Chapter 1518: The Battle of the Dao-Achievers
The Great Heavenly Court formed by thirty-six celestial palaces, plus as many as forty-eight precious halls—Hao Tianzun's power was immeasurably stronger than during the peak period of the Seven Heavenly Lords combined!
Under the pressure of his aura, Lang Xuan Shenhuang among the seven Heavenly Lords let out a muffled groan, and with a thunderous crash, he was pressed flat against the ground, blood oozing from his seven orifices, unable to move an inch!
On the other side, Qin Mu rapidly retreated, step by step falling backward. With each step he took, the ruins of Yujing City before him were crushed by the terrifyingly immense force, the very earth sinking downward!
Before him, it seemed as if a peerless giant raised a massive foot, endlessly pursuing him, endlessly stomping down upon him!
That was Hao Tianzun's power!
Hao Tianzun had not even struck—merely relying on the force generated by his aura alone—and Qin Mu was already forced to retreat!
"Lang Xuan, my elder brother, this is the Dao-achieving through raw power of the Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system!"
The rejuvenated Hao Tianzun raised his hand, and a Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel appeared in his palm. The wheel was initially only the size of a cup's mouth, spinning with a whistling sound as it skimmed across the ground toward Qin Mu.
The next moment, the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel arrived before Qin Mu, having already transformed into a circle several zhang in diameter. Within the wheel, all manner of great Daos merged into one, a myriad of Daos resonating together within the wheel.
If one looked closely, one could see countless great Daos forming all sorts of divine abilities within the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel—incredibly complex—and countless divine abilities combining within the wheel, making its power even greater and stronger!
Hum—
Divine abilities burst forth from the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, and the wheel itself dispersed. Qin Mu thrust his Calamity Sword forward, using the Calamity-Breaking Sword to shatter the wheel's divine abilities. A continuous clattering sound rang out without end as Qin Mu's arm muscles burst open from the shock, and he retreated a hundred or more steps before finally breaking through all the divine abilities.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the flowing lights formed by those divine abilities paused, and the light converged to form a second Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. This wheel was even larger, a full sixty zhang tall!
The myriad Daos within the wheel churned and surged as if in a furnace, the wheel's surface turning scarlet, then shifting from scarlet to blazing white. Myriad Dao divine abilities spun within the wheel, erupting outward!
Qin Mu switched his Calamity Sword to his left hand, thrusting it against the divine abilities erupting from the wheel. He did not stop his steps, continuing to retreat, and in the blink of an eye, his left arm was also drenched in blood.
Hum—
Countless divine abilities converged once more, forming a third Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, a hundred zhang tall, appearing before Qin Mu like a gleaming bright mirror.
Qin Mu retreated again, arms sprouting from his armpits. The Calamity Sword vibrated, splitting into six. His six arms each grabbed a Calamity Sword, clashing head-on against the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel.
From within the wheel, myriad Dao divine abilities surged forth like a torrent, transforming into a rainbow of light a hundred zhang thick that rushed straight at him.
Qin Mu let out a muffled groan. After breaking through this wheel, the hundred-zhang rainbow of light suddenly contracted and transformed into a fourth Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel!
This wheel stood a hundred and forty zhang tall!
Within the mirror surface, one could no longer see the spectacle of myriad Daos flowing—only Qin Mu's reflection, filling the entire wheel. But now the wheel's power had become even greater!
"It's a Dao-Entry divine ability! One wheel, one layer of heaven!"
Qin Mu suddenly understood. He shook his body, and the forty-nine Heavenly Dao soldiers merged into one, transforming into a Heavenly Saber. He abandoned the sword and gripped the saber, raising it high with his six arms, and slashed down!
This slash split the oncoming rainbow of light in two. The two halves suddenly converged behind him with a whoosh, forming a fifth Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel.
Qin Mu turned, discarded the saber, and a walking staff appeared in his hand. Using the Taiyi Walking Staff as a sword, he thrust it toward this mirror surface, which now stood a hundred and eighty zhang tall!
Boom!
The Taiyi Walking Staff pierced through the rainbow of light, colliding with Hao Tianzun's strike. The next moment, Qin Mu's body shook violently, sent flying high into the air. Then another Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel appeared before him. Before the mirror surface, Qin Mu's figure was tiny, and the mirror refracted his body, illuminating his flesh and the inside of his body with perfect clarity!
Within the mirror, he stood over two hundred zhang tall, his five organs and six viscera illuminated transparently, even revealing his Divine Treasures, his Heavenly Palace, his Primordial Spirit!
