Chapter 1670: Old Man Rebelled

Shang Jun followed Qin Mu closely; wherever Qin Mu went, he went. He didn't need to consider if Qin Mu's path was correct, nor how Qin Mu used primordial runes and primordial qi to deceive the obelisk forest. He simply needed to follow.

Their journey was punctuated by stops and starts. If Qin Mu had been alone, exiting the forest would have been much simpler, but with Shang Jun, it became infinitely more complex. The obelisk forest was created by the Eldest Young Master to suppress the Cripple's physical body and other perfected beings, including Shang Jun himself. To deceive the obelisk forest, Qin Mu had to construct a primordial framework to conceal Shang Jun's own Grand Dao aura; only then could he lead him out.

The primordial framework was a significant challenge for Qin Mu; he calculated as he advanced. He was like a moving obelisk, and Shang Jun walked in his shadow, as if suppressed within Qin Mu, preventing any changes in the obelisk forest. If Qin Mu's primordial framework failed and Shang Jun's aura leaked, he would instantly be suppressed by the obelisk forest and integrated directly into a real obelisk!

After an unknown period, Qin Mu finally led Shang Jun out of the obelisk forest. Sweat evaporated from his body; he had used his mental faculties to the extreme, calculating relentlessly to find the only path to survival amidst countless variables, and only then did they exit the forest. As he relaxed, his mind suddenly became hazy, and his limbs felt weak. Qin Mu closed his eyes, took several deep, ragged breaths, and stood there to steady himself.

Shang Jun looked back to see countless obelisks densely arrayed, making it impossible to find their way back. He felt as if he had been reborn into a new era, recalling the Sixteenth Epoch, his perseverance back then, and the experiences of his entire life, which now seemed like events from a past existence. In this life, he would gain a new beginning!

Soon after, Qin Mu opened his eyes and walked towards the outside of the gateway. Shang Jun continued to follow him. Qin Mu said nothing, and neither did Shang Jun, who seemed to have completely merged into Qin Mu's shadow. He was a being who achieved enlightenment through killing and had also been an assassin; otherwise, he couldn't have killed a perfected being before achieving enlightenment himself. Lurking in Qin Mu's shadow, ordinary people couldn't see him, nor could they detect even a trace of his aura.

As the two were about to exit the gateway, Qin Mu suddenly stopped, and Shang Jun stopped with him. Qin Mu cautiously observed the outside, then after a moment, he laughed loudly and said, "As fellow Young Masters of the Miluo Palace, are you, Senior Brother, planning to help the Third and Fourth Young Masters while suppressing me? I heard you are the Teacher's most favored disciple. If it were the Teacher, what would he do?"

Outside the gate, there was complete silence. Shang Jun's heart skipped a beat, and he looked out the gate. What could be outside? Why would Qin Mu suddenly say that? Could the Eldest Young Master of Miluo Palace be right outside the gate?

"The Teacher could be impartial, favoring neither me nor our other senior brothers," Qin Mu said calmly. "If you truly inherited the Teacher's mantle, you would not obstruct me, nor would you obstruct Shang Jun. For when Shang Jun achieved enlightenment back then, the Teacher never hindered him."

Outside the gate, there was still complete silence, not a sound. Shang Jun frowned slightly, thinking, "Could Young Master have misjudged? There's no one outside at all."

Just then, an obelisk appeared in their field of vision, floating towards them. Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the gateway. In the shadow, Shang Jun followed him out. No one blocked them; only the obelisk drifted silently past them and entered the gateway.

Qin Mu looked back and saw the obelisk settling back into its original position. Shang Jun, from the shadows, hesitated, "Young Master, the Old Eccentrics..." Qin Mu frowned slightly and raised a hand to stop him from continuing. With the descent of this obelisk, the old man, old woman, Zhu Santong, and others from that small village would likely be suppressed again, sealed within obelisks and unable to escape! Moreover, the obelisk array was now fully restored, without any vulnerabilities. If Qin Mu were to return here in the future, he would only be able to break the formation by sheer force! And that would require combat power akin to that of Grand Beginning!

"Combat power akin to Grand Beginning..." Qin Mu's eye twitched. He thought to himself, "I don't have it now, but I will in the future!"

Suddenly, two broken door panels within the gateway flew up, merged into a complete door, and clicked into place on the gateway. The two doors closed, with primordial runes flowing over them, locking the gateway.

