Chapter 1760: Taiyi Crossing the River

The people of Miluo Palace watched the chaotic sea, observing the Returning Ruins Lotus. It unpredictably fluctuated in size, and its leaves constantly swayed, changing their orientation.

Clearly, Qin Mu's battle against Elder Wuya was extremely fierce.

However, as time passed, everyone gradually noticed Qin Mu's decline. Even with the help of the Returning Ruins Lotus, connecting to the Calamity of Destruction, and siphoning its energy, Qin Mu found it difficult to resist.

The Returning Ruins Lotus became progressively smaller, and the chaotic disturbances it could generate gradually diminished significantly.

"Why hasn't Tai Yi intervened yet?"

The crowd couldn't help but wonder, "Is he just going to watch Seventh Young Master be beaten back into the past by Elder Wuya?"

At this point, two months had passed since Xing An agreed to unlock the Buried Dao Divine Coffin.

On this day, Xing An, having made all preparations and placed half of Palace Master Chu Ge's body into a box, meticulously studied the Buried Dao Divine Coffin.

"What a magnificent coffin!"

He couldn't help but exclaim, "It's a pity a piece was chipped off by a young master from Miluo Palace. Yet, it's fortunate it was chipped, otherwise, cracking it would truly take half a year."

He remained calm and unhurried. He knew how to forge the Buried Dao Divine Coffin and was intimately familiar with all its intricacies. However, even with this knowledge, he still needed to find a flaw in its sealing method to open it.

The Buried Dao Divine Coffin could be likened to an incredibly complex lock with interlocking mechanisms. Furthermore, it possessed immense power to harm anyone attempting to force it open.

Xing An did not possess Qin Mu's formidable strength; while Qin Mu could withstand the backlash from the Buried Dao Divine Coffin without perishing, Xing An could not.

However, as soon as he found the first mechanism to unlock it, the other mechanisms would easily fall into place.

His countless brains furiously calculated, searching for that first mechanism.

Days turned into weeks, and soon another two months had passed, yet Xing An still hadn't located the first mechanism.

The Buried Dao Divine Coffin contained an unknown number of runes. The coffin's runes were interlocked with those of the Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails, and they were in a constant state of flux.

This constant change resembled a mortise and tenon joint: each rune on a divine nail acted as a tenon, and each rune on the coffin acted as a mortise. A tenon would insert into a mortise, be secured by it, and form a mechanism.

Once a mechanism was formed, the tenon and mortise would exchange a portion of their rune information.

The tenons on the divine nails were in constant motion, exchanging information with the mortises and altering their own structures. Similarly, the mortises within the divine coffin were continuously moving, exchanging information with the tenons, and changing their own structures.

As the first tenon disengaged from its mortise, it would transform its form, move to the second mortise, and combine with it. After exchanging information, both would alter their forms again and then each combine with a third tenon-mortise pair.

The tenon-mortise combinations and information exchanges occurring within the Buried Dao Divine Coffin happened billions of times every instant, forming an incredibly complex lock!

It was indeed incredibly difficult for Xing An to find the most primitive tenon-mortise structure amidst billions of changes occurring every single instant.

Nevertheless, it was possible.

As the most powerful calculation genius of Yankang, he had already determined that the original tenon-mortise structure would appear approximately once every two months, which would be the optimal time for cracking the coffin.

Cracking the original tenon-mortise structure would cause discrepancies in the information exchanged by all other tenon-mortise structures.

A miss by a hair's breadth leads to a thousand-mile deviation; this slightest alteration could cause the entire sealing system of the Buried Dao Divine Coffin to malfunction and collapse!

The reason he promised Qin Mu he could perfectly unlock the Buried Dao Divine Coffin in six months was that he needed time to calculate the changes in the tenon-mortise structures, deduce the form of the original structure, and observe and record the precise moments it appeared.

Time flew by swiftly.

The box moved around Xing An and the coffin, occasionally stopping to observe its own shadow.

Now, the six-month deadline was very near. The sun gradually rose, and when it reached its zenith, it would be the appointed time for Qin Mu.

Xing An had always been punctual and trustworthy, a habit the box had also adopted.

However, Xing An remained motionless, his gaze fixed intently on the Buried Dao Divine Coffin.

All around the Buried Dao Divine Coffin, divine eyes of various sizes floated in the air, also intently staring at it.

He had long ceased calculating; for these past two months, he had been intently observing the Buried Dao Divine Coffin, watching the changes in its runes.

At this moment, Xing An's eyes were wide open, bloodshot. For the past two months, he hadn't blinked, keeping them open continuously.

The sun climbed higher and higher.

The box took out a straight thigh bone, planted it in the ground, and stared at its shadow.

The thigh bone's shadow slowly moved, as the sun was about to reach its zenith.

Just then, Xing An suddenly activated his vital qi, transforming it into an incredibly tiny rune. With a flick of his finger, the rune imprinted itself onto one of the Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails on the Buried Dao Divine Coffin.

He exhaled, stood up, and began tidying his belongings, placing the divine eyes back into the box.

The box's lid was open, but it continued to intently watch the thigh bone's shadow, utterly focused.

The shadow continued to move incrementally. Finally, after Xing An had finished tidying up, the sun reached its noon position.

The box closed its lid and looked towards the Buried Dao Divine Coffin. There was no movement whatsoever from inside the coffin.

The box, feeling suspicious, was about to step forward when suddenly, creaking sounds emanated from the divine coffin. The Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails were now automatically rotating, gradually detaching themselves!

The Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails rotated faster and faster, their speed rapidly increasing.

This was because the original tenon-mortise structure had been destroyed, causing every subsequent tenon-mortise structure's rune information exchange to be incorrect.

This, in turn, meant that each tenon and mortise could no longer perfectly interlock!

