Chapter 1513: The Truth of the Great Destruction

The Celestial Emperor's primordial spirit remains trapped by Celestial Venerable Ling's Indestructible Divine Art, unable to escape. Consequently, Empress Qiang's body lacks a primordial spirit. Yuan Sheng's whip, however, targets primordial spirits and guarantees a hit. Once struck, anyone whose Dao Heart proves insufficient will fall under the spellcaster's control. However, this whip is useless against an anomaly like Empress Qiang, who has no primordial spirit and relies solely on divine consciousness.

Qin Mu looked at Empress Qiang, who stood on a section of the Dao Tree's trunk. A woman from within the Dao fruit was helping her cross the great Chaos River, approaching with formidable momentum. Just now, the woman in the Dao fruit failed to block Yuan Sheng's whip, indicating her cultivation was inferior to his. However, it was clear she was an enlightened being from prehistoric times.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then steered the small boat—formed from his staff—away from Empress Qiang, choosing not to engage in a drawn-out struggle. Given his current strength, killing Empress Qiang would not be easy. Furthermore, killing her would not be equivalent to eliminating the Celestial Emperor himself. To truly destroy the Celestial Emperor, he would have to ascend to the Grand Overarching Heaven and eradicate his Dao Tree and Dao Fruit.

Previously, Empress Qiang had a weakness in her Dao Tree, which restricted her attacks as she had to avoid harming it. Additionally, Qin Mu had skillfully taken advantage of her preconception that the Calamity Sword was a lucky find from Jade Capital City that she could seize. This allowed her to fall into Qin Mu's trap and lose the initial advantage. However, such a tactic could only work once; it would certainly fail a second time.

If he were to clash head-on, Qin Mu would have to face the two God-Slaying Profound Blades. These divine blades were exceptionally fierce; even the Heavenly Duke's physical body could not withstand them, making them arguably the most formidable weapons in existence. To confront these blades, Qin Mu would need to prepare dozens of Indestructible Divine Arts in advance, similar to how he dealt with the enlightened being in the Great Black Mountain, activating them the moment he was wounded to avoid instant death. Yet, on the chaotic long river, such an unpredictable place, it was clearly unsuitable for deploying Indestructible Divine Arts. Even a slight misstep could lead to utter annihilation!

His objective for this journey was not to fight Empress Qiang to the death, but rather to search for the whereabouts of the Grand Beginning and to understand the Jade Capital Realm.

"The Celestial Emperor's path is too narrow. He has allied himself with prehistoric entities, which is a path to self-destruction in the eyes of all."

Qin Mu retrieved the God-Slaying Platform and attempted to activate it, wondering if he could reclaim Empress Qiang's two God-Slaying Profound Blades. Although Empress Qiang was a Celestial Venerable, her own cultivation was relatively weaker among the Ten Celestial Venerables. She had no primordial spirit, and even after merging with the Celestial Emperor's head, her cultivation could only rank among the lower tier of the Ten Celestial Venerables. However, those two divine blades were truly powerful. Empress Qiang carried the Ancestral Court God-Slaying Platform precisely to guard against any of the Ten Celestial Venerables attempting to seize these divine blades with immense power. Just now, when Qin Mu trapped the two divine blades with his Void Form Taiji, she used the God-Slaying Platform to reclaim them and counterattack Qin Mu. This showed that the God-Slaying Platform indeed had control over the two God-Slaying Profound Blades.

The moment Qin Mu produced the Ancestral Court God-Slaying Platform, Empress Qiang sensed it and was enraged, erupting with boundless divine consciousness that surged toward Qin Mu without warning! At the same time, Qin Mu activated the Ancestral Court God-Slaying Platform, mobilizing the power of the Great Dao stored within it. Empress Qiang's two divine blades immediately lost control, becoming impossible to wield!

