Chapter 1287: Blocked in the Valley

Above the Great Blackwood, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged wildly, funneling furiously into a vast valley on the outer perimeter.

The valley, shaped like a basin, contained continuous mountain ranges. Qin Mu stood atop a mountain peak, surrounded by his Divine Treasure Realm. The Heavenly River flowed, connecting various realms, its geography secretly aligning with that of the Ancestral Court.

The divine bow in his hands had been drawn to its limit, as countless rays of light surged wildly, converging on the arrow's tip.

Across the vast terrain of the Great Blackwood's hundred thousand Great Black Mountains, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged, forming frenzied, swirling vortices of various sizes above the blasted-out valley.

Streams of spiritual energy beneath the vortices resembled tornadoes; however, instead of drawing downwards, they surged towards Qin Mu, flowing into the divine bow.

The divine bow's power grew increasingly intense, becoming so immense that even Qin Mu found it hard to sustain, his arm muscles trembling uncontrollably.

He silently counted to himself.

The tremors from underground grew stronger, shaking the mountains in the valley so violently that the earth quaked and mountains swayed. Terrifying divine light erupted from the depths of the earth, soaring skyward and erupting above the valley floor to form a curtain of light.

From within that curtain of light, exceptionally loud sounds of battle emerged. The clamor of combat shook the heavens, and vaguely, countless incredibly powerful figures could be seen fighting and contending within the light curtain.

That was a projection from the previous universe.

This mineral vein belonged to the outermost growth ring of the World Tree, meaning that the projections of these powerful beings were from the previous cosmic year, a memory of the World Tree.

Qin Mu was oblivious to it all, seeing and hearing nothing, his gaze remaining fixed on the cracked roots of the World Tree.

There, even more intense light erupted from the World Tree's thick roots, astonishingly producing a grand sound like surging tides crashing against a cliff face, a continuous rushing and crashing of waves.

The light projected onto the cliff face behind the roots, and a figure could vaguely be seen emerging from within it, drawing closer and becoming clearer.

The figure was initially small, but as it took steps, it astonishingly grew larger and larger, as if about to step out of the stone wall.

He was missing his right arm, and his posture was somewhat unnatural as he walked. This was likely the powerful being from the previous universe whose arm had been broken off by the Deaf Physician and the others earlier that day.

However, at that time, his body had no flesh, only dry bones, but now he had astonishingly grown flesh and blood.

What was strange, however, was that although he had skin and flesh, from a distance, he appeared like an extremely emaciated, sun-dried corpse.

Suddenly, one of the figure's hands reached forward, its withered palm astonishingly piercing through the cliff face.

The cliff face was the Great Black Mountain, which itself was part of the World Tree's growth rings.

He intended to follow the World Tree's growth rings, climbing from the past to the present, from the destroyed universe to the current one.

Just as his palm emerged from the cliff face, Qin Mu finished counting to ten.

The twang of a bowstring resounded, the divine bow vibrated violently, and the arrow flew from Qin Mu's bow.

The instant this arrow was loosed, Qin Mu's entire body trembled violently from the shock, his bones nearly shattering. The arrow's light sliced through the space ahead, reaching the cliff face in an instant.

The arrow pierced through the six-fingered hand, and carrying terrifying power, it shot into the cliff face, pinning the emaciated figure and blasting it backward.

Soon, his figure on the cliff face became a tiny black dot, receding rapidly.

Then his figure vanished from the cliff face. Only an enraged roar echoed, causing Qin Mu's ears to buzz and his vital energy to churn.

After the roar, the divine light in the sky suddenly receded, returning to the valley like a tide and vanishing among the mountains.

The basin immediately became quiet.

Qin Mu panted heavily. This single arrow had almost completely drained his cultivation; his magic power was only enough to unleash this one arrow, leaving him with no strength to fire a second.

Suddenly, the Physician appeared above the valley floor, standing on the back of the Dragon Qilin. He tossed down a basket and chuckled, "Mu'er, I've refined some spirit pills from the spirit herbs of the Great Blackwood. I'm not sure if they're poisonous, so I need you to test them. Just try not to die from them!"

Qin Mu caught the basket. It was full of spirit pills, each one crystal clear and resonating with the sound of the Dao.

Qin Mu was touched. The Physician must have immediately gathered herbs and refined these spirit pills after returning, completing so many for his use in such a short time.

He swallowed a spirit pill and immediately felt a powerful medicinal energy spread as his vital qi surged and swirled.

Qin Mu immediately activated his Overlord Body Three Elixirs technique. He paced back and forth on the cliff top, his speed increasing until his figure became a streak of light, circling and weaving around the cliff top.

His Overlord Body Three Elixirs technique was unique; its optimal cultivation method was not meditation or seclusion, but cultivation through movement.

The medicinal energy in his body had not yet been fully refined, and his vital qi had not fully recovered, when suddenly, divine light erupted from the valley again, even more vast than the previous time.

Qin Mu was startled. "So fast!"

The Egg of Grand Beginning suddenly said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, I think we should find another spot."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. He immediately enveloped the Egg of Grand Beginning and soared into the air, landing on another cliff.

The broken mountain he had chosen earlier was actually the best spot, most suitable for facing the World Tree's cracked roots, and from which everything in the valley could easily be seen.

The cliff he was currently on was somewhat inferior.

Just as he moved to another cliff, the emaciated figure reappeared on the opposite cliff face. Qin Mu grabbed a handful of spirit pills and shoved them into his mouth, immediately drawing his bow and beginning to count.

At this moment, a rainbow light shot out from the cliff face. With a booming sound, the broken mountain where Qin Mu had just been standing turned to dust amidst violent tremors.

Qin Mu's blood ran cold.

He had once tested the strength of the broken mountain; even a full-powered sword strike from him could not sever it. He hadn't expected that a single blow from a powerful being of the previous universe, delivered across an entire universe, would shatter that broken mountain.

He was still shaken. Had the Egg of Grand Beginning not warned him, he too might have been reduced to dust like the mountain.

"Eight, nine, ten!"

Qin Mu loosed another arrow.

An enraged roar came from the cliff face. The powerful being who had attempted to crawl from the previous universe into this era was once again blasted back into his own era by Qin Mu's arrow.

Qin Mu panted heavily. Suppressing the spasms in his muscles, he immediately began to run, activating his Overlord Body Three Elixirs technique.

Once he had recovered somewhat, he immediately changed his position, moving to another mountain peak.

Grand Beginning in the egg said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, this mountain peak is roughly the same height as the previous one, which is quite dangerous."

Qin Mu's heart stirred. He soared into the air with the Egg of Grand Beginning, landing on a higher mountain peak.

The phenomenon reappeared in the valley. From the cliff face, a fan-shaped rainbow light suddenly swept out, leveling the surrounding mountain peaks.

The high peak where Qin Mu had been standing was cut in half.

Thwip!

Qin Mu loosed an arrow, once again blasting that terrifying existence back to its own era.

Incredibly furious sounds came from within the cliff face. Roars echoed repeatedly; it was clearly infuriated.

"Brother Grand Beginning, you truly are an experienced veteran!"

Qin Mu couldn't help but exclaim admiringly, "What's next?"