Chapter 1820: Chaos Rune, Prime

Young Master Zixiao's Sword of Dao Attainment had already struck Qin Mu the moment he saw its light, causing blossoms of blood to erupt across his body.

The fundamental difference between the Way of the Sword and other Great Dao abilities is that it is not a naturally occurring or Primordial Dao. The Way of the Sword was created solely for the purpose of killing: to defeat and eliminate opponents in the shortest possible time, with the least effort, and in the most efficient manner.

Young Master Zixiao's Way of the Sword embodied this principle; he immediately unleashed his Sword of Dao Attainment upon engagement, first severely injuring Qin Mu.

The power of his Way of the Sword didn't stop there; where Qin Mu was struck, the exploding blood blossoms transformed into streaks of blood-swords, piercing through his body.

Simultaneously, immeasurable sword lights poured down from countless exotic Grand Heavens, surging from all directions and passing through Qin Mu's body.

Qin Mu should not have used the Way of the Sword to contend with him. Even a slight advantage in sword mastery would have led to an almost complete crushing defeat.

Qin Mu's mastery of the Way of the Sword was significantly weaker than his. Wielding the Chaos Sword, he hadn't even managed to unleash a single move before countless streaks of sword light pierced directly through his body.

Qin Mu exploded amidst the sword light. The World Tree behind him was sliced into dust, his Dao Fruit shattered completely, and the Chaos Palace beneath his feet was utterly destroyed, leaving no trace.

Young Master Zixiao sheathed his sword, his gaze cold.

The gap between Qin Mu and him was simply too vast when using the Way of the Sword; Qin Mu was practically a living target. Had he used other Dao methods or abilities, Qin Mu might have had the power to contend, but this choice led to instant death.

However, he did not believe Qin Mu would be truly killed by his attack.

"The Way of the Sword possesses the greatest offensive power in the world," he mused, "but it also has a significant weakness."

Everything belonging to Qin Mu collapsed, transforming into a mass of chaotic qi. From within this chaos, a figure emerged, and a voice spoke, "Its offensive power is indeed immense, but it often fails to unravel deeper Great Dao. Even someone as powerful as you faces this very predicament."

The weakness of the Way of the Sword he mentioned was also evident in Emperor Kai, Qin Ye.

After achieving Dao Attainment, Emperor Kai, Qin Ye, found it difficult to kill opponents of his own realm or even those one realm weaker. While this was partly attributed to his relatively weaker magic power, it also highlighted the inherent weakness of the Way of the Sword.

The Way of the Sword is straightforward; it effortlessly inflicts direct damage upon an enemy's physical body and primordial spirit, and can even destroy their divine repositories, leveraging its inherent, unparalleled sharpness.

However, when confronted with various peculiar divine abilities and Dao methods, the Way of the Sword's destructive power proved somewhat inadequate.

This limitation stems from the foundational sword techniques of the Way of the Sword.

Other Great Dao, even the most common ones like Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire, possess hundreds, or even thousands, of basic runes. As for the Five Grand Primordiums Dao, their runes are even more numerous and intricate in type and variation.

In contrast, the Way of the Sword has only twenty-three basic sword moves, which serve as its runes. With such a limited set of twenty-three runes, it proves somewhat insufficient when attempting to damage an opponent's Great Dao.

This explains why Emperor Kai, Qin Ye, despite his high combat power, had relatively few definitive victories.

Qin Mu realized this long ago, and thus chose to establish his Dao through divine abilities, using them to compensate for the Way of the Sword's shortcomings. Consequently, his sword moves were more akin to divine abilities themselves.

Young Master Zixiao flicked his sword with a finger and stated calmly, "Seventh Brother, I've known about the weaknesses of the Way of the Sword much longer than you, and I understand them far more deeply."

"Cling!"

The clear ring of the sword echoed, and Qin Mu's expression changed drastically.

"That's why I used Grand Primordium runes to compensate for the Way of the Sword's weaknesses," he continued. "The foundation of every one of my swords is a Grand Primordium rune. I integrated the Way of the Sword with Master's Way of Grand Primordium, transforming it into the Grand Primordium Way of the Sword."

Young Master Zixiao gazed at the tip of his Dao Sword. A single point of purple light pulsed there, and as the Dao Sword trembled, the purple light flickered erratically.

*Rip rip rip rip!*

Suddenly, countless sword intents erupted within Qin Mu's body, tearing him completely to shreds.

