Chapter 1816: Supreme Sword Dao
Lan Yutian sat within the well, observing that the Heaven-Piercing Well was still contending with that lamp bowl. The hall masters and cultivators who had achieved the Dao of the Miluo Palace were still channeling their power into the Heaven-Piercing Well, attempting to expel the lamp bowl that was lodged at its bottom.
The lamp bowl was pressed against the bottom of the well, constantly shaking. The Heaven-Piercing Well was temporarily unable to overcome this lamp bowl.
However, Lan Yutian had only temporarily found a flaw in the Heaven-Piercing Well, not fully cracked it. The lamp bowl suppressed the well's power, but this would also cause the well's power to accumulate and grow stronger. Eventually, it would surpass the lamp bowl's limit and shatter it.
"The foundation of the Miluo Palace is still formidable. If not for the warning from Lady Nanxiang Yuanjun about these seven extraordinary treasures, Yan Kang would have been caught off guard and completely annihilated!"
The most talented individuals in Yan Kang were himself and Xu Shenghua, but neither of them could refine treasures like the young master's extraordinary artifacts. In the end, it took the Miluo Palace's own extraordinary treasures to counter those of the Miluo Palace. Yan Kang was still far behind in terms of such foundational strength.
At the mouth of the Heaven-Piercing Well, the battle among the Dao-achievers continued. Lan Yutian steeled himself and began climbing out of the well.
It was only a matter of time before the Heaven-Piercing Well broke through the lamp bowl. He now had to drag his useful body into the fray, fighting against the Dao-achieving hall masters of the Miluo Palace. If he couldn't eliminate them, then he would have to rely on the secrets of the Heaven-Piercing Well he had glimpsed in the final light to devise a way to crack it and eliminate this threat.
However, without the lamp bowl, resolving this threat would likely take a very long time.
"I wonder how my brother is doing?" His eyes conjured an image of Qin Mu, and he silently pondered.
Facing the extraordinary treasures of the six young masters of the Miluo Palace, the Dao-achievers of Yan Kang had suffered heavy casualties. And Qin Mu was directly confronting two of the Miluo Palace's young masters—the danger was unimaginable.
On the surface of one of the sixteen chaotic rivers orbiting the Miluo Palace, Young Master Lingxiao wore a grave expression. These days, attacks from Young Master Zixiao's divine abilities had been constantly emerging from the chaotic mist, striking at him, and his body bore many new wounds.
But what weighed on his mind was not his own injuries, but the changes in Young Master Zixiao's sword Dao divine abilities.
The power of Young Master Zixiao's sword Dao remained formidable, but Lingxiao could still keenly detect subtle shifts in his mindset from the changes in his sword Dao techniques.
Changes in mindset would manifest in the finer details of divine abilities. Although the power of the abilities remained unchanged, fluctuations in the Dao heart would still affect the perfection of the Dao techniques.
Young Master Zixiao's strength was no less than his own, but his Dao heart had a flaw. And Qin Mu was a monster skilled at manipulating hearts—this inevitably made him worry about Young Master Zixiao's safety.
"Seventh Brother is using some strange method to disturb Fourth Brother's Dao heart. This method works subtly, influencing his Dao heart from the very beginning of their confrontation. It didn't show at first, but now it's starting to manifest."
His heart grew heavier. Qin Mu was likely using the Dao of consciousness or the Dao of reincarnation to slowly influence Young Master Zixiao. Beyond the tangible divine abilities, he was attacking Young Master Zixiao's Dao heart with intangible consciousness or reincarnation techniques.
This influence was extremely slow at first, but as time passed, it gradually grew stronger.
"Moreover, Seventh Brother's strength is inferior to Fourth Brother's. Logically, he should have lost quickly, but he's held out this long, which shows his strength is steadily improving. He..."
The corner of his eye twitched as he recalled the texts left by Young Master Hundun in the Miluo Palace's Dao repository.
