Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

The instant the Eclipse Moon Queen burned away her Dao Source, the entire Eclipse Moon Ancient Realm felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, causing heaven and earth to wail and all living beings to tremble. The nine Eclipse Moons suddenly burst forth, shedding their grayness and transforming into pure, pitch-black nothingness. The nine pillars of light merged into one, reversing the roots of chaos, and forcefully crashed into the void passage that Li Mu had opened with the Chaos Dao Tree!

"Om-!"

The Chaos Treasure Palace trembled violently, and the swirling chaotic spiritual mist within the Spirit Garden was swept away, revealing the crisscrossing laws beneath. Behind Li Mu, the towering illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree trembled clearly for the first time, its branches and leaves rustling as if bearing an indescribable pressure.

That ultimate pillar of annihilation, which merged the lifelong Dao source of the Eclipse Moon Queen with the annihilation essence accumulated by the Nine Eclipse Moons throughout the ages, was no ordinary energy impact, but a direct denial of "existence" itself—a law pollution that reduced all laws to nothingness!
Li Mu grunted, and the Chaotic Dao Domain beneath his green robe spontaneously activated, a hazy current of energy sweeping out, attempting to envelop the counterattacking force of annihilation. However, this force, like a malignant tumor clinging to bone, spread wildly along the connection between the roots of the Dao Tree and his body.

Chi Chi Chi!
Visibly, the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree, which protruded into the void and connected to all realms, suddenly dimmed, their profound Dao patterns were eroded and worn away, revealing a deathly gray-white color, and then withered and collapsed inch by inch! A sense of the end of all things and the emptiness of all laws rebounded from the roots and directly attacked Li Mu's mind.

Li Mu stood beneath the Dao Tree, his face slightly pale, but his eyes were as calm as an ancient well. He clearly sensed that the Law of Annihilation, like the most insidious poison, had become inextricably intertwined with a portion of the Chaos Dao Tree's origin.

If the Chaos Dao Domain is forcibly used to separate and suppress it, although its power can be temporarily suppressed, it is like cutting flesh to heal a wound, which will inevitably damage the root of the Dao Tree, and may even trigger the backlash of the Dao Fruit, shaking the foundation of the Great Dao.

The Chaos Tree is the foundation of his path, and it cannot be lost.

In a flash, countless thoughts raced and unfolded in Li Mu's mind. Chaos gives rise to all things, and also contains all things; though annihilation is the end, it is also part of the cycle of the Great Dao. Blocking is not as good as guiding, and annihilation is not as good as transforming.

A bold idea quietly emerged.

Li Mu no longer resisted this force, but instead let the wolf into the house, using himself as a furnace to take a risky gamble!
"From chaos arises all things, and all laws return to their origin!"

Li Mu clasped his hands together in front of his chest, forming a mysterious and unfathomable hand seal.

Behind him, the illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree shone brightly, and nine hazy halos suddenly lit up on the trunk, as if the nine orifices had opened! A powerful suction force emanated from the orifices, not only not rejecting the power of annihilation, but actively drawing it into the depths of the Dao Tree.

A massive amount of the laws of annihilation were forcibly incorporated into the Dao Tree, causing the tree's shadow to tremble more violently, and tiny gray spots appeared on its branches and leaves—traces of the erosion by the laws of nothingness.

Li Mu's body was filled with surging chaotic energy, his face turned even paler, but his eyes remained sharp as swords, and his mind sank into the core of the Dao Tree.

Under its guidance, the fierce and annihilating law was introduced into the depths of the main trunk, colliding violently with the origin of chaos!

Within the Dao Tree, it felt as if the world had been created.

The primordial chaos surged like a raging sea, seeking to obliterate and assimilate the external enemies; the law of annihilation transformed into countless gray tendrils, tenacious and unpredictable, constantly probing and corroding, "resolving" the chaos into primordial nothingness.

Two supreme Dao powers engaged in the most dangerous battle and fusion within Li Mu's Dao Tree!
Li Mu's Dao heart was like a reef in a storm, enduring boundless impact. His will transformed into an invisible furnace wall, firmly imprisoning the battlefield and preventing its effects from spreading to other parts of the Dao Tree. At the same time, he mobilized his insights into the various Dao Fruits such as metal, fire, time, illusion, yin, and yang, drawing upon the Dao rhythm to continuously wash away the violent will within the laws of annihilation, leaving only the purest "true meaning of annihilation".