Qin Mu landed and broke through this strike as well. But the next moment, another Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel appeared, even larger than the one before!
Qin Mu retreated rapidly, then suddenly his foot found nothing beneath it, stepping onto the Chaos Long River. The soles of his feet were immediately eroded and corroded by the Chaos Long River, festering and rotting away.
He remained calm in the face of danger. The Taiyi Walking Staff transformed into a small boat, landing on the river's surface. Qin Mu held his sword at the ready, sword light shooting forth, meeting the oncoming rainbow of myriad Daos head-on!
Hum, hum, hum!
On the Chaos Long River, Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheels appeared one after another before Qin Mu, each attack blasting him hundreds of li away, driving him from the riverbank all the way to the very center of the Chaos Long River!
In the blink of an eye—from the moment the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel flew from Hao Tianzun's palm to the moment Qin Mu was blasted into the Chaos Long River—it all happened in the span of a single breath.
In that single breath, Qin Mu had already unleashed countless moves to counter Hao Tianzun's single strike.
From a distance, one could only see Hao Tianzun's palm strike, a rainbow of light connected to mirror surfaces, each mirror surface blasting forward in succession, and Qin Mu retreating continuously, finally forced onto the Chaos Long River.
At the center of the Chaos Long River, the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel before Qin Mu had already reached ten thousand zhang tall. Within the mirror, his Spiritual Embryo Divine Treasure domain was reflected in perfect detail, as if he no longer had any secrets at all!
The great Daos he cultivated, the composition of his Heavenly Palace, the sun, moon, and stars within his Divine Treasures, the myriad realms, and even every arrangement within his Ancestral Court—all were illuminated transparently!
His Dao techniques and divine abilities were reflected in their most minute structures within the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, and his Primordial Spirit revealed its most subtle mysteries in the mirror's light!
"This is Hao Tianzun's Dao Realm, the Thirtieth Heaven."
Qin Mu's gaze remained sharp and piercing as he looked at his own projection within Hao Tianzun's Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. Hao Tianzun's Dao Realm had indeed reached the Thirtieth Heaven—truly formidable.
His cultivation had already reached the Heavenly Court realm, going further than the other Heavenly Lords. This was already terrifying, but his mastery of the Dao Realm also surpassed the other Heavenly Lords!
In this brief exchange, Qin Mu had already discerned the mysteries of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. This wheel reflected the opponent's shadow, analyzing the opponent's physical structure, Dao composition, Heavenly Palace structure, and Primordial Spirit structure, seeing through all of their secrets.
Once you saw through the opponent's secrets, you could break their Dao techniques and divine abilities, and slay them!
Hao Tianzun's current position was indeed not merely due to being the illegitimate son of Heavenly Emperor Taichu—he truly had his own unique merits.
"But if you want to kill me in a single move, even with the power of a Dao-achiever, you cannot do it!"
Qin Mu thrust his sword forward. Within the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, Qin Mu's reflection suddenly began to disintegrate. This meant that Hao Tianzun's wheel had already analyzed all of Qin Mu's mysteries—and this strike could completely annihilate him!
Boom—
At the center of the Fourteenth Chaos Long River, a terrifying tremor erupted, kicking up a wave of chaotic air that spun and whirled like a Chaos tornado.
The tornado then dispersed, transforming into a hurricane that battered in all directions. After a moment, the hurricane reached the ruins of Yujing City where Hao Tianzun and the others stood, the fierce wind rustling the robes of Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun on the Dao Tree.
Xiao Tianzun turned around, a smile on his face, and said leisurely: "Hao'er, have you killed your inner demon?"
On the Dao Tree across from him, Hao Tianzun's expression shifted slightly, and he sneered: "He escaped. He's not dead, but he won't live long."
Xiao Tianzun smiled: "There are five great Daos within his body that you couldn't see through, right? These five Daos are: first, Taiyi; second, Taichu; third, Taishi; fourth, Taisu; fifth, Taiji. It's precisely because you couldn't see through them that you couldn't kill him. And I—am Taichu."
His aura surged wildly, and behind his head, celestial palaces emerged one after another, combining into a Great Heavenly Court of thirty-six palaces and forty-seven precious halls!
"What you cannot see through—that is your father god."
Xiao Tianzun smiled slightly: "As my child, you are the most outstanding one. I admit, in the past I underestimated you."
