Chapter 1666: Destroying the Dao Body, Annihilating the Dao Tree
Lord Shang completely concealed his aura, standing in Qin Mu’s shadow as if he did not exist.
Yet the moment he sheathed his blade and vanished, the Divine Hall of the Lingguan Hall Master rumbled and shook. The Great Luo Heaven trembled and collapsed, and the hall, carrying three Dao Fruits and one Dao Flower, plummeted rapidly from the Ultimate Void, hurtling toward the Primordial Realm!
Beneath that hall, the crushed flesh of the Lingguan Hall Master writhed, reassembling itself!
“Lord Shang, you have ruined my cultivation and destroyed my physical body. I will surely repay this grudge in the future!”
The voice of the Lingguan Hall Master rang out. His flesh squirmed, then split into four parts, each carrying a Dao Fruit and Dao Flower, flying off in different directions.
Lord Shang flew out from Qin Mu’s shadow, chasing after the ancient god formed from the Lingguan Hall Master’s head!
At the same time, the Lingguan Hall Master’s split Dao Tree also rose on its own, attempting to catch up with the hall.
Qin Mu moved, landing on one half of the Dao Tree, suppressing it. Then, behind him, a Chaos Hall flew out, trapping the other half of the Dao Tree.
The two halves of the Dao Tree trembled, and countless great Daos manifested, attacking Qin Mu together!
“Seventh Young Master, you want to seize my Dao Tree? Dream on!”
The Dao Tree emitted the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao sound. Like a living embodiment of the Great Dao, it launched a ferocious assault. With a slight tremor of its branches and leaves, countless divine abilities and Dao techniques surged forth!
Although the Lingguan Hall Master’s physical body had been destroyed and his Dao Fruits and Dao Flowers had fled with his remnants, his Dao Tree still possessed boundless power. The sheer divine abilities erupting from its branches and leaves alone would leave even a Heavenly Lord in awe!
Qin Mu held his sword with one hand and struck horizontally. Where the sword light passed, all the divine abilities unleashed by the Dao Tree were cleaved in two!
The Thirty-Third Layer of the Dao Realm, the Heavenly Capital’s Heaven-Opening Chapter!
Sss—
This strike landed on the Dao Tree, unleashing its power. The Lingguan Hall Master’s half of the Dao Tree instantly collapsed. In a single moment, the Dao Tree transformed into chaos, evolving from the Great Ease to the Great Ultimate. Then, the Dao Tree completely disintegrated, forming a complete world in the Ultimate Void.
This world and its starry sky rapidly expanded under the influence of the Ultimate Void, then collapsed, on the verge of destruction!
Qin Mu’s Embryo Divine Treasury spread out, absorbing this world. The Guixu Abyss collapsed inward on itself, quickly devouring the world formed from the Dao Tree along with Qin Mu’s Embryo Divine Treasury.
Boom!
His divine treasury underwent another creation of heaven and earth, re-evolving.
Qin Mu looked up. Primordial Purple Qi swirled, filling his divine treasury.
His primordial spirit and physical body absorbed the Primordial Purple Qi transformed from the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Tree, growing continuously. His withered legs gradually recovered, and his primordial spirit returned to the level of the Jade Pool Realm.
The other half of the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Tree struggled fiercely against the Chaos Hall, trying to escape, but it could not break free from the hall’s suppression.
Qin Mu approached and, following the same method, struck again with his sword, destroying the other half of the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Tree. He first opened it into a world, then destroyed it, evolving it into Primordial Vital Qi.
He absorbed this half of the Dao Tree, and his primordial spirit grew once more!
In just a short time, his primordial spirit reached the level of the Heavenly Sea Realm.
Lord Shang flew back, carrying the Lingguan Hall Master’s head. The head had temples like flying wings growing upward, a third eye on its forehead, and within that eye was a small figure with a bird’s head and a human body, resembling a Golden Crow, somewhat similar to the Sun Ancient God. It also had fangs, which themselves had transformed into the forms of various ancient gods—a very peculiar sight.
Qin Mu was astonished, seeing this bizarre physical form for the first time.
This Lingguan Hall Master seemed to be a collection of ancient gods from an entire universe, his body seemingly capable of splitting into individual ancient gods at any moment!
However, the Lingguan Hall Master’s head had already been killed by Lord Shang, and these ancient gods were also dead.
“Lord Shang, this blade of yours is truly unmatched in sharpness!” Qin Mu praised.
Lord Shang’s Dao existed solely for slaughter. Every move and technique was designed to eliminate the opponent as quickly as possible, with no wasted motion and no wasted power.
This differed from other Dao techniques and divine abilities.
Most Dao techniques in the world were not specifically for killing; they sought the essence of the Dao, with the power of divine abilities often being a secondary concern.
Learning for application—divine abilities were merely the use and function of the Dao.
But Lord Shang’s Killing Dao existed solely for slaughter. Every aspect of his Dao techniques and divine abilities aimed to defeat the opponent in the shortest time with the least effort!
In many eyes, this was abandoning the root for the branch, yet in actual combat, even those with higher Dao cultivation and deeper Dao realms could die by his hand.
Lord Shang, however, was shocked that Qin Mu had completely destroyed the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Tree in such a short time. Despite his shock, he said nothing.
An ancient existence like the Lingguan Hall Master was extremely difficult to kill. Lord Shang’s successful ambush earlier relied on Qin Mu shaking the Hall Master’s Dao heart, allowing his Killing Dao to pierce his mind.
If the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao heart had not wavered, even if Lord Shang succeeded in his assassination, it would likely have been a trade of life for life.
Moreover, even if he sacrificed his life, he could not have killed the Lingguan Hall Master.
