Chapter 1754: Entering the Coffin
The branches and leaves of the World Tree withered, its roots retracted at tremendous speed, and the area it covered grew smaller and smaller. This time, Old Man Wuyai had been too severely wounded and had to go into hiding to recuperate.
Within the Ancestral Court, the prehistoric stowaways felt the call and flew toward the World Tree one after another. Even the Three Elders of Fengshu withdrew from outside Jade Capital City and returned to the World Tree.
Tens of thousands of powerful beings gathered tightly around the periphery of the World Tree, standing ready in full battle array.
The World Tree was their hope of surviving into the next cosmic epoch, and it absolutely could not be lost.
On the other side, within the Miluo Palace, the Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master, and others struggled to their feet and said in deep voices, "Advance into the Seventeenth Cosmic Epoch!"
Doo—
A resounding horn call rang out from Jade Capital City. With Old Man Wuyai and Taiyi severely wounded, the Miluo Palace had finally cleared the obstacles to the blood sacrifice!
Although this time they had failed to send Qin Mu back to the past, the Miluo Palace's strategic objective had been achieved!
Previously, Old Man Wuyai had been secretly siphoning the energy of the blood sacrifice, allowing the stowaways to descend, which had prevented the Miluo Palace's descent plan from being carried out.
Now, Old Man Wuyai could not even protect himself, let alone continue stealing the blood sacrifice's energy!
As for Taiyi, he was another person who had been obstructing the Miluo Palace's descent. He had guarded the Great Black Mountain for six billion years, constantly hindering the blood sacrifice. With him also severely wounded this time, the Miluo Palace's two great enemies would be unable to stop them for a short time!
In this battle, although all the Miluo Palace's Dao Achievers had been injured, the severity of their wounds varied. The most severely wounded were the Palace Master, the Third Young Master, and the Fourth Young Master, who could not descend until their injuries healed. However, those with lighter injuries could now descend.
Outside Jade Capital City, Dao light blazed, and the energy of the blood sacrifice was exchanged here. The bodies of Dao Achievers began to slowly materialize!
"Both of our great enemies have been severely wounded this time. When the Miluo Palace's Dao Achievers descend, if they entrust their Dao to the void, it will allow Old Man Wuyai's injuries to heal quickly and strengthen his power."
The Fourth Young Master, Zixiao, suppressed his own injuries and issued an order, saying, "When we reach the Seventeenth Cosmic Epoch, do not entrust yourselves to the void!"
On Taiyi's Grand Dao Heaven, Qin Mu had just landed when suddenly the giant Taiyi beside him groaned and fell backward.
Bang!
The giant Taiyi transformed into a mass of Taiyi Qi, scattering chaotically across the Grand Dao Heaven.
"Brother Dao!"
Qin Mu's injuries were not too severe, and he quickly called out to inquire, but he saw the mass of Taiyi Qi gather together. After a moment, a female Taiyi emerged from the Taiyi Qi.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Brother Dao's Dao techniques and divine abilities are truly strange..."
Before he could finish speaking, the female Taiyi suddenly burst with blood holes all over her body, blood gushing like a fountain. She fell backward, her body collapsing and turning back into a scattered mass of Taiyi Qi.
Qin Mu was startled. After another moment, he saw the Taiyi Qi condense again, transforming into an elderly Taiyi, whose body was also riddled with holes and bleeding everywhere.
The elderly Taiyi's body could not hold together either and collapsed again.
The mass of Taiyi Qi then turned into a young girl Taiyi, but she also could not maintain her form.
Qin Mu watched as Taiyi continuously changed forms, yet could never maintain a stable shape. In this battle, Taiyi's Dao wounds were imprinted on his very origin, and the injuries were extremely severe!
In the past, when Taiyi changed forms, he would sever cause and effect, and the wounds on his body would disappear. But in this battle, Taiyi had faced Old Man Wuyai and the Miluo Palace!
Old Man Wuyai's strength went without saying, and the Third and Fourth Young Masters of the Miluo Palace were even more terrifying. Add to that the sixty or seventy Palace Masters, each possessing multiple Dao Fruits, and countless Dao Achievers of the Miluo Palace—this force was unmatched across seventeen cosmic epochs!
His Dao wounds had injured his origin, and they could no longer be healed simply by changing his form.
