Compared to Lan Xiaobu’s self-created Longevity Dao, Mo Wuji’s Mortal Dao was better suited for surviving in chaos. The nine special meridians derived from the Mortal Dao had saved Mo Wuji time and again.
Upon entering the chaos, Mo Wuji was immediately enveloped by it, threatening to tear him into nothingness. Having entered chaos before, he didn’t wait for the chaotic space to obliterate him. His Mortal Dao principles formed an independent Mortal space around him.
The annihilating principles in the chaos relentlessly tore at Mo Wuji’s body and dao charm, even his primordial spirit and soul were being eroded. Surviving in such a place with an independent rule space for long was impossible, even for a Seventh Step Great Dao cultivator.
But Mo Wuji was an exception. Though his Mortal space was constantly eroded by chaotic principles, in an instant, his Energy Storage Meridian and Spirit Storage Meridian drew new universal rules from the Mortal realm, while the Vitality Meridian continuously supplied vitality to the rule space. The Toxin Transformation Meridian converted the chaotic dregs into rule energy beneficial to the Mortal space, ensuring Mo Wuji’s survival space remained intact.
This was the main reason Mo Wuji had the confidence to enter the Withered Life Chaos Region.
The chaos region was filled with treasures, things that could withstand annihilation or even grow by leveraging chaotic rules, all unparalleled treasures.
Since no one had ever entered or left the Withered Life Chaos Region, Mo Wuji was certain it was brimming with treasures.
But his primary goal wasn’t to hunt for treasures. He had four top-grade dao veins and a seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit.
After killing Yin Yuan, the son of the Fanhe World Heavenly Court’s Emperor Chen, many knew Mo Wuji had struck it rich. In Yin Yuan’s world, he obtained nearly four thousand high-grade dao veins, two top-grade dao veins, and a Hongmeng Dao Seed.
Yet, these weren’t the most precious to him now. The most valuable was the seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit he obtained from Yin Yuan’s world.
For cultivators on the verge of advancing, nothing in the universe was more precious than a Universe Dao Fruit, not even top-grade dao veins.
There was only one Universe Tree in the vast universe, unobtainable because its branches and leaves permeated every corner of the cosmos, making it nearly impossible to claim for one person. But those with great fortune could obtain a Universe Dao Fruit.
Rumours claimed the highest grade was a nine-stripe, or perhaps a ten-stripe, Universe Dao Fruit. Regardless, a nine-stripe fruit could enable an Eighth Step Great Dao cultivator to reach the Ninth Step, a heaven-defying sacred fruit.
The seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit Mo Wuji obtained from Yin Yuan was a top-tier treasure that gave a Sixth Step Great Dao sage a high chance of reaching the Seventh Step. Provided the cultivator wasn’t utterly incompetent and had sufficient resources and comprehension, a seven-stripe fruit guaranteed the leap from Sixth to Seventh Step.
At the auction in Anluo Heavenly City, many top treasures appeared, but if this seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit were auctioned, it would fetch the highest price, no question. Ce Kuhui Sheng’s Chaos Nirvana Heart also offered a chance for a Sixth Step sage to reach the Seventh Step, but compared to a seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit, it was insignificant.
Anyone who obtained a seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit would save it for the Sixth Step to advance to the Seventh. Almost no one, like Mo Wuji, would plan to use it at the Fifth Step to reach the Sixth.
Mo Wuji thought differently. To him, hoarding treasures instead of using them to boost strength was asking for trouble. Future opportunities could wait, present strength should be maximised.
Why did he obtain the seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit from Yin Yuan? Because Yin Yuan, not yet at the Sixth Step, was reluctant to use it. What happened? Mo Wuji killed him and took the fruit. Mo Wuji had no intention of following Yin Yuan’s path.
Thanks to his Mortal Dao, Mo Wuji moved through chaos with ease.
Though almost no one entered the Withered Life Chaos Region, Mo Wuji still hurried along, planning to travel for two months before stopping to cultivate.
But after just five days, he halted. Before him was a pool.
