Chapter 1648: Robbing the Sword to Shatter the Primordial

Taichu's physical body was incredibly colossal. He was the most powerful ancient god, even stronger than Heavenly Duke and Earth Count. Compared to his massive form, Qin Mu seemed utterly insignificant.

In Taichu's narrowed pupils, Qin Mu's tiny figure was reflected. However, behind Qin Mu, the Thirty-Three Heavenly Palaces and Seventy-Two Treasure Halls were extraordinarily vast, even more magnificent than Taichu's own body. Qin Mu's primordial spirit, standing before the Chaos Hall, was brimming with unimaginable divine power.

This power made him feel threatened.

Qin Mu's last remark, in particular, deeply unsettled him and sparked ominous associations.

The instant his Dao Heart wavered, Qin Mu thrust his sword!

Previously, both Taichu and Qin Mu had exchanged many words. What seemed like old friends reminiscing was, in reality, a hidden battle of wits. The danger within their words was even more formidable than a direct battle.

Both knew of the other's immense power and lacked absolute certainty of victory. Therefore, before engaging, they sought to extinguish the opponent's will to fight, weaken their Dao Heart, and inflict immense psychological pressure, thereby increasing their own chances of success.

Taichu began by highlighting Qin Mu's three significant defeats, emphasizing his utter failure, aiming to make Qin Mu realize his own foolishness and Taichu's invincibility. If Qin Mu were to doubt himself, it would provide Taichu with an opportunity to seize the initiative.

Qin Mu's counterattack, however, caught him by surprise. Instead of many words, Qin Mu used concrete actions to assail Taichu's Dao Heart. He severed the spiritual energy connection bridges across all heavens and myriad worlds, transforming the Heavenly Court into an isolated island suspended beyond the mortal realm. This ensured that the Heavenly Court's armies would not be able to invade the Primordial Realm for one to two decades, thereby neutralizing the Heavenly Court's threat in the short term. Furthermore, the emergence of the Little Youdu and Little Xuandu in the Primordial Realm resolved the threat posed by Youdu Xu Tianzun and Xuandu Ancestral God King. This dazzling series of maneuvers finally dealt a significant blow to Taichu's Dao Heart.

While Taichu tried to shake Qin Mu's Dao Heart with words, Qin Mu countered by using concrete actions, which had an even greater impact than verbal attacks. Finally, Qin Mu revealed that he had become one of the Seven Young Masters in this universe and showcased his Chaos Hall, which ultimately caused Taichu's Dao Heart to waver significantly. If Qin Mu had indeed become one of the Seven Young Masters in this universe, then there would be no one left to oppose him. Both Taichu and Emperor Haotian would inevitably face defeat. The thought of his own defeat and the Heavenly Court's failure, once planted, would take root, sprout, and become unstoppable.

The Sword of Calamity's light reached Taichu in an instant. Taichu swung his sword to meet it, simultaneously retreating. The sword in his hand was an Imperial Sword forged to imitate his innate treasure, and his sword techniques were those he had learned in Yankang.

Yankang's reform movement was renowned for its mastery of Post-celestial Great Daos. The divine arts practitioners and deities in Yankang regarded perfecting the Post-celestial Dao as their responsibility. The Heavenly Court called it a "reform," but for the people of Yankang, it was simply about applying what they learned, with improvements still ongoing. They applied their knowledge and insights to daily life, such as forging, medicine, and painting. Among these, however, the Dao of the Sword developed the fastest. Whether it was Qin Mu, Kaihuang, Imperial Preceptor Jiang Baigui, or the old Human Emperor Su Muzhe, all were grandmasters of the sword. They spread their Dao of the Sword throughout Yankang, allowing anyone with sufficient talent and comprehension to cultivate it and even develop new sword Daos and techniques based on their foundations.

Taichu had two avatars secretly lurking in Yankang. He learned the sword techniques of Qin Mu, Kaihuang, Jiang Baigui, Su Muzhe, and others, drawing inferences and gaining his own unique insights. The power of his sword Dao was undeniably formidable. Unleashed with his immensely profound magic power, its might even rivaled Kaihuang's from back then. The sword move he employed was also Kaihuang's, a single thrust that conjured the Thirty-Three Heavens, astonishingly brilliant!

However, his Dao Heart had already crumbled, and the power of his sword Dao instantly diminished significantly. Not only that, but his sword technique's variations also became somewhat sluggish. The instant their sword lights clashed, the Sword of Calamity changed its form, transforming into "Breaking Calamity." In just a moment, the Thirty-Three Heavens created by Taichu's Imperial Sword were obliterated! Taichu's Imperial Sword was subjected to countless attacks, breaking into pieces in his hands.

