Chapter 1363 — Stealing the Dao Fruit

Heavenly Venerable Yue stepped forward to examine Shen Mu's injuries, only to find that Shen Mu's head was gone, leaving nothing but his neck, and that at the cross-section of the wound were the dao patterns left by that blow of Heavenly Venerable Xiao's, ceaselessly destroying his bodily functions. His injuries were grave beyond measure!

Even his primordial spirit had lost its head; like his body, its neck was covered in dao wounds!

The Alchemist was swiftly suppressing Shen Mu's dao wounds. As he was now, Shen Mu was strong without and hollow within: his Primal Fetus Divine Treasury had burst open, and with Heavenly Venerable Xiao's dao wound upon him, he could not even use the Unchanging Divine Power.

His earlier feat of frightening Heavenly Venerable Xiao away had been nothing but bluster.

Even if he could employ the Unchanging Divine Power, the dao wound would still be there, and would still blow his head apart.

Only once the dao wound was erased could he rouse the Unchanging Divine Power to restore his Primal Fetus Divine Treasury, or use the Creation Mystic Art to grow back a head.

"Medicine King God, are Heavenly Venerable Mu's injuries dangerous?

" Heavenly Venerable Yue asked in a low voice.

"He won't die. " The Alchemist examined the bowl-sized cross-section of the wound on the neck in fine detail, and said with some difficulty, "It is only that I do not understand the dao patterns left in this dao wound by Heavenly Venerable Xiao.

I will need a Heavenly Venerable to enlighten me. " Heavenly Venerable You came forward and shone a lantern on him; seeing that Shen Mu's throat was still drawing breath, he set his mind at ease and said, "He won't die.

Heavenly Venerable Yue, where did you banish Heavenly Venerable Xiao to? " Heavenly Venerable Yue analyzed the dao patterns in Shen Mu's dao wound in detail and said, "In those years, when my cultivation had achieved something, I wished to test the arts of space, and so I ran about everywhere, fond of trying out spatial divine powers wherever I went. Once I inadvertently opened a certain space, and discovered a place like a labyrinth. I was trapped there for a hundred and ten years, and only escaped at last by accident.

I call it Chaotic Space. That is where I sent Heavenly Venerable Xiao. " A little embarrassed, she said, "Though I established my dao upon space, the strangeness of that place exceeded my expectations, and for a time I could not free myself. Heavenly Venerable Xiao's present strength surpasses what mine was then by I know not how many times, and he has the flesh of Earth Mother Yuanjun besides; with her root tendrils and branches and leaves to unravel the labyrinth, it will be far simpler for him.

Still, if he wishes to leave that place, it will take him ten or twenty years.

" "There is such a place? " Shen Mu exclaimed in wonder.

Heavenly Venerable Yue said, "The cosmos is grand and strange, and has always held many secrets unknown to men.

That place contains many most peculiar ruins; when I came to that Chaotic Space in those years, I too was full of doubt.

" She could not help saying angrily, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, you are already in such a state, and still your curiosity is stirred by such a perilous place.

Have you no fear of death? " Shen Mu raised a hand to touch his head, and Heavenly Venerable Yue slapped it, saying angrily, "Have you forgotten?

You have no head now!

" Shen Mu put his hands on his hips; Heavenly Venerable Yue, though puffed up with anger, could not help but laugh at the sight, and burst out giggling.

Heavenly Venerable You shot her a glance, coughed once, and said, "Yue, we had best sort out the dao patterns in his dao wound as quickly as we can. The longer it drags on, the more perilous it is for him.

" Heavenly Venerable Yue hastily steadied herself and said with a solemn face, "You cannot blame me for this; blame Heavenly Venerable Mu. He is always making me laugh.

" Heavenly Venerable You pulled the ghost-face mask from the back of his head onto his face, rolled his eyes, then pushed the ghost-face mask back behind his head.

The two Heavenly Venerables were, after all, of profound insight, and soon sorted out the dao patterns of the dao wound left by Heavenly Venerable Xiao; but as for the runes of the Great Dao contained within those dao patterns, they understood them only in part. The two of them explained it all in detail to Shen Mu, and Shen Mu unraveled the dao patterns bit by bit, when suddenly his voice turned most displeased: "Heavenly Venerable Xiao has learned the microscopic arts of calculation as well!

" Heavenly Venerable Yue and Heavenly Venerable You did not know what he meant by this, and neither took it to heart.

Shen Mu fell silent. Heavenly Venerable Xiao had learned the microscopic arts of calculation and reconstructed his runes of the Great Dao, so that his cultivation was now so mighty that he could single-handedly stand against Tubo and the two Heavenly Venerables, Yue and You. And all of this was the effect of the Jingping Reforms!

"That Heavenly Venerable Xiao could master the microscopic arts of calculation in so short a time shows that he has been staying in Jingping all along, quietly studying the fruits of the Jingping Reforms. Yet he cannot have stayed in Jingping the whole time, for he must also remain in the Heavenly Court, and even from time to time make a trip to the Ancestral Court or to Taixu.

" Shen Mu pondered for a moment, and reached a conclusion in his heart: "When I summoned his soul, his soul was not drawn into Heavenly Venerable Xiao's body; rather, the soul was reincarnated and became another person, who slipped into Jingping to steal the learning of the Reforms.

" That Heavenly Venerable Xiao should go to learn the Jingping Reforms was no surprise to him; in truth, Shen Mu wished for nothing more than that all ten Heavenly Venerables should study the fruits of the Jingping Reforms.

So long as the Jingping Reforms were useful, the ten Heavenly Venerables would not send down calamity to destroy Jingping, not until Jingping became a threat to them. Yet what made Shen Mu wary was that Heavenly Venerable Xiao had always had an identity within Jingping, and over these ten-odd years that identity of his had likely already climbed into the middle or upper ranks of Jingping!

Given time, he would be like a parasite, seizing control of Jingping's power, and might even, perhaps, oust the magpie and take its nest!

"He means to steal the fruits of the Jingping Reforms without a sound, just as in those years the demigods stole the power of the ancient gods, just as the ten Heavenly Venerables stole the power of the Heaven Emperor. However this world may change, the power of these old rulers will never fall to others! " Shen Mu said silently, "If the power of Jingping does not belong to the people of Jingping, but falls into the hands of parasites like Heavenly Venerable Xiao, then the Jingping Reforms have failed.

In that case, Jingping is nothing but another Longhan Revolution. .

.

" The Alchemist coughed once and reminded him, "Shen'er, keep unraveling the dao patterns. " Shen Mu steadied himself and went on listening as Heavenly Venerable Yue and Heavenly Venerable You explained the form of each rune, while he unraveled the mysteries of these runes of the Great Dao.

A long while passed, and the three of them together unraveled the dao wound left by Heavenly Venerable Xiao. This dao wound was not, in fact, so very severe; in his haste he had blown Shen Mu's head apart without having time to use his full strength.

The Alchemist already had a plan in mind, and at once compounded the medicine.

Once he had refined the spirit elixir, he immediately treated Shen Mu's injuries, and Shen Mu's dao wound slowly faded.