Chapter 778 — The Hidden Sorrow of the Blazing Sun Venerable

Shen Mu flew like a demon king through the night sky, searching and scanning everywhere. He searched for a long time but never found Lu Li and his three companions. Youdu was simply too vast—a single thorough search would take a year or two, and Lu Li and the others certainly were not going to stay put waiting for him to find them. "Little brother, I'm tired. I'm going back.

" Shen Fengqing had lost interest.

The moment he said this, he fell silent abruptly.

Shen Mu was stunned, and immediately felt his own power ebbing away wildly. Shen Fengqing had actually returned to the Shen Continent and voluntarily entered his own seal! When Shen Fengqing returned to the seal, the Life-Slaying Cauldron followed him, burrowing into Shen Mu's brow, and went along with Shen Fengqing into the Shen Continent!

Shen Mu at once abandoned his search for Lu Li and the others. Without Shen Fengqing's power now, he was merely a celestial-realm adept; wouldn't searching for Lu Li be suicide? What he found strange was that Shen Fengqing had always hated being sealed.

Why had he now thrown himself into the seal willingly, and with such apparent contentment? He did not use the willow-leaf seal over the third eye in his brow; a sliver of his indestructible divine sense flew into the Shen Continent, where he saw the big-headed doll gleefully counting the arms and legs of the powerful divine essences stored there, rattling off numbers one by one. Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Clearly Shen Fengqing had found food; being sealed was a small matter, since outside he could never find such "nutrient-rich fare. " "Glutton. " Shen Mu shook his head.

This time he had returned to the Jade Lock Pass of Youdu to fetch the paper boat. Without Shen Fengqing's help, flying alone back to the Eye of Tubo would take him more than a decade. So retrieving the paper boat and riding it back would actually save him over ten years. He noticed the Youdu Life-Slaying Cauldron.

The great cauldron was still following Shen Fengqing, while Shen Fengqing counted his food in high excitement, paying the cauldron no heed at all. "This cauldron swallowed half the Nether Sea, and the Nether Sea is made of soul-black sand. The Nether Sovereign must have spent no end of effort to refine the Nether Sea to such a scale.

Now it has all come to naught.

" Shen Mu also thought of the half-beam of dim light that the Life-Slaying Cauldron had devoured. That dim light was a treasure refined by the Nether Sovereign, no small thing. But now the cauldron had settled by Shen Fengqing, as if it recognized Shen Fengqing, not Shen Mu, as Tubo. "Then those faces in the cauldron—they must not have been calling me 'Ugly,' but calling my big brother 'Ugly'. . .

" Just as this thought crossed his mind, demonic qi surged from the great cauldron and spilled outward, like darkness shrouding Shen Fengqing. A face floated out from the demonic qi, staring straight at the big-headed doll, and said in an odd tone: "Ugly. " Shen Fengqing glanced at the face and shook his head.

"Little brother isn't here. Where was I in my counting? " "Ugly," the face continued. "Little brother isn't here!

Annoying! " Shen Fengqing said crossly. More faces emerged from the demonic qi in the cauldron and called to him: "Ugly. " Shen Fengqing flushed with anger and shouted, "I already told you he's not—wait, are you calling me?

" The faces smiled and slowly nodded: "Ugly. " "I'm not ugly.

Little brother is ugly," said Shen Fengqing. Hearing this, Shen Mu sneered: "Big brother has no self-awareness.

I knew those faces weren't calling me. " The white-bearded old man who was the incarnation of the Heavenly Duke appeared from somewhere and said, "Those faces were calling you.

Little fellow, your divine sense is here too. " He pointed, and Shen Mu's wisp of consciousness was pulled down against his will, assuming his true form.

Shen Mu looked around.

The Crimson Emperor's consciousness and a bird-headed, human-bodied divine being were hiding in the Shen Continent, peering this way.

"That bird god looks a bit familiar. .

. " Shen Mu was startled, confused.

"Didn't I see him in the Dragon Han Heavenly Court?

He's the Great Sun Star Lord who was beaten black and blue by Senior Brother Niu Sanduo.

. .

" The Heavenly Duke's avatar said, "That's exactly the Great Sun Star Lord. He died long ago. Little bird, Daoist Crimson Emperor, come over here.

Don't worry—he has food now, he won't eat you! " The Crimson Emperor's consciousness came over, but the Great Sun Star Lord still dared not emerge.

Shen Mu smiled and said, "Star Lord, rest easy. Your flying speed is unmatched in the world; my brother cannot catch you.

" The big-headed doll glanced at the Great Sun Star Lord and said, "He can catch you.

Grab your wings and you won't get away. " The Great Sun Star Lord hesitated, then stepped out cautiously, poised for immediate flight, and said, "I was caught because I wasn't paying attention.

If I'm prepared, no one can catch me. " Shen Mu said, "Star Lord, how did you die? " The Heavenly Duke sneered: "He died of stupidity.

He knew too much, and couldn't keep his mouth shut. He literally bored himself to death. " Shen Mu became interested and asked curiously, "What did the Great Sun Star Lord know?

Why did he die for knowing too much? Star Lord, would you be willing to tell me?

" The Great Sun Star Lord snorted, "I died precisely because I was talkative. If I tell you, won't I be torn to soul-scattering bits? " Shen Mu said kindly, "Star Lord, if you don't tell me, you'll soon be soul-scattered and devoured by my brother. " The Great Sun Star Lord hesitated, looked at the Heavenly Duke and the Crimson Emperor.

The white-bearded old man coughed repeatedly; the Crimson Emperor looked up at the sky.

"Heavenly Duke. .

. " "Don't look at me. I'm also curious how you died.

" The Heavenly Duke shook his head. "As early as the middle of the Dragon Han era, the heavenly court was enshrouded by the Heavenspan Net.

I could no longer see it. You were the chief of all the stellar lords, in charge of all the net-managing gods of the heavenly court.

You knew more about the court than I did. To this day I still cannot see the court's inner scene.

" The Great Sun Star Lord hesitated for a long while, glanced at the big-headed doll still counting, then steeled himself: "I don't know which secret it was that killed me.

When the war broke out, I was attacking the heavenly court built by Cloud Venerable, and I was killed by an arrow from behind.

I was charging forward, someone shot me in the back, and I died. " All fell silent. Shen Mu coughed. "Then, Star Lord, which matter do you think it was that got you shot? " The Great Sun Star Lord thought awhile, and said, "It wasn't the death of the Imperial Venerable—that was a big stir, but there were many rumors.

I said a thing or two, but everyone was saying them. Nor was it the Crown Prince affair—General Wuqi's rebellion. I knew many inside details, but I didn't tell many people. Could it be the Empress assault? Or the Jade Pool upheaval? Or the Tubo Slaughter of Heaven?

Maybe the Tubo Slaughter—I knew a lot of secrets in that.

But it could also be the Yulin Legion time-crossing affair. Oh, and there was the Heavenly Duke's reincarnation affair.

There were plenty of hidden strings in that too. . . " Shen Mu was dumbfounded. So many things had happened in the Dragon Han Heavenly Court? He had crossed to the early years of the Dragon Han era and stayed only briefly. He never imagined so many interesting things would happen later! He wanted to hear every single thing the Great Sun Star Lord mentioned and learn the full truth of each! "Great Sun Star Lord, why not tell them one by one, clearly? " His eyes glinted. "One by one!

And the present Celestial Emperor—you know who that is, don't you?