Chapter 1308: Dao Realm Twenty-Four Heavens

In the thirtieth void, Qin Mu traversed the vast expanse, freely unleashing the divine arts born from the insights he had gained over the years.

He invoked the divine arts embodying principles such as the unchanging will of heaven and earth, the single qi arising from the Great Void, the mutual forgetting of self and object, and the Great Dao emerging from the Ancestral Court.

The principle of 'Self and object forgotten' manifested as the thirteenth heaven of his divine arts, immediately followed by 'The Great Dao arises from the Ancestral Court' becoming the fourteenth heaven.

He then manifested a divine art named 'Creation dispels ignorance'. He unified the path of creation, transforming it into a grand divine art. His creation divine art resonated like a great bell; with a single chime, it revealed the wonders of creation, and, accompanied by the lingering resonance of 'The Great Dao arises from the Ancestral Court', it caused all things to flourish.

Next came a divine art called 'Divine consciousness precedes the Dao'. His fifteenth heaven of divine arts used divine consciousness as its foundation. In the ancient Ancestral Court, early humans were ignorant; though heaven and earth had been created, they had not yet comprehended the Dao and divine arts. It was then that divine consciousness took precedence, with the primeval creators forming things through divine consciousness. This move, 'Divine consciousness precedes the Dao', thus evoked the vast and boundless essence of the primordial era.

Then came a divine art called 'The Dragon Han era, however, brought conflict'. Qin Mu unleashed one divine art after another, as if transitioning from the wild and untamed primordial era into the Dragon Han era. During the Dragon Han conflict, Daoist arts and divine powers blossomed like a hundred flowers, each vying for glory. Despite their beauty and grandeur, they were filled with bloody struggle.

Following these were divine arts called 'The Crimson Brightness Divine Body Perishes' and 'The High Emperor's Human Dao Achieved'. As these two grand divine arts were unleashed, Qin Mu's primordial spirit and physical body grew powerful, allowing him to move freely in the thirtieth void, with three heads and six arms, like a giant who cleaved heaven and earth. 'The High Emperor's Human Dao Achieved' inherited the High Emperor's philosophy that human life is paramount. The spirit and resolve of human heroes—bearing suffering, pioneering through hardships, moving forward with difficulty, struggling against heaven and earth, fighting against injustice, refusing to admit defeat, refusing to yield, and never giving up—were all encapsulated in this single move.

Next, he manifested a divine art called 'The Founding Emperor opens the post-natal path, Yan Kang begins to contend'. With passionate resolve, the path of post-natal Dao realization from the Founding Emperor's era, along with Yan Kang's calamities and struggles, all transformed into divine arts in his hands. Standing in the thirtieth void, he felt as if he stood at the world's apex. Here, unleashing divine arts that encompassed the great spirit of the eras felt utterly natural and seamless.

As this grand divine art was unleashed, Qin Mu's unrestrained and heroic divine arts, aura, and momentum suddenly became restrained. His divine arts grew obscure, his hand movements slowed, and the Daoist runes fragmented. Having continuously created so many grand divine arts, elevating his divine arts to the twenty-first heaven of Dao realization, he had essentially exhausted his accumulated insights from recent years.

However, he still had sentiments to express and his own insights to organize. The speed at which he unleashed his divine arts grew slower and slower. Gradually, divine arts containing the Dao of Grand Purity were unleashed. He then attempted to create divine arts of the Dao of Grand Ultimate and the Dao of Grand Beginning.

He then brought forth divine arts reflecting: Grand Purity suddenly opening the chaotic bud; Grand Ultimate evolving with yin and yang proceeding; and Grand Beginning questioning form and essence from the azure sky.

As Qin Mu unleashed his final move, he suddenly felt his mind become completely empty, unable to continue with divine arts and Daoist methods. He immediately awoke from his state of Dao realization.

He was in the thirtieth void, and now wide awake, the powerful forces of the void immediately pressed down upon him. Qin Mu's physical body began to rapidly etherealize, cracking and disintegrating. He made a decisive choice and immediately escaped from the thirtieth void.

It was his first time venturing so deeply into the void, and he felt a mix of bewilderment and confusion. "Strange," he thought, "how did I end up here? The thirtieth void is not a place I can possibly reach..."

He rapidly retreated to the twenty-ninth void. The void's power was still incredibly strong, unbearable for his physical body. If he had still possessed the Primordial Ore as before, his divine consciousness might barely have reached this point, but he couldn't have lingered. Now, without the Primordial Ore, his divine consciousness was far weaker than before, making it impossible to reach such a dangerous place. If he had been conscious, he would never have risked his life by venturing into such a high void. However, when he was in the state of Dao realization, he had no such concerns.

