Chapter 1786 — The Elder of No Bounds

Shen Mu's mind roared. He looked at the old man, then at the World Tree beside him, then turned his head back to look at the old man again, and again, and again.

"Cut down is cut down. I will simply regrow. Who told me to accept your IOU?"

The white-haired old man's brow was furrowed with worry, then he rallied his spirits and laughed. "Taiyi wanted to cut me too. Fortunately, you spoke up, and he did not strike the fatal blow. I finally had a chance to catch my breath. The daily earthquakes here are not tremors from Miluo Palace—they are my roots stealing the energy of the Calamity of Destruction to grow myself."

Shen Mu suddenly remembered: when the World Tree had put out its seedling, Great Black Mountain had often been shaken by earthquakes. After each quake, the World Tree's seedling would abruptly shoot up a great length, growing at a terrifying speed!

At the time, he had guessed that the World Tree's rapid growth was Miluo Palace's doing, deliberately nurturing the World Tree so that the prehistoric powerhouses in its roots could stow away.

He had never expected that those earthquakes were not Miluo Palace's work at all, but the World Tree's roots stealing the qi of Chaos to accelerate their own growth!

"I have been trembling with fear all along, terrified that Taiyi would go mad and cut me again. Fortunately, he left."

The white-haired old man said with a smile, "Taiyi left you behind to repair the black mountains, but in the end you left too, leaving that boy Xu Shenghua behind, who never so much as cracks a smile day after day—truly dull. Later Xu Shenghua left as well, so I came out to stretch my legs, and shook out all those little wretches hiding in my roots. Now, do you know my origin?"

Shen Mu finally steadied his mind and bowed again, asking, "May I ask, Daoist brother, how you are called?"

The white-haired old man said leisurely, "A name is something others give you. I was originally a perfectly fine tree—how would I have a name? However, the master of Miluo Palace called me the Elder of No Bounds."

Shen Mu nodded silently, then suddenly said, "Life is boundless, the Dao is boundless. Daoist friend truly deserves the title Elder of No Bounds. Yet I observe that you are not so very inactive a man. By releasing so many prehistoric powerhouses, you only endanger the Seventeenth Epoch and hasten its demise. Since you have been reborn, Daoist brother, why not let the Seventeenth Epoch last longer?"

The Elder of No Bounds glanced at him and said, "Whether the Seventeenth Epoch succeeds—what is that to me?"

Shen Mu was slightly taken aback and said, "If the Seventeenth Epoch endures, the Great Calamity of Destruction will arrive later. It may even be that the living beings of the Seventeenth Epoch could resolve the Great Calamity of Destruction..."

"What is that to me?"

The Elder of No Bounds chuckled and said, "I draw energy from Chaos. Every time the Great Calamity of Destruction comes, it is my time to grow. Not only do I not wish the Seventeenth Epoch to endure—I would rather it end sooner. Old Seven of Miluo Palace, you have sought out the wrong man."

Shen Mu's eye twitched. Then he suddenly smiled and said, "Those on different paths cannot scheme together. It seems I came to the wrong place. Farewell."

"Do not be in such a hurry to leave."

The Elder of No Bounds stirred his sleeve, and the World Tree's branches and leaves rustled and flew. He laughed and said, "It is rare for us to meet again. How could you leave without reminiscing?"

Shen Mu laughed heartily and said, "To you, Daoist brother, it is reminiscing. To me, it is not. I still have important matters at hand, so I will not intrude further. Farewell."

He turned to leave, when suddenly the Elder of No Bounds's voice came from behind him, saying leisurely, "Old Seven of Miluo Palace, who exactly sent you back to the past, that you and I should meet? I asked you this question before, but you did not answer. Now I have figured it out."

Before Shen Mu, the sky suddenly darkened. Beyond the World Tree's canopy was a scene of chaotic end-times.

Shen Mu halted his steps.

Behind him came the Elder of No Bounds's laughter: "So it was me. It was I who sent you back to the past. No wonder you would not tell me."

Shen Mu wore a smile, head bowed, gazing at his own palm. The Dao of Taiyi flowed within it, faintly transforming into a Taiyi Divine Axe. He smiled and said, "Daoist brother, why did Taiyi want to cut you?"

"This matter is neither great nor small."

The Elder of No Bounds stroked his snow-white beard and laughed. "I had the master of Miluo Palace cut him to death. Naturally he wanted revenge. What—do you want to cut me too?"