"Senior Brother, you can't be like the Teacher!" Qin Mu turned and left, his voice echoing in the abandoned land: "If you continue along the Teacher's path, even if you can do exactly as the Teacher did, you cannot escape the Teacher's fate. The Teacher has already failed! Why don't you try another path?"

There was no answer in the abandoned land. Qin Mu and Shang Jun departed into the distance.

Once they had left the abandoned land, Shang Jun finally voiced his confusion, asking, "Where was the Eldest Young Master just now?"

"He didn't truly manifest here," Qin Mu replied, shaking his head. "He is perhaps the most similar of the seven Young Masters to the Miluo Palace Master, but only in appearance. His every action, even his philosophy, mirrors the Miluo Palace Master. I've never met him, but his study of primordial runes reveals his character. He suppresses his true nature to become more like the Miluo Palace Master. Given this, he must adhere to the Miluo Palace Master's instructions to return to his own cosmic epoch, making it impossible for him to truly manifest here."

Shang Jun remained somewhat puzzled. He found it difficult to understand someone like the Eldest Young Master of Miluo Palace.

"He merely projected himself here," Qin Mu explained. "When the Old Eccentrics attacked his Dao tree, it still startled him, so he projected himself to observe. I had to appeal to his reason and emotions; otherwise, he would have sealed me in the gateway as well. It's precisely because he imitates the Miluo Palace Master that his character has a flaw; by understanding this, we could escape."

He let out a long breath and said, "If it hadn't been you following me, but the Old Eccentrics, we wouldn't have been able to escape... Let's go to the Ancestral Court and establish the Ultimate Void corresponding to the World Tree!" He oriented himself and headed towards the Great Black Mountain in the Ancestral Court.

***

**Youdu**

Jade Consort, Shi Xiu, Ling Shu, and Ling Yuan were sacrificed one after another, transforming into energy that entered the past universe. Consequently, the Spirit Official Hall Master's Dao tree became increasingly clear, and its Dao fruits grew stronger. Now, ten years had passed. Once the sacrifice of the Lingyuan Heavens was complete, he would be able to recover to his peak strength from the Sixteenth Epoch, at which point no one in this universe would be his match.

The Spirit Official Hall Master waited quietly. Today was the day the sacrifice of the Lingyuan Heavens would be completed, and also the day his Dao tree would fully descend. Although he was a perfected being who had lived through four cosmic epochs and possessed an unyielding Dao heart, even he couldn't help but feel a slight ripple of emotion at this moment. With his Dao tree's descent, he could precede everyone from Miluo Palace in imprinting his Grand Dao upon this universe's Ultimate Void! This was the first move! By imprinting his Grand Dao before everyone else, he might be able to cultivate his fourth Dao fruit before this universe collapsed!

"With the descent of Miluo Palace, the collapse of this universe is inevitable, likely even faster than the Sixteenth Epoch's collapse. Not everyone has the hope of cultivating another Dao fruit in this universe, but I certainly can." The Spirit Official Hall Master was in high spirits; this was precisely why he risked offending the Seventh Young Master, Qin Mu, to manifest here!

Finally, the Lingyuan Heavens completely transformed into energy and vanished. The Spirit Official Hall Master felt an immensely profound Grand Dao power surge from his Dao tree, Dao flowers, and Dao fruits, filling him with profound comfort. He summoned Heavenly Venerate Void and said, "I am grateful for your care these past ten years, and I have repaid you by greatly enhancing the Youdu Grand Dao you cultivate. My cultivation is now complete. I shall proceed to your cosmic void to attempt to imprint my Grand Dao and establish my Ultimate Grand Overarching Heaven."

Heavenly Venerate Void bowed in gratitude. Over these ten years, the Spirit Official Hall Master had guided her cultivation, allowing her to benefit greatly, and her power and cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, far surpassing her previous state.

"If you cultivate according to my teachings, achieving enlightenment will not be difficult," the Spirit Official Hall Master said. With his Dao tree standing behind him, the Spirit Official Hall Master instructed, "If the Celestial Emperor inquires, tell him directly that I have gone to imprint the Ultimate Void. Once I achieve enlightenment in this world, I will possess two Dao flowers and three Dao fruits. I only need to separate my physical body, and I can transform into five perfected beings to assist him."

