Chapter 1108 — The Fate of a Single Meeting

With the help of the Azure Sky Canopy of Colored Glass, Dragon Qilin and Yan'er, together with the six heavenly dragons, quickly fled the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace. Looking back, the mist in the palace had still not dispersed. Dragon Qilin and Yan'er hugged the canopy, kissing it and leaping for joy, while the six heavenly dragons danced and sang around this foremost treasure of the world, utterly delighted.

Suddenly Dragon Qilin stopped. "It seems someone is missing. .

. Damn it, the Sect Leader is still in the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace!

" They all exchanged blank looks.

The six heavenly dragons coughed repeatedly, looking every which way and whistling.

Yan'er stamped her foot. "We were so busy fighting the Nether Lord and stealing things that we left the young master behind in the palace. He's still badly wounded and can't use his divine sense.

What are we to do? " Dragon Qilin's expression shifted uneasily as he paced back and forth. "The whole reason we stole the canopy was because the Sect Leader was badly wounded, and we wanted to use this treasure's power to protect us. Now we've got the treasure, but lost the Sect Leader.

. .

" The youngest heavenly dragon broke off his whistling and murmured, "Stop whistling, all of you.

I'm about to piss myself. .

.

" The whistling stopped. They stood rooted above the Heavenly River, while beneath the surface a huge pitch-black fish drifted leisurely under their feet, letting out strange croaks. "The Sect Leader will surely be fine. " Dragon Qilin looked toward the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace and saw many Black Tortoise clansmen rushing out of the palace and charging toward them. He made a quick decision.

"The Sect Leader has always been quick-witted.

He takes care of us; we rarely take care of him.

Let's go first—he's sure to turn disaster into fortune on his own!

" Yan'er and the six heavenly dragons nodded repeatedly.

They fled in panic.

"Did you leave the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree for the Sect Leader?

" "Mm.

" "Is there a lantern on the tree?

" "Mm. " "Good. At the very least, the Sect Leader can blow out the lantern and make his way back to the ghost ship.

" .

. . Meanwhile, in a guest room in the Jade Capital, Shen Mu heard the commotion outside and wondered, "What's going on?

Could it be Dragon Qilin and Yan'er stealing the Azure Sky Canopy? " After another moment, he wondered, "Why haven't Yan'er and Dragon Qilin come back yet?

" After a long while, he finally concluded, "Those wretches took the canopy and then abandoned me and ran off! Two ungrateful wolves!

" He was unable to fight anyone now. If he ran out and was found, he would certainly be seized as a thief, so he could only endure.

Crown Prince Youming finally woke from his hangover. When he learned that the canopy had been stolen, he was dumbfounded and blurted, "Who stole it? " When he heard it was the Dragon Mountain Hermit and the Southern Emperor's princess, he was even more stunned and for a long time could not speak. After a moment of silence, he recovered his wits and commanded, "Tell the clansmen to stop the chase and return to the palace.

The canopy is fine, but the lives of our clansmen matter more. We are immediately returning to the Northern Polar Heaven—there can be no further delay! " The Black Tortoise clansmen returned to the palace. Crown Prince Youming steadied his Dao heart and piloted the palace along the Heavenly River toward the Northern Polar Heaven with all his concentration.

Yet the canopy was a rare treasure forged from the life's savings of his parents, and thinking of it, his heart ached as though twisted.

"That shameless pair! " Prince Youming cursed, still seething. Shen Mu carefully adjusted the lamp, stayed where he was, and continued to circulate the Mysterious Body Three-Dan Skill to restore his divine sense, using the Primordial Origin Stone to bring himself back to peak condition as quickly as possible.

During this time, several Flying Serpent Spirit Maidens came to clean the room. Shen Mu was forced to fool them with his divine sense and managed to get by.

But every night, a light automatically emanated from the guest room, which drew the attention of more Black Tortoise clansmen. When they went in to examine it, however, they could see nothing and could not tell where the light came from, leaving them uneasy and afraid.

Gradually, word spread among the clansmen that the guest room was haunted. After ten-odd days, Shen Mu finally felt his divine sense stabilize, and the Primordial Chaos Fluid within him had been mostly consumed.

He cast his inner vision upon his body and saw that this reborn flesh was like jade, with blood rich and red, vital qi and blood flourishing.

At the slightest movement, rosy mists rose from every part of him; nearly two thousand phantom ancient gods emerged from all over his body, their Dao sounds lingering around him. "The senior brother truly has extraordinary insight.

Using so much Primordial Chaos Fluid to reshape my body has greatly improved it! " He was overjoyed. "Not to be outdone, the senior brother is an old hand with far more experience than I. In my usual cultivation, I dare use at most a single drop of Primordial Chaos Fluid; I would never dare, as he did, to use a full vat of the primal essence to recast my flesh!

" Shen Mu then looked at his Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury. The reforged sun, moon, and stars were even more radiant; the sky hung like a mirror, the stars glittered, and the Nether Capital was so dark and profound that its depths could hardly be fathomed.

Each celestial palace gleamed as if new. Within them, Dao resonance lingered long, and all manner of Dao sounds merged into a harmonious symphony of the Great Dao, containing countless mysteries. "The senior brother is truly the most experienced! " Shen Mu sighed in admiration once more.

Having survived this tribulation, his Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury was now far grander than before. It had expanded further outward; his primordial qi surged like blazing fire sweeping across a wilderness, like mighty floods inundating heaven and earth, vast and billowing. His divine sense, however, had not improved much—only grown more tenacious than before.

Shen Mu let out a breath, stood up, withdrew the divine sense he had lodged in the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree, then went to the window and opened it to look outside. It was daytime outside. With a pulse of his divine sense, he drew the Dragon Blood Treasure Tree and the lantern into his brow, hiding them in the Shen Continent.

He opened the door and stepped out, thinking, "The Heavenly Emperor is dead, and the Heavenly Venerables are fighting over his body.

I still need to go see it—to meet Cloud Heavenly Venerable. . . " He slipped away from the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace and came onto the Heavenly River.

Suddenly, he saw that beneath the palace the current raced, and a black tortoise with a dragon's head was carrying the Black Tortoise Heaven Palace on its back upstream along the Heavenly River.

Shen Mu laughed heartily and called out, "Crown Prince Youming, do you recognize Mu Qing? " The black tortoise was Crown Prince Youming.

Feeling he had lost the treasure, he had taken it upon himself to punish himself by carrying the palace toward the Northern Polar Heaven.

On hearing this, he hurriedly slowed down and blurted, "Mu Qing? Are you Mu Heavenly Venerable? " Shen Mu smiled and nodded. "Indeed.

I was pursued by enemies and temporarily borrowed your precious residence to hide and recuperate from my wounds. I did not inform the master of the house. Forgive me.

" Crown Prince Youming said hastily, "Heavenly Venerable, do not blame yourself.

In truth, I should still call you Master! Without the godhood method you passed down, how could I have achieved what I have today? Allow me to change form, and let us go into the palace, where I shall have the servants attend to you with every courtesy!