Chapter 1866 — The Central Origin Fashions the Mystic Art
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Shen Mu arrived at the domain of Old Man Wuya.
Old Man Wuya had grown ever more powerful, his Dharma boundless and unfathomable. Countless mighty beings thronged about him, and his domain was now veritably the foremost holy ground in the universe.
After four cosmic epochs of ceaseless war between Miluo Palace and the Divine City of Tiandu, both had been gravely wounded, and the Heaven-Openers had vanished beyond knowing. Old Man Wuya alone stood supreme, and what was more, he possessed the World Tree, which could connect to the future and allow those who had not yet attained the Dao to live on into the next epoch. Hence his multitude of adherents.
Ever since Tiandu's defeat, since Ling the Heavenly Venerable had been suppressed by the Master of Miluo Palace and the Heaven-Openers had melted from sight, only Shen Mu remained of the "Defilers of the Dao. " The Dao-Realm Dao-Tree system made Old Man Wuya's cultivation ever stronger; there were even rumors that his power had long since surpassed the Master of Miluo Palace's, that he was the undisputed foremost being.
Even the Fourth Young Master, Zixiao, consorted with him closely, borrowing his strength to fulfill his grand design of unifying the universe and becoming the Cosmic Emperor of the Twelfth Epoch. Zixiao had much to do, and he even intended to borrow Wuya's power in an attempt to return to the past and rescue his deceased wife—yet all of it was in vain.
Old Man Wuya, for his part, was content to let Zixiao serve as his puppet, propping him up to rule the cosmos. At this time, the Third Young Master, Lingxiao, created the Blood Sacrifice Mass-Energy Substitution Art, by which one could travel to the next cosmic epoch through blood sacrifice and the substitution of mass and energy.
In this way, Miluo Palace would no longer need to fear the loss of Dao-attainers in each Calamity of Destruction and Calamity of Creation—only, he had not yet spread this art abroad. Shen Mu came to visit Old Man Wuya, and Old Man Wuya, because Shen Mu was a "Defiler of the Dao," held him in great disfavor.
In times past their relations had been excellent; the friendship between Old Man Wuya and Shen Mu could be traced back to the very dawn of the Second Epoch.
Yet Shen Mu's closeness to Tiandu had opened a rift between them, and afterward Old Man Wuya seldom paid him any heed, regarding him even as an enemy. When Shen Mu, leading Shen Lingyun by the hand, came to the foot of the World Tree, chaos abruptly surged vast and boundless, shrouding the entire World Tree, the thick chaos-breath so heavy it stifled the breath. Everyone believed that the Seventh Young Master, Chaos, and Old Man Wuya must surely fight, and even Miluo Palace was stirred; the Master of Miluo Palace emerged from seclusion and watched from afar across the void. But no one knew what happened within the chaos.
When the chaos-breath dispersed, the relationship between Old Man Wuya and Shen Mu seemed to have returned to what it once was; the two talked and laughed freely, as though nothing had ever happened. Tai Yi and the others had likewise not seen what transpired within the chaos, and so they went to ask the Master of Miluo Palace. The Master of Miluo Palace said: "Chaos's divine abilities—even I cannot quite fathom them.
But Old Man Wuya must have forgotten certain things. " Tai Yi and the rest pressed him further, but the Master of Miluo Palace did not elaborate, saying only: "Chaos is your junior brother; he draws ever nearer to attaining the Dao.
Do not provoke him. These days I must leap free of the Chaos River of eleven cosmic epochs to probe the future—do not be forever pestering me about Old Seven.
" "Old Seven has not yet attained the Dao? " Their eyes shone bright.
The Master of Miluo Palace at last leaped free of the Chaos River and came to stand upon its surface; his divine abilities had reached a height surpassing all ages.