Many large hands suddenly reached out, grabbing onto the Dao Tree trunk beneath Empress Qiang's feet and pulling it into the Chaos River. As Empress Qiang's feet touched the water, they were instantly submerged in the cataclysm of the previous universe, vanishing into dust!

Simultaneously, Qin Mu was struck by Empress Qiang's divine consciousness, his mind becoming muddled. His control over the Grand Beginning staff faltered, and the small boat formed from the staff began to carry him toward the Chaos River! Both were startled. Qin Mu hastily retrieved the God-Slaying Platform and stabilized the small boat. The boat had already sunk below the surface, and the cataclysm surged in, corroding his feet!

Qin Mu launched himself out of the Chaos River before his physical body could completely dissolve, only to find his lower legs completely destroyed! He looked back and saw that Empress Qiang's lower legs had also been completely annihilated. They exchanged a distant glance, both shaken. Qin Mu then turned, steering his small boat swiftly away, disappearing into the vast chaotic mists. Empress Qiang no longer pursued him. Both possessed the power to destroy the other, so they were forced to compromise, avoiding each other to prevent mutual demise.

This great Chaos River was truly magnificent. The small boat moved across its surface without a discernible direction, surrounded by chaotic qi, with no end in sight. Qin Mu stopped the small boat and activated his Creation Divine Art. His lower legs gradually regrew, and he felt a profound sense of lingering fear. "This cataclysm is too formidable; without enlightenment, even the strength of a Celestial Venerable cannot withstand it!"

After his legs recovered, he continued forward. Although there was no discernible direction here, his vertical eye between his brows could penetrate the chaos. As long as he approached the shore, his gaze could pierce the chaos and see the opposite bank. However, Qin Mu searched this long river for a long time but still could not find the opposite bank. Time passed slowly, and he began to grow anxious. Not only had he not found the opposite bank, but he couldn't even find his way back!

"This is bad..."

He grew increasingly worried. If he couldn't find the opposite bank or his way back, he might be trapped here forever! In the chaos, there was no north or south, no up or down. If one got lost, they could only rely on luck, as no geographical map would be useful here because there was nothing to serve as a coordinate!

"If I could be trapped here with the Ten Celestial Venerables, that would be a great blessing for the mortal realm." His mood settled again. The Ten Celestial Venerables had committed many evils. If he were trapped with them, and the world was rid of them, Eternal Peace would have ample time to develop, and overthrowing the Celestial Court would be only a matter of time. He did not give up hope and continued to search, but days passed, and he still did not find the opposite bank of the chaotic long river. Not only had he not found the opposite bank, but he hadn't even encountered any other Celestial Venerables. This great river was too vast; encountering other Celestial Venerables would be very difficult.

Suddenly, Qin Mu's gaze fell below the river's surface, revealing a look of surprise. He saw a peculiar scene in the collapsing universe beneath him! There, beneath the towering and magnificent World Tree, the phantom of a giant holding a chaos axe was walking toward the World Tree! Previously, the scene he had witnessed was the giant Grand Beginning wielding the axe and chopping at the World Tree. But now, it was as if time was rewinding, and Grand Beginning was at the precipice of chopping the World Tree! This was truly strange.

His heart stirred, and he steered the small boat in a random direction. A moment later, Qin Mu looked at the World Tree again and saw that Grand Beginning, axe in hand, had arrived at the tree's base. He stopped the small boat and reversed direction. As the small boat moved, he saw Grand Beginning actually retreating, moving further and further away from the World Tree.

Qin Mu was stunned, then overjoyed. This chaotic river had no discernible direction, but it had a reference point! This reference point was the process of the previous universe's destruction! He kept steering the small boat forward, watching as Grand Beginning's phantom moved further and further away from the World Tree, finally disappearing. Below, the cataclysm in that universe seemed to flow backward. Annihilated Great Daos were recovering, shattered heavens and worlds were being regurgitated one by one from the chaos, restoring themselves! Beings who had died in the cataclysm began to reassemble their physical bodies and primordial spirits from the chaotic qi, returning to the moment before the destruction. Stars recovered from death, their light shining once more!

