Chapter 1801: Sweet Talk, Fierce Hands

He walked into the Chaos Sea, and the scenery before his eyes immediately changed. Large and small abysses, like countless deep wells, appeared above his head.

In the Chaos Sea, impossibly thick lotus stalks towered high, with lotus flowers embedded in the Great Abysses.

On the surface of the sea were not only Qin Mu's Return to Ruin lotus leaves but also those from sixteen other cosmic epochs.

When Qin Mu arrived, he saw Gongzi Wuji sitting on one of the lotus leaves, leaning over to scoop up a handful of chaotic water and wash her hair.

Her hair was snowy white, yet she appeared very youthful.

Qin Mu stood on his own lotus leaf, quietly admiring her. Gongzi Wuji was indeed a stunning beauty; if not for her wickedness, she would have been a captivating woman.

After a long while, Gongzi Wuji suddenly chuckled, "Seventh Brother, how much longer are you going to stare?"

Qin Mu smiled slightly, "Second Sister, washing your hair in the Chaos Sea is quite beautiful. I'll watch for as long as you wash."

"Such sweet talk."

Gongzi Wuji lifted her head, casting a charming glance at him. "Young Master Chaos leaves nothing but desolation wherever he goes, yet his sweet words can make one's heart blossom."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, looking around. "Second Sister, when will you break free?"

Gongzi Wuji asked in surprise, "Seventh Brother, why do you say that?"

"You've been replacing the Primordial Runes with Return to Ruin Runes, little by little eroding Teacher's Red Rope Knot Seal. Although I didn't notice it before, this time, knowing you'd be up to mischief, I took a closer look and spotted some clues."

Qin Mu looked up, gazing at the five chains dangling from the Great Abyss of the Sixteenth Epoch. These were precisely the chains formed by the Red Rope Knot Seal's divine ability. He said, "For the Red Rope Knot Seal, Teacher ranks first, another person ranks second, and I rank third. The tricks you're playing certainly can't escape my notice. You must have been deciphering the Red Rope Knot Seal for almost three thousand years now, haven't you? When the Opening Heaven Faction passed through here back then, did they reach any agreement with you?"

"You think the Opening Heaven Faction helped me undo one of the runes in the Red Rope Knot Seal?"

Gongzi Wuji's eyes darted, and she smiled. "Ah, you think that person who is proficient in the Red Rope Knot Seal and ranks above you is the thirty-sixth member of the Opening Heaven Faction, and that person helped me undo a rune of the seal, right?"

Qin Mu did not deny it.

Among those who had researched the Red Rope Knot Seal divine ability and whose mastery surpassed his, the first was its creator, the Miluo Palace Master, and the second was Ling Tianzun!

After all, Ling Tianzun and the thirty-five members of the Opening Heaven Faction were all powerful beings from Tiandu City. He suspected that Ling Tianzun had helped Gongzi Wuji undo a rune, giving her an opportunity to escape.

"It wasn't that blasphemer; it was Third Brother."

Gongzi Wuji said leisurely, "Third Brother, to prevent your child from being born, asked for my help to stop you from drawing power from the Chaos River. But I wouldn't help him for free. He naturally had to pay a price."

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Gongzi Lingxiao had once been suppressed by his Red Rope Knot Seal, so it made sense that he would have studied it.

As long as it wasn't Ling Tianzun, Qin Mu could rest assured.

"Of course, the Opening Heaven Faction also helped me."

Gongzi Wuji blinked, looking a bit cunning. "Their power is extremely strong. Wouldn't it be a waste not to borrow their strength? Those members of the Opening Heaven Faction aren't very bright, but their power is decent. When they attacked me, I used their divine abilities to wear down Teacher's Red Rope Knot Seal. Later, the smiling man discovered something amiss, realizing he couldn't do anything to me, so he made a deal with me."

Qin Mu uttered an "Oh" and asked with interest, "What kind of agreement?"