Everyone in the Miluo Palace, including its master, had left their Dao techniques and divine abilities in the repository. Young Master Hundun had also left his texts, which many had perused.
After the Miluo Palace master had read Young Master Hundun's texts, he was silent for a long time before telling them that the depth of those texts had reached a level he himself could not fully comprehend.
Young Master Lingxiao had also read those texts but understood nothing.
The Miluo Palace master told them that the words in the book were written in the Dao of chaos, and the runes of that Dao were called "Yuan," runes that surpassed Hongmeng runes.
If Young Master Hundun fully perfected Yuan, he would achieve something beyond even the master's reach. However, this path was extremely difficult, and he didn't believe anyone could attain such an achievement.
At the time, Young Master Lingxiao and the others hadn't realized the terror of Yuan. Each of them had unique achievements that even the Miluo Palace master couldn't match. They thought Young Master Hundun's Yuan was similar to Second Brother's Guixu Dao or Fourth Brother's sword Dao.
Now, it seemed their thinking back then was somewhat naive.
The Miluo Palace master's praise of Yuan was likely an acknowledgment that the Dao of chaos had completely surpassed the Dao of Hongmeng!
"The current Seventh Brother can't be this strong, but under Fourth Brother's tempering, he's gradually becoming stronger!"
He blocked another wave of sword strikes and looked around, but still couldn't find where the Miluo Palace was.
Inside the Miluo Palace, sword light flashed as Young Master Zixiao thrust his sword into Qin Mu. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a zither—the music of his deceased wife. The zither sound wasn't being played by anyone; it arose from within his own Dao heart. Even if he didn't want to hear it, he couldn't block it out.
Qin Mu must have some technique or divine ability that targeted the weakness in his Dao heart, invading it and awakening his longing for his deceased wife.
In this life-or-death decisive battle, he tried his utmost to avoid his Dao heart being influenced, but he was still affected.
He had achieved the Dao through his wife's Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody, and this piece was deeply imprinted on his Dao heart and Dao techniques. He could cut away the flaw in his Dao heart, but he could never bring himself to do it.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang out. At the same time as the zither melody sounded in his Dao heart, the Cosmic Bell struck his body. Young Master Zixiao grunted and staggered backward, flying out of the Miluo Palace and landing on a chaotic river.
Just as he was about to charge back into the Miluo Palace, his heart trembled. He looked down into the river and saw his wife.
This river was the destruction tribulation of the Tenth Era.
In the river, he saw himself obsessed with the sword, descending into madness, neglecting his wife. But his wife had always been by his side, taking care of him.
He had devoted his entire being to studying the twenty-third form of the sword, even finding his wife unbearably annoying, an obstacle on his path to the Dao. He had struck her more than once, cursed at her, tried to drive her away, and even wanted to kill her.
Yet his wife never left him. She still understood him, loved him, and tried to help him achieve the Dao.
He had been too dull, too obsessed with the sword, to notice his wife's care for him or the approach of the destruction tribulation.
But his wife had sensed it. She felt he couldn't survive the destruction tribulation and would surely die in it. So, in the years before the tribulation arrived, she devoted herself to finding a way to help him achieve the Dao.
As for how she would survive the destruction tribulation herself, she never considered it.
She finally created the Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody, a single piece of Dao music that became a swan song, helping Zixiao achieve the Dao.
After Zixiao achieved the Dao, the destruction tribulation descended. Only then did he realize his wife's sacrifice. His extreme devotion to the sword turned into extreme devotion to love, and he desperately tried to protect her through the destruction tribulation.
But it was too late.
His wife couldn't survive the destruction tribulation. Despite her heaven-defying talent, which could help Zixiao achieve the Dao and become the future Fourth Young Master of the Miluo Palace, she couldn't save her own life in the destruction tribulation.
In the destruction tribulation, they spent their final moments, their last tenderness.
Zixiao stood on the river's surface, watching this scene. This was the tribulation he couldn't escape from in his Dao heart.
