Chapter 1794: Storming Jade Capital Again
If Qin Mu were to truly repair the red-string knot talisman over and over again, then her escape would indeed be far off in the distant future.
She couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret.
Several hundred years ago, believing herself to be on the verge of breaking free, she had stopped suppressing her own power, causing the tidal surges of the Guixu Abyss to become far more violent than before. This had alarmed Qin Mu and the others.
Because Qin Mu was busy forging the Cosmic Bell, he hadn't come to investigate himself. Instead, he planted his Guixu Lotus in the Chaos Sea to suppress the unusual tidal activity.
Later, various great battles erupted, leaving Qin Mu with no time to check on the situation. This led to Young Master Wuji becoming arrogant and complacent, causing the anomalies in Guixu to intensify. There was even a hint of showing off and threatening Qin Mu, the Miluo Palace, and the Elder Wuyai.
The Elder Wuyai, having been defeated by both the Miluo Palace and Qin Mu, had suffered severe losses in strength and influence, forcing him to retreat and hide. The Miluo Palace, on the other hand, was preoccupied with the imminent descent of the Young Master's Dao soldiers and had no time to investigate.
But then Qin Mu found the time. He came, and in one fell swoop, suppressed her once again.
Young Master Wuji gnashed her teeth in hatred. "If I ever break free, I will..."
Just then, a voice rang out from above one of the great abysses, laughing, "The Young Master Wuji, who controls the power of cosmic creation and destruction, has fallen to such a state. Truly a cause for lament and indignation."
Young Master Wuji's heart stirred. She looked up and sneered, "Who dares to mock me? Do you dare to come down?"
The voice replied leisurely, "You and I are both the origins of all universes. You are the Guixu Goddess who governs cosmic creation and destruction, while I am the sacred tree that supports the primordial chaos. You were suppressed by the Master of the Miluo Palace and bullied by your own Seventh Brother. I, too, have been bullied by the Young Masters of the Miluo Palace and had my home invaded by your Seventh Brother. Pitiful, tragic. Two of the universe's naturally indestructible and eternal existences, yet we have fallen into such similar straits."
"Elder Wuyai, you old ghost?" Young Master Wuji said in surprise.
The voice of the Elder Wuyai did not come from just one abyss, but simultaneously from the entrances of the great abysses of every cosmic era. Clearly, this old fellow's roots had pierced through the river of time, and he was busy gathering experts from various cosmic eras, preparing to send them into the Seventeenth Era.
The suppression of the Elder Wuyai by Qin Mu and the Miluo Palace had made him somewhat anxious. Over the past three thousand years, being relentlessly suppressed by both sides, coupled with Qin Mu sealing the Ancestral Court, had prevented his subordinates from achieving enlightenment. His own cultivation and strength had also been unable to recover to their peak. This was why he had taken the initiative to seek out Young Master Wuji, hoping for a change.
"Wuyai, you once slandered me before the Teacher, calling me a Dao-blasphemer. Now you come to me, hoping to join forces. Old ghost, how shameless can you be?" Young Master Wuji looked up and teased.
The Elder Wuyai snorted. Young Master Wuji had never had a good opinion of him. From their very first meeting, she had never used any respectful title, always calling him "old ghost."
In truth, the two had never gotten along. The World Tree and Guixu were mutually antagonistic, practically at odds. The Elder Wuyai was the World Tree that had achieved sainthood over eons, while Young Master Wuji was the Guixu Goddess born from the Guixu Abyss. They were natural, fatal adversaries, and had never seen eye to eye.
The Elder Wuyai had even once believed that Young Master Wuji was cultivated by the Master of the Miluo Palace specifically to counter him, out of the Master's own wariness. As a result, he had never missed an opportunity to make things difficult for her.
"Wuji, you are suppressed and bullied by your own Seventh Brother, and I am suppressed by the Miluo Palace. In truth, you and I are the two indestructible substances of the universe. Unlike them, we are like mayflies—living beings that come and go with the birth and death of universes. For us, the birth and death of a universe is but a single year. They struggle to live even one year, while we have endless longevity."
The Elder Wuyai spoke patiently, "You destroy the universe and the cosmos, but you cannot destroy me. I support the void, but I cannot assimilate you. You and I have no reason to continue fighting. On the contrary, we, such ancient and sacred existences, are being suppressed by these mayflies. This is an intolerable insult."
