Chapter 814 — The Secret Treasury of Unification

Shen Mu emptied his mind, using his own vital essence to sense the power of heaven and earth, gathering that power to open the Heavenly River Divine Treasury.

This was the method he had learned from the Heavenly Venerable Yu. The hardest part of opening the Heavenly River Divine Treasury was how to open it into the heavenly palace.

Relying on one's own strength alone could never accomplish it; even someone as powerful as Shen Mu did not possess such vast vital essence. Others who had cultivated to the Life-and-Death realm could not even dream of it.

Only the power of heaven and earth could create something from the void, forging a Heavenly River that pierced through the heavenly palace and all the divine treasuries! Individual power was limited, while the power of heaven and earth was unimaginably vast.

The Heavenly Venerable Yu, for instance, had no cultivation realm before opening the Primal Embryo Divine Treasury; his vital essence was shallow, and he could only be counted as a martial artist. Yet the Heavenly Venerable Yu, having mobilized the power of heaven and earth, could open the Primal Embryo Divine Treasury within his own body from nothing, building the Spirit Terrace and refining the Spirit Fetus.

If one relied purely on cultivation, one would need at minimum the strength of the Heaven-Man realm, and one's art of creation would have to reach its peak, to accomplish this step—and even then, success was not guaranteed. The power of heaven and earth Shen Mu mobilized grew greater and greater, his aura more and more terrifying.

Above the residence spun a madly whirling vortex, while beneath everyone's feet was a massive dark vortex, still expanding. The crowd, who had been studying the blessings of the gods behind the Heavenly Venerable Yu's head, had long grown accustomed to the things that happened to Shen Mu these days, yet they found this time was different. Previously Shen Mu had often borrowed the power of heaven and earth to open various divine treasuries; after being shocked a few times, they had gradually grown used to it, at most cursing him as a freak.

This time, however, the vortex expanded far faster than before, already surpassing the great mansion, extending into the streets, shrouding several other city blocks. The guards of the capital were alarmed and sent soldiers to investigate, thinking some old demon had lurked into the capital to stir up trouble. Emperor Yanfeng sent them back, saying, "It is Shen Mu, my dear Minister Shen.

" The soldiers suddenly understood and withdrew, ordering the demon-subduing army to retreat, saying, "It is that old demon, Sect Master Shen. " The dark vortex on the ground continued to expand rapidly, gradually covering the Imperial Academy as well, even invading more than half the imperial city.

Panic spread through the capital. They walked upon the darkness, fearing they might fall through, but they did not fall, and only then did they feel slightly reassured.

Some children playing in the street saw the darkness spread beneath their feet and immediately burst into loud crying. A mother rushed over, scooped up her child, and flew into the house, shutting the door tight and bolting it.

From many houses in the capital came the faint sounds of children crying, along with parents' voices: "If you keep crying, the great old demon with the green face and fangs will jump out and carry you away! " The vortex above the capital was less terrifying, composed of lights of various colors, also expanding madly, with lightning flashing and thunder rolling within.

At last, the two massive vortices caught the entire capital between them.

Fierce winds raged above the capital, lightning struck like rain, all of it crashing down toward Shen Mu's residence. Just then, the two massive vortices shuddered violently.

A dark, heavy pillar of light surged up from the ground, and a brilliantly bright pillar of light descended from the sky, colliding with a thunderous boom! The two great vortices spun madly, the light pillars growing more violent—the dark darker, the bright brighter!

At the center where the two light pillars clashed, Shen Mu gathered the power of heaven and earth into his body, channeling it into his brow.

His hands shifted through countless transformations, forming one hand seal after another, and then suddenly more arms sprouted from behind him, also frantically forming seals, opening the Heavenly River within his body. Suddenly, he paused, sensing a strange power from afar. This power seemed to be the power of the true Heavenly River—vast and profound, surging endlessly.

Shen Mu's heart stirred. This power came from the south, likely from the direction of the Yong River.

"Could the Yong River truly be the Heavenly River? " While forming seals, he carefully sensed the source of this power.

His consciousness flowed upstream, following the power onward. His consciousness was incomparably powerful precisely because he had received the Crimson Emperor's inheritance and cultivated the indestructible consciousness—incomparably tenacious, able to extend to extremely distant places.

When the Crimson Emperor died in the Chiming Suspended Realm, his mind did not perish; part of his consciousness even scattered throughout the cosmos, sensed by the Ming Emperor, who thereby found the Chiming Suspended Realm. This showed the formidable nature of the indestructible consciousness.

Soon, Shen Mu's consciousness leaped across countless thousands of miles, and from afar he saw a great river surging and roaring, rolling onward.

From the flow and geography, it was the Yong River. "The Yong River is the Heavenly River. Those who open the Heavenly River Divine Treasury after me will find it much easier.

" Shen Mu was overjoyed.

Although he believed the Heavenly River Divine Treasury was the best seventh divine treasury, simply mobilizing the power of heaven and earth to open a divine treasury would eliminate the vast majority of cultivators; those who could open the Heavenly River Divine Treasury were likely very few.

"Fortunately, the Yong River is the Heavenly River.

They can come directly to the Yong River and borrow the Heavenly River's power to shape the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, without the trouble I went through.

" Shen Mu was about to withdraw his consciousness when he suddenly paused. His indestructible consciousness "saw" mist surging in the river.

Shen Mu immediately halted his consciousness and "gazed" from afar, seeing a woman's figure swaying in the mist. The woman was simply dressed in an antique style—a leopard-skin skirt, a short jacket, straw sandals on her feet, and a peach-wood hairpin casually stuck in her hair.

"Heavenly Venerable Ling. .

.

" Shen Mu was stunned, then urged his indestructible consciousness to chase after the woman on the river. His consciousness entered the mist, speeding through it, yet the woman in the mist on the river seemed still far away.

No matter how fast his consciousness flew, he could never close any distance!

Shen Mu "saw" the mountains on both banks of the Yong River rise and fall, the trees continually withering and flourishing, and suddenly he understood. The rising and falling of the mountains, the withering and flourishing of the trees—these were actually scenes from history. The Yong River had not changed, but all around it had undergone the transformations of time; mountains had sunk underground, and mountains had arched up from beneath the earth.

The trees went from old age to youth, then to saplings, then to seeds. His consciousness was not flying—it had never moved at all.

This wondrous divine ability reminded him of the power the Heavenly Venerable Ling had envisioned—the divine ability of matter that does not change or alter.

The scenery on both banks of the Yong River grew stranger and stranger.