Chapter 1574: Curiosity Kills the Foolish Deer
Beneath the Chaos Sea, the woman looked up, watching as Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager climbed rapidly, getting farther and farther away from her, gradually descending into the Guixu Great Abyss of the Sixteenth Universe.
"Finally, the day of my release has come, Teacher."
She murmured softly: "You said I was too extreme in my methods and had me suppressed here, but you never expected that in the end, it would be Old Seventh who sets me free. Hehehe..."
She let out a low laugh: "You've grown old. I can feel the decay of your Dao heart. For an existence like you, once the Dao heart grows old, death is not far away. The moment your Dao heart dies will be the moment you die. Teacher, I will weep for you, and I will laugh for my own freedom!"
"You always said my methods were too ruthless. You, in your benevolence, wanted to save everyone, but every time you failed! Perhaps only someone like me can accomplish what you could not!"
Her gaze followed the figures of Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager until they gradually vanished into the darkness, no longer visible.
"Even if Old Seventh and the Guixu Goddess can't save me this time, I still have another path."
She chuckled softly: "You know I have many methods. You also once said I was vicious and merciless, that my actions offended heaven. Hehe, as long as that Guixu Goddess cultivates my Guixu Mirror, even if I can't break free, what does it matter?"
Her face beneath the sea surface looked very pleased: "I will still come back to life. You know this—when the Guixu Goddess awakens, that is when I awaken..."
On the stem of the twin lotus, Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager climbed rapidly, watching the entire history of the Sixteenth Universe flash before their eyes like a revolving lantern, rapidly narrating six hundred million years of the Sixteenth Universe's history.
The Sixteenth Epoch of the universe had existed for far less time than other universes. At the very birth of this universe, many Dao Achievers had sneaked across, crowding in and consuming the universe's mass and energy.
The Sixteenth Universe was far, far smaller than Qin Mu and the others had imagined. The cycle of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness arrived much faster than they had expected.
So many Dao Achievers sneaking across required mass-energy exchange—swapping the Sixteenth Universe's mass and energy into the destruction tribulation of the Fifteenth Universe while they exchanged themselves over. That was why the Sixteenth Universe was so small.
A universe this small, accommodating so many Dao Achievers, caused its cycle of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness to accelerate dramatically!
In the end, in merely six hundred million years, the Sixteenth Universe completely collapsed, everything turning to emptiness!
"Six hundred million years..."
Qin Mu's eyelids twitched. Their universe was the Seventeenth Epoch. Taiyi had said that the Seventeenth Epoch had already lasted six billion years—ten times the lifespan of the Sixteenth Epoch!
Even so, the current universe was still in the formation stage of the cycle, not yet reaching the existence stage.
However, as the number of Dao Achievers in the Seventeenth Epoch increased, the universe would stop growing and expanding, and should enter the existence stage.
"If we allow these prehistoric Dao Achievers to keep crossing over, I'm afraid our universe won't survive long enough to fully mature before it's completely annihilated."
Qin Mu stopped climbing and fell into deep thought.
"Darling!"
The Empress Dowager also stopped. Lady Yuanmu lowered her voice and called out: "What are you planning?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he said: "Ladies, since you both obtained the methods of the Guixu Mirror, why not cultivate it and avoid going mad?"
The Empress Dowager said calmly: "Lord Mutian should know the reason."
Lady Yuanmu laughed: "We've fought our whole lives, both wanting to kill the other, but we've never entertained the idea of mutual destruction. Besides, if we cultivated her Guixu Mirror, my sister and I—that little wench—would have no choice but to submit to the so-called Guixu Goddess, living a fate worse than death. Naturally, we can't cultivate it!"
The Empress Dowager said: "In comparison, Lord Mutian's path of reincarnation is still relatively fair. You taught us the path of reincarnation, and we each rely on our own abilities—whether I refine her to death or she refines me to death, it's our own fate."
