Chapter 1700: The Void Master of Eternal Peace and the Lingguan of Miluo Palace
Xu Shenghua saw this ancient god and raised the iron bucket in his hand. The ancient god looked at him curiously, only to see this refined and elegant man lift the bucket in front of him and drink the water inside in one gulp!
"I am Ling Sheng, the Lingguan of the Lingguan Hall of Miluo Palace. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Xu."
The ancient god's Dao Fruit spun behind his head, emitting a clear and ethereal Dao tone. He asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Xu, the water in your bucket should be the Dao Dew from the Taiyi Dao Tree, correct? This Dao Dew is the treasure you use to repair the Great Black Mountain. Why did you drink it all?"
He couldn't help but laugh: "The Seventh Young Master left you stationed here to repair the cracks in the World Tree and prevent prehistoric powerhouses from sneaking in. Yet you've drunk all the Dao Dew. How will you explain this to him?"
"Actually, I drink it every day."
Xu Shenghua set down the iron bucket and said seriously, "For the past thirty years, I've drunk the Dao Dew every day, reducing the number of mountains I repair by one each day."
Ling Sheng laughed heartily: "The Seventh Young Master misjudged people and appointed based on favoritism. Placing a corrupt individual here to guard the World Tree—how can he ever succeed?"
As Xu Shenghua refined the Dao Dew, he studied the ancient god who called himself Ling Sheng. The man was travel-worn, with traces of morning dew still on him. He must have traveled through the night, arriving outside the Great Black Mountain at night without entering the mountain in the darkness.
The Great Black Mountain was extremely unique.
At night, the outside world was a terrifying scene of cosmic destruction, but during the day, it returned to normal. Therefore, entering the mountain at night was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
"Don't go out after dark" was common knowledge among the residents of the Great Black Mountain. This person named Ling Sheng should also know this.
"The reason I drink a portion of the Dao Dew every day is to solve a difficult problem."
Xu Shenghua patiently explained. In truth, he had no need to explain anything to Ling Sheng's clone, but this was simply his nature.
Those who interacted with Xu Shenghua, whether friend or foe, always felt a spring breeze-like warmth. This man was gentle and refined, humble and considerate of others—this was the charm of his personality.
Those who spent time with Qin Mu all wanted to defeat him and trample him underfoot. Even his closest relatives wanted to hang him up and give him a thorough beating.
But those who spent time with Xu Shenghua felt a deep respect for him, wishing they could set aside their grudges and drink together, chatting freely.
"The problem I want to solve is that the Ancestral Court has become a massive blood sacrifice altar, where the dead are sacrificed to the past universe."
Xu Shenghua said very seriously, "Since the Primordial era, from the beginning of life, death has never ceased. Whether from natural disasters or man-made calamities, the dead have been blood-sacrificed, their energy flowing to the past universe. To this day, the accumulated energy has become terrifyingly immense. I feared that the young masters of Miluo Palace would take advantage of this to descend, so I tried drinking a portion of the Dao Dew, releasing one prehistoric stowaway each day."
Ling Sheng was surprised and pondered, "By doing this, you can indeed solve the problem of energy exchange. But there's also a drawback—the prehistoric stowaways will go on a killing spree, causing massive destruction and triggering more energy to be blood-sacrificed to the past. Wouldn't that accelerate Miluo Palace's descent?"
"So every night, I face a battle."
Xu Shenghua patiently explained, "Lord Qin told me to guard this place. He only said to defend it well, but didn't give me detailed instructions on how to do it. I had a lot of leeway. So I chose to release one powerhouse from the past universe each day. As long as they die here before leaving the Great Black Mountain, they won't trigger the Ancestral Court's blood sacrifice."
Ling Sheng's expression changed: "How long have you been doing this?"
"Since the defeat in Youdu and the death of Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye, it has been 11,742 days."
Xu Shenghua pointed to the mountain ranges and said, "At the foot of each of these black mountains, there is a grave mound. I erected tombstones for them, burying these prehistoric fellow daoists."
Ling Sheng turned and looked in the direction he pointed. His expression shifted dramatically as he saw that the outer peaks of the Great Black Mountain were now covered in green vegetation, with dense forests replacing the former desolation. At the foot of the mountains, rows of grave mounds stood, each with a tombstone in front.
Some tombstones had names, while others were blank.
There were 11,742 grave mounds.
