Chapter 990 — Old Friends Reunited

" Shen Mu's heart pounded. To gain in a single instant the accumulation of billions of years of Creator civilization? There was such a boon? Though the accumulation of the Creator civilization before that seemed to him no more than a pack of primitives, crude and unrefined, the civilization the Creators had opened up after absorbing the cultivation system of the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace — that was truly formidable!

And the Creators' power to create stars and create worlds was admirable beyond measure!

Shu Jun was filled with envy too, thinking, "If only I were the Holy Infant.

.

. " Divine King Langwan departed, her consciousness becoming a voice in Shen Mu's mind: "I am staying for the time being in the Azure Feather Hall of the Xiu clan. If you have any doubts or perplexities, you may come and ask me.

" Shen Mu assented and watched her go.

Shu Jun said, "This Divine King Langwan is remarkable.

Were it I, I could not acknowledge an outsider as the Holy Infant of our Creator race, yet she has the breadth of mind to acknowledge you. Such magnanimity is beyond me.

" "Divine King Langwan's spirit is indeed daunting — a woman who yields nothing to men, and is stronger than most men.

" Shen Mu too admired the woman greatly, then suddenly shot Shu Jun a glance and gave a cold snort. Shu Jun laughed dryly twice and said, "There is a reason I do not pass my divine abilities on to you. You have not restored my brain, and I must keep some means to trade for your consciousness, blood and qi.

Otherwise, if I taught you everything, you would certainly refine me to death.

" The anger in Shen Mu's heart dispersed, and the estrangement between them vanished. He laughed. "It is truly no fault of the Divine King's. " Such was his nature.

Between him and Shu Jun there had always been mutual use and mutual tripping-up.

Because Shu Jun was a Divine King among the Creators and did not acknowledge him as the Holy Infant, it was only natural that he should trip him up a little.

Shen Mu had that much magnanimity. Creators from the clans of Zili, Zhuqiu, Yanlong, Xiatai and others came in an unending stream to the territory of the Xiu clan.

Under the direction of their clan chiefs, these Creators visualized creations and raised enormous altars, preparing for the sacrificial rites.

Shen Mu and Shu Jun, meanwhile, were with the young Creators. Though these young Creators were small in years, their knowledge was extraordinary, for at birth they received an infusion of consciousness and possessed the knowledge of adult Creators. They knew much, but their consciousness was not strong; only by ceaseless practice and tempering could they master the various consciousness arts.

Shen Mu's purpose in associating with these young Creators was to master the consciousness arts of the Creator race from the ground up. Though he had defeated many adult Creators in the four trials, and had even defeated nine great Creators in consciousness arts at a stroke, his foundations were still weak. Shu Jun's great head floated in the air, following him step by step, likewise studying the basic arts earnestly.

Though Shu Jun sometimes seemed stubborn and overweeningly conceited, his breadth of mind, his spirit and his wisdom were all exceedingly high. When Shen Mu modified his Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness, he realized that the cultivation methods of the primeval era were already outdated and must advance with the times, or the Creator race would be eliminated by the age.

When Shen Mu thought that the Great Emperor's Daluo Supreme Consciousness, modified into the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace cultivation system, was of no use to him, Shu Jun keenly perceived that the cultivation methods of the Creator race must likewise be modified in that way — that even his own methods were being modified in that direction. When he saw the Creators of the Other Shore reforming and changing their laws, casting off the traditions of the primeval era, he was not enraged that the Creators of the Other Shore had altered their cultivation system.

What angered him was his sense that the Creators of the Other Shore had abandoned a tradition of simplicity and turned to the gaudy and the hollow, that ornate art was of little use to a Creator. He possessed the qualities of a leader.

"Why do you visualize such complicated things?

" Shu Jun saw a young Creator some two zhang six or seven in height visualizing the runic patterns on a stone wall — patterns that were the flame runes of the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace cultivation system — and could not help asking, "Why not visualize flame directly?

The stronger the consciousness, the stronger the flame. Would that not be simpler?

" The young Creator shook his head. "Visualizing these complicated patterns can raise the strength, toughness, sensitivity and reaction speed of one's consciousness, and make one's consciousness change more subtly. " Shu Jun wanted to frown, but he had no eyebrows.

Shen Mu supplied him with some blood, qi and consciousness, and only then did Shu Jun grow two thick black eyebrows. He frowned and said, "Then in battle, are not the simpler consciousness arts the better?

" The young Creator shook his head again. "Using runes to construct the form of flame does indeed produce a flame of greater power than one visualized directly.

So we all try to construct them as finely as we can.

" Shu Jun's eyes popped out of their sockets, and he raged, "Then your consciousness will react more slowly!

In the consciousness arts, the crucial thing is speed! Strike your enemy with the swiftness of a thunderclap before he can cover his ears, overcome him with incomparably rapid transformations, and let him die stiff before he can react! What you are doing is casting off the traditions of our people! " Shen Mu kindly supplied him with more blood, qi and consciousness, so that he grew eyelids, lest his eyeballs pop out again.

The young Creator was puzzled, and laughed. "As we visualize ceaselessly, the runes are already branded into our consciousness.

And the runes are the foundation; there are not many of them — there are only some two hundred kinds of flame runes.

We visualize them constantly in daily life and brand those two hundred-odd flame runes into our consciousness. Different combinations of runes can become different divine abilities; in battle, different combinations of runes can execute different divine abilities, and the speed is no slower than before.

" Shu Jun's face went blank. After a long while he sighed.

"That Langwan is Divine King — I am convinced, heart and mouth alike. Brat, when will you restore my brain for me? It truly will not do to have no brain! " Shen Mu was about to speak when Shu Jun sighed.

"I will not follow you any longer.

The Primordial Stone is yours too; I will not take it from you. I mean to stay here and study earnestly for a time, and cultivate from the beginning again. In the primeval era I could become a Divine King and be revered by all the people; now I can surely do it again, and become a Divine King once more! " Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. "With such ambition in the Divine King, I must of course help you fulfill it. " Suddenly his expression shifted slightly, and his gaze fell on a "young Creator" in the distance.

That Creator must have been only a year or two old, and wore a red bellyband.

"Shu Jun, wait for me a moment. " Thunder roared in Shen Mu's mind.

He hurried toward the "bellyband Creator. " Seeing him approach, the "bellyband Creator" turned in alarm, exposing a bare bottom as he walked off into the distance. Shen Mu quickened his pace to follow. The two came to a secluded place, and Shen Mu said with a cold laugh, "I recognize you!

Kaihuang!

A Heavenly Venerable of an era, and dressed like that — have you no shame at all! "