Chapter 1381: Reuniting the Dao Heart

Qin Mu heard his words, but he couldn't gather his divine sense, let alone re-form his Dao heart.

As Tai Shi had said, the Nine Hells Platform was simply not a place Qin Mu, in his current state, could reach. This natural heavenly prison should have been a realm beyond the God-Slaying Platform. However, in the early years of the Dragon Han era, when the gods built the Celestial Heavens, they did not forge the heavenly prison according to the Nine Hells Platform's design. The Celestial Heavens' prison was different from the Nine Hells Platform; it didn't contain the Grand Dao of the Nine Hells Platform. Consequently, everyone was completely ignorant of this realm. For a million years, no one had ever researched the Nine Hells Platform.

Qin Mu's current realm had not yet reached the Jade Pool realm. Facing the trial of the Nine Hells Platform, he had no one's experience to draw upon. He could only confront the Nine Hells Platform alone. With his Dao heart sealed, he was like an infant once more, adrift in a basket on the Surging River. Darkness surrounded him, and only the jade pendant on his chest emitted a faint glow from within the basket. In the darkness surrounding the Surging River, there were countless starved ghosts and demon gods. Monsters sped across the river surface, appearing and disappearing, observing him.

"The old you had no Dao heart at all! Your Dao heart was cultivated by you, step by step!" Tai Shi's voice came from within the egg, sounding incredibly distant: "You need to use your own will to overcome this, to re-cultivate your Dao heart! You can survive..." His voice became more and more distant, fainter and fainter, until it was finally inaudible.

Intense pain enveloped Qin Mu, and fear drowned him. He was like an infant floating alone on the Surging River, with only darkness as far as his eyes could see. What if, what if Grandma Si hadn't heard his cries from the basket, hadn't stepped into the darkness, and hadn't picked him up from it? Would he still be the person he was now? Would he still be Heaven Venerable Mu?

The Heavenly Prison's Nine Hells Platform shattered his Dao heart, reverting it to its most primordial state, crushing his fighting spirit and turning him into a frail infant. Darkness would eventually invade, completely consuming him. Qin Mu's eyes gradually dimmed, and finally, everything was swallowed by darkness. The Tai Shi egg, which had been trying to call out to Qin Mu, also became silent. It was over. Qin Mu's Dao heart was locked, his fighting spirit completely gone. It was impossible for him to reawaken his Dao heart, impossible for him to become Heaven Venerable Mu again.

Silence fell over the Nine Hells Platform. In reality, there were no wails of billions of beings as Qin Mu had heard, nor were there seals on the Grand Dao, divine sense, vital qi, or primordial spirit. From the moment he stepped into this place, what was locked was his Dao heart. The locking of the Grand Dao, the physical body, vital qi, and divine sense were all merely superficial. It was precisely because his Dao heart believed it was locked that he perceived his physical body, vital qi, primordial spirit, Grand Dao, and divine sense as being locked.

The Village Chief's Overlord Body legend made people believe they *could* do anything, that they were omnipotent! In contrast, the Nine Hells Platform locked the Dao heart, making people believe they *couldn't* do anything, that they were utterly worthless.

Qin Mu lay in the center of the Nine Hells Platform. He hadn't moved for a long time, only twitching and contorting occasionally. "The being with the strongest Dao heart in this world cannot even resist the Nine Hells Platform. I'll likely be trapped inside him until the day he dies." Tai Shi thought silently: "Perhaps only when his corpse decomposes can I escape. Heaven Venerable Mu, can you truly not break through the prison-locked Dao heart?"

Qin Mu weakly curled up, surrounded by absolute darkness, devoid of any light.