Ling Sheng's clone's eyelids twitched. Over the past thirty years, every single prehistoric powerhouse who had stowed away here had been killed and buried by this young man!
And he drank a portion of the Dao Dew every day to enhance his strength, preparing for even greater unforeseen events!
This young man's methods were far more meticulous than the Seventh Young Master Qin Mu's, and he was far more patient!
Xu Shenghua's daily routine was monotonous: collect Dao Dew at night, kill one stowaway, repair the black mountains during the day, bury the stowaway, and build a grave and tombstone for the deceased—thirty years like one day!
"No wonder the other accomplished beings of Miluo Palace have never been able to descend."
Ling Sheng exhaled a turbid breath and said, "Over these thirty years, great battles have raged continuously, countless lives have been lost. I moved the blood sacrifice formation to the Yuan Realm, hoping to allow more accomplished beings from Miluo Palace to descend. Yet, year after year, they never arrived. I didn't expect you to be the one causing trouble here. By luring out one prehistoric stowaway each night, you consume the energy needed for exchange. The accomplished beings of Miluo Palace are stronger and require more exchange energy, so they cannot descend. You're very clever! So, when you saw me just now, you deliberately drank all the Dao Dew because you knew I had come to kill you?"
Xu Shenghua nodded. "You are very strong, very familiar with the Great Black Mountain, and you carry a Dao Fruit. I didn't have full confidence in defeating you. If I died by your hand, the Great Black Mountain would become a passage for prehistoric powerhouses, with countless stowaways sneaking in every night. But if I survived, I could rely on my surging strength to fight them. So I chose to drink all the Dao Dew."
Ling Sheng smiled, praising, "You are a very troublesome person, and also a very clever one. This Seventeenth Epoch universe has not only produced the wicked Seventh Young Master but also someone like you. It amazes me. Are all the spiritual essence and evil of heaven and earth concentrated in the two of you?"
"Lord Qin is not an evil person. To you, he is evil, but to us, he has sacrificed too much."
Xu Shenghua said solemnly, "There are many people like Lord Qin and me—Lan Yutian, Yun Tianzun, Emperor Kaihuang, Hua Xuanxiu, and others. It's not just the two of us. The reason the Seventeenth Epoch universe has so many talents is not that spiritual essence is concentrated in us, but because there has been no invasion by prehistoric accomplished beings like you."
Ling Sheng raised an eyebrow.
Xu Shenghua continued, "This is Taiyi's merit. Taiyi blocked you in the Sixteenth Epoch. Without your invasion, the Seventeenth Epoch universe could grow, with broader space, longer history, and deeper accumulation. That's why it erupted in the last million years. Because of the Ten Heavenly Venerates, this eruption wasn't intense, but in the last few hundred years, it has undergone a qualitative change! If the Seventeenth Epoch is allowed to continue, there will be more and more accomplished beings in the future, thriving and prosperous, perhaps not inferior to Miluo Palace."
Ling Sheng laughed heartily. Xu Shenghua looked at him and didn't continue.
Ling Sheng's laughter gradually faded. He walked toward him, a strange movement in his Dao within, and said calmly, "Xu Shenghua, the Seventeenth Epoch will never see another Miluo Palace. Formation, existence, decay, emptiness—the formation phase of this universe will soon end and enter the existence phase. When you accomplished beings increase and the ultimate void can no longer bear it, it will enter the decay phase, and finally, everything will become empty!"
Xu Shenghua put down the iron bucket and said calmly, "Whether it's entrusting to the void, achieving Dao through Dao realms, or any other method of achieving Dao, it's all relying on external things. True achievement of Dao is achieved from within."
His aura spread, calm yet hiding a surging torrent, making the Lingguan Hall Master's expression somewhat grave.
Just now, when he looked at Xu Shenghua, he saw nothing special. But now that Xu Shenghua's aura was released, he felt a shock!
Inside Xu Shenghua, it seemed to contain a universe. As his aura erupted, all kinds of Dao within him seemed to awaken simultaneously, making it hard for him to gauge Xu Shenghua's combat power!
"The Dao need not be entrusted; the Dao Tree need not be forced."
Xu Shenghua walked toward him, revealing his Divine Treasures. His Divine Treasures were connected as one, including the Spiritual Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Being, Life and Death, and Heavenly River Divine Treasures. But they had merged, making it hard to distinguish their boundaries.