This is like dancing on a knife's edge, walking on a precipice. The slightest carelessness could cause the power of annihilation to completely corrupt the origin of the Dao Tree, and even turn against its master.

Time seemed to stand still, thick as paste.

On the periphery, Mingyue, Xiao Jingtian, and the others were doing their utmost to maintain the great formation, their hearts hanging by a thread. The illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree sometimes shone brightly, sometimes was swallowed by large swaths of darkness, and it seemed on the verge of collapse.

Li Mu's breathing fluctuated, sometimes as deep and unfathomable as an abyss, sometimes as faint as a dying candle.

A single breath feels like an eternity.

Just as the illusory image of the Dao Tree was nearly swallowed by the darkness, and even the protective array was flickering and on the verge of collapse—

Li Mu's eyes snapped open! Deep within his eyes, a fleeting image seemed to flash before his eyes: the beginning of chaos, the separation of purity and turbidity, the cycle of birth and death!
"Nirvana is Yin, chaos is Yang; Yin and Yang rotate, giving rise to the infinite!"

Li Mu let out a low shout, and the hand seals in his hands changed from hard to soft, from contraction to release. At the core of the Dao Tree, in the center of the two entangled and fighting forces that were almost mutually destroyed, a faint light quietly lit up. It was neither blazing nor dazzling, but a kind of warm and inclusive chaotic mother energy that could carry the birth and death of all things!

This energy spread rapidly, transforming into an invisible vortex that slowly rotated.

Within the vortex, the primordial chaos and the true meaning of annihilation are gently and irreversibly drawn together, no longer resisting each other, but instead like two fish playing, head to tail, turning around the vortex.

Gray and black intertwine, life and death cycle.

The gray spots that originally eroded the Dao Tree, nourished by the power of Yin and Yang rotation and the transformation of chaos, not only did not spread further, but gradually stabilized. The color changed from a deathly gray-white to a deep and restrained dark gray, blending seamlessly with the healthy tree trunk, as if it were originally part of its Dao patterns.

The withered roots regained their vitality, and more complex and profound Dao patterns emerged on their surface—containing both the inclusiveness of chaos and the resilience and emptiness after the baptism of annihilation.

The chaotic energy around Li Mu gradually subsided, his complexion returned to its rosy hue, and his aura became not only stable but also profound and vast, like a bottomless abyss or an endless starry sea.

The illusory image of the Dao tree behind him no longer trembled, but instead exuded a perfect and flawless charm, impervious to all laws. On the trunk, the prototype of a Dao fruit representing the Dao of "annihilation" gradually condensed!

As the Dao fruit first condensed, an unusual phenomenon suddenly appeared at the boundary between the real and the unreal.

On the Chaos Dao Tree, the newly formed Dao Fruit of Annihilation was not yet complete, yet it had already resonated with the heavens and earth. The remaining fragments of laws in the entire Ancient Realm of Eclipse Moon surged back like rivers flowing into the sea, endlessly swirling around the Dao Tree. In the void, gray mist filled the air, as if the whispers of countless dead souls echoed, or the sound of eternal annihilation reverberated, shaking people's hearts and minds to the point of breaking.

Li Mu stood under the tree, his eyes slightly closed, his mind sinking into the depths of the Dao Fruit.

The path of Nirvana is not severance, but return to the source; it is not annihilation, but a new beginning. If this path is truly achieved, it can not only suppress all falsehoods, but also create something from nothing and give birth to life from death.

Just as Li Mu was deep in thought, the Dao Fruit suddenly paused, and an invisible flame quietly ignited from the depths of the Silent True Meaning.

A raging fire of illusion and reality!

This fire is formless and without appearance; it does not burn external things, but only the heart of the Tao.

Li Mu felt a searing pain deep within his soul, as if pierced by a million needles, or swallowed by boundless darkness. His body swayed slightly, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and beneath his blue robe, the meridians of his Dao body faintly turned gray, as if his life force was being quietly drained away.

"The Fruit of Time, activate!"

Li Mu let out a low shout, and a silver light suddenly shone between his brows, instantly spreading the power of the Dao Fruit of Time throughout his body. In an instant, his perception of the outside world was infinitely stretched, a breath becoming ten thousand years, a thought becoming a thousand eons.

With the blessing of the Time Dao Domain, Li Mu's soul was like a still mirror, reflecting every fluctuation and trajectory of the illusory and real tribulation fire in his heart. He no longer resisted the fire with force, but observed the fire with his heart and controlled the fire with the Dao.

