Chapter 1122 — A Fingertip Lightly Pressing Her Vermilion Lips

In time to come, he would surely have to step onto the Blade Dao's God-Slaying Terrace and endure the slaying stroke of two divine blades!

Whether he could bear it—of that he had no confidence at all.

Shen Mu steadied his heart, and his primal spirit entered the Southern Heaven's Gate of the Blade Dao's Heavenly Palace, passing straight through it to feel the blade-dao majesty of the Southern Heaven's Gate. His cultivation rose once more, his True God realm consolidated another degree, and understandings of the Blade Dao came crowding into his mind from every side.

A long while later, having absorbed those insights into the Blade Dao, Shen Mu opened his eyes and said: "On this return of mine, I've brought back some treasures. Grandpa Butcher, you and the others look for yourselves whether there's anything of use to you.

" He waved his palm, and it spread over the vault of heaven and formed a sealed space; from it he took out the various exotic treasures of the Ancestral Court that he had stolen from Zhaoyang Hall. Everyone was startled.

Gazing at each ancestral-court treasure hovering in the air on its own power, the Silent Craftsman was stirred beyond measure; with trembling hands he stroked a bright pearl, and the pearl hummed and quivered, mirroring within itself mountains and rivers. The Silent Craftsman murmured: "Shen'er, did you empty out the Heavenly Emperor's treasure house?

" "Mm! " Shen Mu answered cheerfully. "That's our boy!

" The three elders raised their thumbs and praised in unison: "Worthy of the Lame Elder's teaching!

" "I've also got some roots here—tendrils of the Earth Mother Yuanjun, roots of the Yuan Wood.

No small thing either; not a whit inferior to these treasures.

" Shen Mu brought out a great many Yuan Wood roots and said: "The Yuan Wood is a treasure tree of the Ancestral Court as well; forging it into an Emperor-Seat divine weapon is no trouble at all.

Whichever ones the three grandpas need, just take them. By the way—have you run into Crown Prince Youming?

" "Crown Prince Youming? " The Butcher and the others thought a moment; Shen Mu drew a portrait of Crown Prince Youming, and only then did they recognize him, saying: "So that's Crown Prince Youming. He's a plain, honest sort.

He came to the capital of Jingping earlier and told the Emperor he had been sent by the Northern Emperor to swear allegiance.

The Northern Emperor also sent along a batch of men and women, strange-looking folk, carrying over three hundred Five Thunder Gourds. " Shen Mu laughed: "That's him! He's the Northern Emperor's son, an existence of the Emperor-Seat realm. And where does he hold office now? " "The Emperor tested him for a while and felt he had no ability.

His realm was very high, but everything he knew was out of date, far too ancient. " The Blind Elder fetched a Yuan Wood root, well pleased with it, and said: "So the Emperor sent him round to the various academies and study halls to compile and copy out all manner of cultivation methods and texts.

Where he's got to now, no one knows. " Crown Prince Youming was one of the few Emperor-Seat realm powerhouses of the Longhan era; yet here in Lingyuxiu he had become a man of no ability—it was enough to make a person laugh and weep at once.

Still, it was only natural. Though Crown Prince Youming's talent was exceedingly high, he had been suppressed for six hundred thousand years with no contact with the outside world; his divine abilities were still the divine abilities of six hundred thousand years ago. For all that his realm was high—the highest cultivation realm in all Jingping—his usefulness to Jingping was not great.

If Crown Prince Youming could absorb the fruits of the Jingping reforms, then his cultivation and strength would surely take a tremendous leap, and only then could he become a pillar of Jingping. The Blind Elder laid the Yuan Wood root together with the Dragon-Tuo Divine Spear at his waist; at once the spear crept over the Yuan Wood tendrils, drawing in the power stored within the wood.

The Blind Elder went on: "The divinities the Northern Emperor sent are all under my wing now, and I train them day in and day out; even so, they're good for nothing much.

" He shook his head and said: "In the matter of formations, the Northern Emperor Xuanwu's formations are far too outdated; I still have to teach them from the very beginning, wearing out heart and strength. So I packed them off to the primary school to study alongside those little children.

" Shen Mu blinked and said: "Among the Xuanwu god race there are a great many pretty girls. " The Blind Elder, utterly unruffled, urged the Dragon-Tuo on to refine the Yuan Wood root, and said: "All Teng Snakes of the martial clan.

Not as pretty as Granny—common painted things, nothing more. " Shen Mu was left speechless.

He asked then whether the Western Emperor had sent divinities. The Silent Craftsman was fitting together a divine axe out of his box, trying to split a divine mountain in two, and said: "There are women enough, yes. Scantily dressed, cloyingly sweet. I've set them to work in the Supervisory Forge.

" Shen Mu probed: "The women of the Western Pole Heaven are so beautiful—has Grandpa Silent Craftsman never thought of taking a wife? " "Women are a nuisance. " Somewhat put out, the Silent Craftsman shook his head: "Those White Tiger goddesses are mighty and beautiful, it's true, but they're a nuisance too.

Teaching them how to forge is headache enough; and now I'm to take a wife?

I've neither the time nor the energy for it! " Shen Mu was taken aback, and urged: "Grandpa Silent Craftsman ought to make an effort for the propagation of the Heavenly Craftsman god race.

" The Silent Craftsman sneered: "The Heavenly Craftsman god race is human too. Whoever masters the way of forging is a Heavenly Craftsman! You're a Heavenly Craftsman yourself—go have a few children.

Don't pester me with these trifles! " Yan'er said to Dragon Qilin: "Now I understand why the young master has never married.

" Dragon Qilin nodded again and again: "Do you think there's any hope for him?

" "None left! " "I thought as much. " The Silent Craftsman was Jingping's foremost craftsman, and his demands upon materials were extremely high.

Unlike a blockhead like Wei Suifeng, who simply picked out a whole treasure mountain of the Ancestral Court, he took one piece from every treasure, intending to match different materials together in forging divine weapons.

In the combining of materials he was an expert. He had once gone to pay his respects to the Supreme Emperor Sword God Bai Qu'er, and from her obtained certain texts of the Supreme Emperor era.

—In the Supreme Emperor era, the divine metals and divine ores of the Yuan Realm were held in the hands of the Earth Mother Yuanjun; the mineral veins in the keeping of the Southern Supreme Emperor's Heavenly Court were scarce.

Hence in the proportioning of materials they had attainments beyond the ordinary.

"No matter how fine the material, one must understand the properties of each kind of divine metal—must even grasp the distinct character of each divine metal—before one can forge a divine weapon of the highest order.

" The Silent Craftsman matched many divine metals and divine materials together, and shot Shen Mu a glance: "That wreck of a carriage of yours—let the White Tiger craftsmen repair it.

For the next few days you'll stay by my side. I mean to forge some treasures for the old folk of Hidden Maimed Village, and teach you a thing or two along the way. The Blind Elder will lend me a hand, and together we'll use microscopic forging to hammer out peerless divine weapons!

Your sword core needs reforging as well! " Shen Mu hesitated, then said: "Before that, there's one matter I have to see to.

I'm afraid I won't have the time. .

. " The Silent Craftsman asked: "How long will it take?