Chapter 1578: Ning Dies Rather Than Surrendering

"Heavenly Venerate Mu?"

Grand Emperor's mind reeled, and he stood frozen for a long time, unable to move.

The old man looked back, seeing the brain matter in Grand Emperor's exposed skull bubbling and steaming like boiling tofu pudding.

"He's just another poor soul who's been tricked countless times by the Seventh Young Master. The Seventh Young Master likely tricked everyone in the future universe until he got bored, then returned to us to continue his schemes."

The old man shook his head and woke him up, preventing him from burning out his own brain.

Days turned into weeks, then months. Traveling from the first Primal Chaos long river to the sixteenth would take even a Heavenly Venerate a year or two.

They were a step behind; Emperor Kai had already reached the Mi Luo Palace with the old woman.

The grandeur and eternal nature of Mi Luo Palace left a profound impression on Emperor Kai. He carefully observed the palaces within the complex; each one possessed a unique Dao rhythm, making them unforgettable.

These palaces represented the distinct Great Daos and paths of the various Young Masters. From the Supreme Hall to the Primal Chaos Hall, the Young Masters of Mi Luo Palace had chosen different paths, but the aura emanating from their halls indicated that they had all reached the pinnacle of the Dao.

"Are the Dao patterns on the walls of Mi Luo Palace the ones Heavenly Venerate Mu spoke of?"

Emperor Kai looked at the central Mi Luo Palace, the residence of the Mi Luo Palace master. It felt even more unfathomable to him, inspiring a sense of awe that suppressed any disrespectful thoughts.

The old woman continued to lead him, saying, "The Seventh Young Master arrived relatively late, so his status in Mi Luo Palace is not as high as the other Young Masters', and he doesn't have many followers. Because of this, people often speak ill of him and attribute many bad reputations to him, but those are all slanders."

Emperor Kai frowned. The more the old woman spoke, the more worried he became.

He didn't know the Seventh Young Master's purpose in wanting to meet him, nor whether the Young Master would attack him if he refused him after their meeting.

"Heavenly Venerate Mu once warned me not to enter Ancestral Court Jade Capital, and I warned him not to enter the Return to the Ruins. Now I've broken my promise by entering Jade Capital; I hope he won't break his..."

The old woman led him to the Primal Chaos Hall. She grinned, her mouth whistling with air as she revealed a few scattered teeth, and said, "Emperor Kai, please enter."

The doors of the Primal Chaos Hall opened, and a vast surge of primal chaos energy poured out, revealing an ancient and weathered essence.

Emperor Kai composed himself. Stepping on the primal chaos energy, he walked into the ancient hall, thinking, "With our current strength, we are not strong enough to contend with the Young Masters of Mi Luo Palace. Therefore, we must rely on the power of other Young Masters! I hope this so-called Seventh Young Master is easier to fool..."

He walked through the magnificent hall, which was extremely vast and empty. The dome was imprinted with Dao patterns that even Emperor Kai couldn't comprehend, flickering in and out of existence like constellations.

Emperor Kai walked straight ahead, eyes fixed forward. He saw a gigantic sphere of primal chaos energy slowly rotating in front of him.

Emperor Kai's pupils contracted slightly. From afar, he saw a strange shadow within the primal chaos sphere. He continued forward, and after a moment, he finally saw that inside the sphere was an ancient sacred tree.

A World Tree!

"Is this Seventh Young Master of Mi Luo Palace a World Tree spirit?"

Emperor Kai was surprised. It was then that he noticed a figure beneath the tree, its back turned to him.

The primal chaos sphere split open, revealing a path. Emperor Kai hesitated for a moment, then walked into the sphere. Soon after, he arrived beneath the tree.

The figure beneath the tree turned around and smiled at him, saying, "Heavenly Venerate Qin, are you well?"

"You... you..." Emperor Kai's mind was greatly shaken. He stared blankly at the person, stammering, unable to speak.

The Great Abyss of Return to the Ruins.

Qin Mu was caught in a collapse. All of his cultivation continuously imploded. Soon, even the Heavenly Palaces within his Divine Treasure, the stars, constellations, and star rivers across the sky, and the myriad heavens and myriad worlds—including the Ancestral Court, Primordial Realm, Profound Metropolis, and Youdu—all collapsed inwards!

