Chapter 1529: A Tear Drop

Silence filled the Mi Luo Palace.

Qin Mu stood there silently for a long time. The Master of Mi Luo Palace also remained quiet, seemingly waiting for him to recover from his shock.

“Hahahaha!”

Suddenly, Qin Mu burst into laughter, his mirth echoing through the Mi Luo Palace. After a long while, his laughter gradually subsided.

“Brother Dao, do you really think I’ll believe you?” His expression turned serious. “You say Tai Yi isn’t the true Tai Yi. What evidence do you have? If he isn’t the true Tai Yi, why would he risk coming to find you? Why would he leave a map for me to follow and rescue him? Wasn’t he afraid I’d come here, meet you, and you’d expose his identity? If he were an enlightened one who had landed, why would he obstruct other enlightened ones from landing? Why would he guard the severed World Tree, diligently for billions of years?”

The Master of Mi Luo Palace’s voice drifted over, saying softly, “Do I need to deceive you, Celestial Venerable Mu? If I harbored ill will, why would I bother lying? Tai Yi has already been struck down into the Fourth Universe. Can you possibly be stronger than him?”

Qin Mu pressed his lips together tightly, remaining silent. Compared to Tai Yi, he was indeed very weak, and the Master of Mi Luo Palace truly had no reason to deceive him. If malicious, he could simply be eliminated directly!

“If you want proof, then go to the outermost mining area of the World Tree. Enlightened ones who use the World Tree to sneak through leave behind a mining pit. Go to the very edge of the World Tree; his landing pit is there.”

The Master of Mi Luo Palace continued unhurriedly, “As for his risky visit to me, it’s because the appearance of Mi Luo Palace made him realize his identity was at risk of exposure. Therefore, he had to come here regardless. His sole purpose was to deter you from coming.”

Qin Mu was momentarily stunned. “But I came anyway,” he said.

“Even an enlightened one of his caliber fell here. Any other person would certainly not dare to come and investigate. He left you a map, instructing you to follow it and rescue him. If it were anyone else, they would surely search everywhere for the locations marked on the map. But you are different.” The Master of Mi Luo Palace continued, “You are someone he couldn’t see through. He thought you wouldn’t dare to come, yet you still arrived, navigating through various dangers to reach me and expose his identity. He never imagined your courage would be so great.”

Qin Mu pondered this. Logically, the Master of Mi Luo Palace’s explanation did indeed seem plausible.

He walked forward, attempting to pass through the incredibly dense Primordial Chaos energy and approach the Master of Mi Luo Palace. He wanted to see the figure shrouded in purple light. However, no matter how long or how far he walked, he couldn't get closer to the figure in the purple light. In terms of divine arts, no one in the entire universe, including the Ten Celestial Venerables, surpassed his own mastery. Yet, he couldn't discern what divine art the Master of Mi Luo Palace was using.

“As for his obstruction of other enlightened ones from landing, that’s even simpler. He has witnessed the great destruction of universes and doesn’t want this universe to repeat the same fate. The more enlightened ones there are, the faster a universe perishes. He not only wants to prevent enlightened ones from landing but also to prevent others from achieving enlightenment.”

The Master of Mi Luo Palace said, “Your universe has existed for 6.1 billion years to date. Throughout this long period, there have been no enlightened ones other than him. If he truly wanted to resist the invasion of prehistoric enlightened ones, why would he arduously guard the World Tree alone? He only needed to cultivate a few enlightened ones to help him resist the invasion of prehistoric enlightened ones. Did he do that?”

Qin Mu continued to walk forward, falling silent for a moment before shaking his head. “No,” he said.

He couldn't help but defend Tai Yi again, saying, “Tai Yi is detached and transcends the mundane world; he is an enlightened being. He doesn’t interfere with worldly affairs! He merely observes the development of events and the rise and fall of dynasties from an outsider’s perspective…”

“Is that so?” the Master of Mi Luo Palace inquired. “Did he truly not interfere with anything? Then how did the Creator race become extinct? How did you become the master of the World Tree? And how is it that your third eye can perceive chaos?”

Qin Mu fell silent once more. From these perspectives, Tai Yi did indeed interfere with worldly affairs, and was not as detached as claimed.

Tai Yi made the ancient gods of the Primordial Era mistakenly believe that the Great Dao wanted to eliminate the Creator race. As a result, Emperor Tai Chu launched a war against the Creator race, leading to their demise. Of a once-glorious race, only a small number managed to escape into the void and barely survive. Qin Mu successfully revived the World Tree with a bucket of Dao dew from Tai Yi, who also lent him the Chaos Axe to cut down the tree. And his vertical eye between his brows was formed with Tai Yi’s eggshell and a drop of Dao dew.

The Master of Mi Luo Palace said, “He did not allow the Five Tais of your universe to emerge successfully. If Tai Chu, Tai Shi, Tai Su, and Tai Ji had emerged smoothly, none of the subsequent events would have occurred. You would have had at least five enlightened ones protecting your universe, preventing the prehistoric enlightened ones from ever descending. Did he do that? No, he did not.”

“Tai Chu was crippled, Tai Shi couldn’t be born, Tai Su was refined into a treasure, and Tai Ji went into hiding. None of the four innate Tais, who originally had the most hope of achieving enlightenment, succeeded. Tai Yi arduously guarded the World Tree, but in truth, he was only protecting his own life.”

He said leisurely, “Those who appear most selfless are often the most selfish.”

Suddenly, Qin Mu burst into laughter. The Master of Mi Luo Palace said no more, quietly waiting for his laughter to cease.

