Chapter 1509: Jade Capital's Seventy-two Palaces

The moment Qin Mu entered the city, he immediately felt his boundless lifespan, once thought to be as eternal as heaven and earth, now had a limit.

Cultivators who reached the Life and Death Divine Treasure realm could already perceive when their lifespan would end. However, after achieving the Divine Realm, deities typically felt their lifespan was infinitely long, boundless as heaven and earth. Yet, this Jade Capital City seemed to be affected by the Great Calamity of Destruction, which imposed an end on the Great Dao's lifespan, thereby also limiting the lifespans of cultivators.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then activated his Three-Pillars Tyrant Body Art. As vital qi flowed through the World Tree within him, the sensation of a finite lifespan instantly vanished. The World Tree is like an immutable substance that traverses universes; it remains unchanged even as universes are destroyed and born. Though Qin Mu's World Tree is merely a young sapling and not yet powerful, it possesses this inherent quality. Furthermore, the aura of the Calamity of Destruction within Jade Capital City wasn't overwhelmingly strong—it wasn't like genuinely stepping into the full Calamity. Thus, the World Tree in his Divine Treasure could withstand it. Of course, if it were a true Great Calamity of Destruction, the World Tree sapling would not be able to endure it. It is still too small.

Qin Mu proceeded into the city, carefully avoiding perilous areas. The Cold Silence Wind and Hot Silence Wind were particularly bizarre here. The Hot Silence Wind's temperature was sufficient to melt the Dao chains and domains of the Great Dao, while the Cold Silence Wind froze everything, severing Dao chains and rendering all divine arts useless, making them extremely dangerous.

"This Cold Silence Wind is like the ultimate void..."

Qin Mu stood under a withered Dao tree, observing the Cold Silence Wind as it blew around the tree, a look of surprise on his face. The Cold Silence Wind bore some resemblance to his Grand Overarching Heaven Gathering Circle divine art, but it was far more potent. He pursued the tail of the Cold Silence Wind, cautiously following it, observing it meticulously and pondering the profound mysteries it held. After an unknown duration, the Cold Silence Wind pierced into a mass of primordial chaos.

Qin Mu suddenly looked up and scanned his surroundings, only then realizing he had strayed from Wei Suifeng's map and had no idea where he was within Jade Capital City. This area was even more desolate. Withered Dao trees were everywhere, forming a forest. Withered Dao fruits hung on the trees, and some had even fallen to the ground. The ground was carpeted with withered Dao tree leaves and branches; stepping on them, branches snapped and leaves rustled.

He stepped on something hard, brushed aside the dead leaves, and uncovered a skeleton buried beneath them. This was likely the skeleton of an enlightened being, who had died here for reasons unknown.

"In the Great Calamity of Universal Destruction, even enlightened beings are but ants."

Qin Mu looked around, then suddenly raised his hand, causing withered leaves and branches to fly into the air and lift from the ground. The sight of countless skeletons of enlightened beings scattered throughout this withered Dao tree forest was truly shocking!

Qin Mu raised an eyebrow, examining each one. After a moment, he exhaled slowly. These enlightened beings had not died naturally; they had been killed! Every skeleton bore wounds inflicted by various sharp weapons!

"Who killed you all?"

He paused before one skeleton, tapped it, attempting to rouse it. Yet, the skeleton remained motionless, devoid of any spirit. He stood up, frowning as he surveyed the area. This withered forest was like a vast ossuary, burying two or three hundred enlightened beings!

"Did the enlightened beings in Jade Capital City also harbor grudges? Could they have slaughtered each other here?"

As he was about to let the withered leaves and branches fall, his eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly walked deeper into the forest, where he discovered a deep well in the withered Dao tree forest, previously obscured by branches and leaves, now revealed.

Qin Mu approached the well and peered inside, seeing only vast, unfathomable primordial chaos. "What is this well for?" he wondered. As he did, he noticed primordial chaos churning within the well, and something was climbing out.

He opened his vertical eye between his brows and looked closely, seeing a colossal creature using all its limbs to climb the well wall. After observing for a moment, he realized it was a strange being, not the immense creature he had initially imagined. The peculiar being, carrying a Dao tree on its back, was strenuously climbing the well wall, attempting to emerge. However, it was surrounded by fluctuations from the Calamity of Destruction, which repeatedly knocked it back down. Its physical body had been worn down to mere bones, yet it relentlessly struggled to climb out. Qin Mu watched for a long time, but the enlightened being never managed to climb out of the well.