Qin Mu smiled: "So, since you two don't intend to use the Guixu Mirror methods, why not teach them to me, and I'll teach you the path of reincarnation?"
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu pondered for a moment, then each imparted the Guixu Mirror methods they had obtained.
"These two methods are different from each other."
Qin Mu organized them and was greatly surprised, thinking: "Strange! Logically speaking, the method she gave Yuanmu and the one she gave the Empress Dowager should be the same. Because although you two appear to be two people, you are actually two different minds of the Guixu Goddess. Therefore, one method should work for both. But she split it into two versions—that doesn't make sense..."
He carefully studied the Guixu Mirror. His current understanding and comprehension of the Guixu path were already on par with the Empress Dowager and Yuanmu, and in some aspects, he even surpassed them.
Therefore, he could comprehend the Second Young Master's Guixu Mirror very quickly, grasping all its subtleties thoroughly.
The more he pondered, the deeper his frown became, and the more he felt that the Guixu Mirror concealed malicious intent.
Although Qin Mu and the Empress Dowager and Yuanmu were all enemies, it was clear that the danger these two posed was far less than that of the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace.
Moreover, under the current circumstances, he needed to join forces with them.
"This Guixu Mirror technique—I'm afraid there's something wrong with it!"
Qin Mu suddenly said: "You two protect me. I'll test the Guixu Mirror!"
He entered his dream directly. Within the dream, many miniature Qin Mus emerged, chattering noisily.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu quickly resisted the power and might of the Guixu Great Abyss, protecting his safety, watching him with tense expressions.
They were sworn enemies with Qin Mu, locked in a death struggle, yet now they had no intention of harming him at all, and Qin Mu showed them no defensiveness either—entering his dream right in front of them and asking them to protect him!
If they wanted to kill Qin Mu now, it would take no effort at all. But with such a perfect opportunity, they couldn't bring themselves to do it, and instead had to protect him.
In the dream, many Qin Mus were cultivating the Guixu path. Their cultivation directions could be roughly divided into three categories: one group cultivated the path of Guixu destruction, similar to Lady Yuanmu; another group cultivated the path of Guixu creation, similar to the Empress Dowager; and the last group cultivated the path of reincarnation that Qin Mu had comprehended.
After a long while, the Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu could barely withstand the power of the Guixu Great Abyss when suddenly, a strange change occurred.
In the dream, those miniature Qin Mus merged together, fusing two by two, becoming Qin Mus with two faces—bizarre in form, similar to the Empress Dowager's current state.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu marveled at the sight.
The remaining miniature Qin Mus activated the path of reincarnation, guarding these merged miniature Qin Mus.
Then they saw these miniature Qin Mus activate the Guixu Mirror methods, and mirrors shaped like great abysses floated before each of these tiny figures.
These were Guixu Mirrors refined according to the Guixu Mirror methods!
In the dream, these miniature Qin Mus looked into the mirrors. Once their gazes fell upon the mirrors, they could no longer look away.
It was as if those mirrors contained something infinitely beautiful, drawing their attention irresistibly.
At that moment, the mirrors suddenly blazed with light. Strange beams shot out, shining into the eyes of those miniature Qin Mus.
The Empress Dowager and Lady Yuanmu watched this scene without blinking. They saw the bodies of those miniature Qin Mus begin to change—they had been male, but gradually their skin became fair, their chests swelled, their Adam's apples receded, and their waists grew slender!
In just a short moment, those miniature Qin Mus had transformed into women!
Not only that, their features were also changing, becoming identical to the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace beneath the Chaos Sea!
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu were horrified.
Those women seemed to sense something wrong and immediately tried to escape Qin Mu's dream. At that moment, the remaining miniature Qin Mus cultivating the path of reincarnation erupted with reincarnation techniques, sealing those women in place.
Those women suddenly turned their heads in unison, looking at the sleeping Qin Mu, and said in one voice: "Old Seventh, you're good at everything, but you're just a little too curious!"