Taichu flicked the sword hilt with his finger. The Primordial One Qi erupted, merging all Daos into a single "Divine Finger," ignoring any changes in Qin Mu's "Breaking Calamity" sword, and pointed it forward. With a crisp sound, his fingertip met the tip of the Sword of Calamity. Qin Mu's sword light pierced his finger, and the unparalleled sword intent traveled along his finger, reaching his arm. His other four fingers swept across the Sword of Calamity's tip one after another, shattering its power.

Simultaneously, Taichu brought down his other hand in a palm strike. Beneath his palm, between the lines, myriad Daos surged, resembling all heavens and myriad worlds, with countless divine beings under his control. This strike unleashed torrents of divine light. In a single palm, it fully displayed the supreme majesty of an ancient god-emperor. After all, he was an emperor who had ruled an era and also ended an era. All ancient gods, numbering in the thousands, throughout the universe's vastness, were under his command. This strike was not merely the Primordial One Qi, but also the Dao of Taichu itself—a divine art he had comprehended by meditating on the Dao of Taichu.

Qin Mu withdrew his sword with his right hand, its tip flickering as it transformed into the Five Grand Unities. Simultaneously, his left hand struck out to meet Taichu's incoming palm. At the same time, his primordial spirit, standing before the Heavenly Court's Chaos Hall, raised its left hand, mirroring his action. This strike, too, was the Five Grand Unities merging! Qin Mu's palm was too small to fully discern the divine art's transformation, but the primordial spirit's hand was countless times larger! His primordial spirit's hand had five fingers resembling the Ancestral Court itself, and these five fingers seemed like Ancestral Court's five great ore veins—Chaos, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji—all merged into one.

Their palms collided silently, yet between them, immeasurable light erupted, forming a thin, circular blade in the starry sky! The blade, virtually without thickness, expanded rapidly, instantly slicing billions of miles of starry sky in half!

Qin Mu leaned back slightly, and behind him, the myriad palaces and halls of the Grand Heavenly Court shifted and transformed, completely neutralizing the power of the blow. Taichu's heart sank. He took a step back, entering the One Qi Grand Veil Heaven to evade Qin Mu's Sword of Calamity. He watched as the five great ore veins formed by the Sword of Calamity surged into the One Qi Grand Veil Heaven, causing it to sink slightly under the immense pressure. The five great ore veins, transformed from sword light, resembled five enraged dragons; not even the ultimate void could diminish this sword technique in the slightest.

"His cultivation is no weaker than mine," Taichu mused. "Now, he can probably engrave the void with his own power and become an Enlightened Being! Is all of this due to the Seventy-Two Halls, or his Chaos Hall?"

Taichu's gaze fell upon the Seventy-Two Treasure Halls. No one had ever successfully cultivated the Seventy-Two Halls of Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City before; Qin Mu was likely the first in this era. Emperor Haotian only possessed the cultivation methods for fifty-eight of the Treasure Halls, with the remaining ones in Taichu's possession. Even after Emperor Haotian's ascension and unparalleled authority, Taichu had not taught him the remaining fourteen halls. If Emperor Haotian desired them, he would have to offer sufficient benefits in exchange! And these benefits were the more than twenty Treasure Halls that Emperor Haotian controlled but Taichu did not. Therefore, to this day, neither Emperor Haotian nor Taichu had managed to complete the cultivation of all Seventy-Two Halls.

This was because their mindset remained stuck in the past. Previously, the Ten Celestial Venerables had been superficial and evasive with each other, exchanging benefits covertly and meticulously, each vying for more advantages, seeking to achieve perfection before the others, plotting against each other, and unable to truly trust one another. Even now, they perpetuated this old pattern, and consequently, Qin Mu had completed the Seventy-Two Halls before them!

The Seventy-Two Halls were crucial for supporting the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces! Although Qin Mu had not yet completed all Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, his thirty-three Heavenly Palaces were still extraordinary. However, the Grand Heavenly Court, composed of thirty-three Heavenly Palaces and seventy-two Treasure Halls, could not compare to an Enlightened Being. Therefore, Taichu suspected it was Qin Mu's Chaos Hall that granted him such astonishing magic power. However, he never considered that Qin Mu's Chaos Hall was merely for show, lacking substance; it had no entrance and could not be entered.