Young Master Zixiao said indifferently, "Once struck by my Grand Primordium Way of the Sword, all the Great Dao within you will be shredded. Even if you revive, you will simply be shredded again."

Qin Mu once again transformed into a mass of chaotic qi, and rolling Dao sounds emanated from it: "I have cultivated the Grand Primordium Dao Body and Primordial Spirit, forged the Way of Gui Xu, possess the World Tree, and am thus immortal and indestructible…"

*Rip—*

Countless streaks of Grand Primordium sword light shot out from the mass of chaotic qi in all directions, tearing him to shreds once again.

Young Master Zixiao shook his head and said, "Once struck by my sword, you will forever remain in this state. Seventh Brother, this is my Sword of Dao Attainment, yet it is merely my thirty-sixth sword. Beyond this, I possess four more. If I cannot kill you, what can you possibly achieve?"

These were the Sword of Dao Tree, the Sword of Dao Flower, the Sword of Dao Fruit, and the ultimate fortieth sword: his Sword of Dao Palace—a Sword Dao Sanctuary that even the Master of Miluo Palace could not cultivate.

Qin Mu was unable to resist even just the Sword of Dao Attainment.

The mass of chaotic qi churned continuously. Qin Mu attempted to restore his physical body and primordial spirit again and again, only to be annihilated each time.

"You and I share the same origin," Young Master Zixiao continued. "If you had attained Dao in Chaos and cultivated a Dao Palace, I would be powerless against you. But you have never truly become the Seventh Young Master."

Young Master Zixiao sheathed his sword and turned away. "If you don't become a Young Master, you are no match for me. But if you do, you'll only be able to watch us eliminate the Dao Attainers of Eternal Peace and descend upon the Seventeenth Epoch. Seventh Brother, you have lost."

He looked up, gazing at the long river of chaos outside Miluo Palace, and his expression subtly changed.

Qin Mu was still struggling within the power of his Sword of Dao Attainment, annihilating and reforming again and again. Yet, strangely, the phenomenon of the sixteen chaotic long rivers sealing Miluo Palace had not ceased.

If Qin Mu had been completely trapped by this sword, the chaotic progression of the destructive calamities from the sixteen cosmic epochs would have ceased, and the sealing of this place would have lifted. However, the chaos persisted, which could only mean one thing.

His sword had not fully trapped Qin Mu; Qin Mu still possessed remaining strength!

Young Master Zixiao suddenly turned around, only to see that the mass of chaotic qi had ceased all transformation and become still.

"The seven Young Masters of Miluo Palace may appear to have their own distinct achievements," Qin Mu's voice emanated from the chaotic qi, "but in reality, they are all built upon the foundation of Grand Primordium runes."

Qin Mu's voice came from the mass of chaotic qi: "The depth of one's understanding of Grand Primordium runes and the Way of Grand Primordium dictates the level of one's cultivation. First Young Master, Taishang, possesses the deepest Dao cultivation. Second Young Master, Wuji, attempted to break free from the Grand Primordium rune system and journeyed the furthest. In terms of Dao cultivation, I indeed cannot compare to any of you. However, I am the only one who has truly leaped out of the Grand Primordium rune system."

Young Master Zixiao's expression subtly shifted. He drew his Dao Sword, and countless streaks of sword light from myriad exotic Grand Heavens swiftly flew in, piercing into the mass of chaotic qi.

However, these streaks of sword light, upon piercing into the chaotic qi, vanished without a trace, like clay oxen sinking into the sea.

The mass of chaotic qi gradually dissipated, and Qin Mu's figure became clear. "Master did not achieve what the seven Young Masters did," he stated, "but his understanding of the Way of Grand Primordium surpasses ours—that's why we cannot surpass him. Second Young Master Wuji sought to step out of his shadow and chose to achieve Dao through Gui Xu. Yet, the foundation of her Gui Xu Dao Attainment remained Grand Primordium runes. But I am different. Building upon Grand Primordium runes, I developed Chaos runes. I call these Chaos runes…"

As his figure fully appeared, he was met directly by Young Master Zixiao's thrusting Sword of Dao Attainment.

Qin Mu raised his hand and pinched the incoming sword light between two fingers, a smile gracing his face. "Yuan," he declared.