The moment he retreated from the thirtieth to the twenty-ninth void, he looked up, attempting to see deeper into the void, but he saw nothing. He couldn't help but feel a touch of regret.

"I wonder what lies in the ultimate void..." he mused.

He retreated from the twenty-ninth to the twenty-eighth void, only then feeling slightly better. However, the twenty-eighth void was the limit of his divine consciousness, and his physical body was not as robust.

Without the Primordial Ore, the weakening of his divine consciousness and physical body was indeed significant.

Qin Mu retreated through layer after layer of the void. By the time he reached the twenty-third void, the void's damage to his physical body finally subsided to a minimum.

He couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat. To have inadvertently arrived in the thirtieth void was truly too dangerous.

Now that the danger was gone, he immediately began to reflect on what he had gained during his state of Dao realization.

Since his last entry into Dao realization, inspired by Xu Shenghua, and the subsequent comprehension of the ninth heaven of divine arts, 'Ethereal Form Embracing the Grand Ultimate,' his accumulation of insights had deepened daily. His understanding of the Dao of Grand Ultimate, Grand Purity, Grand Beginning, and Grand Prime also became increasingly profound.

His knowledge of the Primordial, Dragon Han, Crimson Brightness, High Emperor, and Founding Emperor eras also grew. Ultimately, both his understanding of history and of the Dao were transformed into his unique divine arts during this Dao realization.

"From the ninth heaven of divine arts, I leapt directly to the twenty-fourth heaven," he mused. "It can be said that my Dao realm cultivation directly reached the level of the twenty-fourth heaven."

Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh with emotion, acknowledging that the benefits brought by the Grand Beginning Ore during this Dao realization were truly immense.

However, the final three heavens were not complete.

The divine arts of Grand Purity suddenly opening the chaotic bud; Grand Ultimate evolving with yin and yang proceeding; and Grand Beginning questioning form and essence from the azure sky—these were still incomplete.

For these three heavens, his accumulation was insufficient, not enough to reach the level of complete three heavens. All three grand divine arts were incomplete. In truth, when he created these three grand divine arts, he already felt immense difficulty, lacking the necessary knowledge foundation. But he was in a state of Dao realization then, like an arrow on the bowstring, compelled to release it.

The power of these three heaven divine arts grew stronger with each move. He still needed to continue refining and pondering them; otherwise, it would significantly impact his ability to enter the thirty-sixth heaven in the future.

He strolled leisurely through the void, walking towards the Great Black Wood, while casually unleashing his divine arts one by one, admiring the layers of divine arts he had created.

"I wonder what realm in the Divine Treasures Heavenly Palace system the twenty-fourth heaven of the Dao realm corresponds to?" he pondered.

He was very curious, as the Dao realm and the Divine Treasures Heavenly Palace system had many ambiguous points in terms of their respective realms, making it difficult to distinguish their combat power.

"What's strange," he thought, "is that gods and devils cultivating the Heavenly Palace system can also cultivate the Dao realm. This is equivalent to combining two realms. For example, the Founding Emperor's realm was the Heavenly Palace realm, while his Dao realm reached the thirty-fourth heaven. He was already an existence capable of contending with a Heavenly Venerate."

The Divine Treasures Heavenly Palace system focuses on magic power and strength, while the Dao realm system focuses on the comprehension of the Dao; the two perfectly complement each other.

This was the Founding Emperor's reform and development of the Divine Treasures Heavenly Palace system. His contribution was so immense that it was comparable even to that of Heavenly Venerate Yu.

"Unfortunately, they are all outdated," he mused.

Qin Mu shrugged. In the future, the truly powerful system should be the Grand Ancestral Court Daoist art system created by Lan Yutian; both the Heavenly Palace system and the Dao realm system will be part of it.

"And now," he continued, "it is the most glorious era for the Divine Treasures Heavenly Palace and Dao realm systems, but also their final swan song! When Lan Yutian achieves mastery, a magnificent revolution will sweep over everything like a great flood, overturning it all!"

Qin Mu looked down, and the majestic landscape of the Ancestral Court came into view. "So," he mused, "what should be done with Lan Yutian and Heavenly Venerate Yu? Should Lan Yutian retrieve his fragmented soul and become Heavenly Venerate Yu again...?"

Just then, he saw myriad beasts galloping in the Ancestral Court, a scene of great liveliness, and Ancestral God King was beating Heaven Duke, Earth Count, and Empress Dowager.

"Why are they fighting?" he wondered.

Qin Mu was puzzled but decided to ignore it. His gaze fell upon the seventeenth void, where Dragon Qilin and the Void Mother Beast were trembling with fear.