Chapter 1410: Red Dust Becomes the Road

The Empress looked at Qin Mu, whose expression remained calm. He seemed to have known about this for a long time and showed no surprise.

The Empress composed herself, thought for a moment, and then asked, "My late husband was prematurely born and dug out by the Grand Emperor for sacrifice, which left him with significant flaws in his cultivation and power. You, on the other hand, have been dormant here for countless eons; I would expect your cultivation to be complete and free from such imperfections. Why then are both of you also so fearful of the future?"

Her words subtly inquired of the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods why they had not yet emerged, despite having peacefully absorbed the power of the mineral veins for such a long time, which should have allowed them to complete their maturation. As the Empress, she chose a more tactful approach.

"Under normal circumstances, we certainly could have emerged," said the male voice from within the egg. "Such an immense span of time would have been more than enough for us to absorb all the power and cultivation from the mining area."

"However," the male voice from within the egg continued, "the Ancestral Court itself has prevented our emergence."

The Empress was greatly perplexed, and even Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity, leaning forward slightly.

The female voice from within the egg explained, "We have been continuously absorbing the power of the Grand Ultimate mineral veins since the universe began, without cessation. When the Creator race rose to prominence, they began mining, and all five major mineral veins were exploited. One of our brethren had already emerged before the Creators, leaving behind an empty mining area, existing freely and unburdened. At the time of his emergence, there were no disturbances from the mortal world; his Great Dao was pure, allowing him to transcend immediately and achieve the Dao."

The male voice continued, "Next came Brother Grand Beginning. He had the potential to achieve the Dao after the first, but tragically, he was dug out when only half-grown and sacrificed by the Creators as a precious artifact. He was thus contaminated even before birth. For him to achieve the Dao now, it would be incredibly difficult; he must sever the sacrificial power the Creators imprinted upon him and also recover all the power from the Grand Beginning mineral veins."

"The third brother was Grand Primordium. He too was dug out and treated as a great treasure, worshipped and sacrificed by the world. However, he later fell into the hands of Grand Emperor Ju Yu. After the Grand Emperor's defeat, he then fell into the hands of Grand Beginning. By then, Grand Beginning was no longer in an embryonic state and had developed a lust for power; fearing that Grand Primordium's perfect emergence would threaten his own standing, he imprisoned him."

"Grand Empress, too, was ill-fated. She was unearthed from the mineral veins by Nü Xin of the Creator race, then brought to Ju Yu, and later fell into the hands of Northern Emperor Xuan Wu, who refined her into the Glazed Sky Banner. She tirelessly sought the path to transcendence, yet unfortunately, she met the wrong individual, who carried her to the previous cosmic epoch, forcing her premature emergence."

"For her to achieve the Dao, her karmic debt is enormous. She must not only avenge herself against Nü Xin, Ju Yu, and the act of being refined into a treasure, but also seek retribution for her premature emergence and resolve the lingering karma from the previous cosmic epoch."

Hearing this, Qin Mu's heart felt a chill. The "wrong individual" mentioned by the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods was none other than himself. He had emerged from the Great Dark Wood at night, inadvertently carrying Grand Empress's egg to the very moment of the previous cosmic epoch's destruction. He had been forced to lift the egg high, trying to return beneath the World Tree, and it was precisely then that Grand Empress emerged! Grand Empress's premature emergence was greatly connected to his actions.

"As for us," the female voice sighed, "we have also been contaminated by worldly affairs."

The female voice from within the egg sighed, "After observing the unfortunate experiences of our brethren, we first developed a sense of caution. Once caution enters the heart, it is no longer a pure Dao heart. From that moment, we moved one step further away from achieving the Dao."

"However, we did not anticipate this consequence at the time. We created decoy mines to deceive the Creators, while our true mineral veins were hidden away. By doing so, we distanced ourselves yet another step from achieving the Dao."

The male voice from within the egg sighed, "We mobilized the Grand Ultimate star domain to eliminate Creators and other beings who entered our mining area, in an effort to protect ourselves. This act of developing murderous intent pushed us even further from achieving the Dao. At the time, we didn't realize this, believing we had acted shrewdly."