His two fingers held Young Master Zixiao's Dao Sword, and all hidden transformations within it abruptly ceased. Young Master Zixiao immediately pulled back his sword and unleashed the Sword of Dao Tree, attacking Qin Mu.

"Yuan is the name of the Chaos runes," Qin Mu explained.

Behind Qin Mu, the World Tree reappeared, as did the Gui Xu Lotus, and the Ancestral Court stretched vast and boundless. He raised a finger, pointed it at the tip of the Sword of Dao Tree, and said in a deep voice, "Grand Primordium runes possess only a single rune, which Master used to evolve all things. But Yuan is different. Yuan exists between being and non-being; it can manifest as a Grand Primordium rune or transform into any other rune—vague, chaotic, and unfathomable."

A Chaos Sword suddenly appeared in his hand, meeting Young Master Zixiao's Sword of Dao Flower; it was precisely the Heavenly Capital Opening Heaven Chapter.

The two swords collided, and the Chaos Sword exploded.

Young Master Zixiao's sword light passed through Qin Mu's body, yet Qin Mu seemed unaffected. A Chaos Axe suddenly appeared in his hand, and he unleashed the Grand Beginning Tree Felling technique. Young Master Zixiao let out a long cry, and his Sword of Dao Fruit severed the Chaos Axe.

Above Miluo Palace, the two figures flashed and exchanged blows. Young Master Zixiao finally unleashed his strongest sword, the Sword of Dao Palace, against Qin Mu.

Although he couldn't comprehend Qin Mu's Chaos runes and the Way of Chaos, Qin Mu was still inferior to him in cultivation.

Moreover, and more crucially, despite Qin Mu possessing the so-called Yuan runes, his divine abilities were not true Chaos abilities; they were still his old ones.

Zixiao had contemplated how to break Qin Mu's divine abilities for thirty-five billion years, so doing so was second nature to him.

Meanwhile, Young Master Lingxiao, who was furiously traversing the long river of chaos, suddenly had his expression change. He flipped and leaped, narrowly dodging a sword light that emerged from the chaotic qi on the river surface.

"Fourth Brother's Sword Dao divine ability!"

He was startled. The long river was vast and chaotic, and suddenly, from within the mist, the formidable power of Fourth Young Master Zixiao's Dao Sword roared towards him. Young Master Lingxiao's expression changed drastically as he wielded his Dao Spear, breaking one Dao Sword move after another, his heart sinking slightly.

"This is the Chaos divine ability that killed Heavenly Venerate Haotian!" he realized.

His mind was like a clear mirror; he had once thoroughly investigated Heavenly Venerate Haotian's death.

Heavenly Venerate Haotian was struck by one of Qin Mu's swords, and ninety-three years later, he was bombarded and killed by Old Man Wuya's countless divine abilities.

Old Man Wuya's divine abilities, however, had attacked Qin Mu during the Gui Xu battle and vanished after falling into the sixteen chaotic long rivers surrounding Qin Mu.

That marked Qin Mu's first use of Chaos divine abilities.

Now, Young Master Zixiao's divine abilities had appeared abruptly, indicating that Qin Mu was using them to attack him!

"Fourth Brother is caught within his Chaos divine ability," Lingxiao thought, "He probably doesn't even know that his divine abilities have been borrowed by Seventh Brother!"

*Clang clang clang clang!*

His spear rained down, blocking one Sword Dao Great Divine Ability after another. Young Master Lingxiao's expression grew increasingly solemn; he was very close to Miluo Palace, but now he was blocked by the power of Young Master Zixiao's Way of the Sword, which significantly slowed him down.

With the order of the sixteen long rivers continuously shifting, he feared he would drift further and further from Miluo Palace.

"Seventh Brother's Dao heart is flawed," he mused, "He is being used without even realizing it."

He desperately tried to control the power of his Dao Spear, striving to prevent Qin Mu from borrowing it to use against Young Master Zixiao. However, the gap in strength between him and Young Master Zixiao was not significant, and if he didn't unleash his full power, he would very likely be wounded by Zixiao's sword.

Simultaneously, in Jade Capital City, Qin Fengqing took control of the Six Path Heavenly Wheel and immediately charged towards the Dao Tree Forest. The Six Path Heavenly Wheel, forged from chaos stone, spun frantically, crushing into the Dao Tree Forest.

Upon the Heavenly Wheel, three thousand Dao Attainers of Eternal Peace unleashed a devastating slaughter.