Chapter 903: Core of the Primordial Wood Reveals Its Sharpness

The Primal Tree, lush and verdant, casts its shadow over the vast expanse of the Primal World. Many heavens in the sky of the Primal World revolve around this tree. From a distance, it does not appear particularly remarkable, but the closer one approaches the Primal Tree, the more spectacular it becomes.

Even though Earth Mother Sovereign is dead, the Primal Tree still possesses astonishing vitality.

The gods of the Heavenly Court collected divine metals from various heavens and constructed the most magnificent and grand palace within the Primal Tree’s crown. Built according to the specifications of the Celestial Palace, it includes the Jade Pond and Jade Capital, with thousands of halls and ten thousand chambers, and is known as the Primal World Celestial Palace.

The true body of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor resides in the Heavenly Court, while "Heavenly Venerable Yu," a weapon for suppressing the Primal World, remains there, living in the High Heavens Hall of the Primal World Celestial Palace.

While the Celestial Palace is incredibly luxurious, the roots of the Primal Tree form the darkest place. The Heavenly Court's army piled the corpses of countless gods and devils from the Primal World here, using them as nutrients for the Primal Tree.

Amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood lies the Primal World's Great Prison.

The Great Prison is built in the most shadowed and defiled part of the Primal World. The Heavenly Court's gods used bones to construct its walls and cages, imprisoning the Primal World's most heinous criminals. Sunlight never reaches here; chilling winds constantly blow, making it extremely cold, damp, and gloomy. Due to the abundance of god and devil corpses, the ground is covered in never-drying divine and demonic blood, mixed together, from which monstrous creatures often emerge to roam the prison.

Few Heavenly Court gods ever come here; only the Heavenly Court's wardens, jailers, and judges reside here.

The Heavenly Court's wardens, jailers, and judges are all demon gods from the Youdu lineage. The filth of this place, unbearable to others, is quite comfortable for them.

At this moment, many visitors had arrived at the Great Prison. A woman in an exquisite maidservant's dress frowned as she watched a jailer clean a newborn demon creature in a pool of blood, covering the creature in gore.

After the jailer washed it, the demon creature was still squealing, its divine and demonic blood splattering everywhere. The jailer then lifted it, opened his mouth wide, and brought it to his mouth.

The woman quickly turned her face away, unable to bear looking closely.

"Sister Yun Huayan," said a young man gently beside the woman, "the jailers here are demon gods born in Youdu. Creatures that emerge from filth and darkness are their sustenance. While these creatures are utterly disgusting to you, they are incredibly delicious food for them. Especially newborn creatures, they are even more delicious."

Yun Huayan covered her nose and mouth, frowning, "This Great Prison is too barbaric, not a place for humans. Why hasn't that Overlord Body from Eternal Peace arrived yet? The sooner we deal with him, the sooner we can report back."

The jailer, whose eyes had lit up, grabbed another demon creature from the pool of blood, held it up, and chuckled to the young man, "Young Master Taoyu, this one's fresh, want to eat it?"

Young Master Taoyu frowned deeply and quickly waved his hand.

The jailer sighed regretfully and went back to washing in the blood pool. Suddenly, a burly man in a dark, round-collared robe walked over, smiling, "Such a delicacy, why aren't you eating it? Reverend Jailer, wash it for me, I like it."

The jailer cleaned the demon creature and handed it over.

The burly man suddenly opened his mouth wide, like a pool of blood, and swallowed the squealing demon creature.

Taoyu, Yun Huayan, and the others all frowned deeply. Yun Huayan exclaimed, "Vimalakirti, that's enough!"

The burly man, Vimalakirti, ate the demon creature, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and chuckled, "You are divine beings, but I am a devil. This is what I eat. As the saying goes, 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do,' so you should try some too!"

Taoyu's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly changed the subject, saying, "That Eternal Peace Overlord Body is Heavenly Venerable Mu, one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables. I heard that in the early Dragon Han era, he taught the method of becoming a god on behalf of Heavenly Venerable Yu, allowing living beings to achieve godhood. Once the method of becoming a god emerged, living beings could stand alongside the ancient gods and enjoy long lives. Are we truly ordered to eliminate him, is that...?"

Vimalakirti chuckled, "If he didn't teach the method of becoming a god, Heavenly Venerable Hao would have. I heard my master say that this Heavenly Venerable Mu merely stole Heavenly Venerable Hao's credit. Such a fame-seeking opportunist coincidentally traveled back to the Dragon Han era, and the muddle-headed Heavenly Emperor even allowed him to gain the title of Heavenly Venerable..."

