The Void Realm cracked, and golden flames surged like a tide.
The aftermath of destruction had not yet subsided; the world still held molten-hot golden fire streams, like a celestial river pouring down, incinerating all things. Space shattered inch by inch like Colored Glaze, and Law turbulence roamed like a snake swarm, tearing anything that tried to approach into nothingness.
However, right at the center of this destructive storm, a figure slowly emerged.
Li Mu.
He stood amidst the Chaos Qi vortex, his robes fluttering, his black hair like ink, his eyes as deep as a bottomless abyss, Chaos surging within them, as if containing the scene of the Universe's initial creation. He raised his hand and gently brushed away a wisp of golden flame adhering to his shoulder—that flame could have incinerated a Mahayana Cultivator, but at his fingertips, it dissipated like dust.
Li Mu's gaze fell upon the still burning remains of the body in front of him.
Lord of the Blazing Yang World, the second strongest in the Yang Realm Star Region, was now unrecognizable.
His scarlet-gold battle armor had long since shattered, turning into specks of light dust carried by the wind; beneath his skin, the Origin of Yang surged like molten lava, burning fiercely, as if to completely sacrifice himself to the Dao of Fire. His body trembled violently within the Chaos Qi, his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Li Mu, the last trace of arrogance in his eyes finally swallowed by boundless despair.
"This... you, who exactly are you?!" The Lord of the Blazing Yang World roared hoarsely, his voice filled with unwillingness and fear. "You... are not human! What is your cultivation level?"
Li Mu looked at him coldly, remaining silent for a long time, only raising his hand and lightly flicking a finger.
In an instant, the Void Realm trembled, and a reddish-brown branch broke through the air from within Li Mu's body, moving like a nimble snake or an ancient Dragon soaring—it was precisely a branch of the Chaotic Dao Tree.
The Chaotic Dao Tree branch pierced through the Void Realm like a slithering snake, its roots like swords, penetrating the Lord of the Blazing Yang World's remains, directly entering his Dao Origin, forcibly stripping away the true meaning of Yang within it.
"Ah!" A shrill scream echoed through the Void Realm. The Lord of the Blazing Yang World's Physical Body rapidly disintegrated and melted within the Chaotic Dao Domain, ultimately leaving only a crystal core, scorching hot like the sun, containing endless Yang flame power.
The Chaotic Dao Tree's branch coiled it back, its Dao roots seeping into it, and with a forceful suck, in the blink of an eye, the crystal core condensed from the Yang Realm Origin was instantly swallowed.
At this moment, upon the canopy of the Chaotic Dao Tree, a brand new fiery red fruit quietly condensed, distantly facing the previous grey fruit.
Yin and Yang Qi circulated endlessly among the branches and leaves, emitting a clear, bell-like resonance, as if it were the first rhythm of the world's creation.
Although the fire fruit was slightly smaller than the grey fruit, the aura flowing within it was completely different. One was as scorching as the burning sun, the other as profound as the eternal night's Yin. The two were mutually reinforcing and restraining, yet also mutually responsive, forming a perfect whole.
At this moment, Li Mu's eyes flickered, and he understood: his previous deduction was indeed correct—the nine great fundamental Daos corresponded to the nine fruits of the Chaotic Dao Tree.
Each comprehension of a Dao would result in a fruit; only when the nine fruits reached Perfection could the Chaotic Great Dao truly transcend and step into the unprecedented realm of "Myriad Daos Returning to One"!
"There is still one person left."
Li Mu's gaze shifted, locking onto the Sky Yin Realm Master.
The Chaotic Dao Domain suddenly contracted, like a net, firmly imprisoning Sky Yin in the center.
This person couldn't even stir a thought of resistance before he was immobilized, able only to watch Li Mu slowly approach, like a condemned prisoner seeing the judge.
Within Sky Yin, there still remained a trace of the Origin of the Dao of Yin. If he could devour it, the Yin fruit could fully mature. With this realm as the source, even if the World Lords of the various King Realms in the Three Thousand Worlds jointly attacked, Li Mu would not fear in the slightest!
By then, Li Mu could move the Qian Yuan Immortal Realm into the Yin Realm Starfield, using the Star Domain as a Foundation, taking control of the source of Yin Evil Qi, and then planning to conquer other great domains, expanding his territory!
Currently, although Li Mu already surpassed anyone in the Three Thousand Worlds, he was still constrained by the situation and could not act freely.
