Chapter 1504: The Truth of the Great Annihilation
The Imperial Lord's primordial spirit was trapped by Ling Tianzun within the Unchanging Divine Ability, and had yet to escape. Therefore, Qiang Tianfei's body contained no primordial spirit, and Yuansheng's teaching whip was aimed precisely at primordial spirits — a guaranteed hit upon contact.
Once struck, those whose Dao-hearts were inferior would be controlled by the caster.
However, facing an anomaly like Qiang Tianfei who had no primordial spirit and relied solely on divine consciousness, this teaching whip was utterly useless.
Qin Mu looked toward Qiang Tianfei and saw her standing on a stump of the Dao Tree, relying on the woman within the Dao Fruit to cross the Chaos River, charging over with murderous momentum.
Just now, the woman within the Dao Fruit had failed to block Yuansheng's teaching whip, indicating her cultivation was inferior to Yuansheng's. However, it was certain she was a prehistoric Dao Achiever.
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then urged the small boat formed from his walking staff to avoid Qiang Tianfei, choosing not to continue the relentless struggle.
With his current strength, killing Qiang Tianfei was no easy task. Moreover, killing Qiang Tianfei was not the same as killing the Imperial Lord. To truly eliminate the Imperial Lord, he would have to ascend to the Great Luo Heaven and eradicate his Dao Tree and Dao Fruit.
Previously, Qiang Tianfei had the weakness of the Dao Tree, making her restrained during combat, needing to avoid it.
Additionally, Qin Mu had deliberately schemed, leading Qiang Tianfei to assume the Calamity Sword was a Dao Weapon Qin Mu had luckily obtained from the Jade Capital City. Wanting to seize it, she fell into Qin Mu's trap and lost the initiative.
But such a trick could only be used once; the second time it would certainly fail.
If it came to a head-on clash, Qin Mu would have to face those two God-Slaying Mystic Blades. Those two divine blades were far too ferocious — even Heavenly Duke's physical body couldn't withstand them. They could be called the most lethal weapons under heaven.
Facing these two divine blades, Qin Mu would have to do as he did with the Dao Achiever in the Great Black Mountain — set up dozens of Unchanging Divine Abilities in advance, activating them the instant he was wounded by the God-Slaying Mystic Blades, to avoid death.
And on the Chaos Long River, such a bizarre place was clearly unsuitable for setting up Unchanging Divine Abilities. A single misstep and one would fall in, surely meeting death and the end of the Dao!
His purpose here was not to fight Qiang Tianfei to the death, but to search for Taiyi's whereabouts and investigate the Jade Capital Realm.
"The Imperial Lord's path has been walked too narrowly. He actually joined forces with prehistoric beings — this is cutting himself off from all under heaven."
Qin Mu took out the God-Slaying Platform and attempted to activate it, seeing if he could take away Qiang Tianfei's two God-Slaying Mystic Blades.
Although Qiang Tianfei was a Heavenly Venerable, her personal cultivation was relatively weak among the Ten Heavenly Venerables. Without a primordial spirit, even with the fusion of the Imperial Lord's head, her cultivation could only rank near the bottom among the Ten.
But those two divine blades were truly formidable. The reason Qiang Tianfei carried the Ancestral Court's God-Slaying Platform was to guard against someone among the Ten Heavenly Venerables using immense magical power to seize the two divine blades.
Just now, when Qin Mu used the Void-Form Guest Taiji to trap the two divine blades, she used the God-Slaying Platform to recall them and counterattack Qin Mu.
Clearly, the God-Slaying Platform had a controlling effect on the two God-Slaying Mystic Blades.
The moment Qin Mu took out the Ancestral Court's God-Slaying Platform, Qiang Tianfei sensed it. Enraged and frantic, she unleashed her divine consciousness without hesitation, surging overwhelmingly toward Qin Mu!
At the same time, Qin Mu activated the Ancestral Court's God-Slaying Platform, mobilizing the power of the Dao contained within it. The two divine blades in Qiang Tianfei's hands immediately lost control, becoming difficult to manage!
Giant hands reached out one after another, grabbing the Dao Tree stump beneath Qiang Tianfei's feet, pulling it toward the Chaos River.
