Chapter 1725: Prehistoric Invasion, Heavenly Court Falls

The Right Feathered Forest Army hadn't even had a chance to react when the young man suddenly vanished. He reappeared next to the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao, moving so quickly that even the Feathered Forest Army soldiers couldn't clearly see him.

Any of the Heavenly Court's Ten Guards, when arrayed, could directly contend with a Celestial Venerable. Their power was especially astonishing when they deployed the formations created by Meng Yun Gui. Among the Heavenly Court's Ten Guards, the Feathered Forest Army boasted the strongest combat prowess, renowned as the Emperor of Heaven's Wings. The first general of the Feathered Forest Army was Wei Sui Feng, who earned great renown during the Battle of the Return Ruins, directly annihilating the then most powerful demigod race, the Dragon King Nation. This generation's Right Feathered Forest Army was even stronger than its predecessor, with its commander, Emperor Bian Yan Fei, being a figure as renowned as Emperor Wei Sui Feng. Yet, even he couldn't perceive the young man's movements.

"Divine Feather Grand Swan Formation, activate!"

Bian Yan Fei roared. The fifty thousand elite soldiers of the Right Feathered Forest Army immediately activated the formation. Its power instantly surged to its peak, transforming into a colossal azure bird.

"Swan! Swan! Swan! Great Swan!"

The aura of the fifty thousand soldiers connected, and they roared in unison. Heavenly palaces were scattered like azure birds, and the Daoist sounds vibrated, as if the Great Swan was wailing, reminiscent of Celestial Venerable Hong's presence in the world. Celestial Venerable Hong, renowned as the strongest in magic power in his era, had been deconstructed by Meng Yun Gui's formations. The Divine Feather Grand Swan Formation deployed by the Feathered Forest Army combined Celestial Venerable Hong's monstrous power with the righteous principles of the Heavenly Dao, encompassing Qin Mu's coffin and the young man within its deadly array.

As the killing formation activated, the young man trapped within remained unhurried. His Thirty-Three Heavens domain unfurled, connecting with the Thirty-Three Layers of Void. He ascended higher and higher with the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao, delving into layer after layer of the void, quickly reaching the thirty-third layer. Bian Yan Fei led the Feathered Forest Army in a concerted attack, entering the successive layers of void. However, the higher they ascended, the more severe the void's nullification effect became. Even with the Divine Feather Grand Swan Formation, the Feathered Forest Army found it extremely strenuous to counter the omnipresent nullification of the void.

By the time they reached the thirty-third layer of void, the nullification had affected every Feathered Forest Army soldier. If they continued deeper, it was likely that none of them would survive. True Celestial Venerables could enter the thirty-fifth layer of void unscathed, but the Feathered Forest Army was not comprised of true Celestial Venerables. Although the Divine Feather Grand Swan Formation was formidable, the soldiers forming it did not possess the strength of Celestial Venerables. Bian Yan Fei looked at the young man, his eyes revealing unwillingness. The young man stood within the thirty-third layer of void, seemingly merged with it, and the power of this thirty-third Heaven-layer void had no effect on him whatsoever.

"Who are you?" Bian Yan Fei demanded sharply.

"Xu Sheng Hua from the Heavens Above."

The young man, polite and courteous, saluted him, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoist from the Heavenly Court."

"Xu Sheng Hua!"

Bian Yan Fei turned and shouted, "Everyone, withdraw from the void!"

The fifty thousand Feathered Forest Army soldiers unfurled their wings, darkening the sky as the Great Swan flapped its wings and flew away. As soon as they exited the void, Bian Yan Fei immediately ordered, "Halt! Activate the formation and attack the Ultimate Void from here!" The Feathered Forest Army soldiers promptly activated the formation, unleashing powerful magic energy comparable to Celestial Venerable Hong's peak. The grand formation launched, transforming into a long swan strike, like a world-shattering wing, tearing through layers of void and striking towards the thirty-third layer of void. That world-shattering wing effortlessly cleaved through the thirty-three layers. However, within the thirty-third layer of void, the man named Xu Sheng Hua and the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao had vanished without a trace!

