Chapter 1840 — The Thirty-Sixth Heavenly Dao Realm

On the other side Elder Wuyai shouted, heedless of whether the World Tree would be harmed, driving its countless roots into the Chaos Sea, while countless phantom Dao fruits appeared upon the tree. Drifting among those phantoms with arms flung wide, he made the tree's countless branches behind him become arm after arm. The World Tree became like a monster grown with innumerable arms, each palm wielding divine powers against Lingxiao, Zixiao, and Shen Mu.

Just then Shen Mu stepped forward against the myriad powers, sixteen Chaos rivers wheeling about his form, immeasurable time and space welling forth at once, and Elder Wuyai's many powers passed through those sixteen Chaos rivers and vanished into the vast years and universes.

His powers had not truly vanished, but still traveled on through time and space, some perhaps to reach Shen Mu in the next instant, some needing hundreds of thousands or millions of years to come to him, and some perhaps needing billions or hundreds of billions of years to arrive. By then whether Elder Wuyai still lived would be in question.

This was one wondrous use of Shen Mu's thirty-sixth Dao Realm. The sixteen Chaos rivers crossed and threaded above and below Shen Mu, forming great circles, not perfect circles, yet enough to block all assaults, proof against all arts.

Beside Young Master Wuji, lotus leaves rose upright like a forest, barring the three from advancing, and at the heart of that forest stood Young Master Wuji and the Sixteen-Grade Lotus Throne.

With a sweep of her sleeve the Chaos Sea soared skyward and hung inverted in the heavens.

Shen Mu, Lingxiao, and Zixiao charged into the lotus forest, each bursting forth with his strongest blow. Young Master Zixiao's sword light was swiftest, flying in from all directions, leveling the forest and severing leaf after leaf, while Young Master Lingxiao brought his long spear wheeling down upon Wuji's crown.

Beneath Wuji the lotus throne blazed with Dao light, forming sixteenfold defense, pinning the Zixiao within countless alien Grand Luo Heavens so he could not breach it.

Yet in the next breath Shen Mu's sixteen Chaos rivers pierced the Sixteen-Grade Lotus Throne's defense, letting Young Master Lingxiao's spear smash upon Wuji's crown.

Young Master Zixiao then drove his Dao sword onward into the throne.

With a crash Wuji was struck till blood streamed from her head, she seized the stalk of a lotus leaf and stabbed it into Lingxiao's chest, and with her other hand caught the spear tip and swung Lingxiao up to hurl him at Shen Mu.

Shen Mu and Lingxiao were sent flying back.

In a flash countless sword lights stabbed into Wuji's flesh from all sides, the Chaos Sea hanging inverted above bore down, crushing countless alien Grand Luo Heavens to powder, and Young Master Zixiao staggered out, revealed in his true body with the Chaos Sea pressing upon him.

From the sea a lotus-root joint flew out and blew through the air, and Young Master Zixiao seemed about to vanish into ash, but Shen Mu steadied himself and sent his sixteen rivers flying to shield Zixiao.

With a breath the currents blown from the sixteen holes of the root joint still crossed the rivers and pierced Young Master Zixiao's body, his wounds shining clean through, blood gushing in streams spurting front and back, thirty-two pillars of blood blooming in the air like lotus blossoms.

Young Master Lingxiao charged again, meeting Wuji force with force, his spear shadows whirling, never leaving her flesh left or right, yet unable to pierce her defense.

Every thrust met a miniature Guixu, the spear tip sinking into it, while light blazed in Wuji's eyes and two dark pillars shone forth, one upon him and one upon the Dao spear.

Lingxiao spat blood and flew back, his Dao spear bent, nearly twisted into a ring, its shaft covered with marks of erosion.

His Haotian Sovereign flesh too neared ruin and dissolution under the black light. Shen Mu urged the Immutable divine art to rescue him, and just as he saved Lingxiao, Wuji struck him with a raised seal, his body shook beyond control and burst apart with a thunderclap, flesh and primordial spirit swelling swiftly into a starry universe.

This was the Creation Tribulation, and faced with such a great tribulation art even Shen Mu could hardly resist.

As Wuji was about to urge the Destruction Tribulation art to destroy Shen Mu at a stroke, the wounded Young Master Zixiao charged in, his sword light piercing her back.

Wuji waved a sleeve, Young Master Zixiao's flesh twisted, compressed, shrank to a minute point, then burst open, about to become Chaos. The starry universe that was Shen Mu suddenly died away into Chaos, the Chaos Palace emerged, Shen Mu charged out from the hall, fingers spread, pressing one seal upon Wuji's face, while with his other hand he wielded the Immutable divine art to save the Zixiao on the verge of turning to Chaos.

With a flick Wuji sent Shen Mu spitting blood, tumbling back to smash upon the onrushing World Tree.

With two thuds, just as Shen Mu landed, the sounds of heavy bodies falling came, and Young Master Lingxiao and Young Master Zixiao also smashed upon the World Tree. Elder Wuyai struck at the three at once, but they suppressed their wounds, quick as hares and hawks, and in the next instant Elder Wuyai spat blood, sprawled panting upon the roots.

The three steadied themselves and looked toward Wuji, only to see upon her face a crimson palm print sunk deep, pressing her nose and eyes and mouth almost into her skull.

It was the might of the Red Cord Knot Seal which Shen Mu had learned on the spot and comprehended.

Lingxiao's Dao spear, straightened by Lingxiao, pinned Wuji to the lotus throne, while Zixiao's Dao sword had hewn away every petal of the throne. Wuji coughed blood without cease, struggling to rise, yet unable.

Zixiao summoned his ancient zither, its music sounding, ready to deal Wuji and Elder Wuyai the final blow.

At the same time, from the Chaos Palace behind Shen Mu, zither music also came.

Moon Heavenly Sovereign sat in the hall, her face calm, playing that Zixiao Attainment Melody composed by Young Master Zixiao's late wife.