Chapter 1711: The Hunter of the Seventeenth Era

Beneath the World Tree, a series of rapid and violent pulsations emanated. Qin Mu, sensing these tremors from afar, felt his heart gradually sink.

From the fluctuations of the divine arts, he could discern which were attributed to Xu Shenghua and which belonged to the Spirit Official. The Spirit Official's two ancient god avatars were currently employing a peculiar combined attack technique to corner and eliminate Xu Shenghua. These two ancient gods would sometimes merge and sometimes separate. Although they mastered different Grand Dao paths, each of their paths perfectly aligned with their respective Dao Flower and Dao Fruit.

The Spirit Official Palace Lord had indeed gone to great lengths to breach the Great Black Mountain! He had achieved Dao four times, forming three Dao Fruits and opening one Dao Flower. Qin Mu had previously destroyed one, and another was just annihilated while blocking Qin Mu. With the remaining Dao Fruit and Dao Flower, the avatars he chose were those whose Grand Dao aligned perfectly with the Dao Fruit and Dao Flower's inherent path, allowing them to unleash their maximum power. The strength of those two avatars was likely infinitely close to that of a Dao Practitioner!

"Xu Shenghua, you absolutely must not die..."

Qin Mu tried to quicken his pace, but his steps grew increasingly heavy. In the previous battle, his magic power had been depleted, and his physical body had long since reached its limit. His legs felt alien, and his body seemed to bear the weight of myriad worlds, making his progress arduous. Continuously rushing, crossing battlefields in the shortest time, and eliminating the Spirit Official Palace Lord's ancient god avatars within the chaotic armies with minimal cost and maximum speed was an unimaginable challenge for him. His recent battle in the Spirit Official's Treasure Hall had severely overdrawn him, exhausting his vital energy. The Spirit Official's avatars had even managed to inflict physical damage on him.

The fluctuations of divine arts emanating from the Great Black Mountain continued, growing more rapid. Clearly, Xu Shenghua's battle against the two Spirit Official avatars had reached its most critical juncture. Qin Mu's figure still moved like lightning, but his body swayed, and his speed was significantly slower than before.

At this moment, he sensed something unusual within the divine art fluctuations. Qin Mu looked up towards the Great Black Mountain ahead, where another World Tree was slowly rising—it was Xu Shenghua's World Tree.

When the World Tree was revived years ago, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian sat beneath it, attempting to analyze the Grand Dao contained within, treating the World Tree as a cultivation realm itself. Qin Mu also contemplated beside them but failed to gain any insights. He then devised a clever method: borrowing a divine axe from the Grand Primordium to chop down the World Tree and transplant it into his own divine treasure. Later, when a new tree grew, Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua continued to sit beneath it, diligently trying to deconstruct the World Tree. It now appeared that Xu Shenghua had made significant progress over the years.

"Thirty-three heavens of the Dao Realm..." Qin Mu continued without stopping, his vertical eye between his brows opening. Xu Shenghua's Dao Realm was connected to his World Tree, which slightly eased his mind. Xu Shenghua was now considered a half-Dao Practitioner. He and Lan Yutian were forging a new cultivation system for the future, and this system was now nearing completion!

He and Lan Yutian had chosen a shortcut. Traditional cultivation systems, whether the Heavenly Palace and Celestial Court system or the Dao Realm system, relied on the accumulation of quantitative change. Even cultivating a perfect Celestial Court required imprinting oneself on the ultimate void to achieve qualitative change. Similarly, cultivating to the thirty-six heavens of the Dao Realm necessitated imprinting one's Grand Dao in the ultimate void. However, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian's system integrated the Dao Realm with the World Tree, essentially making the World Tree one's personal Dao Tree. Once a divine arts practitioner cultivated to the Five Great Ultimates realm and began to condense their World Tree, they would effectively enter the realm of a Dao Practitioner. Each deeper level in the Dao Realm brought them closer to becoming a perfect Dao Practitioner. The advantage of this cultivation method was that it dispersed qualitative changes into quantitative ones, distributing them throughout each Dao Realm.

"Xu Shenghua's strength is comparable to a single Spirit Official avatar, but with two Spirit Official avatars combined with their Dao Flower and Dao Fruit, they will far surpass him. His only reliance is on his divine arts."

Qin Mu was drawing closer to Black Mountain. The divine arts emanating from it became incredibly dense and came from different directions, indicating that the three were moving at extremely high speeds. "Xu Shenghua's strength lies in his ability to grow stronger when faced with a powerful opponent. His mind is incredibly agile, always finding ways to counter an opponent's divine arts and techniques during battle. But there's a prerequisite: his knowledge reserve must be sufficient to contend with the Spirit Official!" If his knowledge reserve couldn't rival the Spirit Official's, he would fail, no matter how clever he was!

