Chapter 1740: Beaten into a Sieve
"Seventh Young Master!"
Longevity Hall Master halted his steps, and the Ferry of Ages also came to a stop.
Longevity Hall Master took a long, deep breath. The Dao fruits within the small canopy atop his head began to radiate light, and the Dao within those fruits awakened, spreading out like the patterns and wrinkles of a brain.
The situation was now extremely unfavorable for him. His roots were locked by the Ferry of Ages, and dragging this golden ship while clashing with Qin Mu was clearly a great inconvenience.
In a confrontation with Seventh Young Master, any negligence could be fatal—let alone while towing such a massive vessel?
More critically, this Ferry of Ages had never been controllable by anyone. Qin Mu had only gone to Miluo Palace once before absconding with the ship. If, during their battle, the ship were to make a move under Seventh Young Master's command, he would be utterly doomed beyond redemption!
Qin Mu's expression was indifferent as he said, "Longevity Hall Master, I need you to deliver a message for me to Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master."
Upon hearing this, Longevity Hall Master's hair stood on end.
When Chu Ge Hall Master died before the assembly at Miluo Palace, his last words were that Seventh Young Master had asked him to deliver a message—and then, before everyone's eyes, his skull had split open, his Dao fruits had shattered, and he had perished!
Now Qin Mu was again asking him to deliver a message to the two young masters. He could already foresee his own fate!
The highest strategy in war is to attack the enemy's mind. To strike at the heart is the supreme art.
Qin Mu's psychological warfare was more lethal than any divine ability!
Yet Longevity Hall Master was decisive. He immediately sensed his roots left behind in the great cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch, channeled power through them, and forcibly dragged his own body toward the Sixteenth Epoch!
The true body of a tree is not its trunk, canopy, or branches, but its roots. His roots had not fully descended, but now countless roots exerted force together, hauling him back from the starry sky toward the past!
His strength was formidable, and his cultivation path was unique—his Dao and body were one, his abilities extraordinary and transcendent. As his roots exerted force, even the phantom of the Chaotic River appeared in the starry sky, its waves surging!
The Ferry of Ages was also dragged along by him, sailing toward the Chaotic River of the Sixteenth Epoch!
Knowing that with his Dao heart shaken, he could hardly hope to defeat Qin Mu in a direct confrontation, he chose to abandon his descent outright.
Descending into the Seventeenth Epoch was difficult, requiring blood sacrifices and sufficient energy to be offered into the cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch. But abandoning the descent and returning to the Sixteenth Epoch was far simpler for him.
In the great cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch, energy was abundant. Moreover, his roots were still in the Jade Capital City floating within the Chaotic River. He only needed to forcibly pull his body back, and the energy from the Chaotic River would surge in endlessly to complete the exchange!
His body began to vanish into the Chaotic River of the Sixteenth Epoch, and rolling waves of chaos energy overflowed from the void, surging violently.
The power of a Dao Achiever was too immense, and the energy converted from it was equally colossal. As he performed the exchange, it was as if the Chaotic River had burst its banks. Chaos energy flooded out in overwhelming torrents, submerging entire star systems, crushing the stars within them into dust beyond dust!
At that moment, Qin Mu raised his hand and executed the axe technique of Taiyi. The Dao of Taiyi transformed into a divine axe, cleaving toward the void!
Seeing this axe technique, Longevity Hall Master's heart was filled with despair. Every powerhouse of the Sixteenth Epoch, whether they had become Dao Achievers or not, had witnessed the scene of Taiyi felling the World Tree!
Taiyi, the first stowaway, had entered the Seventeenth Epoch and immediately swung his great axe, chopping down the World Tree—the necessary medium for stowaways—and then burned it to ashes, cutting off everyone's path to survival!
And now, the divine ability Qin Mu was using was unmistakably Taiyi Felling the Tree!
It was this very technique that had shattered the Dao hearts of countless powerhouses!
Even more terrifying was that almost all Dao Achievers throughout history cultivated Dao Trees, which were imitations of the World Tree. This technique could fell the World Tree, so naturally, it could also fell a Dao Achiever's Dao Tree!
Longevity Hall Master himself had achieved Dao as a divine tree. His Dao Tree had been refined into one with his original body—his body was the Dao, his Dao flowers bloomed on his body, and his Dao fruits grew from his body.
The suppression Qin Mu's move exerted on him was beyond imagination!
Though his exchange was swift, it could not outpace Qin Mu's divine axe!
"Seventh Young Master, if you leave me no path to life, then I will leave you none either!"
Knowing he could not escape his doom, Longevity Hall Master shouted in grief and fury: "Come back to the past with me!"
Suddenly, from the phantom of the Chaotic River in the void, countless roots shot out, whipping and writhing as they coiled toward Qin Mu!
Knowing he could not avoid this calamity, he chose not to dodge or evade. Instead, he pushed his own Dao and divine abilities to their limits. Countless roots entangled Qin Mu, locking him tight, and dragged him together toward the Chaotic River of the Sixteenth Epoch.
His roots were manifestations of his Dao, embodiments of his own achievements. Each root represented a branch of his Dao—tough, resilient, and imbued with supreme might!
He had cultivated not just one Dao. Over the long ages, he had endured three great cataclysms, yet the cataclysms could not annihilate him. Instead, his roots had taken hold in the chaos, drawing power from it, making his physical body unshakably stable and his Dao techniques ever more mature.
Buzz! Buzz!
His two Dao fruits flew out from the canopy atop his head. The Dao might within them erupted fully, and the imprints of his Dao shone down, illuminating each writhing root!
With this strike, he locked Qin Mu in place, ensuring he could not break free!