Qiang Tianfei's feet entered the water, and both feet were instantly immersed in the annihilation tribulation of the previous universe, turning to ash and vanishing!
At the same moment, Qin Mu was struck by Qiang Tianfei's divine consciousness. His mind became muddled, his control over the Taiyi Walking Staff became unresponsive, and the small boat formed from the staff carried him hurtling toward the Chaos River!
Both were startled simultaneously. Qin Mu hastily withdrew the God-Slaying Platform and steadied the boat, only to find it had already sunk below the river's surface. The annihilation tribulation surged in, corroding his feet!
Before his physical body dissolved completely, Qin Mu rushed out of the Chaos River — both his lower legs had completely rotted away!
He looked back and saw that Qiang Tianfei's lower legs had also been completely annihilated.
The two stared at each other from a distance, each feeling lingering fear. Qin Mu turned around, drove the small boat away with a whoosh, and disappeared into the vast chaotic vapor.
Qiang Tianfei did not pursue either.
They both possessed the power to destroy each other, so they had to make do and avoid one another, lest they both perish.
This Chaos Long River was truly magnificent. The small boat traveled across the surface, direction indistinguishable. Everywhere was chaotic vapor, and one's gaze could not see the end.
Qin Mu stopped the boat, activated the Creation Mystic Art, and his two lower legs gradually regrew. His heart was truly filled with lingering fear.
"This annihilation tribulation is too ferocious. Without achieving the Dao, even strength comparable to the Ten Heavenly Venerables cannot withstand it!"
After his legs recovered, he continued onward. Although direction was indistinguishable here, his vertical eye on his brow could see through the chaos. As long as he neared the shore, his gaze could pierce the chaos and see the opposite bank.
However, after searching this long river for a considerable time, Qin Mu still had not found the opposite shore.
Time passed bit by bit, and he began to feel secretly anxious. Not only had he failed to find the opposite shore, he couldn't even find the way back!
"Terrible..."
His heart gradually grew worried. If he could find neither the opposite shore nor the way back, he might be trapped here forever!
In the chaos, there was no distinction between north and south, no distinction between up and down. If one got lost, one could only rely on luck. No geographical map would work here, because there was nothing to serve as a coordinate!
"If I could be trapped here together with the Ten Heavenly Venerables, that would be one of the great blessings of the mortal world."
His mood settled again. The Ten Heavenly Venerables had committed countless evils. If he were trapped together with them, and the world was rid of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, Yankang would have ample time to develop. Overthrowing the Heavenly Court would only be a matter of time.
He did not give up hope and continued searching. Yet day after day passed, and he still had not found the opposite shore of the Chaos Long River.
Not only had he failed to find the opposite shore, he hadn't even encountered any of the other Heavenly Venerables.
This great river was too vast. Encountering other Heavenly Venerables was also extremely difficult.
Suddenly, Qin Mu's gaze fell beneath the river's surface, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
He saw an astonishing scene in the universe below that was being destroyed!
Beneath that towering World Tree, the phantom of a giant holding a Chaos Axe was walking toward the World Tree!
Previously, the scene he had seen was the giant Taiyi holding the axe, swinging it to chop the World Tree. But now it seemed as if time was flowing backward, with Taiyi at the moment before chopping the tree!
This was very strange.
His heart stirred, and he urged the small boat to sail in a randomly chosen direction.
After a moment, Qin Mu looked at the World Tree again and saw that Taiyi had already arrived beneath the tree with his axe.
He stopped the boat and turned around. As the boat sailed, he saw Taiyi actually retreating, moving farther and farther from the World Tree.
Qin Mu was stunned, then overjoyed. This Chaos River was directionless, but there was a coordinate to reference!
That coordinate was the process of the previous universe's annihilation!
He urged the boat forward continuously, watching Taiyi's phantom move farther and farther from the World Tree until it finally disappeared. Meanwhile, the annihilation tribulation in the universe below seemed to be flowing backward — the annihilated Dao was recovering, the shattered heavens, the shattered worlds were being regurgitated one by one from the chaos, restoring themselves!
The living beings who had died in the annihilation tribulation were reassembling their physical bodies and primordial spirits from the chaotic vapor, restoring themselves to the moment before the annihilation.
