Chapter 1284: Not Helping Is Helping (Second Update)
Qin Mu's heart stirred at these words. He flew down from above the twenty-eight heavens of the Liuli Qingtian Streamer, and even as he descended at an angle, the vertical eye on his forehead had already opened wide.
Within the vertical eye, the Taiji Primal Stone was activated. At the same time, countless runes on the Taichu Egg lit up, humming as they reflected onto the Taiji Divine Stone, causing it to rotate.
The pupil of that divine eye on his forehead immediately turned black and white, spinning wildly.
Hum—
A beam of light, formed from intertwined black and white energies, descended from the sky, slanting down to strike the throat of that gaunt figure.
As the beam of light landed, the throat of the gaunt figure immediately turned to stone. The beam moved, and wherever it passed, his body was rapidly petrifying!
Qin Mu flew over at an angle, and by the time his feet touched solid ground, the gaze of his vertical eye had already swept over the figure from head to toe!
That gaunt figure was completely transformed into a stone statue, motionless.
Everyone within the Liuli Qingtian Streamer suddenly felt a wave of relief. That terrifying suction force disappeared, and their blood and qi no longer drained away.
Jiang Yunjian and the other young experts crashed down from the sky in a clatter, tumbling to the ground in a heap, unable to rise for a time.
The First Ancestor, Yan'er, and the others were also shaken, their hearts still pounding.
Qin Mu did not stop. He swiftly circled the stone statue, his vertical eye's gaze alternating between black and white as it swept over every part of the statue's body, reinforcing the petrification effect.
Whoosh—
He raised his hand, and the stone statue flew up. Qin Mu tilted his head back, directing the gaze of his vertical eye onto the soles of the statue's feet.
Thud. The statue landed, and Qin Mu continued circling, not missing a single spot.
"Enough, enough! Mu Tianzun, you can stop now!"
The voice of Taishi within the egg came from inside the stone statue, calling out: "His body is completely petrified, even his primordial spirit is stone now! No need to keep shining that light! Hurry and think of a way to get me out of here!"
Qin Mu stopped, let out a sigh of relief, and nearly collapsed to the ground. He simply lay down flat, gasping for breath.
That had been far too dangerous. If not for the Taishi Egg voluntarily being devoured by that gaunt figure, voluntarily letting him absorb the Taishi qi within the egg, and Qin Mu having used the Taiji Dao to convert matter and energy in advance, Qin Mu and the others would have had no chance of victory at all.
The Taishi Dao combined with the Taiji Dao—that was what resolved the greatest crisis of the Great Blackwood!
"Mu Tianzun, hurry and get me out of here. I think I'm stuck in his throat."
A muffled voice came from the throat of the stone statue, the voice of Taishi within the egg: "This stone statue is too hard, I can't move. Mu Tianzun? Mu Tianzun, are you still there... You didn't just leave me here and run off, did you?"
Yan'er flew over quickly, transforming into a Que bird. She extended her bird claws into the stone statue's gaping mouth and fished around. After digging for a while, she finally managed to pull the Taishi Egg out of the statue's mouth.
The Taishi Egg landed on the ground, rolled twice, and upon finding itself unharmed, finally relaxed. It said: "Close call, close call! Unfortunately, I lost a portion of my Taishi qi. Mu Tianzun, you'll have to compensate me!"
Qin Mu lay there continuing to gasp for breath. This was the first time he had ever felt so exhausted—so tired he wished he could just die.
The Taishi Egg stood beside him.
The sky was turning pale. This night was finally coming to an end.
Seeing this, everyone felt relieved. They sat down on the ground, lay down, leaned against one another, or rested against the rocks. They were all too exhausted.
This night had been utterly breathtaking.
Qin Mu recovered some strength and staggered to his feet. He walked around the stone statue with its gaping mouth a few times, confirming that it was firmly fixed in place with no changes, before he finally relaxed completely.
"Taiyi Daoyou still hasn't come..." Qin Mu was somewhat disappointed.
"Trusting him is worse than trusting that Taiji fellow who never has anything reliable to say."
