Chapter 1272 — Calamity Approaches

Behind the four of them the Heavenly Court burst apart with a crackling roar; countless structures within its heavenly palaces collapsed and crumbled, and a dazzling divine radiance shrouded a hundred thousand li around, so that even Shen Mu and Bai Yuqiong could see only shadows swaying within the light, hare bolting and falcon stooping, changing swift as lightning, unable to make out at all what was truly happening inside. "The Third Sacred Pupil! " Shen Mu at once opened the vertical eye at the center of his brow, driving it with all his strength to peer into the heart of the divine radiance, so excited that his whole body trembled and his fists clenched tight.

Bai Yuqiong could not see the details within the light, and gave up watching the battle; carefully she drove the lantern to govern the strings of light.

Seeing Shen Mu in such a state, she could not help shaking her head inwardly. "A mighty Venerable Mu, and yet so curious, like a moth darting into flame.

. . no, like a foolish roe deer in the snow, whose curiosity will be the death of him one day. " She resolved that once Shen Mu had satisfied his curiosity, she would tell him of this weakness of his.

At that thought Bai Yuqiong suddenly froze.

"Venerable Mu is plainly an enemy, so why should I tell an enemy of his own weakness? Would it not be better for me if he died?

" Her heart fell into confusion, for it could only mean that her own standpoint was shifting by degrees.

Once she had taken herself for the Heavenly Court's Celestial Master, thinking of everything for the Heavenly Court's sake; and though the Black Emperor, Yin Tianzi, was her implacable foe, never had she thought of betraying the Heavenly Court. Ever since she met Shen Mu, she had more than once nursed the intent to kill him, yet had never once struck.

But ever since she learned of the struggle between Fire Heaven Venerable and Shen Mu, and went running off to the South Heaven, she had gradually come to understand Shen Mu.

And because she understood him, she had unknowingly come to stand on Shen Mu's side.

Of Fire Heaven Venerable's South Heaven and Shen Mu's Jingping, she had never passed judgment on which was right and which wrong, which the better and which the worse; yet in her heart she had long since judged.

She did not consider herself the reincarnated soul of the South Emperor, but she had always affirmed that she was of the human race. It was from the standpoint of the human race that she chose to stand at Shen Mu's side.

Having thought her way through all of this, her heart was suddenly released, and a smile broke across her face.

As a Celestial Master, she was the Celestial Master of the human race, not of the Heavenly Court.

Shen Mu opened the vertical eye at his brow and at last caught the changes at the center of the radiance; and with Moon Heaven Venerable's qin strings to aid him, countless tiny Shen Mus in the dreamscape set to work diligently, hastening to decipher the Dao-sounds, to perfect the innate primordial qi, to crack the runes of the Taichu Great Dao.

If he could fully decipher the Taichu Great Dao runes upon the eggshell, then he would have come by half of the Taichu Great Dao itself; even what the Heaven Emperor Taichu had obtained might not exceed his share.

Not only so: his Innate Heaven Palace too was growing at furious speed, taking shape at furious speed, mansion after mansion, pavilion after pavilion rising from the ground, countless bricks and pillars flying about, palace after shrine after hall of the gods assembling themselves into being. And the Divine Consciousness Heaven Palace, thanks to this battle between the Grand Emperor and Hao Heaven Venerable, had grown more complete still, more imposing and extraordinary by far. In this battle of the Grand Emperor and Hao, others might not dare claim it, but Shen Mu was certainly the one who had profited most.

And at the very moment he made out the scene within the radiance, suddenly several more figures appeared in the light! Shen Mu saw sword-light that in an instant filled heaven and earth, saw infinite holy flame that burned all things to nothing, saw Langwan cold and aloof and wholly void of feeling, and saw Void Heaven Venerable cloaked in darkness and in the blazing fire of magma!

Sovereign Kai's sword struck Hao Heaven Venerable; the thirty-four-fold heaven sword domain erupted, sword-light biting cold, all but tearing Hao Heaven Venerable to shreds! Fire Heaven Venerable fell upon Sovereign Kai in ambush, a flame domain such as none before had ever possessed, more terrible even than the birthplace of the South Emperor, melting even the Carefree Sword so that molten divine-metal dripped from it without cease.

Even Sovereign Kai's fleshly body and primal spirit, even Sovereign Kai's Sword Heaven Palace, were set alight by his matchless rage.

Langwan, the Divine King, ambushed the Grand Emperor; Void Heaven Venerable raced to strike Heaven Consort Qiang; yet the two women were too close, and enemies besides, so that they struck at each other almost in the same instant.

Both were hit at nearly the same moment, and at the moment of being hit each in turn struck home on Heaven Consort Qiang and the Grand Emperor.

Hao Heaven Venerable, grievously wounded, strove with all his might to escape from under Sovereign Kai's sword, and flung himself into the body of the divine artifact, Imperial Heaven Venerable; yet the one-armed Grand Emperor came charging through every attack, and with his single remaining arm struck the artifact Imperial Heaven Venerable a blow that smashed it into four or five pieces. Within the strings of light, Shen Mu watched dumbstruck, clapping his hands again and again and cheering.

So many turns had come about in so short a time as to dazzle the eye, and the transformations of the various divine arts were enough to make one gasp in wonder.

"Only this qin music, it is gradually falling into disorder. " Shen Mu sighed, greatly regretting it.

The melee among these Venerable-level beings sent waves of divine arts crashing against Moon Heaven Venerable's strings, throwing the music into confusion.

The earlier battle between the Grand Emperor and Hao Heaven Venerable had used divine consciousness arts and innate primordial qi, all of them issuing from the Taichu Great Dao; though the Great Dao of the Returning Abyss interfered, the interference was slight. But now there was far too much interference.

Now that the melody was in chaos, it had become very hard to tell which strain was innate primordial qi, which the Dao of the sword, which the Dao of divine consciousness.

Even so, Shen Mu was already very happy. "Eight Venerables in battle, we have no choice but to leave!

" came Bai Yuqiong's voice, frantic with anger.

Shen Mu said hastily, "Let's watch a little longer.

.

.

" "Watch your big head!

" Bai Yuqiong was furious beyond measure, and scolded him roundly. "Go home and watch your brother Shen Fengqing!

Eight Venerable-level beings, even Master Yue's strings cannot bear it.

If we don't leave now we shall all die here!

" Shen Mu hurriedly dispersed his dream-state entry into the Dao and looked about; the quivering of the string of light was growing ever more urgent, the amplitude of its swaying ever greater, and indeed, as Bai Yuqiong said, this string could hold no longer.

Bai Yuqiong gathered up the strings of light; the shortened light-string quivered without cease as it dodged one dreadful aftershock after another, racing toward the Great Void.

Shen Mu glanced at Lan Yutian, and saw that the little fatty was still in his entry into the Dao, comprehending something or other.