Chapter 1786: I Became Enlightened

Third Young Master Ling Xiao's face was impassive as he stretched his right arm. Qin Mu had previously pinned his right arm into the Coffin of Dao Burial with a Dao-Slaying God Nail, forcing him to sever it. But now, his right arm had fully regenerated.

Qin Mu merely smiled. He naturally didn't believe that severing Ling Xiao's arm would leave him permanently crippled. His words were simply intended to undermine the Third Young Master's confidence.

The Third Young Master looked around, observing Qin Mu's Return-to-Zero Lotus and World Tree rooted in the long river of chaos, guarding the golden boat on either side. These two treasures were now even more extraordinary: the Return-to-Zero Lotus had formed its third lotus platform, and the World Tree had grown increasingly majestic and verdant.

He frowned slightly.

The changes in the Return-to-Zero Lotus were somewhat predictable. Since making the Return-to-Zero Lotus bloom, Qin Mu had never stepped into the long river of chaos. It was only when Elder Wu Ya, beneath the World Tree, forced him to root the Return-to-Zero Lotus in the Cataclysm of the Sixteenth Epoch that the lotus transformed into a platform, instantly becoming a second-grade lotus platform.

It was Elder Wu Ya who guided Qin Mu to discover the cultivation method for the Dao of Return-to-Zero, allowing him to make rapid progress thereafter. Moreover, Elder Wu Ya 'taught' Qin Mu how to harness the power of the World Tree and how to cultivate it!

This is why Qin Mu had advanced so swiftly in such a short time! Previously, Qin Mu was merely unkillable, but now, he could contend with the Young Masters—all thanks to Elder Wu Ya's efforts!

"Wu Ya is far too arrogant," Third Young Master Ling Xiao remarked blandly. "He once thought he could control Master, and then he thought he could control the Young Masters of the Mi Luo Palace, but he repeatedly met with failure. Now he tried to control you, and it cost him dearly. He probably still doesn't realize how well he has taught you."

A hint of envy was discernible in his words.

Qin Mu felt pleased, as if a spring breeze had caressed his face.

Third Young Master Ling Xiao then changed the subject: "So, Seventh Brother, have you already refined Elder Wu Ya's small World Tree?"

Qin Mu shook his head, feigning surprise. "Third Brother, why would you say that? You know my Hall of Chaos is incredibly perilous. If I were to step inside, I would surely fall into the Cataclysm! How would I dare to enter?"

"Enough, Seventh Brother. You usually just call me 'Third,' but suddenly changing to 'Third Brother' tells me you're lying. Only those harboring malicious intent would act so amiably towards an adversary."

Third Young Master Ling Xiao said indifferently, "You have the Return-to-Zero Lotus Platform, allowing you to float on the long river of chaos without fear of falling in. Retrieving the small World Tree suppressed within the Hall of Chaos would be effortless for you. With your current power, refining his small World Tree is no longer a challenge."

He smiled arrogantly, clasping his hands behind his back. "Even if you refined Elder Wu Ya himself and claimed him as your own, you would still not be my match. You used the zither strings to threaten Fourth Brother, but you cannot threaten me. What does Hao's life or death have to do with me?"

Qin Mu burst into laughter, his third eye opening. His gaze fell upon Ling Xiao. "That's why I didn't use Hao's life to threaten you," he said faintly.

Their gazes met, and both revealed undisguised expressions of disgust. In that moment, both found the other's insufferably arrogant demeanor utterly repulsive.

"You came to see Master, and I shouldn't stop you. But Seventh Brother, you shouldn't have brought your child."

Third Young Master Ling Xiao averted his gaze, looking at the wisps of Dao light drifting from the Return-to-Zero Lotus and the World Tree towards the golden hall on the golden boat. His eye twitched. "Your child cannot bear such immense fortune," he said. "You've already gained a lot of benefits. If you leave now, I will let you go; after all, we are fellow disciples. But if you persist, this long river of chaos will be your child's demise, and where you will be dragged back into the past."

