Chapter 1677: A Visit to the Thatched Cottage

"Such a small Great Overarching Heaven?"

Qin Mu was somewhat taken aback. This Great Overarching Heaven was unlike any he had seen before. Whether it was Grand Emperor's Great Overarching Heaven or Grand Beginning and Emperor of Heaven Hao's One Qi Great Overarching Heaven, they were all incredibly vast, complete with sky and earth, sun, moon, and stars. Some were carved like beautiful jade, while others appeared as golden worlds. The essence of a Great Overarching Heaven is the Dao's interpretation of the universe, making each one a complete realm of heavens.

However, the Great Overarching Heaven before him was pitifully small. Yet, like a sparrow, though small, it had all the vital organs. This Great Overarching Heaven, despite its miniature size, featured a tiny sun hanging behind the thatched cottage and a tiny moon resting in front. Both were exquisitely delicate and revolved in cycles around this small realm.

As Qin Mu stepped forward, the sun rose from behind the cottage, coming into view, while the moon had already set to the back of the Great Overarching Heaven. The sunlight illuminated the shadow behind him, revealing Shang Jun's figure. Shang Jun was accustomed to lurking in his shadow, and appearing suddenly, exposed to the sunlight, he stood there blankly, somewhat flustered.

"Shang Jun, you weren't like this when you were in the village," Qin Mu said with a gentle smile. "Back then, you were butchering pigs at the village entrance, your hand swift with the knife, and you showed no unease even when you saw me. As long as your conscience is clear, what does it matter if thousands point fingers or ten thousand eyes stare?"

Shang Jun remained silent.

Qin Mu approached the thatched cottage, inspecting it from top to bottom. He saw the characters "Tai Shang" written on the plaque above the door.

"Tai Shang Hall?" Qin Mu paused slightly, his expression growing serious. In the Mi Luo Palace of Ancestral Court Jade Capital City, there was a Tai Shang Hall, refined by the Grand Young Master's Dao, symbolizing his achievements. However, that Tai Shang Hall was majestic, ancient, and solemn, completely unlike the humble thatched cottage before him! Could this Tai Shang thatched cottage be the Grand Young Master's Tai Shang Hall from the Mi Luo Palace? If this one was formed by his Dao, then where did the Tai Shang Hall in the Mi Luo Palace come from? Which one was the true Tai Shang Hall? If there was a real one, there was naturally a fake. Qin Mu's expression couldn't help but turn strange. If this Tai Shang thatched cottage was the true Tai Shang Hall, wouldn't that mean the one in Mi Luo Palace was fake?

"The Grand Young Master truly has a unique personality. I thought he was humorless, just like the Master of Mi Luo Palace." Qin Mu, full of enthusiasm, circled the cottage several times, examining the structure of every single thatch. He suddenly burst out laughing, "This cottage is the true Tai Shang Hall! The one in Mi Luo Palace is actually fake!"

Shang Jun didn't understand and asked, "How did Celestial Venerable figure that out?"

"Every single thatch on this cottage is condensed from primordial runes. Each thatch represents a complete Dao, and each is a different Dao," Qin Mu explained patiently. "I just counted, there are six thousand four hundred thistles here, representing six thousand four hundred different Daos, with no repetition. To evolve these Daos using primordial runes—that is the highest achievement, hence the name Tai Shang. The Tai Shang Hall of the Mi Luo Palace's Grand Young Master can only be this cottage."

Shang Jun was deeply shaken. He looked at the Dao tree behind the cottage and asked, "So, how many Daos does Tai Shang's Dao tree encompass?"

"There should also be six thousand four hundred kinds," Qin Mu said, his gaze falling on the Dao tree. "His Dao tree isn't a real one; it's just a projection. His true form and Dao tree should be in the era he was born in."

Shang Jun was silent for a moment. "It's impossible for anyone to cultivate all six thousand four hundred Daos to the Great Overarching Heaven realm. Grand Young Master Tai Shang cannot be that powerful."

"It is possible," Qin Mu said, walking towards the cottage door. "The greatest feature of primordial runes is their ability to evolve into different Daos—be it Grand Change, Grand Beginning, or the other Five Grand Daos, or various innate Daos, or acquired Daos, all can be evolved using primordial runes. Different Daos have different fundamental runes, and the foundation of these fundamental runes is the primordial rune. I actually think the thatch on the Tai Shang cottage is still too few." He reached out to push the cottage door, saying, "If the Master of Mi Luo Palace were to evolve Daos using primordial runes, it wouldn't be a mere cottage, but an entire Mi Luo Palace."

The cottage door swayed slightly, but he couldn't push it open. Qin Mu frowned, trying to decipher it. However, the primordial runes on the door constantly changed, evolving into different Daos, making it impossible for him to unlock. Soon, the moon rose, but the cottage door remained unopened.

Shang Jun tried to force the door open with his Killing Dao, but when his blade struck the door, a terrifying power erupted, flinging him far away. Qin Mu quickly rescued him, barely saving him, otherwise the power unleashed by that door would have been enough to severely injure him!

Qin Mu knocked on the door and smiled, "Is anyone home? A guest has arrived!" There was no sound from within.

Qin Mu, feeling helpless, sat in front of the cottage, contemplating. After a moment, both the moon and the sun appeared in the sky of this tiny Great Overarching Heaven. Qin Mu had a flash of inspiration, took out the Grand Change staff, and tried knocking, saying, "Grand Change, are you in the cottage? I've followed the map to rescue you!" The Grand Change staff knocked loudly on the door, but there was still no movement from within.

