Chapter 915 — The Spirit Wood's Core Radiance Bursts Forth

The three grew anxious and quickened their pace, racing out like wind and lightning. They ran more than a thousand li before they shook off those dozen or so from the other heavenly palaces. Just as they were about to speak, a red light suddenly appeared ahead, and from it came the sounds of battle.

'Celestial Venerable Mu has arrived! ' The three were overjoyed. Vimalakirti took the lead and ran toward the red light, saying urgently: 'Hurry!

Someone has already made a move. A step late and Celestial Venerable Mu will be killed by another!

' He was extremely fast; as he ran his body swelled, and in an instant he became a demon-god, roaring and bellowing.

Taoyu and Yun Huayan fell a step behind, each startled inwardly: 'Since Senior Brother Vimalakirti descended to the lower realm, his cultivation and strength have advanced by leaps and bounds! Truly as our honored master said — only in slaughter can one grow swiftly and comprehend deeper arts of the dao and divine powers!

' The two strained to catch up, when suddenly they saw a bizarre sight: a hole had abruptly appeared in Vimalakirti's head ahead of them, pierced clean through.

The two froze, and then a voice came to them: 'Fat Dragon, Sister Yan'er, I have discovered another use for the core of the Yuan Wood. Look — it can become an exceedingly fine wooden needle.

If I use the needle to practice my sword arts, say the simplest move, the thrust.

. . ' Taoyu had sharp eyes; at once he saw a wooden needle fine as a hair come before his own eyes!

Taoyu roared; runes flurried; he used the Heavenly Court Daoist sect's grand arts of divination to construct a defensive divine power, and in an instant several hundred Black Tortoise Divine Shields lay before him! The several hundred layers of Black Tortoise Divine Shields were pierced open by the wooden needle, so swiftly that there was only a soft pop.

The needle entered through Taoyu's left eye and came out the back of his head. Thunder crashed in Taoyu's head; his primordial spirit was dissolving. With difficulty he turned his head toward Yun Huayan: 'Senior Sister, run. .

.

' In the eyeball of his left eye a mass of bloody light spread, and on the surface of his pupil was mirrored Yun Huayan's figure. Yun Huayan was just driving her dao sword to cut at an incomparably slender wooden needle; at once a tiny needle-hole appeared on the brilliantly shining surface of the dao sword, and the next moment Yun Huayan gave a stifled groan as a faint bloody light burst from the back of her head.

Taoyu's sight grew murky.

Then he saw a colossal creature, half dragon and half qilin, come walking on clouds of fire; atop its head a youth raised two fingers and lightly pinched a small wooden needle.

On the youth's shoulder was a plump round bird, holding a spirit elixir in its beak to feed the dragon-qilin.

'Celestial Venerable Mu.

. . ' Taoyu's vision went dark, and his corpse fell.

Dragon Qilin walked neither fast nor slow toward the Great Prison, frowning at what lay below. Demon blood and divine blood had turned into stream after stream, utterly foul, and in those rivers of blood many worm-like monsters swam. 'So Imperial Preceptor Jingping and Emperor Yanfeng are imprisoned here?

' Dragon Qilin said in a rumbling voice: 'Emperor Yanfeng is one thing, but Imperial Preceptor Jingping loves cleanliness above all — can he bear it?

' Shen Mu flicked his finger, and the wooden needle flew out without a sound, meeting a dozen or so Heavenly Court experts charging toward them.

'Emperor Yanfeng does not care about cleanliness — he could sleep in a pigsty. Imperial Preceptor Jingping does indeed love cleanliness; I fear he has not been able to sleep. ' The needle flew back.

Dragon Qilin walked on.

Around him corpses fell from the sky one after another, flailing, and dropped into the rivers of blood; the blood rivers churned as if the pot had boiled over, and countless monsters stirred up waves, fighting furiously among themselves over the corpses. 'If the core of the Yuan Wood could become a wooden sword, it would be far too powerful.

' Shen Mu sighed, then suddenly grasped the wooden needle: 'Grow —' The needle remained as fine as ever, yet in an instant it grew to a hundred li in length, like a thread too faint to be discerned, reaching out a hundred li. Shen Mu gripped the hundred-li thread and executed a sword move. Several young Heavenly Court experts a hundred li away, before they knew what was happening, were suddenly torn into pieces.

Even performed at a distance of a hundred li, Shen Mu's sword art was still incomparably fine and precise — no one had the least chance to dodge!

And the core of the Yuan Wood was so slender it could scarcely be detected. 'This treasure the Earth Mother gave me is truly handy,' Shen Mu could not help praising again. At last they came to the Great Prison.

A warden barred their way, standing atop a gate forged from an enormous skull, looking down from on high, and called out: 'Who comes?

' 'Jingping Shen Mu.

' Shen Mu announced his name: 'I have come to visit a prisoner. ' The warden was startled and dared not be negligent.

He hurried to open the gate; the hundred-zhang-tall skull opened its great jaws and let them in. 'Celestial Venerable Mu truly dares to come to the Great Prison — what courage!

Pray enter, Celestial Venerable Mu. Many good friends await you within, and some have been waiting four or five months!

' Shen Mu walked into the city, and several hundred experts turned to look at him in unison, every eye gleaming.

'Celestial Venerable Mu.

. .

' someone murmured, unable to suppress his excitement, his body trembling.

Suddenly a young god flew out and called in a loud voice: 'There is only one Celestial Venerable Mu, and several hundred of us.

How shall we divide him? ' For a time there was an uproar outside the Great Prison; everyone talked at once. 'Gentlemen! Gentlemen!

' Shen Mu waited a while, but they still had not agreed on a plan, so he raised his voice: 'There is no need to discuss it further.

Look at my hand.

' The clamor stopped. Everyone looked at his hand, and saw that Shen Mu was pinching a small wooden needle.

Shen Mu smiled: 'Big.

' Boom — a wooden pillar a hundred li long and a hundred-odd zhang thick abruptly appeared.

He swung it up and swept it along the Great Prison, crushing all before it and leveling everything around with a single blow. Who knows how many were ground to powder!

The wooden pillar vanished without a trace.

The surviving Heavenly Court experts, flying in the air, were terrified beyond measure, frantically searching for where the pillar had gone.

Shen Mu said to the dumbstruck warden: 'Where is Jiang Baigui imprisoned?

' The warden shuddered with cold dread and said hastily: 'This way, Celestial Venerable. ' He led the way ahead, when suddenly a corpse fell from the sky and struck with a smack at his feet.

The warden was startled and quickly looked up: corpses were falling like rain from the sky. One Heavenly Court expert after another, as if meeting an invisible death-fiend, turned into corpses and plunged down from the air.