Chapter 961 — The Brand of the Lord of Blazing Flame

Ahead lay the palace of the Creators, an architectural complex of supreme grandeur. Even from afar, the first thing to greet the eye was the towering city wall, like a sheer cliff face barring their path—steep beyond measure, smooth beyond compare, without a single seam of brick or stone to be found. Before they had even drawn near, they felt the awe this wall inspired. Its surface was smooth as a mirror, so polished it could reflect a person's image; standing before it, they could even see themselves and the vast landscape stretching a thousand li behind them!

The buildings within the city were taller still, rising above even the city wall.

Beyond the wall they could make out those lofty, majestic palaces, towers, and defensive structures such as arrow towers. Shen Mu and Luo Wushuang arrived outside the city and surveyed the towering architecture.

The cities of the Creators were so colossal that they seemed mere insignificant specks by comparison. To forge a wall surface this smooth was all but impossible; even the finest craftsmen of the Heavenly Court and Jingping possessed no such terrifying skill. A craftsman might polish a mirror surface this smooth, but to build a city wall of such magnitude and still maintain such perfect evenness—that was beyond the realm of possibility.

For no matter how exquisite the technique, the forging process would leave minute flaws, and yet this wall had no flaws whatsoever!

The wall of the Creators could only be conjured through visualization—it could not be forged.

"Why is there no ornamentation on any of these buildings? " Luo Wushuang gazed into the distance and saw that whether it was the city wall or the structures within, all were blank expanses, without a trace of carving or decoration.

He could not help but wonder aloud, "Just white walls, dark tiles, and red bricks—is it not too monotonous? " Shen Mu explained, "That is simply the temperament of the Creators.

Moreover, the Creators are quite primitive. Their society exists somewhere between tribe and nation—they have no great art to speak of.

They are simply a race of primitives.

" In his mind came Shu Jun's indignant voice: "You're the primitive!

You bunch of bumpkins are all primitives! We are the Creators—the omnipotent Creators who made all things in this world! To us, you are the bumpkins!

" Shen Mu walked toward the city, smiling as he said, "The lives of these Creators are quite monotonous. Tribes war against one another—a bunch of men in beast-hide loincloths charging into battle swinging great bone clubs, aiming for each other's skulls. " Shu Jun's voice trembled with rage: "You little wretch, do not slander us—" "Once they learned visualization and became Creators, they would also visualize beautiful women for their pleasure," Shen Mu continued.

Luo Wushuang could not help but sigh, "Truly primitives. " Shu Jun was beside himself with fury. Shen Mu suddenly stopped in his tracks. Luo Wushuang, puzzled, looked at him with suspicion.

"No, no! " Shen Mu tilted his head back to study the city wall, a look of confusion crossing his face. He murmured, "This is the world the Creators made. They created everything here.

Here they have no enemies—so why build a fortified city?

Why construct such high walls? What is it that makes even the Creators of this world so terrified of what lies outside.

.

.

" Luo Wushuang had also grasped the key point: city walls were meant for defense.

If the Creators built such walls, it must be to guard against something outside trying to break in!

So what was it they feared? They were the creators of the Void—what could possibly make them feel such dread? "The walls here are very clean. There are no traces of battle upon them. " Luo Wushuang said, "I think you may be overthinking it.

Perhaps they built the walls simply for aesthetics. Perhaps they are exceedingly vain and must gaze at their own reflection at every moment. " Shen Mu shook his head.

He drew his sword and lightly scored the wall.

A sword mark appeared on the surface, but it quickly vanished, and the wall returned to its even, mirror-smooth state.

Luo Wushuang's heart skipped.

His expression turned grave. "This wall reminds me of a certain Heavenly Venerable. Rumor has it she created the divine ability of Immutable Matter.

" "This is not the divine ability of Immutable Matter—it is creation through divine consciousness, which is to say, visualization. " Shen Mu said, "This city is shrouded within the divine consciousness of the Creators, rendering its structures indestructible. Even if shattered, they will reassemble.

And then there are the arrow towers. The combat style of the Creators is exceedingly wild—they rarely have use for such things as arrow towers.

Moreover, the reason the houses and palaces here are so tall seems more to do with facilitating observation of the distant horizon, to watch for approaching enemies.

" A look of puzzlement crossed his face. This was the world the Creators had made—would they create powerful enemies for themselves? Then where did those enemies come from? Were they the invaders from the Heavenly Court, people like themselves? Or did some terrifying monsters truly exist within the Void? He could not help but recall the visions he had seen within the divine consciousness of the Corpse Walker.

His heart stirred. "Could it be that Creator who caused the perilous state of the Void?

" Luo Wushuang drew the Essence of Primeval Wood from between his brows.

His spirit emerged from his body and flew up into the air, peering toward the city and making a circuit of inspection.

"There is no one in the city.

. .

Fire Heavenly Venerable! " He hastily withdrew his spirit, his face alight with both shock and joy, and reinserted the Essence of Primeval Wood between his brows.

Speaking rapidly, he said, "I saw Fire Heavenly Venerable!

" "Fire Heavenly Venerable! " The two exchanged a glance, then immediately leaped into the air and descended slowly into the city.

Luo Wushuang hurried forward.

Ahead, divine fire blazed, melting the very void.

A figure stood within the flames, space distorting around him, his form hazy and indistinct. Yet from the wheel of flame behind his head, it was clear—this was the Heavenly Court's Fire Heavenly Venerable!

Luo Wushuang came to stand behind Fire Heavenly Venerable, dropped to one knee, and raised both hands clasped in salute above his head: "Luo Wushuang of the Lingxiu Army pays respects to Fire Heavenly Venerable!

Fire Heavenly Venerable, Mu Heavenly Venerable has led us here to provide support! " Shen Mu came to his side and walked forward without ceremony: "Luo Divine Blade, he is not Fire Heavenly Venerable—he is the Void Brand of Fire Heavenly Venerable. " Luo Wushuang was taken aback.

He rose to his feet and followed Shen Mu around to the front of Fire Heavenly Venerable's figure, studying it closely. He could still make out the runes of the Great Dao composing this phantom—though they were exceedingly minute.

This Fire Heavenly Venerable was indeed his Dao brand! Fire Heavenly Venerable was simply too powerful. In his battle here, his terrifying cultivation and Great Dao had branded his image into the void of this city, indelible!

Fire Heavenly Venerable must have encountered an unprecedented formidable enemy here, to the point that he was forced to unleash his techniques and divine abilities to their absolute limit.

His Dao runes were too strong, branded into the void, forming his silhouette. Even after he departed, the phantom had not faded. Shen Mu followed Fire Heavenly Venerable's gaze forward, pondered for a moment, then walked to stand opposite Fire Heavenly Venerable.

He planted his feet in an unconventional stance and said, "His opponent stood right here. Strange—Fire Heavenly Venerable is so powerful, his opponent must have been no weaker, surely a Heavenly Venerable of some kind. But why did his opponent leave no brand behind?