Chapter 1825: Qin Mu, Ling Xiao, and Zi Xiao
“A skinny, elongated freak with one eye?” (The skinny, elongated freak has one eye, not three. There was an error in the previous text, which has been corrected.)
Tai Yi pondered for a moment, then ventured, “The skinny, elongated freak you mentioned—is he the one clinging to the roots of the World Tree, waiting to enter the Seventeenth Epoch? He has an eye on his forehead, a very large eye, and he resides on the twelfth annual ring of the World Tree.”
Qin Mu nodded.
“I don’t know him. He was a divine being from the Twelfth Epoch. This is the Fourth Epoch, far too early for the Twelfth.”
Tai Yi said, “During the Twelfth Epoch, I will help you find him. What happened after I left the Great Black Mountain?”
Qin Mu replied calmly, “Just some trivial matters.”
Tai Yi looked at the white hair at his temples and suddenly asked, “How many years did you endure to return here? You’ve suffered a lot, haven’t you?”
Qin Mu gently stroked Qin Lingyun’s little head, his gaze soft and composed. “Not long—just thirty-five billion years. But my daughter and I have already experienced over two hundred billion years traveling back to the past.”
“So when I saw you, I knew you were Seventh Young Master Chaos, not Mu Tianzun. Mu Tianzun doesn’t carry such weariness.”
Tai Yi gazed into the distance at the Celestial Capital Divine City amidst the Annihilation Calamity. There, his past self was battling the calamity alongside many Dao companions. He already knew the outcome of this struggle—that many Dao companions would die in the calamity, and those who survived would often perish in the Creation Calamity.
It was this result that had driven him to resolve to create a perfect world!
And this would become reality in the Seventh Epoch!
The Celestial Capital’s Heaven-Creation!
That was a stirring feat. Except for Qin Mu, the Heaven-Creation Crowd, who didn’t participate and merely lingered on the sidelines to gain familiarity, everyone else took part in this Heaven-Creation!
Afterward, he would die at the hands of the Miluo Palace Master, be rescued by Ling, and sent to the future Sixteenth Epoch in the form of his primordial spirit.
“Young Master Chaos, you said this was the Miluo Palace Master’s compensation to me? Letting me start over from the Fourth Epoch?”
Tai Yi felt somewhat lost. He looked toward the Miluo Palace within the Annihilation Calamity and shook his head. “He wouldn’t be that kind-hearted.”
He didn’t wait for Qin Mu’s reply. Turning around, he saw that Qin Mu and the little girl had vanished without a trace.
The Fifth Epoch arrived.
Tai Yi watched as the Celestial Capital sought out the Five Supremes of this epoch. Strangely, visitors from the future pursued him into this epoch, hunting him relentlessly.
These were the Miluo Palace’s strong from the future Sixteenth Epoch. They crossed the chaotic rivers of time to reach the Fifth Epoch, returning to their respective physical bodies of this era, frantically searching for him.
Among them, Young Master Tai Shang led the charge, commanding the Miluo Palace’s Hall Masters in a relentless hunt.
Forced into a corner, Tai Yi had to constantly change his identity and hide everywhere.
During the Fifth Epoch, the Miluo Palace and the Celestial Capital City became two great sacred lands, each with grand scale. The Miluo Palace already showed the outline of its later form. Tai Shang had cultivated the Tai Shang Hall and was revered as a Young Master by many who had attained the Dao. He was the Miluo Palace’s First Young Master.
As for Wu Ji, though she joined the Miluo Palace at the same time as Tai Shang, she never became a Young Master. Instead, she remained inconspicuous within the Miluo Palace. She could never attain the Dao, and her strength was even inferior to other Dao attainers.
Besides these two sacred lands, there was a third: Wu Ya the Elder.
In the Fifth Epoch, Wu Ya the Elder already had a vast following. Strong individuals constantly sought his protection, and the scale of his forces even surpassed that of the Miluo Palace and the Celestial Capital City.
Tai Yi walked the world, occasionally encountering Qin Mu. But by this time, Qin Mu had a poor reputation in both the Miluo Palace and the Celestial Capital City. People often called him a freeloading fraud.
Conflicts frequently erupted among the three sacred lands, causing heaven and earth to shatter and rivers of blood to flow. Yet both the Miluo Palace Master and the Celestial Capital Lord exercised restraint, keeping their Dao attainers in check.
