Chapter 951 — Insight Beyond the Three Enclosures

Shujun taught him the Heavenly Market Enclosure Higher Consciousness, and at once set Shen Mu to supplying him with blood-essence and spirit-consciousness so that his fleshly body might be restored. Shen Mu made trial of it: the Supreme Palace Enclosure Higher Consciousness and the Heavenly Market Enclosure Higher Consciousness, when set in motion, were like two wholly different spirit-consciousness arts, each demanding that he divide his attention and govern two separate pathways at once. He could not help but ask, suspicious: "The Heavenly Market Enclosure Higher Consciousness and the Supreme Palace Enclosure Higher Consciousness still cannot fill the Primordial Stone. This art is missing a third.

And these two arts are split apart, not one whole. You are not deceiving me with some other art, are you? " "Little brat, what manner of being was I in life?

Would I cheat a petty wretch like you? Restore half my head first, and I will pass on to you the Purple Forbidden Enclosure Higher Consciousness.

" Shujun sneered: "The Purple Forbidden Enclosure Higher Consciousness is the general outline of the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness. Only with it can one command all three and make them one. I have observed your conduct, and I see that you are a sinister, cunning little wretch. I do not trust you.

Restore half my skull first, and then I will teach you the Purple Forbidden Enclosure Higher Consciousness!

" Shen Mu was furious: "How long have we known each other, that you have already seen through me? " "A child is seen at three, a man at seven; you are long past three, and I have read your whole character clear as day.

Enough talk — supply me with blood-essence and spirit-consciousness, quickly! " Shen Mu ground his teeth, circulated his blood-essence and drove his spirit-consciousness, pouring them toward the altar of the Primordial Stone. The great lump of flesh on the altar at once began greedily to draw in his blood-essence and spirit-consciousness, using the power of the altar and the Primordial Stone to restore and grow flesh.

Soon, beside that great lump of flesh, another great lump of flesh grew. Shen Mu's eye twitched: "This fellow is using my blood-essence and spirit-consciousness to restore his other eye. If he restores his brain first and his skull last, won't I be the one who loses out?

" Shujun devoured blood-essence and spirit-consciousness with astonishing speed. Before long Shen Mu was again thin as a stick, trembling as he refined spirit pills to replenish his blood-essence.

Shujun's second eye was restored. On the altar the two great lumps of flesh popped open with two soft sounds, revealing two great eyeballs, which urged him on: "Hurry, hurry! A feeble creature like you is far too small and puny — you cannot even restore your blood-essence quickly!

" Shen Mu snorted, none too pleased: "You prehistoric oafs, with blood-essence and spirit-consciousness so mighty — and still the ancient gods wiped you out, didn't they? " Shujun was enraged; the two great eyeballs bounced to and fro on the altar: "What do you know!

We were simply not united among ourselves. The Great Emperor Juyu had ideas of his own, resisted half-heartedly, and may even have gone over to the enemy! Others surrendered, and a whole crowd of them ran off to build another world. Were it not for that, would we have fallen so miserably?

" Shen Mu concentrated wholly on restoring his blood-essence; by the time he had recovered to his peak, Shujun had drained him dry again.

"If he builds a brain, I'll kill him!

" Shen Mu swore inwardly. Fortunately Shujun was building his skull, which let him breathe easier.

Had Shujun truly restored his great head, Shen Mu genuinely feared he would be no match for him.

By then, Shujun's spirit-consciousness would likely far surpass his own, and killing him and taking his place would be no difficult matter. His advantage now lay in this: he was alive, and Shujun was dead; Shujun had to depend on him.

But if this Creator came back to life, the situation would reverse.

When Shujun had fashioned the whole of his skull, Shen Mu promptly stopped supplying him with spirit-consciousness and blood-essence. Shujun endured it.

His two eyes settled into their sockets, and he poured out all he knew of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure Higher Consciousness, waiting for Shen Mu to master it and then continue supplying him with blood-essence and spirit-consciousness.

Shen Mu was overjoyed, and at once tried to combine the Purple Forbidden Enclosure Higher Consciousness with the Supreme Palace and Heavenly Market Enclosure arts. This time he drove the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness, and saw the Purple Forbidden Enclosure form thirty-nine star mansions and one hundred sixty-three star deities; the Supreme Palace Enclosure form twenty star mansions and seventy-eight star deities; the Heavenly Market Enclosure form nineteen star mansions and eighty-seven star deities. With the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness fully roused, they formed a Great Luo celestial cycle that filled the inner space of the Primordial Stone!

Shen Mu immediately felt his spirit-consciousness rise at tremendous speed!

"Seventy-eight star mansions, three hundred twenty-eight star deities — the number does not match the star deities of the great celestial cycle.

The great celestial cycle should have three hundred sixty star mansions. " Shen Mu pondered in secret, thinking: "So then, the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness is not the Creator's highest art!

There must be other arts above it! " On the altar, the great skull opened its eyes and surveyed the starry sky within the Primordial Stone.

He saw the phantom images of ancient gods appear in the sky of that red world, vivid and lifelike, and thought: "This youngster of a later age knows a great deal indeed. If the method he has revised were taken back to our era, it would surely rank as the supreme of supreme arts, in no way inferior to the Great Emperor Juyu's! " The Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness, improved by Shen Mu, had fused the Crimson Emperor's Three Primordial Spirits Immortal Consciousness, and further the great Dao runes that the Heavenly Court's Daoist sect had derived from a million years of studying the ancient gods. Only thus could it be raised to a height that left even Shujun marveling! Shen Mu cultivated for a while, and the spirit-consciousness he had lost swiftly rose back to its peak; it grew ever stronger, ever more tenacious!

Not only that — he discovered that when he visualized the seventy-eight star mansions and three hundred twenty-eight star deities, the star deities formed by his spirit-consciousness were ceaselessly being imprinted into his fleshly body, raising it as well! Shen Mu clicked his tongue in wonder. This visualization improved the body enormously too, no less than the very finest imperial-throne arts!

"The Creator had the advantage from birth — born with mighty spirit-consciousness and a mighty body.

But if this youngster keeps cultivating, I fear it will be only a few years before he catches up with the Creators. " Shujun could not help saying: "Little brat, can we continue now? " Shen Mu, driving the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness, went on supplying him with blood-essence and spirit-consciousness.

Shujun rejoiced, drawing in his blood-essence and spirit-consciousness, and thought: "Once my head is restored, I can seize back the Primordial Stone in one stroke, force his spirit-consciousness out, and even turn guest into host and erase his consciousness!

Hmm — no, I cannot erase him yet. Until I am fully restored, I must keep him alive, so that I may walk this age with ease and learn more of its secrets.

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