No one had noticed when Xu Sheng Hua had left with the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao. Cold sweat streamed down Bian Yan Fei's forehead, his heart filled with despair. He murmured, "The Feathered Forest Army is finished, completely finished..." The Feathered Forest Army was responsible for transporting Celestial Venerable Mu's coffin to the Ancestral Court's Sinking River. To encounter such an incident halfway was unexpected. If they returned, he feared there would be no way to report to Emperor Hao. Under Emperor Hao's wrath, countless heads would surely fall!

"What do we do? What do we do?" Bian Yan Fei clutched his hair, suddenly losing control of his emotions and bursting into tears.

In the starry sky, Xu Sheng Hua circled the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao twice, then suddenly smiled. "Sect Master Qin, how are things inside?" He rarely smiled in front of others, but before Qin Mu's coffin, he couldn't help but laugh aloud, appearing very happy. There was no movement from the divine coffin, but Xu Sheng Hua was not worried about Qin Mu's safety. He meticulously studied the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao.

"This divine coffin isn't a coffin at all; it seems to be a form of seal, imprisoning a powerful being within." He walked around the coffin, stopping and examining it closely. "This isn't a Dao art or divine ability from our universe. It must be from the prehistoric era, truly a highly advanced civilization to create such exquisitely beautiful seals. However, the most powerful aspect of this coffin isn't the coffin itself, but these coffin nails. Strange, why are the coffin nails hammered into the coffin lid?" Xu Sheng Hua was greatly puzzled.

After observing for so long, he discerned many intricacies of the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao. Although he couldn't fully comprehend the prehistoric Dao arts contained within in a short time, he could generally grasp the overall concept of this sealing divine ability. From his understanding, the coffin nails were not meant to be hammered into the edges of the coffin lid to seal it shut. The true purpose of the coffin nails should be to pin the person inside to the coffin itself! In other words, when nailing, one should hammer them in from the coffin's six sides.

"Five nails for the head, piercing the crown. Fourteen nails for the feet, pinning the seven stars on the soles. Sixteen nails for the hands, pinning the five fingers (representing the Five Elements) and the palms and wrists." He counted carefully. These coffin nails also needed to be driven into the brow, to lock the divine treasure, and into various other points like the Yingxiang acupoint, throat, heart, fontanel, dantian, and Qihai. All in all, roughly one hundred nails would be needed. By simply driving a hundred nails through the coffin into these specific points on Qin Mu's body, he could be locked together with the coffin, his every magic power, divine ability, and transformation restricted, keeping him in the state he was in at the moment he was placed inside. If this were done, no one could escape; it was truly insidious!

However, the person who hammered the nails mistakenly thought they were meant to secure the coffin lid, resulting in all the nails being wrongly placed, not a single one in the correct spot! "Who was so good to Sect Master Qin?" This was what puzzled Xu Sheng Hua: not only were all the nails misplaced, but there were also only forty-nine of them, a full fifty-one missing! "How peculiar."

Originally, Xu Sheng Hua didn't dare to open the coffin rashly. But after seeing through the true nature of the Divine Coffin of Burying Dao, he immediately began to pull out the nails from its lid, one by one. He lifted the coffin lid, revealing a vast space within, like a small world. Dazzling light emanated from inside, which was the Dao light emitted by the World Tree. Beneath the World Tree, Qin Mu sat cross-legged. Xu Sheng Hua observed Qin Mu's face and praised, "Sect Master Qin looks incredibly lifelike, even after death."

He laboriously moved Qin Mu out of the coffin, panting heavily. Qin Mu's physical body wasn't particularly heavy; what was heavy were the World Tree and the Sea of Chaos beneath Qin Mu. Xu Sheng Hua examined Qin Mu and saw that there were indeed some coffin nails on his body, precisely fifty of them, which made him both laugh and cry. "Logically, there should be one more nail. Yet, the person who made this coffin seemed worried Sect Master Qin couldn't escape, not only placing the nails incorrectly but also crafting one less." Xu Sheng Hua shook his head and pulled the nails from Qin Mu's wounds. He couldn't help but shake his head again: "These fifty nails are also all in the wrong positions. I wonder which ignorant fellow nailed them..."

