Chapter 1758: Blood Battle Without End

Behind Qin Mu, the Ruyi Lotus instantly grew to an immense size, thousands of times larger than his body. The lotus used the Calamity of Destruction as a sea of chaos, drawing power from it. The chaotic energy within the Calamity of Destruction coalesced into a sea, standing upright behind Qin Mu, with lotus leaves floating on its surface.

A violent tremor struck.

Intense vibrations emanated from Qin Mu, twisting space around him like a vast Abyssal Gulch of Guixu. From the outside, the gulch appeared as boundless darkness. From Qin Mu's perspective, space shattered, and the winds of heat death made the area incredibly bright.

Standing within the gulch, he furiously swung his sword!

Power surged from the sea of chaos, rushing into his body, flowing through him, and transforming into the formidable might of the Heaven's Capital Genesis technique! Beneath his feet, vital qi materialized, forming an altar akin to the one at the origin of Heaven's Capital Genesis. The altar rose, its intricate patterns glowing brightly, amplifying the power of his strike. Behind him, the Hall of Chaos appeared amidst the Calamity of Destruction. The chaotic energy within the calamity surged wildly, causing his cultivation to skyrocket!

He had never unleashed such terrifying power before!

The gulch trembled as the Heaven's Capital Genesis technique reached its peak power, manifesting as a brilliant flash of light that sliced forth from Guixu!

Old Man Wuya had utterly failed to anticipate this turn of events. Qin Mu's reaction was beyond his expectations. Based on his calculations, Qin Mu's best option under duress would have been to willingly enter the Calamity of Destruction, using the Heaven's Capital Genesis technique to carve a path through the Calamity of the Sixteenth Epoch. Qin Mu would then enter the calamity of the Fifteenth Epoch. If he still had strength, breaking through the Fifteenth Epoch's calamity would lead him into the Fourteenth Epoch's calamity. The stronger he became, the further back in time he would be exiled. If Qin Mu's power reached that of a Young Master, he should exhaust himself within the calamity of the First Epoch, falling into that era. At that point, Qin Mu would be unable to return to the present.

For Qin Mu to return, he would need to use the blood sacrifice of the Three Young Masters, sacrificing the Seventeenth Epoch for mass-energy conversion. Given Qin Mu's character, he would never do such a thing. The Three and Four Young Masters would also never help him with the conversion, so Qin Mu would be trapped in the past forever.

However, instead of willingly entering the calamity, Qin Mu attacked him!

The power of this sword strike was immense. The moment the sword light sliced through the twisted, shattered space of the Abyssal Gulch of Guixu, its brilliance pierced the vast, boundless space beneath the World Tree. It threatened to sever both Old Man Wuya and the World Tree itself!

Old Man Wuya's white hair fluttered in the sword light. Even before the light touched him, individual strands of his white hair began to break in the air. With cracking sounds, his broken white hairs astonishingly transformed into tiny, newly formed universes. In an instant, they underwent the Five Grand Transformations, with stars rapidly being born and drifting apart, forming dazzling heavens suspended in the sky beneath the World Tree's canopy! Behind him, the World Tree's surface cracked and exploded, revealing sword marks on its trunk!

If Qin Mu's sword had struck it, the World Tree might actually have been severed!

"Chaos, you are still incorrigible!" Old Man Wuya positioned himself directly in the sword's path toward the World Tree. He had to block this strike, as the World Tree was his true form. If Qin Mu severed it, his power would vanish once more, sealed within its roots, with no telling when he could revive! He would absolutely not allow this to happen!

He moved forward, profound Dao rhythms erupting from within him. Various incredible divine abilities and Dao techniques emanated from his hands, each one incredibly subtle and miraculous, containing the ultimate mysteries of the Great Dao!

