Chapter 699 — Flaming Firmament

Within the Shen-Character Continent, Lord Heaven, the Crimson Emperor, and the Old Buddha all wore grave expressions. After a moment, the Old Buddha sighed. "The Great Dao has changed. From a change in law to a change in the Dao itself, the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth has shifted a step.

A time of many troubles, an age of great upheaval, is about to arrive.

" His eyes gradually dimmed, and he sank into a deep sleep. Lord Heaven's incarnation sighed.

"It has come so fast.

It seems I too should make my preparations early.

Brother Crimson Emperor, by contrast, is light and free now that he is dead. " The Crimson Emperor gave a muffled snort.

"We are all in the belly of an Evil? " Shen Mu was greatly shaken, his expression shifting uncertainly.

If that were so, then the darkness shrouding the Wasteland was also this Evil ghost, colossal beyond imagination.

The body of this Evil ghost could fill the entire Wasteland, could fill each of the heavens within the broken cliffs. Most crucial of all: did this Evil ghost have a consciousness of its own? An Evil ghost could have consciousness; he had realized this back at the Land of Joy by the sea. An Evil ghost could possess memories, could possess thought.

If the Tianyin Realm had truly been turned into an Evil by the Yin Son of Heaven, then even if Lady Tianyin were resurrected, the situation was not so optimistic! "The Tianyin Realm has become a massive Evil ghost, which for Lady Tianyin is an incomparably terrifying opponent. Lady Tianyin can hardly look after herself—how could she spare any thought for the Wasteland?

" He did not hold out much hope for Lady Tianyin's situation.

Lady Tianyin held him in her palm, studying him curiously, and saw that Shen Mu's expression was still shifting. "This Great Dharma Master's abilities are supreme, but his Dao-heart seems somewhat lacking.

In this short while his face has changed through a dozen colors, as if a color-changing lantern were installed beneath his skin. " Her physical body was slowly recovering; mud and seawater transformed into flesh, blood, and bone. Such an ability was something others could not hope to envy.

For instance, although Shen Mu cultivated both the Crimson Emperor's Undying Divine Consciousness and the Bright Emperor's Flawless Creation Mystic Scripture, and had terrifying attainments in the art of creation, yet if his flesh and blood were dissolved, leaving only a skin, Shen Mu would certainly die, unable to recreate his physical body. That Lady Tianyin could do this was, apart from her unfathomable strength, most likely due to her innate talent.

"This pagoda is a treasure I refined to suppress these Evil ghosts. But the Evil ghosts joined hands with the Yin Son of Heaven and plotted against me. " Lady Tianyin's body was immeasurably colossal; she waded through the seawater toward the middle of the sea, raising great waves across its surface. "In those years, when the Evil ghosts of the Tianyin Realm ran amok, I wanted to refine a weapon that could solve the Evil ghosts once and for all.

But I was born of Heaven and Earth, and was not proficient in the divine abilities and Dao arts of other systems. I went into seclusion to refine the treasure, but could never succeed.

Then the Yin Son of Heaven came to the Tianyin Realm, saying he would help me refine the treasure. His spells and divine abilities were wondrous and profound, following the path of the Nether Capital, and could precisely make up for my deficiencies.

With his help, this pagoda of mine could be refined. However. . . " She reached the center of the sea, her expression darkening. "However, it was all a scheme. His help in refining the treasure was in truth ill-intentioned. After the treasure was completed, he hid a divine ability within it. " Lady Tianyin gnashed her teeth.

"He used this divine ability to plot against me and wounded me.

Then the Evil ghosts took the opportunity to burrow into my body through my wounds, gnawing at my flesh and blood. And he brought many powerful beings, who took the chance to attack me.

More and more Evil ghosts burrowed into my body, surging like black sand. . . " Shen Mu could imagine that horrifying scene. The wounded Lady Tianyin had to resist the attacks of the Yin Son of Heaven and the many powerful beings on one side, while countless Evil ghosts transformed into black sand madly burrowed into her wounds, gnawing at her flesh, blood, and soul!

At that time Lady Tianyin must have been beset within and without, utterly despairing in her heart.

"Why did you trust a stranger, Lady? " he could not help asking doubtfully. If Lady Tianyin had been on guard against the Yin Son of Heaven, she would not have been defeated so quickly and so miserably.

To Lady Tianyin at that time, the Yin Son of Heaven must have been a strange outsider; to trust him so unreservedly was somewhat rash.

Lady Tianyin's face reddened slightly.

"He was very handsome," she said. "He made one unable to muster any guard against him. " Shen Mu's expression turned strange.

Lady Tianyin said hastily, "I do not judge by appearances.

It was simply that he was so handsome that his hypocrisy could not be seen.

He helped me refine the treasure, and I truly needed his help, and so I was plotted against. It was only after meeting the Great Dharma Master that I learned that a handsome face does not necessarily mean a good person, and that a plain, unremarkable appearance may belong to a great good man. " She looked at Shen Mu in her palm and gave him an encouraging smile. Shen Mu gave a muffled snort, not much wanting to dwell on the matter of plain appearance. "Then why did the Yin Son of Heaven not take your pagoda away, but leave it here instead?

" Lady Tianyin reached for the massive hourglass.

"He wanted to," she said. "But my pagoda was refined from Tianyin Gold. After tempering, it became my thing.

I merged this treasure with the Tianyin Realm, so of course he could not move it. Though I died once, it was a blessing in disguise. Before, I could not comprehend the particle form of the soul, and was helpless against the black sand. But after I shattered and became soul particles, my former confusion was suddenly cleared. " She removed the hourglass. "This hourglass is the treasure that controls the black sand of the Tianyin Realm. It must have been refined by him.

He used this treasure to control the black sand and attack your world. " The hourglass refined by the Yin Son of Heaven represented his achievements in the system of the soul; with the hourglass alone he could control the soul black sand of the Tianyin Realm. And the fact that Lady Tianyin could remove this hourglass showed that she had indeed been blessed by misfortune; her death and resurrection had instead given her extremely profound comprehension of the soul.

Her death and resurrection had set her apart from beings born divine like Lord Earth and Lord Heaven; now she possessed the ability to learn other divine abilities and comprehend other Dao arts. This change was quite peculiar.

Shen Mu thought it worth studying, so he took out a small notebook and wrote it down. He thought, "Research in this area might solve the problem of those born divine being unable to change with the changes of Dao arts.

I only wonder whether Lady Tianyin would be willing to let thousands of experts proficient in arts and numbers climb over her body to study and record. . .

Probably not. " "The hourglass is called Tiandou. " The hourglass was enormous, but in Lady Tianyin's hand it seemed a tiny toy. Lady Tianyin toyed with it between her fingertips, half-smiling. "His methods of refining treasures are far superior to mine. This Tiandou is exquisitely refined, but now that it has fallen into my hands, he cannot take it back.

And Tiandou will become my means to deal with the greatest Evil ghost of the Tianyin Realm.