Qin Mu continued forward, and star rivers appeared, then the Ancestral Court! The cataclysm that had occurred in the previous universe seemed to play out in reverse before his eyes. He then saw the initial stages of the previous universe's destruction, where worlds had reached a high level of civilization. He saw many different types of civilizations. For example, there were civilizations based on sacrificial rituals, faith-based civilizations, and also cultivator civilizations and mechanical civilizations—numerous and diverse.

These worlds were ruled by enlightened beings, each with its unique civilization structure and world order. Before the great cataclysm descended upon them, there was an atmosphere of peace. The colossal bodies of these enlightened beings shrouded various worlds, giving a sense of immense grandeur and majesty. The enlightened beings were the rulers of these worlds, shaping the worlds they governed according to their will. Qin Mu only glimpsed them in passing and could not say that the worlds ruled by these enlightened beings were flawed, but his gaze revealed that the previous universe was many times smaller than he had expected. This universe was too small; its Ancestral Court was also many times smaller than the current Ancestral Court, and the myriad heavens were not as awe-inspiring as the current myriad heavens. The entire universe was only one-thousandth the size of the present universe, or even smaller!

Qin Mu continued to observe, searching for the source of the cataclysm. Finally, his gaze fell upon the Ultimate Void. Dao Trees stood like a forest there, too numerous to count. The energy of the Great Dao was highly condensed, and the Dao Trees shone brilliantly, majestic and grand. The light emanating from the Dao fruits was even more dazzling than the stars and galaxies in the sky! However, within that Grand Overarching Heaven, the great cataclysm had already erupted, sweeping away everything in the Ultimate Void!

Just as ducks sense the warming river in spring, many enlightened beings had already perceived the drastic change. They were frantically carving up the Grand Overarching Heaven, fragmenting it and accelerating the great cataclysm! That great cataclysm originated from the Ultimate Void, destroying layer after layer of void on its way, sweeping through the real universe! At this time, the enlightened beings who controlled various worlds flew towards the World Tree, while others flew towards the chaotic long river—they were likely heading towards the Mi Luo Palace's Jade Capital City.

Qin Mu watched this scene, unconsciously slowing the small boat, gradually rewinding time, until it finally settled at the eve of the previous universe's destruction. At this moment, the small boat beneath him paused slightly, finally touching the opposite bank of the chaotic long river. However, he did not go ashore. His gaze was fixed on the chaos in the river, where he saw the last enlightened being of the previous universe. To cultivate his Great Dao and entrust it to the void, this being chose to cultivate the Dao of Slaughter. That enlightened being destroyed world after world, slaughtering countless living beings. As those worlds perished and stars returned to chaos, he absorbed their power, ultimately achieving the Dao of Slaughter. His Great Dao condensed in the Ultimate Void, transforming into a Dao Tree, bearing a Dao fruit, and finally becoming the last straw that broke the Ultimate Void. The moment his Dao fruit formed, the cataclysm that swept through the entire universe finally erupted in the Ultimate Void!

In fact, even before this, the Ultimate Void had already become unstable, with frequent violent tremors shaking the Dao Trees of the enlightened beings! Not only were the Dao Trees shaking, but even the major worlds of the entire universe were constantly vibrating and trembling!

"Highly condensed energy causes collapse, and the source of this collapse is the Ultimate Void!"

Qin Mu steadied himself, withdrew his gaze, and stepped ashore, thinking, "The Ten Celestial Venerables don't have my powerful vision, so they probably can't find the opposite bank, right? Perhaps Empress Qiang, guided by the woman in the Dao fruit, might be able to find it, but the other Celestial Venerables surely can't..."

The moment his feet touched the ground, his expression froze. Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the other ten Celestial Venerables were standing right in front of him, with Empress Qiang trapped in the center by the other nine! Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to jump back onto his small boat.