Chapter 1733: Taiyi Breaks Free
A doorway appeared in the Chaos Hall. Even Qin Mu himself had not anticipated this change. His primordial spirit immediately stepped forward, arriving before the gates of the Chaos Hall.
He had originally thought it would be extremely difficult for him to cultivate the Chaos Hall. The master of the Miluo Palace had once said that because Qin Mu had never truly experienced the great cataclysmic destruction, it would be hard for him to grasp what true chaos really was.
It was precisely for this reason that, despite having cultivated the Chaos Hall, the hall had no doors or gates, preventing him from entering.
To walk this path to completion, he would have to return to the past and experience each great cataclysmic destruction, comprehending the true essence of chaos.
Qin Mu deeply agreed with the master of the Miluo Palace's judgment.
But how could he possibly return to the past universe at this point in time and become the Seventh Young Master?
He still chose to stay.
Yet now, the Chaos Hall had a doorway, filling him with both surprise and delight.
This change in the Chaos Hall seemed impossible, yet it was also perfectly logical.
Since his encounter with the master of the Miluo Palace across the chaos, he had made extraordinary breakthroughs. His path of Guixu had reached great completion, the Chaos Sea had grown thick and heavy, he had forged his Hongmeng body, achieved the Hongmeng primordial spirit, comprehended the Heavenly Capital's chapter on creation, and gained insights into the path of Taiyi and Taiyi's divine abilities.
Not only that, but he had also used the Dao wounds left by the Third Young Master of the Miluo Palace to comprehend many mysteries of the Miluo Palace's Hongmeng divine techniques and Dao methods, resolving his own Dao wounds.
He could now be said to have combined the paths of the Miluo Palace and Heavenly Capital, with an even deeper understanding of the path of chaos.
His primordial spirit stood before the Chaos Hall, pushing open the heavy doors. As the Chaos Hall opened, what appeared before his primordial spirit were sixteen great rivers of chaos!
Qin Mu's heart jolted, and his primordial spirit quickly halted its steps.
Sixteen rivers of chaos appeared within his Chaos Hall, and beneath each river, he could see the magnificent and tragic history of sixteen cosmic epochs. Countless beings struggled, sank, floated, and died within those rivers.
Within his Chaos Hall were actually the great cataclysmic destructions of sixteen cosmic epochs!
It wasn't that his Chaos Hall contained the destructive cataclysms that had annihilated sixteen cosmic epochs, but rather that this Chaos Hall of his was connected to the great cataclysmic destructions of those sixteen universes!
This was the path he must walk to attain the Dao!
He had to cross these sixteen rivers of chaos to reach the throne at the center of the Chaos Hall!
When he had encountered the master of the Miluo Palace across the Chaos Hall before, the master had been inside the hall while he was outside, and they had conversed.
Earlier, Qin Mu had thought the master of the Miluo Palace was inside his Chaos Hall. Now it seemed that the master of the Miluo Palace was not actually inside the hall, but rather within the river of chaos of some cosmic epoch!
The master of the Miluo Palace must have seen a Chaos Hall suddenly appear in the future universe, so he traversed layer upon layer of chaos to arrive before this great hall.
He thought Qin Mu was inside the hall, and Qin Mu thought he was inside the hall. Thus, they had a conversation across time and space, neither seeing the other's face.
During this strange conversation, the master of the Miluo Palace learned of Qin Mu's situation and told him that he must return to the past and experience each great cataclysmic destruction to perfect his Dao.
Now, seeing these sixteen rivers of chaos, Qin Mu understood that the master of the Miluo Palace's words were well-founded.
"If I want to attain the Dao, I must cross these sixteen rivers of chaos. The master of the Miluo Palace must have also seen the Chaos Hall sitting atop the sixteen rivers of chaos, which is why he said that."
His primordial spirit stood before the first river, never once lifting its foot to step onto the surface.
Because he had deduced a fact: if he set foot on the river of chaos, he would inevitably fall into it and land in a prehistoric universe!
He absolutely could not allow himself to enter a prehistoric universe now; he had to stay in Yancheng!
This first river was the great cataclysmic destruction of the First Universe. If he stepped into it and fell into the First Universe, when would he ever return?
"Forget it!"
Qin Mu surged his Hongmeng primordial energy, wholeheartedly activating the Taiyi Divine Axe. "First, deal with the matter at hand. The future can wait!"
He opened the gates of the Chaos Hall, his cultivation base skyrocketing, his understanding of the path of chaos deepening.
There was no great Dao within chaos; he was meant to create a kind of great Dao, one that transcended both the Miluo Palace and Heavenly Capital. That was why the master of the Miluo Palace had said he couldn't quite understand it.
Although Qin Mu had not yet reached completion and couldn't fully articulate the Chaos Hall or the path of chaos, the increase in his cultivation base and combat power was very real!
He was like a giant splitting heaven and earth, pushing the great axe, tearing through more than half of this thatched door's portal with irresistible force!
But the further he went, the heavier the pressure became. The six thousand four hundred great Daos of the thatched cottage resisted him almost simultaneously!
Qin Mu suddenly lifted his foot and stomped down heavily, and beneath his foot appeared the phantom of the altar used by the Heavenly Capital multitudes during creation!
He used his own Hongmeng primordial energy to manifest the creation altar, his entire body radiating purple energy mixed with chaotic qi, his power rising once more!
