Chapter 1818: Third Immutable Substance

The immense power of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron surged into Jade Capital City through its collapsed gates. Its vast destructive force swept through, effortlessly demolishing the city's buildings.

Inside the city, numerous Dao Achievers and Palace Lords stepped forward, activating their Dao fruits. Over twenty thousand Dao fruits floated in the air, stabilizing the Primordial Cauldron's might. Fifty-six Palace Lords stood upright, guarding the treasure halls in front.

Suddenly, the Ancestral Court began to shrink rapidly.

Over the past three and a half billion years, the Ancestral Court had already shrunk to one percent of its original size. Now, it was contracting at a visible rate, with the four walls of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron continuously pressing inward. Mountains and landscapes rapidly condensed, becoming miniature, causing the cauldron's power to become increasingly concentrated and its might to grow stronger.

The city walls and ramparts of Jade Capital City were constantly trembling and crumbling, showing a hidden tendency towards complete collapse.

Prince Zixiao raised his hand, drawing his Dao sword from an ancient zither, and calmly watched Qin Mu at the center of the Six Paths Celestial Wheel.

Qin Mu strode forward. On the Six Paths Celestial Wheel, the Dao soldiers of three thousand Yan Kang Dao Achievers flew, their divine powers radiating, attacking the myriad palaces and halls of Jade Capital City. Their aim was to cooperate with the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron's power to raze this divine city, which even the Calamity of Destruction and Calamity of Creation could not obliterate.

The Six Paths Celestial Wheel revolved around Qin Mu, forming a strange formation. The Yan Kang Dao Achievers standing on it seemed to be perpetually in a cycle of reincarnation, making it difficult for others to discern its mysteries. However, Prince Zixiao and Prince Lingxiao could perceive the profound mechanics of the Six Paths Celestial Wheel's operation.

As the Six Paths Celestial Wheel completed a rotation, these Yan Kang Dao Achievers seemed to undergo rebirth; their cultivation, magical power, physical bodies, and primordial spirits were all revitalized. The wheel's operation allowed them to remain in peak condition at all times, their bodies tireless and their magical power inexhaustible.

The Six Paths Celestial Wheel had two significant functions. One was to cast Dao Achievers into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, stripping them of their physical bodies and magical power, and altering their species. Those affected by the Path of Reincarnation might not even know how they died.

The other function, currently being utilized by the Six Paths Celestial Wheel, was to keep the Yan Kang Dao Achievers in perpetual peak condition, making them effectively immortal and indestructible.

Prince Zixiao had once fought against Qin Mu, though it was the Seventh Prince Qin Mu who engaged, not the current Qin Mu. At that time, the Seventh Prince Qin Mu's vertical eye between his brows opened, snapping one of Prince Zixiao's zither strings. The Third Prince Lingxiao had also fought Qin Mu; Qin Mu remained seated while a Dao fruit from the World Tree met Prince Lingxiao's full-force strike, compelling Prince Lingxiao to retreat, recognizing the difficulty. At that time, neither of them had fully understood Qin Mu's true depth.

Furthermore, across the past sixteen cosmic epochs, no one knew how many Dao fruits Qin Mu possessed or what divine abilities he wielded. Even when Qin Mu documented his method of Chaos Dao attainment and placed it in the Mi Luo Palace, no one could comprehend it. What was even more terrifying was that in previous universes, almost no one had ever personally witnessed Qin Mu take action! Perhaps Qin Mu had acted before, but those who saw him in action were likely all dead. Even the Mi Luo Palace Lord had once stated that he could not fully grasp the Seventh Prince's chaotic divine abilities.

Due to their lack of understanding of Qin Mu, Prince Lingxiao and Prince Zixiao were unable to infer Qin Mu's Dao arts and divine abilities from the Seventh Prince. Fortunately, they had thoroughly researched Qin Mu's Dao arts and divine abilities over the past three and a half billion years. While Qin Mu's Six Paths Celestial Wheel was intricate, its threat to them was not significant enough to cast them into reincarnation. However, its other power posed a fatal threat to Jade Capital City. As long as the Six Paths Celestial Wheel was active, the Yan Kang Dao Achievers would be immortal and indestructible, constantly at their peak, and nearly impossible to kill. It could be said that the Six Paths Celestial Wheel transformed these Dao Achievers into three thousand types of "immutable matter."

