Chapter 1794: You Are Sick and Need Treatment

Tai Yi looked around, surveying the thirty-five creators. After a moment, he said, "Fellow Daoists, are you all well?"

"We are well!"

The thirty-five creators were delighted and said in unison, "Please, Lord of Heaven City, come with us to the desolate land and return to your true form!"

Tai Yi's gaze fell on Qin Mu in the distance, then he withdrew it and said in a deep voice, "Very well. I shall return to my true form!"

Qin Mu frowned.

The thirty-five creators suddenly activated the Creation Altar formation, tearing open the sky. They teleported out of the Ancestral Court prison with Tai Yi and vanished.

Qin Mu's expression darkened. He channeled his magic power, pulling back the Return to the Ruins, which had been sent flying out of the sky by the thirty-five creators. He then used the power of the Return to the Ruins to re-establish multiple seals.

Emperor Kai Huang Qin Ye, Shang Jun, and others arrived. Before they could ask, Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "Tai Yi and the creators have gone to the Void Filth to search for the true form of the Lord of Heaven City."

Tai Shi asked, "If he becomes the Lord of Heaven City, can he still maintain Tai Yi's form?"

Qin Mu shook his head.

He didn't know the answer to that question. Ling Tianzun must have tampered with Tai Yi to prevent him from being the Lord of Heaven City, and the Miluo Palace Master had sent him back to the Fourth Epoch to let him examine the actions of the Lord of Heaven City and the creators for himself.

Tai Yi's current mindset was completely different from that of the Lord of Heaven City.

However, it was hard to say whether Tai Yi could maintain his current mindset after merging with the Lord of Heaven City.

"Why would Tai Yi go with them?"

Shang Jun was puzzled. He highly respected both Tai Yi and the paralyzed figure in the Obelisk Forest, but he considered them two different people. There was no need for Tai Yi to become someone else.

"The creators pose too great a danger," Qin Mu glanced around, "If they were to fight, Tai Yi wasn't confident he could defeat them, nor that he could keep them in the Ancestral Court."

"I need to go to the Void Filth," he said, "You all stay here. When Tai Yi and I are away, you must be wary of attacks from Jade Capital City and the World Tree. I'll leave the Golden Ship of Crossing Worlds here; if you can't resist, board the ship to take refuge."

Everyone nodded.

Qin Mu took a deep breath, his body flashed, and he vanished from the Ancestral Court trap.

The Void Filth.

The creators and Tai Yi walked through it. This desolate place was full of mysteries, containing countless things that even the Calamity of Destruction and the Calamity of Creation couldn't obliterate, discarded here.

Here were also the ruins of Heaven City, the place where the enlightened beings of Heaven City initiated creation, and the Obelisk Forest where the Grand Young Master of Miluo Palace, Tai Shang, suppressed demons and heretics, along with various other strange and bizarre objects.

Tai Yi and the creators revisited the ruins of Heaven City. They ascended the Creation Altar, and the creators sighed, filled with emotion. The Smiling Man said, "For all these years, we have been searching for our leader. Ling said she sent the leader's primordial spirit into the future, but Ling is highly unpredictable. After all, she joined Heaven City halfway through, and her Dao heart is not as pure as ours."

Tai Yi stood with his feet on the two footprints in the center of the altar—footprints he himself had left. Standing there again filled him with profound emotion.

After a moment, Tai Yi asked, "Ling's aptitude and comprehension were the best among you. Why did you not follow her after my death?"

The thirty-five creators exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"Ling is not suitable to be our leader. She is too soft-hearted and cannot see the essence of life."

The Smiling Man continued, "Life is merely an accumulation of matter and energy. She believes it should be respected, but she overlooks our ability to create life, even to create worlds. We can even mold worlds and lives into whatever form we desire! She cannot do that. We have only one leader, and that is the Lord of Heaven City."

Tai Yi looked at them, a slight frown on his face.

Once, he, too, held these beliefs, which was why he had gained these followers.

But now his thoughts had changed. Since becoming Tai Yi, he had largely refrained from interfering with the progress of the Seventeenth Epoch, allowing it to develop on its own. This was completely different from the actions of the Lord of Heaven City.

"To rescue our leader, we once influenced the future from the past, showing Young Master Chaos here the circumstances of Heaven City's creation back then."

The Smiling Man said, "Unfortunately, Young Master Chaos disappointed us. He hesitated just as he was about to 'cure' our leader. Leader, rest assured, we can certainly cure you!"

"'Cure' me?" Tai Yi looked at the Dao injuries on his body.

Clearly, the creators were not referring to the Dao injuries left from his battle with the Third and Fourth Young Masters; they were referring to Tai Yi's thoughts and philosophy.

The creators believed that Tai Yi's current thoughts and philosophy were pathological and imperfect, requiring a "cure."

Their method of "curing" Tai Yi was to transform him back into the Lord of Heaven City, to become the leader they envisioned.

They left the ruins of Heaven City. Various strange things drifted through the Void Filth, but when faced with the creators, these oddities retreated.

They searched the Filth for a long time until they saw a vast multitude of coffins, linked together, approaching them.

The last time Qin Mu came here, he encountered these coffins blocking his path. He directly used the Golden Ship of Crossing Worlds to crush them, destroying many, while others escaped.

"Fellow Daoists!"

The Smiling Man stood in front of the creators, his Dao voice resonating: "The day of your freedom is coming! The Lord of Heaven City is about to descend, and then you will see the light of day again and exact your revenge! Your grievances with Miluo Palace, and your enmity with Young Master Chaos, can all be settled!"

