Chapter 1551: Great Defeat of Ming Fangyu

He walked slowly, meticulously observing the changing techniques of Celestial Venerable Ming Fangyu as he attacked Celestial Venerable Ling. He even stepped back a few paces to get a clearer view. Celestial Venerable Ling's death repeated endlessly, yet Qin Mu tried his best not to be disturbed by her demise.

He observed even more carefully, not underestimating the Grand Emperor simply because the latter had repeatedly suffered setbacks at his hands. After all, the Grand Emperor was one of the most powerful beings in history. Even Celestial Emperor Tai Chu had not managed to embody the Grand Overarching Heaven, yet the Grand Emperor had not only imprinted his divine consciousness onto it but also grown a Dao tree, bloomed Dao flowers, and bore Dao fruits. It was important to note that even Kai Huang, the foremost person in the Dao Realm, had yet to bear a Dao fruit.

To completely eliminate the Grand Emperor and rescue Celestial Venerable Ling and Celestial Venerable Yun, he had to confront the Grand Emperor transformed by the path of divine consciousness within the Grand Overarching Heaven. That was the Grand Emperor's true origin. Only by eliminating him could the Grand Emperor be truly eradicated without leaving any lingering threats.

"Since the universe's creation, no one who had achieved Dao had ever died; there were only three or four such individuals in existence. However, this time, it was possible that one might die!" His eyes flickered, and he silently thought, "In the future, more will surely die! But the prerequisite is, how can one truly kill an achieved Dao practitioner like the Grand Emperor?"

The Grand Emperor was only a half-achieved Dao practitioner, but even a being of that caliber was someone Qin Mu had never dealt with before. Whether he could slay the Grand Emperor was crucial for future battles and held significant reference value.

He repeatedly studied Ming Fangyu's moves until he had memorized them perfectly. He then quietly sat down to deduce the changes in Ming Fangyu's divine arts. He had to be so cautious because he needed to unravel Celestial Venerable Ling's 'Unchanging' divine art to rescue her from her immutable state. Breaking the 'Unchanging' divine art and rescuing Celestial Venerable Ling also meant that Ming Fangyu, who controlled the Celestial Emperor's body, would also be freed.

Ming Fangyu, the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit, specialized in primordial spirits. His ability to rank among the Celestial Venerables naturally indicated his immense divine power. Celestial Emperor Tai Chu's physical body was the strongest in history. With both combined, it would be very difficult for Qin Mu to deal with him alone. Therefore, Qin Mu had to master Ming Fangyu's changing moves and understand everything about him clearly.

Qin Mu sat there, surprisingly closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep. Soon, he began to snore. One by one, dreams appeared on the Celestial River, and in these dreams, numerous miniature Qin Mus emerged. Each of them perfectly mimicked the Grand Emperor's demeanor, gestures, and movements with uncanny likeness. They performed the Grand Emperor's ultimate techniques, gradually deducing the evolution of his moves. Many miniature Qin Mus even used the Grand Emperor's ultimate techniques to fight each other, naturally leading to a slaughter where blood flowed like a river in the dreamscape.

It must be said that the Grand Emperor was a nearly all-round talent. He held many identities: the power of the Grand Emperor's physical body could contend with the ancient god Celestial Emperor; his divine consciousness avatar, Consort Qiang, was the strongest divine consciousness practitioner in the world; and his primordial spirit, Ming Fangyu, was a Celestial Venerable known for his powerful primordial spirit. He was strong in physique and skilled in close combat. He was powerful in primordial spirit and proficient in Dao arts. He was strong in divine consciousness and expert in visualization and soul control. Apart from Celestial Venerable Gong, the Grand Emperor had almost no weaknesses.

Qin Mu had studied the Grand Emperor's Grand Overarching Supreme Divine Consciousness, and his divine consciousness celestial palace was based on it. At one point, his divine consciousness celestial palace was his most powerful.

After an unknown period, Qin Mu suddenly awoke from his dream, his heart stirring. Someone had touched the illusory figures he had left behind! However, he didn't know if this person was Celestial Venerable Hao, Celestial Venerable Xiao, or Kai Huang Qin Ye. However, Kai Huang's Dao Realm cultivation had reached the thirty-sixth heaven, making him a true achieved Dao practitioner. His Dao heart was acute, capable of discerning the divine arts hidden within those illusory figures. If he saw them, he wouldn't touch them. Celestial Venerable Hao and Celestial Venerable Xiao's Dao Realm levels were inferior to Kai Huang's. Only these two would have touched his illusory figures.

