Chapter 910 — The Old Dynasty's Overlord Body, the Long Han Heavenly Venerable

Long Qilin and Yan'er waited until Shen Mu's state of mind had settled before stepping forward.

"Cult Master, are your wounds healed?"

Long Qilin studied Shen Mu. His vital essence was no longer draining away, and his complexion was much improved. He ventured, "Is the threat to your life gone now?"

"More or less. Only, my newborn soul is still very weak. I lost far too much vital essence before; this time I have merely resolved the threat to my life. My cultivation has not returned to its former peak."

Shen Mu examined himself and said, "My soul is like a newborn infant, which makes it very perilous, yet my spirit embryo is incomparably powerful. I imagine it will take some time of cultivation to restore the balance."

Yan'er let out a breath of relief and laughed. "Young Master's soul has only just been born, so how old are you now?"

Shen Mu thought it over carefully, then burst out laughing. "If we go by my fleshly body, I am now thirty-two years old. If we go by my soul, I have only just been born and have existed in this world for a single day. I am still an infant! Curious, truly curious!"

Long Qilin and Yan'er laughed.

Yan'er said with a smile, "Today is a great day. The Shepherd Heavenly Venerable has come into the world."

Shen Mu shook his head, strange feelings stirring in his heart. He had clearly lived thirty-two years, yet only today could be counted as his true birth. It was odd indeed.

His cultivation was still far from its peak. Though he had solved the problem of life and death, the earlier depletion had been too great; his vital essence and cultivation were now only a fifth of what they once were, a truly grievous loss. Moreover, he did not know where his cultivation realm now stood, for the seven great divine treasuries of the divine treasury cultivation system could no longer measure him as he was, and he could not compare himself to other divine arts practitioners. What gave him the worst headache was that he had only the spirit embryo divine treasury left, and none of his former techniques could be perfectly activated. Whether the Imperial Throne realm techniques he had learned or the Three Cinnabar Art of the Mystic Body he had created himself, all of them circulated sluggishly, and his vital essence ran in utter disorder.

Shen Mu had previously entered a dream, and in the dream world tested countless times. In the end he had entered the Dao within the dream, improving the Three Cinnabar Art of the Mystic Body so that he could survive. It was also by the improved Three Cinnabar Art of the Mystic Body that he had destroyed his heavenly palace and his various divine treasuries, ultimately achieving the opening of heaven and the cleaving of earth to endow soul and spirit, and thereby gaining rebirth. Yet even the improved Three Cinnabar Art of the Mystic Body could not be cultivated by him now! Because the improved Three Cinnabar Art of the Mystic Body was built upon the cultivation system of the seven great divine treasuries, and now he had only one divine treasury, the spirit embryo divine treasury, and this spirit embryo divine treasury was also different from the spirit embryo divine treasury of any divine arts practitioner or deity. The techniques of divine arts practitioners and deities were built upon the foundation of divine treasuries and the heavenly palace. With the foundation changed, the former techniques could no longer be used. The only one he could activate was the Sutra of Immeasurable Kalpas of the Buddha Great Brahma Heavenly King, because the old Buddha's technique was a kind of mind-learning; entering the Dao within a dream relied on the mind, and only cultivating within the dream to raise one's cultivation relied on the divine treasury cultivation system. He could use this technique to enter dreams, but he could not cultivate within the dream world either.

Shen Mu tried activating his divine arts and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The power of his divine arts remained, so his former learning and insights had not been entirely overturned. Had it been otherwise, it would have cost far too much time and effort.

He entered the dream again, and in the dream world countless tiny Shen Mus drilled out from his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and the space between his brows; some even emerged from among his hair. These diminutive Shen Mus discussed with solemn expressions how to adapt to the new spirit embryo divine treasury, speaking a language Long Qilin and Yan'er could not understand. One little Shen Mu stood at a high place, gesturing back and forth with vital essence, constructing Shen Mu's spirit embryo divine treasury and marking out the paths of vital essence circulation. He raised his arm and called out loudly, "Jigu! Jigu jigu!" The other diminutive Shen Mus all sneered and whispered to one another, "Jiji gugu! Guji guji!" That little Shen Mu flew into a rage and immediately activated the technique he had created. A moment later he suddenly spewed blood wildly. The other diminutive Shen Mus all laughed, "Maha maha!" Another diminutive Shen Mu climbed to the high place, intending to push down the Shen Mu who had vomited blood. The blood-vomiting Shen Mu still had a breath left, and grabbed his sleeve, his voice as faint as gossamer, "Guji..." "Maha!" Another little Shen Mu threw him down, then excitedly constructed his own spirit embryo divine treasury technique and displayed it to the countless tiny Shen Mus below, calling out loudly, "Guji! Guji guji!" The other Shen Mus observed, nodded again and again, and praised, "Guji!" That diminutive Shen Mu activated the spirit embryo divine treasury technique, and suddenly his whole body burst open, blood spraying in all directions, and he collapsed dead. The many diminutive Shen Mus below laughed heartily and said one after another, "Maha maha!"

Long Qilin and Yan'er were long since accustomed to this and no longer found it strange, but Yan'er was still extremely curious about the diminutive Shen Mus in Shen Mu's dream world, and she lay outside the dream world, watching with amusement the various ways these little people died. Those diminutive Shen Mus created techniques, tested techniques, and then met with a thousand bizarre ways of dying. Even more diminutive Shen Mus drilled out from Shen Mu's mind, continuing to test, fearless of death. They had their own unique language, which Yan'er could not understand either, yet the tiny Shen Mus communicated without hindrance, ensuring the flow of information.

Long Qilin carried them onward, and on this day they finally drew near the Surging River, hearing the river's roar and its surging crash. Just then, Long Qilin heard from atop his head, from within Shen Mu's dream world, an unusually loud clamor. Countless diminutive Shen Mus ran about joyfully in the dream world, cheering, tossing one diminutive Shen Mu up, catching him, tossing him up again and catching him again, their cheers unending.

"Sister Yan'er, what happened?" Long Qilin asked in alarm.

Yan'er said excitedly, "The Young Master has created a technique of his own!"