Even the most ignorant knew that, aside from chaotic annihilation principles and top-tier treasures, water couldn’t exist in chaos. Seeing a pool in chaos, Mo Wuji thought he was hallucinating.
He quickly realised this was Chaos Rule Syrup, not water, but a substance condensed from chaotic rules, no less valuable than a Universe Dao Fruit.
Chaos Rule Syrup was not only a supreme cultivation treasure but also ideal for nurturing magical treasures. It was said to enable the forging of universe-opening treasures, and nurturing such treasures with Chaos Rule Syrup could elevate them to post-chaotic supreme treasures.
What luck. Upon seeing the Chaos Rule Syrup pool, Mo Wuji decided to cultivate there. But first, he needed to take some of the syrup, a treasure that could be traded for heaps of top-grade cultivation resources.
The pool had formed a chaotic spatial world in the chaos, a place where one could survive without extending a rule space. This was deep in the Withered Life Chaos Region, unreachable by others.
Even so, Mo Wuji used his Mortal rule space to envelop the pool. He took half the Chaos Rule Syrup, sealed it with restrictions, and sent it to his Mortal realm. Then he planted two top-grade dao veins and stepped into the pool.
As the Mortal Dao circulated, universal principles felt within reach, and Mo Wuji’s cultivation soared.
Feeling such progress, Mo Wuji believed that even without the Universe Dao Fruit, he could reach the Sixth Step in decades. Fortune was unpredictable, he had planned to use the seven-stripe Universe Dao Fruit, yet stumbled upon this Chaos Rule Syrup pool.
In this pool, with his Mortal Dao’s 108 meridians circulating fully, two top-grade dao veins, and chaotic energy combined, he was certain he could reach the Sixth Step in at most thirty years.
…
At the same time, in Anluo Heavenly City’s Jinluo Building.
Ke Jianping, the third military commander of Fanhe Heavenly Court, frowned at Liu Li standing before him. After a long pause, he said slowly, “Junior Sister Liu, we met in the Burial Dao Sect, always sharing the same ideals. Why, when it’s time for our wedding, do you choose to leave and even abandon the Burial Dao Sect?”
Liu Li said calmly, “I never agreed to marry you.”
“But I mentioned it so many times, and you never refused. Wasn’t that agreement? Not just me, when Empress Tianhuang and the Burial Dao Sect Leader spoke of it, you didn’t refuse either,” Ke Jianping suppressed his frustration. He knew why Liu Li was leaving Anluo Heavenly City and refusing the marriage, it was because of Lan Xiaobu.
“I don’t owe you an explanation. If I must, it’s because I thought I’d never see Brother Lan again in this lifetime. Your mother saved my life, so I stayed silent. But now it’s different, Brother Lan said he doesn’t like the Burial Dao Sect,” Liu Li said.
Liu Li knew that even by refusing Ke Jianping today, she and Lan Xiaobu could never be together. Because Burial Qionghua saved her life, she had remained silent when Ke Jianping, Qionghua’s son, proposed becoming dao companions. It wasn’t entirely wrong to call it agreement.
But Lan Xiaobu’s appearance changed everything. She had betrayed her original heart. Even by refusing Ke Jianping now, she felt she could no longer face Lan Xiaobu. So she planned to leave Anluo Heavenly City, going wherever fate took her.
As Liu Li turned to leave, Ke Jianping’s eyes darkened with barely contained fury.
“Liu Li, you can’t leave yet,” a sudden voice stopped her.
Seeing the newcomer, Liu Li quickly bowed, “Liu Li greets the Sect Leader. I won’t marry Senior Brother Ke, and staying in the Burial Dao Sect feels uncomfortable. Please allow me to leave the sect today.”
As she spoke, Liu Li was prepared for death. Though Burial Qionghua, the Burial Dao Sect Leader, had always been kind to her, Liu Li knew what kind of existence the leader was and what the Burial Dao represented.
Burial Qionghua chuckled, “Once a disciple of the Burial Dao Sect, always a disciple. I’m afraid you won’t be leaving today.”