Young Master Wuji's heart stirred. The Elder Wuyai's words were not without reason. If they joined forces, they could indeed break the deadlock of their current suppression and oppression.
"There are many benefits to us joining forces."
The Elder Wuyai's voice came, unhurried: "Because of the Dao Tree, I am proficient in almost all the Dao techniques and divine abilities of the Miluo Palace. Although the Red-String Knot Seal is a technique created by the Master of the Miluo Palace in his later years, with my foundation, deciphering the Red-String Knot is not too troublesome. I can help you escape."
Young Master Wuji smiled slightly. "And Seventh Young Master has sealed the Ancestral Court, using the Guixu Abyss to block the void, preventing your subordinates from imprinting upon the Ultimate Void and achieving enlightenment. If they cannot achieve enlightenment, you cannot recover your peak combat power. But I am the Guixu Goddess. I can break Seventh Young Master's seal, allowing your subordinates to imprint upon the Ultimate Void and cultivate their Dao Trees anew."
The Elder Wuyai chuckled. "This way, you escape, and I recover my peak combat power—a perfect solution for both. Wuji, your cooperation with the Creation Gods and your feigned alliance with Seventh Young Master were all minor skirmishes. Only by cooperating with me can you achieve your true desires!"
His voice rumbled and shook, coming from above the Guixu of sixteen cosmic eras: "You destroy the universe and the cosmos, creating a new era. Everyone will try to stop you, except me. I also need the birth and death of universes to grow. I would actually welcome it! You and I have no reason to be enemies!"
His words were extremely tempting, but both knew in their hearts that while they might join forces, they were still fundamentally adversaries. They could never remain allied forever.
Because their powers were naturally antagonistic, mutually suppressing and destroying each other!
Young Master Wuji's eyes darted around. She laughed and said, "Since we are joining forces, then Elder Wuyai... old man, you must show some sincerity. Let me see if you can decipher the Red-String Knot Seal."
"Fine!"
The Elder Wuyai agreed readily. "However, you must also show some sincerity. I need to see my subordinates achieve enlightenment in the Ultimate Void!"
"Naturally!"
The two reached an agreement and began their respective preparations.
Meanwhile, Qin Mu had left the Guixu Abyss and arrived at the Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court to observe the descent of Young Master Lingxiao's Dao soldiers.
The entire Miluo Palace seemed to know he was coming. They had long since arranged their formation, standing ready. Qin Mu walked into the city, then stopped. He saw that within the spacetime of the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital, countless invisible strings were spread like a spider's web, guarding Young Master Lingxiao's Dao spear.
Hao Tianzun stepped forward and shouted, his voice full of authority: "Mu Tianzun, your death is near! How dare you come here to cause trouble?"
Qin Mu let out a disdainful snort. The Hao Tianzun of old, though quite pathetic, was at least a man of some renown. Now, however, he had lost all ambition. Under the manipulation of the two Young Masters of the Miluo Palace, Hao Tianzun's ambitions and grand plans had all turned to bubbles and shadows. He had been thoroughly tamed, a testament to the methods of the two Young Masters.
Hearing Qin Mu's snort, Hao Tianzun's face flushed red with shame and anger.
Qin Mu ignored him, his gaze falling on the Dao spear. The spear contained immense Dao power, constantly vibrating, surrounded by countless spear shadows!
The power of this Dao weapon was even greater than that of the Cosmic Bell Qin Mu had forged!
"A pity, the wielder is not here."
Qin Mu swept his gaze across the faces of the twelve Hall Masters of the Miluo Palace and the assembled enlightened beings. He shook his head. "Without the wielder, none of you are my match."
He stepped forward. Suddenly, the strings vibrated, and a Dao melody came from the strings hidden within spacetime.
Qin Mu's figure undulated within the Dao melody, sometimes walking through the divine abilities of Young Master Zixiao, sometimes standing on the vibrating strings, sometimes placing his hand on a string and plucking it gently. He gradually penetrated deeper into the web formed by the strings!
The faces of the twelve Hall Masters and the assembled enlightened beings grew increasingly solemn. Young Master Zixiao, casting his divine abilities from afar, could no longer do anything to Qin Mu. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.
Qin Mu's growth rate exceeded their expectations. In just three thousand years, he could already spar with Young Master Zixiao from a distance, and with such calm composure. This put immense pressure on them!