Moreover, there was still the greatest threat, the Strange Dao Clan, behind him, which he had to guard against.
Therefore, connecting the Qian Yuan Immortal Realm to the Yin Realm Starfield was now imperative—after all, he still had three thousand Disciples living there.
Although he had taken their Dao Seeds, those three thousand Disciples each possessed Mahayana cultivation and the potential to Breakthrough to the Extreme Dao.
They only needed to find a suitable realm and help them ascend to the position of World Lord, and their combat power would skyrocket tenfold!
By then, Li Mu would no longer need to travel alone, fighting battles everywhere.
Just as Li Mu's thoughts flowed, the Chaotic Dao Tree had already completely extracted the last trace of Yin Origin from Sky Yin's body.
The Sky Yin Realm Master was like a dried corpse with his essence drained, completely devoid of Spiritual Qi, leaving only a pair of lantern-like eyes staring fixedly at Li Mu's back.
In those eyes, resentment was as deep as an abyss, and hatred surged, never dissipating until his consciousness was completely annihilated.
Without Li Mu, he would have already been the Lord of the Yin Realm Starfield.
A hundred years later, when Earth Yin and Mysterious Yin's Dao cultivation reached Perfection, he could devour their Origins and instantly surpass the Yin Realm King, joining the ranks of the top powerhouses in the central realm!
His plan was originally flawless—first secretly ally with the Celestial Evolution World Lord, who would sacrifice his life to trap and kill the Yin Realm King, and then other powerhouses would act to completely eliminate the root of the problem.
Everything was under control until Li Mu appeared.
The Yin Realm King died at Li Mu's hands, and the Dao of Yin was taken by him, severing Sky Yin's path of cultivation from then on—unless he killed Li Mu and reclaimed the Dao Source!
Even so, until just now, Sky Yin still had a sliver of hope for survival.
But Li Mu's mere presence crushed everything he had meticulously planned!
At the moment of his death, Sky Yin's eyes were hollow, yet he still stared fixedly at Li Mu's back, as if wanting to brand his Divine Soul and devour it alive!
But Li Mu, from beginning to end, never looked back.
At this moment, Li Mu's gaze swept over the three remaining top World Lords of the Yang Realm.
The three were already Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering—
One strike to kill Lord of the Blazing Yang World, the second strongest in the Yang Realm, and then using mysterious means to instantly kill the Sky Yin Realm Master, the second strongest in the Yin Realm—such strength was beyond their imagination!
The Yang Realm and Yin Realm had accumulated grievances for thousands of years. Due to their opposing Daos, they were also interdependent, and both sides knew each other's combat strength like the back of their hand.
Flame Sun was the second strongest in the Yang Realm, and Sky Yin was undoubtedly the second strongest in the Yin Realm.
Although the Yin Realm was generally slightly weaker, that was because the Yin Realm King was weak. Sky Yin's own combat power was absolutely no less than Flame Sun's, especially after devouring Earth Yin and Mysterious Yin, he was even close to the King level!
Now, these two were instantly annihilated like ants. The three couldn't even muster the thought of resistance.
Seeing Li Mu's gaze sweep over, they all knelt on the ground, trembling.
The Scarlet Fire World Lord, who was leading them, pleaded tremblingly, "We are willing to surrender! We are willing to offer the Yang Realm Origin, only asking for your mercy, please spare our lives! This cross-realm invasion was all due to the secret plotting between Lord of the Blazing Yang World and Sky Yin; we were forced to comply due to their power!"
"Yes! Sky Yin used two hundred years of forty percent of the Yin Realm's resources as bait to entice Flame Sun to help him ascend to the Yin Realm King's throne. We truly did not wish for this!"
"Please, sir, have mercy! If we survive, we will truthfully report to the Yang Realm King—Flame Sun, due to his greed, arbitrarily crossed realms and ultimately perished. This matter has nothing to do with you!"
Li Mu stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly moving, as if with a hint of playfulness.
"When I pacified the Yin Realm, I did not see a single World Lord kneel and beg for mercy. Even when surrendering, they retained their arrogance. If the Yin Realm is like this, I originally thought the men of the Yang Realm would have harder spines... but I didn't expect them to be as soft as mud, which is disappointing."
Behind him, Divine Lord Blood Slaughter and the others burst into laughter.
Those who cultivated the Dao of Yin were all unyielding; those who cultivated the Dao of Yang were all such opportunistic people, truly laughable!
