Chapter 1560: Cloud Shepherd Meeting

In the Daluotian of Divine Consciousness, Qin Mu finally felt relieved as he watched Ling Tianzun depart. Ling Tianzun's cultivation was relatively weak, and her divine arts were no longer invincible. With her nearby, he found it difficult to act freely.

But now that Ling Tianzun had left, he could finally act without restraint!

The Golden Ship of Deliverance whistled back. Qin Mu soared into the air and landed on the ship, where he saw the Grand Emperor battling Kai Huang, Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the Primordial Goddess. The Grand Emperor struck them so hard they repeatedly vomited blood, and even Kai Huang was injured.

The Grand Emperor had no opponent who could withstand a single round!

“After achieving Dao, there should be three realms: Dao Tree, Dao Flower, and Dao Fruit. This means the Grand Emperor is in the Dao Fruit realm, while Kai Huang is in the Dao Flower realm.”

Qin Mu did not immediately join the battle. His eyes flickered as he steered the golden ship, soaring up and down around the Daluotian of Divine Consciousness, searching for the Grand Emperor's weaknesses.

The Grand Emperor was ambushed by the Yuan Saint of Miluo Palace, which prevented him from truly achieving Dao. Logically speaking, despite his immense power, he should still have significant flaws. Otherwise, the Grand Emperor would not have painstakingly planned to devour Xiao Tianzun and the Heavenly Emperor's physical bodies, attempting to overcome the drawbacks of achieving Dao through sacrifice. He was trapped in the Daluotian of Divine Consciousness, with only a small portion of his divine consciousness able to descend to the lower realm. This should be a manifestation of his weakness.

The Golden Ship of Deliverance arrived beneath the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, where countless roots were dancing. Although there was fierce fighting above, it was very peaceful here.

Suddenly, Qin Mu was slightly startled, then showed a mix of surprise and joy.

“Heavenly Venerable Mu, we, Yun and Mu, never met. Throughout history, we were never able to meet and converse in detail. I didn't expect us to meet here, under these circumstances.”

Surrounded by countless tree roots, Yun Tianzun sat there very calmly. He was a primordial spirit, entangled by the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree roots, with roots all over his body piercing into his primordial spirit. His gaze was still gentle, fixed on Qin Mu. He seemed not at all embarrassed by his predicament, nor did he appear to be a prisoner. He smiled, saying, "Today, I finally see you. We can have a good talk.”

Qin Mu laughed heartily and steered the golden ship towards the Dao Tree roots. The Dao Tree roots immediately coiled around him. Qin Mu urged the golden ship to dodge; however, the Dao Tree roots were incredibly soft yet incredibly tough, and even he could not sever them. These Dao Tree roots were like another Grand Emperor; their attacks were strange and tricky, making it difficult for him to approach Yun Tianzun.

Suddenly, Yun Tianzun stood up, and the Dao Tree roots coiled around him automatically detached. He stepped towards Qin Mu and smiled, asking, "Mu, do you know why my primordial spirit remains indestructible even in the Daluotian of Divine Consciousness?”

Qin Mu noticed roots connecting to the back of Yun Tianzun's primordial spirit. These roots deeply pierced into Yun Tianzun's body, integrating him with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree! He couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine and blurted out, "Are you the Grand Emperor? The Grand Emperor wouldn't kill himself, of course!”

Yun Tianzun was taken aback, wondering how Qin Mu suddenly came up with such a strange idea. Half-laughing, half-crying, he said, "I am not the Grand Emperor. It's because of my Purple Heaven Azure Vault Art. My Purple Heaven Azure Vault Art is adept at absorbing others' cultivation methods and divine arts, integrating and transforming them into my own Dao arts. Back then, when I was killed by the Grand Emperor, he couldn't destroy my primordial spirit, so he sent me into the ultimate void. He intended to torment me, refine me, and imprison me here.”

Again, Dao Tree roots danced and coiled towards him. Some roots even tried to enter his mouth to prevent him from speaking. Clearly, the Grand Emperor had noticed what was happening here and was trying to silence Yun Tianzun. However, as soon as these roots touched Yun Tianzun, they lost their target and passed through his primordial spirit.

Yun Tianzun walked straight over, dragging long Dao Tree roots behind him, and said, "After I was imprisoned here, the Dao Tree roots pierced through me, and I couldn't move. However, the Grand Emperor achieved Dao through divine consciousness. The moment I touched the Dao Tree, I understood the profound mysteries contained within the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness.”

Qin Mu understood. The Grand Emperor achieved Dao through divine consciousness; his divine consciousness constructed this Daluotian of Divine Consciousness, and his Dao Tree was also the Dao of divine consciousness. However, understanding was one thing; Yun Tianzun might not necessarily be able to cultivate the Grand Emperor's Great Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness.

The next moment, Yun Tianzun dodged the blockade of the Dao Tree roots and came to the front of the golden ship. He smiled, saying, "After I understood the Grand Emperor's Great Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness, I absorbed its essence, making the Dao Tree believe I was one with it. The Dao of divine consciousness cannot harm itself, so by choosing to merge with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, I could avoid death.”

Qin Mu's expression was complex as he looked at this Dao Brother, who had been imprisoned here for hundreds of thousands of years. They had only met once at the Jade Pool Grand Gathering and had not conversed. Later, separated by the Heavenly River and by time and space, they had merely toasted each other from afar. They were two very similar people: one carrying the weight of past ages, the other bearing the hope of the future.

Now, they finally stood face to face! This scene caused a surge of emotion within him, which took a long time to subside!