Swoosh—
The two door panels flew up, tumbling to either side!
Qin Mu dispersed the Taiyi Divine Axe, panting heavily as he supported himself on his knees, both shocked and delighted. "Done..."
Just as this thought crossed his mind, suddenly the thatch on the cottage roof also flew up, snapping cleanly in two in midair!
Qin Mu's eyes widened, at a loss.
The broken thatch transformed into streams of Hongmeng purple qi, dissipating into nothing.
Crack!
Without its roof, the thatched cottage suddenly shattered into pieces, also transforming into streams of Hongmeng purple qi, vanishing!
"Senior Brother Tai Shang, this has nothing to do with me!"
Qin Mu quickly called out, "Senior Brother, I was only opening the door. Your Tai Shang Hall was definitely not destroyed by me!"
The thatched cottage evaporated.
Then, behind the cottage, the Dao tree of the First Young Master Tai Shang suddenly snapped with a crack, transforming into specks of light that rapidly dissipated!
Qin Mu's eyes widened, and he stammered, "Impossible, impossible... There's no way my strength could have chopped down your Dao tree or destroyed your Tai Shang Hall. You're bluffing! You're trying to frame me..."
The Dao tree of the First Young Master Tai Shang vanished completely, without a trace.
The thatched cottage was also gone, leaving only a solitary Burial Dao Divine Coffin standing in the ultimate void.
Qin Mu was bewildered. There was no way he could have chopped down the Tai Shang Hall or turned the First Young Master Tai Shang's Dao tree to ashes. So what was going on?
"Most likely, when the First Young Master Tai Shang saw me break his seal, he withdrew his Dao tree and Tai Shang Hall. That must be it!"
Qin Mu steadied himself, muttering, "Don't try to pin this on me..."
He walked forward to examine the Burial Dao Divine Coffin, clicking his tongue in admiration.
"This divine coffin is much better than mine. It's crafted far more exquisitely. I'd almost want to lie down in it and enjoy myself. Brother Taiyi, being locked inside there—how enviable!"
Qin Mu put aside the disappearance of the First Young Master Tai Shang's thatched cottage and Dao tree, unable to suppress his laughter. He patted the coffin lid and teased, "Brother, are you comfortable in there?"
He couldn't hide his pride. In the past, Taiyi had been so mysterious and unfathomable, an awe-inspiring figure. Even Qin Mu dared not act presumptuously before him, only treating him with utmost respect.
Now that Taiyi was suppressed in such an exquisite coffin, he couldn't resist a bit of mockery.
This Burial Dao Divine Coffin was indeed far more refined and beautiful than Qin Mu's. Qin Mu's coffin had been hastily crafted by Xing Han in three months, with many imperfections.
Moreover, Xing Han and Tai Chu had deliberately held back for various reasons, leaving Qin Mu with a hundred percent fatal flaw.
But this coffin "burying" Taiyi was meticulously crafted by the Miluo Palace, finely detailed with no flaws left behind!
Qin Mu found a hundred long Dao-Slaying Divine Nails on the six sides of the coffin. Each nail not only had the standard arrangement of Dao-Slaying Divine Nails but also had all the internal runes forged from the Miluo Palace's unique Hongmeng runes—truly formidable!
More importantly, the material of the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails shimmered with a purple luster, suggesting a rare divine metal!
"Each of these coffin nails is no less than a Dao weapon of an accomplished Daoist!"
Qin Mu praised, then examined the coffin wood. The materials used were mostly rare treasures from prehistoric ancestral courts, extremely luxurious.
The key point was that the main body of the coffin was crafted from a Dao tree!
"To be able to lie in this coffin—it's a life well-lived."
Qin Mu was deeply envious. After careful inspection, although the First Young Master Tai Shang seemed listless, he was extremely meticulous in his work, leaving no flaws. Pulling out the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails to release Taiyi would be a challenge.
Forcibly removing the nails was almost impossible.
These nails were half driven into the coffin and half into Taiyi's body inside. If forcibly pulled, the power of the nails and the coffin would erupt, both injuring the person pulling them out and harming Taiyi within!
"I gave the Taiyi staff to Xu Shenghua to take against the Heavenly Court army. If I had the staff, I could contact Taiyi inside the coffin and ask him how to break the Burial Dao Divine Coffin. Now it seems I'll have to go to the ancestral court."
Qin Mu exerted his waist strength, hoisted the coffin onto his shoulder, and carried it to the Ferry of Ages, setting it upright on the deck.
He steadied the coffin, brimming with high spirits, and urged the Ferry of Ages away.
A moment later, Qin Mu counted the nails on the top end of the coffin—fourteen of them. His face darkened, and he quickly turned the coffin around to stand it upright, thinking, "I might have placed Taiyi upside down just now... He's a transcendent figure, magnanimous—he definitely won't mind... Yes, definitely not!"
It would take some time to travel from the ultimate void back to Yancheng. With leisure time, Qin Mu carefully studied the Burial Dao Divine Coffin, but its crafting was extremely complex, encompassing too broad a range of knowledge. He couldn't find a way to break it for the moment.
"Taiyi must have a solution. I don't need to worry! Even if Taiyi can't solve it, there's still Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and the others! Oh, and Xing Han—my coffin was made by him. Unsealing Taiyi's coffin shouldn't be too hard for them!"
He set the coffin aside and eagerly delved into comprehending his own path of chaos, for that was the true priority.