Chapter 1828: The Undying Veteran

Grand公子 Taishang watched Qin Mu leave, then entered the forest of obelisks. In the forest, Taiyi sat in meditation, his Dao tree and Dao fruit shimmering behind him.

Taishang bowed in greeting. Taiyi rose and returned the bow.

"Dao friend, I have already discussed with Seventh公子 about sending you and the Heaven-opening beings back to the Sixteenth Epoch."

Taishang said, "If you and the Heaven-opening beings remain here, I fear Seventh公子 will harbor ill intentions. He will surely kill the Heaven-opening beings and force you into reincarnation. Although the Heaven-opening beings have committed many evils, they also represent a potential path to save the future. However, their destructive potential is too great; I doubt he will spare you."

Taiyi asked, "Is Grand公子 feeling guilty about the Mi Luo Palace Master killing Tiandu back then, and thus wishes to compensate me and the Heaven-opening beings?"

Grand公子 Taishang shook his head. "If Master had not killed Tiandu back then, the Heaven-opening beings would still have become what they are now; nothing would have changed. The Heaven-opening beings of Tiandu City possessed uncontrolled and abused power to create and destroy. In comparison, Mi Luo Palace was more orderly and less harmful."

"Nonsense!" From within the obelisks, the faces of the Heaven-opening beings emerged, angrily denouncing Grand公子 Taishang's words as utterly repulsive.

The Heaven-opening beings cursed and sneered, mocking Mi Luo Palace for abusing its power. They claimed that if Tiandu City had been given time to grow, ten Mi Luo Palace Masters would have been killed by the Lord of Tiandu, and ten Mi Luo Palaces would have been razed. They said the Mi Luo Palace Master had simply been jealous of their power, which was why he had eliminated the Lord of Tiandu before they could fully develop.

The Heaven-opening beings scoffed that the Mi Luo Palace Master lacked tolerance. They boasted that if it had been them, they would have long ago resolved the universe's cycles of destruction and creation and established a perfect world. They further ridiculed the Mi Luo Palace Master as incompetent, claiming he had worked himself to death and deserved to die.

Grand公子 Taishang was unperturbed.

Taiyi frowned, helpless before these Heaven-opening beings. He asked, "Dao brother, how will you send us back to the Sixteenth Epoch?"

"I will transform into Dao, returning all my power to the universe."

Just as Taishang said this, the Heaven-opening beings scoffed again, remarking, "Grand公子 Taishang, this weakling is also going to die with his Dao heart, just like that old thief, the Mi Luo Palace Master!"

Taishang continued, "My Dao tree is useless as it is. Therefore, I plan to borrow your axe, chop down my Dao tree, fashion a ship, and put you on it to send you to the Sixteenth Epoch."

The Heaven-opening beings, suppressed within the stone tablets, burst into laughter upon hearing this. "Old thief Taishang, won't your Dao tree be a bargain for us? If you're capable, leave your Dao fruit for us to feast on too!"

"Do you really think your abilities can trap us? Once we break free from your Dao ship, we'll kill our way to the Seventeenth Epoch and 'cure' your dead brain!"

Taishang said, "I will create the Dao ship and send you to the Sixteenth Epoch. However, before that, Seventh公子 must first return to the past and become Seventh公子; otherwise, I dare not send you back."

Taiyi asked, "Are you afraid he'll go back on his word and, taking advantage of your reincarnation, double-cross you and kill all the Heaven-opening beings?"

Taishang said, "Seventh公子 has trapped and killed many people over the past sixteen cosmic epochs. His behavior makes it difficult to trust him. I must see him return to the past before I can feel at ease."

Taiyi nodded. "Me too."

The two sat down, waiting quietly.

Qin Mu walked leisurely, first visiting the original site of Ancestral Court. It had become a battlefield for Dao attainers. The Ancestral Court Primal Chaos Cauldron was riddled with holes from the extraordinary treasures of the various Gōngzǐs. Most of the Gōngzǐs' treasures had been destroyed, with only Grand Gōngzǐ Taishang's Penetrating Well remaining.

The Palace Masters and Dao attainers of Mi Luo Palace had shifted from offense to defense, guarding the Penetrating Well, preventing Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and others from breaking through.

Qin Mu gazed at the battlefield from afar, then floated away. He wandered through the starry sky, visiting the Four Extreme Heavens. The four corners of the universe had grown even vaster, with various races thriving there. The Four Extreme Heavens had long become unfamiliar to him.

When he traveled from the Southern Extreme Heaven to the Southern Heaven, he saw that the myriad heavens there resembled miniature Yan Kangs. Everything appeared orderly: deities wielded power to serve mortals, and mortals, with their thriving commerce, provided various resources to the deities.