For an existence like the Lingguan Hall Master, even the destruction tribulation of an entire universe could hardly erase him completely. His Dao Tree and Dao Fruits could survive the destruction tribulation.
The only threat was the universe’s creation tribulation.
Yet Qin Mu had annihilated the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Tree—something Lord Shang could not accomplish.
“How can there be such a bizarre physical body…”
Qin Mu examined the Lingguan Hall Master’s head, frowning slightly. “If, in a confrontation with the Heavenly Court, such an existence splits into individual ancient gods and charges into the battlefield, it would be a devastating blow to the Eternal Peace!”
What worried him more was that if the other Hall Masters possessed equally powerful bodies, and the Young Master of the Meru Palace sent more Hall Masters, who could withstand them?
Lord Shang could succeed in an ambush once, but if the Lingguan Hall Master was on guard, even if Lord Shang achieved enlightenment again, he could not contend with such an existence.
“Young Master, this is his Dao Fruit.”
Lord Shang opened his palm. The Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Fruit rose, trying to flee, but a cage of Killing Dao formed above his palm, trapping it.
“Seventh Young Master, this Dao Fruit’s power is too great for me to destroy,” Lord Shang said.
“Lord Shang, you should still call me Celestial Venerable Mu. In the Seventeenth Era, I am a Celestial Venerable, not a young master.”
Qin Mu observed for a moment, carefully examining the Great Dao contained within the Lingguan Hall Master’s Dao Fruit, and praised, “Truly worthy of a Hall Master-level existence, far surpassing other enlightened beings.”
He drew his Tribulation Sword and struck rapidly, stabbing at the Dao Fruit again and again. Yet each time, the sword tip barely touched the Dao Fruit before withdrawing, never piercing it.
Qin Mu sheathed his sword. “Release the Dao Fruit. Let it return to that Hall Master.”
Lord Shang did as instructed. The Dao Fruit swiftly left the Ultimate Void, vanishing without a trace.
“Within that Dao Fruit, I have hidden my Sword Dao. If that Hall Master forcibly reclaims it, he will suffer for it.”
Qin Mu left this void, searching for the location marked on the Great Ease Geographic Map, and said, “By the way, who was that Hall Master?”
Lord Shang shook his head. “I do not know.”
Qin Mu sighed. “His physical cultivation was very high, and his bodily techniques were quite strange. I still don’t know his name.”
Lord Shang walked within his shadow and said, “Next time I kill him, I will ask his name for you, Celestial Venerable.”
Qin Mu nodded and asked, “Do the other Hall Masters of the Meru Palace also possess such bizarre and powerful bodies?”
“I do not know. I have never killed one.”
“Lord Shang, if we encounter another Hall Master, should we first ask his name?”
“No. If he becomes wary, it will be harder to kill.”
“That is true.”
…
Within the Heavenly Court’s army, a celestial palace stood tall. A separate palace for Celestial Venerable Hao had been established, moving with the Heavenly Court’s forces. Two Dao Trees floated above this separate palace, majestic and imposing.
These two Dao Trees belonged to Emperor Hao and the Grand Supreme Emperor, the Grand Supreme. They suppressed the Heavenly Court’s fate. From afar, the Daos swayed, and Dao light streamed in countless beams, sacred and solemn.
Even from tens of thousands of miles away, the Dao sounds and rhythms emanating from the Dao Trees could be heard.
In the Hall of the Jade Capital of this separate palace, Emperor Hao wore a grave expression as he looked at three strangely shaped ancient gods.
One had a dragon’s head and a human body, with a Dao Fruit spinning behind his head. Another had a snake’s head and a human body with a snake’s tail, a Dao Flower swaying behind his head. The third had an ox’s head and a human body, also with a Dao Fruit behind his head.
“Emperor, I have been ambushed by the Seventh Young Master. He somehow found Lord Shang, who attained enlightenment through slaughter. While I was entrusting my Dao to the Ultimate Void and being suppressed by it, Lord Shang attacked me, destroying my Dao Body.”
The dragon-headed ancient god was formed from the Lingguan Hall Master’s liver and intestines. Various large and small ancient gods stood on his body. He continued, “I was careless and fell into the trap. Lord Shang ruined my Dao Body, and the Seventh Young Master destroyed my Dao Tree. Lord Shang also captured one of my Dao Fruits. This enmity is irreconcilable. I will fight them to the death!”
Emperor Hao’s brow relaxed, and he asked gently, “May I ask, Hall Master, how much has the destruction of your Dao Body and Dao Tree affected your strength?”
The snake-headed ancient god replied, “This setback has reduced my cultivation by seventy percent.”
Emperor Hao’s eye twitched. He glanced at the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods, who understood his intent. “The Emperor wants to kill this Lingguan Hall Master, refine his Dao Fruit, and seize his cultivation…”
The ox-headed Lingguan Hall Master sighed. “Now, my strength is only equivalent to three ordinary enlightened beings. This setback will likely require millions of years of cultivation to return to my peak.”
Emperor Hao’s heart tightened. He glanced at the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods again, who quickly abandoned their murderous intent toward the Lingguan Hall Master.
At that moment, Dao light blazed in the sky, and another Dao Fruit flew in.
The three Lingguan Hall Masters suddenly shouted in unison, merging into a single headless body. From its navel grew a dragon’s head, its shoulders sprouted a pair of ox horns, three ox eyes appeared on its chest, and a great snake coiled around its back—an extremely bizarre form.
The dragon’s head opened its mouth and said, “The Seventh Young Master left thirteen Sword Dao techniques within this Dao Fruit of mine, planning to use it to ambush me. Though I know his scheme, I must break them! Emperor, I need you to prepare a grand celestial ritual, using the blood of all living beings as a sacrifice, to break his Sword Dao techniques!”