Chapter 774 — The Ugly-Faced Youth

" At once more than ten ancient beings ceased rousing the Life-Slaying Cauldron and poured their mana into the Heaven-Blending Net instead; its power swelled at once, and a great booming crash came from within the cauldron. The pressure on the crowd suddenly eased, yet their hearts were uneasy, for they did not know what was happening inside.

"Surely the Divine Son of Youdu has not been beaten to death by the Heaven-Blending Net?

" Yan Qianzhong said in a low voice.

Within the cauldron, Shen Mu stood upon the continent of Youdu; starlight shot forth from the star-river coiling in the sky, net after net of starlight slicing down without pause, their radiance flickering uncertainly, forcing him to attack madly simply to hold off the cutting of that net of heaven and earth. Roused by Lu Li and the others to its utmost, the Heaven-Blending Net's power surged; the star-river churned and suddenly became an enormous palm print that came crashing down. Shen Mu raised his four arms high and caught that vast hand of stars head-on, and under its weight his body sank lower and lower.

Just then the third eye of each of the four heads of Tubo opened, and four beams of light sliced down as one; the continent of Tubo beneath Shen Mu's feet was instantly cut into fragments, split into four. That hand of stars pressed Shen Mu down and slammed him hard; pinned beneath the palm, he heard the howl of wind at his ears, the wind drawn into a single unbroken line, while the demonic qi was compressed into walls, into a continent, squeezing him in the middle.

Boom! The power of that hand of stars erupted, its force reaching all the way to the bottom of the Life-Slaying Cauldron; the great cauldron shook violently, and Shen Mu's bones snapped and his sinews tore, his neck twisted, his four arms broken, his legs bent awry, sprawled on the ground in a grotesque posture—while Shen Fengqing, for his part, still sucked his thumb and slept soundly.

A moment before, Shen Mu had taken the brunt of the star-hand's power himself, shielding him with all his strength so that he would not be hurt—and so it was Shen Mu himself who was left gravely wounded. The hand of stars dispersed, and the starlight streamed upward like a tornado, vanishing quickly.

For the first time Shen Mu had been beaten so badly; he lay there without moving, his mana in complete disorder, his primordial spirit gravely wounded—when suddenly the power of the Life-Slaying Cauldron surged as if exploding, and rolling demonic qi of Youdu came pouring in, swiftly filling his whole body.

Startled and delighted, Shen Mu thought: "Who is healing me? Is it Tubo?

He does not seem like such a kind man.

. .

" His mana was replenished at once, and he hastily roused the Art of Creation to heal his wounds. Yet the power of the Life-Slaying Cauldron only grew stronger, the mana pouring in ever more abundant; Shen Mu's wounds healed swiftly, and still the cauldron's might kept rising madly! "Something is not right.

.

. " The raging demonic qi swelled his body until it bulged and distended, his frame growing larger and larger, and panic rose in his heart. He cried hastily: "Brother, brother, wake up!

Are you done digesting? I cannot hold on much longer. .

. " His head swam and his vision blurred, everything before him hazy—when suddenly he heard an aged, hoary voice laugh: "A Chou, stop fussing about.

Your wife is heavy with child; how can you let her labor over the household? Go and help her at once!

" Shen Mu's vision gradually cleared: all around were green hills and clear waters, birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, and a white-haired old woman sat on a stool before the door of a house, leaning on a cane, smiling at him.

Shen Mu was stunned, and heard his own voice grown deep and rough, booming: "Mother, your son understands. I will go help at once. " Shen Mu was dazed for a moment, and only then noticed that he was handling an iron plow.

He saw his own exceedingly coarse palms set the plow down, and he rose to his feet, his body very tall, nearly twelve chi. Puzzled, Shen Mu looked down at his shadow on the ground, and his mind went off like thunder.

The shadow on the ground had ox horns, and behind its rump trailed an ox tail!

"No, this is not me. . .

" He felt that he could not control his own body; it walked toward the house ahead, and in that modest manor he saw a gentle, virtuous woman, her belly heavy, laboring to wash clothes.

He hurried forward and, striving to make his voice gentle, said: "Wife, take care you do not disturb the child in your womb.

Let me do it! " The woman struggled to straighten up; he hastily helped her to her feet, then sat down himself and began to scrub the clothes.

Then Shen Mu saw his own face in the water.

He had tiger eyes, tiger stripes upon his face, and a pair of nine-curved ox horns on his head. Though the eyes were like a tiger's, they were full of tenderness.

"Tubo. . .

" Shen Mu's mind went blank, and only after a moment did he come back to himself: "Is this the memory of the Life-Slaying Cauldron? That is to say, I have now fallen into the memories of Tubo's Life-Slaying Cauldron.

This cauldron has gained a spirit. .

.

" Tubo had once reincarnated in ages long past; the Soul-Suppressing Auxiliary Envoy had spoken of this matter, saying also that Tubo, being too ugly, was shunned by all, hounded and cursed, and that afterward the ancient gods and demigods plotted against him and killed his wife and daughter, so that Tubo's demonic nature ran out of control and he slew untold numbers of dreadful beings.

"The memory of the Life-Slaying Cauldron must be this very affair.

" Shen Mu felt as though he had become Tubo, reliving that stretch of memory.

Tubo was very gentle; though a rough fellow, he treated his wife exceedingly well, and she was a virtuous woman who honored her elders.

That old woman was Tubo's mother. She had been pregnant for years without giving birth, and in the year she finally bore Tubo, crows filled the sky beyond the window; when the child was born and they looked at him, he was a monster, with a tiger's face and ox horns.

Everyone around said he was the reincarnation of a demon king and wanted him killed, but the old woman kept Tubo, gave him the childhood name A Chou, and toiled bitterly to raise him to manhood.

When Tubo grew up, he displayed extraordinary strength and gained uncommon powers, but he was attached to his home and could not bear to leave his old mother.

Yet ugly as he was, there was still one who came to love him: his wife.

"However ugly, someone will still have him.

" The old woman was overjoyed, and doted on her daughter-in-law.

But his wife did not like to call him A Chou; she preferred to call him Brother A Niu.

The family lived in perfect harmony, and before long his wife gave birth, a boy and a girl. Tubo wept for joy, delighting in holding the two children, teaching them to cultivate; their days were carefree indeed.

The Tubo of this time, ugly though he was, seemed more like a man than the utterly selfless ancient god of Youdu. He was greatly renowned, yet he kept to himself and never made enemies of outsiders. Still, the lands around often suffered famine, and Tubo, generous with his wealth, gave relief to the households nearby, and by degrees the people treated him better and better.

"The people of the neighboring village say that demigods have been seen about lately.

" His wife, soothing the children, said to him: "They have eaten quite a few people, and they are asking after you.

" Tubo grunted in reply, and when he raised his head he saw the very demigod his wife had spoken of. "A Chou. A Niu. " That demigod's body was vast as a hill, and their little manor seemed utterly tiny beside it.