Chapter 1814: Endless IOUs

Under the World Tree, the Boundless Old Man sat motionless, his gaze profound, as if he could perceive all history from ancient times to the present.

Sixteen long rivers of chaos encircled the ancient tree, and the roots of the World Tree pierced through them. In every cosmic epoch, countless powerful beings used the roots of this ancient tree to preserve their lives.

Whether they lived or died, or whether they could escape tribulation, rested entirely on a single thought from the Boundless Old Man.

He was born seventeen years old, with each cosmic epoch considered one year of his life. This was the Boundless Old Man.

Now, it was his seventeenth year. The vicissitudes of history were merely fleeting images to him, and the joys and sorrows of countless lives were merely the clamor of dust-like, minuscule beings.

All he cared about was himself.

Ever since he was wounded in the Battle of Guixu 3.5 billion years ago, he had been listless. That injury was more severe than the Taishang's felling of the tree. Qin Mu had chosen not to eliminate him, but instead offered him a chance to escape, yet he felt no gratitude toward Qin Mu.

The main reason Qin Mu dared not kill him was that doing so would lead to the arrival of the Third and Fourth Young Masters.

Over the subsequent 3.5 billion years, with attacks from all sides, Qin Mu would still occasionally help him resist the Milar Palace, and even assist Young Master Wuji.

However, Qin Mu had already severely restricted them. Ever since Qin Mu destroyed the Guixu Great Abyss and re-sealed the ancestral court's void, Young Master Wuji had lost his source of power. To return to his peak state, he could only cultivate step by step on his own.

The Boundless Old Man had also lost his source of power. Among the prehistoric powerhouses under his command, there were no new Dao achievers.

There was only one path to achieving Dao: the Ancestral Court Dao Realm system.

He also could not allow the prehistoric powerhouses under him to cultivate the Yankang Ancestral Court Dao Realm system, because if they achieved Dao through the Ancestral Court Dao Realm system, it would be of no benefit to him.

Wuji remained unable to recover to his peak state, and after 3.5 billion years of growth, his own progress was also slow.

He understood Qin Mu's objectives perfectly: nothing more than to buy time, providing more opportunities for the so-called Yankang reforms to allow Yankang to grow stronger.

He even calculated how many people left Qin Mu's side and how many entered from the outside each time, to estimate Yankang's strength.

Previously, the number of new Dao achievers in Yankang was alarming, but later, this trend gradually slowed. Especially in recent years, fewer and fewer new Dao achievers appeared, with none emerging in the last 20,000 years.

Yankang had a total of only three thousand Dao achievers. While this number seemed large, it was still too small compared to the accumulation over sixteen cosmic epochs.

From then on, the Boundless Old Man realized that the Yankang reforms had encountered a significant problem.

This problem was likely the absence of external threats. Without external threats, Yankang lacked a sense of urgency. The populace grew too complacent, leading to a lack of ambition and the fighting spirit to strive for improvement. Consequently, the reforms became difficult to sustain.

After realizing this, the Boundless Old Man deduced another possibility: Qin Mu was about to make a move.

For 3.5 billion years, Qin Mu's purpose in delaying had been to strengthen the Yankang reforms and give them more time. Now that the reforms were unsustainable, he no longer had a reason to delay. Qin Mu would certainly act!

"If Chaos makes a move," the Boundless Old Man thought, "he will surely seek to ally with me and Young Master Wuji to attack Jade Capital City. This is because Jade Capital City poses the greatest threat!"

The Boundless Old Man's eyes gleamed. "Uniting the weak to conquer the strong is the way of military strategy. Only after eliminating Jade Capital City will he have the remaining strength to deal with me and Young Master Wuji. At that point, he will also need my power to put pressure on Yankang, forcing the Yankang reforms to continue. And when he comes to ask for my alliance, I can demand a high price! My return to peak condition will be within reach!"

No sooner had he thought this than a Dao achiever reported, "Young Master Chaos's Golden Ship of Transference is approaching, having already entered the first layer of the long rivers of chaos!"

The Boundless Old Man rose, laughing heartily. "Young Master Chaos is indeed just as I expected! All his plans are within my grasp; he can only ever dance in the palm of my hand! Come, prepare to receive Young Master Chaos and put him in his place!"

Just then, a sudden bell chimed, reverberating as the long rivers of chaos nearly boiled. A massive bell spanned the sixteen long rivers of chaos, resting upon them. Its vibrations made countless prehistoric powerhouses within the rivers lose their footing, sending them plummeting into the great tribulation of destruction!

The Golden Ship of Transference surged straight ahead, piercing through the massive bell and rushing towards the World Tree on the opposite bank!

The Boundless Old Man was greatly shaken and somewhat at a loss. According to his calculations, Qin Mu should have come to seek peace, not to initiate war.

But the moment Qin Mu made his move, he shattered the sixteen long rivers of chaos and attacked directly!

"Chaos!" The Boundless Old Man, startled and enraged, bellowed, "You came to seek peace, yet you chose to launch a preemptive strike first?"

The Golden Ship of Transference charged all the way to the World Tree, shattering the earth and mountains. The bell's chimes reverberated back and forth, upturning the ground beneath the World Tree. Countless prehistoric powerhouses, caught in the bell's vibrations, were like duckweed and fallen leaves, unable to stabilize their forms.

The Boundless Old Man hastily activated the World Tree, rescuing the prehistoric powerhouses one by one. At the same time, more of the World Tree's roots deeply pierced into the long rivers of chaos. Innumerable prehistoric powerhouses, like countless ants and fleas, clambered up the roots, struggling to reach the other side!

Qin Mu stood at the bow, as the Golden Ship of Transference continued to charge towards the Boundless Old Man. From the golden ship, Yankang's Dao achievers flew out one after another, attacking those trying to cross.

