Chapter 1413 — Co-Lord of the Heavenly Alliance

"What divine ability is this?"

Heavenly Venerable Hong was somewhat at a loss. He tried to use his Dao heart to break through the Nine Prisons Heart Lock, yet the moment his Dao heart stirred, he felt countless spikes within the Nine Prisons Platform growing wildly, leaving his Dao heart no escape!

His Dao heart felt a stabbing pain.

Shen Mu's Nine Prisons Heart Lock, the Eternal Dao, could not lock down his cultivation, yet it had locked his Dao heart.

His cultivation was too powerful; even the true Nine Prisons Platform could not harm him in the slightest, let alone this divine ability of Shen Mu's, which was born from the Nine Prisons Platform on the reverse side of the Ancestral Court.

Yet the divine ability Nine Prisons Heart Lock, the Eternal Dao, was not aimed at his cultivation, but at locking his Dao heart. Though the Dao heart's effect on a person was not as strong as cultivation, it was still of the utmost importance.

The Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system was for elevating cultivation and mana; it emphasized power, and the Dao heart was of no importance to power.

But Kaihuang had opened a new path, founding the Dao Realm system.

In advancing through the Dao Realm, besides comprehending the great Dao, the Dao heart also played a crucial role.

The strongest Dao heart in this world belonged to Kaihuang; thus he could stand as an equal to the Ten Heavenly Venerables at only the thirty-fourth heaven of the Dao Realm. By locking Heavenly Venerable Hong's Dao heart, Shen Mu had locked his progress in the Dao Realm—he could no longer advance in it.

Only if his comprehension of the heavenly Dao reached the level of the twenty-fourth heaven of the Dao Realm could he possibly break through Shen Mu's seal on his Dao heart.

Yet although Heavenly Venerable Hong was a guardian of the Kaihuang era and had absorbed its achievements, his understanding of the relationship between the Dao heart and the Dao Realm was only half-formed.

He did not know what it meant for his Dao heart to be locked by Shen Mu.

After all, the Dao Realm system was still in its infancy; no one had truly achieved great perfection in the Dao Realm. And Shen Mu's Nine Prisons Heart Lock, the Eternal Dao, was a newly created great divine ability of entering the Dao, revealed to the world for the first time.

Apart from his Dao heart being locked, he felt nothing amiss, nor did he feel weakened.

This weakening was founded upon the Dao heart. It could not be felt now, but if Heavenly Venerable Hong were injured and his cultivation damaged, he would feel it: because his Dao heart was locked, his vital essence, divine consciousness, primordial spirit, physical body, and even the great Dao he had cultivated would all be locked, unable to recover to their peak state!

If he was not injured, then all was well—it was merely Shen Mu locking his Dao heart.

But the moment he was injured, it would be irrevocable doom!

Such was the brilliance of Shen Mu's great divine ability at the twenty-fifth heaven of the Dao Realm!

"How did Heavenly Venerable Mu come to quarrel with Heavenly Venerable Hong?"

Yun Chuxiu walked over, her two braids swaying again as she said with a grin, "That old thing has always been a good sort. How did you offend him?"

Suddenly blood streamed from Shen Mu's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Yun Chuxiu jumped in fright and blurted, "You looked fine just a moment ago—even shattered, you could be reborn. Why do you suddenly look like you're about to drop dead?"

"You're the one about to drop dead."

Shen Mu snorted coldly and said indifferently, "I was wounded by Heavenly Venerable Hong. Though my body and primordial spirit have recovered, his divine ability was too powerful and left me with Dao wounds that from time to time damage my body and primordial spirit. But it's no matter. I've cultivated the Heavenly Palace of the Medical Dao; this little Dao wound is nothing I can't handle."

Yun Chuxiu saw two trails of blood flowing from his ears, two streams of bloody tears from his eyes, and two lines of blood from his nostrils. She quietly glanced at his lower body.

Shen Mu flew into a rage. "Where are you looking?"

Yun Chuxiu hastily smiled. "I was checking whether you'd bleed down there too. Pity you didn't."

Shen Mu snorted. "Why did you come with this clone? At a summit of the Heavenly Alliance's leaders, the least you could do is bring out Yuanmu's body. Otherwise it's far too disrespectful. You should have gotten Yuanmu's body back by now, haven't you?"

"Of course I got it back."

Yun Chuxiu said indifferently, "You had Heavenly Venerable You scheme against me, using my body to coerce me into repairing that divine artifact, the Imperial Heavenly Venerable, in Tubo's hands. If I hadn't gotten my body back, everyone in your Jingping would be dead by now."

"Didn't you set me up too? Heavenly Venerable Gong, Divine Emperor Langxuan, and Consort Yan all came looking for me—nearly stripped a layer off my hide."

Shen Mu activated the Heavenly Palace of the Medical Dao to suppress his Dao wound and heal it gradually. Though the wound was severe, Heavenly Venerable Hong had not used his full strength, wanting to spare Shen Mu's life; thus the Heavenly Palace of the Medical Dao could still cure it.

Ever since the Pill Master had demonstrated the power of the Heavenly Palace of the Medical Dao and used the medical Dao on Heavenly Venerable Yue, Shen Mu's attainments in the medical Dao had grown ever more refined.

The Pill Master's medical Dao and Heavenly Palace of the Medical Dao were truly exquisite and wondrous, possessing aspects beyond even the Dao of Creation.

Yun Chuxiu sighed and said with grievance, "This time, attending the meeting, I couldn't use Yuanmu's body, nor could I directly activate Shi Qiluo. Otherwise, if the Ten Heavenly Venerables had ill intentions, wouldn't I lose a body and my life? So I came with this body first. Once everything is certain, it won't be too late to reveal myself."

The two walked into the Jade Pool Lodge. Shen Mu no longer bled from his seven orifices, and his injuries had calmed somewhat, though his face was still a little sallow. He said with emotion, "Back then, this is where I beat your son, Heavenly Venerable Hao. It started from the side palace hall ahead."

Yun Chuxiu recalled the past with a flood of emotion. "Pity you didn't beat him to death. Your skills were too poor. If you'd killed him, none of what came later would have happened."

Shen Mu said angrily, "Wasn't it you who stopped me back then?"

Yun Chuxiu hastily begged pardon. "Back then, it was my first time having a child, and my motherly protective instinct was fierce. Seeing you so fierce and actually wounding my son, of course I was frantic. You were so ferocious then, it made my heart flutter like a deer—turned this young matron's heart into a maiden's..."

Shen Mu was speechless. This little wench never spoke a true word. Of course, hearing sweet talk from this little wench was far more pleasant than hearing it from Shi Qiluo.

The two passed through the side palace hall and arrived before the Heavenly Venerable Hall.

Yun Chuxiu looked a little frantic and tugged at his sleeve. Shen Mu hastily broke free. Lady Yuanmu was a crafty and eccentric ancient god; none of her words, not even her expressions, could be trusted.

"When this woman turns ruthless, she'll even deceive herself! She's not frantic at all—she's just putting on this act."

The two entered the hall. Heavenly Venerables Hao, Huo, Xu, Lang, Zu, Gong, Qiang, and Yan had already arrived, each seated in two rows.

In the center, at the main seats, lay five cushions, representing the five who had founded the Heavenly Alliance.

Heavenly Venerable Hao sat at the head of the left row, while the head of the right row was empty—presumably Heavenly Venerable Xiao's seat. Though Heavenly Venerable Xiao had been exiled, he was still one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables' leaders.