Chapter 1753: Three-Way Mutual Destruction
In the blink of an eye, as Taiyi’s eleven Dao Fruits flew forth, Wuyan Elder also elevated all his strength to confront Taiyi head-on. At the same moment, the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace led their forces, preparing to ambush both Taiyi and Wuyan Elder simultaneously.
All three factions struck with full force at this very instant!
Taiyi’s Divine Axe clashed head-on with Wuyan Elder first. The axe cut through like a splitting bamboo, slashing into Wuyan Elder’s neck, its blade simultaneously biting into the World Tree.
“Taiyi, back then you felled me only because I was weakened after enduring the Life Calamity. But this is not the past!”
Great Dao flowed around Wuyan Elder’s body. The thirty-six thousand Dao Fruits on the World Tree spun, and Dao light converged into a wooden staff. The staff blocked before his neck, colliding with the Divine Axe. Wuyan Elder’s form was instantly pushed sideways for tens of thousands of miles by the immense force!
Behind him, the World Tree was also shoved along with him by the same colossal power!
It wasn’t just the World Tree and Wuyan Elder shifting—it was the entire Ancestral Court.
The Ancestral Court was displaced by tens of thousands of miles from the collision of these two powerhouses!
Though the distance seemed vast, for a world as immense as the Ancestral Court, it was merely a shift of a hair’s breadth.
Despite the titanic strength of the giant Taiyi and Wuyan Elder, in the cosmos, it only amounted to shaking the Ancestral Court slightly.
Even so, the consequences were terrifying beyond measure.
The Ancestral Court, the center of the universe and the place of first origin, was still growing and expanding. Its displacement by tens of thousands of miles triggered a stellar tsunami, rippling outward like waves, rapidly spreading toward the myriad realms and heavens. The range of influence grew ever wider!
Tens of thousands of years later, the spacetime ripples from this clash of two powerhouses would reach the Four Extremities—a wave sweeping across the entire universe.
Of course, such a scale of fluctuation had little impact on the cosmos as a whole. Ordinary people might only feel a momentary dizziness at some point, and nothing more would happen.
The only one truly troubled was Qin Mu. He had landed on Wuyan Elder’s leaf, falling toward the Chaotic Long River. When Taiyi struck, he was leaping off the continent formed by the leaf, trying to escape. He could have safely reached the base of the World Tree, but the clash of the two powerhouses shifted the Ancestral Court by tens of thousands of miles, turning his landing spot into the Chaotic Long River.
Qin Mu’s mind went blank. Just then, Taiyi’s Divine Axe was deflected by Wuyan Elder’s staff, landing beneath his feet.
Taiyi swung the axe, lifting Qin Mu high into the air.
Looking up, Qin Mu saw Taiyi’s Great Luo Heaven drawing closer and closer.
“Taiyi does care about me after all.”
Qin Mu’s heart relaxed, and joy spread across his face. Within Taiyi’s Great Luo Heaven, a branch of Taiyi’s Dao Tree rapidly extended downward, growing longer and longer, clearly meant to rescue him into the Great Luo Heaven and escape the present danger.
At that moment, Wuyan Elder swung his wooden staff, knocking Taiyi’s Divine Axe away. Suddenly, his feet transformed into massive, thick root-tendrils. Countless roots writhed beneath him like black pythons, lifting his form!
Part of Wuyan Elder’s roots anchored into the Ancestral Court, while the rest supported his body as he brandished the staff and charged toward Taiyi in the Chaotic Long River!
He sought revenge for being felled and also aimed to kill Taiyi, the Dao-defiler!
Qin Mu was about to grab the descending branch of Taiyi’s Dao Tree when a World Tree root coiled around his legs, yanking him toward the Chaotic Long River.
“Damn it!”
Qin Mu reached out, trying to seize the Dao Tree branch, but the next moment, he was dragged downward with a roar!
In the river, Taiyi was entangled by countless roots. Wuyan Elder’s roots had reached his chest, about to bind his arms and strangle his neck.
This was the perfect moment to slay Taiyi!
The tip of the wooden staff was sharp, gathering thirty-six thousand types of Great Dao at its point, thrusting toward Taiyi’s brow.
At the same time, Taiyi pulled his arms back, raising the Divine Axe horizontally to block his brow.
*Ding.*
The staff struck the axe’s surface. The power of both erupted, shaking the Chaotic Long River violently. The Ancestral Court continent shifted another tens of thousands of miles.
Qin Mu was about to fall into the Chaotic Long River, but the violent tremor diverted him tens of thousands of miles away, keeping him from landing in the water.
He glanced hastily and saw that the surface of Taiyi’s Divine Axe had been pierced by the staff.
Joy flickered across Wuyan Elder’s face. Just as the staff tip was about to pierce Taiyi’s skull, a force surged from Taiyi’s arms, pressing the staff downward toward the Chaotic Long River!
In the river, the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court emerged, a magnificent sight. The Third and Fourth Young Masters, along with the hall masters and Dao-achievers of Miluo Palace, launched their divine abilities precisely at this moment, striking both combatants.
The combined power of Miluo Palace landed exactly on the staff and Taiyi’s Divine Axe. In that instant, everything seemed to freeze. Even the Annihilation Calamity ceased its operation, and the calamitous fate appeared to vanish.
Dao-achievers struggling in the Annihilation Calamity suddenly felt the pressure lift. Overjoyed, they strained to land on the Ancestral Court.
These were not Dao-achievers of Miluo Palace, nor did they shelter under the World Tree. They could only rely on their own strength to cross the calamity.
Yet, on their own, they could never survive the Annihilation Calamity.
