Chapter 1441 — The Rules of the Wilderness

The two ancient gods' faces shifted dark and bright by turns, and the female of the two said, "Within that eggshell there still remains a portion of our essence liquid, not yet refined, and that too was stolen by that man. If he refines it, our cultivation will never reach perfection. . .

" "There is no need to worry," the male ancient god consoled her.

"Without the Taiji Origin Stone and a divine stone, the essence liquid cannot be refined. Even if the eggshell was stolen, it is of no use whatsoever to that thief. " Consort Yan's heart stirred slightly; she recalled that within the vertical eye at the center of Shen Mu's brow there was a Taiji Origin Stone.

She said, "And if that man possesses both a Taiji Origin Stone and a divine stone, and can refine the essence liquid? " The two ancient gods' faces changed at once; they knew immediately of whom she spoke, and could not help but exchange glances. Yet did that man truly have the strength to steal their eggshell right under their noses?

"There are no experts nearby; the only one who could be called an expert is him.

" Consort Yan said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu has many talents, and his learning is exceedingly motley.

It is possible he has the means to lurk here and steal your eggshell.

But why did he not steal the Taiji Origin Stone as well? " The male ancient god pondered a moment, then said, "To him, one Taiji Origin Stone or eight makes little difference. He does not understand the wondrous uses of the origin stones; to take the others would be to make an utter enemy of us, so he left us a little face.

" The female ancient god frowned. "Though we have guessed it was him, we have no solid proof, and I fear we cannot make him hand over the eggshell. The eggshell is a small matter; the essence liquid within it is what matters most. If he refines and devours it.

. . " The male ancient god shook his head. "If he still remembers the least favor of our pointing him toward the Great Black Wood, he will return the essence liquid.

There is no need to worry. That he did not take the origin stones shows he wishes to preserve a measure of goodwill and not offend us utterly. My lady, let us first go to your domain and wait a few days, to see whether he sends it back. " Consort Yan shook her head and laughed coldly. "Would that little thief ever send it back?

By now he is most likely cradling the essence liquid and drinking deep. " She raised her head and glanced at the great abyss of Guixu.

Deprived of the Ancient God of Taiji's power to sustain it, the great abyss of Guixu receded at flying speed, layer upon layer of space expanding. Soon the great abyss returned once more to the world where it had originally belonged.

Consort Yan took back the mortal body of Her Highness the Empress, and the three rose and departed.

This time, though Consort Yan had suffered the humiliation of Shen Mu's defiling the Empress's body, and had been ambushed by Consort Qiang and Shi Qiluo, taking some injury, she was nonetheless delighted at heart.

She had won the aid of the Ancient God of Taiji, formed an alliance with him, and moreover had seen in him the hope of invincibility! When the Ancient God of Taiji transformed into the Goddess of Guixu, the fighting strength he displayed was truly startling!

He possessed at once the power of the Empress and of Yuanmu, wielding the might of life and annihilation, with no weakness whatsoever! Such a perfect being was in no way inferior to Heaven Duke and Earth Count!

Moreover, the Ancient God of Taiji clearly possessed the ability to blend the great paths of the Empress and of Yuanmu. Once Lady Yuanmu was captured and Lady Yuanmu's consciousness ground away, then she would be the one who held both powers at once!

And now she had shaken off the shackles of the ancient gods; her room to grow was greater, no longer bound by the great path of Guixu. The road to becoming Empress was within sight!

Without warning, the two ancient gods, of one mind, turned their heads together, and saw the Taiji Star Field spinning without cease.

The two ancient gods said in unison, "So that is it! " Consort Yan, puzzled as to their meaning, halted her steps. The two ancient gods reached out their hands together; the Taiji Star Field shrank as it spun, and before long it transformed into a Taiji sand table that flew toward them and settled behind their heads.

This Taiji sand table was composed of black sand, white sand, and the Taiji mineral veins. As the two ancient gods walked shoulder to shoulder, the Taiji sand table spun ceaselessly behind their heads, black and white alternating.

Consort Yan studied it closely: the Taiji Star Field and the mining region had now transformed into a strange treasure, brimming with a fearsome might. And amid the changes of Taiji, forms of all manner of divine weapons emerged from the sand table, most formidable, more fearsome even than the treasures of the Heavenly Venerables! The female ancient god laughed.

"Just now we kept feeling that something was missing; only when we turned our heads without thinking did we discover this treasure.

It is the treasure born alongside us, our Dao soldier. " The male ancient god said, "We were born from the mining region; the mining region, to protect us in attaining the Dao, forms a Dao soldier. Taichu, Taisu, all have their Dao soldiers that guard the Dao.

" Consort Yan's heart stirred. "My late husband had a Dao soldier too? How is it I never knew?

" She was greatly perplexed: if the Heavenly Emperor Taichu had a Dao soldier too, why had she never seen him use it? If he had possessed a Dao soldier, how could the Heavenly Emperor Taichu have been so wretched? The Ancient God of Taiji did not know the reason either. A Dao soldier is a supreme treasure, formed of the great Dao, of immense power; only in their hands can such a treasure be brought to its utmost.

The female ancient god said, "Brother Taichu was sacrificed to by the Great Emperor's clansmen, and so was born into the world ahead of time. Could his Dao soldier have fallen into the Great Emperor's hands? " Consort Yan's heart went cold.

The Great Emperor had never once brought out this Taichu Dao soldier, hiding it very deep; this must be his final trump card! Meanwhile, in the thirtieth void, Shen Mu stood at the prow of the Divine Boat of the Other Shore, both hands raising high the eggshell of the Taiji divine egg, while the boat raced madly on, carrying the youth swift as wind and lightning!

The youth's heart bloomed with joy; he pushed his cultivation to its utmost, fearing only that the Ancient God of Taiji would catch up, never imagining that the wronged party had not pursued him at all.

"Ha ha, ha ha! The eggshells of the Five Primals are all in my hands at last!

" In Shen Mu's heart it was as if countless little fox spirits were cheering and leaping; his Dao heart stirred restlessly.

Catching the fragrance of the essence liquid in the Taiji divine egg, his appetite was roused: "How fragrant! Truly fragrant, just one sip, just to taste it! " With a boom the Divine Boat of the Other Shore plunged into the thirty-first void.

This layer of void was somewhat perilous for Shen Mu, but a guilty thief is ever fearful; he still worried that the Ancient God of Taiji might track him down, and so he had no choice but to brave the danger and enter the thirty-first void. This time he had braved enormous peril, driving the Three Cores of the Mystic Body art, using the still-immature Zaiji Heavenly Palace, aided by the Steal Heaven Palace, to raise his speed to a level that ignored spatial distance, cutting in one stroke into the battlefield of the Ancient God of Taiji and Consort Qiang, Shi Qiluo and the rest, and stealing away the two eggshells without god or ghost knowing!