"Sir, please understand!" The Scarlet Fire World Lord gritted his teeth and said, "We are not threatening you, we just want to clarify the stakes—although Flame Sun is dead, he always had a rift with the Yang Realm King, so it might not trigger a Star Domain war. But if all of us perish here, the Yang Realm's Foundation will suffer great damage, and the Yang Realm King will surely mobilize his entire army and launch a full-scale war!"
His implication was to use the Yang Realm King's name to intimidate Li Mu.
But he ultimately didn't understand Li Mu—otherwise, he would never have dared to threaten him with the word "war."
Li Mu lightly tapped his finger, Chaos Qi circulated, and his eyes were as indifferent as frost.
Divine Lord Blood Slaughter stepped forward and coldly snorted, "Are you threatening Dao Friend Li? Do you know who the Yin Realm King truly died by?"
These words were like a thunderclap, shaking the hearts of the three.
The information they received from Sky Yin was that "eight top World Lords surrounded and killed the Yin Realm King, finally slaying him."
The three exchanged glances, and Scarlet Fire forced himself to say, "According to Sky Yin, it was indeed eight World Lords who jointly surrounded and killed the Yin Realm King!"
Divine Lord Blood Slaughter sneered, mocking, "How foolish! If Sky Yin truly had the power to surround and kill the Yin Realm King, why was he previously chased like a dog by us? If you believe his words, aren't you admitting that among us, there is someone who surpasses the Yin Realm King? Then who are you trying to scare with the Yang Realm King? Do Yang Realm Cultivators all have no brains? To be fooled by Sky Yin's few words to this extent!"
The Void Realm suddenly fell silent.
Scarlet Fire and the others looked at each other, cold sweat pouring down.
How could they not know that Flame Sun's deployment of troops was actually authorized by the Yang Realm King? Their words just now were merely words to save their lives.
Now, being exposed by Divine Lord Blood Slaughter's single sentence, they felt utterly mortified.
Li Mu's fingertips transformed into Chaos Qi chains, wrapping around the three.
"Behave yourselves. If there's any unusual movement—Flame Sun is a lesson for you."
After speaking, Li Mu's gaze swept over the remaining high-ranking World Lords, his voice as cold as iron:
"Go back and tell your Yang Realm King—within three months, personally come to the Yin Realm and apologize. If there's no sincerity... then you don't need to live."
The Chaos chains had not yet fully formed when one of them suddenly looked up, a resolute glint in his eyes.
He gritted his teeth, and with a thought, his entire body transformed into a brilliant rainbow light, attempting to escape through the Void Realm!
Li Mu's words clearly meant to hold them hostage, their lives and deaths entirely dependent on his whim. How could he just sit there and wait for death?
But he didn't know—
Chaos chains could instantly form.
Li Mu deliberately delayed, only to let one person escape, and then kill him, to serve as a warning!
As soon as that person's escape light began, a branch pierced out from the Void Realm, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, instantly piercing through his chest, hoisting him high!
"You two... still want to try?"
The others witnessed this scene and quickly shook their heads like rattles, not daring to move an inch?
Li Mu nodded slightly, then activated the Chaos chains to fully form, firmly imprisoning the three.
The three no longer dared to make the slightest move—resistance meant only death; clinging to life might offer a turn of events.
Upon the chains, Chaotic Dao patterns flowed, their pressure like an abyss, causing the top World Lords' minds to tremble.
The three were pulled, like prisoners, slowly flying towards the Lieyu Battleship.
More than ten high-ranking World Lords witnessed this scene, all looking disheartened.
Even the strongest among them was no match for Divine Lord Blood Slaughter, and even with the advantage of the battleship, they knew that victory or defeat ultimately depended on top-tier combat power.
Any thought of resistance had long since vanished.
The Lieyu Battleship's main cannon roared, and a beam of Chaos light tore through the Void Realm, blasting a vacuum crack in front of the remaining Yang Realm army.
How could the Yang Realm Cultivators dare to linger? Like stray dogs, they fled back to the realm wall crack in panic, not even daring to collect the corpses of their fallen comrades.
"Retreat! Quickly return to the Yang Realm and report to the World King!"
On the bridge, Li Mu's gaze fell upon the three trembling Yang Realm World Lords, and he said coldly:
"Three months is enough time for the Yang Realm King to weigh the pros and cons. For every day late, I'll kill one person."
With that, Li Mu no longer spared them a glance, turning and entering the closed-door cultivation room.
