Chapter 1765: Seven Master's "Past"

The obelisk forest remained devoid of life. When Qin Mu last visited, he could still see the sun in the sky, which was the eye of Crown Prince Taishang, observing everything within the forest of steles.

Now, upon his return, only the light from the obelisks remained. The sun was nowhere to be seen.

The place felt incredibly oppressive. The obelisks stood like towering pagodas, suppressing everything.

The steles were forged from Chaos Stone, a material only found in the Grand Beginning (Taiyi) ore veins or during the Great Annihilation. Such a treasure was unobtainable anywhere else.

However, to Crown Prince Taishang, Chaos Stone was merely a raw material for crafting treasures.

Qin Mu hoisted an obelisk onto the Golden Ark of Deliverance and pushed the ark out of the portal. “Golden Ark, Golden Ark, go to the Ancestral Court!” he commanded.

Qin Mu’s gaze flickered. He watched the Golden Ark disappear into the depths of the Void Miasma Field before turning and striding into the obelisk forest with the Divine Coffin of Buried Dao slung over his shoulder.

He had already deciphered the obelisks’ secrets. By transforming the Primordial Runes within his body into the runic state of the steles, he could enter the forest unsuppressed.

Had he not done so, and if the number of steles had been complete, he would not have been able to disguise himself as a stele to enter the forest.

“Crown Prince Taishang might not allow me to take away the Cripple, nor would he necessarily permit me to merge Grand Beginning (Taiyi) and the Cripple. That’s why I placed one of the obelisks on the ark for it to carry away. Without this stele, the obelisk forest’s formation will be incomplete. As long as he cannot find this stele and complete the suppression formation, I will be safe,” he mused.

Qin Mu smiled, and with the coffin on his shoulder, he strode in.

Just then, in the innermost part of the obelisk forest, halos of light suddenly swirled on the surfaces of the steles. From one of them, Zhu Santong’s figure emerged.

The pig-headed enlightened one’s face suddenly protruded from the stele, his two bell-like eyes rolling. He whispered, “Old geezers, old geezers! Did you feel that? The formation of this obelisk forest is missing a piece again!”

From another stele, the image of a young girl appeared, as if someone were looking into a mirror, but the reflection itself was elusive.

The girl extended a leg from the mirror-like surface, and exclaimed in surprise, “The formation is indeed incomplete!”

She jumped out from the mirror-like surface, and giggled, “Taishang’s seal is too ancient; it’s finally breaking down!”

“It’s not the seal breaking down.”

An old woman emerged from another stele, sensing carefully. She said, “These obelisks are forged from Chaos Stone; not even a Great Annihilation could destroy them in the slightest. Taishang could keep us locked up for several more cosmic epochs, and this seal wouldn’t have a single flaw!”

She stepped out of the stele, surprised. “But the seal is truly missing a piece. Strange…”

Just then, a woman stepped out of her stele, sneering, “What tricks is Taishang playing now?”

The old man had already gone into the village to check on the Cripple, relieved to find him still there. He said indifferently, “We are no longer Taishang’s match, no matter what tricks he plays…”

He grunted, “We can only be played by him.”

Everyone felt quite helpless. Suddenly, Zhu Santong's ears twitched. “Someone’s coming!” he exclaimed.

He quickly rolled on the ground, transforming into a fat pig. The girl put up a rope, tied the soft, plump Zhu Santong’s hind legs straight and tight, and hung him upside down from a tree.

The woman hastily went to her Dao tree, drew water from the well, and took out a washing stick, pretending to do laundry. The old man rushed to the village entrance, sat on a stone, and lit his water pipe. The old woman settled under the eaves, watching the woman do laundry.

No sooner had they finished preparing than they saw Qin Mu approaching with meteor-like strides, carrying a coffin.

“What a fine coffin!”

Everyone felt relieved. Upon seeing the Divine Coffin of Buried Dao, they all cheered in unison. The old woman hastily rose, chuckling, “Where did Young Master Seven get such a superior coffin? It’s truly magnificent; even this old woman wants to lie down in it!”

Qin Mu set down the Divine Coffin of Buried Dao and said happily, “You can tell it’s a good coffin too? I’ve coveted it for a long time, but unfortunately, it already has an owner, and I’ve given it to someone else.”

He seemed quite regretful.

Zhu Santong untied himself from the rope, transformed into a sturdy man upon landing, and stepped forward to examine the coffin, exclaiming repeatedly, “What a truly fine coffin! I wonder who will have the good fortune to lie in it.”

As he was about to open the coffin lid, Qin Mu stopped his hand and shook his head. “There’s someone inside,” he said.

Zhu Santong was startled, wanting to look but not daring to.

The old man stepped forward, his voice trembling. “Did Young Master just break Taishang’s seal?”

Qin Mu smiled faintly. “It was just a simple matter. Brother Dao, can you guess who is in this coffin?”

The old man’s heart jolted, and he gasped, “Could it be… that person?”

Qin Mu burst into laughter. The suppressed individuals in the obelisk forest were inexplicably excited. Among those present, only the old man had seen Tian Du; the others had only heard his name but never met him.

