Chapter 1295 — Brazen and Black-Hearted

Suddenly someone choked and fell to coughing, again and again, and at once the eyes of every god at the gathering swung round upon him; the man fought down his coughs until his face went scarlet with the strain.

Celestial Venerable Hao broke the silence, gasping for breath: "Had Celestial Venerable Mu not lent a hand, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I fear I would have perished at the Great Emperor's hands."

Shen Mu said weakly: "Heaven looks after the good, and Celestial Venerable Hao hardly seems a man fated to die young. I too spent every last shred of my strength before I could hold off the Great Emperor and save your life."

Celestial Venerable Hao, his breath faint as a thread: "That I dragged you into this, Daoist brother, I deeply regret. I have no way to repay you; hereafter I shall spare no sacrifice, but serve you with the toil of a horse or a hound."

Shen Mu was so stirred that a sickly flush rose to his cheeks: "You speak too gravely, far too gravely! Celestial Venerable Hao is the chief who holds the Celestial Court and its altars in his hands. Thinking of the Celestial Court's sake, how could I not throw caution to the winds and come to your rescue?"

Every god general and celestial venerable present looked at one another.

Suddenly Shen Mu and Celestial Venerable Hao broke into violent coughing in perfect unison, each wearing the look of a man who might drop dead at any moment.

Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu did not look well either, and now they too began to cough.

"Four celestial venerables gravely wounded at once — truly a season of many troubles," someone murmured.

Shen Mu rallied his spirits and declared loudly: "That is wrong! Shen Ye, that old villain of Carefree Township, and that old hag Lang Wan — they are gravely wounded as well! Now is the finest hour for the valiant sons of our Celestial Court to win merit and found their fortunes! I shall myself, broken body and all, lead troops into battle and take the old villain Shen Ye's head with my own hands, to repay the Celestial Court!" That said, he began coughing violently once more.

The Four Great Heavenly Kings, the Four Great Heavenly Masters, and the Four Emperors all coughed in turn. Bai Yuqiong sighed: "This cough seems to be contagious..."

Celestial Venerable Huo asked with concern: "Brother Hao, are your injuries grave? Celestial Venerable Xu and I went to your rescue, but Kaihuang and Lang Wan came charging in as well, and we could not shield you in time, Daoist brother."

"I won't die."

Pale-faced, Celestial Venerable Hao said flatly: "Having survived, I had meant to trouble none of you and retire into seclusion to heal. Little did I expect that someone in our Celestial Court would bite the hand that feeds him and dare to murder me while I recovered. Heh heh. A fine calculation indeed."

Every heart turned cold, and every gaze swung to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu seemed not to notice, picking up a dish from the table and putting it into his mouth.

As for Bai Yuqiong, Celestial Lord Xi, and the Crimson Emperor Qi Xiayu, though their faces showed nothing, they could not keep their hearts from quailing.

That day, in the dark valley of the Taixu Demon Realm, when Celestial Venerable Hao was set upon and slain at, the three of them had been present, each striking his own blow; they did not know whether Celestial Venerable Hao had seen through it.

Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu betrayed nothing. Celestial Venerable Xu said: "Brother Hao, do you know who it was that struck at you?"

How could Celestial Venerable Hao possibly say?

To name Celestial Lord Xi and the others would be to force Celestial Venerable Huo and Celestial Venerable Xu to act on the spot and kill him; he was not so foolish as that.

"Those who sought my life concealed their true identities."

Celestial Venerable Hao said indifferently: "Perhaps in time their tracks may be uncovered. But my injuries are grave now, and I have no leisure to look into the matter."

Shen Mu suddenly set down his chopsticks and cried out in shock: "When I went to Brother Hao's rescue, I too was in the Taixu Demon Realm, and I recognized the traitors who plotted against him!"

Again every gaze swung to him.

Shen Mu's eyes came to rest on the Second Heavenly Master, Meng Yungui, whose face went pale; he hastily shrank back his head.

Shen Mu's gaze slid off him and fell on the Fourth Heavenly Master, Zhu Shaoping, whose face turned the color of earth.

Shen Mu looked smiling upon the other Heavenly Kings and Heavenly Masters, and every heart rose into its owner's throat.

God generals who could take their seats at such a grand gathering were, one and all, beings of the Lingxiao realm; yet now they fell utterly silent, and not one dared meet his eyes.

Hidden in the third eye at the center of Shen Mu's brow, the Taishi within the egg could not help but exclaim in admiration: "Turning his hand brings clouds, flipping it brings rain. Such scheming, such skill, are of the very highest order! Young as Celestial Venerable Mu is, and modest as his powers may be, he is not to be underestimated!"

Suddenly Shen Mu's gaze moved to Celestial Venerable Huo's face. Celestial Venerable Huo's eyes burned like fire; he looked at him and said nothing.

"Hahahaha!"

Shen Mu clapped his hands and laughed: "It was too dark in the Taixu Demon Realm. I could not see their faces clearly, and I dare not talk nonsense."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, each secretly turning his head aside to wipe the cold sweat from his brow.

Celestial Venerable Hao shot Shen Mu a glance and said coolly: "Celestial Venerable Mu does not know who tried to assassinate me, but there are those who bite the hand that feeds them, and they cannot escape my eyes and ears."

He caught his breath and said in a heavy voice: "Yin Zhaojin!"

The Yin Son of Heaven went pale. He rose from his seat, bowed, and said: "What instruction does the Celestial Venerable have for me?"

Celestial Venerable Hao slapped the table and said coldly: "A villain pursued me six hundred thousand li while I was gravely wounded, all the way to the gates of your Nether City. Why did you not save me?"

The Yin Son of Heaven twisted his neck and retorted: "This subject could not save you! I command the armies of the Northern Heaven Nether Capital and hold Taixu Youdu, a place of supreme military importance. The rebel Shen Fengqing, King Yama, came leading a great army to attack it. Had Taixu Youdu fallen, every Celestial Court soldier throughout the Taixu lands would have been laid bare beneath the rebels' butchering blades! Were it not a celestial venerable but the Celestial Emperor himself, this subject could never have gone to the rescue!"

"Insolence!" Celestial Venerable Hao trembled with rage, slapped the table and roared; a sweetness came into his throat as though blood would come spurting up, but he swallowed it back down.

The Yin Son of Heaven, neck still stiff, said: "I was commanded to guard Taixu Youdu, and it is right that I put the greater interest first! If the Celestial Venerable is so small-minded as to hold this against me, then report it to His Majesty the Celestial Emperor and let His Majesty decide! If the Celestial Venerable means to punish me here, Zhaojin will not accept it!"

Celestial Venerable Hao's fury passed all bounds; he raised his hand and struck out a palm.

BOOM—

At the grand gathering, heaven and earth changed color, wind and clouds raged and rolled, and space itself split apart. That single palm from Celestial Venerable Hao was vast and magnificent; one hand thrust out, it carried all the grandeur of the ancient god, the Celestial Emperor, who in that year smote Tubo back into the Dark Capital with one palm and shattered Divine King Gong Yun with another!

The Yin Son of Heaven roared. With a thunderous boom, the Nether Capital Heaven Gate rose behind him, quelling the surging waves on every side.