Chapter 744 — The Seven Sage Venerables of the Immortal Pool

Old Ox followed behind the two of them, beads of sweat the size of beans rolling ceaselessly down his face. The qi of Shen Mu and Kaihuang shifted without cease; though the two had not openly come to blows, in secret they vied with one another, neither yielding an inch! "These two are stubborn mules turned into spirits!

" Old Ox kept raising a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his brow, thinking, "I should never have listened to the Master and brought Shen Mu to see Tianyin Niangniang.

I should have stayed by the Master's side, slowly sipping tea and taking a few puffs from my water pipe. If Kaihuang loses, that's bad; if Shen Mu loses, that's bad too, and I'll have no good account to give when I return! I can't very well tell the Master that I delivered Shen Mu to the Ancient God Heavenly Court and Shen Mu gave Kaihuang a beating. . .

" He no longer knew whom he ought to help.

By the measure of closeness, he ought to help Kaihuang.

But what a fine youth Shen Mu was, treating him with courtesy, always addressing him as Senior Brother Sanduo; in his heart of hearts, he felt closer to Shen Mu. He was truly at a loss.

Still, he could see that both Shen Mu and Kaihuang were geniuses of the highest order.

Their qi transformed in a thousand ways; the slightest movement of the physical body, the faintest fluctuation of thought in the primordial spirit, the subtlest shift in vital essence—each would stir a sympathetic response in the other's qi, and each would respond in turn. With every step they took, their bodies underwent dozens of transformations. It was precisely because their vision and insight were so exalted that their transformations were aimed at the other's weaknesses; and so, the moment their qi clashed, their walk turned crooked and halting, limping and lame.

The two of them were like men drunk on wine: the farther they walked, the more wretched they became, yet they could not stop, each feeling as though he were riding a tiger and could not get off. Fortunately, they were not far from the great Kun's head; another two or three li and they would reach Yin Tianzi's side. Yin Tianzi was watching in high excitement as Tianyin Niangniang's carriage came driving toward them.

A great crowd had long since gathered on the great Kun's head, all of them gazing upward. Shen Mu and Kaihuang came staggering over, their whole bodies steaming with sweat, the vital essence spilling from their bodies growing ever more intense, each walking forward as though beyond his own control.

Yin Tianzi suddenly felt a stirring in his heart and hurriedly turned around.

Seeing Shen Mu and Kaihuang approaching, he at once sensed two different qi colliding—qi that came from Shen Mu and Kaihuang. "How did those two come to fight?

If they're fighting, that's good for me—I can befriend both sides, and both will be endlessly grateful to me. " Yin Tianzi was astonished, and then his hunter's heart rejoiced.

"The way these two fight is truly peculiar; this is the first time I've seen such a manner of contention. Why not separate them myself and make them grateful to me?

" His qi burst forth as he cut in between the two of them, smiling. "Brother Shen, Brother Mu, let me make peace between you.

. . " The moment his qi thrust between them, the warring, slaughtering qi of Shen Mu and Kaihuang suddenly surged toward him, as though a great flood had found an outlet!

Before Yin Tianzi could finish speaking, crushed by these two currents of qi, his mind went blank white, incapable of forming a single thought!

He felt only that the heaven and earth around him seemed to split apart and crumble in an instant, and that he was falling from a boundless height, while below him lay darkness—endless, infinite darkness! He had no strength to struggle, could only keep falling, keep sinking.

Gradually he saw in the darkness two opposing faces—the faces of "Mu Qing" and "Shen Kai," one on the left, one on the right.

These two faces were immeasurably vast, while he stood between them, infinitesimally small, plunging into the endless dark. Just then Shen Mu's voice came to him: "Brother Yin, Brother Yin!

" The vision before Yin Tianzi's eyes vanished, and Shen Mu's kindly face gradually emerged. Shen Mu was holding his left arm, while Kaihuang held his right, lest he fall. Yin Tianzi was drenched in sweat, as though he had just been fished out of water.

"Is Brother Yin unwell? " Shen Mu said with concern.

"I know a fair bit of medicine; I could examine Brother Yin.

As they say, a physician's heart is a parent's heart. .

.

" Kaihuang smiled.

"Brother Yin was caught between us and took a fright; it is no illness.

Every medicine is three parts poison—if he takes your medicine, he'll fall ill though he isn't sick. Brother Mu.

.

.

" "Don't call me Brother Mu! " Veins bulged on Shen Mu's forehead as he forcibly restrained the impulse in his heart.

Kaihuang was his own ancestor—how could he address him as brother? Kaihuang mistook his meaning and said coldly, "I meant to turn our swords into plowshares, yet you show such ingratitude.

Do you truly think I fear you? Your abilities are indeed high, but not necessarily higher than mine!

" Shen Mu sneered. "My abilities may not surpass yours, but my Dao heart is higher than yours. I will not be as contemptible as you.

" Yin Tianzi's head ached greatly, and he said hurriedly, "Tianyin Niangniang's carriage has arrived—stop quarreling, can't you speak civilly? " Dragon after dragon roared, and a train of colossal dragons came driving toward them, drawing a magnificent carriage of sky-blue. Each of those dragons was vaster even than the great Kun beneath their feet; riding the clouds and driving the mist, they passed overhead. The dragons were clad in azure armor, treasures forged from Tianyin metal as well, their whole bodies radiating treasure light that shot straight to the heavens.

The carriage too had a body forged of Tianyin metal, adorned with cloud qi; beneath its canopy hung strings of beads, each bead brilliant, each refined from a star, smelted down to a size of only some ten zhang across. The cloud qi drifted among the hanging beads, and cloud and beads together blocked the crowd's view, so that only the faint outline of a goddess seated beneath the canopy could be seen.

Yin Tianzi stared wide-eyed, entranced, until the dragons drew the carriage on toward the heart of the Heavenly Court; only then did he reluctantly withdraw his gaze, murmuring, "When will I ever have such grandeur? " Everyone around burst out laughing.

Even the great Kun beneath their feet could not help laughing, a deep, resonant sound.

Yin Tianzi's face flushed red, and he stammered, "Don't laugh at me—one day I too will be this grand, this imposing!

When that day comes, heh heh, you'll all bow down at my feet. .

.

" The crowd's laughter grew louder. Yin Tianzi's face reddened further, and he was about to argue, when Kaihuang said, "Brother Yin, the countless multitudes under heaven are beyond number, yet those who can accomplish great deeds and leave their names in the annals are but three or five. They lack such ambition, and so they only mock those who have it.

Pay them no mind.

" Yin Tianzi was deeply grateful and said, "The sparrow knows not the ambition of the swan. I will not lower myself to their level. " Shen Mu shot Kaihuang a glance, thinking, "Is he declaring his own ambition, or is he looking out for these people, lest Yin Tianzi take revenge on them in the future?

Perhaps both.

After I return to the past, will I truly be able to kill Yin Tianzi and change the future? " He felt some hesitation in his heart.

The great Kun bore them onward, leaping over palace after palace, and they encountered several more carriages of ancient gods passing by in magnificent state, stirring wave after wave of envy.

At last they came to the Yaochi of the Heavenly Court.