Chapter 1741: Ultimate Cold Silence

In the First Young Master Grand-Emperor’s final words, a vision of the ultimate void expanding infinitely was revealed.

The myriad heavens and worlds, the Ancestral Court, the Four Extreme Heavens, Xuantu, and Youdu—all expanded as the ultimate void expanded infinitely. Ultimately, everything became flattened and ethereal, transforming into a void membrane with no thickness or mass.

All matter would infinitely decompose as the void expanded, with even the smallest particles shattering. After eight hundred billion years, they would fragment to the level of Primordial Runes.

Primordial Runes were already the smallest structures of the Dao. After eight hundred billion years, even these runes would shatter due to the void's expansion. With the fragmentation of the Primordial, all Great Daos would cease to exist, and all Dao arts and divine abilities would turn into nothingness!

By then, the Da Luo Heavens of any accomplished Daoist would infinitely expand and collapse, and their Dao trees, Dao flowers, and Dao fruits would all vanish into the void.

The scene depicted by the First Young Master Grand-Emperor was the ultimate cold stillness following the infinite expansion of the ultimate void.

The myriad heavens and worlds, the Ancestral Court, the Four Extreme Heavens, Xuantu, Youdu, all life, and all matter would become mere embellishments on this immensely vast void membrane, invisible and intangible.

No Great Dao would have a place to exist.

Even the World Tree would become ethereal, continuously unfolding into the void, eventually transforming into a mass-less void membrane.

All energy in the universe would extinguish, and mass would disappear.

In the end, even the Great Abyss of Gui Xu would exhaust all its energy, evaporate completely, and cease to exist!

Ultimate cold stillness.

Qin Mu sat there quietly, not moving for a long time.

The outcome deduced by the Master of Miluo Palace, as shown to him by the First Young Master Grand-Emperor, was highly likely to occur, perhaps even inevitable!

This was because when Qin Mu first arrived in the ultimate void, he discovered that it was constantly expanding and growing on its own.

Moreover, even without entering the ultimate void, this expansion could be observed from historical trajectories.

In the Primordial Era, the universe underwent the transformation of the Five Primordials, evolving the Ancestral Court and giving rise to the Creators who lived within it. At that time, both the myriad heavens and worlds and the Four Extreme Heavens were very close to the Ancestral Court. In fact, the Four Extreme Heavens were initially four sacred lands within the Ancestral Court!

Back then, being able to pluck stars by hand was no exaggeration.

As time passed, with the expansion of the ultimate void, the Four Extreme Heavens gradually moved further away from the Ancestral Court. More and more stars appeared in the sky, the universe grew larger, Xuantu continuously expanded, and the cosmos kept growing.

By the early years of the Dragon Han Era, the universe's scope had already become immeasurably larger than in the Primordial Era!

If one were to use the Four Extreme Heavens and the Ancestral Court as observation points, they would find that the space between them was still continuously expanding!

The root cause of all this was the ceaseless growth of the ultimate void.

The ultimate void propelled the unfolding of layers of void, which in turn drove the continuous unfolding of the entire universe. This would ultimately lead to the endless extension of space between heavens and the increasing separation of stars.

These were the signs of ultimate cold stillness.

"Creation, duration, decay, and emptiness do not necessarily appear in that sequential order. It is also possible for only the 'creation' and 'emptiness' stages to occur."

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor's Dao words became much simpler, no longer containing such complex information. He stated dryly, "Teacher's deduction is that the Seventeenth Epoch will only have the 'creation' and 'emptiness' stages. He could not find a solution, and thus, he became utterly despondent."

Previously, the evolution of the universe followed creation, duration, decay, and emptiness: the universe formed, stabilized, broke down, and was destroyed. Then, it would undergo a rebirth, re-evolving into a primordial universe and repeating the cycle of creation, duration, decay, and emptiness.

The World Tree and Gui Xu ensured the stability of this cycle.

However, the universe of the Seventeenth Epoch might continually be in a state of formation, ultimately turning into void.

Qin Mu sat there blankly for a long time, then suddenly laughed, "Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, what does any of this have to do with my coming to rescue Grand-Prime?"

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor, as if in nirvana and devoid of any vital signs, continued to answer with Dao words: "The reason Teacher eliminated Tian Du was precisely this. Tian Du opened up the heavens and earth in the Seventh Epoch, evolving the universe. The ultimate result would lead to the ultimate cold stillness. Teacher calculated this outcome, and when persuasion failed, he had no choice but to act. Tian Du is Grand-Prime."

Qin Mu fell silent.

The two faced each other, each silent.

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor stated his reason for suppressing and imprisoning Grand-Prime: releasing Grand-Prime could potentially cause the Seventeenth Epoch to eternally evolve towards ultimate cold stillness. Therefore, he would not agree to Qin Mu's request to free Grand-Prime.

Qin Mu also realized this, but he lacked the confidence to rescue Grand-Prime himself, so he could only remain silent.

After an unknown period, Qin Mu slowly asked, "Teacher couldn't solve it, so he entered nirvana. Can you solve it by keeping Grand-Prime here?"

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor shook his head.

If keeping Grand-Prime could solve the problem of everything turning to void, then the Master of Miluo Palace would not have needed to enter nirvana.

Qin Mu calmly stated, "In that case, why suppress Grand-Prime? His existence is unrelated to the Seventeenth Epoch turning to void, and your suppression of him won't help."

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor opened his eyes. Purple qi filled them, and within the purple qi, a scene of the universe's primordial chaos at the dawn of creation appeared. He then said, "He is an enemy of Miluo Palace."

Qin Mu smiled, "Then, do I count as an enemy of Miluo Palace?"