Like a contagious disease, this error quickly spread to all the tenon-mortise structures, ultimately preventing the Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails from combining with the Buried Dao Divine Coffin. Instead, the two repelled each other, causing the divine nails to rapidly spin out of the coffin!

Clang, clang, clang.

One by one, the Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails clattered to the ground. Xing An raised his eyebrows, a hint of joy appearing between them.

He had spent months researching, yet success only required a single, incredibly tiny rune to crack the Buried Dao Divine Coffin that had suppressed Tai Yi!

This was also a monumental achievement for him.

Suddenly, the Buried Dao Divine Coffin was flung open with a bang. Inside, chaos swirled, but the chaotic energy abruptly dispersed, revealing a youth who sat bolt upright from the coffin. He twisted his neck to face Xing An.

This was the youthful form of Tai Yi.

Xing An observed him for a moment, then bent down to pick up the nails.

The youthful Tai Yi lay back down. When he rose again, a giant stepped out of the coffin, asking in a booming voice, "Where is Heavenly Venerate Mu?"

Xing An shook his head and replied, "I don't know."

The giant Tai Yi reached out and grabbed the divine coffin. Xing An's expression subtly changed, and he earnestly stated, "That's mine."

The giant Tai Yi was surprised. "This coffin was forged for me by Grand Young Master Tai Shang of Miluo Palace," he said. "Heavenly Venerate Mu used my coffin to confront an enemy while trying to rescue me, which led to me being tormented immensely inside. I must keep him confined within it for a few days so he can experience what I went through. When I catch Tai Shang, I'll lock him in there too, to settle this old score."

Xing An shook his head. "Cult Master Qin asked me to crack the coffin, and one of the conditions was that this divine coffin would be given to me."

The giant Tai Yi lowered his head, glancing at the Buried Dao Divine Coffin, then at Xing An.

Xing An's abilities were naturally far inferior to his. If Tai Yi were to seize it by force, Xing An would be helpless. However, Tai Yi put the Buried Dao Divine Coffin down and said, "Seventh Young Master is indeed cunning. He gave you the coffin; I won't take what others cherish."

He raised his head, gazing toward the World Tree, and his expression subtly changed.

Xing An asked, "Brother Dao, did you just say you wanted to confine Cult Master Qin in the coffin for a few days?"

The giant Tai Yi nodded.

Xing An smiled. "Then, Brother Dao, when you capture him, I can lend him to you for a few days. I can even personally help you nail the coffin shut."

The giant Tai Yi burst into hearty laughter, his voice robust and unrestrained, then strode away. "Excellent! Wait for me for a few days; I'll go capture him!"

Xing An, a smile on his face, sat down. He arranged the hundred Dao Slaughtering Divine Nails he had just collected in a line and waited quietly.

"Cult Master Qin," he mused, "though I cannot obtain your mind, confining you within the Buried Dao Divine Coffin would still fulfill a wish of mine, bringing my Dao heart closer to perfection."

The sun hung high in the sky, blazing overhead. Yet, beneath the World Tree, a profound darkness prevailed. Within this gloom, faint flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder could be heard, along with dull thuds from clashing divine abilities, like drumbeats resounding in one's heart, causing a disturbing imbalance in vital energy.

The giant Tai Yi strode towards the World Tree. Suddenly, a luminous path of Dao light descended from the sky, dispelling the darkness beneath the World Tree and illuminating a clear passage.

The source of that light was a Great Luo Heaven.

It was Tai Yi's Great Luo Heaven.

Within this Great Luo Heaven stood an ancient Dao tree.

Tai Yi's Dao tree.

An axe light shot up from beneath the Dao tree, whistling as it approached. The giant Tai Yi raised his hand, and the axe light settled into it, transforming into the Divine Axe of Tai Yi.

The giant, carrying his axe, strode beneath the World Tree, following the path illuminated by the Dao light.

Ahead, chaos suddenly stretched vast and boundless, as a turbulent River of Chaos surged, blocking his path.

On the opposite bank of the River of Chaos, two lotus leaves could faintly be seen floating on the chaotic sea, with a lotus flower rising above the surface.

At this moment, the lotus flower was vibrating violently, and countless red cords danced around it.

There, the Winds of Cold Desolation and Heat Desolation violently collided, creating a perilous environment.

The giant Tai Yi chuckled. He held his left hand in front of him as if to block, then swung his great axe in a full circle with his right, making a whistling sound.

Suddenly, the axe rose, and the hand fell!

With one swing, the giant Tai Yi cleaved the River of Chaos in two. He walked forward along the riverbed, his enormous shadow cast upon the chaotic rivers that stood upright on both sides of the valley.

The giant Tai Yi reached the opposite bank, only to see yet another River of Chaos ahead.

"Wuya, your tricks are endless!"

The giant Tai Yi ignored it, continuously swinging his axe as he advanced, cleaving through one chaotic river after another.

After successively cleaving through fifteen rivers, he paused to catch his breath. Looking ahead, his expression immediately turned somewhat grave.

"This is a three-way contest," he mused. "Aside from Heavenly Venerate Mu, it seems everyone else is waiting for an opportunity to ambush me."

The giant Tai Yi clearly assessed the situation and was deep in thought when suddenly, with a loud snap, the lotus flower broke!

The giant Tai Yi no longer hesitated. He swung his axe once more, cleaving through the last River of Chaos before him and charging towards the opposite bank!

At the same time, Third Young Master Ling Xiao, Fourth Young Master Zi Xiao, along with all the Palace Masters and Dao Attainers from Miluo Palace, looked up. They saw a giant walking on the surface of the river!

"He's here!" the crowd thought, their spirits greatly lifted.

————Happy birthday to Old Daoist Ah, Su Ran!