Most were like Lingyu Shangzun—powerful Dao-achievers unwilling to submit to anyone, yet unable to reach the Seventeenth Era or survive the Annihilation and Life Calamities. They could only linger in suffering.
Lingyu Shangzun had used fragments of the Great Luo Heaven and his own Dao Fruit to enter the Seventeenth Era, sacrificing nearly everything, preserving only residual consciousness in his Dao Fruit. He had tried to assimilate Langxuan Divine Emperor to gain rebirth.
But others lacked such fortune, struggling bitterly in the calamity.
Now, the clash of the three factions had temporarily halted the Annihilation Calamity, giving them hope of landing.
The Ancestral Court was their shore of salvation. If they could reach it, they could escape the endless torment of the Annihilation Calamity.
Just as they tried to break free from the Annihilation Calamity and land, something horrifying occurred. In the moment they crossed the calamity and neared the Ancestral Court, another calamity erupted!
The Creation Calamity!
The birth of the universe unleashed power and might far more terrifying than the Annihilation Calamity!
Within the Annihilation Calamity, one could not see the Creation Calamity, only the future Ancestral Court. But crossing the Annihilation Calamity to land instantly plunged one into the Creation Calamity.
This was why even Miluo Palace dared not directly cross the Annihilation Calamity to descend into the Seventeenth Era.
Long ago, during the Annihilation Calamity of the First Era, the master of Miluo Palace had attempted to cross the Creation Calamity, only to end with everyone dead, leaving only the master and the Ferry Golden Ship.
In this moment, nearly all Dao-achievers attempting to land exploded into fragments, turning into the purest primordial energy. Within this spiritual energy field resembling a cauldron, they underwent the Five Tai transformations and eventually became part of the Ancestral Court continent in its primordial form.
They had sought the Ancestral Court as a shore to escape calamity, only to become part of that shore.
The Annihilation Calamity resumed. In the instant of the three-way clash, Taiyi and Wuyan Elder were both struck by the combined might of Miluo Palace, bleeding into the Chaotic Long River.
Countless roots in the river snapped. Taiyi’s Divine Axe was shattered, destroyed in the river.
The World Tree root binding Qin Mu’s legs was also severed. Qin Mu tumbled and rolled, crashing beneath the World Tree. He immediately leaped up and dashed toward the tree.
Amid the clash of the three factions, Qin Mu became the least noticed element.
As he ran, he gathered his remaining energy, forming a Divine Axe of Taiyi. Swinging it, he struck at the World Tree!
On the river, Wuyan Elder sensed Qin Mu’s position and knew something was wrong. But seeing Taiyi’s worse injuries, he mustered all his strength into the staff and thrust it at Taiyi.
Simultaneously, the World Tree rumbled. Branches whipped, and exquisite Dao-domain divine abilities erupted from the tree, bombarding Qin Mu.
In Miluo Palace, the Third and Fourth Young Masters activated their divine abilities simultaneously, launching a second wave of attacks!
Just then, eleven Dao Fruits flew across the Chaotic Long River, leaping over Taiyi’s head. With eleven consecutive Dao sounds, they hung on the Dao Tree of Taiyi’s Great Luo Heaven.
On the Dao Tree, beams of light descended like swords from the heavens, cutting in all directions, stabilizing the Annihilation Calamity!
*Boom!*
This three-way collision was even more terrifying than the last. The force on the river broke through the Annihilation Calamity, crossed the Creation Calamity, and surged into the Ancestral Court!
Qin Mu dodged divine abilities from the World Tree, slashing through those he couldn’t avoid. But the shockwave from the river directly impacted behind him, surging and roiling, giving him an overwhelming sense of danger.
His hair stood on end.
He had reached the base of the World Tree, his axe about to strike. With no time to think, he circled behind the tree and swung.
In a few strokes, he carved a large hole into the World Tree and dove inside.
The terrifying wave from the three-way collision struck, shattering spacetime. It erupted in the Great Black Mountain, turning everything in its path to dust.
Qin Mu hid in the tree hollow, his skin cracking. He had to frantically activate his Creation Divine Art.
The wave soon swept past, leaving the area beneath the World Tree scorched earth.
After a moment, Qin Mu emerged from the tree hollow, extinguishing the Dao fire on him. He looked around and saw the World Tree ablaze, hot-death fires burning everywhere, though they were gradually dying out.
“Wuyan Elder isn’t dead!”
His heart jolted. Just then, Taiyi strode over, covered in blood, silent.
Qin Mu hurried forward. Beams of light shone down from the sky, enveloping them both. The Dao light of Taiyi’s Great Luo Heaven swept them away.
The moment they left, invisible strings vibrated beneath the World Tree, shredding space into pieces.
In Miluo Palace, the Fourth Young Master spat blood, shaking his head. “He got away…” As he spoke, he vomited more blood, clearly severely injured.
Beside him, the Third Young Master Lingxiao clutched his chest, where a large hole had opened. He looked up at the river, now empty.
Around the two young masters, the hall masters and Dao-achievers of Miluo Palace lay collapsed, all heavily wounded and unable to rise.
*Crack.*
The Ancestral Court’s World Tree split down the middle, nearly toppling. Thousands of Dao Fruit phantoms on the tree extinguished, and Dao light ceased to flow.
Leaves fell in droves, branches snapped, and the vast canopy suddenly became bald like a head covered in sores.
Wuyan Elder crawled out of the river, covered in blood. Dragging heavy steps, he struggled to the World Tree and collapsed with a thud at its base.
A root coiled around him, lifting him into the split tree trunk.
The trunk slowly closed, but just as it sealed, it cracked open again with a *crack*, and Wuyan Elder tumbled out.
This repeated several times. Finally, the split World Tree closed, hiding Wuyan Elder inside to heal.