Qin Mu drew his sword, unleashed over a hundred rapid stabs around the well's opening, then departed with a swift, light step.

A few days later, a severely damaged Dao tree emerged from the chaotic well, its crown visible. The enlightened being in the well had been so eroded by the Great Calamity of Destruction that he had almost lost all his magical power, and his cultivated Great Dao was mostly worn away. Yet, the well's opening was right before him! This chaotic well was a passage to the Mi Luo Palace, a path excavated by countless experts from his universe. They had exhausted their wisdom, collecting primordial chaos to forge this connection! He knew that if he could just climb out, if he could reach Jade Capital City, he could utilize the Mi Luo Palace Lord's power to evade the Great Calamity of Destruction, securing a place for himself in the new universe! Even if his own Dao cultivation was completely annihilated, even if his physical body was utterly destroyed, as long as he preserved his Dao fruit and Dao tree, he could make a comeback!

Clinging to the well wall, he exerted himself to manifest his Dao tree, allowing it to ascend first from the well. Just then, sword light suddenly flashed at the well opening. The enlightened being looked up, only to see streaks of sword light, imbued with terrifying power, piercing his Dao tree and Dao fruit! The enlightened being was already reduced to mere bones. In the past, he could have easily blocked these sword lights, but now, he could only watch helplessly as the sword lights struck his Dao fruit!

"Who dares to ambush me, Heavenly Lord Fude?" he managed to roar before witnessing his Dao fruit severed by the sword lights, detaching from the Dao tree, plummeting into the primordial chaos within the well, and then being swallowed by the Great Calamity of Destruction. With his Dao fruit annihilated, the enlightened being lost all his strength, falling from the well wall and plunging into the Calamity of Destruction along with his Dao tree.

"That chaotic well is quite strange. The bottom must connect to the previous universe. It's odd, shouldn't that enlightened being have entered Jade Capital City directly to escape the Great Calamity of Destruction? Why would he excavate a well to clandestinely enter Jade Capital City?"

Qin Mu arrived before a grand hall, pondering, "The Dao tree forest outside the well is also full of deceased enlightened beings. Did they also sneak in through that well? Then who killed them? Could it have been enlightened beings already present in Jade Capital City?"

He gazed at the grand hall, no longer letting his thoughts wander. This grand hall felt no less significant than the Perfume-Veiled Hall; it was clearly a crucial divine hall within Jade Capital City. A Dao tree in front of it had been cut down, and there were still traces of battle. Judging by the marks, a fierce battle had occurred here about half a year ago, leading to the felling of the Dao tree. He observed closely, recognizing traces of Hao Tianzun's divine arts among the marks. Additionally, there were signs of divine arts from other Heavenly Venerables like Fire Heavenly Venerable and Ancestral God King.

"They came here, encountered a strange incident, fought fiercely with an opponent, and cut down their Dao tree."

Qin Mu bypassed the Dao tree and entered the hall. The interior of this grand hall was intricately inscribed with various complex runes and Dao patterns. He examined each one, suddenly noticing several meditation mats and the residual auras of Hao Tianzun, Fire Heavenly Venerable, and the others.

"After arriving here, they stayed to comprehend the Great Dao contained within this grand hall."

Qin Mu's heart grew solemn. Heavenly Venerables like Hao, Fire, Ancestor, and Palace were all exceptionally intelligent. The reason they lingered so long in Jade Capital City wasn't because they were trapped, but because they had discovered the city's profound secrets! They were using their wisdom to comprehend Jade Capital City's Great Dao to perfect their *own* Jade Capital Cities!

Previously, Qin Mu had also believed that the Jade Capital realm, like the Four Heavenly Gates, Jade Pond and Jade Terrace, and God-Slaying Platform realms, was a natural Dao land formed by the Ancestral Court. He thought it contained profound Dao knowledge, allowing one to comprehend more mysteries from Jade Capital City and rapidly advance their cultivation and strength. But now that he knew about the Jade Capital trap, he no longer thought that way. This entire Jade Capital City was an artificial sacred land, jointly created by the Mi Luo Palace Lord and other prehistoric enlightened beings! Their purpose was to exploit the cultivation and comprehension of their Jade Capital Cities by gods of later generations, thereby helping them escape the Calamity of Destruction sooner!

