Chapter 1773: The Dao Attainment Trial Ground
The Zengcheng Hall Master’s movements shifted continuously, but his Dao tree was already destroyed and his divine hall broken—how could he still evade the sword light of Kaihuang?
He was struck by a hundred and ten swords, leaping backward in an attempt to escape the Salvation Golden Ship and flee for his life.
Yet the moment he leaped out of the golden ship, he landed inside a divine hall—the very Sword Dao Sacred Hall of Kaihuang Qinye.
The hall doors slammed shut with a thunderous boom. Within, the sword Dao array expanded, and a miserable scream rang out, followed by torrents of thick blood flowing out from the opened portal.
Kaihuang Qinye sheathed his sword and stepped forward.
Suddenly, the laughter of Second Young Master Wuji rang out: "Seventh Brother, you truly are ruthless and merciless, striking down your own kin and eliminating three hall masters. Back then, our teacher suppressed me precisely because I showed no mercy to the people of Miluo Palace. It seems you and I are kindred spirits! The Guixu attainment of Dao shares the same philosophy. You agree with my ideals—that brings me great comfort!"
Qin Mu’s breath was weak, and he replied with a smile: "Second Sister, you and I are by no means kindred spirits. You simply want to annihilate everything, to plunge all into Guixu, leaving only Guixu in this world, with the sole living being being yourself. That is your philosophy. Mine is far from that."
Everyone on the ship couldn’t help but shudder.
The Second Young Master of Miluo Palace, Wuji, actually intended to destroy everything, to stuff the entire universe into Guixu!
Although they all felt that the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace were cruel and inhuman, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals, at least their aim was to find a way to resolve the great destruction of the universe.
This Second Young Master, however, was purely driven by her desire for destruction!
The Salvation Golden Ship sailed along the Chaos Sea toward one of the lotus root stems. The enormous face of Second Young Master Wuji appeared beneath the ship, swimming forward alongside it.
Her white hair rose from the Chaos Sea like drifting seaweed, gently caressing the Salvation Golden Ship as she laughed: "You are wrong. Seventh Brother, you are not a true Guixu goddess, so naturally you cannot understand the heavy responsibility a Guixu goddess bears. The Guixu goddess embodies both destruction and creation. Besides destroying the world, she must also create a world—a perfect world!"
Her face gradually surfaced, her white hair falling into the water as her graceful body rose.
The Red Rope Knot immediately began to exert its power, forcibly binding and suppressing her.
Second Young Master Wuji’s white hair fluttered, resisting the Red Rope Knot. Her arms rested on the gunwale of the Salvation Golden Ship, her chin propped on the back of her hands, revealing a beautiful face as she curiously observed everyone on board.
"Our teacher advocates non-intervention in the next universe. He wanted to find a perfect way to resolve the great destruction. I once trusted him deeply, believing he could find that way. But he failed time and again, and I eventually lost hope."
Wuji’s gaze swept across everyone’s faces one by one. A chill ran through them all, feeling as if her glance plunged them into boundless darkness, their physical bodies and primordial spirits on the verge of collapse.
Second Young Master Wuji rested her arms on the gunwale, her body swimming along with the golden ship, and laughed: "Later, when I attained Dao through Guixu, I finally understood where our teacher went wrong. He believed that Tiandu’s master opening the heavens was a mistake, that it would only breed a group of lofty, domineering heaven-openers. But his non-intervention was also wrong. Dao attainers are the destroyers of this universe, parasites. To create a perfect world, there is only one path: destroy all Dao attainers! Seventh Brother, you must agree with me, right?"
Qin Mu, supported by Ling Yuxiu, staggered to his feet and shook his head: "Second Sister, those who follow different paths cannot plan together. Our philosophies are not aligned."
Second Young Master Wuji tossed her hair, shaking off the five chains of the Red Rope Knot. As long as the Red Rope Knot’s power wasn’t pushed to its extreme, it couldn’t easily subdue her.
"Don’t be hypocritical."
She rested one hand on the gunwale, leaning back as she swam through the Chaos Sea, speaking leisurely: "Your goal is to eliminate all Dao attainers, to return the cosmic energy these parasites have devoured to the universe. My goal is the same. These Dao attainers are a bunch of thieves, stealing the mysteries of heaven and earth without contributing anything to the universe—they deserve to die!"
She let go, lying face-up beneath the sea surface, swimming around the Salvation Golden Ship, her voice drifting near and far, now ahead, now behind: "My goal is to eliminate them and then create a new world. I won’t interfere with the new world like Tiandu did; I’ll only let it develop naturally. Isn’t that the same as your philosophy?"
Suddenly, her figure appeared on the left side of the golden ship, attempting to board it.
Qin Mu’s expression shifted slightly. He spread the five fingers of his right hand, forming the Red Rope Knot seal.
Second Young Master Wuji let out a tinkling laugh, leaning back and falling into the sea: "With just your strength and these few worthless fish and shrimp, you cannot contend with Miluo Palace. If you don’t go back to the past, you can’t kill Third and Fourth Brother. But if you release me, I’ll help you eliminate them!"
Splash!
She leaped out of the water excitedly, like a fish living in the Chaos Sea. The five chains of the Red Rope Knot resembled long, colorful fins, quite dazzling.
Thump.
She fell back into the water, her voice full of temptation: "Only the combined forces of Miluo Palace’s Second and Seventh Young Masters can destroy Miluo Palace! I can also help you eliminate Old Man Wuya—that old man is full of malice. We’ll kill him and refine him into a treasure, and the treasure will be yours! I can also help you kill the heaven-openers!"
She said excitedly: "The heaven-openers of Tiandu are hiding. These guys are more evil than you imagine, and killing them won’t be easy! But I can do it! Seventh Brother!"