Throughout countless cosmic epochs, geniuses were as numerous as stars in the sky, yet very few, even dedicating their entire lives to cultivating a single Great Dao, could elevate it to the thirty-sixth heaven, imprinting the void to form a Dao Tree and bear a Dao Fruit. Even the Palace Lords of the Miluo Palace could only cultivate one Great Dao to its peak within an epoch, bearing a single Dao Fruit, and sometimes not even that. However, this limitation seemed nonexistent for Old Man Wuya. In that brief moment, he unleashed hundreds of Great Daos, each one reaching the pinnacle of the Dao Realm! The divine abilities derived from these Great Daos were also those evolved from the ultimate Dao Realm! In his hands, he could even wield the Great Dao divine abilities of the Miluo Palace and Heaven's Capital! He even deployed the Primordial Chaos divine abilities with extreme fluidity, as if he too had achieved the thirty-sixth heaven of Primordial Chaos Dao entry!

It was known that even the seven Young Masters of Miluo Palace had not fully mastered the abilities of the Miluo Palace Lord; none had achieved Primordial Chaos enlightenment. Even the Eldest Young Master, Taishang, had only established the Taishang Palace, not the Miluo Palace itself. Yet, Old Man Wuya could actually manifest the ultimate mysteries of the Primordial Chaos Dao!

This was what Qin Mu referred to as the Dao Tree Trap! Anyone who pursued Dao Realm enlightenment by imprinting the ultimate void would inevitably fall into the Dao Realm Trap. While the Dao Realm Trap might not be as overbearing as the Jade Capital Trap or the Lingxiao Trap, cultivating a Dao Realm Dao Tree effectively aided Old Man Wuya's comprehension and cultivation. Any Great Dao mastered by an enlightened being could also be mastered by Old Man Wuya, including the Primordial Chaos enlightenment of the Miluo Palace Lord!

Within the great gulch, Qin Mu's arm trembled violently. Thick tendons snapped inside his muscular arm, piercing through his skin and exposing themselves. The tendons resembled red dragons, thrashing and clawing, but their bodies were already severed. His skin burst open, his flesh tore, and soon his arm was reduced to bare bone!

Old Man Wuya's divine powers were vast, and he was proficient in an overwhelming number of Dao techniques, each one immensely powerful. Even Shang Jun's Dao of Killing was unleashed by him. The Heaven's Capital Genesis technique was the most powerful and profound divine ability Qin Mu had ever created, a culmination of all his knowledge and insights, manifesting as a world-creating strike. However, in terms of foundational depth, he was still far inferior to Old Man Wuya. Regarding cultivation, despite relying on the Calamity of Destruction and drawing power through the Ruyi Lotus and the Hall of Chaos, his cultivation was still no match for the World Tree, which could also take root in chaos.

Qin Mu's right arm exploded, and then with a cracking sound, the altar beneath his feet split apart. Old Man Wuya's divine abilities assaulted the great gulch. Qin Mu's left hand activated the Dao of Grand Primordium, and as he raised it, the Grand Primordium Tree-Felling technique was unleashed, an axe aiming to cleave Old Man Wuya. The Grand Primordium Divine Axe exploded along with Qin Mu's left arm, sending blood mist flying.

Blood spilled from Qin Mu's lips. Flesh squirmed beneath his armpit, and another arm emerged, its red knot seal pressing forward. His five fingers shattered with cracking sounds, then exploded, the fragmentation quickly spreading to his wrist, elbow, and shoulder! Qin Mu twisted his waist and turned. Flesh wriggled on his neck, and new heads grew out. Vertical eyes on his forehead opened, shooting out beams of Primordial Chaos Dao light that pierced through the entrance of the Abyssal Gulch of Guixu.

At the entrance of the great gulch, Old Man Wuya's white hair fluttered as he strolled in leisurely. He casually unleashed a variety of incredibly profound Great Dao divine abilities, effortlessly breaking Qin Mu's techniques, and chuckled, "Chaos, you're still not giving up. It seems you have more suffering to endure before returning to the past."

