Chapter 1021 — Reunion with the Old Demon of Dutian

There were only two pieces of eggshell in all. In the years when the Heavenly Emperor's physical body still existed, the Heaven Alliance was even more riven by internal chaos; back then, one needed only to control the Heavenly Emperor's body to enter the ancestral land and carry the eggshells away.

But none of them at that time was willing to let the eggshells fall into another's hands. The fiercest opposition came from Venerable Hao; the other Venerables and the leaders of the Heaven Alliance, each for reasons of their own, likewise opposed taking the eggshells. By the time the Heaven Alliance was unified from within, and elders such as Venerable Ling and Venerable Yue had one after another passed from the scene, leaving only the faction of Venerable Hao and Venerable Hong, they found that there were no more objectors—yet the Heavenly Emperor's body was gone as well, and there was no longer any way to take the eggshells.

Though every one of them coveted the treasures in the Heavenly Emperor's ancestral land, not one of them had the strength to take the eggshells, and so they could only let the matter drop. Venerable Hao had tried several times as well, going so far as to pilot the divine artifact Yuzun Tianzun into the ancestral land, yet he could never draw near that altar. All along, he had regarded those two pieces of eggshell as his own, something already in his pocket.

Moreover, the Heavenly Emperor had been born from an egg; the Heavenly Emperor was his father, and in his heart the things of the Heavenly Emperor should by rights pass to him as inheritance. Yet to his astonishment, this time someone had, while they were all guarding against one another, stealthily slipped into the ancestral land and taken one of the eggshells away!

Venerable Hao looked around, suppressed the rage in his heart, and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoists, it has not been easy for us to come this far together, nor easy to attain the station we now hold. So long as you return that treasure, we are still fellow Daoists.

But if it is not returned—heh heh—I fear the Ten Heavenly Venerables will become nine.

" The Venerables around him remained silent as before. They too coveted those two halves of the eggshell from which the Heavenly Emperor had been born.

Upon that eggshell were imprinted the most complete of the Heavenly Emperor's Great Dao runes; yet that was not its greatest use. The eggshell's finest purpose was, in truth, to seal away the Ancient God, the Heavenly Emperor!

Even if another Venerable obtained the body of the Ancient God, the Heavenly Emperor, so long as one held the eggshell, one could still seal the Ancient God, the Heavenly Emperor, within it and suppress him! If it could seal the body of the Ancient God, the Heavenly Emperor, then sealing the divine artifact Yuzun Tianzun was naturally no difficulty at all. With this treasure, one would hold the advantage among the Ten Heavenly Venerables. A pity only half now remained.

Who had taken the other half?

That was what the Ten Heavenly Venerables cared about most.

Venerable Hao swept his gaze once around the circle, then suddenly laughed in sheer fury, flicked his sleeve, and departed: "It seems the Ten Heavenly Venerables will not merely become nine—they will become eight! " He left in towering rage, leaving the other seven Venerables behind—yet those seven still remained silent.

Suddenly the Heavenly Consort Qiang broke the silence: "It was already like this when I arrived. That treasure was most certainly not taken by me.

I did, however, see a certain fellow Daoist piloting the Heavenly Emperor's body and entering this place together with Crown Prince Mingya.

" Venerable Xiao said, with studied indifference, "After leaving this place, Crown Prince Mingya hurriedly departed the Heavenly Court, and now his whereabouts are unknown.

He most likely knows something.

Why not seize him and interrogate him at length? " The Heavenly Consort Yan stroked the white cat's head and said with a smile, "Crown Prince Mingya fled the Heavenly Court?

How interesting.

" The Divine Emperor Langxuan cleared his throat and said, "Whichever of our Daoist brethren took that treasure had best return it, lest it stir unease among us. " No one answered. Venerable Hong stroked his snow-white beard and mused, "As for who could enter this forbidden zone—apart from the Heavenly Emperor's body, I fear only Taidi has such ability.

Ancestral God King, you have seen what Taidi can do; his methods should be no stranger to you. " The Ancestral God King said coolly, "Taidi does indeed possess such capacity. If he lurks within the Heavenly Court, lurks within the Heaven Alliance, no one can ferret him out.

" The others fell silent once more; the seven Venerables' faces were expressionless. Who was Taidi?

Was Taidi truly hidden among them? Among the seven present, was one of the Venerables really Taidi?

The seven Venerables exchanged glances, then averted their eyes from one another.

At this moment anyone they looked upon might be Taidi; even the departed Venerable Hao had become an object of their suspicion. Suddenly the Heavenly Consort Yan, cradling the white cat, departed with a smile: "Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu have returned. " The other six Venerables each withdrew.

Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu hurried back to the Heavenly Court from Youdu; the journey had taken some time, and so they arrived a few days later than Shen Mu. The Ten Heavenly Venerables gathered.

Hearing Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu recount their experiences in the Great Void, all were greatly shaken.

The ordeals Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu described were much the same as Shen Mu's—all manner of bizarre encounters: the Corpse Walkers, the cities of the Creators, the mad Celestial Master Yue, the Supreme Spiritual Sense Domain, the Void Bridge.

Shen Mu had not lied in a single word, but had recounted exactly what he had seen and heard in the Great Void!

Venerable Mu had always been a traitor—when had he become a man of iron integrity, loyal and devoted, a virtuous minister to his sovereign?

Yet according to what Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu had seen, it was entirely possible that Taidi was hidden among them! Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu at once sensed something amiss among the Venerables—wariness toward one another, even open hostility!

In the past, though the Ten Heavenly Venerables could not be said to be wholly intimate, they had guarded against one another only in secret.

When had it ever been laid bare?

Venerable Huo knitted his brows slightly and thought, "Ever since Venerable Mu came to the Heavenly Court, the rift among the Ten Heavenly Venerables seems to have grown ever wider, and the fracture of the Heaven Alliance seems unavoidable.

Yet the Ancient Gods have not been eradicated—and the purpose for which the Heaven Alliance was founded was to eradicate the Ancient Gods' dominion.

. . " "So the Land of No Sorrow at the end of the Void Bridge has still not been found?

" asked the Ancestral God King.

Venerable Huo and Venerable Xu nodded at the same time.

Venerable Huo said, "We were trapped in a chamber in the middle, and when we emerged, half a year had already passed.

" "Where was Venerable Mu at the time?

" Venerable Gong inquired. "Just outside the door.

" Venerable Xu said indifferently, "After seeing us, he shut the door. By the time we got out, he had vanished. " Venerable Hao posed the most crucial question: "Then—did Venerable Mu find the Land of No Sorrow? " Venerable Xu shook her head.

"That, I do not know.

" Venerable Huo shot her a glance. Venerable Xu had not mentioned that two extra people had appeared at Shen Mu's side, which left him rather surprised; he did not know what this woman was planning.

Yet since Venerable Xu kept silent, he too held something back.

The ten Venerables each fell silent, and the atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.