The stars recovered from death, and starlight shone once more!
Qin Mu continued forward, and the star river appeared, the Ancestral Court appeared!
The annihilation tribulation of the previous universe played out in reverse before his eyes.
He saw the early stages of the previous universe's destruction, where those worlds had already reached a high level of civilization. He saw many kinds of civilizations.
For example, there were civilizations similar to sacrificial rites, civilizations similar to faith, cultivation civilizations, mechanical civilizations — countless varieties, too numerous to count.
These worlds were each ruled by Dao Achievers, with their unique civilizational structures and world orders. Before the great annihilation tribulation descended upon them, all was peaceful and harmonious.
Those Dao Achievers' towering figures enveloped their respective worlds, giving an incomparably magnificent and imposing feeling.
The Dao Achievers were the rulers of these worlds, reshaping the worlds they governed according to their own will.
Qin Mu only caught a brief glimpse. He couldn't say these worlds governed by Dao Achievers were bad, but as far as his gaze reached, he discovered that the previous universe was many times smaller than he had estimated.
This universe was too small. Its Ancestral Court was many times smaller than the current one, and its myriad heavens and worlds were not as awe-inspiring as the current ones.
The entire universe was only one-thousandth the size of the current universe, or even smaller!
Qin Mu continued looking, searching for the source of the annihilation tribulation. Finally, his gaze fell upon the Ultimate Void.
There, Dao Trees stood like a forest — so many Dao Trees, with the energy of the Dao highly condensed. The Dao Trees shone brilliantly, towering and magnificent, and the light emitted by the Dao Fruits was even more dazzling than the stars and star rivers in the sky!
However, in that Great Luo Heaven, the great annihilation tribulation had already erupted, sweeping everything in the Ultimate Void!
"Spring water warms, and ducks are the first to know." Many Dao Achievers had already sensed the upheaval and were each carving up the Great Luo Heaven, cutting it into pieces, accelerating this great annihilation tribulation!
That great annihilation tribulation came from the Ultimate Void, destroying layer after layer of void, sweeping into the physical universe!
Those Dao Achievers who controlled various worlds also flew toward the World Tree at this moment, some flying toward the Chaos Long River — they should have been flying toward the Miluo Palace's Jade Capital City.
Qin Mu watched this scene and unconsciously slowed the boat, tracing back bit by bit, finally freezing time at the eve of the previous universe's destruction.
At this moment, the small boat beneath his feet gave a slight jolt — it had finally touched the opposite shore of the Chaos Long River.
But he did not go ashore. His gaze was fixed intently on the chaos in the river. There, he saw the last Dao Achiever of the previous universe. In order to cultivate his Dao and entrust it to the void, he had chosen to cultivate the Killing Dao.
That Dao Achiever destroyed world after world, slaughtering countless living beings. Those worlds were destroyed, stars returned to chaos, and he absorbed that power, ultimately achieving the Killing Dao.
His Dao condensed in the Ultimate Void, forming a Dao Tree, bearing a Dao Fruit, and ultimately becoming the final straw that crushed the Ultimate Void.
The moment his Dao Fruit formed, the annihilation tribulation sweeping the entire universe finally erupted in the Ultimate Void!
But in truth, before this, the Ultimate Void had already become unstable, with violent tremors frequently coming, shaking the Dao Trees of the Dao Achievers!
Not only did the Dao Trees shake, but even the various worlds of the entire universe were constantly trembling and shaking!
"Energy highly condensed produces collapse, and the source of this collapse is the Ultimate Void!"
Qin Mu steadied his mind, withdrew his gaze, and walked toward the shore, thinking: "The Ten Heavenly Venerables don't have eyes as powerful as mine. They probably can't find the opposite shore, right? Perhaps Qiang Tianfei, with the guidance of the woman in that Dao Fruit, might find the shore, but the other Heavenly Venerables won't..."
The moment his foot touched land, the expression on his face froze.
There stood Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the other ten Heavenly Venerables — right in front of him. And Qiang Tianfei was sandwiched in the middle of the other nine Heavenly Venerables!
Qin Mu's heart lurched. He turned around and leaped onto the small boat.