Chapter 1292 — The Youth Meets Taichu

Taishi in the Egg sneered: "These so-called Dao-wounds of yours are nothing in our eyes. Taisu has form and substance but no body; to heal such Dao-wounds is child's play for her."

Shen Mu's heart sank. He pressed on: "Then what of the cultivation Hao Tianzun has lost? Hao Tianzun had twenty-six heavenly palaces destroyed, and those I wore myself out breaking apart. Surely she cannot restore all of them to him in a single breath? In my judgment, Taisu does not possess that kind of strength!"

"Indeed, Taisu does not possess that kind of strength."

Taishi in the Egg sighed. "Her present strength falls far short of a Heavenly Venerable. Present company excepted, of course."

Shen Mu let out a breath. Unpleasant as the ancient god's words were, at least Taisu could not restore Hao Tianzun, and a Hao Tianzun who had not returned to his peak was a cripple; finishing him off would be no trouble.

"When the Celestial Emperor Taichu was born, he was already incomplete; even so, he might be reckoned the most complete of the egg-born ancient gods, Taiyi alone excepted."

Taishi in the Egg said: "Today the strength of the Ten Heavenly Venerables has drawn close to what the Celestial Emperor Taichu possessed in his day. Such strength surpasses Taisu by a wide margin. Taisu's strength is a little above the Four-Colored Great Emperors and a little below the Four God-Emperors."

Shen Mu's heart tightened. Even so, that was nothing to be taken lightly.

The Four-Colored Great Emperors — Yin Tianzi, the White Emperor, Qi Xiayu, and the Green Emperor of the East — were all forces to be reckoned with, and the Four God-Emperors were beings that only a Heavenly Venerable could stand against!

Taisu's strength lay between the two, roughly the equal of a minor Celestial Court expert who had cultivated a dozen or so heavenly palaces.

"But Taisu can restore Hao Tianzun's palaces."

Taishi in the Egg went on: "She can control the energies running wild inside Hao Tianzun and quickly bring his nine heavenly palaces back. As for the other twenty-six, for her it is merely a matter of time."

Shen Mu mused a moment, then said: "How much time, do you think?"

Taishi in the Egg considered, then said: "Without diminishing her own strength, a hundred years."

Shen Mu said flatly: "Then within fifty years, Hao Tianzun can return to his peak!"

Taishi in the Egg thought it over and nodded: "You are right. Once Hao Tianzun's nine palaces are restored, he can cultivate on his own and perfect them; add Taisu's restoration, and fifty years should about bring him back to his peak."

Shen Mu paced around the Egg of Taishi. The egg sat there, tranquil and motionless.

"Hao Tianzun can restore only nine palaces in the short term, which means that in the short term he is nothing to worry about. I had meant to flee for my life; now it seems there is no need. His strength is not yet recovered, so he will surely bide his time and hide his edge, lest others catch a sign of it."

Suddenly Shen Mu stopped and looked at the Egg of Taishi: "Taisu grants whatever is asked. What if Hao Tianzun asks for a thirty-sixth heavenly palace? Could Taisu give him a thirty-sixth palace?"

Taishi in the Egg pondered: "It is not impossible..."

Shen Mu shuddered several times over.

Taishi in the Egg continued: "Were it so, Hao Tianzun would then be controlled by Taisu far too deeply, and could only become her puppet. Taisu's granting of whatever is asked is not done without price; the more one asks, the more one comes under her control."

Shen Mu blinked: "What do you mean?"

Taishi in the Egg said: "If Taisu gave Hao Tianzun a thirty-sixth palace, then Hao Tianzun would not truly be at the Celestial Court realm, and could not reach the summit of the heavenly palace and Celestial Court system. His Dao-path would be like Taidi's, always falling a little short. The Celestial Court system prizes power alone, but in power Hao Tianzun should be unable to reach the absolute summit."

"Hao Tianzun is no man of empty reputation either. For Taisu to control him would be difficult!"

Shen Mu's eyes flickered. He ventured: "Then what does Brother Taishi think — is the Dao-realm system of the Thirty-Six Heavens a perfect system?"

Taishi in the Egg chuckled: "How could a perfect system exist in this world? Were it perfect, how would Lord Mu Tianzun, Great Patriarch Shen, carry out his reforms?"

Shen Mu laughed aloud, but inwardly he was on guard: "This Taishi is a wily old stick who has been rolled through the frying pan time and again and fished out to sit overnight! Not a drop leaks from his words."

"Back then, when Brother Taishi and Brother Taisu conversed within the egg, what was it you spoke of?" he asked offhandedly.

Offhanded as it seemed, Shen Mu was in truth deeply uneasy about the matter.

Taishi and Taisu had exchanged words and secret counsels more than once, and the instant Shen Mu's divine consciousness drew near, they had promptly fallen silent.

"That matter..."

Taishi in the Egg chuckled: "Nothing but trifles. I told her how Taichu had imprisoned me; she told me how she was nearly refined by Emperor Xuanwu; we discussed how to deal with Taichu and Xuanwu, and take our revenge."

Shen Mu did not believe a word of it, but since Taishi in the Egg was unwilling to say more, it was not fitting for him to press.

Taishi in the Egg proposed: "Even with nine palaces restored, Hao Tianzun is more than you can contend with. Better that we return to the Ancestral Court and lie low for a time. The Taishi ore vein in the Ancestral Court is in the hands of Consort Yan; Consort Yan is in the Celestial Court. Let us seize the moment to attack the Taishi ore vein and take that woman's territory! Whatever we gain, we split fifty-fifty!"

Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. This ancient god Taishi had grown far too worldly — he was a being of the same order as the Celestial Emperor Taichu, and the Celestial Emperor Taichu would never utter such a thing.

"I still have a younger brother in the Void, and I must find him."

Shen Mu smiled: "Fifty-fifty — I will remember it. Rest assured: once I find my brother, I will leave this place of trouble and set out for the Ancestral Court."

The ancient god in the egg was silent a moment, then said: "Fifty-fifty was a joke. Do not take it to heart."

The Dark Capital of the Void, the Dark City.

Hao Tianzun's wounds grew ever lighter. He opened his eyes, struggled to his feet, turned, and bowed in thanks: "My thanks to you, fellow Daoist."

He raised his head, saw the woman's face, and his expression abruptly went blank, a trace of infatuation in his gaze.

The woman standing behind him — her brows and eyes and features bore a certain resemblance to Lady Yuanmu.

"Whatever is asked is granted; whatever the heart desires comes to pass. Whoever is in your heart, you will see her likeness in me."

The woman named Taisu smiled: "Only when you no longer harbor that thought in your heart will you see my true face."

Hao Tianzun closed his eyes. When he opened them again and looked at Taisu, her appearance had changed.

In his eyes, Taisu was no longer the likeness of Lady Yuanmu, but a strange woman, proud and cold, with a light behind her head — having form and substance yet not yet a body, its radiance dark as kohl, shifting between the real and the unreal.

The laughter Hao Tianzun had heard before was not this woman's laughter, but the laughter of his own heart.

In truth, the goddess Taisu had never laughed.

The form of this ancient god was already beyond the grasp of ordinary folk.