"Shut up!"

Yun Huayan vigilantly glanced around. There were many masters who had rushed here upon hearing the news to await Qin Mu, easily four to five hundred people, all young Heavenly Court experts, a mixed bag, with many eyes and ears.

These young experts were all young disciples from various Heavenly Palaces within the Heavenly Court. As the Heavenly Court waged war on the Primal World, they too were ordered to join the army, enter the Primal World for combat experience, earn military merits, and thus hope for future promotion.

"You're slandering the Heavenly Emperor! Do you have a death wish?"

Yun Huayan lowered her voice, saying, "If these words reach the Heavenly Court, even our master won't be able to protect you!"

Vimalakirti laughed, "In the Heavenly Court, Master has never truly respected the Heavenly Emperor, so what harm is there in speaking? If it were us who traveled back to the Dragon Han era, let alone the title of Heavenly Venerable, even the Heavenly Emperor, hehe..." Despite his words, he still lowered his voice.

"Western Celestial Palace, Northern Celestial Palace, Qianyuan Celestial Palace, Vaishravana Celestial Palace, Five Luminaries Celestial Palace, Mīro Celestial Palace, Brightness Celestial Palace, Miao Rock Celestial Palace..."

Taoyu whispered, "Almost all the major Heavenly Palaces of the Heavenly Court have sent their most elite disciples here. Our Dao Sect's Jade Purity Palace might not be able to claim the top prize in eliminating Heavenly Venerable Mu!"

"Heavenly Venerable Mu is undeservedly famous; rumor has it he's half-dead and soulless. Whoever strikes first will claim the top prize. If we're a step too late, we won't even get a drop of the broth!" Vimalakirti said, "In my opinion, we should go outside the Great Prison, wait by the tree for the rabbit, and seize the credit when Heavenly Venerable Mu arrives!"

Taoyu hesitated, saying, "I just saw many powerful individuals from various Heavenly Palaces have already gone outside, clearly with the same intention. If we rush over now, Heavenly Venerable Mu might have already been killed by someone else."

Vimalakirti urged, "Waiting here, we won't get anything! Master said that if we can secure this merit, he'll recommend us to follow Heavenly Venerable Hao, and Heavenly Venerable Hao will guide our cultivation for thirty years!"

Yun Huayan and Taoyu gritted their teeth, and the three immediately headed out of the Great Prison. At the same time, more than ten other people also emerged from the prison.

The three couldn't help but grow anxious, accelerating their pace and rushing out at lightning speed.

After running for over a thousand miles, they finally shook off the dozen or so people from other Heavenly Palaces. Just as they were about to speak, they suddenly saw a burst of red light ahead, from which sounds of combat emanated.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu has arrived!"

All three were overjoyed. Vimalakirti rushed ahead towards the red light, urgently saying, "Hurry! Someone's already made a move! If we're a step late, Heavenly Venerable Mu will be killed by others!"

His speed was incredible; as he ran, his physical body expanded, instantly transforming into a roaring demon god.

Taoyu and Yun Huayan were a step behind, each startled in their hearts: "Senior Brother Vimalakirti's cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds since he descended to this realm! Just as Master said, only through combat can one grow rapidly and comprehend deeper divine arts and dao!"

The two struggled to catch up. Suddenly, they witnessed a bizarre sight: Vimalakirti's head, just ahead, suddenly had a hole through it, front to back.

The two were stunned. They then heard a voice say, "Fatty Dragon, Sister Yan'er, I've discovered another use for the Primal Tree's core. Look, it can transform into an incredibly tiny wooden needle. If I use this needle to perform sword arts, for example, the simplest move, a thrust..."

Taoyu, sharp-eyed, immediately saw a wooden needle as fine as hair approaching his eyes!

Taoyu roared, runes flying. He conjured defensive divine abilities using the Heavenly Court's Dao Sect's grand numerology, and in an instant, hundreds of Black Tortoise Divine Shields appeared before him!

The hundreds of layers of Black Tortoise Divine Shields were pierced by the wooden needle, with such speed that only a soft 'pop' was heard.

The wooden needle entered through Taoyu's left eye and exited from the back of his head.

Taoyu's mind buzzed, his primordial spirit disintegrating. He struggled to turn his head to Yun Huayan and said, "Sister, run..."

In the eyeball of his left eye, a bloody light dispersed, and Yun Huayan's figure was reflected on the surface of his pupil.