The stronger the cultivators of Jade Capital City became, the more stable their Ancestral Court Jade Capital City would grow, increasing the likelihood of it completely escaping the Calamity of Destruction and allowing this magnificent divine city to fully manifest in the Ancestral Court from the universal devastation! Currently, Jade Capital City has not fully manifested in the Ancestral Court. The enlightened beings within the city are either dead or wounded; Qin Mu had not seen a single living enlightened being on his journey, only Dao trees and withered Dao fruits. However, if someone among the Ten Heavenly Venerables comprehended and cultivated Jade Capital City, or even achieved the Dao Realm, then the situation would be entirely different.

The Jade Capital City within a god's Heavenly Palace is essentially borrowing power from the true Ancestral Court Jade Capital City! The Heavenly Palace cultivation system prioritizes power over the Dao Realm; its fundamental reason, Qin Mu feared, lay precisely in this Ancestral Court Jade Capital City. Previously, realms like Venerable God, South Heaven Gate, Jade Pond, and God-Slaying Platform all borrowed power from the Heavenly Court, and the drawbacks were not yet significant. But the Jade Capital realm is *borrowing power from the Ancestral Court Jade Capital City*! And since power is borrowed, it must be repaid in the future! When an enlightened being's Jade Capital City is returned to the Ancestral Court Jade Capital City, their personal decline in strength is a minor issue. The Jade Capital City itself can then become more stable, gaining greater power to resist the Calamity of Destruction! Indeed, it's even possible that a prehistoric enlightened being could escape the Calamity of Destruction and cross from the prehistoric universe into the current one!

The actions of the Ten Heavenly Venerables are akin to plotting with a tiger for its hide, serving as accomplices to evil, and ultimately preparing a wedding dress for someone else!

Qin Mu pressed his hand to his sword hilt, tempted to draw it and shatter the Dao patterns on the grand hall, but he forcibly restrained himself. Hao Tianzun and the others had already been here, comprehending the profound Dao mysteries contained within this grand hall. Even if Qin Mu could now hack away these Dao patterns, it would have little effect. Moreover, the Dao patterns within this divine hall were indeed exquisitely profound, embodying very deep principles, not just simple power borrowing.

Qin Mu composed himself, sat down, and quietly began to comprehend the Dao patterns on the divine hall, seeking to grasp their mysteries. He had to comprehend their mysteries. As for whether to cultivate them or not, he would only decide after exploring Jade Capital City further.

A moment later, Qin Mu peacefully entered a dream state. Layers of dreams unfolded, and countless tiny Qin Mus flew out, roaming the four walls of the divine hall, muttering as they calculated the mysteries of these runes. Over ten days later, Qin Mu withdrew from his dream, rose, and exited the grand hall. He continued along the path taken by Hao Tianzun and the others, and before long, he encountered another grand hall.

"Surely there aren't seventy-two such grand halls here?" Qin Mu's heart tightened. "If there are seventy-two grand halls, wouldn't that correspond to the Heavenly Court's seventy-two halls? Then what Hao Tianzun and the others want to complete isn't just the Jade Capital realm... but the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces and Seventy-Two Grand Halls. They aim to complete the Great Heavenly Court! This method was created by the Woodcutter Sage, so who instructed Hao Tianzun on how to cultivate this way?"

His expression grew solemn. If Hao Tianzun had figured this out himself, then Hao Tianzun's intelligence and comprehension would need to be re-evaluated! If it wasn't Hao Tianzun who comprehended it himself, then who guided him?

"The Woodcutter and Junior Brother Jiang Baigui couldn't have guided him, and Grand Prime doesn't possess such wisdom. The person behind Hao Tianzun is certainly not Grand Prime; it must be someone else!"

"This person's wisdom is no less than that of Master Woodcutter. Yet, looking at the world today, there is no such wise person apart from Master Woodcutter. Unless... unless they are from the previous universe! An enlightened being who has crossed over!"

His expression remained grim. Hao Tianzun's figure appeared in his mind, with a vast, ominous shadow looming behind it.

"Grand Prime is just a lamb fallen into a wolf's maw, doomed to die!"