Chapter 1336 — United Against the Foe

In the Chaos Sea, Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian watched helplessly as the hand of Heavenly Venerable Xiao, clutching the Primordial Origin Stone, plunged down and landed before them, the stone's radiance spilling from between the fingers of that severed palm. Neither of them moved; instead, they turned their gazes to old Tai Yi. Old Tai Yi smiled and said, "This stone is the Primordial Origin Stone, containing the Dao of Primordial Beginning.

Even Heavenly Emperor Taichu himself could not comprehend the true Primordial Beginning.

" Here he abruptly stopped and said no more. The two still stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

Though Heavenly Venerable Xiao's right hand had been severed, it now stealthily extended two fingers, while the other three remained clenched tightly around the fragments of the Origin Stone.

The two fingers, like legs, propped the right hand upright and began walking outward along the bed of the Chaos Sea.

Tap. A piece of the Origin Stone fell. The two fingers hurriedly halted, probing and groping in all directions until at last they found the stone, carefully picked it up, and placed it back in the palm, then continued striding outward on their two fingers.

Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian could not restrain themselves, repeatedly shifting their gazes to steal glances at this right hand of a Heavenly Venerable, then turning back to look at old Tai Yi.

Lan Yutian's three thousand followers and a host of ancient behemoths, meanwhile, watched this right hand with curiosity, observing as it walked ever outward, ever dropping treasures from its palm. Those behemoths, kind-hearted, shifted their rumps to let it pass by, offering no obstruction. With great difficulty, the Heavenly Venerable's right hand made its way beyond the space propped up by the staff.

It had barely taken a step out when the chaotic qi pressed down upon it. With a resounding boom, the right hand was crushed flat to the ground, and the Primordial Origin Stone fragments scattered from its palm across the earth.

Heavenly Venerable Xiao's right hand struggled for a moment, but how terrifying was the weight of the Chaos Sea? This right hand of his had traded a hard blow with Earth Mother Yuanjun, forcing her back, and had then taken a whip from Earth Uncle; its reserves of mana were utterly spent, leaving it no power to contend against the Chaos Sea.

Now pinned down, it could not free itself.

Old Tai Yi, seeing that Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian were still fixedly staring at him, heaved a helpless sigh and said, "You are seekers of the Dao. Why must you insist on knowing the harms of attaining the Dao? Once you harbor thoughts of good and ill, your attainment of the Dao will no longer be pure.

" Lan Yutian thought for a moment, then said with a flush of shame, "What the Elder says is true.

I was corrupted by my elder brother; he always tells me to keep an extra eye out. " Xu Shenghua ventured, "Then, Daoist Brother, if we were to take this Primordial Origin Stone and comprehend the great Dao within it, would there be harm to us?

" Lan Yutian tensed and hurriedly looked to Tai Yi again. Tai Yi, helpless, had no choice but to say, "There is harm. First, the Great Emperor will kill you.

This Origin Stone is the object of his attainment; without it, his cultivation and strength can never reach their peak. Second, Heavenly Emperor Taichu will kill you.

This Origin Stone is also the object of his attainment. Though he has attained the Dao, he has not yet completed it; he must collect all Origin Stones, all divine stones.

Therefore, beyond eliminating all who obtain Origin Stones, he must also eliminate all Creators.

" "The Cult Leader (my brother) truly had foresight," Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian thought simultaneously. Had Shen Mu not constantly told them to keep an extra eye out, they would by now have joyfully taken the Origin Stone into their hands, needlessly offending both the Great Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor at once. Tai Yi asked, "Then this Primordial Origin Stone, fellow Daoists, will you take it or not? " Lan Yutian looked to Xu Shenghua. He knew Xu Shenghua was a Daoist friend of his elder brother, always full of ideas; sometimes even Shen Mu, when he could not make up his mind, would make a special trip to the Western Lands to seek his counsel. Xu Shenghua pondered for a moment, then said, "We take it.

We take the Origin Stone only for its Dao, using it to comprehend the Dao of Primordial Beginning, not for its power, not borrowing the stone's might.

In this way, whether it be the Great Emperor or Heavenly Emperor Taichu in the future, so long as they wish to reclaim the Origin Stone, we need only return it to them. " Lan Yutian thought it over and praised, "My brother says, 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

' When he taught me cultivation, he taught me only the principles of cultivation, never passing on specific divine abilities or Dao arts.

This is the very reason.

" Old Tai Yi sighed, "Cult Leader Mu speaks truly. Yet one must both heed a man's words and observe his deeds.

Cult Leader Mu speaks well, but in his actions he has not merely learned to fish—he will snatch another man's fish as well. This, you must not learn from him. " The two voiced their assent and stepped forward, each coming to the side of the Heavenly Venerable's right hand pinned to the ground, and each picked up several fragments of the Origin Stone. On the surface of the Chaos Sea, all remained silent and still.

Though Molten Earth Uncle had lost the Heavenly Venerable's right hand and the Primordial Origin Stone fragments, he was still surrounded by the Heavenly Venerables, and the standoff continued, none moving. Molten Earth Uncle suddenly sighed, dispersed the mana of this incarnation, and at once it turned into a pile of stone that was ground away and refined by the Chaos Sea, transforming into strands and wisps of chaotic qi. Faced with this situation, his incarnation was of no use whatsoever; to remain blocked here any longer would only invite ridicule, so he simply abandoned this body.

The others still did not move. Heavenly Venerable Xiao, Heavenly Venerable Yan, Ancestral God King, and Langxuan Divine Emperor each remained silent. Cold sweat broke out on the Great Emperor's brow.

He suddenly realized that after Earth Uncle voluntarily abandoned this incarnation, his own position had turned precarious.

"That wretch Cult Leader Mu—it seems he has duped me again!

" The corners of his eyes twitched wildly. Suddenly, Heavenly Venerable Xiao said unhurriedly, "After all, we are Heavenly Venerables.

" "Indeed. No matter what, we are Heavenly Venerables," said Heavenly Consort Yan.

Ancestral God King and Langxuan Divine Emperor each nodded, saying, "We are Heavenly Venerables after all. Though there are grudges and sordid dealings among us, when facing an external foe, we must present a united front.

" The Great Emperor suddenly burst into laughter.

"Well said!

We are Heavenly Venerables after all; naturally we should be of one branch and one blood, united against the common enemy!

" The other four Heavenly Venerables fell silent, as though a sword had pierced their hearts.

The Great Emperor was too sinister—with a single sentence he had made clear that he too was among the Ten Heavenly Venerables, which could not but arouse suspicion and doubt.

Though Heavenly Venerable Xiao knew the Great Emperor's true identity, he would not reveal that the Great Emperor was Heavenly Consort Qiang.

For if Heavenly Venerable Xiao exposed the Great Emperor's identity, then the Great Emperor would in turn expose his identity as Heavenly Emperor Taichu—mutual destruction! The balance of interests kept them all in tacit understanding, just as Heavenly Consort Yan would not expose Heavenly Venerable Xiao, and Heavenly Venerable Xiao would not expose Heavenly Consort Yan's identity.