The Calamity Fire originates from the conflict between Annihilation and Chaos, and its essence is the "Poison of the Dao" born from the imbalance of the Great Dao. Forcibly suppressing it will only make its backlash more severe; only by guiding it back into the cycle can the poison be transformed into medicine.

With a thought, Li Mu felt a jolt, and deep within the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree, the newly born Dao Fruit of Annihilation slowly rotated. The gray flames within it rose, but they were no longer violent. Instead, they seemed to be guided by an invisible hand, flowing along some mysterious rhythm.

At the same time, the power of the Time Dao Fruit transformed into a thin stream, winding around it and infinitely slowing down the burning speed of the Calamity Flame, maintaining a delicate balance between "burning" and "extinguishing".

Within a single breath, Li Mu had already performed the deductions ten thousand times.

Li Mu used chaos as a furnace, time as a catalyst, annihilation as fuel, and the divine soul as a cauldron to set up a "Returning to the Origin Array of Illusion and Reality" at the core of the Dao Tree.

This formation has no physical form; it relies entirely on the connection of Daoist principles, using the rotation of Yin and Yang to channel the power of the calamity fire into the formation's core—the vortex formed from that point of primordial chaos energy. The gray flames enter the vortex, like fish returning to the abyss.

The vortex slowly rotated, the calamity fire was peeled away layer by layer, the violent intent was washed away by the Dao of Time, and the nature of annihilation was nurtured by the primordial chaos, eventually transforming into strands of extremely pure "illusory and real Dao threads" that nourished the roots of the Dao tree.

Where the trees withered, the gray spots faded, and new Dao patterns emerged like flowing stars, faintly revealing an interplay of reality and illusion. The illusory image of the Dao tree grew increasingly solid, with a faint light flickering among its branches and leaves, as if stars were being born and dying within it.

Li Mu's mind gradually calmed down, and his breathing became increasingly deep and focused.

However, at this very moment, a sudden change occurred.

Deep within the ancient realm of the Eclipse Moon, the chaotic roots that had been traced back by the nine Eclipse Moons revealed an ancient rift after the pillar of annihilation dissipated. Within the rift, chaos surged, and a dilapidated altar could be vaguely seen, inscribed with the long-lost runes of the "Primordial Eclipse Moon Scripture."

In the center of the altar, a withered corpse sat motionless, its body entwined with countless gray threads, each thread connecting to a small world, seemingly drawing life force from all realms.

"The Eclipse Queen...is not dead?"

Mingyue's expression changed drastically, and the jade flute in her hand hummed, its cold light flashing.

Xiao Jingtian held his spear horizontally, his gaze like lightning: "No, that's her 'Dao Transformation'! She sacrificed herself, hiding her true spirit within the Dao Transformation, and used the power of annihilation to re-condense her Dao Source!"

Before the words were even finished, the mummified corpse suddenly opened its eyes!

Her pupils were empty, yet they reflected the collapse of countless worlds. She raised her fingertip, and a gray light shone, pointing directly at the void where Li Mu was.

"The seed of the Dao... belongs to me!"

The Moon Eclipse Queen's voice was hoarse, like rusty iron grinding together, containing supreme pressure that made the Chaos Treasure Palace hum and even caused the Illusion-Returning Origin Array set up by Li Mu to tremble.

Li Mu's mind was shaken, and his Time Domain almost collapsed.

Li Mu is currently at a critical moment in the reshaping of his Dao Fruit. If he is interfered with by external forces, the illusory and real tribulation fire will inevitably get out of control, the Dao Tree will backfire, and his soul will be burned!

At the critical moment, Li Mu bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence, which merged into the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree.

"With my blood, I offer sacrifice to the root of chaos!"

As the blood-red light entered the tree, the illusory image of the Dao Tree suddenly swelled, its branches and leaves like swords piercing the sky. On the trunk, the nine orifices opened simultaneously, and the primordial chaos energy burst forth, transforming into a light curtain that firmly protected Li Mu.

With a flick of her finger, the Eclipse Queen unleashed a needle-like gray light that pierced the core of the Chaos Treasure Palace. The light barrier had barely formed when the gray light arrived. The two collided silently, as if an ancient silence had been suddenly torn open.

The light curtain trembled, and the chaotic primordial energy surged like boiling water. It was slowly eroded by that point of gray light, revealing spiderweb-like cracks.