With a snap, Qin Mu's head broke, his vertical eye burst, and a bloody hole appeared in his forehead. His neck twisted, and new heads sprouted. Simultaneously, arms drilled out from beneath his armpits, and various divine abilities and Dao techniques frantically attacked forward. However, Old Man Wuya calmly nullified every single one. Despair filled his heart. All his Dao techniques and divine abilities were utterly ineffective. Even the Heaven's Capital Genesis technique was being broken by Old Man Wuya, and even the most intricate red knot seal he had learned couldn't bind him!

"That's it, the Dao of Guixu!" A flash of insight struck Qin Mu. He suddenly mustered all his vital qi, activating the Ruyi Lotus and manipulating the Great Dao of Guixu. The Calamity of Destruction of the Sixteenth Epoch vibrated violently. The Ruyi Lotus swayed, growing larger with each tremor. The surging sea of chaos expanded, and its majestic lotus leaves almost covered the sky. In just a brief moment, the upright sea of chaos swelled several times in size, horizontally extending outside the World Tree, an astonishing sight.

At the same time, the lotus rotated and bloomed, growing another layer of petals to become two layers, and a lotus-pod-like pattern emerged within it, making the flower resemble a lotus pedestal. Qin Mu's heart stirred. He took a step back and landed on the lotus pedestal. Old Man Wuya hesitated, standing at the entrance of the great gulch, not entering directly.

Qin Mu finally caught a breath. In the brief exchange just now, almost all his divine abilities had been nullified, none proving effective. Old Man Wuya's counterattacks had repeatedly inflicted heavy damage, and it was remarkably difficult for him to hold out until this moment!

"You've also learned Wuji's Dao techniques with remarkable precision." Old Man Wuya gazed into the great gulch, where Qin Mu stood on the two-layered lotus pedestal. The Dao of Guixu twisted everything, converting it into Guixu's nourishment. "Wuji's Dao techniques and divine abilities were nearing the path of a blasphemer, which is why your teacher sealed her." Old Man Wuya sighed repeatedly, a look of regret on his face. "Chaos, you are also heading down the wrong path."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, but suddenly a mouthful of blood surged into his throat, choking him and making him cough uncontrollably. "Blasphemer?" He spat out the clotted blood and gasped for air, scoffing, "Who is a blasphemer? Isn't that a title bestowed by you, Dao Brother? Whoever you say it is, it is. Dao Brother, the World Tree and the Ruyi Lotus exist in opposition. As long as I stand on this lotus pedestal, you cannot harm me. This battle benefits neither of us. Release me, and I will still honor that IOU."

Old Man Wuya gave a half-smile. "Miluo Palace's seventh one, you are truly naive. Miluo Palace's second one, Wuji, possessed a sixteen-petal lotus pedestal, yet wasn't she suppressed obediently by your teacher? You have only cultivated two petals; your mastery is far from sufficient. The divine ability you just unleashed is one that suppressed Wuji, and such an ability is not difficult for me to handle. What's more..." He said calmly, "The World Tree and the Ruyi Lotus are mutually antagonistic. Since they counterbalance each other, it doesn't seem impossible for me to restrain and refine your Ruyi Lotus."

Qin Mu's heart sank deeper and deeper. "Six months, I must hold out for six months!" He took a deep breath, silently thinking, "Xing An, the outcome of this battle depends on whether you can rescue Grand Primordium within six months! Grand Primordium, quickly come and save me..."

In the ancestral court, Xing An wandered with his box for over a month before finding a scenic place to live in seclusion.

Click.

The box opened and closed, seemingly questioning him. "Of course, I need to find a beautiful, serene place," Xing An explained. "When I'm in a good mood and my mind is at ease, I work faster. Finding a place like this will yield twice the results with half the effort."

He was not in a hurry to figure out how to unlock the Dao-Burying Divine Coffin. Instead, he took out the lower half of Palace Lord Chuge's body to study it thoroughly. The box, quite puzzled, clattered around him.

"Sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood," Xing An clarified. "It's faster to unlock the Dao-Burying Divine Coffin if I first improve myself. Besides, I asked Cult Master Qin for six months, so there's plenty of time, more than enough."

The box ceased its questioning.