"Haha." Qin Mu laughed loudly, yet his face remained expressionless.

The Third Young Master frowned, patiently saying, "Your child can live well in the Seventeenth Epoch; there's no need for him to get involved in this mess. Do you realize how many beings covet him as you take him back into the past, watching his immense power and attempting to claim it as their own along these long rivers of chaos?"

"Haha," Qin Mu laughed indifferently.

The Third Young Master's brows furrowed tightly as he spoke in a low voice. "Elder Wu Ya of the past, the Heaven Capital Creators, and various other forces will not tolerate the birth of this child. As your senior brother, I can tell you that the emergence of a child who embodies the Cataclysmic energy of sixteen cosmic epochs is absolutely not a good thing. To prevent this child from falling into others' hands and causing future calamity, the Mi Luo Palace will have no choice but to destroy him!"

Qin Mu simply said, "Haha."

"You don't know what's good for you," Third Young Master Ling Xiao's face hardened. Suddenly, a Dao Tree surged from the long river of chaos, lifting the Golden Boat of Crossing into mid-air!

On Third Young Master Ling Xiao's Dao Tree, Dao Fruits rotated. Though positioned beneath the boat, the Dao realms contained within each fruit suddenly burst forth! Each of the Third Young Master's Dao Fruits held forty layers of myriad heavens. He possessed eight great Dao Fruits in total, each containing a different Great Dao, all cultivated to their absolute peak! As these myriad heavens expanded, countless gods instantly stood forth above the golden boat, positioned within each of the three hundred and twenty heavens. They all pressed down in unison!

Qin Mu activated the World Tree and the Return-to-Zero Lotus. Their roots, like countless paths, anchored themselves in the long river of chaos. A great abyss of return formed around the Return-to-Zero Lotus, devouring everything, while the World Tree stretched out to support a world above the Cataclysm.

"Third!" Qin Mu roared. He pushed the power of the Return-to-Zero Lotus and the World Tree to their absolute limits. The torrents of their Great Daos converged entirely into his body, transforming into a brand new Great Dao.

"No one can take my child!"

His Dao of Chaos began to take shape. This unprecedented Dao, drawing power from the long river of chaos, suddenly stilled its tumultuous waves, making the surging river appear to halt. The power of the Sixteenth Epoch's Cataclysm surged wildly towards Qin Mu, harnessed by him and transformed into a world-destroying force! The Hall of Chaos opened. The moment its grand entrance yawned open, it seemed poised to draw the entire long river of chaos into the hall, to overlap with the sixteen rivers already within it!

"When I achieve Dao!" Qin Mu's voice reverberated, echoing above the Cataclysm. "The Cataclysm of all sixteen epochs will be my source of power! My Great Dao will span sixteen epochs!"

Third Young Master Ling Xiao's expression changed drastically. The three hundred and twenty heavens formed by his Dao Fruits showed signs of collapsing and disintegrating! One after another, the deities within his heavens shattered, exploding into wisps of chaotic energy!

"My World Tree will bloom with Dao flowers and bear Dao fruits within the Cataclysm of the sixteen epochs!" Qin Mu activated the Dao of Chaos. From within the long river, the Cataclysm howled forth, swirling around the World Tree and the Return-to-Zero Lotus. "My Return-to-Zero Lotus will absorb the power of world destruction and transform into a sixteen-petal lotus platform!"

Qin Mu extended a finger, and the long river of chaos tore through space, bearing down overwhelmingly on Third Young Master Ling Xiao! His voice boomed through the chaos: "And I shall sit atop the Cataclysm of the sixteen epochs, suppressing all of you!"

The long river of chaos surged with immense power. Even before it reached him, Third Young Master Ling Xiao's robes flapped violently, billowing backward. His robes were no ordinary fabric; they were manifestations of his Great Dao. Yet now, under Qin Mu's oppressive force, these Dao robes continuously disintegrated, dispersing into wisps of chaotic energy!

