Chapter 848 — The Blazing Heavenly Venerable

He turned around, and his face had already become Mu Qing's face.

"It's you!

" The Fire Heavenly Venerable's expression changed drastically. Shen Mu seized the moment, put his strength into his toes, and leaped backward into the Heaven-Bearing Gate behind him, his body arcing back, about to fall into the darkness.

The Fire Heavenly Venerable's dharma power erupted, his five fingers splayed wide, and just as Shen Mu was about to plunge into Youdu he felt a vast, profound dharma power pin him in place! He looked outward: beyond the Heaven-Bearing Gate, the Fire Heavenly Venerable was like a god whose head held up the sky and whose feet stood upon the earth, exalted on high, the flames around him burning the very space about him into distortion.

"Mu Heavenly Venerable, it has indeed been a long time since we last met. " His voice seemed to come from another world; that vast dharma power was beyond imagining — even across a whole world, his dharma power could still lightly hold Shen Mu's life and death in its grasp.

"Do you still remember the grand gathering at the Jade Pool in those years?

" The Fire Heavenly Venerable said slowly, "A million years, is it not? What makes me curious is that after a million years you have made no progress at all — as weak as ever. " The distance between Shen Mu and him was closing rapidly; he was about to be returned to the Heavenly Court once more.

Yet at that very moment, a paper boat appeared in the Fire Heavenly Venerable's sight, an old man standing at its prow, holding up a storm lantern.

The Fire Heavenly Venerable suddenly felt his dharma power severed; he stopped at once and gazed across the distance at the old underworld courier on the paper boat. One of them stood at the topmost floor of the Heavenly Court's Pavilion of Stored Archives, where all was light; the other stood within Youdu, where all was darkness.

"You Heavenly Venerable.

" The Fire Heavenly Venerable's eye twitched; he spoke softly. The old man in the darkness said mildly, "Fire Heavenly Venerable.

" The Fire Heavenly Venerable's gaze was complicated; he said in a low voice, "In those years we were both of the Seven Heavenly Venerables, the closest of friends — why has it come to this confrontation today? You Heavenly Venerable, ever since the Yu Heavenly Venerable died you have sunk into ruin.

You should never have gone to Youdu. Once you went to Youdu, your temper grew ever more perverse and withdrawn, and at last you took the crooked path.

I still remember: when the Yu Heavenly Venerable died, you wore a ghost-faced mask and wept bitterly for him, convulsing with grief.

In those days you were all feeling and all holiness; I found your character tiresome, but I did not dislike you.

" "When the Yu Heavenly Venerable died, you wept too. " The underworld courier on the paper boat seemed to show no ripple of emotion at all; he said calmly, "And yet afterward you sank into ruin, and at last you took the crooked path. The upright Fire Heavenly Venerable of those years died along with the Yu Heavenly Venerable. Standing in the darkness and looking at you, I no longer recognize you. " The Fire Heavenly Venerable's pupils shrank sharply. At that moment, from behind him came that aged voice, rushing at flying speed toward the topmost floor of the Pavilion of Stored Archives: "Has an enemy invaded the Pavilion of Stored Archives? Impossible — this is a sealed space, and it lies in the very heart of the Heavenly Court, a forbidden zone within a forbidden zone.

.

. " In the darkness, the old underworld courier's paper boat carried Shen Mu away into the distance. The Fire Heavenly Venerable's expression returned to normal; he waved his hand lightly, as though seeing them off. As his palm lifted, Shen Mu's Heaven-Bearing Gate was completely erased by him, leaving no trace behind.

Behind him, a white-haired old Daoist climbed to the topmost floor, looked all around, and saw no one at all; a look of suspicion came over his face, and he said, "No invaders?

" The Fire Heavenly Venerable said indifferently, "My senses were mistaken. No one has been here. Why is the Dao Ancestor not here?

" The old Daoist laughed.

"The Dao Ancestor has not returned here for a hundred years or more. He is a dragon that shows its head but never its tail; I do not know when he will come back either. " The Fire Heavenly Venerable nodded slightly and said, "Dao Master, activate the Pavilion of Stored Archives, imprint the runes, and send them to the Creation Divine Artifact.

I will go on ahead. " The old Daoist hastily stirred his dharma power; all the jade slips in the Pavilion of Stored Archives flew up toward the jade pillar at the center, and at once a pillar of light rose from below, shining upon the phantom of the Yu Heavenly Venerable at the very top.

"Hold! " The old Daoist shouted, fixing those rays of light in place, then drew his sword and cut the phantom of the Yu Heavenly Venerable out of the jade pillar.

Strange to say, though he cut away a great chunk of that jade pillar, it began to grow back bit by bit, and soon was restored as before. Within this block of jade, the Yu Heavenly Venerable and those rune imprints still remained, clear and visible — for this old Daoist had used his dharma power to drive the runes, imprinting them into the fine jade.

Had Shen Mu, Lin Xuan and the others still been present, they would surely have been struck dumb, stamping their feet in secret frustration. They had thought only of how to record these rune dao; Shen Mu had even refined a bright mirror, rebuilding the space within it by main force, spending a very long time before he succeeded in forging a treasure capable of imprinting these rune dao.

Yet even they, clever beyond measure as they were, had never imagined that the way to imprint these rune dao lay at the very topmost floor — and was so simple! One need only imprint the rune dao, then cut it off and carry it away, and one would obtain all the rune dao of the Pavilion of Stored Archives, leaving no trace behind. Only, the cleverer a man is, the more easily he gets stuck on a point.

The Fire Heavenly Venerable walked down the stairs and soon came outside the Pavilion of Stored Archives.

Yet he hesitated, and did not head for the Lingxiao Treasure Hall; he said silently in his heart, "Mu Heavenly Venerable, you have appeared again. Is this time the real you?

In the dark years past you appeared many times, and yet I knew it was not you. " He looked toward the distant Lingxiao Treasure Hall, his expression shifting: "Though you struck me, you investigated the murderer for the Yu Heavenly Venerable and avenged him; in my heart I bear you no hatred at all — rather, I am full of respect.

But what have you come for this time? You do not know that this is no longer a million years ago.

You now are too weak.

. . " He withdrew his gaze and walked in the direction opposite the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

In Youdu, Shen Mu stood on the boat, looking all around, searching for Lin Xuan, Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu, and said, "I pushed them into Youdu; they should have landed nearby. " The old underworld courier at the prow hung the storm lantern on the bow and said, "Youdu is so vast.

They are not living beings of Youdu, nor are they the divine son of Youdu, the Mingdu Heavenly King. Here they cannot use divine abilities, nor fly; of course they will fall, just as you did in those years, straight down.

If they are not gods, they will likely fall for several hundred years and then die of old age — or they may simply suffocate.

There is no air in the darkness; they cannot breathe.

" Shen Mu stared at him and said, "You could catch me, so you can catch them too. " The old underworld courier said mildly, "I entrusted the Yu Heavenly Venerable to you. Where is the Yu Heavenly Venerable?