Gongzi Wuji said with a smile, "They can help me wear down some of the runes, but I must help them with a small favor."

When Qin Mu asked what the small favor was, Gongzi Wuji refused to disclose it.

The two fell silent, no longer conversing.

After a long while, Qin Mu asked with a smile, "So, Second Sister, how much longer until you break free?"

"You guess!"

Gongzi Wuji smiled brightly, gathering her washed silver hair behind her back, breaking off a few strands, and tying up the rest.

A silver ponytail flowed down her back, her long hair reaching her waist.

Qin Mu watched her silently, a smile on his face.

Gongzi Wuji, dragging the five chains, walked back and forth on the lotus leaf, chuckling, "It could be tomorrow, or it could be ten thousand years from now, or of course, it could be right now. Take a guess; there's a reward if you get it right."

"I'm not really one for guessing."

Qin Mu's vertical eye between his brows opened, and he said calmly, "Ever since I gained power, I've preferred to directly act to find the answer."

Gongzi Wuji stopped. "Then what are you waiting for?"

The two fell silent again.

The atmosphere gradually grew oppressive.

In Qin Mu's vertical eye between his brows, an endless starry sky seemed to surge, then transform into the rising and setting of the sun and moon, forming a Taiji wheel. It then became the Qi of Grand Purity, then the Qi of Pure Obscurity, then further to the Grand Beginning, becoming the Grand Easy, and finally returning to chaos.

His aura surged, growing stronger and stronger, as if a deity of chaos stood there, causing the Chaos Sea to become calm and the lotus flowers and leaves to cease swaying.

A Chaos Palace slowly rose from the Chaos Sea, breaking through the water. As the Universe Grand Bell ascended from the Chaos Sea, the Five Ultimates on its surface spun ceaselessly, flickering with various bright Dao lights, seemingly absorbing energy from the chaos.

Only when the Chaos Palace had fully emerged from the Chaos Sea did the light of the Universe Grand Bell slowly subside, appearing even more ancient and weighty.

Gongzi Wuji looked towards the Chaos Palace, seeing its entrance tightly shut, not knowing what lay within.

Splash—

The Chaos Sea suddenly churned violently, breaking through Qin Mu's suppression, and another grand hall slowly rose from it. This hall radiated Dao light, imbued with the unique, majestic vitality of the Way of Return to Ruin, as if it could sustain the birth of an entire universe!

However, the entrance of this hall was also tightly closed, and Qin Mu knew nothing of what was inside.

This hall was Gongzi Wuji's ultimate achievement in the Grand Dao: the Boundless Palace!

Gongzi Wuji was indeed very close to breaking free; she could even summon her Boundless Palace from the Miluo Palace!

At the same time, violent rumbling sounds erupted from the various Great Abysses of Return to Ruin, and one after another, Return to Ruin lotus flowers vanished. Beneath Gongzi Wuji's feet, a lotus flower emerged, its first lotus platform appearing, followed by the second, then the third…

Qin Mu's pupils constricted abruptly, his gaze fixed on the lotus platform. The platform beneath Gongzi Wuji's feet finally stopped when it manifested ten layers of Dao-grade.

The surface of the Chaos Sea became turbulent. The other six Return to Ruin lotus flowers swayed and reappeared, indicating that Gongzi Wuji had not completely unsealed herself and thus couldn't absorb the other Return to Ruin lotuses to form a sixteen-grade lotus platform.

Her path to Dao attainment in Return to Ruin was still different from Qin Mu's. Qin Mu relied on his own comprehension, drawing energy and nourishment from cycles of destruction and creation to elevate his lotus platform's Dao-grade.

Gongzi Wuji, however, seemed to follow another path: absorbing the Return to Ruin lotus flowers from other cosmic epochs to form a sixteen-grade lotus platform!