Third Young Master Ling Xiao's eye twitched erratically as he looked at the oncoming long river of chaos. Behind the river, the colossal Return-to-Zero Lotus rotated, its petals unfurling in layers. Chaotic mist swirled within its lotus throne, and the chaotic energy erupting from its countless seedpods astonishingly transformed into phenomena of the Grand Myriad Worlds! These Grand Myriad World phenomena flowed into the long river, rushing towards him along with the current! That was Qin Mu's divine ability!

Above the lotus platform, the World Tree's immensely thick roots extended in all directions, deeply embedded within the long river. These World Tree roots permeated the Grand Myriad World phenomena, surging towards him together, augmenting the power of Qin Mu's attack! Qin Mu had not yet achieved Dao, but Ling Xiao could already perceive the terrifying spectacle of what he would become after achieving it!

His Palace of Ling Xiao leapt forth from the long river of chaos. With his hair billowing, he stood before the palace, whose power was pushed to its utmost limit as it confronted the long river of chaos! Qin Mu's attack forced him to take it seriously.

The surging long river of chaos crashed against the Palace of Ling Xiao, continuously shattering. Within the river, numerous worlds of divine abilities, born from chaos, surged forward. Qin Mu transformed chaotic divine abilities into worlds, each immensely powerful.

"Elder Wu Ya taught him very well!" Third Young Master Ling Xiao gritted his teeth and reached behind him. On the emperor's throne within the Palace of Ling Xiao, a divine spear was enshrined, forged entirely from Great Dao, vibrating with a resonant hum. Suddenly, the divine spear flew up and landed in his hand.

Third Young Master Ling Xiao wielded the spear to meet Qin Mu's divine abilities, shattering each world of divine power under his weapon.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The spear moved like a torrential rain, clashing with the World Tree's roots. Qin Mu's wave of attacks was almost frenzied, with countless World Tree roots piercing in from all directions.

Third Young Master Ling Xiao, alone with his spear and palace, withstood the tempest from the long river of chaos. The chaotic energy around him grew denser and denser. By the time he had completely repelled Qin Mu's offensive, only a swirling, misty chaos remained, with the long river flowing ceaselessly within the fog.

Third Young Master Ling Xiao roared in anger, thrusting his long spear vertically into the river. The chaotic mist immediately dissipated, and clarity returned to the surroundings. The Third Young Master's face was ashen. The long river was silent; nothing else could be found on its surface except for his Dao Tree!

Qin Mu and the Golden Boat of Crossing had vanished without a trace!

Third Young Master Ling Xiao swept his cape, turning around. The cape obscured the Dao Tree and the Palace of Ling Xiao. When the cape fell, both the Dao Tree and the Palace of Ling Xiao had disappeared.

"Seventh Brother!"

His form sank into the long river of chaos, walking within it. Even the Cataclysm could not harm him in the slightest. As he moved away from the Mi Luo Palace, the voice of the Fourth Young Master suddenly echoed from within the palace: "Senior Brother."

Third Young Master Ling Xiao stopped and turned around, seeing Fourth Young Master Zi Xiao seated on the battlement of Mi Luo Palace's Jade Capital City, gazing at him from afar.

"Senior Brother, you must not lose your composure or clarity of mind," Fourth Young Master Zi Xiao advised from a distance.

"Of course, I won't lose my composure." The Third Young Master turned and departed, his voice deep. "Seventh Brother's reckless actions will inevitably lead to disaster; I must stop him! Fourth Brother, your Dao heart is flawed; focus on safeguarding your own!"

The Fourth Young Master frowned slightly, ceasing his persuasion.

Before long, Third Young Master Ling Xiao arrived at the deepest part of the Cataclysm. There, a boundless power surged from a great abyss of return, intensifying the Cataclysm's might. He hesitated at the entrance to the Return-to-Zero. There, red ropes, knotted and woven into a net, blocked the Cataclysm's power, remaining unharmed by it. The sixth red rope, like a superfluous sixth finger, seemed out of place.