The coffins seemed to understand his words, rattling their chains with joy and excitement.

"Young Master Chaos suppressed them for a reason."

Tai Yi reminded the Smiling Man and the other creators, saying, "If they are released, they will cause immense harm."

The smile on the Smiling Man's face looked terrifying: "Miluo Palace is more powerful than our Heaven City. Heaven City needs them to counter Miluo Palace. Leader, you are truly ill; the old you would never think this way."

The other creators also chimed in, "The leader is ill. The former leader would never bother with such things! Even if it meant destroying the universe and initiating creation anew, we would simply experiment from scratch."

Tai Yi's eyelid twitched.

They continued onward, finally finding the gateway that had been rammed open by the Golden Ship of Crossing Worlds. The thirty-five creators ushered Tai Yi in, saying with a laugh, "Young Master Chaos broke the formation here, saving us a lot of trouble."

The obelisks here were toppled and scattered, a result of Qin Mu's previous visit when he crashed the Golden Ship of Crossing Worlds into them. Later, Young Master Tai Shang descended, explaining the pros and cons to Qin Mu and dissuading him from "curing" Tai Yi and the paralyzed figure.

When Young Master Tai Shang and Qin Mu left, they did not restore the Obelisk Forest.

"Young Master Tai Shang and Young Master Qin Mu are two great villains. In the past universes, they suppressed many of their peers."

The Smiling Man and the other creators ushered Tai Yi into the Obelisk Forest. Despite their immense power, they forcefully resisted the suppression of the Obelisk Forest. The Smiling Man said, "Young Master Tai Shang adheres strictly to Miluo Palace's principles. He is too rigid in his actions, making him impossible to exploit. Although Young Master Chaos is also a great villain, he acts without rules or principles, which means he can be used. Unfortunately, Young Master Tai Shang eventually persuaded him. This forced us to risk coming from the Return to the Ruins ourselves to personally 'cure' our leader."

Tai Yi said, "Young Master Tai Shang and Young Master Chaos both suppressed powerful individuals who committed evil in the world. This act was not excessive."

"The leader is truly ill."

The thirty-five creators were individually worried, but then they relaxed, saying, "Thankfully, the leader can be 'cured' soon."

Tai Yi saw their expressions and had nothing more to say.

Suddenly, a thought stirred in his mind. Logically, after entering the Obelisk Forest, he should immediately sense the paralyzed figure within, and eventually, he would disappear, merging with him.

Yet, they had already ventured deep into the forest, and there was still no change in him!

Tai Yi remained calm, continuing deeper, surrounded by the group.

After a long while, they finally reached the core of the Obelisk Forest, where a small village appeared. The obelisks encircled this village. At the village entrance stood a tree, from which a pig hung upside down, grunting and squealing, trying to get down but unable to free itself.

On a stone at the village entrance, an old man with squinting eyes was slowly smoking a water pipe.

Inside the village, amidst a few dilapidated houses, a woman was pounding clothes by a well, her mallet rising and falling, making a slapping sound.

A little girl with two pigtails was diligently climbing a tree, trying to pick fruit, while under the eaves, an old woman leaned against the wall, dozing with squinted eyes.

The thirty-five creators ushered Tai Yi to the front of the village, looking around. The Smiling Man bowed to the old man: "Brother Daoist Dong Yang, the third most powerful expert of Heaven City back then, you have been missing for so long, we didn't expect you to be suppressed here! Brother Daoist, today is the day of your liberation, and also the day our leader's illness is cured. This is truly cause for celebration."

Old man Dong Yang glanced at him and said indifferently, "So it's Brother Daoist Shijing. I wondered who it was, with a face so ugly. I'm doing quite well here; I wasn't suppressed by Tai Shang, I came here on my own initiative. As for the leader, he isn't ill, merely injured."

The Smiling Man said, "Brother Daoist Dong Yang, whether the leader is injured or ill, he still needs a cure. Where is the leader's physical body? Please bring him out quickly."

Old man Dong Yang raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the other creators. He tapped his pipe, stood up, and chuckled, "Ever since the leader died, you've become increasingly good-for-nothing, turning into neither humans nor ghosts, quite frightening. Go back; the leader doesn't need you."

The Smiling Man sighed, "It seems Brother Daoist Dong Yang is also ill and needs treatment."

The other creators also chimed in, "Brother Daoist Dong Yang is ill. Lie down quickly, and we'll give you a treatment!"

Old man Dong Yang flew into a rage, letting out a Daoist shout that boomed like thunder: "Are you not listening to me anymore?"

The thirty-five creators ignored his Daoist shout, each raising their heads and looking at him with eerie expressions.

Old man Dong Yang was startled. His Daoist shout could affect the mind and will of those questioned, probing their Dao heart. Even Miluo Palace Hall Masters and Young Masters would have to respond to his shout, awakening hidden aspects deep within their Dao heart.

The creators, especially, should have had their past memories reawakened. Yet, his Daoist shout had no effect whatsoever on these thirty-five creators!

"You have completely become monsters through one creation experiment after another."

Old man Dong Yang sighed, his voice desolate: "Young Master Chaos, I'm out of options. It's up to you now."

No sooner had he spoken than Qin Mu emerged from the house behind the old woman, carrying a massive Divine Coffin of Buried Dao on his shoulder.

He set the coffin down and said calmly, "The paralyzed figure you are looking for is in this coffin."