Among them, the Spiritual Embryo and Six Harmonies Divine Treasures had evolved into the Yuan Realm continent of the mortal world; the Five Luminaries and Seven Stars had evolved into the Xuan Du; Life and Death had evolved into Youdu; and the Heavenly River connected these three realms.
Above his Divine Treasures, there was no Heavenly Palace or Heavenly Court, but a continent of the Ancestral Court!
Within it were sacred lands transformed from realms like the Heavenly Gate, Jade Terrace, Jade Pool, Heavenly Sea, Execution Platform, Nine Prisons Platform, and Four Extremes Heaven. However, there was no Yujing City realm!
Instead, there were five major mineral veins—Tai Ji, Tai Su, Tai Shi, Tai Chu, and Tai Yi. Dao light and mist rose, clouds of vapor churned, and the lingering Dao charm was magnificent!
These five mineral veins were like the five major meridians of the Ancestral Court, while the Heavenly River was the channel connecting the three realms, the Ancestral Court, and the Four Extremes Heaven!
Between the five mineral veins, a towering World Tree stood tall, with the Dao charm and radiant light of the five veins converging into it!
When Ling Sheng's clone saw this World Tree, his expression changed drastically.
The World Tree—the tree of immutability.
The Dao Trees of accomplished beings could all be called World Trees, but they were imitations of the Dao and needed to be entrusted to the void!
Yet inside Xu Shenghua, there was also a World Tree!
This World Tree was Xu Shenghua's Dao Tree!
Not only that, but he also saw the void within Xu Shenghua—thirty-three layers of void!
This void was the void brought by the Dao realms, not the cosmic void. It was the void formed by Xu Shenghua's comprehension of the Dao reaching the thirty-third Dao realm!
It seemed that after Xu Shenghua cultivated to the thirty-sixth Dao realm, there would be thirty-six layers of void within him, and the World Tree would mature, then bloom Dao Flowers and bear Dao Fruits!
Even more terrifying was that Xu Shenghua had completely broken free from the influence of the Ancestral Court's Yujing City on this universe's Dao techniques and divine abilities!
He had not cultivated any Heavenly Palace, let alone Yujing City!
Ling Sheng could no longer hold back. He pushed the power of his Dao Fruit to its extreme!
Xu Shenghua's strength was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had originally thought he could kill this man with ease, but now it seemed he was dealing with a hidden prodigy. He had to use all his strength!
He could tell that Xu Shenghua was stalling for time to refine the energy from the bucket of Dao Dew. But he was also stalling, as his speed was the fastest, while his other two clones were slower and still on their way.
But now, Xu Shenghua was ready to act, forcing him to strike first!
His Dao Fruit's power erupted, and Dao patterns radiated from it, forming a thirty-six-layer realm field, with layers overlapping and spreading out.
In this battle, he had to win!
"The Dao techniques and divine abilities of Miluo Palace are the peak you can never surpass, the nightmare you can never reach!"
His body suddenly swelled. This mission was extremely important, so he used his most powerful ancient god physique.
He also brought his Dao Fruit, which was enough to compensate for the shortcomings of this body in Dao realms!
His other clones could die, but this body absolutely could not. He had to complete the entrustment of the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace!
He charged forward, and even the Great Black Mountain, formed from the stump of the World Tree, trembled and cracked beneath his feet. His full power was unleashed, and the achievement of his Dao burst forth from the power of his Dao Fruit!
Xu Shenghua suddenly stopped, standing casually on a mountain peak, watching Ling Sheng charge toward him. The ancient god was like a giant splitting heaven and earth, and even before he arrived, the pressure was like the sky collapsing!
"Lord Qin, the so-called Seventh Young Master, once said that I am the culmination of the Eternal Peace Reforms."
Xu Shenghua shifted his stance, sinking slightly, and his Dao roared as he mobilized it!
"I don't agree with many of his views, but I never refuted this statement. Because!"
His divine power surged, and he pushed off with both feet, charging head-on into Ling Sheng's most powerful strike: "I am indeed the culmination of the Eternal Peace Reforms, and I have even gone further than them!"
—These past few days, a friend asked me to help promote a book. I, Zhai Zhu, had no time to mention it. Today, there's no promotion, so I can say it.
Well, I, Zhai Zhu, have joined the Chinese Writers Association. That's all. (Does saying this sound pretentious? Too casual...)