The female voice explained, "We then hid ourselves, constantly living in fear and anxiety, always worried about being discovered by the Grand Emperor or Grand Beginning. It wasn't until Grand Beginning led the other ancient gods to seal the Ancestral Court that we finally felt secure, believing we could absorb the Grand Ultimate mineral veins and achieve the Dao."

The male voice sighed, "Only then did we realize that we had already been contaminated by the mortal world. Although we were no longer directly disturbed by its affairs, we were drifting further and further from achieving the Dao. Moreover, we uncovered another terrifying truth."

Both the male and female voices fell silent.

Qin Mu's heart stirred with a terrible conjecture. He opened his mouth to speak but held back. The Empress, calmer than he, continued to wait patiently.

After a moment, the male and female voices from within the egg overlapped, speaking in unison: "Although the Ancestral Court was sealed, we discovered that we are not the only ones here; there are others!"

Qin Mu's heart jolted. "Just as I suspected!" he thought.

"The Ancestral Court was sealed, but it could not contain the brother who emerged prematurely; he is elusive and unfathomable. However, the other individuals within the Ancestral Court are not him."

"These other beings emerged from beneath the ground, yet paradoxically, they are not entirely from this world. They are remnants from the previous cosmic epoch."

"They had made extensive preparations long ago, setting up intricate mechanisms and elaborate schemes within the Ancestral Court. Even our Grand Ultimate mining area has fallen victim to their calculations."

"When you sealed the Ancestral Court and all departed, we sensed a terrifying prehistoric ruin moving into our mining area. It locked down our ability to absorb the power and Great Dao of the mining area, which has caused our progress to be agonizingly slow over the years."

The Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods from within the egg spoke with a hint of fear in their voices: "We developed a heart filled with dread, pushing us yet another step further from achieving the Dao. That is why, when an unwelcome visitor arrived at the mining area, we lent out the Grand Ultimate raw stone. For the past million years, we have been unable to draw significant power from either the raw stone or the mining area, so lending it for a time was of no consequence."

Qin Mu immediately opened his vertical eye on his forehead, peering into the depths beneath the mining area. His divine eye was unparalleled, capable of piercing even the Grand Overarching Heaven fragments hidden beneath the Jade Pool. Instantly, he gained a complete view of the Grand Ultimate mining area's underground.

Beneath the vast expanse of the Grand Ultimate star domain, an ancient fragment of the Grand Overarching Heaven was slowly consuming the star domain and encroaching upon the Grand Ultimate mining area. There, a mysterious ruin lay directly below the Grand Ultimate mining area, featuring peculiar structures crafted from the finest divine gold. Despite being covered in mottled rust, the ripples of the Great Dao were still visible flowing across its surface.

It appeared to be a relic left by a highly advanced civilization, which had constructed a divine city from supreme divine gold, attempting to survive the great cosmic destruction, endure it, and reach a new universe. However, Qin Mu observed no living beings there, as if all life had been extinguished. Yet, given that it was a fragment of the Grand Overarching Heaven, he doubted it would be so straightforward.

The Empress, however, could not see this sight and thus did not comprehend the fear of the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods. She said, "Brother Dao, since you are locked down and cannot advance your cultivation or Dao here, you should not be able to emerge perfectly. If your growth has ceased, how can you claim to help me?"

She continued calmly, "Forgive my bluntness, but interests are paramount. If I do not gain sufficient benefit, why would I cooperate with you? If you cannot assist me, then an alliance to jointly confront future calamities would be nothing more than a joke."

Qin Mu's eyes gleamed as he asked, "So, are you two planning to emerge prematurely?"

The Empress's heart subtly quivered. Prompted by his words, she instantly grasped the crucial point. The Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods had likely sought her out because they intended to emerge prematurely! If the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods were to emerge and leave the mining area, they could indeed become a valuable asset to her.

The ancient gods within the egg praised him, saying, "Celestial Venerable Mu is indeed exceptionally intelligent, understanding the full implication from a mere hint. Unfortunately, your power is insufficient; otherwise, we would certainly have chosen you as an ally over the Empress. You are correct in your assumption; we do intend to emerge."

The female voice from within the egg stated, "We are trapped here, possessing the mining area but unable to draw power or comprehend the Great Dao. Our Dao heart has also been damaged and disturbed by the mortal world. Instead of continually guarding the Grand Ultimate mining area, it would be better to simply emerge prematurely and journey through the mortal realm."