Qin Mu walked through one heaven after another. In the myriad heavens and worlds, very few people recognized him anymore.

Three and a half billion years of history had rendered everything incredibly alien.

He passed by former battlefield ruins, standing amidst them to mourn and commemorate the valiant spirits who had died in past wars. He also searched for enemy graves, but unfortunately found none.

Too much time had passed; the world had forgotten him and those who fought for the future.

Perhaps they didn't understand why people in the past fought and died, or comprehend those who had fearlessly shed their blood during the Five Calamities Era. In fact, they had no interest in learning about the history of the Five Calamities Era.

The struggles of generations—Long Han, Chi Ming, Emperor, Kai Huang, Yan Kang—had simply gathered dust. Few were willing to brush away the dust and read those sealed pages of history.

Filled with melancholy, Qin Mu finally arrived at the Primordial Realm.

The Primordial Realm was even vaster and more substantial than when he had left. The Ancestral Court no longer existed, having become a mighty artifact. The Primordial Realm had replaced the Ancestral Court as the center of the myriad heavens and worlds.

Yan Kang's Heavenly Court was established there, and Gongsun Yan's true form, the Primordial Wood, had become lush and verdant. The little girl who once treated him like a tree needing water had become a symbol of the Primordial Realm.

Qin Mu, like a mortal, walked through the cities of the Primordial Realm, observing and experiencing the daily lives of its people.

The Primordial Realm had become utterly alien. Its governing economy was vastly different from when he left, and its culture and customs felt so strange that he felt out of place. The architectural styles of the divine cities made him momentarily feel as if he had arrived in a foreign world.

People's clothing, food, language, and even runes had changed from before.

He felt like an old relic dug up from an ancient tomb, sharing no common ground with this world.

Qin Mu felt a mix of trepidation and bewilderment. He wanted to see if the ideals he had championed still persisted. He saw that gods served humanity and that the path of the sages lay in the daily lives of the common people—the ideals were still there. Yet, what confused him was that both gods and humans had grown accustomed to this state.

They did not understand the meaning of this normalcy, nor did they know how many bloody battles or how many lives had been sacrificed for it.

After all, a million years of history was truly too short compared to three and a half billion years of peace.

Within three and a half billion years, a million years of history might be just a single page in a thick historical tome. This page could not contain the seven Celestial Venerables of Long Han, nor Chi Huang and Ming Huang, nor Celestial Venerable Yue and Celestial Venerable Ling who supported the Emperor era, nor the dozens of towering Emperors who proclaimed that human lives outweighed everything. The book could not contain Carefree Village, nor Kai Huang and his Four Heavenly Masters and Four Heavenly Kings, nor the Great Ruins, nor the Human Emperor First Ancestor.

Qin Mu himself, in this history book, might only be a brief passage, let alone the unforgettable battles and faces that he himself remembered.

The history books of the world could not remember these.

Heroes buried by history were like drops of water in the sea, grains of sand in the desert—unremembered by anyone.

Even if a hero from history returned, no one would recognize him.

He walked for a long time, passing through numerous divine cities. Some battlefield ruins had been destroyed by time, transforming into divine cities or towering buildings, while others had become completely desolate, unremembered by anyone, only to be mourned by him as he passed.

"Celestial Venerable Mu, is that you?"

As Qin Mu reminisced in Arashiyama Valley, he heard a weathered voice. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a large black tiger. He paused, then smiled and embraced the pouncing tiger.

It was Black Tiger God, his senior brother.

Black Tiger God pounced, transforming into an old man with a grizzled beard who hugged him, weeping and laughing. Suddenly, he exclaimed loudly, "Master, your second disciple is back!"

In the mountains and forests of Arashiyama Valley stood a few thatched huts. The Woodcutter Saint pushed open a hut door and emerged, still dressed as before, unchanged by the passage of time.

He, too, was like an old relic, stuck in his ways, so ancient that he seemed abandoned by the era.

Although his appearance was the same as it had been, his hair was thinning like a mature dandelion.

Qin Mu strode forward and embraced the somewhat reserved Woodcutter Saint.

The Woodcutter struggled, unable to break free. He then tried to summon the rusted axe from the corner to chop and threaten Qin Mu into releasing him, but Black Tiger God subtly extended a paw and pressed it down.

Qin Mu finally let him go.

The two sat at a stone table. The Woodcutter Saint had a scowl on his face, while Black Tiger God bustled about, diligently preparing tea, cooking dishes, and making rice.

After a long while, the Woodcutter Saint coldly remarked, "You're back?"

"Yes. I'm back," Qin Mu replied with a smile.

"When are you leaving?" the Woodcutter Saint asked indifferently, picking up his teacup.

