Chapter 1257: Zero and One (Third Update)
Everyone looked at this great Dao cocoon. Although a path had already been opened through it by the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables, it still exuded a dangerous aura.
Just moments ago, so many heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables had failed to break into the deepest part of the Dao cocoon. Their journey this time would likely be fraught with peril as well.
Everyone steadied their nerves when suddenly Xi Tianjun burst into loud laughter: "Wen Ji... Wen Tian Pavilion is a loyal minister and righteous warrior, utterly devoted to the Heavenly Court, a minister of unwavering loyalty! Then let Brother Wen lead the way into this great cocoon. What does Brother Wen think?"
The Woodcutter said calmly: "Since that is the case, I shall naturally lead the way for you all!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the Woodcutter's cultivation realm was not high, his wisdom was extraordinary. Only he could decipher the deadly mechanisms hidden within Hao Heavenly Venerable's great Dao cocoon.
The Woodcutter stepped forward first, walking into the opening of the Dao cocoon, carefully examining the Dao-pattern threads on the cocoon. These thread-like substances were formed from the overflow of Hao Heavenly Venerable's Dao while he was unconscious.
"These Dao-pattern threads should be because Hao Heavenly Venerable was wounded too severely. His physical body could not contain all this heavenly Dao, creating a burden on himself, so he expelled it from his body."
The Woodcutter murmured: "From the fine structure of these Dao-pattern threads, the Dao threads are formed from his heavenly palaces. Different heavenly palaces formed different Dao cocoons. This is the first layer of the Dao cocoon."
Everyone followed him, listening in confusion.
The Dao threads had taken the form of cocoons. Previously, quite a few heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables had died here. They walked past these corpses. To break open the Dao cocoon, the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables had also suffered heavy casualties.
Strangely enough, these heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables had also formed cocoons one by one, hanging upside down from the passageway.
Everyone avoided these corpses. Some heart demons were still alive, their bodies pierced through by the Dao threads within the cocoons, staring at them with wide eyes.
"Hehe, little Mu Heavenly Venerable's cute little appearance..." Lu Zheng laughed.
They hadn't walked far before they indeed saw the second layer of the Dao cocoon.
The Woodcutter Sage continued his careful examination. The Dao cocoon had been forcibly cut open by the heart demons, creating a passage that led straight to the depths of the cocoon.
"Based on Hao Heavenly Venerable's cultivation realm, his Dao cocoon should be divided into thirty-five layers. However, Hao Heavenly Venerable is the son of the Heavenly Emperor and Lady Yuanmu. He is proficient in both the Heavenly Emperor's Primordial Qi and Lady Yuanmu's Return to Void Great Dao."
He looked at the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables wrapped in cocoons and hanging upside down in the passage, his expression grave as he whispered: "Primordial Qi is one, then the Return to Void Great Dao is zero. One, zero, zero, one... There must be some trick to this..."
"Wen Ji thief, can you do this or not?"
Xi Tianjun couldn't help but shout: "If you don't move forward soon, and Hao Heavenly Venerable recovers..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Emperor Chi, Qi Xiayu, her eyes flickered, and multicolored light radiated from her body like a nine-colored phoenix. When the light dispersed, she had already changed her clothes and her appearance.
She wore a ringed crown on her head, short sleeves, a black skirt, and was covered in various ornaments, looking like a village girl from the Western Lands of the Yuan Realm. Her true appearance was completely unrecognizable.
Xi Tianjun felt a chill and also changed his appearance. After all, he was a Heavenly King of the Heavenly Court. If he failed to kill Hao Heavenly Venerable, Hao Heavenly Venerable would definitely find a way to kill him!
The Woodcutter Sage was still examining the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables hanging in the passage when he suddenly took out his great axe and tried to cut off a cocoon wrapped around a heart demon. But the cocoon was extremely tough, and even with all his strength, he couldn't cut it open.
"Let me do it!"
Yan Yunxi suppressed her injuries and stepped forward. With a single swing of her sword, she cut the cocoon down.
The fine threads within those cocoons suddenly lashed out like tentacles, lunging toward her!
Yan Yunxi was startled. Her sword light flashed, and a dense series of clanging sounds rang out. Those fine threads were incredibly tough, colliding with her precious sword and sending sparks flying!
Yan Yunxi cut through those fine threads and frowned slightly.