At this moment, Li Mu urgently needed to harmonize the Yin and Yang Dao within his body—
Yin overpowering Yang had become a hidden danger!
At the top of the Chaotic Dao Tree, that fiery red Yang fruit had actually been mostly eroded by the grey Yin fruit, almost completely swallowed!
And this was only in the state where Sky Yin had not fully integrated the Earth Yin and Mysterious Yin Origins.
If the Dao of Yin were to reach complete Perfection, it was likely that Flame Sun's bit of Yang Origin would have already been completely assimilated!
Yin and Yang imbalance was not what Li Mu desired; he had to quickly balance the two Daos and stabilize his Foundation.
After Li Mu left, Ji Yu, the Lieyu Battleship's chief steward, naturally took over the subsequent matters.
"Imprison the three and guard them strictly."
As soon as the words fell, Li Mu waved his hand, sending out three Chaos Restrictions that landed on the three, completely sealing them. Then, his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
Inside the secret chamber, Li Mu sat cross-legged in the Void Realm, immersing himself in the Chaotic Dao Tree.
The wisp of Origin within the Sky Yin Realm Master's body, which had fused with Earth Yin and Mysterious Yin, was slowly integrating with the true meaning of the Dao of Yin, merging into the Chaotic Dao Tree.
Under Li Mu's deliberate guidance, the Yin Origin no longer tried to assimilate the Yang Origin; the two were separated and instead strengthened their own Origins.
As the last trace of power was completely swallowed by the Chaotic Dao Tree, that grey fruit finally reached complete Perfection.
Complex spiritual patterns appeared on its surface, engraved with the most fundamental Origin Divine Runes of the Dao of Yin. If a Cultivator could comprehend a single character, he could instantly control the power of a realm.
As the Chaotic Dao Tree bore a complete Yin fruit, in an instant, the entire Yin Realm Star River trembled, Laws resonated, and all Yin Qi resonated.
The Yin Evil Qi of the entire Star Domain surged as if in pilgrimage, as if it had finally welcomed its true Dominator!
And Li Mu, at this moment, completely merged with the Star Domain; he was the Yin Realm, and the Yin Realm was him!
With a thought, Li Mu could traverse any corner of the Star Domain; wherever his will reached, the domain map of the entire realm would appear before his eyes.
Li Mu's Divine Thought silently swept across the entire Yin Realm Starfield. Every dead star, every wisp of drifting nebula dust, and even the Law cracks in the depths of the Void Realm that Mortals could not perceive, were now clearly reflected in his Sea of Consciousness, as if he were observing patterns in his palm.
Li Mu could hear the last unwilling pulsation of a withered star's core, and even feel the prying gaze from beyond the distant realm wall, from the Star Domain named "Yang Realm," a gaze mixed with greed and apprehension.
This was the feeling of controlling a Law, like a deity overseeing his sandbox.
However, Li Mu's brow did not relax. Upon the towering Chaotic Dao Tree within his body,
That grey fruit representing the Dao of Yin had now reached Perfection. It hung quietly on the branch, its surface flowing with Dao patterns, so profound that it seemed to swallow all light. The Law power contained within it was perfectly smooth and unobstructed, breathing in sync with the Origin of the entire Yin Realm Starfield. Every pulsation could cause the Star River to resonate with it.
In contrast, the fiery red Yang fruit on the other side appeared dim and lackluster.
It was like a candle flickering in the wind. Under the overbearing and absolute Yin Evil Qi erosion of the grey fruit, the flame patterns on its surface flickered on and off, and the fruit itself had shriveled somewhat, as if it could be assimilated and swallowed by the endless darkness at any moment.
Li Mu's gaze penetrated the walls of the closed-door cultivation room, penetrated the layers of the Lieyu Battleship's decks, and landed in the deepest part of the battleship, in that chaotic prison.
There, three walking "small suns" were imprisoned.
The Scarlet Fire World Lord, and two other top existences from the Yang Realm.
Their Origin power, though not as strong as Flame Sun's, combined, was still a force not to be underestimated. Used to nourish the Yang fruit, though not enough to bring it to Perfection, it was enough to solve the immediate crisis.
As for the three-month deadline and the warning to the Yang Realm King, Li Mu's lips curved into a faint, elusive cold smile.
That was merely a casual move, a minor chess piece. Whether the Yang Realm King came or not, whether he apologized or not, it would not change the ultimate fate of these three. (End of this chapter)