"He can't break the Miluo Dao Burial!"
Hao Tianzun quickly deployed a series of seventy-two treasure halls. He stood before one of them, while the other twelve Hall Masters each stood before their own halls. However, several of the Miluo Palace's seventy-two Hall Masters had already died, and the others had not descended. Therefore, other enlightened beings had to take their places.
They set up the formation of the Miluo Dao Burial, each gripping their weapons, veins bulging on the backs of their hands as they stared intently at Qin Mu, who was drawing closer amidst the Dao melody.
The Miluo Dao Burial was a combined attack technique created by the Third and Fourth Young Masters of the Miluo Palace, specifically targeting Qin Mu's Dao techniques and divine abilities. It was a sure-kill strike aimed at him.
Previously, when Qin Mu had broken the Jade Capital trap, the phantom projections of the seventy-two Hall Masters had descended into Qin Mu's divine repository, landing in the seventy-two treasure halls of his Celestial Court's Jade Capital City, and had attempted to execute the Miluo Dao Burial to kill him.
That time, because a few of the Hall Masters' phantoms had been dispersed by Qin Mu, only sixty-seven had performed the Miluo Dao Burial, preventing the combined attack from reaching its full potential.
Moreover, that time it was only phantom projections. The power the seventy-two Hall Masters' phantoms could draw upon was actually the power of the Celestial Court's Jade Capital City within Qin Mu's own divine repository.
Now, however, they had prepared for a long time. The twelve Hall Masters, along with over a hundred enlightened beings, were more than enough to unleash the full power of this sure-kill technique!
More importantly, over the years, Qin Mu had been attacking on all fronts, suppressing the Ancestral Court's Jade Capital, suppressing the Elder Wuyai and his forces, and revealing his Dao techniques and divine abilities without reservation to the people of the Miluo Palace.
They had spent three thousand years recording everything about Qin Mu. Then, Hao Tianzun had delivered this information to Young Master Lingxiao and Young Master Zixiao. The two Young Masters had studied it for three thousand years, continuously improving and refining the Miluo Dao Burial.
The Miluo Dao Burial of today was far beyond what it had been before!
"Everyone, don't be nervous."
Qin Mu finally walked out of the web of strings. His expression was gentle, and he smiled. "I am also a Young Master of the Miluo Palace. I would never harm my fellow Daoists or sect members."
A Hall Master's eyelid twitched. His voice was hoarse as he said, "The several Hall Masters of our Miluo Palace who died in battle were almost all killed by Young Master's hand. When Young Master says this, does your Dao heart feel no shame..."
Qin Mu's gaze fell upon his face. His expression remained gentle, even more amiable. "Ah, it's Hall Master Huadu. I forgot to tell you, I am not yet a Young Master of the Miluo Palace. After all, I haven't formally taken the Teacher as my master, so I don't count as your fellow sect member. Killing a few Hall Masters is therefore forgivable. Even if I killed you all, after I return to the past, I would still chat and laugh with you, drinking and enjoying ourselves."
An enlightened being of the Miluo Palace felt his calves tremble. Even with the support of the Hall Master's treasure hall and the backing of a vast Dao foundation, he was still terrified.
This was a true demon king, lawless and unrestrained. Unfortunately, he couldn't go back to the past to tell his former self how evil the Seventh Young Master was.
Qin Mu's gaze swept across the various halls, a strange look in his eyes, as if the walls of these treasure halls all had the character "demolish" painted on them.
When Hao Tianzun saw Qin Mu's gaze sweep towards him, he quickly puffed out his chest and stood straight.
Unexpectedly, Qin Mu's gaze passed right over him, leaving him feeling a bit disappointed.
Qin Mu suppressed the urge within his Dao heart to forcefully demolish the seventy-two halls. His gaze fell upon Young Master Lingxiao's Dao spear. He said leisurely, "I have come this time only to witness the power of Third Brother's Dao spear, not to kill. I am grateful to you all for helping me resist the Elder Wuyai. How could I possibly kill you? Third Brother!"
He laughed out loud. "Let me have a look."
"Seventh Brother, if you want to see, it's not impossible."
Suddenly, Hao Tianzun felt his own consciousness and thoughts being pushed aside. The consciousness of Third Young Master Lingxiao descended into his body. He spoke, "This Dao Burial was prepared for you. First, pass this test, and then I will let you have a look!"