Mu Changqing, unaware of Di Yuan's inexplicable shrewdness, moved swiftly towards the depths of the Reincarnation Abyss.
Soon after, Mu Changqing's body reached the bottom.
The reason it seemed fast was because Mu Changqing's speed had long surpassed the comprehension of post-natal beings.
In just a few breaths, he had traversed an immeasurable distance.
Looking up, he saw a place enveloped in thick fog, obscuring divine sense.
Beneath his feet was an expanse of nothingness, constructed from the dao rhymes of reincarnation, not solid ground.
He looked up to see souls, like a waterfall, falling from the sky, endlessly, in uncountable numbers.
After falling into the Reincarnation Abyss, the souls crashed heavily onto the ground.
Those unable to withstand the terrifying dao rhymes of this place directly formed a torrential soul current, merging into the vast, boundless soul sea before them. Despite their struggles, they sank into it, becoming a part of the soul sea.
Those who could stand up on their own continued forward, eyes vacant, towards the great fog.
They moved mechanically, numbly, as if following a predetermined program, requiring no underworld soldiers to maintain order.
"Reincarnation...!"
Mu Changqing murmured and his figure flashed forward rapidly.
Within a few breaths, he found a bridge appearing before him.
An incredibly fearsome and colossal bridge.
The bridge stood tens of millions of zhang above the soul sea, connecting two realms.
It was a million zhang wide, capable of allowing countless souls to cross simultaneously, reaching the other shore.
The bridge was ancient, so ancient it seemed not a product of creation after the heavens and earth were formed.
The aura emanating from the bridge, permeating the sky, carried a chaotic essence.
"Chaos Supreme Treasure? What is this? The Bridge of Helplessness?"
Mu Changqing muttered, then noticed.
Many crimson, alluring flowers grew on the bridge.
The flowers bloomed beautifully, emitting ripples of grey mist that swayed in the strange fog.
As souls passed over the alluring flowers, their bodies went right through, unable to touch them.
Mu Changqing's eyes flickered, and he slowly approached.
Just as he was about to step onto the bridge, an irresistible, strange force assailed him.
It sought to throw him out of the ancient land of reincarnation.
"You won't let me discover the truth, begone!"
Mu Changqing's expression was cold, and he let out a low, stern shout.
Purple flames erupted from him, vast and bizarre.
Compared to the aura of this place, Mu Changqing seemed even more strange and inauspicious.
His purple eyes flickered, streams of purple mist rose in reverse, and purple light burst forth, illuminating this world, piercing through illusion, seeking to glimpse the truth.
In an instant, the great fog before Mu Changqing's eyes dispersed, and a clear picture appeared.
Mu Changqing was so shocked by the scene that he failed to react, and his body was uncontrollably pulled by the strange force into spacetime, repelled and cast out of the ancient land of reincarnation.
...
High in the heavens, Mu Changqing's figure bizarrely reappeared.
Even now, shock lingered on his face.
The impact of the scene he had just witnessed was too great.
"What was that? Hiding in the Reincarnation Abyss."
Mu Changqing murmured to himself, his brow furrowed. Suddenly, he had an epiphany.
Just now, he had used the Burial Heaven Pearl, wielding supreme power.
He had momentarily broken through the illusion and glimpsed a sliver of truth.
"Heh heh, very good, very good. Heavenly Dao, oh Heavenly Dao, you are truly interesting."
On the bridge connecting the two realms, Mu Changqing had seen the clay effigies of the Three Thousand Calamity Lands.
Each Calamity Land effigy exuded a terrifying, dark glow, filled with ill omen and strangeness.
They exuded an indescribable aura, occupying tens of thousands of zhang of heaven and earth, surrounded by chilling gloom, a dead silent region.
However, around these Calamity Land effigies, runes of the supreme truth of reincarnation flowed, signifying that something unknown was gestating within them.
Mu Changqing's face was now grim, and terrifying power surged from him, felt by all the heavens. Beings trembled and shivered, bewildered, unaware of what had happened.
The purple profound divine thunder roared, and endless purple light illuminated the heavens, causing them to shake.
The innate beings looked up simultaneously, sensing Mu Changqing's rage, but they were clueless.
"What has happened? Why is the Burial Emperor so enraged?"
"Who has provoked this madman again?"
"The Burial Emperor's rage brings fear to the heavens, chaos, chaos."
The Dao Ancestor, with all preparations made and only the Reincarnation Purple Lotus missing, his expression changed slightly. He stood up and gazed through endless space at the black-robed man hanging in the sky, silent.
"Burial Emperor, who has provoked you again? In these heavens and myriad realms, this primordial chaos, who dares to provoke you as you are now."
The Dao Ancestor was bewildered and felt a creeping unease.
For him, this was a critical juncture, and no accidents could occur.
After a long while, Mu Changqing calmed the shock and anger within him.
He had not been so enraged in countless eons.
It was because he felt he had been deceived.
And the price of that deception was terrifying.
Mu Changqing slowly raised his head, gazing at the firmament, his gaze piercing through the endless starlight, through all knowable realms, towards the unfathomable and mysterious.
"I buried the three thousand immortal emperors in Emperor's Fall, yet they reappear in the Reincarnation Abyss. Heavenly Dao, you revived them through the means of reincarnation, are you preparing to fight me again?"
"This time, what will be your plan? Will you bestow upon them transcendence cultivation? Dao cultivation? Or the cultivation to extinguish existence?"
"Heh heh, but when has Mu Changqing ever feared? All schemes, Mu Changqing will sweep aside with force. All strangeness and unknowns will ultimately be buried by me."
"You may make your move, and Mu Changqing will receive each one."
Mu Changqing muttered to himself, as if provoking the Heavenly Dao.
The true master of the primordial chaos, the supreme existence that controlled all.
Rumble.
The slumbering Heavenly Dao seemed to sense this, awakening a sliver of its aura, descending countless terrifying lightning tribulations.
These transformed into the visions of the past three thousand immortal emperors, suspended in the starry sky, like gods looking down upon the heavens and myriad realms.
The aura of the apocalypse permeated the heavens, and countless beings trembled in fear.
The innate beings were shaken and fearfully tried to deduce, but they could not perceive anything knowable.
The Dharma bodies of the Human Ancestor and the Demon Ancestor emerged from the depths of primordial chaos, gazing with solemn expressions at this terrifying spectacle.
"What has this madman, the Burial Emperor, done to cause the Heavenly Dao to awaken slightly and descend endless judgment? Has the Heavenly Dao grown impatient and wishes to re-initiate the ultimate grand battle?"
"As expected of the sole variable throughout ancient, present, and future. Every action he takes will influence the trajectory of history and the future, as well as our plans and gambits."
...
"I do not fear!"
Mu Changqing shouted coldly and surged forward.
Vast purple flames enveloped the boundless starry realms.
He stepped upon the river of time, carrying his left arm, facing the endless judgment of the Heavenly Dao.
Mu Changqing acted according to his whims, unbound by any being, unbound by heaven and earth.
Even if he failed, it would only be death.
Since the Heavenly Dao wished to play, then Mu Changqing would play with it to the very end.