Chapter 1536: Integration

The two Taiji Ancient Gods were already white-haired, their bodies and appearances no longer what they once were. Their trip to Jade Capital City had aged them further, affected by the Calamity of Destruction.

"They must have left the Chaotic Long River while helping the Empress and Yuan Mu merge, only arriving here just now."

Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he thought, "They must be rushing to leave Jade Capital City because they fear the emerging Goddess of Gui Xu might harm them. After all, they are terrifyingly old now, and the one born from the cocoon could be an enlightened being!"

The Taiji Ancient Gods would only be confident enough to face potential dangers once they left Jade Capital City and regained their youth and strength.

They were extremely weak now; if Yuan Mu emerged from the cocoon, they would not escape death!

The two ancient gods were indeed terribly old, so frail that they couldn't even detect Qin Mu following behind them. After reaching the shore, they laboriously dragged the Dao tree towards the city gates.

On the Dao tree, a cocoon hung from a branch, over ten feet tall. Dao light flowed within the cocoon, fluctuating, and a woman's figure could be vaguely seen moving inside like an eel, continuously weaving the large cocoon.

The cocoon was composed of Dao light, and the woman inside, like a transforming silkworm, emitted Dao light to weave the large cocoon.

As the two ancient gods dragged the Dao tree, the large cocoon swayed from its branches.

Behind them, the Golden Ark of Salvation silently emerged from the Chaotic Long River, slowly sailing onto the riverbank.

From the bow, Qin Mu leaped down. With a slight thought, the golden ship grew smaller and smaller, eventually entering his glabella and suspending itself above the World Tree's crown.

The World Tree grew taller and more magnificent, its crown expanding his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure by more than tenfold, making it as vast as the heavens and earth.

He had spent over three years in Jade Capital City. During this time, the World Tree had absorbed energy from sixteen universe-destroying calamities, growing considerably.

The World Tree's growth also nourished his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, making his ancestral court more vast, and the myriad heavens and worlds even more astonishing, with various divine beings seemingly materializing.

More critically were the five great ore veins in his ancestral court. These five veins were even more astounding than before, with undulating mountains and grand vistas. Various wondrous lights erupted from them, accompanied by the resonating Dao sounds of various Great Daos.

His greatest gain from the trip to Jade Capital City was not the Dao patterns of the Master of Mi Luo Palace, nor the God-Slaying Profound Blade from the God-Slaying Platform, nor the Forty-Nine Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasures, but rather the growth of the World Tree!

He followed leisurely behind the two Taiji Ancient Gods, feeling a slight hesitation.

"If I act now, it would be a perfect opportunity to eliminate Madam Yuan Mu and Empress Niangniang in one fell swoop! The Taiji Ancient Gods can't resist me at all; I could even eliminate them along with the others..."

He found it hard to decide. The two ancient gods had done no evil and had even helped him considerably; harming them would trouble his conscience.

But now was the best time to completely eliminate Yuan Mu and the Empress. They had not yet fully merged or transformed. If they succeeded in merging and transforming, becoming enlightened beings, it would be incredibly difficult to eliminate them.

Moreover, Qin Mu might not even be able to escape from them.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Mu's eyes. His right hand rested on the hilt of the Calamity Sword, his fingers successively gripping it, and the Calamity Sword silently unsheathed.

Just then, the two ancient gods suddenly stopped. The white-haired Sun Ancient God smiled, "Is that Heavenly Venerate Mu?"

Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and smiled, calmly asking, "Have the two Dao brothers sensed my killing intent?"

The Lunar Goddess smiled, "Heavenly Venerate Mu is mistaken. We didn't sense your killing intent; rather, we saw Heavenly Venerate riding a golden ship."

Qin Mu was even more surprised. "You two saw me while on the river? Why didn't you stop to exchange a few words?"

The two ancient gods smiled, "We dared not. We are so old now that we feared if we stopped to greet you, Heavenly Venerate would eliminate us. Therefore, we simply pretended not to see Heavenly Venerate and that ship, and walked straight past you."

"We were also gambling. We were testing whether Heavenly Venerate Mu's curiosity was truly as strong as rumored. If Heavenly Venerate Mu was indeed as curious as rumored, he wouldn't attack directly. Instead, he would personally follow to witness how Yuan Mu and the Empress merged and achieved enlightenment."

Qin Mu's face darkened, and he continued to walk towards them, glumly saying, "You two Dao brothers certainly understand me well. Dao brothers, I'm no longer curious. Now I just want to eliminate Shi Qiluo and Yan Tianfei."

The two ancient gods turned in unison, facing Qin Mu. The little old man, the Sun Ancient God, chuckled, "Those two Heavenly Venerates, Shi Qiluo and Yan Tianfei, no longer exist. Now, there is only the Goddess of Gui Xu."

The power of the Calamity Sword in Qin Mu's hand gradually increased. He smiled, "Whether she is the Goddess of Gui Xu, or Shi Qiluo and Yan Tianfei, I will kill them today. I ask that you two Dao brothers do not obstruct me."

The little old woman, the Lunar Goddess, hunched her body, her small eyes gleaming slyly. She chuckled, "Heavenly Venerate Mu, do you know what my brother and I are best at?"

Qin Mu froze, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

"My brother and I are best at forging—"

The little old man and the little old woman spoke in unison, laughing together: "Even before we were born, we forged a Taiji ore vein, fooling all the Creators, even the Grand Emperor and the Three Ancient Kings, they were all deceived by us! And now, we've deceived Heavenly Venerate Mu again!"