The Dao of Return to the Ruins is profound and wondrous, with a captivating allure. However, its cultivation is extremely perilous. Although the Great Dao runes of Return to the Ruins have been deciphered, very few people have been able to successfully cultivate this Dao.

Besides the Empress and Heavenly Consort sisters, Heavenly Emperor Grand Emperor, Heavenly Venerate Hao, and Qin Mu are also proficient in this Dao.

As for others, even with diligent cultivation, it's difficult to master; at most, they can only cultivate one or two divine arts.

This is precisely because the Dao of Return to the Ruins is extremely perilous. To successfully cultivate this Great Dao, it's difficult to guarantee that one won't be swallowed by it during the process.

Soon, his entire Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure was completely swallowed. Even his primordial spirit, which was explaining the Dao of Reincarnation to the Empress, was pulled, twisted, and roared into the Great Abyss of Return to the Ruins within his body by this terrifying collapse!

The sound of the lecture ceased. The Empress immediately noticed, instantly opened her eyes, looked at Qin Mu, and sharply asked, "Why did you stop speaking?"

*Crack, crack.* Her head rotated halfway, revealing Madam Yuanmu's face. "My dear Qin," she teased, "are you trying to hang the God of Longevity? You stop just when it gets interesting; you'll invite divine wrath for this!"

Qin Mu sat there withered, without a word. His whole being exuded a hollow, utterly lifeless feeling.

Behind him, only a World Tree remained, gently swaying its branches.

The Empress and Madam Yuanmu were surprised. They immediately noticed something was wrong with him: Qin Mu had completely lost all vitality and had died right before their eyes!

Not only had Qin Mu's heart stopped beating, but even his soul was gone!

His immensely powerful divine consciousness was also completely annihilated, as if he had been directly refined to death by a Return to the Ruins divine art!

"You killed him?" The Empress flew into a rage.

Madam Yuanmu also became angry and retorted, "Just now, you were facing him, and I had my back to him. If I had killed him, how could I have hidden it from your eyes and senses? Could it be that you did it?"

"You little wretch, I was just about to have the chance to refine you to death. How could I kill him and miss this opportunity? If I were to kill him, it would only be after I've refined you to death!"

The two women argued for a moment, but then both found themselves helpless. Suddenly, Madam Yuanmu rolled her eyes and giggled, "My dear Qin is dead, leaving us sisters as widows. It's heartbreaking for two beautiful sisters to lose their lover just like that. Although I regret it greatly, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Let's just divide Qin's assets early and find ourselves good men!"

Although her words were unpleasant, the Empress was quite tempted. "Heavenly Venerate Mu is covered in treasures," she thought, "truly like a rich landowner adorned in gold and silver while traveling. Now that he's dead, it's indeed a good time to divide his treasures."

The two women immediately reached a consensus and walked towards Qin Mu.

Suddenly, a surge of vibrant life force emanated from the World Tree, and the two women quickly stopped.

They saw the World Tree behind Qin Mu swaying, while a strange pulsation emanated from his body. Surges of primal chaos energy spread out from him, forming a gigantic sphere around him.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound, as if the heavens and earth were being split open, was heard. The sphere cracked open, and instantly, the Five Grand Beginnings evolved: from the Grand Change of Chaos, to the Grand Beginning of Primordial Qi, to the Grand Primeval of Azure Emptiness, to the Grand Simplicity of Formed Matter, and finally to the Grand Ultimate.

The five states of the universe completed their evolution in a mere instant. Then, boundless space emerged, and countless stars and star rivers rapidly flew outwards from beside the Empress!

In that instant, Ancestral Court was born, and various realms gushed outwards, evolving into various ancient gods, the Great Dao of heaven and earth, and all living beings.

Five great mineral veins settled within Ancestral Court, connected to it. Ancient deities emerged from the myriad stars and constellations, each with a unique form: Heavenly Duke in Profound Metropolis, and Earth Duke in Youdu.

As those ancient gods stood in their respective domains and flew past the Empress and Madam Yuanmu, the two women looked at them and saw that all these strange ancient gods surprisingly bore Qin Mu's face.