He hovered above the destruction tribulation of the Tenth Era, watching all his efforts and struggles to save his wife fail.
Qin Mu landed on the river's surface but didn't attack. He waited quietly.
After a long time, Zixiao withdrew his gaze, looked up, and said indifferently, "Seventh Brother, you sent me here hoping my Dao heart would collapse? Then you're wrong. Coming here only strengthens my Dao heart. I must defeat you to have any chance of saving my wife in the future. Therefore, in this battle, I will give my all!"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the embracing figures of Zixiao and his wife in the destruction tribulation of the Tenth Era. He said calmly, "Fourth Brother, do you think I used divine abilities to influence your Dao heart? I could have, but I didn't. Your Dao heart is crumbling bit by bit, all from within yourself. It's you who, when using your sword Dao, think of your wife. It's you who feel guilty in your Dao heart. I didn't manipulate anything."
A sneer appeared on his face, but his gaze didn't turn to Zixiao opposite him. He still watched the history of the Tenth Era: "Every sword move you use reminds you that your achievement comes from your wife. You defeated yourself."
Zixiao's expression darkened.
Qin Mu looked up, his gaze meeting Zixiao's, and smiled. "These days, I've thoroughly understood your sword Dao. Why was I able to hit you just now? Because your Dao heart is broken, the flaws growing larger. And I can borrow the power of the destruction tribulation in the chaotic river to raise my cultivation to a level where I can match you!"
Young Master Zixiao shook his Dao sword, and sword light shot forth!
Qin Mu leaped into the air, landing on the Chaos Hall, and charged forward against the sword light. Countless sword lights stabbed up from the river, dazzling and brilliant, as if they were the embodiment of Zixiao's longing for his wife during the Tenth Era, transformed into supreme sword Dao!
Beneath the eaves of the Chaos Hall, the Cosmic Bell rang unceasingly, shaking the chaotic river. The chaotic energy within the bell's sound formed worlds, radiating power and deflecting beams of sword light!
Whoosh!
The World Tree took root in the chaotic river, its thick roots piercing through the river, drawing on the power of the destruction tribulation!
At the same time, the Guixu Lotus appeared, causing the river to stand on end. His Guixu Lotus Platform also absorbed the power of the destruction tribulation. These two sacred objects caused Qin Mu's magical power to skyrocket, becoming immensely vast!
Qin Mu's divine abilities changed in a thousand ways. He closed in, raising the Taiyi Divine Axe and bringing it down!
Zixiao raised his sword to block. A thunderous crash rang out. Zixiao's body leaned backward, his feet sliding across the river's surface as he retreated, his arm numb from the shock.
Indeed, as Qin Mu had said, Qin Mu had thoroughly understood his sword Dao techniques. By borrowing the power of the chaotic river, Qin Mu's magical power was no weaker than his—it was stronger!
The balance of power had reversed, and he was now at a disadvantage!
Moreover, his Dao heart was indeed flawed. When his Dao sword met this axe, a notch appeared in the blade, just like his Dao heart.
The Chaos Hall flew over with a whoosh, Qin Mu standing on its roof, bringing down another axe!
Zixiao blocked this axe again. Another thunderous crash rang out. The Dao sword snapped with a crack, and he flew backward, spitting blood, countless wounds exploding across his body!
Qin Mu caught up to him and swung the axe down again.
Just then, faint zither music reached his ears. Qin Mu was startled. He had indeed heard the zither.
His Dao heart had no flaws, nor did he have Zixiao's experiences. He couldn't have the same hallucinations as Zixiao and hear the zither. But the zither sound was genuinely reaching his ears.
The Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody.
It was indeed the Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody!
The melody was the same as the one played by Yue Tianzun, but the rhythm carried an emotion that Yue Tianzun's lacked—a thick, unshakable emotion and longing, the entrustment (jituo) of a wife's thoughts for her husband.
Fourth Young Master Zixiao was obsessed with the sword, but she was utterly devoted to her husband, pouring all her emotions into Zixiao.