Heavenly Venerate Void's heart trembled: "Five perfected beings?"

The Spirit Official Hall Master soared into the sky, ascending one layer of heaven with each step. After thirty-six steps, he entered the Ultimate Void.

"This young universe still has so few perfected beings; it's pathetic that after six billion years of history, it's so unproductive." The Spirit Official Hall Master sensed the fluctuations of the Grand Overarching Heavens from within the Ultimate Void, discerning how many there were, and couldn't help but shake his head. He sat down and began to entrust his Grand Dao. Even the chilling, desolate winds of the Ultimate Void could not affect him in the slightest. He had achieved enlightenment in a past universe, not this one, so he still needed to imprint his Dao upon the Ultimate Void to fully unleash his cultivation and power.

In ordinary times, he might have chosen to enter the world and cultivate, forging a path different from his previous cosmic epoch—this was the orthodox cultivation path of Miluo Palace.

"However, with the Seventh Young Master in this universe, I cannot cultivate in the orthodox manner! After all, that is the Seventh Young Master..."

***

The Celestial Court army marched forth magnificently, drawing ever closer to the Primordial Realm. However, the journey had consumed a vast amount of supplies, a burden even the Celestial Court's astonishing wealth struggled to bear. More critically, Eternal Peace had severed all spirit energy transfer bridges connecting it to the Celestial Court, causing the Celestial Court to lose its dominion over the myriad heavens and worlds. Without the resources of these worlds as support, the Celestial Court's expedition against Eternal Peace found even the journey's expenditures somewhat strenuous.

Meng Yungui was ordered to go to the Southern Heaven to gather wealth from its various heavens. Yan Yazai, Fire Heavenly Venerate's disciple, hastily met him, personally hosted him, and after receiving the Celestial Emperor's decree, immediately ordered the major heavens of the Southern Heaven to send their various treasures. Meng Yungui waited in the Southern Heaven for over ten days. Yan Yazai had made all arrangements, with hundreds of cargo ships lined up along a tributary of the Heavenly River.

Yan Yazai respectfully saw Meng Yungui off, quietly saying, "Your subordinate heard that the Heavenly Master is human and fond of rare treasures. Heavenly Master, that last small boat is a gift from your subordinate to you." Meng Yungui boarded a ship, feeling disdain for Yan Yazai in his heart. On a grand ship, he ordered, "Open the holds, inspect the provisions, and ensure nothing is missing." The divine officers on board opened the holds. Meng Yungui looked inside and froze, seeing the holds full of humans—elders and young adults alike.

Meng Yungui's mind reeled. Yan Yazai quickly offered a fawning smile, "Heavenly Master, rest assured, I would never shortchange you! All humans in Southern Heaven aged forty and above have been sent! These are just two hundred ships for now; an endless stream of slave ships will follow..."

Meng Yungui grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up, and said in a hoarse voice, "I asked for supplies!"

"Heavenly Master, these *are* supplies." Yan Yazai struggled but couldn't break free, quickly adding, "During the Fire Bandit era, humans were sacrificed at seventy, but that's ancient history now. Ancestral God King has re-established the rule: they can be sacrificed at forty! Heavenly Master, rest assured, they are all very willing!" He turned to the hold and asked, "Are you willing?" The humans in the hold answered in unison, "My Lord, we are willing!"

Meng Yungui weakly released Yan Yazai, patting his shoulder, and muttered, "Yan Yazai, you've done very well, very well..."

The supply fleet departed. Meng Yungui stood at the prow, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. He turned to look back at the long fleet again and again, but each time he turned away. "I will personally deliver these kin to the Celestial Court's army, personally send them as provisions for the Celestial Court's gods and devils..." He was in a daze when suddenly a voice, like a nightmare, echoed in his mind. "I have a dream... Heh, how cruel it is..." He coughed up a mouthful of blood, but his complexion actually improved.

Yan Yazai watched the supply fleet depart. Just as he was about to return to prepare more slaves, Meng Yungui's voice called out, "Yan Yazai!" Yan Yazai quickly turned, offering a fawning smile, "Heavenly Master Men—" A flash of light pierced his brow! Yan Yazai's world collapsed before his eyes, gradually sinking into darkness. He only heard Meng Yungui's voice, filled with delight.

"I'm... rebelling!"