In the blink of an eye, each of those women was beaten back to their state before looking into the mirrors. Not a single one escaped Qin Mu's dream!
Layer after layer of dreams shattered. All the miniature Qin Mus vanished, and Qin Mu awoke from his dream.
Lady Yuanmu let out a scream. The Empress Dowager said coldly: "Stop screaming! You're not dead yet!"
"If we had cultivated the Guixu Mirror, then we would be dead!"
Lady Yuanmu still couldn't steady her nerves: "And that woman is right below us in the Chaos Sea. Going down is certain death! More importantly, when she fought against the Dao chains, she tore off this twin lotus and used it as a weapon! We're doomed!"
The Empress Dowager was agitated and had no idea what to do either. She murmured: "Curiosity kills the foolish deer. Lord Mutian, you're too curious..."
Below, the Chaos Sea churned with raging waves. The twin lotus trembled violently—clearly the woman was stirring up trouble, attacking the Dao chain seals!
The twin lotus was yanked by an immense force. Clearly, the woman was trying to tear the twin lotus down, pulling them back into the Chaos Sea!
Qin Mu suddenly shouted: "Keep climbing!"
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu immediately joined forces and climbed upward at full speed. But the woman's abilities were heaven-defying—far stronger than the three of them combined. Even with all their strength devoted to climbing, the twin lotus still dragged them closer and closer to the sea surface.
Qin Mu had exposed her true intentions, provoking her genuine fury. She no longer bothered with pretense and directly struck to kill!
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu couldn't bear it any longer. They leaped up, jumping off the twin lotus. Qin Mu gritted his teeth and jumped off as well. The three of them charged upward against the immense gravitational pull of Guixu.
But the Guixu gravity grew stronger and stronger, locking them in place, making their progress difficult.
Beneath them, streaks of white light danced—the Second Young Master's white hair, getting closer and closer!
Qin Mu let out a shout, surging all his cultivation, activating the Dao chains left by the Master of Miluo Palace. The Dao chains blazed with power, firmly locking down the Second Young Master.
Ssshh—
A flash of white light pierced through Qin Mu's chest, running him through. Qin Mu spat blood. The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu rushed over, activating their techniques to strike at that strand of white hair, severing it and saving Qin Mu.
Blood trickled from the corner of Qin Mu's mouth. He forcibly suppressed his injuries, mobilized his cultivation to activate the other Dao chains, and fought desperately against the woman.
But the woman's strength was truly overwhelming. Even with his ability to activate a fraction of the Dao chains' power, he couldn't completely suppress her. More white hair surged toward them.
The Empress Dowager and Yuanmu knew that if Qin Mu fell, they would surely die, so they went all out against those strands of white hair.
Below, the woman pulled the twin lotus back, wielding it against the Dao chains' suppression, shrieking without end. The sound shook the three of them, leaving their minds groggy and blood streaming from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.
"We're probably doomed this time..." Qin Mu's mind was muddled as he thought to himself.
Suddenly, the Guixu tidal surge erupted, catching their bodies and hurling them upward toward the sky above Guixu!
The three of them were both shocked and overjoyed. The Guixu tide erupting at this moment could be said to have saved their lives.
Their bodies accelerated in the tide, quickly leaving the woman's white hair behind!
"Hahaha! Heaven helps the virtuous!" Lady Yuanmu laughed excitedly.
The moment she spoke, they watched as six hundred million years of this universe's time drained away completely in the Guixu tide. They looked up and saw the Great Destruction of the Sixteenth Universe—boundless terrifying energy converging and surging toward the Guixu Great Abyss!
In an instant, they felt the supreme might of the destruction tribulation, and their own Great Daos began to rapidly disintegrate!
All three were so terrified that every hair on their bodies stood on end. Qin Mu reached out and grabbed a Dao chain, then swung and whipped it, wrapping the chain around the Empress Dowager's body.
The tide howled. The Dao chain was pulled taut, nearly strangling the Empress Dowager half to death.