Chapter 920 — Battle Will Unbroken

Shen Mu laid out everything—the fruits of the Jingping Reform, the Ancient Gods' Great Dao runes, even Heaven Venerable Yu's divine treasuries and his own—in exhaustive detail, as though settling his affairs after death.

Xu Shenghua studied all the more earnestly. Though the method of recreating a soul was something he could learn but could not practice, and was of no use to him at all, he still studied it with full attention.

Shen Mu also wished to transmit to him the Mahābrahmā Heaven King Buddha's Immeasurable Kalpa Scripture. But the Immeasurable Kalpa Scripture, an Imperial Throne cultivation method, was exceedingly peculiar. When the Mahābrahmā Heaven King Buddha transmitted it to him, he had not taught him any scripture at all—Shen Mu had merely slept, and naturally knew how to wield the method.

When he tried to pass it to Xu Shenghua, he found he could not transmit it.

Shen Mu had no choice but to give up. He dispersed the dream, and the two walked out of the great hall. Only six days had passed outside.

"The journey to the Heavenly Court is truly perilous, and we do not know whence the peril will come. If the Sect Master goes, his life or death is uncertain."

Xu Shenghua said: "I know many do not understand you, thinking you arrogant, reckless, and willful. But I understand you. They see only your glory, thinking you love the spotlight and love to stir up trouble—they do not know how great the peril you face, nor how much you have sacrificed. You are staking your life to win a future for Jingping, to fight for a tomorrow."

Shen Mu laughed: "There is peril in going to the Heavenly Court, but it is not without a sliver of hope. It is precisely because of that tiny sliver of hope that I must go. If I do not go to the Heavenly Court, then Jingping—and indeed all living beings—will truly have no hope at all."

His eyes were clear as he said: "Do not worry too much for me. If I die, the fortune of the Overlord Body will transfer to you. With my fortune, you will no longer be the female one—you will be the true Overlord Body."

Xu Shenghua gave a cold snort.

Shen Mu continued: "If you also fail, there will be a new Overlord Body to receive your fortune and carry on. In the future, there will always be an Overlord Body smarter and stronger than you or me, who will accomplish what we could not. Stay your steps, fellow Daoist."

Within Xu Shenghua's chest surged a heroic spirit, and he longed to let out a long cry to the heavens and give vent to his fierce ambition. But the education he had received since childhood told him not to easily release his emotions, not to be ruled by them.

He suppressed this heroic spirit and halted his steps, not seeing Shen Mu off. He feared that if he did, he would be unable to resist becoming as unrestrained and full of heroic spirit as Shen Mu.

The longer one spent in Shen Mu's company, the easier it was to be infected by him.

"Husband, he said he is going to the Heavenly Court—does he know how to get there?" Jing Yan came over and asked.

"Qi Jiuyi knows. He is going to find Qi Jiuyi."

Xu Shenghua wrapped his arm around her waist and looked up at the Red Emperor's Palace, saying slowly: "Sect Master Shen carries a burden far heavier than mine. I never felt it before, but this time, when he transmitted his arts to me and said that if he died in the Heavenly Court the burden of the Reform would fall to me, only then did I feel how solid and heavy the weight he has borne."

Jing Yan leaned against his shoulder and said softly: "Sect Master Shen rushes about and toils—I have never seen him at leisure. Compared to him, we are far happier."

"Yes."

Xu Shenghua was full of emotion: "But who knows how long such happy days can last. I pray Sect Master Shen returns alive. Only if he returns alive can I continue to take things easy."

He paused, then said: "In the dream world, Sect Master Shen called me fellow Daoist. When I was lost and confused, he guided me out of my bewilderment. Yet I could sense that he too has his own confusion and bewilderment, and I could not point out a path for him. He treats me as a fellow Daoist, but I cannot do the same."

Jing Yan watched him quietly.

Xu Shenghua smiled bitterly: "I was once merely a visitor from the Upper Realm, intoxicated with the Dao. It was he who stirred in me the will not to concede, and I resolved to surpass him—that is why I joined the Jingping Reform. All along, I have been chasing after him. Without his encouragement, I would likely still be a false god in the Upper Realm, and even if I had achieved something, it would not have been much. It is because of his encouragement that I am what I am today. That word 'fellow Daoist'—I am unworthy of it."

Jing Yan took his hand and smiled: "Does my husband think Sect Master Shen is smarter, or that you are?"

"I am!"

Xu Shenghua answered without the slightest hesitation: "Sect Master Shen is clever too, but compared to me he is still a notch below!"

Jing Yan burst out laughing: "Since my husband is smarter than he is, what harm is there in being his fellow Daoist? I think my husband is in no way inferior to Sect Master Shen in any respect. What my husband lacks is merely Sect Master Shen's sharpness and edge—his spirit that fears nothing, dares to fight heaven itself, and never concedes defeat!"

Xu Shenghua was taken aback, then pulled her into his embrace: "The greatest fortune of my life is not that I met Sect Master Shen, but that I met you."

The Red Emperor's Palace.

Qi Jiuyi waved his hand, dismissing the Southern Heaven deities from the palace, and said: "Second Brother has already told me. Sect Master Shen wishes to go to the Heavenly Court and intends to borrow a path from me. Very well—I will go with you to the Heavenly Court."

Shen Mu raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Qi Jiuyi sneered: "It is not concern for you, but concern for Second Brother's safety! Second Brother and I swore brotherhood and made the Earth Lord's Pact. If he follows you to the Heavenly Court and dies there, I die with him!"

He was full of indignation. Remembering how he had gotten drunk in the Imperial Palace Divine Saber and sworn brotherhood with the Dragon Qilin, he felt a bellyful of stifled anger with no outlet.

Shen Mu glanced at the Dragon Qilin and thought: "Strange. How has Fat Dragon grown smarter and more sensible? He was always clever, but lazy beyond belief. Now he even knows to voluntarily share my burdens. Could it be..."

He glanced at Yan'er, who was seriously feeding the Dragon Qilin.

Shen Mu smiled and said: "Brother Qi, how do you plan to get to the Heavenly Court?"

Qi Jiuyi said: "If it were only a divine power wielder, we could simply have a deity send us through the world barrier. But this Yan'er..."

The Dragon Qilin coughed: "Third Brother, call her Sister."

Qi Jiuyi's eye twitched. He endured his patience and said: "But this Sister Yan'er is a half-god of the Lingxiao Realm. To go to the Heavenly Court, there are only two paths. Either the emperors blast through the world barrier, or we borrow a ship from the Red Emperor. We are not Imperial Throne powerhouses, so the only path left is to borrow a ship from my master."