Boom, boom, boom!

The tremors from outside the city intensified. The Ancestral Court had shrunk to one-thousandth of its original size and was still contracting. Visually, the four walls of the great cauldron appeared very close to Jade Capital City. Of course, this was an optical illusion; the Ancestral Court was extremely vast, and even at one-thousandth of its original size, it was still very far from Jade Capital City. However, at this rate of contraction, it would likely not be long before the four walls of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron reached the edge of Jade Capital City. By then, all of the Primordial Cauldron's power would be concentrated in a confined space, directly impacting Jade Capital City. With the terrifying power of this heavy artifact, forged in the Ancestral Court, it would likely shatter Jade Capital City.

The fifty-six Palace Lords and eighteen thousand Dao Achievers wavered internally, looking towards the two princes. But Prince Lingxiao and Prince Zixiao remained calm and composed, watching Qin Mu rampage through the city with the Six Paths Celestial Wheel, destroying Jade Capital City's buildings and drawing ever closer to them.

Rumble!

The city walls on all sides of Jade Capital City rippled, and more collapsed. From within the city, one could now clearly see the mountains and even the trees on the four walls of the Primordial Cauldron. The Primordial Cauldron's four walls were now very close to Jade Capital City.

Finally, the Six Paths Celestial Wheel reached the Dao Tree Forest within the city. Behind the forest lay several chaotic rivers. Inside the Dao Tree Forest, many Mi Luo Palace Dao Achievers felt an overwhelming sense of pressure. Indeed, it was a wild and uninhibited oppressive force. They had all seen the Seventh Prince Qin Mu before, but their interactions were few. In their perception, the Seventh Prince Qin Mu had always been gentle and refined; though undeniably cunning, he possessed a graceful demeanor. Yet, the Qin Mu before them now exuded raw wildness and dominance!

From the Six Paths Celestial Wheel, Qin Mu gazed indifferently at the two princes ahead. The rotation of the Six Paths Celestial Wheel slowly ceased. Behind him, Jade Capital City in the Ancestral Court was a scene of devastation; not a single intact building could be found.

The two princes stood before the Dao Tree Forest. Around Prince Lingxiao's Dao spear, the Primordial runes still swirled and howled, propping up the sea of chaos in the sky, preventing it from pressing down. The sea of chaos, now reduced in size countless times, grew increasingly dense, bending the Dao spear further and further, almost to its breaking point.

Another terrifying tremor struck, and a section of Jade Capital City's wall collapsed, sending countless bricks and stones flying in all directions. The Primordial runes etched onto the bricks were also shattered.

The four walls of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron were now only a hundred li away from Jade Capital City. The sheer oppressive force of this formidable artifact alone made it difficult for the many Dao Achievers in the city to breathe. The fifty-six Palace Lords could no longer remain still, repeatedly looking towards the two princes, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads. Prince Zixiao and Prince Lingxiao remained calm and unconcerned.

A grating, ear-splitting sound emanated from outside the city; it was the Jade Capital City walls groaning under the terrifying pressure, teetering on the verge of collapse. Suddenly, sections of Jade Capital City's walls collapsed on all sides, and the four walls of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron finally reached the city's perimeter! Everyone in the city felt as if they were inside the great cauldron, potentially to be buried by its power at any moment.

"Princes!" a Dao Achiever shrieked.

Prince Zixiao played his zither, its music erupting wildly. Thousands of exotic Great Luo Heavens enveloped Jade Capital City, resisting the power surging from all directions of the Primordial Cauldron. These exotic Great Luo Heavens continuously emerged and vanished, yet remained unbroken.

Qin Mu raised an eyebrow.

"Seventh Brother, do you know?"

Prince Lingxiao's palm landed on the Dao spear. The spear, almost bent to breaking point by the sea of chaos, instantly straightened. Its power pierced through the sea of chaos, and the wildly swirling Primordial runes overflowing from its shaft immediately tore the chaotic sea apart! A terrifying vortex formed around the Dao spear, howling as it spun.

