fell to both sides!
Bang!
The Spirit Official Hall Master shattered into pieces, then was crushed by the five Daos surging from the void. The treasure hall crashed down with a thunderous roar onto the fallen Dao tree!
Lord Shang dispersed his killing intent, took a step back to avoid the falling Spirit Official Treasure Hall, and lurked back into the shadow behind Qin Mu.