Wu Ya the Elder, however, was particularly uneasy about the Celestial Capital City and relentlessly attacked it.
Tai Yi tried his best to avoid getting involved in the struggles among these three factions. But Young Master Tai Shang seemed to have fixated on him, descending into his physical body from the Sixteenth Epoch from time to time, chasing him relentlessly.
The Sixth Epoch arrived as scheduled.
Tai Yi changed his appearance again to evade Tai Shang’s pursuit, which had followed him into the Sixth Epoch. It was then that he encountered Qin Mu once more.
The little girl by Qin Mu’s side seemed not to have aged. She was still as icy and adorable as when they first met, always following Qin Mu.
“The Miluo Palace’s Third Young Master, Ling Xiao, has entered the Miluo Palace.”
Tai Yi’s eyes flickered as he said to Qin Mu, “A few days ago, Tai Shang teamed up with Ling Xiao to hunt me. Chaos, don’t you have any thoughts on this? Third Young Master Ling Xiao is the mastermind behind the blood sacrifice of the Seventeenth Epoch!”
Qin Mu was surprised. “Lao San is from the Sixth Epoch? I should go take a look!”
Tai Yi watched them leave and breathed a sigh of relief. The Miluo Palace’s pursuit of him everywhere was exhausting. If Qin Mu could ambush Ling Xiao, his own burden would lighten.
A few days later, Tai Yi saw Qin Mu drinking and laughing with Young Master Ling Xiao, chatting cheerfully like sworn brothers.
Tai Yi was exasperated. Just as he was about to ask, he saw Young Master Tai Shang leading a group of Miluo Palace experts in pursuit. Qin Mu was cheering them on from the sidelines.
Tai Yi had no choice but to change his appearance and flee again.
Later, the Dao attainers of the Miluo Palace warned Ling Xiao, the youngest junior brother, about Qin Mu’s various deeds. Only then did Ling Xiao gradually distance himself from Qin Mu.
During the Sixth Epoch, a major event occurred: Wu Ji attained the Dao and became the Miluo Palace’s Second Young Master, cultivating the Wu Ji Hall.
Qin Mu went to congratulate her and whispered, “Second Sister, how many Return to Origin Divine Maidens have you eaten?”
“Lao Qi, what nonsense are you talking? I don’t understand,” said Young Master Wu Ji, her eyes sparkling.
A few days later, Tai Yi happened to encounter Qin Mu being chased by Young Master Wu Ji, and the two fled together.
“Your strength is no less than Wu Ji’s. Why don’t you fight back?” Tai Yi asked, puzzled.
Qin Mu smiled without answering.
Qin Lingyun said crisply, “My father said he won’t fight back against anyone who will die by his hand.”
Tai Yi’s heart shook violently, and he let out a heavy sigh.
Finally, the end of the Sixth Epoch arrived, and the Annihilation Calamity erupted. Still being hunted, Tai Yi changed his appearance and hid in the Celestial Capital City, only to encounter Qin Mu again.
In this life, Qin Mu and Qin Lingyun had come to the Celestial Capital Divine City, claiming that as the most ancient elders of the Celestial Capital City, they must help it accomplish its unparalleled great endeavor!
The Celestial Capital crowd was deeply skeptical and began to argue. Some said he was a spy sent by the Miluo Palace, while others claimed he was close to Wu Ya the Elder and was his spy.
“Young Master Chaos is more like a spy we planted in the Miluo Palace and by Wu Ya’s side!” someone said, startling everyone.
Just then, the Celestial Capital Lord returned from the Annihilation Calamity, carrying a girl. He said joyfully, “Let me introduce everyone! This is Ling! She is a Dao companion who shares our ideals!”
The Celestial Capital crowd rose to their feet. Ling Tianzun’s gaze was like the sun shining on snow. Her eyes swept over the crowd and landed on Qin Mu’s face among them.
Qin Mu was all smiles.
The Celestial Capital’s Heaven-Creation began, opening the universe’s Seventh Epoch. Qin Mu did not participate but watched from the sidelines. The figures of the Celestial Capital Lord and the thirty-six Heaven-Creation Crowd were eternally imprinted in time and space, forming an immortal scroll. But the scroll did not include him and his daughter, nor Tai Yi.
In the Seventh Epoch, the Celestial Capital City completely overshadowed the Miluo Palace and Wu Ya. The Heaven-Creation Crowd suppressed the Miluo Palace and Wu Ya in every way. Gradually, the Celestial Capital City began to change. The Celestial Capital Lord didn’t notice, or perhaps even if he did, he didn’t care.
