Chapter 1280: Blockade in the Valley (Second Update)
Above the Great Dark Wood, spiritual energy of heaven and earth wildly converged, surging frantically toward a valley on the outskirts.
The valley was vast, shaped like a basin, with continuous mountain ranges within. Qin Mu was currently standing atop a peak, surrounded by his divine treasury domain. The Heavenly River flowed, connecting all realms, subtly aligning with the geography of the Ancestral Court.
The divine bow in his hand had been drawn to its absolute limit, countless rays of light surging madly, converging at the arrow's tip!
The Great Dark Wood spanned a vast territory of ten thousand Dark Mountains. Spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged forth, forming massive and small frenzied vortexes in the sky above this blasted valley!
Streams of spiritual energy twisted beneath the vortexes like dragon whirlwinds—yet they were not being sucked downward. Instead, they surged toward Qin Mu, pouring into the divine bow in his hands.
The bow's power grew stronger and stronger, so formidable that even Qin Mu struggled to sustain it, his arm muscles trembling uncontrollably.
He silently counted numbers in his heart.
The tremors from beneath the earth grew increasingly intense, shaking the mountains in the valley until they swayed. Amid the earth-shattering rumbles, streams of terrifying divine light erupted from underground, and extraordinary phenomena shot skyward, surging above the valley floor to form a curtain of light!
From within that curtain of light came exceptionally resounding battle cries—the clamor of slaughter shaking the heavens. Vaguely, one could see countless immensely powerful figures locked in combat within the light, contending with one another.
That was a projection of the previous universe!
This ore vein belonged to the outermost ring of the World Tree's growth rings. In other words, these projections of powerful beings came from the previous cosmic year—they were the memories of the World Tree.
Qin Mu turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to it all, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the split root of the World Tree.
There, amidst the thick roots of the World Tree, even more intense light burst forth, emitting a grand sound like tidal waves crashing against cliff walls—wave after wave, crashing and roaring!
The light projected onto the cliff face behind the roots, and within the glow, a figure could be faintly seen walking toward him, growing closer and clearer with each step!
The figure had been tiny at first, but as he took strides, he grew larger and larger, as if about to step right out of the stone wall!
He had lost his right arm, and his gait was somewhat unnatural. This should be the powerhouse from the previous universe whose arm had been severed by the Mute and the Pharmacist during the day!
But back then, his body had no flesh and blood—only withered bones. Now, he had actually grown flesh and skin!
Yet strangely, despite having skin and flesh, from a distance he looked like a sun-dried corpse, impossibly gaunt!
Suddenly, the man's hand reached forward, and his withered palm actually pierced through the cliff face!
The cliff face was the Great Dark Mountain, and the Great Dark Mountain was part of the World Tree's growth rings!
He was following the World Tree's growth rings, crawling from the past to the present, from the destroyed universe to the current one!
Just as his palm emerged from the cliff, Qin Mu happened to count from one to ten!
Twang—
The sound of an arrow's release rang out. The divine bow vibrated violently, and the arrow flew from Qin Mu's drawn bowstring!
The instant the arrow was loosed, Qin Mu's entire body's muscles shook violently, his bones nearly rattled apart. The arrow's light tore through the space ahead and arrived at the cliff face in an instant!
The arrow's fletching pierced through that six-fingered palm, carrying terrifying power deep into the cliff wall, nailing the gaunt figure and sending him flying backward.
Soon, his silhouette on the cliff face shrank to a tiny black dot, rapidly receding!
Then his figure vanished from the cliff wall, leaving only an enraged roar that shook Qin Mu's ears with a ringing buzz and sent his blood surging!
After the roar faded, the divine light in the sky suddenly receded, returning to the valley like a tide and disappearing into the mountains.
The basin fell silent.
Qin Mu panted heavily. That single arrow had nearly drained all his cultivation. His magical power could only sustain one such shot—he simply didn't have enough strength left for a second.
Suddenly, the Pharmacist appeared above the valley atop the Dragon Qilin's back, tossing down a basket. He chuckled: "Mu'er, I've refined some spirit pills using herbs gathered from the Great Dark Wood. Not sure if they're poisonous—you get to be the taste tester! Don't die on me!"
Qin Mu caught the basket. It was filled to the brim with spirit pills, each one crystal clear and translucent, with the sound of dao resonance tinkling within every pill.
Qin Mu was deeply moved. The Pharmacist must have gone back and immediately gathered herbs to refine these pills, managing to produce so many in such a short time for his use.
He swallowed one pill and immediately felt the surging medicinal power dissolve, his primordial energy swirling and churning.
Qin Mu immediately activated the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art, pacing back and forth atop the cliff, moving faster and faster until his form became a streak of light whirling around the summit!
His Overlord Body Three Elixir Art was unique—the optimal way to cultivate it wasn't sitting in meditation, but cultivating through movement.
Before the medicinal power in his body was fully refined and his primordial energy fully restored, he suddenly saw divine light erupt from the valley once more, even more magnificent than the last time!
Qin Mu's heart jolted: "That fast?"
The Primordial Beginning Egg suddenly spoke: "Mu Tianzun, I think we'd better find another spot!"
Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he immediately rolled up the Primordial Beginning Egg, soaring into the air and landing on another cliff.
The broken mountain he had chosen earlier had been the best position—directly facing the split roots of the World Tree, making it easy to see everything in the valley.
The cliff he was on now was somewhat inferior.
Just as he moved to the new cliff, the gaunt figure reappeared on the opposite cliff face. Qin Mu grabbed a handful of spirit pills and stuffed them into his mouth, then immediately drew his bow and began counting.
At that moment, a rainbow of light shot out from the cliff wall. A thunderous boom rang out, and the broken mountain Qin Mu had been standing on was reduced to powder in the violent tremor!
Qin Mu's hair stood on end.
He had tested the strength of that broken mountain before—even with his full-power sword strike, he couldn't cut through it. Yet that powerhouse from the previous universe, striking from across an entire universe, had shattered the mountain to dust!
He was still shaken. If not for the Primordial Beginning Egg's warning, he too would have been reduced to powder along with that mountain!
"...Eight, nine, ten!"
Qin Mu loosed another arrow!
An enraged roar came from the cliff wall. The powerhouse attempting to crawl from the previous universe into this era was once again shot back to his own time by Qin Mu's arrow!
Qin Mu panted heavily, enduring the cramps spasming through his entire body. He immediately began running, activating the Overlord Body Three Elixir Art.
Once he had recovered somewhat, he immediately relocated, switching to another peak.
From within the egg, Primordial Beginning said: "Mu Tianzun, this peak's height is about the same as the last one. Quite dangerous."
Qin Mu's mind stirred. He soared into the air, carrying the Primordial Beginning Egg to a higher peak.
Boom—
The strange phenomena reappeared in the valley. A fan-shaped rainbow of light suddenly sprayed from the cliff wall, sweeping flat the surrounding peaks!
The tall peak Qin Mu was on was severed at the waist!
"Twang!"
Qin Mu loosed an arrow, once again sending that terrifying existence flying back to his own era!
From the cliff wall came an extremely furious voice, roaring and howling in succession—clearly enraged beyond measure.
"Brother Primordial Beginning, you're a true veteran of the world!"
Qin Mu couldn't help but praise him, then asked: "What's the next step?"