Qin Mu was now equivalent to the Numinous Sky Realm, which could also be called the Chaos Realm. However, his cultivation system was unique. He had several more realms than Taichu. Taichu's true form still cultivated according to the original Divine Treasure Heavenly Palace system, whereas Qin Mu's cultivation included the additional grand realm of Ancestral Court. Within Ancestral Court, there were also the Four Heavenly Gates Realm, Heavenly Sea Realm, and Nine Prisons Platform Realm, which were not present in the traditional cultivation system. And Qin Mu had also integrated these newly added realms into his own Heavenly Palace system, with each Heavenly Palace encompassing several more realms than the traditional smaller Heavenly Palace realms.

If categorized by realm, Qin Mu's Chaos Realm was equivalent to the Dao Flower Realm within the Dao Realm, putting him on par with Taichu. Even more terrifying was that Qin Mu had not yet become an Enlightened Being! If he were to become enlightened, he would likely be comparable to an Enlightened Being who had survived several Great Calamities of Destruction! Furthermore, Qin Mu did not even intend to imprint his Dao upon the ultimate void, adding to its burden. His goal was to imprint his own Great Dao within his Divine Treasure universe. He planned to use the World Tree within his Divine Treasure universe as his Dao Tree, thereby creating his own Dao! This was also the reason Qin Mu felt confident enough to contend with Emperor Haotian when he ascended the Chaos Hall!

Taichu activated his Dao Tree, its Primordial One Qi branches swirling to block the Five Grand Unities sword light. He raised a hand, plucked a Dao Flower, and confronted Qin Mu, who was charging into the One Qi Grand Veil Heaven. The Dao Flower spun, representing the thirtieth heaven of the Dao Realm. He had achieved Dao through sheer power, his magic power forcibly transforming into a Dao Flower, not a Dao Flower cultivated through the Dao Realm itself. Nevertheless, the power of this strike was immense; it could be said to be his full effort!

The Sword of Calamity pierced the flower's pistil, and Qin Mu's strength began to wane. The Dao Flower spun, and Dao Realm magic power erupted, threatening to engulf Qin Mu. Suddenly, Qin Mu roared, gathering all thirty-two heavens of the Dao Realm into a single palm strike, heavily slapping the sword hilt! A streak of sword light pierced through the Dao Flower and into Taichu's glabella. Qin Mu's primordial spirit roared, encircling his hands to form the Great Abyss of Gui Xu, creating a Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel! Around Qin Mu's primordial spirit, Heavenly Palaces circled, forming an even grander Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, augmenting his divine art! He had thoroughly comprehended Emperor Haotian's cultivation methods. This strike of his possessed much of Emperor Haotian's style and demeanor!

Boom, boom, boom!

Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheels, one after another, repeatedly slammed into Taichu's glabella, driving the Sword of Calamity deeper and deeper, until it was deeply embedded in Taichu's brain!

Taichu stumbled backward, leaning against his Dao Tree. Qin Mu raised a finger, concentrating primordial runes at its tip, transforming them into a "Primordial Finger" strike! His finger struck the sword hilt, which was still surrounded by the spinning Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheels! A soft click sounded, and the Sword of Calamity pierced through the back of Taichu's skull, pinning him to his own Dao Tree!

"Truly formidable," Taichu conceded. "If I hadn't visited the Ancestral Court, I truly wouldn't have been your match." Taichu struggled briefly but couldn't free himself from the Dao Tree. He chuckled, "Celestial Venerable Mu, you certainly possess the capital to become one of the Seven Young Masters. No wonder the Third Young Master is so wary of you."

Qin Mu's pupils constricted. He urged the Sword of Calamity, but at that very moment, the sword was violently shaken loose from Taichu's glabella and shot backward! From Taichu's glabella, Daoist sounds roared and vibrated. Treasure Halls flew out, crashing down around Qin Mu! The twenty-four Treasure Halls of Ancestral Court's Jade Capital City surrounded Qin Mu!

From within the Treasure Halls, immensely powerful illusory figures emerged. Taichu slit his wrist, and his ancient god's Dao blood of Taichu splattered onto these figures. The illusory figures' flesh and blood writhed, gradually forming physical bodies.

"Seventh Young Master," a woman slowly raised her head, her gaze fixing on Qin Mu. "We meet again."

Qin Mu raised his hand to catch the flying Sword of Calamity, resting his hands on its hilt. He surveyed his surroundings and smiled faintly. "You're here to stop me from achieving Dao again? You've improved this time, using Taichu's blood to form physical bodies. Your strength is a tiny bit greater than before."