Suddenly, the Taiyi Qi transformed into a young Taiyi. Qin Mu quickly examined his injuries and said rapidly, "Brother Dao, your wounds include Dao wounds from the Miluo Palace, which are the most severe. The Dao wounds left by Old Man Wuyai are not as dangerous. Solving the Miluo Palace's Dao wounds is not too troublesome. Wait a moment!"
The young Taiyi could not wait; his body collapsed again, turning back into Taiyi Qi.
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then opened his vertical eye on his forehead, illuminating the Ancestral Court and searching carefully. After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief.
In this short time, Taiyi had changed forms more than a dozen times, each time unable to maintain his shape due to severe injuries.
When he transformed into a giant Taiyi again, Qin Mu immediately said rapidly, "Brother Dao, maintain your current physical state and stop changing. I have a way to heal your wounds!"
The giant Taiyi's wounds continued to bleed, and he immediately sat in lotus position, suppressing the injuries.
The Ferry World Golden Ship flew over, and the two boarded it. The giant Taiyi sat at the bow, continuing to suppress the Dao wounds on his body to prevent them from worsening.
In this three-way battle, it was not the case that the stronger one suffered lighter injuries. On the contrary, after fusing the Dao Fruits of eleven cosmic epochs, his strength had greatly increased, but he had become the focus of the Miluo Palace and Old Man Wuyai, suffering the heaviest injuries.
In a three-way game, the side with the greatest advantage would always be targeted for destruction.
The Golden Ship changed direction and sailed out of Taiyi's Grand Dao Heaven.
Xing Han sat quietly in front of the Coffin of Burial Dao, staring straight ahead, waiting patiently. With Taiyi taking action, success was certain.
He was already looking forward to seeing Qin Mu tied up and delivered here, and the surprised expression on Qin Mu's face when he drove the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails into him.
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Xing Han's lips. He looked up and saw the Ferry World Golden Ship sailing toward him, gradually slowing down.
Xing Han stood up with a smile, only to see Qin Mu carrying the battered and bruised Taiyi, leaping swiftly from the Golden Ship and rushing forward without a word.
Plop. Taiyi was thrown to the ground.
Xing Han was stunned.
Qin Mu grabbed the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails and said without looking up, "Brother Xing Han, aren't you going to help?"
Xing Han still hadn't snapped out of it, but he saw Qin Mu inserting the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails one by one into the wounds of the giant Taiyi. Qin Mu urged him again, and Xing Han finally came to his senses. He hurried forward, and the two worked together to drive all one hundred divine nails into Taiyi's body.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, picked up Taiyi, and placed him inside the Coffin of Burial Dao, saying, "His injuries are too severe. Use the coffin to suppress his wounds first. Once my own injuries are healed and I figure out a way to break the Dao wounds, I'll treat him."
Xing Han silently watched as Qin Mu picked up the coffin lid and covered the coffin, unable to speak.
The box stood by his feet, curiously tilting its body to sneak a look at his expression.
Xing Han's face was ashen, and he very much wanted to push Qin Mu into the coffin to suppress him as well, but he held back.
Although Qin Mu was heavily injured, his strength was still above Xing Han's.
After a moment, Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief and carefully examined the Dao wounds on his own body, saying, "Brother Xing Han, you are truly prescient. You prepared the coffin and divine nails early on. Did you know that Taiyi's journey would be extremely dangerous and that he would definitely be injured?"
Xing Han opened his mouth but said nothing.
He had originally thought that after Taiyi returned, he would put Qin Mu into the coffin. He never expected that the one placed in the coffin would be Taiyi!
Fortunately, Qin Mu didn't ask further. He calmly examined his own Dao wounds and tried to unravel the divine abilities lingering in them.
Xing Han waited quietly. He was always composed in front of anyone, but only when facing Qin Mu did he feel at a loss, unsure of what to do.
The relationship between him and Qin Mu was one forged through "being beaten."
As long as Qin Mu was around, he dared not cause trouble.
Suddenly, Xing Han sensed something and looked up toward the direction of Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Brother Dao, have you sensed it too?"