Lan Yutian and the two ancestors of Xushenghua, Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye, Emperor Kaihuang Di Yiyue, the two ancestors of the Dao Sect, Zhan Kong of the Buddhist Sect, the four ancestors of the Heavenly Blade, the twin God Kings of Creation, Emperor Yanfeng, and all the emperors of Yankang, engaged in battle.

By the time the Golden Ship of Transference arrived at the World Tree, before the Boundless Old Man, only Qin Mu remained on board.

The Golden Ship stopped. Qin Mu stepped off, bowed, and said, "Brother Boundless, when we first met all those years ago, do you still have the favor I owed you?"

The Boundless Old Man's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze shifted behind Qin Mu. He saw hundreds of battlefields forming beneath the World Tree, where Yankang's Dao achievers were slaughtering his subordinates.

Over the years, the Dao fruits hanging on his World Tree had likely been thoroughly studied by Qin Mu and others. All his divine abilities and Dao arts had been deciphered by the enemy, which was why this had devolved into a massacre!

The Boundless Old Man's voice was hoarse. "You didn't come to seek peace?"

Qin Mu shook his head and said, "Brother, do you still have the IOU?"

A twitch appeared at the corner of the Boundless Old Man's eye. Suddenly, an incredibly thick root of the World Tree emerged from the ground. The root split open, and a golden paper floated out, gently drifting before Qin Mu.

This golden paper could not survive the Tribulation of Destruction and the Tribulation of Creation. Thus, the Boundless Old Man had hidden it "within himself," protecting the IOU from destruction.

Qin Mu was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected there truly to be an IOU, and that the Boundless Old Man had managed to preserve it until now!

"Brother, since you have the IOU, I owe you a favor."

Qin Mu raised his hand, took the IOU, nodded, and said indifferently, "Then I will leave you a sliver of hope, Brother, and will not completely annihilate you."

The Boundless Old Man burst into laughter. Behind him, the World Tree's countless branches suddenly transformed into innumerable arms. Illusions of various Dao fruits hung suspended on the World Tree. "Chaos, your best option should be to ally with me to jointly fight against the Milar Palace! In the future, you can once again borrow my strength to pressure Yankang, forcing it to strive for self-improvement, rather than trying to eliminate me! Yankang, it has already become a place of complacency, hasn't it?"

"Indeed, that is where your sliver of hope lies, Brother." Qin Mu mused for a moment, then smiled. "I understand now. The reason I, as the Seventh Young Master, left you an IOU was probably to remind myself not to completely eliminate you. I must spare your life, for only you can force Yankang out of its state of carefree complacency."

Having figured this out, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The Boundless Old Man also laughed heartily, saying leisurely, "Seventh Elder of Milar Palace, are you truly so confident you can defeat me? Your best option..."

Qin Mu stepped forward, and behind him, the Hall of Chaos burst open. Sixteen long rivers of chaos spanned the sky, while the Guixu Lotus Platform and the World Tree emerged, rooting themselves within the rivers!

The lotus platform had thirteen Dao grades. Eight Dao fruits and seven Dao flowers hung on the World Tree. The Dao light from the Hall of Chaos illuminated the sixteen long rivers of chaos.

At this moment, in the great tribulations of destruction across the past sixteen cosmic epochs, Boundless Old Men, one after another, looked up. They saw the Hall of Chaos hovering above the tribulations of destruction.

That dazzling Dao light prevented him from seeing the future!

At this point, he seemed to have become a collection of independent entities, no longer able to connect with his future self.

Beneath the World Tree, the Boundless Old Man roared and charged at Qin Mu. The innumerable arms formed by the World Tree's branches instantly unleashed countless divine abilities. These were grand divine abilities that astonished everyone, each reaching the ultimate profundity of Dao arts, truly breathtaking.

Those myriad divine abilities engulfed Qin Mu. Yet amidst the countless abilities, sixteen long rivers intertwined. As the divine abilities struck the rivers, they vanished.

Qin Mu stood before the Boundless Old Man, pushing his palm forward. A colossal hand grew larger and larger, as the power of the Red String Knot Seal erupted.

The Boundless Old Man's countless arms met the attack. With a thunderous roar, the sixteen long rivers of chaos trembled. Red rope-like chains intertwined, locking down the World Tree's innumerable roots within the rivers.

The Boundless Old Man was shaken back involuntarily, his body suddenly disappearing into the World Tree.

The World Tree vibrated, about to pull its roots free and tear itself from the ground. Suddenly, the red rope chains firmly bound its roots, leaving it unable to move.

Behind Qin Mu, from the Hall of Chaos, a precious sword forged from chaos stone flew out.

Qin Mu gripped the sword and swung it down.

Simultaneously, wherever the power of the Red String Knot Seal passed, the World Tree's innumerable roots were pulverized into dust, transforming into pure energy.

As the sword light flashed, the World Tree crashed down!

Qin Mu raised his hand, and the winds of heat death roared forth, engulfing the World Tree in flames. The Boundless Old Man shrieked, attempting to break free and escape the sea of fire. Suddenly, the Guixu Lotus Platform descended, suppressing the World Tree. From its many holes, the winds of annihilation blew, intensifying the inferno.

"So fast!" In Jade Capital City of the ancestral court, Young Master Lingxiao and Young Master Zixiao watched the World Tree from afar, their expressions grim. "The Seventh Elder has made significant progress!"

Suddenly, Qin Mu flicked his finger, and a section of the World Tree's root flew out from the long rivers of chaos, shot toward the heavens, and vanished.

"Brother Taishi, there's no need to convert the blood sacrifice energy." Just as Taishi was about to cast a spell, Qin Mu's voice calmly came, "Let the Third Young Master take the blood sacrifice energy."