Chapter 787 — Within and Beyond the Chessboard

Shen Mu examined Indra Heavenly King Buddha's injuries and laughed: "Although many bones are broken, Martial Combat Heavenly Master showed great restraint. None of the wounds on your Buddha body are severe; the primordial spirit is unharmed. " Indra Heavenly King Buddha looked at him with a complicated expression.

He had thought Shen Mu was simply making a jest, never expecting that the Divine Bridge's divine treasury had actually shattered. "After all, he and I are old acquaintances, and there is a certain friendship between us; he would not deal me a killing blow.

But you. .

. " He sighed.

"Your Divine Bridge divine treasury has been ruined. What is to be done from now on. .

.

That old scoundrel, he struck so hard! Did he not know you are a descendant of Kaihuang? " Yet Indra Heavenly King Buddha also knew that Martial Combat Heavenly Master had never feared heaven or earth, and gave no one any face. In the old days, when Kaihuang's descendants broke the law and caused trouble, he would slaughter them on the spot, and even when Kaihuang learned of it, he said nothing. "In truth, it has nothing to do with you. " Shen Mu paced around him, his ten fingers flying and forming visions of lotuses, treasure vases, gods and Buddhas, and he used the Creation art to reconnect his broken bones.

"Rather, he and I made an agreement: he would go guard the kingdom of Jingping, while I destroy the Divine Bridge divine treasury and open it anew, thoroughly resolving the Divine Bridge problem for everyone in the Douniu Realm, the Ruins, and Jingping. What I said just now about taking a punch to save you was only a joke.

" Indra Heavenly King Buddha still frowned. "But to destroy your Divine Bridge divine treasury outright, that is going a bit too far. " Shen Mu stopped. Before and behind him, a thousand arms bloomed like a flower, each clasping a different Creation mudra, which he stamped upon the other's body. Then the thousand arms withdrew, and all the manifestations faded. He smiled slightly.

"Only by burning the boats can one be truly valiant; only by cutting off all retreat can one press forward. I am very grateful that he took the initiative to shatter my divine treasury, stripping away every hesitation and leaving me with a single mind and no lingering illusions! " Indra Heavenly King Buddha rose to his feet and moved his limbs, discovering that his wounds had already healed for the most part.

Astonished, he gave a silent word of praise, then shook his head.

"You are both madmen, you and he. " "One cannot achieve true living without a touch of madness. " Shen Mu steadied his breathing, his gaze deep. "I studied the martial way under Martial Combat Heavenly Master for some time. What I learned was not his techniques or divine powers, but the spirit of the martial way.

What is the spirit of the martial way? Persistence! Once you have that spirit, you must act on it, carry it through to the end, and make it real! And also. .

.

" He smiled. "In the ancient age, the seven who opened the divine treasuries were honored as the Seven Celestial Venerables.

They created out of nothing, opening the seven divine treasuries and establishing the cultivation system of divine treasuries for later ages. They made something from nothing, whereas I already know that something exists, so the difficulty for me is much smaller.

I absolutely can open the Divine Bridge divine treasury. " He had a mighty conviction.

That conviction was not simply something the village head's one phrase about an overlord's physique could have given him; it came from long years of experience and hardship. Ever since he had returned to the ancient era, arriving at the beginning of Longhan, meeting the Seven Celestial Venerables, and living through a series of upheavals in those early Longhan days, his faith and confidence had grown ever stronger.

At the Jasper Lake Gathering, Yutian Zun had been assassinated, and the Heavenly Palace Godhood Method, which should have been passed down by Haotian Zun, was passed down by him!

It was he who had transformed into Yutian Zun, improvised the Heavenly Palace Godhood Method on the spot, and taught it to everyone at the gathering! His natural talent was in no way inferior to anyone else's.

Indra Heavenly King Buddha looked at him, a complicated look in his eyes. From this youth he saw the shadow of another man. "In those days, Kaihuang too was bold and energetic, with great boldness and great tenacity, and that was why he could gather so many people bearing all kinds of talents and harboring all kinds of dreams.

" He thought to himself: *This one is more restless than Kaihuang, not as steady, and quite naughty, but his will is more stable, more tenacious, and he dares more. * He broke into a smile.

"What do you plan to do from now on?

" Shen Mu's eyes sparkled, and he smiled.

"Buddha King, would you be interested in going to see Earth Mother Yuanjun?

" Indra Heavenly King Buddha's expression changed slightly; he was not eager in his heart. Shen Mu laughed. "Buddha King was one of the Four Heavenly Kings back then, and you fled the Buddhist Realm carrying a great black pot, fleeing the Red Emperor's pursuit.

You do not even fear the Red Emperor—how can you fear the already dead Earth Mother Yuanjun?

" "It is not that I fear Earth Mother Yuanjun, but that I fear I will implicate you. " Indra Heavenly King Buddha sighed. "You truly should not be entangled too deeply with Kaihuang's remnants—it is too perilous for you. Kaihuang's remnants have preserved a great deal of strength. Jingping is still not taken seriously by the Outer Heavenly Court, but with the addition of Kaihuang's remnants, they cannot afford to ignore it. Woodcutter Heavenly Master is the foremost of the Four Great Heavenly Masters, but even he has places his gaze cannot reach. For instance, letting the strength of Kaihuang's remnants help Jingping rise is, in my view, a blunder.

" Shen Mu listened quietly.

Indra Heavenly King Buddha said: "The Outer Heavenly Court does not dread Jingping; it dreads Kaihuang and dreads the Worryfree Village. By using the power of the Kaihuang era to help Jingping rise, Woodcutter Heavenly Master will surely make the Outer Heavenly Court target Jingping. Jingping, which they originally never took seriously, now they must take seriously. Moreover, with the unsealing of the Primal Realm this time, I see an even more ominous outlook. " The layers of Buddha light behind his head, which had been extinguished by Martial Combat Heavenly Master's blow, blazed back into being.

He said: "The remnant forces of the Chiming era dwell around the southern seas; the remnants of Kaihuang have appeared around the Ruins; and with the Primal Realm's seal broken, the remnants of Shanghuang have also emerged. Jingping, Kaihuang, Shanghuang, Chiming—the surviving strength and the picked elites of four eras now appear in the same world. " Shen Mu suddenly gave a chill. Indra Heavenly King Buddha continued: "You have not yet been to the Great Thunderclap Temple, have you? I was once the Tathagata there, and I know what it was like before the sealing.

Heh heh, now that the Primal Realm's seal is broken, I fear the Sumeru Mountain of the Great Thunderclap Temple has already joined with the Sumeru Mountain of the Buddhist Realm.

Above the Great Thunderclap Temple are the Twenty Heavens of the Buddhist Realm! " Shen Mu felt a shudder of cold. "The Primal Realm's seal broken, the Buddhist Realm drawn in as well. So many eras, so many powers—all of them forces the Outer Heavenly Court wants to eradicate—now all together in the Primal Realm. What does that mean?

It means fighting among themselves; it means being wiped out in a single net!