The purple qi in the First Young Master Grand-Emperor's eyes completely transformed into chaos, as if he was lost in doubt. Even he didn't know whether Qin Mu was a disciple of the Master of Miluo Palace or an enemy of Miluo Palace.

Qin Mu chuckled, "Miluo Palace is simply a gathering place for accomplished Daoists who share the same ideals. Teacher was like this, you are like this, and so am I. Our ideals are not different; our goal is to save the world. You uphold Teacher's ideals, and your every action embodies them, as do I. Senior Brother, Teacher neither killed Grand-Prime nor suppressed him. Do you think, if Teacher truly wanted to keep him, he would have been able to leave Miluo Palace?"

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor shook his head. "If Teacher had wanted to kill him, he would have been kept in the palace the last time he entered Miluo Palace to provoke, instead of being cast down to the Fourth Epoch."

Qin Mu sighed with relief and chuckled, "On the contrary, it's neither you nor I, nor Grand-Prime, who have defied Teacher's ideals, but the Third and Fourth Young Masters. They attempted to forcibly enter the Seventeenth Epoch for their own selfish desires. Perhaps it was their actions that led to the ultimate cold stillness of the Seventeenth Epoch. My releasing Grand-Prime is also to stop them."

His eyes brightened as he said excitedly, "Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, think carefully, isn't this the truth? It was the Third and Fourth Young Masters who instigated all of this! Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, you should not only release Grand-Prime but also join forces with us to block these two unworthy disciples, the Third and Fourth Young Masters! We senior brothers should work together to teach them a good lesson. They are the true betrayers and enemies for defying Teacher's ideals!"

His power of persuasion and influence were formidable, yet the First Young Master Grand-Emperor remained utterly unmoved. He stated dryly, "The Third and Fourth Young Masters have no selfish motives; they, too, uphold Teacher's ideals."

Qin Mu sneered, "Upholding Teacher's ideals, yet they can destroy the lives of the Seventeenth Epoch and manipulate the beings of the Tenth Epoch into wanton slaughter? How much suffering have they caused? How many have died because of them? Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, can you not distinguish right from wrong?"

He stood up and said coldly, "Is this how Miluo Palace operates? Is this how Teacher operates? If so, how could he persuade accomplished Daoists from one cosmic epoch after another to willingly assist him? Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, if Teacher were here, he certainly wouldn't allow the Third and Fourth Young Masters to act so recklessly!"

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor remained silent.

Qin Mu paced back and forth in front of him: "If Grand-Prime hadn't taken over a body, entered this universe, and cut down the World Tree, the Seventeenth Epoch would have been destroyed long ago! This is why I must save him! Since the Seventeenth Epoch began, how many have died? The Third and Fourth Young Masters are manipulating the entire cosmic upheaval and progression, sacrificing the beings of the Seventeenth Epoch. These beings may be irrelevant to you, but they are deeply relevant to me! Senior Brother Grand-Emperor, if you cannot help, then you must not show favoritism!"

He stopped, breathing heavily, his face almost pressed against the First Young Master Grand-Emperor's. He demanded loudly, "Since you uphold Teacher's ideals, then act more like it! You cannot favor me, nor can you favor them! Today, no matter what, I am taking Grand-Prime with me! Will you let me, or not?"

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor remained silent.

Qin Mu straightened up, activated the Dao of Grand-Prime, transforming it into the Grand-Prime Divine Axe, and walked towards the thatched hut, his aura surging.

He was now completely turned away from the First Young Master Grand-Emperor. If Grand-Emperor were to strike at that moment, Qin Mu would be utterly defenseless.

Not only that, but he also wasn't entirely confident he could open the Grand-Emperor's Thatched Hut, yet he had to try!

"Chaos."

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor's voice came from behind him. Qin Mu stopped. The First Young Master Grand-Emperor closed his eyes and said, "Teacher said your path to Dao was through Chaos, which he found somewhat inscrutable. Perhaps you will solve problems that Teacher and I cannot. I will not help you open the door, nor will I help Ling Xiao or Zi Xiao. In your struggle, I will not assist anyone. However, if Miluo Palace is endangered, I will act."

A faint smile appeared on Qin Mu's face as he said, "I understand."

The First Young Master Grand-Emperor stood up, walked past him, opened the wicker gate, entered, and then carefully locked the gate from the inside.

His voice drifted from within the Grand-Emperor's Thatched Hut: "Whether you can rescue Grand-Prime depends on your own ability. I will not interfere."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, his aura fully erupting. Behind him, the World Tree abruptly appeared, standing tall and supporting his inner universe. Beneath his feet, the Great Abyss of Gui Xu rotated, boosting his power to its peak!

Behind his head, the Chaos Hall materialized, vast and primordial, filled with resonating Dao sounds. Qin Mu braced his feet, took a firm stance, and swung the Grand-Prime Divine Axe flatly towards the thatched hut's wicker gate!

The Grand-Emperor's Thatched Hut was the true Grand-Emperor's Hall, formed from the condensed cultivation of the First Young Master Grand-Emperor, representing a supreme Dao within Miluo Palace!

The instant his Grand-Prime Divine Axe struck the wicker gate, every single blade of straw on the hut immediately lit up. The Great Dao shifted, and Primordial Runes flowed, making him feel an unparalleled pressure!

Qin Mu roared, and the chaotic qi overflowing from the Chaos Hall behind him intensified. Suddenly, a tremor resounded, and a portal emerged from the grand hall situated amidst the chaos!

----Happy belated birthday to Alliance Leader Heavy Sword Without Edge, Soul Severer. My apologies, I forgot to include this when I uploaded last night. Please don't hit me...