As soon as he removed the nails, a faint hint of vitality appeared in Qin Mu's lifeless body, as if a spring breeze had arrived after a harsh winter. Xu Sheng Hua felt a slight stir in his heart but showed no surprise, sitting quietly to wait. The Sea of Chaos rippled, subtly, gently, and slowly. Qin Mu's internal vitality slowly grew, but his injuries limited its increase. There were fifty such injuries. Xu Sheng Hua had just examined them and concluded they were Dao injuries from the Mi Luo Palace's Dao arts and divine abilities, extremely severe. Even if Qin Mu had destroyed his divine treasures and transformed into chaos, he had only dealt with the injuries to his divine treasures and primordial spirit; the injuries to his physical body could not be completely eradicated.

Xu Sheng Hua could not heal these injuries, so he could only wait for Qin Mu to awaken and resolve them himself. He had no worries about Qin Mu. This confidence stemmed from their first encounter when they were youths, and Qin Mu was managing the river. The confidence in Qin Mu's eyes had deeply shaken Xu Sheng Hua then. Their subsequent interactions grew more frequent, and Qin Mu had overcome so many challenges that it led Xu Sheng Hua to a misunderstanding: he felt that nothing could ever stump Qin Mu, defeat him, or even kill him. Of course, he had never witnessed Qin Mu's moments of despair, which was why he held this unwavering belief.

After an unknown period, Xu Sheng Hua looked up and saw blade light flickering intermittently in the Ultimate Void. He withdrew his gaze. That blade light was somewhat familiar to him; the last time Qin Mu had come to see him, he had sensed someone in Qin Mu's shadow but hadn't asked. The feeling that blade light gave him was very similar to the person in Qin Mu's shadow.

Just then, Qin Mu slowly opened his eyes. The Sea of Chaos gradually calmed, receding into his body, and the World Tree behind him also vanished. "Sect Master Qin, how was it in the coffin?" Xu Sheng Hua asked unhurriedly.

Qin Mu's aura was still very weak. He looked up at Xu Sheng Hua's unexpressive face and smiled wryly, "Brother Xu, why mock me?" Xu Sheng Hua's expression immediately became very lively, and he burst into laughter, his clear, resonant laughter carrying far. Qin Mu coughed violently a few times, expelling some stale blood from his body, and asked, "Brother Xu, how did you get out of the Ancestral Court?"

Xu Sheng Hua's smile faded, and he returned to his usual calm demeanor. He said, "Black Mountain has fallen. Too many stowaways climbed out from the roots of the World Tree. I couldn't defeat them, so I came out." Qin Mu was startled, then sighed in relief. "I was worried you'd fight to the death, to the very end..."

"No." Xu Sheng Hua calmly stated, "I am more useful alive." Qin Mu was half-exasperated by him and strongly wanted to get up and punch him. Few people could exasperate him to such an extent, but Xu Sheng Hua was an exception.

"The Heavenly Court is destroyed," Xu Sheng Hua continued. Qin Mu's heart jolted. He suddenly couldn't suppress his injuries, and blood spurted from all fifty wounds simultaneously. Xu Sheng Hua watched him frantically trying to seal his wounds, then handed over some coffin nails, saying, "These nails can help seal the wounds."

"The Heavenly Court is destroyed?" Qin Mu inserted a nail into one of his wounds and hastily asked. Xu Sheng Hua nodded. "When I left, there were already Dao Achievers sneaking over, preparing to attack the Heavenly Court. By now, the Heavenly Court should have been captured, and the Ancestral Court has changed hands." Qin Mu gasped, forgetting to insert the nails himself. Xu Sheng Hua kindly helped him insert several coffin nails into his wounds, making tears stream from his eyes in pain.

"The fall of the Heavenly Court, is it a good thing or a bad thing... Gently, it hurts!"