Chapter 931 — At the Road's End, an Immortal Bridge Is Raised

Yun Jianli was both shocked and overjoyed. So violently was he stirred that his divine consciousness abruptly fell into disorder, and his vital essence nearly ran out of control; he hastily took out several spirit pills and swallowed them.

Yun Jianli roused the power of the medicine, and only then did his disordered divine consciousness settle. He said, "Forgive me, Heavenly Venerate, for losing my composure. If you do not disdain it, Heavenly Venerate may lodge in my Yun household. After all, the Yun residence is also a Heavenly Venerate's residence; anyone who would move against it must weigh the matter carefully."

He smiled bitterly. "Though the men of our Yun family are of no great ability, the wives we take are all extraordinary. To speak frankly, my own wife is a remarkable person, far more capable than I. The grandmothers and great-grandmothers of every generation were formidable women too, exceedingly formidable—only, they have spoiled me a little too much."

Shen Mu laughed. "I am a Heavenly Venerate myself. If they wanted to kill me, the Heavenly Venerate's residence of your Yun family could not shelter me either. If they dare kill a Heavenly Venerate, why would they care about the Yun family?"

Yun Jianli knitted his brows slightly and said to Yun Chuxiu, "Little sister, I will stay here a few days. You go back to the Yun residence first, and report to my mother and my great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers that I am safe."

Yun Chuxiu assented, rose, and said with a smile, "I would like to lodge here as well; I mean to ask the Heavenly Venerate for guidance on difficulties in cultivation. I will come back in a while. Heavenly Venerate, you won't drive me away, will you?"

Shen Mu shook his head. "I won't. There are quite a few rooms here; you two may stay as long as you please."

Yun Chuxiu walked out of the Winding Silk Corridor Pavilion.

Shen Mu rose and said with a smile, "Let me find you a place to stay."

Yun Jianli followed him, and the two walked out of the Winding Silk Corridor Pavilion; Qi Jiuyi, Yan'er, and the Dragon Qilin came out as well.

The scenery of the Jade Pool was a beauty beyond compare, more splendid and dazzling even than when Shen Mu had come here in years past. Shen Mu walked on slowly, enjoying the view along the way, and suddenly said, "How did Brother Yun come to know Yun Chuxiu?"

Yun Jianli smiled. "Has the Heavenly Venerate taken a fancy to her?"

Shen Mu laughed aloud. "A gentle maiden is a gentleman's true mate. Though I am soon to die, I think I might yet play the suitor once."

Yun Jianli's expression gradually turned grave. "To be frank with the Heavenly Venerate, I do not know her roots."

Shen Mu was slightly taken aback. "She is your sworn sister, and you do not know where she came from?"

Yun Jianli went on. "I had never heard of this person before. Not long ago she suddenly appeared in the Heavenly Court, and her coming caused a stir; there is no telling how many suitors she has. Yet she drew close to me, again and again showing signs of tenderness, and nearly brought a death sentence down upon my head. Not long ago I was challenged by her suitors times beyond counting! Luckily I have some small skill, and lived. So I grew wary in my heart."

Shen Mu smiled. "Why did Brother Yun grow wary?"

"I am a man soon to die. A woman so beautiful, with countless suitors—even the lofty God Kings look upon her with favor. Her prospects are bright, and yet she draws near to me, a dying man."

Yun Jianli said calmly, "I am not so self-smitten as Qi Jiuyi. I know she approaches me for another purpose, and so I simply became her sworn brother and kept her at my side, to see what she means to do."

Qi Jiuyi was still in a daze, not yet woken from Yun Chuxiu's beauty, when he suddenly murmured with a low laugh, "What should we name our child?"

Shen Mu shot him an astonished glance, not knowing what Qi Jiuyi was mooning over.

"Has Brother Yun discovered Yun Chuxiu's purpose?" Shen Mu asked.

Yun Jianli smiled faintly. "I have. Her purpose in approaching me is the Heavenly Venerate Mu."

Shen Mu was startled, then laughed despite himself. "Yun Chuxiu's purpose is me? How is that possible? Brother Yun, don't joke!"

Yun Jianli said gravely, "With the Heavenly Venerate Mu's arrival in the Heavenly Court, I, the only male of the Yun family, would surely come to pay my respects according to the ancestral instructions. Through me lies the best path to make the Heavenly Venerate Mu's acquaintance. And moreover..."

He stopped. Shen Mu stopped too, and smiled. "And moreover what?"

"And moreover, as one of the strongest of the Divine Bridge realm in the Heavenly Court, if I were to kill the Heavenly Venerate Mu out of jealousy over a woman, it would be greatly to the Yun family's disadvantage."

Yun Jianli smiled. "And if I, the only eldest son of the Yun family, were to die at the Heavenly Venerate Mu's hands, that would be even more interesting. The Yun family's great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers would in their rage kill the Heavenly Venerate Mu. Thus the Heavenly Venerate Mu dies, and the Yun family is exterminated as well—two birds with one stone."

Shen Mu laughed aloud. "Would you be jealous?"

Yun Jianli panted a few breaths and shook his head. "I would not. I long ago ceased to care about life and death; how could she provoke me? My only worry is that the Heavenly Venerate Mu may not withstand her provocation."

Shen Mu said, "That is hardly likely. Though she is very beautiful, in my heart she is not the most beautiful."

Yun Jianli asked curiously, "Then what does the Heavenly Venerate Mu consider the most beautiful of women?"

Shen Mu answered without a moment's thought, "Big breasts, a full round backside, flesh on her bones, strong and sturdy!"

Yun Jianli was struck dumb.

A long while passed before he came to himself, and he said with a smile, "The Heavenly Venerate Mu's view of his beloved is truly singular. To speak frankly, there was another reason I sent Yun Chuxiu away. It is another of my ancestor's dying instructions."

Shen Mu said gravely, "What did the Heavenly Venerate Yun's instructions say?"

Yun Jianli said, "My ancestor repeatedly showed himself in the guise of the Heavenly Venerate Mu, impersonating him as he walked the Longhan era. At that time some said the Heavenly Venerate Mu had grown weaker, and took my ancestor for the lesser of the two. My ancestor was a man of proud heart."

He did not go on.

Shen Mu smiled. "The Heavenly Venerate Yun was no weaker than I."

"But the world did not think so."

Yun Jianli sighed. "Before he died, my ancestor left instructions. First, that he should kowtow to the Heavenly Venerate Mu in apology for borrowing his identity—this I have already done. Second, my ancestor greatly wished to know whether his arts could overcome the Heavenly Venerate Mu's. His instructions said that when the descendants of later generations met the Heavenly Venerate Mu, they should display his arts before the Heavenly Venerate Mu."

Shen Mu smiled. "But your health is poor. Are you up to it?"

Yun Jianli's face was full of smiles. "The Heavenly Venerate Mu's health is poor too. I fear the Heavenly Venerate may not be up to it."

Shen Mu laughed aloud. "Before outsiders my frame would surely fail me; before you, my frame is very sound. What is the Heavenly Venerate Yun's art called?"

Yun Jianli leaned on the railing and gazed out over the Jade Sea. This sickly young lord chanted in a loud voice, "A towering peak ten thousand zhang pierces the purple empyrean; where the road ends, a divine bridge is raised. Above, one views the azure void and the stars draw near; below, one looks on the world of red dust, so far away!"

"Where the road ends, a divine bridge is raised?"

Shen Mu savored the meaning of the line, and at last understood why the Heavenly Venerate Yun had opened the Divine Bridge divine treasury.