Chapter 1782: The Divine Abilities of the Heaven-Opening Ones
At the ancestral court's Jade Capital City, Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu crossed the final Chaotic Long River and entered the city.
Along the way, not many people tried to stop them. They only encountered a few Heaven-Opening Ones from Tiandu and exchanged blows with them several times.
Those Heaven-Opening Ones from Tiandu possessed incredibly bizarre and uncanny Dao techniques and divine abilities, vastly different from those of the Miluo Palace, and they even managed to catch him off guard and cause him some minor losses.
"My lady, rest assured. I will definitely return to that point in time and find Lingyun."
Qin Mu looked back and saw the long rivers surging and churning, symbolizing the destruction of the sixteen past universes. And at the place where the great cataclysm of the First Era began, his daughter Qin Lingyun was trapped there.
When he returned to that place, perhaps for Qin Lingyun it would only seem like a brief moment of separation from her parents, but perhaps for them, a very long time would have passed.
Qin Mu did not yet know how long this time would be. Only when he returned to that time period when the destruction calamity of the First Era was about to arrive but had not yet begun, only when he lifted Qin Lingyun up and placed her on his shoulder, would he know that he had to wait this long.
"You focus on your cultivation."
Qin Mu said to Ling Yuxiu, "In the future, if you achieve the Dao, you can survive the destruction calamity of the First Era and enter the Chaotic Long River with me to see her."
Ling Yuxiu nodded silently.
But she knew that her aptitude was limited. She was not someone with heaven-defying talent like Xu Shenghua or Lan Yutian. In this lifetime, she might never be able to achieve the Dao.
She might never be able to return to the past with Qin Mu to see their daughter.
But still, there was always hope.
Perhaps this was the calamity that the Master of the Miluo Palace and the First Young Master Taishang had spoken of.
Qin Lingyun had absorbed the power of the destruction calamities of fifteen universal eras. She was the Child of the Era in the eyes of the old monsters from those fifteen universal eras.
Perhaps she was destined to undergo this tribulation.
The First Young Master Taishang had told Qin Mu not to absorb the destruction calamity of the First Era to nourish Qin Lingyun. The Master of the Miluo Palace was unwilling to bestow his blessing, probably because Qin Lingyun's thread of life lay in the First Era universe. If she absorbed the destruction calamity of the First Era, that thread of life would cease to exist.
The husband and wife walked out of the ancestral court's Jade Capital City. At that moment, the Golden Ship of Salvation flew out from the city and came behind them.
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He had sent the Golden Ship of Salvation to escort Qin Lingyun back to the First Era, to escort her through the great destruction calamity.
And now, the golden ship had returned.
On the golden ship, a lotus leaf floated up and fell into Qin Mu's Guixu, connecting with the Guixu Lotus.
"Lingyun is safe."
Qin Mu's spirits lifted, and he smiled at Ling Yuxiu, "Only when she is safe will my lotus leaf return. This means that on some future day, you and I will return to the First Era and find her!"
The lotus leaf was part of his Guixu Dao. The lotus leaf's mission was to guard Qin Lingyun. Only when Qin Lingyun was truly safe would the lotus leaf return.
And this "safe" referred to the moment when Qin Lingyun encountered Qin Mu. This lotus leaf could not coexist with the lotus leaf in that Qin Mu's Guixu at that time, so this lotus leaf would disappear and be sent to his side by that Qin Mu!
This was complicated to explain, but for a Guixu Dao-Achiever, it was not difficult to accomplish!
Ling Yuxiu also let out a long sigh of relief, feeling somewhat comforted in her heart. Although she could not see her daughter now, she would definitely be able to see her in the future!
The couple settled down in the ancestral court, choosing to live precisely in the area between the ancestral court's Jade Capital City and the World Tree. Qin Mu imparted his insights and realizations to Ling Yuxiu, hoping that she could advance by leaps and bounds and cultivate to a profound realm.
Beneath the World Tree was utter chaos, with rotting corpses everywhere.