Bai Yuqiong had wounded her too severely. Using her sword this time had aggravated her injuries, and she felt the pain resurfacing. But strangely, when her sword collided with those fine threads, she vaguely felt that some of her vital energy had been lost, stolen by those threads.
"Zixi, do you feel that some of your vital energy has been lost?" the Woodcutter asked.
Yan Yunxi nodded: "These threads are strange."
The Woodcutter Sage said: "Split open this heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerable and see if his body is also filled with threads. I have a bad guess that needs verification."
"Dead old man! Stinking old man!"
That heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerable was still alive. Hearing this, he shouted angrily: "Wait until Grandpa gets out and eats you!"
Yan Yunxi swung her sword, slicing open the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerable's belly. His belly split open, and what flowed out was not his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, or kidneys, but countless fine threads!
Those threads were like tiny swimming snakes, all raising their heads and lunging at Yan Yunxi.
Yan Yunxi cut through those threads, her frown deepening.
Others also furrowed their brows. Niu Sanduo murmured: "These fellows' bodies are all filled with threads. What does this mean?"
"Just as I thought."
The Woodcutter Sage said: "This is the effect of zero and one. Hao Heavenly Venerable's Return to Void Great Dao is zero. The Return to Void Great Dao devours all things, causing the Dao to cease to exist. It devoured the energy within these heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables' bodies! The Primordial Qi is one, transforming from zero to one, converting the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables' energy into one! Hao Heavenly Venerable is indeed unconscious, but he fell unconscious deliberately!"
Everyone was shocked.
The Woodcutter Sage continued: "He deliberately brought a piece of collapsing void with him as he fell into the Land of Ultimate Void, transforming it into the Demonic Domain of Ultimate Void! He planned to use the strangeness of the Demonic Domain of Ultimate Void to let his heart demons borrow that strangeness to manifest into reality, devouring the heart demons' energy to heal himself as quickly as possible! He is using the process from zero to one to heal his Dao wounds. He only needs to devour the heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables, then devour and refine these Dao cocoons, and he will return to his peak state, perhaps even stronger than before!"
Everyone's faces changed dramatically. Looking at this deep passage, they all hesitated.
Suddenly, Xi Tianjun burst into laughter and declared loudly: "Well, well, you traitorous rebels, actually attempting to harm Hao Heavenly Venerable! Your minister Xi Muhong is unmatched in loyalty and righteousness, and has come specifically to protect His Majesty!"
His righteous aura was admirable and inspiring.
The Woodcutter Sage glanced at him and said calmly: "Hao Heavenly Venerable is still unconscious and cannot hear your words. If he were awake, there wouldn't be so many heart demon Mu Heavenly Venerables coming to their deaths, nor would he allow us to come here. He could control the thirty-five layers of Dao cocoons to attack us."
Emperor Chi, Qi Xiayu, nodded: "Now these Dao cocoons only counterattack when attacked, which means Hao Heavenly Venerable is still sleeping."
Xi Tianjun's expression didn't change: "What the two Dao brothers say is correct. So what should we do now?"
His thick-skinnedness was truly astonishing.
The Woodcutter Sage said: "Whether we are enemies or friends depends on whether there's a possibility of killing Hao Heavenly Venerable. Since that's the case, why don't I walk to the center of the Dao cocoon and take a look?"
He stepped forward first. Martial Combat Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha quickly came to his side and whispered: "I'll protect you. Woodcutter, how much of his strength do you think Hao Heavenly Venerable has recovered?"
The Woodcutter Sage said quietly: "Don't talk about how much he's recovered. Even if he's only recovered half a percent of his strength, if we all go up together, we'd still die. The only advantage now is that Hao Heavenly Venerable is in a coma. As long as he remains in that state, there's a possibility of killing him! Have you finished cultivating your Heavenly River Divine Treasury?"
Martial Combat Heavenly Master nodded and smiled: "No more weaknesses."
The Woodcutter Sage said in a low voice: "Among us now, you have the strongest strength. Be wary of Xi Tianjun and Emperor Chi. Among them, it's hard to say whether there are Hao Heavenly Venerable's people."
Martial Combat Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha felt a chill in his heart.
Everyone passed through layer after layer of Dao cocoons. Suddenly, the space ahead opened up. Dao light swirled thickly, and within this grand space, the light rose and fell like waves.
Everyone looked and saw countless threads gathering from all directions within the Dao cocoon, converging on Hao Heavenly Venerable at the center!