Chapter 802 — The Numbering of the Great Dao Hides a Mystery

"Dao One? Dao Two? Dao Twenty-Three?"

In a flash of lightning thought, a string of notions streaked through Shen Mu's mind. The Dao One and Dao Two on Yan Qiling's lips seemed to be numbers assigned to the various Great Daos — exceedingly strange.

And these numbers corresponded to the kinds of Great Dao: the Dao One of the martial Dao, the Dao One of the sword Dao, the Nether Capital's Dao Twenty-Three, the Mystic Capital's Dao Two.

Of the rest Shen Mu knew little, but the Mystic Capital's Dao Two was in fact the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire — the divine art he had constructed upon the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire.

If the Great Dao of Heavenly Fire was the Dao Two in Yan Qiling's mouth, then how many kinds of Great Dao existed in all?

Who would number these Great Dao divine arts?

Yan Qiling was so young — why did she know so much?

The Dao One she had just spoken of — the Dao One of which Great Dao was it?

Just then, he suddenly sensed a perilous throb coming from the other side of the mountain. The divine art Yan Qiling was using was utterly unfamiliar to him — an unfamiliar Great Dao, an unfamiliar divine art — and yet it possessed a grand and upright majesty!

"Not the Nether Capital system, not the Mystic Capital system, and it should not be the Primeval Capital's divine art system either!"

Shen Mu decided on the instant. Pressing his index and middle fingers together into the sword finger, he recalled the sword pellet he had sent flying and directed it to kill Yan Qiling on the far side of the great mountain.

He could not see Yan Qiling, but he could sense her position through her aura.

His feet moved at flying speed, his sleeves fluttering. A forward thrust of the sword finger was the Thrusting Sword Form; an upward flick was the Lifting Sword Form; with his arm still, the sword finger tracing a circle around his wrist was the Cloud Sword Form; a level slash was the Slashing Sword Form; a vertical cleave was the Cleaving Sword Form!

Point, Collapse, Hook, Scoop, Wipe, Sweep, Block, Intercept, Flower-Coil, Wander, Drill — seventeen fundamental sword techniques he unleashed.

He could not see Yan Qiling, yet every strike he executed with the utmost seriousness, gathering all his essence, energy, and spirit.

His greatest strength was his swordsmanship. His sword art struck where the enemy was forced to defend, achieving the aim of threatening the foe and compelling them to hold back their full power.

On the other side of the mountain, Yan Qiling danced like a startled swan, evading each streak of sword light. Then all at once her divine art erupted, striking through the mountain!

Separated by the mountain, Shen Mu could not see the divine art she was using. He could only feel an unmatched Dao resonance and hear a Dao sound as resounding as countless ancient gods chanting in unison.

Before his eyes there seemed to appear a magnificent and vast ancient Heaven Court. Upon the stars of the heavens stood the three hundred and sixty celestial star gods of the zodiac, the seventy-two Earthly Fiend gods, the thirty-six Heavenly Spirit gods, the five luminary gods, the sun and moon gods, forming a net of heaven and earth!

He also vaguely "saw" a giant of light and flame standing above the celestial gods — that was the Lord of Heaven!

Yet he also sensed mountains and rivers, dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, ancient gods such as dragons and phoenixes standing tall, the Primeval Tree lush and verdant, touching heaven and earth. Rivers, mountains, seas — countless ancient gods encircled the Primeval Tree, encircled a majestic female ancient god beneath it!

That was the Earth Mother.

And underground, in the realm of darkness, the Nine Bends' corners turned into magma and yellow springs flowing downward, and majestic beings with ox heads, tiger faces, and human bodies formed the Nether Capital.

That was the Earth Lord.

He also "saw" the four-phase ancient gods, the four directions and four emperors — the Dark Warrior, the Vermilion Bird, the Azure Dragon, the White Fox.

Most terrifying of all, Shen Mu saw an ancient, ancient Heaven Court, and a blurred and indistinct Great Emperor seated in the Lingxiao Hall, ruling over the ancient Heaven Court.

With his naked eyes he could not see Yan Qiling's position, could not see Yan Qiling's divine art, yet through her aura he sensed such a terrifying and magnificent vision!

That was the vision brought about by the Great Dao being mobilized. The celestial star gods represented different Great Daos of stellar power; the sun and moon and the five luminaries, the four directions and four emperors, also represented different Great Daos.

And the Primeval Capital's Earth Mother, the Mystic Capital's Lord of Heaven, the Nether Capital's Earth Lord also represented their respective Great Dao systems.

These visions appeared because Yan Qiling's divine art encompassed all these Great Daos, transforming them into a complete system and forging them into a single divine art.

"Dao One — not the Nether Capital's Dao One, nor the Mystic Capital's Dao One, but the Dao One of all Great Dao systems!"

Shen Mu came to his senses. His steps shifted, his body shook, and he manifested three heads and six arms.

"Yah—!"

His three heads opened their three mouths and roared. His hair stood on end in fury, the band binding his hair bursting apart with a crack, and the Three Pellets Art of the Mystic Body surged to its utmost in an instant!

Shen Mu was like a god, like a demon. Before him, the great mountain had already grown brittle and cracked beneath the power of Yan Qiling's divine art. Massive boulders, like magma surging up from the depths boiling rock into chunks — and yet in the next instant, countless rocks were shattered into fine powder!

The great mountain began to fall. Not sinking into the earth, but its base had completely shattered, unable to support the colossal mass.

Yet no matter how much the mountain fell, its body was in an instant shattered to pieces by that incomparably terrifying power.

In a single moment, the mountain peak lost a third of its height!

Yet the power of this one divine art of Yan Qiling's seemed not to diminish in the slightest. It came surging from the other side of the mountain, pressing down on Shen Mu with unmatched crushing force!

Amid the swirling smoke and dust, Shen Mu seemed to see in a daze the ancient Heavenly Emperor extending his palm and slapping down at him!

The smoke and dust shrouded the space around him, so that he could see nothing else — before his eyes there was only a great hand slapping toward him!

"Yan Qiling, I know your origins!"

Shen Mu roared with all his might, both hands controlling his sword, his sword fingers changing at flying speed, unleashing countless sword moves. At the same time, his other four arms grew incomparably thick, muscles bulging, blood vessels standing out beneath the skin, pulsing like azure dragons and giant pythons. In an instant he threw countless punches, each strike exhausting all his strength, freely releasing the terrifying destructive power within his flesh!

A Wondrous Peak Beyond the Heavens, a Thousand Palms Return!

His great martial Dao divine art erupted at this moment, meeting the great hand of the ancient god Heavenly Emperor — yet it was immediately crushed by that unmatched power.

The martial Dao founded by the Martial Combat Heavenly Master was utterly useless before this palm filled with vast heavenly majesty.

Shen Mu was blasted backward, and behind him the Gate of Heaven's Inheritance emerged. Demonic qi of the Nether Capital poured from the gate, madly drilling into the vertical eyes at the center of his three heads' brows. Those three vertical eyes opened, and light that could slay all flesh and soul shot out, slicing black wounds into space itself.

Yet still it could not block that palm.