Hao Tianzun broke into a smile, the smile on his face growing wider and wider, so thick it could not dissolve. Behind him, the companion treasure of the Taisu Goddess began to transform, shifting toward the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel.
"You didn't just underestimate me in the past—you're underestimating me now as well!"
Earlier, Hao Tianzun's strike had been a divine ability. But now, the Taisu companion treasure evolving into the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel was a supreme treasure—a treasure born from the Taisu Egg!
"Father god, your supreme treasure was sent by the Great Emperor to be suppressed in the Ultimate Void. Without your treasure, without allies, you can only await death!"
Hao Tianzun raised his hand, grabbing the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, and soared into the air!
On the Third Chaos Long River, Qin Mu stood on the small boat transformed from the Taiyi Walking Staff, one hand supporting his World Tree, his body battered and broken, gasping for breath in great heaves.
The breath he exhaled was mixed with bloody froth.
Hao Tianzun's Dao-Entry Thirtieth Heaven divine ability was indeed incredibly powerful. However, in the mirror light of his final strike, Qin Mu had seen that the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel had not analyzed the five great mineral veins in his Ancestral Court, and so he realized where his chance of survival lay.
For his final strike, he activated the five great mineral veins in his Ancestral Court, forcibly unleashing the power contained within those five mines. At the most critical moment, he even activated the power of the Taiyi vein, finally managing to block this strike and avoid being slain by Hao Tianzun.
"After achieving the Dao, one is indeed incomparably powerful. I cannot match him..."
He collapsed with a thud, letting the small boat drift with the current.
After who knows how long, Qin Mu finally recovered some strength. Suddenly, towering waves rose from the river—the shockwaves from Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun's battle reaching this place. The small boat could capsize at any moment!
Qin Mu struggled to his feet, controlling the boat toward the opposite shore.
The Chaos stretched vast and boundless. He opened his vertical eye on his forehead, observing the evolution of the universe beneath the Third Chaos Long River, searching for a path.
After more than ten days, he found the opposite shore. He looked up and saw another Chaos Long River before him.
"Only two rivers left..."
He rested briefly, his wounds having healed considerably, then boarded the small boat and continued onward.
As for the outcome between Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun, he no longer cared much. He had only one thought now: to find the Miluo Palace, to meet the Master of the Miluo Palace, and ask him about everything concerning Yujing City.
If he could return alive, then he would also need to stay on the Chaos Long River formed by the Fourth Universe for a while, to track down Taiyi's whereabouts.
Time passed day by day. Qin Mu poled the small boat forward alone. His wounds had mostly healed. He possessed a complete Yao Chi realm, and the Yao Chi could produce Primordial Chaos Liquid, which was very beneficial for repairing damage to both body and Primordial Spirit.
He arrived at the final Chaos Long River and sailed his boat into it.
"After crossing this river, I should reach the Miluo Palace..."
A section of Dao Tree stump gently came to rest, finally reaching the opposite shore of the last Chaos Long River. An old woman stepped down from the stump, her body so hunched that her face was nearly touching the ground.
She was Qiang Tianfei, having endured countless hardships to finally arrive here.
She trembled as she descended from the stump, walking unsteadily, painstakingly shuffling her steps toward the Miluo Palace.
"Great Emperor."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her. Qiang Tianfei struggled to turn her head, and suddenly her body felt light as she was lifted up by a palm.
Qiang Tianfei struggled to raise her head, her old eyes clouded, vaguely making out Qin Mu's face.
"Mu Tianzun..."
Qiang Tianfei struggled, trying to raise her two God-Slaying Mystic Blades to cut Qin Mu down, but now she could barely lift those two divine blades at all.
The two blades had also lost all divine power, hanging limply at her sides.
Qin Mu pried open her withered hands, taking the two blades from her, then carried Qiang Tianfei to the riverbank.
Qiang Tianfei struggled desperately, clawing at his collar, her voice hoarse: "Let me go! I must see the Master of the Miluo Palace! You cannot kill me, Mu Tianzun! I am a guest of the Master of the Miluo Palace..."
"My apologies, Great Emperor."
Qin Mu pressed her into the Chaos Long River, letting her hands tear at his collar and face, watching as she turned to dust in the great calamity of destruction, murmuring: "I must kill you. I must kill you. If I don't kill you now, I won't have full confidence when I rescue Ling Tianzun... Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun are about to achieve the Dao. I can't wait any longer—I must go rescue Ling Tianzun... Stop struggling..."
He slowly sank her into the river.