In that instant, both pushed their respective Dao techniques and divine abilities to their extremes. Qin Mu's Taiyi divine axe cleaved through Longevity Hall Master's legs, while the roots flying from the Chaotic River pierced straight through Qin Mu's Hongmeng physical body, boring through his flesh and drawing blossoms of blood!
Shua shua shua!
Countless roots coiled around Qin Mu, pulling with all their might toward the Chaotic River!
In his battle with Chu Ge Hall Master, Qin Mu's physical body had been damaged, wounded by Chu Ge. Longevity Hall Master's roots precisely targeted these Dao wounds, drilling into his body. Otherwise, given the toughness of Qin Mu's Hongmeng body, breaking through his flesh would have been far from easy.
Suddenly, the Ferry of Ages expanded to an enormous size, blocking Qin Mu's path and resisting the pulling force from the Chaotic River!
After Longevity Hall Master's legs were severed by Qin Mu's axe, his body began to wither. Leaves and branches fell away, his form dried up, and his limbs rapidly turned to wood.
The Dao light in his eyes dimmed. His once lively pupils turned to wood, unable to move.
His two Dao fruits fell from the canopy above his head. One fruit smashed into Qin Mu's back, the other struck the Ferry of Ages.
Boom! Boom!
The Dao might contained within the Dao fruits erupted fully upon impact. Countless magnificent Dao patterns spread out, weaving into a net in an instant, like a celestial realm formed from countless roots!
Then the Dao fruits collided, and a second celestial realm, a third, a fourth unfolded in rapid succession!
In the blink of an eye, thirty-six celestial realms burst forth from the Dao fruits. Countless roots spread everywhere, even penetrating Qin Mu's divine hides, reaching deep into every domain of his divine hides, every celestial realm, and into the thirty-three heavens of the void!
The power of his Dao fruits even pierced through Qin Mu's primordial spirit!
A hall master of Miluo Palace, even without fully descending, could display abilities in a desperate struggle that were enough to shock the world!
At the same time, the other Dao fruit struck the Ferry of Ages. The thirty-six Dao realms within the fruit also exploded, transforming into thirty-six celestial realms that locked the golden ship and sent it flying toward the Chaotic River!
"Seventh Young Master, I act on the orders of Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master!"
Longevity Hall Master's body rapidly turned to wood, and the wood began to burn, yet a look of joy appeared on his face: "I will send you back!"
Bang bang bang!
His body's surface exploded in the flames. Qin Mu's axe had not only used the technique of Taiyi Felling the World Tree but also invoked the wind of heat death to scorch his body. Without the support of his roots, the wind of heat death had begun to devour him.
In this exchange, both had used every means at their disposal, and the battle was horrifically brutal.
Qin Mu's body was dragged along. The Dao and energy within him were locked by the roots, and he was pulled helplessly toward the Chaotic River of the Sixteenth Epoch.
The Ferry of Ages was also dragged, sliding toward the great cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch.
In terms of cultivation base, Qin Mu was still no match for the depth of a being like Longevity Hall Master. Bound tightly by his roots, he struggled to resist the force coming from the cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch.
Suddenly, within Qin Mu's divine hides, Taiyi's coffin rose.
Qin Mu used the last of his remaining strength to activate Taiyi's coffin, triggering the fifty Dao-Slaying Divine Nails. The power of the nails erupted instantly!
The Coffin of Buried Dao was personally forged by First Young Master Taishang, specifically to counter Taiyi, the mortal enemy of Miluo Palace. Qin Mu had long discovered that forcibly pulling out the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails would inevitably trigger the power of the Coffin of Buried Dao, not only severely wounding anyone trying to open the coffin but also gravely injuring Taiyi, who was suppressed within.
Touching the might and power of the Coffin of Buried Dao would harm both the attacker and the attacked. He would not resort to such a desperate measure unless absolutely necessary.
His injuries from the battle with Chu Ge Hall Master had not healed, and facing Longevity, he had no certainty of victory.
The might of the Coffin of Buried Dao erupted. With a hum, light expanded in all directions, riddling the countless roots that filled Qin Mu's divine hides and physical body with holes!
Qin Mu groaned. His primordial spirit, heavenly palace, and the various celestial realms within his divine hides were pierced as if by countless nails, leaking air everywhere in an instant!
At the same time, the might of the Coffin of Buried Dao pierced through his physical body, shooting outward. Chi chi chi—blood splattered everywhere, and his body became a broken sieve, light shining through from every hole!
The power of the Coffin of Buried Dao was truly terrifying!
When the might of the Coffin of Buried Dao subsided, Qin Mu was bleeding from every pore. Yet he reached out, grabbing hold of the roots that were trying to retract into the Chaotic River.
"If I let you deliver the message, wouldn't that let Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master see through my bluff and know I'm all bark and no bite?"
Qin Mu strained, hoisting the bundle of roots onto his back. Turning around, he pulled with all his might. The Chaotic River trembled violently, and the chaos energy that had surged out rapidly receded. Longevity Hall Master's enormous roots were actually yanked out by him!
The roots suddenly contracted into a ball, then burst outward in all directions. Countless roots spread into the surrounding starry sky, trying to take root in distant stars.
Qin Mu flicked his wrist, hurling Taiyi's coffin into the center of the root mass. Then, with a series of flicks of his fingers, he struck the fifty divine nails on the coffin.
On the root mass, countless eyes suddenly appeared. The pupils of those eyes contracted sharply, all staring at the coffin that had flown before them.
Light erupted from within the divine coffin!
— In the past few days, Zhai Zhu has been suffering from migraines. He often sees wavy streaks of light in his eyes, affecting his vision, and sometimes experiences temporary partial blindness. It might be due to overexertion...