"The arrival was swift!" Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. The newcomer had passed through his illusory figures at an extremely fast pace; at such a speed, they would arrive here soon. Unexpectedly, just as this person was about to arrive, they suddenly vanished from his senses. Qin Mu frowned. He looked back the way they came but saw no one.

"They are all old foxes!" Qin Mu composed himself. The one who entered was either Celestial Venerable Hao or Celestial Venerable Xiao. He thought to himself, "Since they didn't show themselves directly, Celestial Venerable Hao is more likely. Celestial Venerable Hao is not in a hurry, nor is he the party with the greatest stakes. The parties with the greatest stakes are I, the Grand Emperor, and Celestial Venerable Xiao. Therefore, Celestial Venerable Hao can completely benefit as a third party."

He waited quietly. After two or three days, he again sensed someone touching the illusory figures he had left behind. This person was extremely cautious. They had just touched the first illusory figure but did not touch the second. Qin Mu waited for a long time, but this person did not touch any other illusory figures.

"This person is Celestial Venerable Xiao." Qin Mu frowned slightly. Celestial Venerable Xiao had arrived a few days later than he expected, giving him an uneasy feeling. "Kai Huang had left Carefree Village; could Celestial Venerable Xiao have taken advantage of his absence?" He pondered briefly. He silently thought, "If I were Celestial Venerable Xiao, I would definitely infiltrate the void of the other shore when Kai Huang leaves, collect the primordial ore, destroy the creators there, absorb all their divine consciousness, and strengthen my own power. If that brat Celestial Venerable Mu wanted to ambush me and eliminate me through the Grand Emperor, then he would definitely wait for me, ensuring I enter Celestial Venerable Ling's divine art."

Qin Mu raised his head, exhaling a mouthful of turbid air. "Celestial Venerable Xiao delayed for several days, which means the void of the other shore is likely in dire straits! And Celestial Venerable Xiao's power will likely greatly increase!" He composed himself. Indeed, it was extremely difficult to scheme against an existence like Celestial Venerable Xiao.

"Moreover, it was unknown whether Celestial Venerable Xiao had already entered the ultimate void and forcibly imprinted his power there. If he could achieve this, then his power would see another astonishing increase. Whether Kai Huang could defeat him was still fifty-fifty."

Qin Mu closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them, and his divine treasure domain spread out. His divine treasure domain grew wider and wider, gradually enveloping the entire Celestial River mist. Qin Mu gently tapped his right index finger on his glabella, and the vertical eye on his glabella slowly opened. The moment this eye opened, his domain and figure instantly separated from the Celestial River mist. Before him, only a segment of the Celestial River remained! That was the Celestial River intercepted by Celestial Venerable Ling, the one transformed into immutable matter.

Previously, Qin Mu had stood on the Celestial River. Now, he was detached from that segment of the Celestial River, observing everything happening within it from a bystander's perspective.

The Celestial River flowed majestically. Qin Mu stood outside the Celestial River, looking from afar. He saw that after the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu slew Celestial Venerable Ling, he charged out of the Celestial River again and again, seemingly trying to break through but failing each time. Qin Mu stood outside the Celestial River, with no sky above and no ground below. He could see nothing around him. He was like a mass of Azure Nether Qi, Tai Shi Qi, existing in the midst of qualitative and quantitative transformation.

The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu slew Celestial Venerable Ling once more. He once again wielded his spear to attack the Celestial River. Immediately, the 'Unchanging' divine art burst forth again, returning everything to its origin, and Celestial Venerable Ling revived only to be killed once more. Qin Mu watched this scene silently. Ming Fangyu's techniques and divine arts differed each time as he attempted to break the 'Unchanging' divine art using various methods, but each attempt ended in failure. Qin Mu observed his divine arts, then compared them with the divine arts he had just deduced, making some modifications to address deficiencies.

When everything was ready, he slowly activated the great divine art of the Grand Beginning Dao, his gaze fixed on Ming Fangyu. He had to break Celestial Venerable Ling's 'Unchanging' divine art before her death and block Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu's attack before he slew Celestial Venerable Ling. Only then could Celestial Venerable Ling be saved. Therefore, timing was paramount. The only chance of survival was fleeting; there was no room for error.

The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu seemed to have discovered him and suddenly charged towards him. The long spear in his hand wielded boundless power. Coupled with the Celestial Emperor's physical body and the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit, a single thrust of his spear caused that segment of the Celestial River to violently churn and evaporate, as the spearhead, swirling with its waters, roared directly towards Qin Mu's glabella. At this moment, the 'Unchanging' divine art erupted, sweeping him away and returning him to the origin.