Qin Mu's expression changed slightly, and he thrust his sword. Before his sword light even reached the two ancient gods, they, along with the Dao tree and the large cocoon on it, suddenly exploded with a *bang*, transforming into Yin and Yang qi and dissipating!

"Brother Taisu, look, now this is an old hand!" Qin Mu couldn't help but exclaim, addressing the Taisu Ancient God who was diligently absorbing the Taisu ore vein within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure.

His divine sense erupted, sweeping in all directions, attempting to locate the two ancient gods. However, dangers abounded in Jade Capital City, with winds of both heat death and cold death present everywhere, and his divine sense quickly shattered!

Qin Mu soared into the air, and the Golden Ark of Salvation flew out from his glabella, expanding with a roar. Qin Mu landed precisely on the bow, and the Golden Ark of Salvation charged through Jade Capital City, with Qin Mu surveying the surroundings from the bow.

This golden ship ignored the winds of heat death and cold death, as well as the strangeness within Jade Capital City, crushing everything in its path. Qin Mu on board remained unharmed, as no strangeness could invade the golden ship.

In the distance, the two Taiji Ancient Gods were dragging the Dao tree, rushing towards the city gates. Suddenly, they looked back and saw a dazzling golden giant ship rising from Jade Capital City. Its massive hull passed over a towering hall, scraping its roof and causing a large section to collapse.

"How powerful!"

The two ancient gods were aghast and immediately exerted all their strength, dragging the Dao tree rapidly.

A violent tremor came from behind them. The Lunar Goddess looked back and and saw the Golden Ark of Salvation approaching a dense forest of Dao trees. In that forest, Dao trees swayed their branches like tree demons, thousands of branches like countless tentacles growing with a roar, wrapping themselves around the golden ship in mid-air.

The huge golden ship was pulled downwards from the air, seemingly about to crash into the dense forest of Dao trees.

The two ancient gods had just breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly they saw the Golden Ark of Salvation crashing into the dense forest, crushing everything in its path. It pushed the Dao trees askew, snapped their trunks, and literally flattened the Dao tree forest!

On those Dao trees, some still bore shriveled Dao fruits, which were also crushed into the ground, truly a display of immense power!

The two ancient gods gasped as they saw the golden ship floating again, heading towards them, ignoring and crushing everything in Jade Capital City.

"That Heavenly Venerate Mu, I don't know which river he fished this ship out of; it's truly too powerful!"

They strenuously dragged the Dao tree, wishing they could immediately rush out of Jade Capital City and escape. However, Jade Capital City was fraught with extreme dangers, and a slight misstep could lead to their demise. Moreover, they were truly old and could no longer flee.

Suddenly, a soft crackling sound came from the Dao tree behind them. The two ancient gods' hearts stirred, and they looked back to see that the large cocoon on the Dao tree had cracked open at some point.

A beautiful woman was sitting inside the cocoon, embracing and gnawing on it. The cocoon, composed of Dao light, had surprisingly been partially eaten by the beautiful woman!

The woman's appearance was precisely that of Empress Niangniang!

The two Taiji Ancient Gods stopped, both looking towards Empress Niangniang's glabella. The Empress and Madam Yuan Mu looked identical, with only one difference: their glabella.

The Empress had a red mole on her glabella, while Madam Yuan Mu had a black mole.

Upon seeing the red mole on the glabella of the woman in the cocoon, the two ancient gods finally relaxed, saying in unison, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist!"

Empress Niangniang quickly ate the Dao cocoon completely, revealing a smile, and calmly said, "Two Dao brothers, I should be thanking you. Without your help, how could I have absorbed that little wretch, how could I have reorganized my flesh with hers?"

Behind her, heavenly palaces leaped out with a rumble, forming a heavenly court, strikingly comprising thirty-six heavenly palaces!

"I have absorbed that little wretch and gained everything of hers, including the cultivation methods and divine abilities of Heavenly Venerate Hao, Heavenly Venerate Xiao, and Heavenly Venerate Hong. She was so delicious, truly too delicious... For over a year, I have been digesting her..."

She was sitting on the Dao tree when she suddenly sensed something, immediately floated up gracefully, turned around, and saw a peerlessly magnificent golden ship approaching menacingly.

The two Taiji Ancient Gods each breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, the moment Empress Niangniang turned around and her beautiful hair fluttered, the Lunar and Sun Ancient Gods couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

When Empress Niangniang's hair floated up, they saw that she actually had no back of her head!

Where the back of her head should have been, a face had grown instead!

A face identical to Empress Niangniang!

The only difference was that this face had a black mole on its glabella!

That face smiled enchantingly at them, playfully sticking out its tongue.

The two Taiji Ancient Gods were horrified. "Madam Yuan Mu!"

Empress Niangniang had not absorbed Madam Yuan Mu; instead, she had grown into a single body with two faces alongside her!

The two ancient gods exchanged glances, shivered, and immediately scurried towards the city gates.

"They are a fusion, not a complete merger! If the Empress and Yuan Mu's peculiar natures become one, won't it cause great chaos in the world?"

A violent crashing sound came from behind them. The two ancient gods looked back and saw Empress Niangniang firmly pressed under the Golden Ark of Salvation, with only a pair of slender white legs visible.

From the bow, Qin Mu drew his sword, pointing it menacingly at the two ancient gods, and coldly said, "Two Dao brothers, where have you hidden the Empress? Hand her over, and we can still be friends!"

"Are you blind?" Empress Niangniang groaned from under the ship.