Chapter 1291: Not helping is helping

Upon hearing this, Qin Mu’s heart stirred. He flew down from above the Twenty-Eight Heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Pagoda, and as he descended diagonally, the vertical eye on his forehead opened. Inside the vertical eye, the primordial Taiji stone was activated. Simultaneously, countless runes on the Tai Chu egg lit up, buzzing as they reflected onto the Taiji divine stone, causing it to rotate.

The pupil of the divine eye on his forehead instantly became a swirling vortex of black and white. A column of intertwined black and white light descended from the sky, diagonally illuminating the emaciated figure's throat. As the light beam fell, the emaciated figure's throat instantly petrified. As the beam moved, his body rapidly turned to stone wherever it passed. Qin Mu flew in diagonally. By the time his feet touched the ground, the gaze from his vertical eye had already scanned the figure from head to toe. The emaciated figure was completely transformed into a motionless stone statue.

Everyone inside the Lapis Lazuli Pagoda immediately felt a wave of relief as the terrifying suction vanished and their vital energy stopped draining. Jiang Yunjian and other young masters tumbled from high altitude, falling to the ground with a clatter, struggling to get up for a moment. First Ancestor, Yan'er, and the others also harbored lingering fear.

Qin Mu himself continued to move, swiftly circling the stone statue. The intertwined black and white gaze from his vertical eye shone upon all parts of its body, reinforcing the petrification effect. He raised his hand, and the stone statue lifted into the air. Qin Mu tilted his head back, directing the gaze from his vertical eye onto the sole of the statue's foot. With a thud, the stone statue landed. Qin Mu continued to circle it, not missing a single spot.

"Enough, enough, Celestial Venerable Mu, you can stop now!" Tai Shi's voice, muffled from within the egg inside the statue, called out, "His body is completely petrified, even his primordial spirit. There's no need to continue shining on him! Quickly, find a way to get me out!"

Qin Mu stopped, letting out a sigh of relief. His body almost gave out, and he simply collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The situation had been incredibly perilous. If the Tai Shi egg hadn't voluntarily allowed itself to be swallowed by the emaciated figure, actively allowing him to absorb its Tai Shi Qi, and if Qin Mu hadn't already used the Taiji path for mass-energy conversion, Qin Mu and the others would have had no chance of victory. Only the combined paths of Tai Shi and Taiji had resolved the greatest crisis of the Great Black Wood.

"Celestial Venerable Mu, quickly save me! I seem to be stuck in his throat." From the statue's throat, Tai Shi's muffled voice from within the egg continued, "This stone statue is too hard; I can't move. Celestial Venerable Mu, Celestial Venerable Mu, are you still there? You didn't abandon me and run off, did you?"

Yan'er quickly rushed over, transforming into a dragon-sparrow. She extended her talons into the statue's wide mouth and pried outwards. After much effort, she finally managed to extract the Tai Shi egg from the statue's mouth. The Tai Shi egg landed, rolled twice, and upon realizing it was unharmed, finally relaxed. "That was close, that was close!" it exclaimed. "What a pity, I lost some Tai Shi Qi. Celestial Venerable Mu, you must compensate me!"

Qin Mu remained on the ground, panting heavily. It was the first time he had ever felt so utterly exhausted, as if he could die from fatigue. The Tai Shi egg stood by his side.

The sky began to lighten; this night was finally drawing to a close. Seeing this, everyone relaxed. One by one, they sat or lay on the ground, leaning on each other or against the rocks; they were utterly exhausted. It had been a truly heart-stopping night.

After regaining some strength, Qin Mu shakily stood up. He circled the stone statue with its gaping mouth a few times, and only when he confirmed it was perfectly stable and unchanged did he completely relax.

"Brother Tai Yi still hasn't arrived," Qin Mu said, feeling a little disappointed.

"You'd be better off trusting Taiji, that unreliable fellow," Tai Shi said from within the egg. "He's definitely hiding somewhere, trembling with fear."