Even Heavenly Duke, with his white eyebrows, white beard, and white eyes, and Earth Duke, with his ox head, tiger face, and ox tail, also had Qin Mu's face.

They looked back and saw countless Great Dao runes behind Qin Mu's head connecting and combining. Various runes formed strange Dao patterns, resembling bricks and tiles, eave pillars, and even bell-and-tripod, screen, and mural patterns, layering upon each other. Soon, grand and magnificent foundations emerged one after another.

Those bricks and tiles fluttered about, forming resplendent palaces, pavilions, towers, long bridges, heavenly gates, and divine platforms, all constructing the Jade Capital Divine City.

Then the Heavenly River stretched out, flowing past the South Heaven Gate, sweeping straight in and winding gracefully through the Celestial Heavens.

Wherever the Heavenly River flowed, countless buildings rose from the ground. By the time it passed through Jade Capital City, dozens of Heavenly Palaces had already taken shape.

The Heavenly River flowed past the North Heaven Gate, vast and mighty, connecting the myriad heavens and myriad worlds. Then it surged downwards, passing over the Primordial World, entering Youdu, and transforming into the Nether River.

This Nether River passed beneath Earth Duke Qin Mu's feet, entering the Great Fissure of Return to the Ruins, and then the Great Abyss of Return to the Ruins.

As the river water poured into the Great Abyss, a slight tremor came from deep within the abyss. A lotus flower slowly rose, meeting the river water. The lotus rotated and bloomed, and on its platform, Qin Mu of Return to the Ruins yawned and slowly awakened.

Qin Mu of Return to the Ruins stood up and chanted in a long voice, "How many eons of reincarnation? A year of growth and decay."

The Empress and Madam Yuanmu were utterly astonished.

The current Qin Mu seemed different from the Qin Mu of moments ago; it was as if a Great Abyss of Return to the Ruins had appeared in his Divine Treasure.

Moreover, his Heavenly Palaces and Celestial Heavens were also different from before.

Firstly, the number of Heavenly Palaces.

Previously, Qin Mu only had twenty-three Heavenly Palaces. Later, he learned Heavenly Venerate Yun's Purple Heaven Blue Nether Art, gaining one more. Then he entered Heavenly Venerate Hao's Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, comprehending his two cultivation methods, which granted him two more, totaling twenty-six Heavenly Palaces.

And now, Qin Mu had gained two more, reaching a total of twenty-eight!

To possess twenty-eight Heavenly Palaces at such a young age was truly an anomaly!

What was even stranger was that Qin Mu's Jade Capital City was vastly different from others'.

In others' Celestial Heavens, each Heavenly Palace contained a Jade Capital City. But for Qin Mu, fifty-eight treasure halls within his Celestial Heavens formed the Jade Capital City, while his other Heavenly Palaces did not have one!

One could say that his other Heavenly Palaces were all built around this single Jade Capital City.

"With only one Jade Capital City, how can he enter the Jade Capital realm?" The Empress and Madam Yuanmu were greatly puzzled.

Suddenly, Qin Mu's primordial spirit ascended from his vast Divine Treasure. Sitting cross-legged, it floated above the Celestial Heavens, radiating myriad rays of light.

Qin Mu stood up and quietly retreated backward. Unconsciously, he had already reached the edge of the lotus flower.

"Heavenly Venerate Mu, what do you want to do?" The Empress was the first to realize and demanded.

Madam Yuanmu was extremely nervous and shrieked, "Don't do anything foolish!"

"A true man would rather die than surrender, rather break than bend! He would rather take what is straight than seek what is crooked!"

Qin Mu leaped, plunging into the Return to the Ruins. He declared righteously, "I'd rather die than be coerced by you!"

The two women hurriedly rushed to the edge of the lotus, reaching out to grab him, but how could they possibly catch him?

They watched as Qin Mu fell into the Great Abyss and disappeared.

Madam Yuanmu blinked, then suddenly laughed. "Our little lover just now seemed utterly spineless," she chuckled. "When did he become so principled? Hehe, interesting..."

She suddenly took control of the Empress's body and also leaped, plunging into the Great Abyss of Return to the Ruins!

The Empress screamed, trying to grab the twin-stemmed lotus, but it was too late!