The Spirit Official's knowledge base originated from the past four cosmic epochs, as well as the Mi Luo Palace! The Mi Luo Palace could be considered the most glorious and colossal sacred ground of the past sixteen cosmic epochs, indeed, the supreme sacred ground! Although it was impossible for the Spirit Official to fully absorb all the profound knowledge of the Mi Luo Palace, what he did acquire was extraordinary. The fact that this Palace Lord's physical body could encompass nearly all ancient gods indicated his astonishing mastery of these innate Grand Dao paths. For Xu Shenghua to surpass him in knowledge reserves was almost impossible!

Qin Mu surged into the Great Black Mountain, an area of immense geographical extent. Climbing a peak, he surveyed the landscape, witnessing countless mountains split open, evidence of an unimaginable fierce battle that had torn the peaks apart!

Suddenly, the divine art fluctuations ceased. Qin Mu's heart sank. Dragging his exhausted body, he stumbled towards the last known location of the divine art fluctuations. Just then, he suddenly spotted several tombs at the foot of a black mountain, each with a tombstone. Qin Mu paused, his vertical eye opening. He strained to activate it, peering into the tombs. A look of astonishment crossed his face, which then broke into a smile: "That Xu Shenghua, I thought he wouldn't stoop to stealing from his own-… In terms of knowledge reserves, the Spirit Official might actually be inferior to him!" He looked towards the other black mountains, seeing numerous tombs and steles. The sheer number of tombs here somewhat exceeded Qin Mu's expectations.

He slowed his pace, continuing forward. Few prehistoric experts who smuggled themselves through the World Tree were Dao Practitioners; a large portion of the Dao Practitioners gathered in Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, which was their sacred ground, where Dao Trees formed forests. Most prehistoric experts who chose to smuggle themselves through the World Tree were those who had no chance of becoming Dao Practitioners and were not qualified to enter Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. Thus, their only way to survive was by illicitly passing through the World Tree. Years ago, enraged by Cripple's death, Qin Mu ventured deep into the Great Black Mountain's mines overnight, slaying over a hundred prehistoric experts.

Xu Shenghua likely didn't achieve such great military success overnight. Instead, for over thirty years, he had been doing similar things daily. This meant he fought these prehistoric experts every day, honing his skills, and his understanding of prehistoric Dao arts and divine powers probably surpassed even the Spirit Official's! This was Xu Shenghua's chance for victory!

"He secretly consumed many Dao Dews, which significantly boosted his cultivation. By drinking a little each day and releasing one prehistoric expert, he accumulated enough to compensate for his short cultivation time. If I were him, the moment I saw the Spirit Official arrive, I would have decisively guzzled all the Dao Dews, using the power of the Grand Primordium Dao Dew to contend with the Spirit Official!"

"Xu Shenghua would do the same! He's as smart as I am!"

Nevertheless, Qin Mu struggled onward. He needed to see Xu Shenghua with his own eyes before he could rest assured. Finally, Qin Mu reached the location of the last divine art fluctuations. There, the Spirit Official Palace Lord's two colossal ancient god avatars stood in a valley, surrounded by residual divine arts, still emanating deadly aftershocks. This divine art, derived from the Mi Luo Palace, consisted of intensely fiery Dao chains, forming an inescapable net that sealed off the area! Xu Shenghua, however, lay motionless between the two ancient god avatars, surrounded by bloodstains.

"Could it be..." Qin Mu's heart sank. The Spirit Official Palace Lord's Dao Fruit was still present, and his Dao Flower remained, albeit tattered but not completely destroyed. It was precisely the Dao Fruit and Dao Flower that maintained the inescapable net formed by the Dao chains!

Qin Mu stepped forward, his gaze falling upon the two ancient god avatars of the Spirit Official. He paused slightly. He walked directly towards the inescapable net, passing between the terrifying Dao chains, which erupted with immense power. Qin Mu grunted, having no magic power left to counter the attack. Relying on his formidable Primordial Chaos body, he forcefully endured the final divine art and entered the inescapable net.

*Boom, boom.* Two loud explosions echoed as the Spirit Official's Dao Fruit burst, followed by his Dao Flower. Then, the two ancient god bodies swayed and toppled to the ground.

Xu Shenghua looked up, then lowered his head, panting heavily. His voice was hoarse: "Sect Master Qin, you've come. I can no longer break through his final divine art. He used his last strength to seal me here, waiting for nightfall. This place will then become a paradise for prehistoric experts, who will kill me..."

Qin Mu went to his side and examined his injuries. Xu Shenghua had numerous wounds that hadn't healed, each containing residual Dao arts from the Mi Luo Palace. Qin Mu tried to heal him, but he had no vital energy left to use.

"I've tried my best to avoid fatal injuries." Xu Shenghua, rarely smiling, said: "You're even more miserable than I am. Heal yourself first. I just need to climb onto the World Tree and wait for the Grand Primordium's Dao Tree to appear. Collecting some Dao Dew should save my life..."