"Listen, there's a child crying outside!""I think Mu'er might be another type of physique, an Overlord Body that combines the strengths of the four major physiques!""As long as there's belief, an ordinary body can be an Overlord Body!""It's difficult to break a god in a dilapidated temple, but even harder to break a god in the heart!""The Dao of a saint is no different from the daily lives of ordinary people; anything different is heresy!""To act according to one's true nature, purely and spontaneously, is the Dao.""The Imperial Preceptor and I are driving reform to change the situation where sects control the lifelines of the common people and the nation. We will not only reform, but also revolutionize — revolting against these sects and even ourselves!""Emperor Kai's reforms aligned with the heavens and responded to the will of the people.""What's the use of this sword to me? What's the use? This damn sword won't sharpen anymore!""There's no such thing as a land of worry-free bliss in this world!""If we become corrupt in the future, our descendants will overthrow us. No need to overthink it.""Take care! The future rests on you too, fellow Daoist!""Cult Master, you are right."

After a long time, Qin Mu opened his eyes. His Dao heart was still locked, and he was still like a mortal, yet a spark of hope for life ignited within him.

"Tai Yi was right. I never had a Dao heart before; it was forged through trials. I wasn't a divine ability practitioner or a deity either; I cultivated myself into one.""Before, I wasn't Cult Master Qin, nor Human Emperor Qin, nor Heaven Venerable Mu; I fought for these titles step by step!""Before, I didn't have my own soul or physical body, but I had my own consciousness!""Before, I didn't have my own Dao companions, but I had many friends!""Before, I was an orphan with no family, but I had Disabled Elderly Village and Eternal Peace!""Before, I had no path of my own! But now—"

He gritted his teeth, enduring the bone-chilling pain. He shakily stood up, doing his utmost to control his divine sense and keep his consciousness clear.

"But now, I have my own Dao and my own path!"

Pain twisted his consciousness, yet he desperately roused his divine sense, forcefully activating the Overlord Body Three Elixirs Art. He began to walk, as if he were back in Disabled Elderly Village, back to the arduous days of running while practicing his cultivation. This time, however, his steps were incredibly unsteady, his body contorted and swayed. He struggled to walk within the small, confined space at the lowest level of the Heavenly Prison's Nine Hells Platform. His divine sense mobilized the already stagnant vital qi, making it circulate along with his divine sense. He desperately activated his cultivation art, feeling bone-scraping pain wherever his divine sense and vital qi passed. He trembled, every step causing him agonizing pain.

The Tai Shi egg remained silent, observing this scene. It watched how a humble being, already in despair, emerged from that despair, and what sustained him to continue. It had always been prejudiced against post-celestial beings and had a poor impression of ancient gods. It was a Creator of post-celestial beings who had dug it out of the Tai Shi ore vein, and the ancient god Heaven Emperor Tai Chu who had imprisoned it. Now, however, from Qin Mu, it saw the unimaginable vitality possessed by the life forms of this world! Qin Mu's incredibly tenacious, even stubborn, will earned its admiration.

It took him nearly half an hour to complete one circuit within the two-zhang square space.

Dragon Qilin and Long Xiao stood at a great height, looking down. They could only see a perfectly square, tiny area, and a minute figure moving incredibly slowly within it.

"Can Cult Master make it out of there?" Dragon Qilin couldn't help but worry, glancing at Long Xiao. Some giant beasts brought spirit herbs from outside, but before even reaching this place, their bodies were already contorted in pain, struggling with every step. Dragon Qilin quickly stepped forward to receive the spirit herbs; his Dao heart was far more profound than those giant beasts'.

"If Heaven Venerable Mu truly emerges from the Nine Hells Platform, should I really join forces with him?" Long Xiao murmured, looking at the small area.

Dragon Qilin paused slightly, then delightedly asked, "Can Cult Master really come out of there?"

Long Xiao stared at the ninth level platform and whispered, "His speed is gradually increasing. I've never seen anyone able to move on the ninth level of the Nine Hells Platform, much less someone who can re-form their Dao heart while it's locked. But he has done it."

————Happy Birthday to fellow reader Lonely Like Smoke!