It was exactly two years ago, at the moment when Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu rode the golden ship into the Chaotic Long River of Jade Capital City, that the Fourth Young Master took command amidst the destruction calamity of the Sixteenth Era and personally presided over a war targeting the World Tree!
The three Hall Masters of the Miluo Palace led the Dao-Achievers of the Jade Capital City's Miluo Palace in a charge beneath the World Tree. At the same time, a zither string connecting the Sixteenth Era to the World Tree erupted with power, bloodily purging the forces of Old Man Wuya!
The Fourth Young Master's zither string was pulled by Heavenly Lord Hao. As the zither sound rang out, the Fourth Young Master used the zither string as a medium to transmit his divine abilities beneath the World Tree!
And the three newly descended Hall Masters of the Miluo Palace led more than ten Dao-Achievers in the sound of the zither, charging toward the World Tree. This battle caused countless casualties among the prehistoric powerhouses beneath the World Tree!
The deaths of these powerhouses made the power of the blood sacrifice increasingly dense!
At the same time, on the other side, Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye, Moon Heavenly Lord, Shang Jun, and others seized the opportunity to charge beneath the World Tree. Amidst the great battle, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian carried the half-dead Taiyi forward.
Their forces were the weakest among the three factions, but although Taiyi was half-crippled, his strength remained formidable, posing a great deterrent to both the Miluo Palace and the World Tree.
Not long after the battle began, Taisu, who had already achieved the Dao, brought the Dao Ancestor Gongsun Yan to provide support.
Taisu's achievement of the Dao displayed astonishing and peerless combat power, able to contend with Dao-Achievers who possessed several Dao Fruits, though slightly inferior to Hall Master-level existences.
Achieving the Dao through the Five Primordials was the most supreme form of innate great Dao achievement. Taisu had also followed Qin Mu for a long time, and Qin Mu's insights from studying the transformations of the Five Primordials were not hidden from him, allowing his vision and knowledge to far exceed the shackles of his own being.
Taisu had also fought with the Taiji Ancient God siblings for decades, deepening his understanding of the world's great Daos and his understanding of the Five Primordials.
This was the benefit of innate power, something others could not envy.
His emergence this time was crucial to enhancing the combat power of Yankang, especially having a significant impact on the blood sacrifice at Jade Capital City.
Taisu intercepted the energy of the blood sacrifice, transforming it into spiritual energy of heaven and earth, strengthening the seal of Qin Mu in the ancestral court. Although he could not contend with the Third and Fourth Young Masters, he could still manage to intercept a portion.
In this way, the descent of the Miluo Palace's Dao-Achievers could be temporarily delayed.
The fierce battle between the two sides was also the reason why the Miluo Palace's Hall Masters and Dao-Achievers did not intercept Qin Mu on the road.
In the end, Old Man Wuya failed in his struggle for Qin Lingyun, returned from the past to the World Tree, and severed the Fourth Young Master's zither string, bringing this battle to an end.
By the time Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu settled down, the war had already ended.
In this battle, Old Man Wuya's forces suffered heavy losses, and having his lair attacked by the Fourth Young Master was a great loss of face for Old Man Wuya.
Old Man Wuya was furious. Outside the World Tree, chaotic qi pervaded the air, and streams of Chaotic Long Rivers surrounded this sacred tree, forming a natural barrier. The World Tree's roots extended in all directions, seizing the energy of the blood sacrifice.
—The Third Young Master Lingxiao was also searching everywhere for Qin Lingyun. Without the Third Young Master presiding over the blood sacrifice, the ancestral court's Jade Capital City could not obtain the maximum benefit.
Qin Mu had gone to meet the Master of the Miluo Palace, dragging away too many experts, causing this battle to fail in achieving the ancestral court's Jade Capital City's intended goals.
The World Tree's roots also took root in the destruction calamity of the Sixteenth Era universe, attracting more powerhouses to hide within the roots and sneak into the Seventeenth Era.
Meanwhile, more Hall Masters and Dao-Achievers of the Miluo Palace descended, and more and more Dao Trees were revived in the ancestral court's Jade Capital City, forming a majestic forest, lush and verdant.
