Chapter 1791: Chaos Fetus

The divine arts and dao techniques of the Heaven-Opening Sect were more than just accomplished; mere accomplishment wouldn't have been enough to injure Qin Mu. Previously, even the most severe dao injuries he suffered, Qin Mu could heal himself. In fact, the young masters of Mi Luo Palace had even praised him as the person most impossible to kill! The last person to inflict an injury on him that wouldn't heal quickly was Third Young Master Ling Xiao. Although the cultivation of the Heaven-Opening Sect members was undoubtedly far inferior to Young Master Ling Xiao's, their ability to injure Qin Mu and inflict unhealable wounds showed they had advanced considerably on their unique path.

"However, they've gone astray."

Qin Mu suddenly remarked, "Those Heaven-Opening Sect members blocked me on the river to make a point. They likely resented me for not integrating you with Tiandu, and also wanted to show off their divine abilities. While their divine arts and dao techniques certainly caught me off guard, once I grew accustomed to them, I immediately noticed they had gone astray."

Tai Yi meticulously observed the dao injuries on him. "They have indeed all gone astray," he said. "The Rune Great Dao, established by the Mi Luo Palace Master, uses primordial runes to explain all great daos in the world, integrating them into a singular, primordial whole. For sixteen cosmic epochs, no one has surpassed him in this. Fellow Daoist Ling and I conceived a way to surpass him: by entirely discarding the Rune Great Dao and using no runes whatsoever."

The "Fellow Daoist Ling" he referred to was Heavenly Venerate Ling.

At that time, Tai Yi was still the Lord of Tiandu. Along with Heavenly Venerate Ling and a group of Heaven-Opening Sect members, he attempted to transcend the Rune Great Dao established by the Mi Luo Palace Master. They devised many methods, but before they could achieve any results, signs of the Great Catastrophe had already appeared in the Seventh Epoch.

Subsequently, the Mi Luo Palace Master approached them for discussions three times. However, the Lord of Tiandu, engrossed in their research, largely ignored him. On the Mi Luo Palace Master's fourth visit, he acted and killed the Lord of Tiandu. Although Heavenly Venerate Ling saved the Lord of Tiandu's primordial spirit, Tai Yi was not the Lord of Tiandu. His state was extremely peculiar; his ways of thinking and solving problems were different from the Lord of Tiandu's. Tai Yi once suspected that Heavenly Venerate Ling had tampered with him when saving him, but whether that was truly the case remained unknown.

"But regardless," Tai Yi continued, "the Mi Luo Palace Master's Rune Great Dao is the orthodox path; this cannot be denied."

Tai Yi continued, "The dao injuries left by the Heaven-Opening Sect may seem terrifying, but each of them has gone to an extreme. They can deny the runes created by the Mi Luo Palace Master, but they should not deny the Great Dao itself." He frowned. "The dao aura within your injuries is incredibly bizarre and unique in each case," he said. "These are things they've conjured themselves, having denied the Great Daos of the world."

Qin Mu nodded. It was precisely because he had never encountered such things before that he was caught off guard and injured by those Heaven-Opening Sect members. However, once he reacted, those Heaven-Opening Sect members found it difficult to injure him again.

"Creating Heaven and Earth Great Daos from nothingness is very similar to the reforms of Eternal Peace."

Tai Shi couldn't help but interject, "Brother Dao, the Eternal Peace reforms also created many post-celestial Great Daos. Is there any difference between their approach and that of the Heaven-Opening Sect? Some individuals even achieved Dao by utilizing these post-celestial Great Daos." The person he referred to was Emperor Kai, Qin Ye, who achieved Dao through the Sword Dao and reached the level of a Palace Master.

"Fundamentally different."

Before Tai Yi could respond, Jiang Bai Gui clarified, "The Eternal Peace reforms indeed created daos that didn't previously exist in the heavens and earth. However, without exception, their foundations are all runes. While the Sword Dao appears to be without runes, every fundamental sword stance is, in fact, a Sword Dao rune. The same applies to the Dao of the Blade, the Dao of Formations, architecture, calligraphy, and painting. Post-celestial Great Daos also follow the Rune Great Dao, which was established by the Mi Luo Palace Master."

Tai Yi continued, "The Heaven-Opening Sect is different. They have completely abandoned the Rune Great Dao system. Fellow Daoist Mu's dao injuries contain no fundamental runes."

Tai Shi suddenly understood.

"Their path likely involves finding a world, destroying it to revert it to chaos, then repeatedly opening the heavens, destroying it, opening it again, and destroying it again, all to test their various concepts."

Qin Mu said, "I sensed various terrifying thoughts within their divine abilities. These thoughts are chilling and filled with fear. They..." He frowned and continued, "I couldn't sense any humanity in their thoughts. But it wasn't divinity or demonic nature either. The thoughts hidden within their Great Dao divine abilities can no longer be described as human, divine, or demonic."

"That is the Heaven-Opening Sect."

Tai Yi sighed, saying, "It's also why I was unwilling to interact with them after returning to the past. After all, they were once my fellow daoists." Through countless experiments, the Heaven-Opening Sect members had transformed into beings he no longer recognized.

"Evil."

Emperor Kai suddenly said, "They must be evil!"

Tai Yi shook his head. "Not evil; 'evil' cannot describe their state of mind. There are no evil thoughts in their hearts."

Heavenly Venerate Yue couldn't help but say, "Then, Elder Sister Ling..." Heavenly Venerate Ling was her best friend, and Qin Mu and Tai Yi's words made her worry for Heavenly Venerate Ling as well.

"Fellow Daoist Ling's talent is exceptionally high; she might not have fallen into this state of mind." Tai Yi couldn't be certain. "I've always believed her talent was among the few that could rival mine."