However, the Miluo Palace Master's seal prevented her from mobilizing more lotus platforms; otherwise, if she could mobilize a sixteen-grade lotus platform, she would be able to break free.

Qin Mu smiled slightly. "Second Sister, can you really do it? Your little brother is very powerful."

Gongzi Wuji also smiled faintly. "Seventh Brother, since you haven't attained Dao in Chaos, you truly can't."

Before her words even finished, Qin Mu stepped forward. As he took that step, a bell rang out, and the Chaos Sea suddenly exploded. The Universe Grand Bell swept up the chaotic energy within the Chaos Sea, boosting the power of his strike!

On the Chaos Sea, he was Young Master Seven of Miluo Palace, capable of unleashing boundless power!

On the sea surface, a new universe was born amidst the sound of the bell, carrying the energy of creation, sweeping across the water, vast and mighty, heading straight for Gongzi Wuji!

This strike was Qin Mu's thirty-fifth heavenly layer of Dao Realm: Primordial Beginning, Dao Creating Heaven and Earth!

This move could be said to be his most powerful divine ability. In terms of sheer power, it already surpassed all divine abilities he had comprehended and learned before, even exceeding the Primordial Finger and the Tiandu Opening Heaven Scripture!

"Seventh Brother, so you really can't do it!"

Gongzi Wuji stood within the lotus platform, giggling. Suddenly, her Boundless Palace opened behind her. The moment its entrance swung open, an energy that shattered all things surged out from within the palace. Upon a slight collision with Qin Mu's Universe Grand Bell, the universe created by the bell's reverberations was instantly destroyed!

However, just as the Five Ultimates underwent a reverse transformation, Qin Mu gripped the bell, gave it a gentle flick, and the great bell whirled, ascended, and then flipped upside down over them.

Clang—

The bell rang out again, instantly clearing away the Chaos Sea and the tribulations of destruction around Qin Mu. At the same time, Qin Mu stomped his foot heavily, and Primordial Runes transformed into an Opening Heaven Altar, rising up. Qin Mu used his hand as a sword, striking with a sweeping cut. The chaotic sea that had erupted around him immediately evolved, heaven and earth separated, forming one universe after another around him!

Behind Qin Mu, the magnificent and luminous Heavenly Wheels of Six Paths revolved. Universes of all sizes were encompassed beneath the Six Paths of Reincarnation, constantly undergoing creation and destruction, with the cycle unending!

Gongzi Wuji had just charged forward, only to be pushed back by the surrounding universes of varying sizes. No matter how many miniature universes she destroyed, with a turn of the reincarnation cycle, new ones would immediately generate.

Gongzi Wuji was enraged, activating her Return to Ruin divine ability, also using the Way of Creation and Destruction to counter Qin Mu. However, she had to expend her own cultivation to maintain this creation and destruction, while Qin Mu maintained it through the Way of Reincarnation. The difference in their methods was immediately apparent!

"Second Sister, you're outdated; you truly can't keep up!"

Qin Mu moved in close, reaching out to grasp the five chains behind Gongzi Wuji. He began to refine the strange runes within the chains, replacing them with the Red Rope Knot Seal runes.

Gongzi Wuji's eyes nearly burst from fury, and she attacked him frantically. However, with the rotation of the Heavenly Wheels of Six Paths, she was continuously prevented from getting close.

Qin Mu rapidly mended the Red Rope Knot Seal, restoring each rune that Gongzi Wuji had damaged.

Suddenly, Gongzi Wuji stopped, no longer attacking him. She said coldly, "Seventh Brother, is what you're doing useful? You're not Teacher, after all. You're merely extending the time until I break free, but ultimately, it will be in vain!"

Qin Mu finished restoring the damaged Primordial Runes, let out a sigh of relief, stretched, and began to walk away from Return to Ruin. He said calmly, "When you break my runes again, I'll just come back and fix them once more."

"You!"

Gongzi Wuji was incensed, but a deep sense of powerlessness welled up within her.