Suddenly, he felt water splash onto his face. Xu Shenghua was slightly stunned, seeing tears streaming down Qin Mu's face like rain. Xu Shenghua quickly said: "Sect Master Qin, what's wrong? I'm still alive and well..."

Qin Mu suddenly burst into tears, shakily stood up, and struggled to walk away: "I couldn't save Celestial Venerable Yun! I won't make it back in time... I must rush back, get back as quickly as possible..."

Xu Shenghua raised his hand, struggling to grab Qin Mu's ankle. His voice was hoarse: "Calm down! Your condition isn't much better than mine. Even if you push yourself to rush back to the Primordial Realm, you won't make it in time; it'll only take longer. Calm down. Night is approaching. Rest for a bit. When the Grand Primordium Dao Tree appears, drink some Dao Dew, recover some of your cultivation, and you'll actually get back to the Primordial Realm sooner!"

Qin Mu stopped, silent for a moment. He bent down to help Xu Shenghua up, but stumbled, and both nearly fell to the ground. Supporting each other, they struggled forward, heading towards the World Tree. The two most brilliant experts of Eternal Peace now resembled two old men, trudging slowly forward.

The sun was setting. As the sun set, they finally reached the base of the World Tree. Qin Mu, having recovered a sliver of his cultivation, circulated his magic power and brought Xu Shenghua to the very top of the World Tree. Sitting on the highest leaves, they looked up. The starry sky of the Ancestral Court was dazzling, with stars shifting like a carousel, their movements unpredictable. The cause of this bizarre phenomenon lay in Xuandu. Ancestral God King, leading the star gods of Xuandu and commanding Xuandu's Sun and Moon Guardians armies, was attacking Carefree Village and Eternal Peace. The star gods, Sun Guardians, and Moon Guardians were all celestial deities, naturally causing disturbances in the celestial phenomena. The great disorder in the celestial phenomena indicated that Xuandu's armies had almost entirely mobilized!

The Grand Primordium's Dao Tree emerged from the ultimate void. Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua shakily rose to collect the dripping Dao Dew.

"Can Eternal Peace be saved?" Xu Shenghua suddenly asked.

"Eternal Peace can be saved, but Carefree Village cannot." Qin Mu consumed the Dao Dew, diligently cultivating to refine it. He said: "However, the Celestial Court will undoubtedly pay a huge price to conquer Carefree Village. Carefree Village is a weapon, forged during the Kaihuang era by exhausting all the wealth of that period."

Xu Shenghua was somewhat puzzled.

"I've been to Carefree Village and examined the internal structure of its layers of heavens. While the exteriors of those heavens appear as ordinary lands and mountains, their interiors are crafted from divine gold and iron, resembling incredibly precise machinery." Qin Mu continued collecting Dao Dew, saying: "Kaihuang Qin Ye's Carefree Sword is hollow, and Carefree Village's thirty-three heavens are the sword's core. A complete Carefree Sword should have Carefree Village hidden within it. The Carefree Sword's power has never been very high, and it's prone to breaking. The main reason for this lies in its core. Without Carefree Village as its core, the Carefree Sword's power cannot be fully unleashed."

Xu Shenghua was silent for a moment, then said: "Kaihuang was so enduring."

Qin Mu nodded: "He is such a person. Carefree Village is his last resort to harm his enemies. When the Celestial Court armies conquer Carefree Village's thirty-three heavens, its secret will be detonated."

Having recovered some cultivation, he immediately began treating Xu Shenghua's Dao injuries. He said: "Tonight, I cannot act. I need to conserve my strength to rush back to the Primordial Realm after daybreak. Can you hold on?"

Xu Shenghua calmly replied: "I've been killing here for thirty years, and I've gained some renown in the prehistoric universe. Some of the illicit travelers call me the Hunter of the Seventeenth Epoch; my reputation is no less than the Seven Young Masters of the Mi Luo Palace. No one should dare to approach during the first half of the night..." He coughed violently, taking a moment to compose himself, then continued: "In the latter half of the night, there will likely be a wave of probing attacks. The true offensive will come on the second night. Rest assured, if I can't defeat them after you leave, I'll simply retreat."

Qin Mu nodded silently, refining the Dao Dew and striving to recover his cultivation. He said: "What worries me more is that Heavenly Venerate Hao has taken almost all the sacred grounds from the Ancestral Court. In the past, with these sacred grounds suppressing things, there wouldn't have been much of a problem. But now, if even the Great Black Mountain falls, some entities might seize the opportunity to emerge." His gaze was profound as he whispered: "The prehistoric universe didn't just have the Mi Luo Palace as a sacred ground; there were other forces as well. Even if they weren't as formidable as the Mi Luo Palace, they were still not to be underestimated."