Qin Mu coughed.

Tai Yi shook his head. "You don't quite measure up."

Lan Yu Tian and Xu Sheng Hua smiled. Tai Yi said, "You two are a bit better than Fellow Daoist Mu, but still fall a little short."

Xu Sheng Hua said, "As long as I'm a little better than Cult Master Qin, I'm satisfied."

Qin Mu snorted, displeased. "Brother Tai Yi still hasn't answered my question. If the Heaven-Opening Sect comes for you, how will you respond? Will you become the Lord of Tiandu, the leader of the Heaven-Opening Sect, or will you stand with us?"

"I won't let them descend." Tai Yi paused, then suddenly smiled. "I am Tai Yi of the Seventeenth Epoch, one of the Five Primordials. I have the undeniable responsibility to protect this universe."

"Well said!" Tai Shi immediately clapped.

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Tai Yi's stance was precisely what he needed. Otherwise, if the Heaven-Opening Sect attacked and Tai Yi joined them, it would be dangerous.

Ling Yu Xiu worried, "Then your injuries..."

Qin Mu smiled. "I've been thinking about how to deal with these dao injuries throughout our journey. While I haven't fully deciphered the dao principles they contain, I already conceived a method to remove them while on the way here. I simply kept the injuries to show them to Brother Tai Yi, which is why I haven't healed them yet."

Tai Yi's eyes flickered. "How will you remove the dao injuries?"

"The Heaven-Opening Sect doesn't follow the Rune Great Dao, but that doesn't mean the Rune Great Dao can't break their divine arts and dao techniques!"

Suddenly, rolling chaotic energy surged from Qin Mu's body, swirling around him like long dragons. The surging chaotic energy resembled sixteen smaller chaotic rivers! Soon, his entire being transformed into chaos, disappearing, replaced by a massive chaotic embryonic egg standing before everyone.

Everyone looked up to see the chaotic embryo continuously growing, quickly surpassing the grand hall where Qin Mu and Ling Yu Xiu resided, and then the enormous Golden Ferry of Transcending Worlds! The chaotic embryo grew increasingly vast, causing them to repeatedly retreat. Before long, it had risen higher than the towering divine mountains surrounding them!

Everyone quickly boarded the Golden Ferry of Transcending Worlds. The golden ship moved, floating like a golden leaf beside the chaotic embryo, while wisps of clouds drifted all around. From within the chaotic embryo came throbbing sounds, like the heartbeat of a giant within a womb, or like a morning bell, profound and lingering.

Suddenly, an astonishing sword light emerged from the chaotic embryonic egg. A single sword strike opened the heavens, parting the chaos! Where the heavens opened and the earth was created, the massive chaotic embryonic egg split into two. Primordial violet qi permeated the egg, shimmering with incredibly dazzling purple light! It was a sign of chaos being opened and the primordial evolving!

After a long while, the purple light and qi gradually dispersed. Qin Mu stood within the split chaotic embryonic egg, all his physical injuries gone, looking vibrant and energetic. The split chaotic embryo gradually vanished, merging back into his body. Qin Mu walked down from mid-air, his body growing smaller and smaller. By the time he reached the ship, he had returned to his original state.

Everyone couldn't help but utter continuous praises. Even Tai Yi lauded, "What magnificent dao techniques! Truly worthy of the Mi Luo Palace Master's appellation, 'the man of chaos'!"

Ling Yu Xiu also breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing his praise for Qin Mu, her heart rejoiced for him as well.

"The Heaven-Opening Sect!" Tai Shi exclaimed, pointing at Qin Mu.

Emperor Kai, Qin Ye, couldn't help but raise his sword sheath and firmly tap Tai Shi on the head. Tai Shi rubbed his head, confused, "Isn't Heavenly Venerate Mu using the Heaven-Opening method to break his dao injuries the same as the Heaven-Opening Sect?"

"Naturally not the same."

Emperor Kai, Qin Ye, said, "Heavenly Venerate Mu uses the Rune Great Dao, and he doesn't destroy worlds one by one to open the heavens and evolve divine arts and dao techniques. His heart is free of evil thoughts..." He paused here, feeling his Dao heart was somewhat deficient, and thus said no more.

With all his dao injuries healed, Qin Mu's eyes gleamed. Seeing the light flickering in his eyes, everyone's hearts subtly stirred: "Heavenly Venerate Mu has indeed forgotten the pain now that his wounds are healed. What new scheme is he devising?"

"When can Brother Tai Yi's dao injuries be healed?" Qin Mu inquired.

Xu Sheng Hua said, "If Lan Yu Tian and I work together, even if no one else does anything, it would still take thirty years to heal him."

"What if I join in?" Qin Mu's eyes lit up, eager to try. "With me joining, he'll likely be healed in ten years!"

Tai Yi quickly said, "With you, it would take a hundred years! Fellow Daoist Xu and Fellow Daoist Lan are enough to heal me; I don't need your help."

Qin Mu had no choice but to give up.

During the Great Calamity of the Sixteenth Epoch, figures descended one after another onto the cliffs of the Return Ruins Abyss. The leading member of the Heaven-Opening Sect wore a smile that seemed painted on his face, giving an eerie impression.

"Second Young Master Wuji of Mi Luo Palace." The smiling man's voice echoed into the depths of the Return Ruins Abyss: "We wish to borrow your path to travel to the Seventeenth Epoch. We humbly ask for Young Master Wuji's permission."

"Come down!" Second Young Master Wuji's voice came from within the abyss, chuckling.

"Very well!" The smiling man leapt, plunging into the abyss. Behind him, the other thirty-four Heaven-Opening Sect members also leaped down.