The voice of Taishi came from within the egg: "He's definitely hiding somewhere, trembling in fear."
Qin Mu chuckled and shook his head. The physician bustled about, treating everyone's injuries, and one by one they gradually recovered.
That night had been far too dangerous. Recalling it still made their hearts race.
They climbed out of the valley, and the sunlight shone down upon them—so bright and warm it was intoxicating.
"It's good to be alive." The mute squinted his eyes and remarked.
Qin Mu looked into the distance and saw that several more Great Black Mountains had split open, emitting billowing white vapor. A young man carrying a bucket was hurrying over.
His face darkened. He walked over, and the young man set down his bucket, smiling: "Mu Tianzun, did you have a good night? Now, you should know what is buried beneath this Great Blackwood, shouldn't you?"
Qin Mu stood beside him, silent for a moment, then said: "Daoyou said you would come to support us."
"I said I would come to help, but I never said I would act personally."
The young man pulled a willow branch from the bucket and sprinkled water over the split Great Black Mountain, saying: "I was up there cheering you on—that's also a form of help."
Qin Mu was speechless with frustration. He was about to speak when he saw the split Great Black Mountain slowly closing back together.
"The best way to help you is not to help you repel a powerhouse from the previous universe, but to help you understand who your enemy truly is. If you occupy the Great Blackwood and become its master, this is what you will have to face."
The young man, Taiyi, continued sprinkling water as he spoke: "If you can't even realize that much, how could you possibly help me block these prehistoric monsters from invading? Among them are beings of immense power, capable even of creating void beasts to send here, stopping at nothing to enter this universe. If you couldn't even pass last night's little trial, then you have no right to occupy this place."
He handed the bucket and willow branch to Qin Mu, smiling enigmatically: "Mu Tianzun, master of the hundred thousand black mountains, your mountain has split open. Repair it yourself."
Qin Mu took the bucket and willow branch, and imitating him, dipped the willow branch in water and sprinkled it over the cracks in the black mountain. Within the cracks were horrifying sights that made one's blood run cold—like some terrible creature had been clawing its way out from within, leaving deep gouges from its claws.
"Last night, I didn't appear for another reason as well."
The young man Taiyi continued, guiding him on how to pour the water from the bucket to repair the black mountain: "And that is Daoyou Taishi. After all, Taishi Daoyou was suppressed by Taichu for so many years. His mind is no longer simple or pure. The person he envies most is actually not me, but Taichu, who suppressed him."
Qin Mu listened quietly.
"He wants to become another Taichu, to become the master of the entire universe."
The young man Taiyi said: "His conversation with Taisu in your forehead was actually about how to escape from your grasp, how to reclaim his own mines, and how they might join forces in the future to rule the world. They even discussed Taishi becoming emperor, with Taisu as the Empress."
Qin Mu stopped, thought for a moment, and smiled: "That's only natural. I've been guessing what he and Taisu discussed, and I've already prepared for the worst."
The young man Taiyi said: "If I had helped you last night, would Taishi still have helped you?"
Qin Mu was startled. He looked into the distance. The Taishi Egg had been placed on a mountaintop by the ever-caring Yan'er. The diligent Que bird was searching around for branches and leaves, planning to build a nest for the egg, and then she would squat on top of it to hatch the Taishi Egg.
Qin Mu couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.
"Now Taishi is no longer the Taishi who escaped Taichu's suppression. He is slowly being moved by you."
The young man Taiyi said: "This is a good thing. He has now come to realize the duty that this universe bestowed upon him when it nurtured him. The desire and ambition in his heart are gradually fading. Look, he is very peaceful now."
Qin Mu looked over. The Taishi Egg in the nest, taking advantage of Yan'er not looking, was quietly sneaking away. Then the diligent Yan'er caught it and stuffed it back into the nest.
"If I had helped you, Taishi would have become a different Taishi. When he emerges in the future, the havoc he would wreak would be even worse than Taichu!"
The young man Taiyi said calmly: "So, I chose to help you by not helping."