Li Mu felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he forced down the surging blood. At this moment, his soul was half-fused with the Dao Tree, and his physical body was almost an empty shell. He was only able to maintain a sliver of life thanks to the Chaos Dao Tree.

"You want to seize my Dao Seed?"

Li Mu's eyes flashed like lightning. Deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, the roots of the Chaos Dao Tree trembled violently, drawing all the remaining illusory and real tribulation fire within his body to his fingertips.

Li Mu raised his right hand and pointed with his index finger. Chaotic sword energy burst forth from his fingertip. It was neither metal nor fire, neither yin nor yang. It was the first wisp of energy that severed the illusion at the beginning of chaos.

The chaotic sword energy arrived silently, causing the void to collapse inch by inch, directly meeting the gray light.

laugh--!
When the sword energy touched the gray light, the world fell silent. The gray light dissipated, and the sword energy broke. However, the aftershocks spread like ripples, turning the void gray and white wherever they passed, and even erasing the traces of the chaotic spiritual mist.

The Eclipse Queen swayed slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in her empty eyes. She had thought that Li Mu was in danger of refining the tribulation fire and was powerless to resist, but she did not expect that he would dare to be distracted and use his sword. Moreover, the purity of his sword intent was close to the origin of the Great Dao.

The gray threads in the hands of the Eclipse Moon Queen suddenly swelled up, like thousands of venomous snakes, coiling towards the illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree.

The gray silk touched the tree branches and leaves, causing them to wither. Li Mu's face paled again. He formed a hand seal with his left hand and pointed with his right hand, striking out once more.

This time, no sword energy appeared; only a drop of blood hovered at the fingertip, its interior churning with chaos, and the shadow of the Nine Apertures Dao Tree could be vaguely seen.

"With blood as the catalyst and the Dao as the spearhead, slay!"

The blood droplet exploded, transforming into nine blood threads, each wrapped with a trace of annihilation essence, rushing upwards and piercing straight for the Eclipse Moon Queen's brow.

The corpse of the Eclipse Moon Queen suddenly narrowed its eyes, and the gray threads curled back, attempting to block the blood lines. However, the blood lines were neither real nor illusory, piercing through the gray threads as if they were nothing, and in an instant, they were already at her face.

boom!
The head of the Eclipse Queen exploded, and a cloud of gray mist rose up, revealing the blurry face of the Eclipse Queen within, her expression ferocious, seemingly both angry and laughing.

"You destroyed my Dao transformation and cut off my path back... Today, I will return to nothingness along with this ruined world!"

Before the words were finished, the entire Ancient Realm of Eclipse Moon suddenly collapsed, the earth cracked, the sky shattered, and the nine Eclipse Moons exploded simultaneously, turning into billions of gray stars that fell like rain. Each gray star contained the law of annihilation, and touching it would turn it into nothingness.

In the Realm of Lunar Eclipse, the Jade Flute of Bright Moon broke in two, and Xiao Jingtian's spear hummed incessantly. Both of them coughed up blood and were blasted hundreds of feet away. The puppet army and the Immortal Dynasty army suffered heavy losses.

Li Mu stood beneath the Dao Tree, his green robe fluttering, his hair flying, his eyes like abysses, gazing at the gray mist. With a thought, the newly born Dao Fruit of Annihilation on the main trunk of the Chaos Dao Tree suddenly lit up, its gray light flowing and resonating with the countless gray stars in the sky.

“Since you are obsessed with returning to nothingness, I will use the path of Nirvana to send you to true Nirvana.”

Li Mu took a step forward, and lotus flowers bloomed in the void beneath his feet, each petal containing the primordial energy of chaos. With his right hand in a grasping motion, a chaotic sword woven from chaos and annihilation appeared.

The moment the sword was completed, the world fell silent.

As if sensing something, the Eclipse Queen in the gray mist let out a shrill shriek. The gray mist suddenly expanded, transforming into a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky, reaching for Li Mu's head.

Li Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but lightly slashed with the imaginary sword in his hand.

No light, no sound, no trace.

The giant hand severed in two, and the gray mist receded like a tide. The face of the Eclipse Queen twisted and disintegrated within the gray mist, eventually turning into a wisp of remnant spirit, which was absorbed into the Dao Fruit of Annihilation.

The countless gray stars stopped falling, then plummeted to the ground and turned into dust.

The Ancient Realm of Eclipse collapsed completely, with only the illusory image of the Chaos Dao Tree remaining to support a patch of sanctuary. (End of Chapter)