Suddenly, the Salvation Golden Ship was locked in place by her hair, unable to move forward. Second Young Master Wuji’s figure rose from the front of the ship, looking down at Qin Mu from above: "There are so many benefits to allying with me—what are you still hesitating about?"
Ling Yuxiu, Xu Shenghua, and the others were also quite tempted. Wuji’s words were indeed appealing. Compared to Miluo Palace and Old Man Wuya, Yikang’s strength was far too weak, not to mention the mysterious heaven-openers of Tiandu.
On their own, without Qin Mu, even dealing with a hall master-level existence would be difficult.
Qin Mu was certainly extraordinary, but Yikang only had one Qin Mu. Every time, he had to fight with his life, exhausting all his wisdom to block the descent of Miluo Palace and Old Man Wuya!
Each time, Qin Mu either fought until he was utterly drained or was severely wounded and near death.
This time was no different. If Qin Mu hadn’t gone all out to block Old Man Wuya’s Lesser World Tree and Third Young Master’s divine abilities, none of them would have escaped death!
With Second Young Master’s help, Qin Mu’s burden would be much lighter, and Yikang wouldn’t face the threat of annihilation.
Qin Mu looked up at Second Young Master Wuji’s face and suddenly smiled: "Second Sister, you speak so eloquently that even I can’t help but be tempted. Let me ask you just one question."
He suddenly spoke in Hongmeng Dao Language, his voice deep: "Second Sister, after you destroy Miluo Palace, Old Man Wuya, and Tiandu, how will you face this universe?"
He used the Hongmeng Dao Language to catch Second Young Master Wuji off guard, the Dao question imprinting directly into her Dao heart!
If Second Young Master Wuji lied, it would violate her Dao heart and damage her own cultivation!
Second Young Master Wuji was momentarily stunned, then replied in Dao Language as well, a hint of anger in her words.
The two exchanged questions and answers, both using the Hongmeng Dao Language. To the others, their speech was obscure and difficult, containing profound mysteries of the myriad worlds, impossible to fathom.
Xu Shenghua looked at Lan Yutian, who frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and said sheepishly: "I only understood one or two syllables..."
Qin Mu composed himself, flicked his sleeve, and said: "Second Sister, please return!"
Second Young Master Wuji snorted in anger, wanting to lash out but fearing he would activate the Red Rope Knot, so she fell back into the sea.
Qin Mu walked to the bow and looked down. Her face slowly sank beneath the sea surface, their eyes meeting. Second Young Master Wuji gradually descended to the seabed, and the white hair that had bound the Salvation Golden Ship also released.
The Salvation Golden Ship arrived beneath the Guixu lotus of the Seventeenth Era and flew upward along the lotus stem. Ling Yuxiu asked softly: "Husband, what did Second Young Master say?"
"She said the Seventeenth Era is not perfect. To create a perfect world, the Seventeenth Era must naturally be destroyed."
Qin Mu exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and said solemnly: "This time, when I went to the Filthy Ground of Ultimate Void, I met First Young Master Tai Shang and learned a simple truth. Relying on a mountain, the mountain falls; relying on a wall, the wall collapses. In this world, no one can be relied upon—not even Taiyi! What we can rely on is only ourselves!"
His eyes flickered. Taiyi had been nothing but good to him and had shown great kindness to the Seventeenth Era. But Taiyi was the master of Tiandu. If he merged with the cripple, the heaven-openers hidden somewhere would appear!
From what he understood, the deeds of the heaven-openers were even worse than those of Miluo Palace!
If the heaven-openers descended, it would be a catastrophic disaster!
The Salvation Golden Ship roared as it rushed out of the Guixu Abyss. The moment it leaped out, Qin Mu activated the Guixu Dao. One by one, lotus leaves grew from Guixu, their enormous forms connecting with the void, blocking the void of the Ancestral Court.
The veins of the lotus leaves resembled massive Dao chains, interweaving with the void, merging with it, and gradually fading.
After a moment, the lotus leaves completely disappeared.
Everyone sensed carefully but could no longer detect the Ultimate Void.
Qin Mu had completely sealed the Ultimate Void of the Ancestral Court.
His cultivation had not yet recovered, and forcibly activating the Guixu lotus leaves to seal the Ancestral Court’s Ultimate Void left him panting and weak. Ling Yuxiu quickly helped him into the golden ship’s main hall to rest.
Yue Tianshang wanted to ask him to treat Shang Jun but had to hold back upon seeing his condition.
Granny Si, Village Chief, and the others, who had been hiding in the main hall of the golden ship, quickly came to greet him.
"Granny, once I recover a bit, I’ll send you all out of the Ancestral Court."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said: "After you leave, I will continuously strengthen the seal on the Ancestral Court until even the hall masters cannot escape!"
Village Chief frowned: "Mu’er, blocking is not as good as channeling. Why not leave a passage for Yikang’s experts to enter the Ancestral Court for training? Only through life-and-death battles can they grow rapidly."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment: "Only those at the Heavenly Lord level have a chance to fight in the Ancestral Court..."
Granny Si laughed: "Then the Ancestral Court will become a trial ground for Dao attainment. Any cultivator from the myriad worlds who reaches the Heavenly Lord level can come here to train and help themselves attain Dao! In this way, the number of Dao attainers in the myriad worlds will increase, and we may not lack the strength to oppose Miluo Palace and Old Man Wuya!"
Ling Yuxiu clapped her hands and laughed: "Then my husband won’t have to work so hard anymore."
"A trial ground for Dao attainment?"
Qin Mu was taken aback. He came to the front of the main hall and looked out at the majestic Ancestral Court, with its magnificent mountains and seas and boundless grandeur.
"Alright." He clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze profound, and spoke solemnly.