Chapter 1303 — The Perilous Mine Opens, the Divine Weapon Appears

In the inner palace of the Heavenly Court, Consort Yantian crushed the jade vial lightly between her fingers, and that drop of the Heavenly Venerable Haotian's blood floated quietly before her.

Consort Yantian parted her lips a fraction, her breath fragrant as orchids, and at that single exhalation the drop of Heavenly Venerable's blood at once began to change: from within the blood surfaced the phantom image of a celestial palace.

Her gaze flickered as she stared at that phantom palace. After a long moment she said softly, "So the rumors in the Great Void are true. Haotian truly was grievously wounded, badly hurt by the Great Emperor. Mu Tianzun had this drop of Heavenly Venerable blood sent to me—does he mean to tell me that Haotian is injured? And yet it hardly seems so..."

The phantom palace slowly faded.

Consort Yantian's eyes brightened. She murmured, "He means to tell me that within Haotian's blood lie hidden his cultivation arts and divine powers. This drop is the essence of Haotian's blood, concealing the phantom of one celestial palace. Could it be that he has obtained other essences of Haotian's blood, and mastered Haotian's other celestial palaces?"

She put away the drop of Heavenly Venerable's blood, gathered up the white cat, and gave her orders: "Prepare the phoenix carriage. We set out for the Ancestral Court."

At this same moment, Shen Mu had already arrived at the Great Black Wood. Looking about, he saw that the Great Black Wood had known no spring rebirth; the great tree was still scorched pitch-black, its growth rings layered like charcoal, its stump jagged and uneven, forming many a Great Black Mountain.

Shu Jun, Jiang Yunjian and the others had built numerous palaces here, and raised a supervisory forge for refining divine weapons.

Several ore veins had also been opened, and when Shen Mu arrived, the divine-weapon mine shaft that had first been discovered had likewise been excavated.

Shen Mu gazed toward the heart of the Great Black Wood, where Silent Craftsman, Blind Elder and other celestial artisans were in the fourth heaven of the Azure Glazed Heaven Canopy, gathered around a great treasure to refine it anew.

Silent Craftsman had built a supervisory forge upon that treasure, smelting and refining it on the spot.

The treasures within the many heavens of the Azure Glazed Heaven Canopy were vast beyond measure; only an innate sacred being like the Northern Emperor Xuanwu, colossal of physique, could refine them without great strain.

For celestial artisans like Silent Craftsman of Jingping, the refining was far more arduous, and consumed far more manpower.

Shen Mu was just about to go and meet them when suddenly the gods mining the ore came pouring out of the vein, crying loudly, "We've dug up that treasure! The treasure's power is unleashed—everyone beware!"

Shen Mu's heart stirred. In that instant, light swirled thick within the mine shaft, and wave upon wave of terrifying might surged and billowed up from the depths, faster than fast!

The several gods running at the rear were about to be overtaken by that vast ferocious might from the depths of the mine. Shen Mu's foot shifted, and with a swish he plunged into the shaft, unfurling his domain of the divine treasury to meet that surging might head-on!

Boom—

His divine treasury collapsed and shattered at once, and the vast ferocious might rushed into his face, making his heart leap with dread!

"The domain of the divine treasury cannot hold it! My divine treasury is shattered—I will not die for it, but those behind me will surely have their souls scattered and their bodies destroyed!"

Without a moment's hesitation Shen Mu brought out the Egg of Taishi and set it before him!

Before Taishi within the egg could react, that sky-high ferocious might struck the Egg of Taishi!

An indescribably dreadful throb surged in all directions, blasting the ore vein apart. The many gods behind Shen Mu suddenly felt an invincible force sweep over them, and the next moment they were swept up by Shen Mu's domain of the divine treasury.

Shen Mu too could not keep his footing. Struck by a savagely violent force, he was sent flying backward, in an instant hurled a thousand li away, and with a thunderous crash he struck the world barrier of the twenty-eighth heaven of the Azure Glazed Heaven Canopy, shaking that heaven without cease!

Clang!

The Egg of Taishi flew over and smashed down beside Shen Mu, and from within came Taishi's furious Dao-speech.

In the distance, the First Ancestor, Silent Craftsman, Blind Elder and the others at once noticed something amiss and hurried over.

Shen Mu landed lightly, set down those god miners, and felt every limb and bone wracked with pain, his heart shaken beyond measure.

Whatever the gods of Jingping had dug up was clearly no small matter—he and Taishi together had still been blasted away!

"Could it be that divine bow Blind Grandpa once saw buried deep beneath the ore vein?"

He could not keep from doubting and dreading. If the divine bow had been formed by this strange heaven and earth of the Ancestral Court, then its power was surely too great by far?

Yet if someone had forged it, that hardly seemed so either.

Suddenly the twenty-eight heavens shifted into reverse—it must be Long Qilin maneuvering the heavens of the Azure Glazed Heaven Canopy to help the First Ancestor, the Human Emperor and the rest reach this place swiftly.

The group descended, and Shen Mu flew to that ore vein. Giving no thought to pleasantries, he hurried to look—the vein had been blown completely open, turned into a vast valley.

The valley was a murky dark, jagged peaks and ruined cliffs standing in a forest. The various spirit-minerals that the gods of Jingping had mined were in fact all embedded in those broken peaks and cliffs, and the marks of mining could still be seen.

"Shen'er, you're not hurt?" The Alchemist came swiftly over on Long Qilin, calling from afar.

"No!"

Shen Mu shook his head, his gaze fixed unblinking on the depths of the valley, where divine light swirled and churned, contained yet unreleased, held in yet unspent, sending forth wave upon wave of heart-stopping ferocious might!

"Grandpa Silent Craftsman, can a treasure born and reared by heaven and earth have such ferocious might?" Shen Mu asked.

Silent Craftsman shook his head and gestured. Blind Elder said, "Speak like a human."

Silent Craftsman said, "Never such ferocious might! The other treasures in this vein may have been gestated in a divine mine, but that divine bow within could never have been gestated! More likely, it is the bow's ferocious might that gave birth to this divine mine, and gestated the divine weapons in the vein!"

The First Ancestor, the Human Emperor, said in a low voice, "Shen'er, Yan'er, of us all here only we three have the highest cultivation. We will go in and probe the power of that sinister weapon! The rest of you stay here!"

Silent Craftsman picked up his case and shot him a glare. "What use is it for you to go? Without a celestial artisan, the three of you tied together couldn't touch that sinister weapon in the least—you'd only be eating arrows!"

The First Ancestor, the Human Emperor, raised his brows but said nothing.

Blind Elder laughed. "Without my sacred pupils and formations, if you meet danger you'll all be in a bad way."

The First Ancestor swallowed his anger. "You follow behind us. Do not force your way in."

"If you're wounded, will you need someone to heal you?" The Alchemist stepped forward, smiling.

The First Ancestor, the Human Emperor, said helplessly, "Master Alchemist may come along as well, but no more. Any more, and I would struggle to protect you all."

Taishi laughed from within the egg. "Mu Tianzun, are all your elders so brimming with curiosity? Do they not know the danger here?"

He spoke in the Dao-speech of Taishi. Apart from Shen Mu, none could understand it; all they heard were strange and curious sounds coming from the egg.