This Jade Capital City seemed to have lost much of its vicissitudes and become much more radiant.
In Jade Capital City, halls and palaces rose one after another, their Dao light shooting straight into the sky, illuminating the sky of the ancestral court in dazzling splendor.
This was a sign that the blood sacrifice energy was so abundant that the ancestral court's Jade Capital City was about to arrive in the Seventeenth Era from the past!
Taisu, Qin Ye, Shang Jun, and the others returned, carrying Taiyi, who could only move half of his body, to see Qin Mu. Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian had been treating Taiyi for two years, and his injuries had already been greatly alleviated.
Qin Mu rose, paid his respects to Taiyi, and then to the others, saying with a gentle expression, "Everyone has worked hard. After this battle, we can establish a foothold in the ancestral court."
Taiyi wanted to stand up, but his body was still pierced with many Dao-Slaying Divine Nails, and he could not rise.
"So, did you succeed in your return this time, Daoist friend?"
Taiyi had no choice but to continue sitting. His eyes flickered as he looked into Qin Mu's eyes and probed, "When you returned to the Miluo Palace the second time, your daughter should have been born by then, right?"
Everyone was surprised and looked toward Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu.
Ling Yuxiu's expression darkened, and she said nothing.
Qin Mu's expression turned slightly grave: "Daoist brother Taiyi seems to know something. Since you know, why didn't you speak up earlier?"
"Sometimes, even if you know, you cannot speak."
Taiyi said, "If I had spoken, you would not have done it. The you of now thinks this is wrong, thinks it is a bad thing, but the you of the future thinks this is right, that it is actually a good thing. So I could only remain silent."
His words were baffling, but Qin Mu understood.
Many things must have happened in the past universes. Taiyi had most likely encountered his future self. He had his reasons for not speaking.
"Daoist brother, you are the Lord of Tiandu, the leader of the Heaven-Opening Ones. How should I face you?"
Qin Mu set aside the matter of Qin Lingyun and asked, "You should be well aware of the deeds of the Heaven-Opening Ones. The Master of the Miluo Palace sent you to the Fourth Era, both as compensation to you and to let you see the deeds of the Heaven-Opening Ones of Tiandu. The Heaven-Opening Ones are searching for you, and they will surely descend in the future. How will you face them?"
Taiyi fell silent. After a long while, he finally said, "What they want is Tiandu, not Taiyi. I am not Tiandu."
"The Heaven-Opening Ones will not see it that way."
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "You are their spiritual leader. They possess vast divine powers, and to find you, they will stop at nothing. I have already experienced this on the road. In the Chaotic Long River, every Heaven-Opening One has unique means of self-preservation. Each Heaven-Opening One is extremely powerful, and their methods are bizarre and varied, extremely difficult to deal with."
He suddenly tore open his upper garment, revealing strange wounds on his chest. The wounds were shocking, and the fluctuations emitted by the Dao wounds made Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian exclaim in surprise.
The Dao wounds on Qin Mu's chest were caused by great Dao divine abilities they had never seen before!
The two of them had already studied all the great Daos of the world, and even had some knowledge of the Miluo Palace's Dao techniques and divine abilities, but the great Dao divine abilities of the Heaven-Opening Ones of Tiandu exceeded their understanding!
Ling Yuxiu let out a low cry. Although she had been present when Qin Mu fought the Heaven-Opening Ones on the river surface and knew he was injured, she did not know that his injuries could not be healed. Qin Mu had never mentioned it.
Taiyi's expression was grave as he looked at the wounds on Qin Mu's chest. Some wounds had already begun to fester, clearly showing that Qin Mu had been helpless against these Dao wounds during this period.
"The divine abilities of the Heaven-Opening Ones have already departed from the scope of the original creation of heaven and earth. Their divine abilities have taken a different path."
Taiyi said in a deep voice, "Back then, we only discussed that such a path existed—a path different from the runic great Dao created by the Master of the Miluo Palace. One could achieve the Dao without runes, without the Dao Realm or Dao Trees, and even create great Daos. Judging from the Dao wounds on your body, they have already made considerable achievements."