At the origin point, Celestial Venerable Ling looked back at Qin Mu. The girl in the leopard-skin skirt and straw sandals smiled sweetly at him; though not beautiful, it was captivating. The next moment, Celestial Venerable Ling died. The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu pinned her to death with a single spear thrust, then charged towards Qin Mu again, thrusting his spear once more. The spearhead came closer to Qin Mu's glabella with each thrust, yet it never managed to strike him.

Qin Mu's vertical eye on his glabella closely followed his movements. The instant the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu thrust his spear again, and the spearhead touched Qin Mu's glabella, Celestial Venerable Ling's 'Unchanging' divine art erupted, reorganizing all matter and returning it to its initial state.

At the same time, Qin Mu flicked his hand, and his divine art erupted. "Grand Beginning: Quality and Form Ask the Azure Nether!" His divine art unfolded. In just an instant, the immutable matter composing the entire Celestial River violently vibrated, transforming from matter into Azure Nether Qi. The 'Unchanging' divine art was completely shattered by his single move. The moment Qin Mu flicked his hand, his body had already stepped forward, and the God-Slaying Platform also whistled and spun out.

The next moment, the Azure Nether Qi transformed, and the Celestial River, Celestial Venerable Ling, and Ming Fangyu all appeared, but in the form of tangible yet insubstantial energy bodies. The moment Qin Mu's steps landed beside Celestial Venerable Ling, the energy body state immediately transformed into a material form. Celestial Venerable Ling was raising her hand, preparing to cast the 'Unchanging' divine art, when suddenly, her palm was firmly grasped by Qin Mu's hand. The woman revealed an expression of extreme surprise as she looked at Qin Mu's face.

Qin Mu, however, raised his face, looking at the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit descending from above, wielding Celestial Emperor Tai Chu's physical body. In Celestial Emperor Tai Chu's hand, the divine spear was terrifyingly powerful, supreme in strength, ferocity, and rigidity. The primordial spirit contained magic power. Ming Fangyu's magic power was so strong that even in the present era, he would be among the few strongest practitioners.

*Whoosh—*

As this spear thrust came down, it contained endless variations within its fierce power. However, Qin Mu had already simulated this scene thousands of times in his mind. Just as the divine spear thrust down, the Grand Easiness Staff in his hand also thrust out. The Grand Emperor's divine spear, its tip a series of dots, exhibited complex and intricate move variations. The Grand Easiness Staff, its tip a series of dots, also displayed incredibly complex move variations; every strike precisely hit the tip of the divine spear.

Celestial Venerable Ling was still looking at Qin Mu's face and saw he was incredibly serious. From Qin Mu's palm, she felt the vibrations of the Grand Emperor's crushing power as he fiercely contended with him. Qin Mu held her hand, stepped on the Celestial River, and retreated step by step, shedding the excess power. The Celestial River exploded, transforming into towering waves. The Grand Emperor's divine spear pierced through wave after wave, his offensive like a raging storm. The combat power of the strongest physical body was terrifying. Even though Qin Mu understood all his techniques and divine arts, confronting him head-on still left him with blood at the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, the God-Slaying Platform suddenly ascended from beneath the Celestial River. At the surface of the water, the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu had just charged to this spot and landed directly on the God-Slaying Platform. Qin Mu suddenly stopped. He pulled Celestial Venerable Ling's hand and charged forward. The God-Slaying Platform had been ambushed beneath the Celestial River when he broke Celestial Venerable Ling's divine art, precisely for this moment.

As the Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu's feet landed on the God-Slaying Platform, the platform immediately transformed into thirty-five layers of steps, and two God-Slaying Profound Blades whirled around him like ferocious dragons. He held the divine spear, thrusting it like a dragon. Just as he barely split open a path between the two God-Slaying Profound Blades, a teaching whip flew over and slapped him on the forehead with a loud crack. The Grand Emperor Ming Fangyu was struck so hard by this blow that his soul was scattered, his primordial spirit almost knocked out of Celestial Emperor Tai Chu's physical body. He was inwardly appalled.

At this moment, the Grand Easiness Staff pierced through layers of bloody blade nets. Qin Mu used the Grand Easiness Staff as a sword, stabbing the glabella of Tai Chu's physical body. The Grand Emperor's primordial spirit greatly trembled and flew backward out of Tai Chu's physical body.

Qin Mu withdrew his staff, turned his head, and smiled at the girl beside him, saying, "Ling, I've come."