He and Ling Tianzun were of the same kind—beyond the Dao, there was nothing else.
The Seventh Epoch was originally his and the Celestial Capital City’s experimental ground. The beings of the Seventh Epoch were merely accessories in that experiment. That was his belief, and naturally, the Heaven-Creation Crowd believed the same.
Tai Yi walked the world, watching his past self and the Heaven-Creation Crowd’s actions, and sighed inwardly: “Teacher, you were right. I was wrong…”
In this life, even he could not attain the Dao again.
In every previous cosmic epoch, he could attain the Dao and cultivate another Dao fruit. But in the Seventh Epoch alone, he could not.
Because the great Dao of heaven and earth had already been controlled by the Heaven-Creation Crowd!
The Heaven-Creation Crowd decided who could attain the Dao and who could have their Dao erased!
The Seventh Epoch’s decline and destruction came earlier than expected. The Miluo Palace Master visited the Celestial Capital City three times. On the fourth visit, he killed the Celestial Capital Lord.
At that time, Qin Mu was standing nearby, beside Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he watched the Miluo Palace Master’s divine techniques used to slay the Celestial Capital Lord.
Qin Mu, however, watched Ling Tianzun. Ling Tianzun’s mastery of mass-energy invariance was complete. She silently rescued the Celestial Capital’s primordial spirit, separating the Celestial Capital from Tai Yi.
The war between the Celestial Capital City and the Miluo Palace erupted, lasting from the end of the Seventh Epoch to the Tenth Epoch.
The Heaven-Creation Crowd member Ling displayed extraordinary combat power, inflicting heavy casualties on the Miluo Palace. She was known as the Miluo Palace’s Shadow. But because she acted alone and was close to the Miluo Palace’s Lao Qi, Chaos, she was abandoned by the Heaven-Creation Crowd.
From the Seventh to the Tenth Epoch, the war swept across the universe with extreme brutality. Ling Xiao attained the Dao and cultivated the Ling Xiao Hall, but he was repeatedly besieged and wounded by the Heaven-Creation Crowd.
It was the most massive war in seventeen cosmic epochs—hard to find a match!
In the Tenth Epoch, the Miluo Palace was severely weakened. Tai Shang, Wu Ji, and Ling Xiao were all gravely wounded by Ling Tianzun. The Miluo Palace Master had to intervene personally to suppress the Heaven-Creation Crowd’s Ling Tianzun. Only then were the Heaven-Creation Crowd subdued, gradually fading into obscurity.
Tai Yi went to see Zi Xiao. At this time, Zi Xiao was still a swordsman, obsessed with the sword. His wife was an outstanding woman.
At Zi Xiao’s home, Tai Yi found Qin Mu and his daughter visiting. The three of them, understanding each other tacitly, witnessed the birth of the Zi Xiao Attaining Dao Melody.
The true Zi Xiao Attaining Dao Melody left them all in awe, savoring it for a long time.
“Zi Xiao, a commoner, is fortunate to have such a wife. He hasn’t joined the Miluo Palace yet. Don’t you want to leave something behind?” Tai Yi’s eyes flickered as he asked Qin Mu.
Qin Mu shook his head. “I came here just to hear this famous melody. My battle with Zi Xiao was within my grasp, but in the end, I lost to this tune. Zi Xiao’s wife is a remarkable woman—I had to meet her.”
Tai Yi wanted to make a move on Zi Xiao, but Qin Mu stopped him, saying, “Zi Xiao also lost to this melody.”
Tai Yi didn’t understand.
Later, the Annihilation Calamity of the Tenth Epoch erupted. At its most intense moment, the Zi Xiao Attaining Dao Melody sounded again. Tai Yi followed the sound and encountered Qin Mu once more.
Qin Mu held Qin Lingyun’s hand, standing in the calamity, watching the couple embrace in the calamity flames. An instant became eternity.
This Zi Xiao was the one from the Seventeenth Epoch. He chose to stay forever in this moment, with his wife.
The Zi Xiao of the Eleventh Epoch joined the Miluo Palace. The Miluo Palace’s Dao techniques made him the Fourth Young Master.
The Twelfth Epoch arrived. Tai Yi found Qin Mu and said, “I’ve found that skinny, elongated freak. He’s under Wu Ya the Elder’s command.”