Chapter 1172 — The Heavens Like Humble Earth

Divine King Gong Yun gave a cold snort. "If this intelligence is true, I will grant you that ten percent share. Since that little slut Qiang Heavenly Consort is the Great Emperor, then who is Hong Heavenly Venerable?

When I struck him, why did he not resist but only flee? " Shen Mu's spirits surged, and he made an audacious demand.

"For this intelligence, I want the raw stones produced from your ore vein!

If you dig out any rough stones, they are mine!

" Divine King Gong Yun thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Hong Heavenly Venerable is not worth that price.

" Shen Mu sighed, rather regretfully, and thought to himself, "The Heavenly Duke won't fetch a good price after all. .

.

" Divine King Gong Yun said, "Tell me Hong's true identity, and I will tell you the locations of the other ancient ore veins. " Shen Mu shook his head. "I have my own means of finding those veins.

Nor would I sell out a friend for so small a matter. You'll have to raise the price.

" He raised two fingers. "Give me a twenty percent share of the divine stones! " Gong Yun's expression turned strange, and she shook her head. "Hong Heavenly Venerable's true identity is not worth that price. I won't buy it.

Once I verify that little slut Qiang Heavenly Consort's identity, I will give you a ten percent share of each batch of divine stones we mine. " Seeing that she had no intention of raising the offer, Shen Mu showed his disappointment.

"Divine King, which kind of divine stone does this ancient vein of yours produce most abundantly? " Divine King Gong Yun casually tossed him a stone.

"It is this kind.

The Creators of old understood neither primal qi nor primordial spirit, nor did they know how to cultivate their souls, so the secret of this divine stone was never uncovered. Coming here this time, I came to realize something—this vein, like the Primordial Vein, is able to produce ancient god eggs, so this stone must surely have some other use!

Take this one and study it first. " Shen Mu took the stone and examined it closely. It glowed with seven-colored light and had eight corners and twelve edges, but strangest of all, the stone seemed to be alive! When he pinched it by its upper and lower corners, it collapsed inward, while its internal space turned outward, cycling over and over, giving a feeling of profound mystery! It was different from the Primordial Divine Stone.

He wanted to probe the stone's power, but finding a treasure land to secure a foothold was more urgent; once he had a good location, there would be no harm in studying it later. Shen Mu put the stone away, took his leave, and thought, "Selling the Heavenly Duke's identity to other Heavenly Venerables would certainly fetch a ten percent share. Unfortunately, I can't sell it to just anyone, or it would doom him. . .

I truly wish I could sell out the Great Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor for a good price!

But if I sold them, they would surely do everything to kill me. " After walking far away, Shen Mu took out the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy once more and said, seemingly idly, "This treasure land has been occupied by Gong Heavenly Venerable—fortunately she owes me a favor and has granted me a ten percent share. But I too must find a treasure land no worse than this, extract more treasures, and only then can I trade them to her for more divine stones. Where am I to find such a land?

" The void beast drifted aimlessly onward.

Shen Mu relaxed, his eyes glinting. "That ancient god egg on the Heavenly Sphere—its true purpose is the Nuxin Clan's ancient ore vein. It most likely needs that vein to mature and break out of its shell. That is why, no matter what, it must find me another vein! Only this way can I get more divine stones from Gong Heavenly Venerable.

" Shen Mu leisurely watched the huge eyes that appeared and vanished all around him, thinking, "And it knows that I habitually store my treasures in the Shen Continent, so it can take the chance to absorb those divine stones and be born sooner!

But once I find an ancient vein, why would I put the divine stones I acquire in the Shen Continent? Heh heh.

. .

" The void beast traveled for two days before arriving at an ancient ore vein.

Shen Mu's spirits surged; just as he was about to leap down from the bone mountain, a gaping abyssal mouth suddenly opened in the ground below, and a flying tongue lashed toward him like a waterfall. A chill ran down Shen Mu's spine.

He hurriedly activated his divine sense and filled the belly of the void beast hiding underground with sharp spikes. The beast, in pain, fled through the void.

The back of Shen Mu's neck was drenched in cold sweat. Void beasts were truly formidable—an adult's strength should lie between the Jade Capital and Empyrean realms, and Yan'er could fully match one. But beasts like this appeared and vanished unpredictably, impossible to guard against. Even a strong practitioner at the Great Perfection of the Empyrean realm like Yan'er would die on the spot if ambushed by a void beast!

He swept his divine sense through the void, driving away all the void beasts lurking nearby.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and call Dragon Qilin and Yan'er down. "This vein should be one of the five most ancient ore veins. Stay close to me—I'll use the Azure Sky Canopy to protect us. " Dragon Qilin and Yan'er hurriedly followed him.

Shen Mu guarded the Azure Sky Canopy and stepped into the vein, saying, "Because the Primordial Vein contains vast amounts of Primordial Divine Stones, it is fraught with perils.

Even the eight ancient gods who carried a coffin in died there. Fortunately we have the Azure Sky Canopy, which answers whatever we seek; otherwise we would die too.

" Yan'er wondered, "Why is the young master talking to himself?

" She did not know that Shen Mu was not talking to himself, but to the ancient god egg inside the Azure Sky Canopy. He intended to win the ancient god egg's protection, so his words seemed strange. This ancient mine lay among massive mountains, their peaks steep as walls.

Once inside, all around was a vast blur of chaos—like darkness, yet like light, but one could not see far. In that chaotic vastness, a few sparse plants grew, rooted in the chaotic qi.

Astonishingly, those plants bore dragon scales, each scale brilliant with light.

Shen Mu leaned close to look and saw his own five viscera and six bowels!

He was startled.

"There is something odd about this plant—could it even turn into a divine dragon and fly away? " He also saw some plants flowering and bearing fruit, but not knowing their medicinal properties, he did not dare pick them carelessly.

"Who knows whether they can be used as medicine? Grandpa Alchemist's fortune has come.

If he came here, his medical arts might well advance another step, and my Healing Heaven Palace would be within reach! " As they went deeper into the vein, Shen Mu suddenly stepped on a withered bone.

Frowning slightly, he surged his primal qi and forced the surrounding chaotic qi aside.

That chaotic qi was incomparably heavy; even a wisp of it was as weighty as a mountain, and Shen Mu found it exhausting to push back. Then he saw, lying at the bottom of the mine, the bones of Creators, one after another! Every corpse, without exception, faced the entrance, as if something terrible had happened inside the workings—the Creators mining the lode had fled madly, yet died on the way before they could escape!

Shen Mu frowned deeply, stood one of the skeletons up, and examined it for wounds, but found none. "How did these Creator miners die?

" He steadied himself, bowed to the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy, and its canopy spread open, letting down streamers of treasure light that forced the surrounding chaotic qi back.

Leaning on the Azure Sky Canopy, Shen Mu continued forward. The mine was extremely deep, gradually descending into a sloping passage.

Suddenly Shen Mu stopped.