He suppressed the tumultuous emotions in his chest and voiced his doubts, saying solemnly, "Yun, what you said sounds easy, but it's still hard for me to believe! The Grand Emperor achieved Dao, and you are not of his Dao of divine consciousness. How could you possibly merge with the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree? Unless, you are the Grand Emperor!”

Yun Tianzun was torn between laughter and tears. Although he and Qin Mu were Dao Brothers, he knew Qin Mu was a terrifyingly stubborn fellow. Sometimes, when a strange idea popped into his head, it wouldn't subside until he was satisfied.

“Because the Grand Emperor's Dao of divine consciousness is incomplete.”

Yun Tianzun patiently explained, "I noticed that his Dao of divine consciousness was incomplete, his Dao Tree was imperfect, and his Dao Flower and Dao Fruit also had their respective flaws. Therefore, I had the opportunity to fill in the gaps, treating myself as the missing part of the Dao of divine consciousness and integrating myself into the Dao Tree, Dao Flower, and Dao Fruit. Only then could I preserve myself.”

Qin Mu thought for a moment. The path Yun Tianzun described was theoretically feasible, but he still had doubts in his mind. Firstly, the Grand Emperor's flaws were caused by the incomplete faith-based Dao-achieving method taught to him by the Yuan Saint of Miluo Palace—a problem even the Grand Emperor didn't know how to solve. How did Yun Tianzun know? Secondly, Yun Tianzun's primordial spirit was sent to the Daluotian of Divine Consciousness. Even if he came into contact with the Dao Tree and comprehended the Dao of divine consciousness from the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness to cultivate it, this would still require time. If the Grand Emperor found him secretly studying his cultivation method, how could he tolerate it? And could Yun Tianzun's talent truly be so monstrous that he could cultivate the Grand Emperor's Great Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness in a short time, even identifying and filling in the gaps, discerning the Grand Emperor's shortcomings, and even completing them? If that were the case, Yun Tianzun's talent would be too extraordinary.

“One more thing,” Qin Mu continued, "if the Grand Emperor truly wanted you dead, then you wouldn't be able to escape his deadly grasp.”

Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he looked at the primordial spirit of his Dao Brother before him and said, "The Dao Tree might not kill you, but the Grand Emperor certainly can! If I were the Grand Emperor and saw your talent was so demonic, I would definitely eliminate you at the first opportunity!”

Yun Tianzun nodded. "The Grand Emperor does indeed possess that ability. However…” His expression was strange. "The moment I touched the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, I sensed something strange within it, and by finding that strangeness, the Grand Emperor could no longer eliminate me. Within the Dao Tree, a treasure is hidden. It is this very treasure that allows the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness to imprint the ultimate void, thus allowing him to achieve Dao, grow a Dao Tree, bloom a Dao Flower, and bear a Dao Fruit. The Grand Emperor's Dao cultivation can be said to be anchored in the ultimate void, but it is also rooted in this treasure.”

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. "In the ultimate void, no treasure can exist! What kind of treasure could possibly take root here and become the soil for the Grand Emperor to grow his Dao Tree?”

Yun Tianzun raised his hand. Suddenly, a sacred sword emerged from the trunk of the Dao Tree. Its hilt appeared to be composed of Innate Primordial Qi, while its blade was covered with myriad Dao imprints, slowly rotating within the tree trunk! As the sacred sword rotated, various ethereal images of ancient gods surprisingly emerged from the myriad Dao imprints! Those ethereal images of ancient gods were composed of divine light, large and small, artfully arranged, encircling the sacred sword. Their expressions were solemn, majestic, and even ferocious!

“The Emperor's Sword!”

Qin Mu blurted out, "The Emperor's Sword of Grand Beginning!”

He had seen similar swords; they were the files in the hands of Heavenly Emperor Grand Beginning. Gu Xiao and Xiao Tianzun often took out similar files, using them to file their fingernails! He had also seen Gu Xiao and Xiao Tianzun use these files, which could transform into an Emperor's Sword, immensely powerful and capable of suppressing all ages!

However, there was more than one Emperor's Sword. Gu Xiao's Emperor's Sword was lost in the Ancestral Court, and it was not the same as the one in Xiao Tianzun's hand. Could this be the third Emperor's Sword?

“It shouldn't be the Emperor's Sword of Grand Beginning,” Qin Mu mused. Qin Mu examined it carefully and wondered, "This Emperor's Sword seems infinitely more powerful than the other two! More importantly, the power contained within this Emperor's Sword is divided into two types…”

His expression became even stranger. The first type of power was naturally Innate Primordial Qi; this was obvious and could be seen at a glance. The second type of power was the myriad ethereal images of ancient gods projected by the myriad Dao imprints. The ethereal images of these ancient gods had defects on their foreheads, as if each ancient god had a third eye, but these third eyes were no longer present! This gave Qin Mu a feeling as if by embedding a Grand Beginning divine stone into each of these myriad Dao imprints, the third eyes of these ethereal ancient gods would grow out! For some unknown reason, these divine stones had been removed from the Emperor's Sword!

—That is to say, the second type of power was the Dao of divine consciousness!

The Dao of divine consciousness, combined with Innate Primordial Qi, constituted the complete Dao of Grand Beginning! The other two Emperor's Swords did not have such effects; they seemed more like imitations or counterfeits forged by Heavenly Emperor Grand Beginning himself, while this sword was the genuine article!

“Could this sword be Heavenly Emperor Grand Beginning's innate supreme treasure?” Qin Mu blurted out.

He suddenly realized why even Kai Huang couldn't sever the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree, and why Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun couldn't harm this Dao Tree in the slightest! Because they were not attacking the Dao Tree, but rather this innate supreme treasure of Grand Beginning! Any of their attacks, their power ultimately landed on this innate supreme treasure!