In the years before the destruction tribulation, if she had focused on surviving the tribulation, she could have lived. But she wanted her husband to live even more!
Qin Mu glanced inadvertently and saw the woman in the destruction tribulation below, playing the zither. The zither sound pierced through the tribulation and reached the river's surface.
Clearly, this woman had seen the battle outside the tribulation from within it and, at the final moment, lent her husband a last helping hand.
The emotion that Yue Tianzun lacked poured out in her zither music, making Qin Mu sense great danger.
Shiiing!
The broken sword in Zixiao's hand suddenly blazed with Dao light—a sword Dao Qin Mu had never seen before. The sword light arrived and directly broke through his Taiyi Tree-Felling Great Divine Ability, severing the divine axe!
Qin Mu activated his chaos divine abilities. His chaos divine abilities had achieved some success, and he intended to use Zixiao's sword Dao to strike at Young Master Lingxiao. But the beams of sword light broke through his chaos divine abilities and stabbed into his body.
Qin Mu grunted, wounds exploding all over his body.
The Cosmic Bell rang, but the next moment, the divine bell was pierced by sword light, its sound turning hoarse!
Qin Mu unleashed all his divine abilities, desperately defending. But under the Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody, whether it was the Guixu Lotus Platform or the Dao fruit on the World Tree, all were pierced through by Zixiao's sword!
"Without emotion in the Zixiao Dao-Realization Melody, Zixiao's Dao heart was flawed. But with emotion, Zixiao's sword Dao advances another step!"
Qin Mu resisted with all his might. Even borrowing boundless power, he couldn't withstand that stunning Dao sword!
Zixiao seemed to be in a state of ultimate perfection—a state he had never reached before—pushing the power of the sword to its extreme!
Boom!
Thousands of swords pierced through Qin Mu's heart. Blood splattered in the sword light as he tumbled and rolled across the river's surface, nearly crashing into the chaotic river. Fortunately, a lotus leaf grew on the surface, catching him.
Qin Mu stood up, but his knees buckled, and he nearly fell.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He stared fixedly at Zixiao on the river's surface, his heart growing heavier and heavier.
With his wife's help, Zixiao was invincible. He couldn't think of any way to defeat the couple.
Suddenly, the zither music faded.
Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. He looked into the river and saw Zixiao's wife perishing in the tribulation.
He looked up at Zixiao opposite him and saw the Fourth Young Master of the Miluo Palace also looking down at this scene. Suddenly, the invincible figure's shoulders shook and trembled.
Zixiao remembered that moment when his wife had died and her Dao had vanished in the tribulation. At that time, she had played the final melody for him.
He didn't know why, at the final moment, she hadn't resisted the destruction tribulation but insisted on playing that last piece, exhausting her last bit of life force and ultimately dying in the tribulation.
For six cosmic epochs afterward, he had pondered why she had done that. Now, he finally understood.
In the destruction tribulation, his wife had seen this scene—seen him about to lose, about to die at Qin Mu's hands—and used her last thread of life to secure his victory.
"Fourth Brother..."
Qin Mu spoke. Young Master Zixiao threw away the broken sword in his hand, silently glanced at him, and leaped into the chaotic river.
"Junior Brother, you win."
He fell into the chaotic river, his voice coming through: "I can't get past this barrier in my Dao heart. I hope you're right..."
Qin Mu struggled to the edge of the lotus leaf and looked down. Young Master Zixiao had returned to the moment before the destruction tribulation, embracing his wife deeply.
Qin Mu was stunned.
If heaven had feelings, heaven would also grow old.
As powerful as Young Master Zixiao was, he was ultimately crushed by his own Dao heart and stepped into the tribulation. But at the moment he entered it, he should have been happy.
Qin Mu exhaled a turbid breath. Suddenly, a series of long howls came from the river's surface!
Qin Mu's expression darkened. Young Master Lingxiao had finally found this place while he was severely wounded!