The male voice from within the egg elaborated, "The trivialities of the mortal world have corrupted our Dao heart, instilling in us cunning, fear, joy, sorrow, greed, worry, murderous intent, schemes, lust for power, selfish interests, slyness, treachery, and other negative emotions that impede our path to the Dao. Since these originated from the mortal realm, we must journey through it."

The female voice affirmed, "Only by venturing through the mortal realm can we truly see through greed, worry, lust for power, and self-interest. Only then can we shed our cunning and fear, allowing our Dao heart to return to its original simplicity, as it was before the emergence of all sentient beings, thus achieving the Dao and liberation."

The words of the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods resonated differently with Qin Mu and the Empress, each gaining unique insights.

The Empress recalled her own birth, when the Dao of the Return to the Ruins bestowed consciousness upon her. At that time, her awareness was incredibly pure, perfectly attuned to the Dao of the Return to the Ruins. Her Dao heart was her very being. She was born from a lotus within the Great Abyss of the Return to the Ruins, serene and beautiful. But when did all of this begin to change?

Did it begin when the Creators discovered her, an ancient god born of the Dao, sensed her power of fertility, and began to worship her, imploring her protection for their race to be fruitful and prosperous? Did it start when the Creators tried to use her power to eliminate those who opposed them? Did it begin when Grand Beginning met her and they developed mutual affection? Or did it truly begin when she herself felt the adoration of the Creators and all beings, and started to indulge in the desire for power? However, unlike the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods, she lacked such profound awareness. Unconscious of her own descent, she continued to sink deeper into the mortal realm.

Qin Mu, however, thought of something entirely different. He considered that the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods' approach of refining their Dao heart within the mortal world was indeed a viable path. After all, he himself had struggled and grown bit by bit in the human world, his Dao heart continually developing along the way, just as his Dao Realm had slowly improved. He then thought of another individual: Lan Yu Tian.

The former Celestial Venerable Yu had been troubled by mundane mortal affairs, resulting in a Dao heart less pure than Lan Yu Tian's. However, the current Lan Yu Tian, though navigating the mortal realm, resembled more closely an egg-born ancient god from before the advent of sentient beings—devoid of utilitarian motives, lust for power, or other distracting thoughts, possessing only an exceptionally pure Dao heart. Compared to other egg-born ancient gods—save for Grand Beginning—he truly seemed more like one, silently drawing nourishment from the vast "mining area" of the mortal world to elevate himself. He was the one closest to achieving the Dao.

Meanwhile, within Qin Mu's Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, Grand Primordium, still within his egg, was also having his own revelations. Unconsciously, he ceased absorbing the power from the Grand Primordium raw stone and its mineral vein, instead quietly contemplating his future path.

"Although the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods came into being after me, their understanding of the Dao has already surpassed my own," he mused. He couldn't help but sigh, feeling greatly enlightened: "The Empress occupies my Grand Primordium mining area. Even if I could reclaim it with Celestial Venerable Mu's help and fully absorb its power, I still wouldn't achieve perfection, attain the Dao, or transcend. Like the Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods, I too must journey through the mortal world to refine my Dao heart, only then can I hope to reach the level of Brother Grand Beginning."

Each of them gained something, achieving their own insights, though the specific revelations differed.

The Grand Ultimate Ancient Gods within the egg then stated, "We invited you here, Empress, because our power alone is insufficient to break open this divine egg; we request your assistance."

The Empress rose, her expression serious. "Assistance is due," she stated.

Qin Mu also rose, his expression stern. "Two Dao brethren in the egg," he said, "how will you treat me once you emerge? I wish to understand your stance."

The Empress looked at him, a glint of murderous intent flashing in her beautiful eyes. "Celestial Venerable Mu," she warned, "you and we, the Ten Celestial Venerables, are now bound together. You must recognize your own standing and know your place, lest you invite disaster. The Return to the Ruins is one of the few places in this world capable of obliterating you, and its Great Dao is one of the rare few capable of breaking the Immutability divine art!"

Qin Mu burst into laughter, his voice filled with lethal intent. "If, in the future, you two Dao brethren choose to be my enemies, then today I shall fight to the death! Consider that carefully, both of you!"

He turned back to the Empress. "Empress," he challenged, "if you believe the Return to the Ruins divine art can obliterate me, by all means, try it!"