Qin Mu opened his eyes and looked toward Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court, saying, "Some Dao Achievers are attempting to descend. Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court appears to be here, but in reality, the Dao Achievers inside have not yet descended into the Seventeenth Cosmic Epoch. This time, their obstacles have disappeared, and they can descend. In the future, there will be an unimaginably fierce battle. This battle will likely kill many people..."
Xing Han remained silent.
Qin Mu then perked up and smiled, "But you don't need to worry. The battle in the Ancestral Court is not like the war between the Primordial Realm and the Heavenly Court. Although there will be casualties, they will be among the strong, not affecting ordinary people. This battle is not one to change the world, but a battle of the strong."
Xing Han thought for a moment and asked, "Can we hold them off?"
"We must hold them off."
Qin Mu entered a dream and murmured in his sleep, "If we can't, then the Yancheng Reformation will be nothing but a joke. The Seventeenth Cosmic Epoch will soon perish."
His dream spread outward. Xing Han took a few steps back to avoid the dream, watching the countless miniature Qin Mus within it busily working to heal their own Dao wounds.
Although the Dao wounds Old Man Wuyai had left on Qin Mu were severe, they were far less harmful than those left by the Third Young Master, Lingxiao. Old Man Wuyai's strength was formidable, but his understanding of Dao techniques and divine abilities was far less profound than the Third Young Master's, so healing them was not too troublesome.
Nevertheless, it took Qin Mu over ten days to fully analyze the divine abilities hidden in the Dao wounds and heal himself.
After waking up, he took Taiyi out of the coffin and carefully examined his Dao wounds. Xing Han helped on the side. The two first unraveled the Dao wounds left by Old Man Wuyai. What remained on Taiyi were only the Dao wounds from the Miluo Palace, which were the most difficult to resolve.
Xing Han could help analyze the Dao wounds left by the Miluo Palace's Dao Achievers and Palace Masters, but he could not help with those left by the Third and Fourth Young Masters.
Qin Mu was busy working without looking up, saying, "Brother Dao, I need you to go to the Outer Heavens and tell Moon Venerable, Nether Venerable, and others to have the Venerable-level beings stay behind to block the descent of the Dao Achievers from Jade Capital City. I also need someone to go to Yancheng and ask Lord Shang to rise up and deal with the Joyful Palace Master."
Xing Han nodded, stood up, and left, saying, "Leave the Coffin of Burial Dao and the divine nails for me."
He drifted away.
Qin Mu devoted himself fully to unraveling the other Dao wounds on Taiyi, but these wounds could not be resolved in a short time. When Qin Mu had fought the Third and Fourth Young Masters, he had suffered fifty Dao wounds and spent eight years healing them. And that time, it was only the projected power of the Third and Fourth Young Masters, using the bodies of Heavenly Emperor Hao and Taichu to fight him.
This time, however, Taiyi had faced the true bodies of the Third and Fourth Young Masters head-on, and the Dao wounds were far more severe than what Qin Mu had experienced back then!
"If I had a thousand or even a hundred years, I could unravel these Dao wounds, but there's no time. Moon Venerable, Lord Shang, and the others won't be able to hold out for a thousand years. The Miluo Palace's Dao Achievers will only grow in number..."
If the Miluo Palace's Palace Masters descended, Moon Venerable, Lord Shang, and the others would surely be unable to hold the line!
And if the Third and Fourth Young Masters descended, then what awaited them would be a catastrophic disaster!
He suddenly stood up and moved the coffin onto the Ferry World Golden Ship.
"Brother Dao, perhaps you should return to your true self."
Qin Mu stood at the bow, and the Golden Ship set sail, heading into the Ultimate Void, toward the Filth Ground of the Ultimate Void.
There, in a Filth Ground, was a place where the First Young Master, Taishang, imprisoned serious criminals. Inside was a paralyzed man named Tiandu.
—Qin Mu's birthday celebration has arrived. Qidian Chinese is hosting a birthday celebration event for Qin Mu. Open the Qidian app to see the birthday blessing advertisement for Qin Mu. You can also enter through "Discover" - "Activities." Click "Bless Qin Mu" to obtain a badge. We're still short by over ten thousand people. We ask for everyone's blessings!! August 2nd and 3rd are the days when the comic "The Legend of Qin Mu" will be launched on Tencent Comics. That's coming up soon too. Zhai Zhu will notify everyone then!