When Qin Mu had last visited, they had only then learned that the Cripple was Tian Du, the Lord of Heaven, who was as renowned as the Master of the Mi Luo Palace!

Qin Mu explained the relationship between Tian Du, the Lord of Heaven, and Grand Beginning (Taiyi), making them realize that their ability to escape from the obelisks was because Grand Beginning (Taiyi) had been there.

The old man and Zhu Santong hastily carried the Cripple over, looking at Qin Mu expectantly.

Qin Mu hesitated, then frankly told everyone, “Grand Beginning (Taiyi) is severely injured, and the Cripple was even killed by a great divine ability from the Master of the Mi Luo Palace. Although they are one entity, both have sustained very serious injuries. If I open the coffin, they will merge. The best-case scenario is that their injuries disappear after they merge.”

The girl blinked, looking up at him, and tentatively asked, “What about the worst-case scenario?”

“The worst case is that their injuries merge and concentrate into one body, making the wounds even more severe.”

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth. “It might even lead to immediate death, the kind that cannot be revived.”

Seeing the change in their expressions, he quickly added, “However, not long ago, I suffered the same type of injury as the Cripple. The difference is that the Cripple died, while I was cured. Rest assured, I’m quite familiar with treating such injuries. However…”

The woman waved her washing stick, annoyed. “Young Master Seven, can you please just say everything at once?”

Qin Mu said, “Well, my injury was caused by a divine ability from Young Master Three Ling Xiao, while the Cripple’s injury was from a divine ability performed by the Master of the Mi Luo Palace. Although they used the same divine ability, the practitioners were different, so I’m not entirely sure if I can completely heal the Cripple’s injuries.”

“Then let’s treat the dead pig as if it were a live one!” Zhu Santong spoke quickly, saying, “Even if we can’t heal him, we won’t make his injuries worse!”

Qin Mu nodded in agreement and meticulously examined the Cripple’s injuries. Soon after, he fell into a dream. The others’ expressions subtly changed, and they quickly retreated.

Qin Mu, in his dream, did not notice this scene.

The old man said in a hoarse voice, “Young Master Seven’s dream transforms into a grand world. Be careful not to fall into it, or you’ll be trapped forever.”

The others were extremely cautious. In previous universes, they had all heard rumors, more or less, about Young Master Seven’s dreams. It was said to be the most bizarre and incredible phenomenon in all past universes. There were also many terrifying legends about Young Master Seven's dreams, making them unable to be anything but careful.

Numerous tiny Qin Mus peeked out from the dream world, then swarmed out all at once, chirping and chattering as they treated the Cripple’s Dao injuries.

The onlookers observed closely, feeling doubtful.

The old man sighed in relief. “He hasn’t cultivated to that terrifying level yet, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

Everyone else also breathed a sigh of relief. Zhu Santong whispered, “Old geezer, are the rumors about Young Master Seven’s dream true? I heard that during the Twelfth Epoch, some enlightened ones launched a demon-extermination conference, intending to eliminate him, gathering a large number of skilled individuals…”

The girl spoke quickly, “I’ve heard that rumor too! When Young Master Seven arrived, as the many enlightened ones prepared to act, they saw him fall asleep. It’s said that the enlightened ones who participated in the demon-extermination conference were completely erased, with not even their bodies found!”

The old man shook his head. “I was suppressed by Taishang early on, so I haven’t heard that rumor. I only know that in my era, someone once fell into Young Master Seven’s dream. Later…”

He fell silent, and after a moment, said, “That person came out alive, but they were no longer themselves.”

His expression turned strange, and his voice carried a hint of fear. “Their appearance, physical body, primordial spirit, and even memories—everything changed. That person originally intended to kill Young Master Seven, but after emerging from his dream, they no longer recognized Young Master Seven at all. Later, they even became friends…”

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

The woman whispered, “During the Ninth Epoch, I heard that the place where Young Master Seven enters dreams is the largest forbidden zone in the universe, and also the most mysterious and terrifying. No one is allowed to step into it, or they will never return!”

“I also heard that rumor in the Thirteenth Epoch!” the girl quickly added.

Zhu Santong was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ve heard it too.”

The old woman nodded. “This old woman has heard it as well.”

The old man sighed. “I’ve heard it too.”

Silence fell among them. Rumors about that forbidden zone existed from the Seventh to the Fifteenth Epochs. What terrified them was that this forbidden zone had evidently always existed, even surviving countless universal annihilations and creations!

“We should be grateful we’re not his enemies,” Zhu Santong suddenly chuckled, snorting.

“That’s hard to say,” the girl said with a laugh. “The first time Young Master Seven came here, you were torn limb from limb, you attacked him, and you even hurled insults at him.”

Zhu Santong instantly deflated.

Suddenly, the old man’s expression subtly changed, and he whispered, “Someone’s coming!”

The old woman, the woman, Zhu Santong, and the girl immediately grew tense. Suddenly, the sky brightened, and a sun appeared, hanging in the heavens.

The old man snorted and looked up. “Taishang!” he exclaimed.

The sky shifted, and another sun appeared. Then Crown Prince Taishang’s face gradually became clear. The two suns receded, transforming into his eyes.