Chapter 1325 — Trouble Made, Trouble Mended

At the heart of the Great Beginning lode, Shen Mu stood on the altar, about to trigger the mine's fourth eruption, when all at once the Heaven-Venerable treasure hanging above the lode stirred with strange movement. Heavenly Consort Yan's wondrous treasure was an ancient, imposing cauldron, square and foursquare, its mouth turned downward; from within it, beams of light shot forth, shearing apart the void and the earth and sealing the entire lode into a separate time and space, so that none could enter and none could leave. "Heavenly Consort Yan is here!

" Shen Mu felt a small stir in his heart. He at once abandoned his intention to keep provoking the lode's eruption, put away the Egg of the Great Beginning and the Primordial Stone, and obediently made his way out. When Heavenly Consort Yan arrived outside the mine, her face was calm, but her eyes could not hide the rage blazing in them. Xiu Hongsu and the white cat hurried forward to greet her; the white cat Xiao Qi leaped into her arms, and Xiu Hongsu murmured, "Milady, Mu Tianzun, he.

.

. " Heavenly Consort Yan raised one delicate brow, and Xiu Hongsu hastily shut her mouth, not daring to go on. Heavenly Consort Yan looked around and saw many divine beings lurking in ambush, clearly waiting for Shen Mu to come out and kill him.

She could not help shaking her head.

"With me here, there is no need for such measures. " Xiu Hongsu waved her hand and sent the sword-and-axe men scattering.

Heavenly Consort Yan surveyed the scene, her expression darkening as she saw that not many of those in the lode had escaped—about half had perished within.

"Mu Tianzun, I sent you to fetch the primordial stone, and yet you have stirred up such a catastrophe. Do you take me for a paper figure? " She gave a cold laugh and stepped into the mine.

The white cat grew excited in spite of himself.

He raised his head in her arms, licked a paw, and thought: "Milady is angry. Not even I can soothe her!

Mu Tianzun, this time you are doomed! " Xiu Hongsu followed Heavenly Consort Yan and said cautiously, "Milady, Mu Tianzun is, after all, the Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Alliance.

If he died at your hands, it would hardly be proper; you would inevitably be attacked by the other Heavenly Venerables.

If you truly want him dead, let your disciple strike instead. " Heavenly Consort Yan made no reply and continued forward. She saw that those who had not escaped from the lode had all become incorporeal forms—no flesh, no awareness, drifting in a daze.

Among them, indeed, were many female disciples she had painstakingly taught. Her expression darkened further, but she kept walking. Her cultivation and power were, after all, terrifying beyond all measure; even the uncanny forces of the lode could do nothing to her. The two women and the cat pressed deeper and deeper until they reached the depths of the lode, when suddenly radiance burst forth ahead—someone was working a divine art.

They hurried over and saw Shen Mu standing before a figure that had already become a body of pure energy, casting his art upon that incorporeal form. The divine being, who had been reduced to an empty shadow, was gradually recovering a physical body! Surprise crossed Heavenly Consort Yan's face.

She raised a hand to stop Xiu Hongsu, who was about to kill Shen Mu, and said in a low voice, "Do not disturb him.

Let us see what he does. " Shen Mu's hands flew in intricate gestures; waves of Dao tones rang through his body.

From his hands he drew forth the two breaths of yin and yang, worked the way of their transformation, and shaped them into a diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, drawing the divine being's incorporeal form into it. After a while, the figure turned from the incorporeal to the corporeal.

He looked around in bewilderment, looked at his own hands, felt his body, and was still confused. Shen Mu wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. "My good fellow, you have come back to life!

" The divine being asked suspiciously, "When did I die? I was perfectly fine! You sorcerer, how did you bring me here?

I still have ore to mine. . .

" Clap, clap, clap! Applause sounded, and a voice laughed: "Great Dharma Master, truly a miraculous art! You are worthy of the name Undying Through Ten Thousand Kalpas.

This power of yours has broken through the boundary between life and death. Now I understand why Lord Heaven and Lord Earth insisted on protecting you.

" The divine being hurriedly turned toward the voice. His face changed drastically, and he hastened to kneel and kowtow. "Your guilty subject pays homage to the Heavenly Consort!

" Shen Mu looked over and smiled.

"Ah, it is you, Milady. You startled me. I have many small matters here; I still need to help these divine beings recover their bodies and primordial spirits, so I cannot chat for long. " Heavenly Consort Yan said softly, "Your righteousness reaches beyond the clouds, Mu Tianzun.

Let me thank you on behalf of these people, and I will not disturb you. " With that, she carried the cat and led Xiu Hongsu away.

Xiu Hongsu and the white cat Xiao Qi started to speak several times, but held back. Not until they reached the great hall of the side palace did Xiu Hongsu finally give in. "Milady, the disaster was Mu Tianzun's doing.

Why show him such courtesy? " "Because he is the Undying Great Dharma Master of Ten Thousand Kalpas. " Heavenly Consort Yan said, "He survived three eruptions of the lode, and he can bring back to life those who have already turned into incorporeal forms.

Neither Lord Heaven nor Lord Earth could do that, and neither could I.

By displaying his skill, he is telling me that he can stir up trouble, and he can settle it. He has the power to tear down, and the power to build again.

Keeping him alive is more useful.

" Xiu Hongsu and the white cat Xiao Qi were still baffled. Heavenly Consort Yan had been so furious just now—how could she let him off merely because she saw him perform one divine art? "Mu Tianzun's title of Undying Through Ten Thousand Kalpas is fully deserved. He was right: in the war to come, victory will not necessarily belong to the Ten Heavenly Venerables. I truly should place my bets on both sides. " Heavenly Consort Yan said softly, "If that is so, it does no harm to let him have the primordial stone.

Do not overthink it. You do not understand the magnanimity of a Heavenly Venerable. " The two fell silent and said no more.

Shen Mu labored diligently, restoring every divine being in the lode who had been turned into an incorporeal form, until he was panting and utterly spent. Heavenly Consort Yan played host with equal attentiveness, gathered the crowd, and had them kowtow their thanks to Shen Mu amid great clamor. The white cat Xiao Qi felt envy rise in his heart, but he understood that in status, cultivation, and power, he could no longer be compared with Shen Mu—and that even the weight he carried in the Consort's heart had been surpassed by Shen Mu.

Clever as he was, he accepted the fact. "Did Mu Tianzun obtain the primordial stone from the lode?

" Heavenly Consort Yan asked as she personally escorted Shen Mu out of the mine.

Shen Mu hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I did indeed obtain that stone.

" Heavenly Consort Yan's eyes flickered.

"Your ability to revive those incorporeal ones—that was the effect of the primordial stone, was it not? " Shen Mu laughed heartily and shook his head. "Milady, the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system is good in every respect, but its comprehension of the Dao is far inferior to the Dao Realm system founded by Kaihuang Shen Ye.

You have practiced the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system for too long; your insight into the Dao is not deep.

The means I used were not the Primordial Stone of the Great Beginning, but the Way of the Supreme Ultimate and the immutability of matter. If you cultivated the Dao Realm, you would not have misjudged it.