Yun Huayan was activating her Dao Sword, slashing at an incredibly slender wooden needle. A tiny pinhole immediately appeared on the surface of the brilliantly bright Dao Sword. The next moment, Yun Huayan groaned, and a faint bloody light burst from the back of her head.

Taoyu's vision blurred. At that moment, he saw a colossal creature, half-dragon and half-qilin, approaching, treading on fiery clouds. On top of this behemoth, a young man raised two fingers and gently pinched a small wooden needle.

On the young man's shoulder was a plump, chubby bird, holding a spiritual pill in its beak and feeding it to the dragon-qilin.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu..." Taoyu's vision went black, and his body fell.

The dragon-qilin leisurely walked towards the Great Prison, frowning as it looked down. It saw demonic and divine blood forming rivers, utterly defiled, with many insect-like demon creatures swimming in the bloody water.

"So, Imperial Advisor Eternal Peace and Emperor Yanfeng are imprisoned here?"

The dragon-qilin said in a muffled voice, "Emperor Yanfeng is one thing, but the Imperial Advisor is very fond of cleanliness. Can he endure this?"

Qin Mu flicked his finger, and the wooden needle flew out silently, heading towards more than a dozen Heavenly Court experts rushing towards them. He said, "Emperor Yanfeng doesn't care about cleanliness; he could sleep in a pigsty. The Imperial Advisor, however, is indeed fond of cleanliness. I'm afraid he won't be able to sleep."

The wooden needle flew back.

The dragon-qilin continued onward. Corpses, flailing, fell from the sky around them, plunging into the blood rivers. The blood rivers seemed to boil, with countless monstrous creatures stirring up trouble, fiercely fighting over the bodies.

"If this Primal Tree core could transform into a wooden sword, it would be incredibly powerful." Qin Mu sighed, then suddenly gripped the wooden needle and said, "Grow—"

The wooden needle remained just as thin, yet in an instant, it grew to a hundred miles in length, like a barely perceptible fine line extending a hundred miles away.

Qin Mu tightly gripped the hundred-mile long fine line and performed a sword technique. A few young Heavenly Court experts, a hundred miles away, didn't even know what was happening before they suddenly burst apart.

Even wielding sword arts from a hundred miles away, Qin Mu's technique remained incredibly precise, leaving no time for evasion!

Furthermore, the Primal Tree's core was so impossibly thin that it was almost undetectable.

"This treasure given by Earth Mother is truly useful," Qin Mu couldn't help but exclaim again.

They finally arrived at the Great Prison. A jailer blocked their way, standing atop the city gate forged from a massive skull, looking down from above, and loudly asked, "Who goes there?"

"Qin Mu of Eternal Peace."

Qin Mu announced his name: "I'm here for a prison visit."

The jailer was startled, but dared not be negligent. He quickly opened the city gate, revealing the hundred-zhang-tall skull opening its maw to let them enter. He said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu actually dared to come to the Great Prison, what extraordinary courage! Please enter, Heavenly Venerable Mu. There are many good friends waiting for you in the prison; some have been waiting for four or five months!"

Qin Mu walked into the city, only to see hundreds of experts looking at him in unison, each with gleaming eyes.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu..." Someone, unable to suppress their excitement, trembled and murmured.

Suddenly, a young deity flew out and loudly declared, "There's only one Heavenly Venerable Mu, but hundreds of us. How should we divide him?"

For a moment, there was an uproar outside the Great Prison, and everyone started discussing animatedly.

"Everyone! Everyone!"

Qin Mu waited for a moment, but they still hadn't reached a consensus. He couldn't help but say loudly, "You don't need to discuss any further. Look at my hand."

The clamor ceased, and everyone looked at his hand, seeing Qin Mu holding a small wooden needle.

Qin Mu smiled and said, "Grow."

Boom—

A wooden pillar, a hundred miles long and over a hundred zhang thick, suddenly appeared. He swung it, crushing everything along the Great Prison, sweeping the surroundings flat with a single strike. Countless individuals were pulverized!

The wooden pillar vanished without a trace. The surviving Heavenly Court experts hovered in the air, utterly terrified, frantically searching for the pillar's whereabouts.

Qin Mu asked the dumbfounded jailer, "Where is Jiang Baigui imprisoned?"

The jailer's hair stood on end. He quickly replied, "Heavenly Venerable, please follow me."

He led the way, when suddenly a corpse fell from the sky, landing with a wet thud at his feet.

The jailer was startled and quickly looked up. Corpses were raining down from the sky; one by one, Heavenly Court experts seemed to encounter an invisible death reaper, turning into lifeless bodies plummeting from above.