Qin Mu was completely out of ideas. He stuck the Grand Change staff in front of the door and frowned in deep thought. Suddenly, the Grand Change staff surprisingly sprouted a tender leaf with a soft "pop"! Qin Mu stared at the tender leaf. He watched as it gradually grew, and after a moment, its veins changed, forming the shape of an axe.

Qin Mu's heart stirred. He carefully pondered the changes in the veins, his eyes gleaming. "Is Grand Change using this World Tree leaf, grown from his staff, to teach me his axe technique for splitting the World Tree? He wants me to use this method to split open this door! This means Grand Change is indeed inside this Tai Shang thatched cottage!"

His vertical eye between his brows opened, observing the intricate patterns of the World Tree sapling's leaf. These patterns were constantly changing and extremely complex, yet they encompassed Grand Change's Dao arts and divine abilities. Qin Mu already had profound mastery over the Dao of Grand Change, and he unconsciously immersed himself in the shifting patterns. The Grand Change staff was refined from a branch of the World Tree and transformed into a treasure by Grand Change. Clearly, Grand Change was suppressed within the Tai Shang thatched cottage and couldn't speak, but he was using the World Tree properties of the staff to transmit information.

Unconsciously, Qin Mu drew his Calamity Sword and used it as an axe, slowly performing the Dao and divine abilities of Grand Change displayed on the leaf. Shang Jun was healing nearby. He watched as the movements of Qin Mu's Calamity Sword were ancient and unadorned, yet their power grew increasingly stronger. Qin Mu, wielding his sword as an axe, was like a giant splitting heaven and earth; the power contained in each 'axe-strike' seemed capable of cleaving the ultimate void and splitting a Great Overarching Heaven in half!

After a long time, the patterns on the tender leaf stopped changing. The leaf quickly withered and turned yellow, falling like a dead leaf, then dissolving into nothingness. Qin Mu closed his eyes, holding his breath and concentrating. Shang Jun quietly waited nearby. He saw the sun and moon cycle more than ten times before Qin Mu finally opened his eyes, which shone brightly with divine light, then slowly receded and vanished. He appeared very plain and unadorned, his aura and presence completely withdrawn, like an ordinary person with no special qualities discernible.

He approached the cottage door, stood firm, held his sword with both hands, and slowly began to move the Calamity Sword. There was no wind in the ultimate void, nothing at all, yet at this moment, the sound of wind arose. As the sword in Qin Mu's hand moved, the sound of wind grew more urgent and louder. Yet, the sword in his hand moved slower and slower, agonizingly slow. The Calamity Sword's movement never stopped, but its speed became increasingly sluggish. The sound of wind also grew louder, quickly transforming into the roar of waves, which in turn intensified, issuing forth rumbling peals! Soon, the rumbling seemed to turn into the sound of bells, the resonant tones of the Yellow Bell and Great Bell reverberating incessantly, so loud that only the sound of bells remained in Shang Jun's ears!

Finally, the Calamity Sword in Qin Mu's hand reached the cottage door, and the sword made contact with the threshold! At this very moment, the sun and moon stopped revolving. Each thatch on the cottage swayed, emitting rays of Dao light, which flowed like a tide into the doorway. From within the doorway came the sound of something breaking, like the whistling snap of a taut bowstring suddenly breaking!

Bang, bang, bang!

One sound after another echoed. Qin Mu's arms trembled violently, his large tendons bulged and twitched, and his muscles swelled outwards in defined ridges, making his arms increasingly thick! The Calamity Sword continued to move, cutting into the doorway, but the speed at which it sliced through the door panel became increasingly slow. Qin Mu's arms trembled as if the Calamity Sword grew heavier and heavier, and the breaking sounds became more frequent.

Flames blazed above his head, and behind him, a World Tree and a great Void Abyss involuntarily appeared. The World Tree grew increasingly robust, and the great abyss devoured everything! His Divine Treasure realm emerged, with thirty-three Heavenly Palaces suspended high. Five great mineral veins sat within the Ancestral Court, glowing brightly with radiant light, and the Daos of the Innate Five Grand were pushed to their utmost! Within the Heavenly Court, his primordial spirit stood before the Chaos Hall, mobilizing the power of the entire Heavenly Court! That was his Primordial Spirit! The Primordial Spirit augmented his Primordial Body, boosting his strength to its peak. The sound of Daos thundered within his physical body! He was enveloped in a vast expanse of primordial violet qi, and the Chaos Hall behind him became increasingly clear!

Suddenly, the webs between his thumbs and forefingers split open from the impact, and the skin on both his arms spontaneously burst. At the same time, a tearing sound came from his clothes and trousers; his thighs became incredibly thick, bursting through the fabric, making it impossible to conceal his powerful legs! Qin Mu's upper robes also ripped open, revealing his formidable physique with bulging muscles. The torn garments scattered like scraps of cloth.

The Calamity Sword continued to cleave forward, but it became increasingly difficult for the sword to withstand his power. Cracks spread across its surface! The cracks grew finer and more numerous! The Calamity Sword suddenly exploded, shattering into countless motes of dust! Qin Mu grunted, and the hilt in his hand also shattered into dust, mingling with his blood to form a mist that dispersed!

"My sword cannot withstand my power," Qin Mu declared. "I will return to open this door after I forge a better one!"

Qin Mu turned, his clothes completely shredded and scattering like butterflies. His muscles retracted, returning to their original state, and he strode away from this small Great Overarching Heaven.

"Shang Jun, let's go!"

Shang Jun entered his shadow, following him closely as he departed.