Qin Mu chuckled and shook his head. The Apothecary was busy treating everyone's injuries, and slowly, everyone recovered. That night had been far too perilous; they still felt lingering apprehension recalling it.

They climbed out of the valley, and the sunlight that greeted them was so bright and enchanting it made their hearts sing. "It's good to be alive," the Mute remarked, squinting his eyes.

Qin Mu looked into the distance and saw several more Great Black Mountains cracking open, with billowing white steam. A young boy carrying a bucket was rushing towards them. Qin Mu's face darkened, and he stepped forward. The boy put down his bucket and smiled, "Celestial Venerable Mu, did you have a peaceful night? By now, you should know what's buried beneath this Great Black Wood, shouldn't you?"

Qin Mu stood beside him, silent for a moment. "Brother Dao said he would come to provide support," he said.

"I only said I would come to help, not that I would personally take action." The boy pulled a willow branch from the bucket and sprinkled water on the cracked Great Black Mountain. "My cheering you on from above is also a form of help," he said.

Qin Mu was momentarily speechless with indignation, about to retort, when he noticed the cracked Great Black Mountain slowly closing.

"The best way to help you isn't to assist you in repelling the formidable beings from the previous universe, but to help you recognize who your true enemies are," the boy explained. "If you occupy the Great Black Wood and become its master, you must face all of this." Young Tai Yi continued to sprinkle water, saying, "If you can't even grasp this, how can you possibly help me intercept these prehistoric monsters? Among them are incredibly powerful beings, capable of creating void beasts and sending them here, stopping at nothing to infiltrate this universe. If you couldn't even pass last night's small trial, then you are not qualified to occupy this place."

He handed the bucket and willow branch to Qin Mu, saying with a half-smile, "Celestial Venerable Mu, master of the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains, your mountains are cracking open. You should repair them yourself." Qin Mu took the bucket and willow branch, then imitated the boy, dipping the willow branch in water and sprinkling it into the cracks of the black mountains. Inside the fissures, horrifying sights were visible, as if terrifying creatures were crawling out, leaving behind claw marks.

"My not appearing last night had another purpose," the boy added. Young Tai Yi continued to guide him on how to sprinkle the water from the bucket to repair the black mountains. "That was for Brother Tai Shi," he continued. "After all, Brother Tai Shi has been suppressed by Tai Chu for so many years, and his thoughts are no longer simple or pure. The person he envies most is actually not me, but Tai Chu, who suppressed him."

Qin Mu listened quietly.

"He wants to become another Tai Chu, to become the master of the entire universe." Young Tai Yi said, "His conversation with Tai Su within your forehead was actually about how to escape your control, reclaim his mineral veins, and how they would eventually join forces to rule the world. They even discussed Tai Shi becoming Emperor and Tai Su becoming the Empress."

Qin Mu paused, thought for a moment, and smiled. "That makes sense," he said. "I've always been guessing what he discussed with Tai Su, and I've long prepared for the worst."

Young Tai Yi asked, "If I had helped you last night, would Tai Shi still help you?"

Qin Mu was momentarily startled, looking into the distance. The Tai Shi egg had been placed on a mountaintop by the caring Yan'er, who was now diligently searching for branches and leaves to build a nest for it, intending to then sit on it and hatch the Tai Shi egg. Qin Mu couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"The current Tai Shi is no longer the one who simply broke free from Tai Chu's suppression," Young Tai Yi continued. "He is slowly being influenced by you." "This is a good thing," Young Tai Yi said. "He has now realized the responsibility this universe bestowed upon him by nurturing him. His inner greed and ambition are gradually fading. Look, he is very peaceful now."

Qin Mu looked over. The Tai Shi egg in the nest was secretly trying to slip away when Yan'er wasn't looking, but the diligent dragon-sparrow quickly caught it and put it back into the nest.

"If I had helped you, Tai Shi would have become a different Tai Shi, and when he emerges in the future, the havoc he causes would be even greater than Tai Chu's." Young Tai Yi said calmly, "Therefore, I chose to help you by not helping you."