Prince Lingxiao stated indifferently, "Jade Capital City was forged by our Master to carry all beings through the Calamity of Destruction and the Calamity of Creation. This divine city can be considered the third type of 'immutable matter' across seventeen universes, past and present." He abruptly spun the Dao spear, and the collapsed city walls and towers of Jade Capital City instantly restored themselves!

Jade Capital City rapidly expanded, revolving with his spinning Dao spear! Tremendous turbulence erupted, and the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron was ripped apart by the expanding and revolving Jade Capital City!

Prince Lingxiao reached out and pulled up his Dao spear. Jade Capital City rapidly shrank and descended, accompanied by a colossal, earth-shattering roar. The ground of the Primordial Cauldron cracked amidst violent tremors, a massive hole punched through it. Around Jade Capital City, countless shattered continents flew in all directions.

Prince Lingxiao brandished his long spear. Jade Capital City abruptly halted its descent, soaring skyward to confront the pressing sea of chaos! Jade Capital City tore through the sea of chaos, shattering it into pieces!

Jade Capital City bore the "Ancestral Court" prefix because it was situated within the Ancestral Court, not because it was part of it. In fact, this divine city had been forged since the Second Epoch, and through countless cosmic eons, it had long since become more expansive than the Ancestral Court itself!

Jade Capital City flew out of the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron. Below, the Ancestral Court lay shattered into innumerable continents, with earth, water, wind, and fire erupting and howling, akin to the Ancestral Court's apocalypse! This was the power of Jade Capital City, the third type of "immutable matter," protecting countless Dao Achievers!

The first type of "immutable matter" was the World Tree. Because the Mi Luo Palace Lord had attained enlightenment beneath it, the World Tree gained sentience, and the Boundless Elder was born from within it. The World Tree naturally disregarded the Calamity of Destruction and the Calamity of Creation, becoming the optimal channel for prehistoric mighty figures to pass through.

The second type of "immutable matter" was the Great Abyss of Gui Xu, within which Prince Wuji was born. With each passing epoch, Gui Xu would produce an additional abyss, providing a passage to the next epoch. However, Prince Wuji devoured the other Gui Xu goddesses, seizing control of the abysses, so no one dared to use that passage except the Heaven-Opening multitude.

The third type of "immutable matter" was Jade Capital City, created by the Mi Luo Palace Lord! This divine city was indeed, as Qin Mu had said, forged simply to resist the Calamity of Destruction and the Calamity of Creation, possessing little offensive power. Yet, it was also a divine city forged by the Mi Luo Palace Lord! It didn't need immense power; merely three simple collisions were enough to shatter the Ancestral Court Primordial Cauldron and the sea of chaos, which Qin Mu had painstakingly built over three and a half billion years!

This was the reliance and capital of Prince Lingxiao and Prince Zixiao! This divine city could absolutely not be shattered!

Within the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Qin Mu suddenly let out a long howl, and the shattered Primordial Cauldron immediately reassembled!

Prince Zixiao smiled faintly. Behind him, purple light erupted from the Zixiao Dao Palace. Jade Capital City grew even more magnificent and expansive, absorbing all the countless fragments of the Ancestral Court that flew towards it.

Qin Mu's eye twitched. The Primordial Cauldron reassembled again, but instead of incorporating Jade Capital City into it, Jade Capital City remained within the cauldron.

"Seventh Brother, today is the day you depart."

Prince Lingxiao gripped his Dao spear tightly, his body slightly sinking. "Please."

Qin Mu's eyebrows twitched. He stepped out from the Six Paths Celestial Wheel and said in a deep voice, "Brother, it's in your hands now."

Qin Fengqing immediately disengaged from the Celestial Wheel, stepping between the Six Paths to control it. "Be very careful! Don't get killed! If... if you can't hold them off, then just go back to the past."

Qin Mu grinned. The Chaos Palace flew up, and the sea of chaos surged towards it, swirling into the Chaos Palace. He laughed, "This battle, I absolutely cannot lose!"

As soon as his words fell, the Chaos Palace vanished, and sixteen long chaotic rivers rotated, swirling around him.