“I cannot refute you, but I will not doubt Tai Yi because of this! The one I should doubt most is you!” Qin Mu continued to walk relentlessly towards him, his voice echoing loudly through the Mi Luo Palace. “Brother Dao,” he declared, “you also appear selfless. By your own logic, you are also the most selfish person!”

The Master of Mi Luo Palace was silent for a moment, then said, “You could say that. The universe is fair; when the great limit arrives, all life must perish, enlightened ones included. Yet, I desire to survive, to save people, and that is indeed selfishness.”

Qin Mu continued walking towards him, shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the Ancestral Court sacrificial altar! The entire Ancestral Court is a massive blood sacrifice altar. Do you dare say it has nothing to do with you? You’ve been trapped here, waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to land! That’s why you set up the blood sacrifice altar!”

The Master of Mi Luo Palace fell silent again. After a moment, his voice emerged from the incredibly dense purple light: “The Ancestral Court altar has nothing to do with me, but it is indeed connected to the Mi Luo Palace. Over these past sixteen years, I have witnessed the demise of sixteen universes, the joys and sorrows of countless beings, the ambitions and obsessions of countless geniuses, all eventually turning to ashes in the great destruction. I no longer wish to land, nor do I wish to guide others. However, not everyone in Mi Luo Palace shares my thoughts.”

Qin Mu found it difficult to grasp the insights in his words, and even harder to discern the truth from falsehood. Logically, the Master of Mi Luo Palace had no reason to deceive him, yet deep down, Qin Mu truly refused to believe his words. He refused to believe that Tai Yi had been deceiving and using him all along.

“I still remember Tai Yi telling me that when I abandoned my path, he transformed into a tear at the corner of my eye,” Qin Mu murmured. This deeply moved him, shaking his very soul.

“However, tears are the cheapest thing,” the Master of Mi Luo Palace said. “If that alone can move you, then I can give you more tears. How many tears do you want?”

Qin Mu stubbornly walked forward, saying in a low voice, “Then let me see your tears!” As he took a step, the incredibly dense purple energy in front of him suddenly dispersed, and he finally stood before the Master of Mi Luo Palace.

Before him stood a majestic Dao Tree, verdant and lush like the World Tree itself, seemingly towering amidst the destructive tribulations of sixteen universes, untouched by their cataclysmic demise. On that Dao Tree hung sixteen Dao Fruits, each displaying a different Great Dao, with Dao sounds swirling and Dao light emanating. Standing before this Dao Tree, Qin Mu felt as tiny and insignificant as an ant. He strained to look beneath the Dao Tree and saw a colossal figure seated there.

The figure sat with hands clasped in a unique mudra, appearing as if it had never moved. It was a skeleton. Just a skeleton, nothing but bones. The Master of Mi Luo Palace had no flesh or blood, no physical body, no primordial spirit, no aura of the Great Dao—only a desiccated skeleton sat in the palace.

“Celestial Venerable Mu, here are the tears you sought.” On the majestic Dao Tree, the Dao Fruits swayed, and a drop of Dao dew fell from a leaf, landing on the center of Qin Mu’s forehead as he looked up.

“Is this one tear enough?” The Master of Mi Luo Palace’s voice came from within the Dao Fruits of the Dao Tree. “Or do you need more?”

Qin Mu’s mouth was slightly agape, unable to describe the profound shock this sight brought to his soul. He had always believed that the Master of Mi Luo Palace orchestrated everything: the invasion of the prehistoric enlightened ones, the Ancestral Court altar, and the Jade Capital trap! But he had never imagined that the Master of Mi Luo Palace was long dead. He had transformed into the Dao, and vanished. Only this desiccated skeleton and this Dao Tree remained. Only his Dao remained. Perhaps, when he realized he could never save humanity, he died.

Qin Mu closed his eyes, and the vertical eye between his brows slowly shut as well. All this time, it hadn’t been the Master of Mi Luo Palace speaking to him, but the Dao into which the Master of Mi Luo Palace had transformed. Enlightened ones could lie, but the Dao would not.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, turned around, and walked towards the hall entrance. “I don’t believe it,” he murmured. “I absolutely refuse to believe it!” His legs grew heavier, yet he continued to walk powerfully outward. “I absolutely refuse to believe Tai Yi is a prehistoric enlightened one. This is just your side of the story… And even if he is a prehistoric enlightened one, what does it matter? He has, after all, protected this universe; he is, after all, a good person… He is like a World Tree, supporting the azure sky of this universe…”

He reached the portal of the Mi Luo Palace, when suddenly his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant. “He is the sky of this universe…” he murmured. “I must go see him myself, and ask him!” He struggled to his feet, leaning on the palace door, trying to push the portal open.

Creak—

The Mi Luo Palace portal slowly opened, revealing a gap.

“You are mistaken.” The Master of Mi Luo Palace’s voice came from behind him. “The one who upheld your universe has never been Tai Yi. Celestial Venerable Mu, the ones who upheld your universe were previously the Great Emperor, then Tai Chu, and later the Ten Celestial Venerables, Celestial Venerable Yun, Celestial Venerable Yue, Celestial Venerable Ling, as well as Emperor Chi, Emperor Ming, Emperor Shang, Emperor Kai, Emperor Yanfeng, Emperor Yanxiu—it was you yourselves, Celestial Venerable Mu!”

“No one has ever helped you uphold your sky!”

Qin Mu stumbled out of the Mi Luo Palace, and the portal behind him boomed shut.

—End of the month. Strong appeal for support!