Chapter 948 — The Sea Right Before My Eyes

Shen Mu stepped into the pavilion and stood shoulder to shoulder with the other Shen Mu, gazing out over the waters of the Jade Pool. "Heavenly Venerable Mu does not seem the least bit surprised.

" The other Shen Mu shot him a glance and smiled.

"If I saw another me standing right before me, I would be so startled I'd cry out, and my very next thought would be to do away with him. Because in this world, I alone am unique. " Shen Mu smiled. "The Heavenly Court can manufacture Heavenly Venerable You, and a dozen of them at that.

What is it to manufacture another me? This body was made in the Heavenly Court's Palace of Zaofu, was it not? It is a close likeness. But even if you manufacture an exact copy of me, the very next moment it falls behind. " The other Shen Mu observed his every word and every movement, imitating his gestures and the tone of his speech.

"It is not a matter of manufacturing another you. My true aim is to replace you. Thus you will die without sound or trace, while the other you lives on. " He imitated Shen Mu's subtle gestures, to the very life.

"After you die, you will continue to live on as a leader of the Jingping Reform. You will still be Heavenly Venerable Mu, moving among your comrades. Tubo, the Heavenly Duke—none of them will see any flaw. These ancient gods dream of preserving your life, hoping that the great sorcerer who survives ten thousand kalpas can revive them. You have given these rotting beings hope, yet it will never occur to them that you died long ago. " Shen Mu turned his head. The eyelids at the center of his brow parted slowly to either side, revealing a third eye.

He surveyed the body. "You must be Heavenly Venerable Hao. My defeated foe—twice beaten at my hands.

" The Shen Mu opposite him had his pupils suddenly contract. A vertical eye also appeared on his brow, its eyelids parting slowly to either side. The speed with which his third eye opened was all but identical to Shen Mu's—clearly, he was still imitating him.

His pupils, too, were diamond-shaped. Evidently the Dao Ancestor had observed Shen Mu with great care, ensuring that every detail matched him exactly.

Even the clothing and ornaments, down to the position of every hair and the number of every strand, were exactly the same! Such was the conscientious nature of the Dao Ancestor.

"The first time was in the early years of Longhan, and it was here as well.

" Shen Mu said with keen interest, "I beat you like a dog driven from its home, fleeing for its life in panic.

Your subordinates fought desperately to block me, to stop me from killing you, but I slaughtered them like chickens. Their blood and yours dyed this Jade Pool red. Your mother, Lady Yuanmu, projected herself here to save you, yet in her very presence I still beat you into a dead dog. How long did you nurse your wounds? " The Shen Mu opposite said, "The medicine of that time was poor. The Heavenly Emperor invited famous physicians to save me, but those healers were incompetent—not one could cure your sword intent and the wounds from your blade.

I lay on a sickbed for over a hundred years, unable to eat or drink; I had to be fed by others. I lost control of my bowels and bladder; I needed palace maids to attend me even when I relieved myself. During those hundred-odd years, I thought of death more than once. I even begged my mother the Empress to kill me, more than once. " Shen Mu smiled. "That is what I bestowed on you. You lay abed only a hundred-odd years; Heavenly Venerable You has lain for a million years.

" "Afterward my wounds gradually healed, and I could walk again. Only then did I realize that the wounds of the flesh had long since healed; what had not healed was my Dao-heart.

" The Shen Mu opposite him had his pupils contract sharply, divine light misting in his eyes; then the light withdrew, and he said calmly, "The wound in my Dao-heart needed far longer to cure. For a thousand years after, whenever I closed my eyes, I saw your sword piercing my body, saw your fist smashing into me, smashing my bones to splinters and my tendons to pieces. " Shen Mu said apologetically, "I should have killed you then, and you would not have suffered such torment.

" The Shen Mu opposite said coldly, "It was a thousand years before I walked out of your shadow. But when I did, I knew that I was no longer the man I had been. The old me was merely a blade in my Imperial Father's hand, meant to remove Heavenly Venerable You—a formidable foe who might one day threaten his throne. It was you who made me die once and come back to life. From that time on, I swore I would live for myself.

" Still imitating Shen Mu's manner of speech and bearing, he continued, "I began to grow deep and unfathomable. Among the princes I drew no attention—after all, I was a failure, a fellow beaten into a dead dog by Heavenly Venerable Mu.

Yet the more this was so, the more opportunity I had, and the more my Imperial Father favored me. I helped him lay a scheme to remove the Eldest Prince—depose him, kill him. He was the son of the Empress and my Imperial Father; he had once humiliated me, mocked me as a bastard, jeered that I had been beaten into a dead dog by Heavenly Venerable Mu. So I gave him the name Xie Wuqi, as a mark of shame, so that even after death he would go on suffering torment in Youdu! " Shen Mu saw the smile that rose on the face of the self opposite him—as plain and artless as his own smile. Yet beneath that artlessness lay thick hatred and the exhilaration of vengeance fulfilled.

"After Xie Wuqi's death, none of the powerful princes were any match for me. Some died, some were wounded, and some I broke so thoroughly that their Dao-hearts collapsed. " The other Shen Mu chuckled darkly. "My Imperial Father felt that fellows like Heavenly Venerable Yun and Heavenly Venerable Ling still posed a threat to the Heavenly Court. So he decided to groom a trusted confidant to deal with them and keep them in check—and so he chose me. Heh heh—at that time, he had no choice but to choose me. And so I came to the Yuan Realm and established the Longxiao Heavenly Court, to stand against Heavenly Venerable Yun and his lot, fighting them tooth and nail. But through it all I built up a cadre of my own. With that cadre, I could slowly plot my grand enterprise. " Shen Mu praised him, "Heavenly Venerable Hao, you have grown up.

" "That is entirely thanks to you. " The smile on the other Shen Mu's face grew ever purer, ever more sunlit—like a big boy's. "I fought Heavenly Venerable Yun for a very long time.

The human race and the postnatal living beings were too weak; they were no match at all for the demigods. To bolster the confidence of the humans and postnatal beings, he actually took on your appearance and came to strike at me. How laughable.

" He could not suppress a laugh. "At the time I truly was frightened, but I quickly realized that Heavenly Venerable Mu was not you. No matter how closely he imitated you, he could not fool me. " His face seemed to smile and yet not smile, to weep and yet not weep. "Who else could know you as I do? The demon that appears in my countless nightmares—it is you! Heavenly Venerable Yun was too naive, imitating you! Yet I did not expose him before the crowd.

I sought him out alone and told him of my plan.

And so I, a man you hate to the bone, joined the Heaven Alliance without the slightest hindrance.

Heh heh—I killed Heavenly Venerable You. The human race hates me to the bone; you hate me to the bone. Yet I joined the Heaven Alliance and became one of its elders! Because Heavenly Venerable Yun wanted to work with me to deal with my Imperial Father—" He watched Shen Mu's expression, trying to find disappointment and loss on his face, but there was none. "I conspired with him and laid the grand plan to eliminate my Imperial Father.