"Soon," Qin Mu said.

The Woodcutter Saint's hand trembled, nearly spilling the tea in his cup. He said, feigning indifference, "Leaving so soon after just returning?"

Qin Mu didn't reply, looking around. He noticed that the architectural style here remained from three and a half billion years ago. He shook his head and said, "Master, why do you live here? You have great merits for Yan Kang. Wouldn't it be better to go to the Heavenly Court? And with old friends there, it would be quite lively. Why live such a humble life?"

The Woodcutter Saint sipped his tea and said faintly, "The Supreme Sage is nameless. You wouldn't understand my realm."

Qin Mu burst out laughing. He could tell that the Woodcutter Saint's cultivation realm was still stuck before the God-Slaying Platform, never having ascended it.

Logically, with Yan Kang's reforms, countless post-celestial Daos had been created, and many exceptionally talented individuals had proven these post-celestial Daos to the point of Dao attainment. If the Woodcutter Saint had wanted to learn, he could have fully mastered his 360 post-celestial Daos, cultivating each one to the highest level.

But he hadn't.

"I don't want to go to those places; they're too lively, too noisy."

The Woodcutter Saint glared at him. "My abilities aren't great. What use is there in being worshipped like a temple idol? I'm a living person, not a wooden or clay statue! I'd rather live happily in seclusion here than be there."

Qin Mu reached out, wanting to touch his dandelion-like head, which had thinned. He was glared at by the Woodcutter Saint and quickly withdrew his hand.

"My three disciples, except for the eldest, have all done better than me."

Black Tiger God brought a hat, a new-era style. The Woodcutter Saint was initially unwilling to wear it, but fearing Qin Mu would touch his head, he put it on first. He said, "People nowadays also have more ideas than we did back then. But they lack a sense of urgency. I'm uncomfortable with them; they always find me long-winded, saying I worry about imaginary dangers. I can't stand being with those young people."

Qin Mu smiled, listening to him grumble about the shortcomings of the new generation, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart: "Master's mindset must truly be old..."

The Woodcutter Saint talked for a long time, and the food on the stone table gradually dwindled. They put down their chopsticks, and the Woodcutter Saint suddenly asked, "How long will you be gone this time?"

Qin Mu smiled faintly. "I don't know. Perhaps I'll return immediately after I leave, or perhaps not until this universe turns into void. It's also possible I'll never return."

The Woodcutter Saint fell silent.

Qin Mu brightened, smiling. "Master's sense of urgency will find its purpose. Carefree Village is just stagnant water; it will slowly die sooner or later. New dangers will emerge, and then Master should emerge from seclusion to fulfill his ambitions. Old soldiers don't die; they merely put away their axes and weapons to rust in a corner during peacetime. People just choose to temporarily forget them. But when war returns, people will remember them again, and they will sharpen their axes and weapons and return to the battlefield."

He stood up. "Master, you will have your purpose."

The Woodcutter Saint stood up, looked at him, and asked, "When will you return?"

Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Master, do you still remember the Chaotic Space?"

The Woodcutter Saint thought for a moment. "The Chaotic Space in the Hanging Realm, back then?"

Qin Mu said, "One day in the future, the Chaotic Space will bloom like fireworks. That will be the sign of my return."

The Woodcutter Saint did not try to keep him. He watched him depart until his figure disappeared among the mountains of Arashiyama Valley. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and call out, "Little Black, come out and sharpen the axe!"

Black Tiger God hurried forward and said, "Master, is there really a war about to happen? It's been billions of years of peace!"

The Woodcutter Saint swung his great axe, whistling through the air, and said in a deep voice, "Preparedness averts peril! Once the axe is sharpened, let's go find our old friends!"

His voice was resonant, and within him, a dormant fighting spirit burned, and hot blood boiled.

"Zhuo Cha has reincarnated, and Yan Yunxi is constantly clinging to him—we need to pull them out for a walk! And that fellow, Di Shitian, what was his reincarnated name? Oh, right, Tian Shu went to Ancestral Court, didn't he? Find him!"

"Do you know where that fellow Han Tang went? And that guy Qing Huang! Oh, and Han Tang's two fish..."

"Master, you've forgotten, Celestial Master Han Tang has passed away," Black Tiger God said cautiously.

The Woodcutter Saint looked bewildered. "Didn't he reincarnate?"

Black Tiger God replied, "Master, he was beaten into chaos during the Heavenly Court War. You've been looking for him for many years. And Elder Qing Huang also passed away. You've forgotten the cenotaphs you built for them here. Last year, when you visited the graves, you even asked whose graves they were..."

The Woodcutter Saint was silent for a moment, then mumbled, "Then... we won't look for them."