Chapter 1344 — Refined into a Treasure

The Grand Emperor's head was just about to struggle free and flee when suddenly the ground around him began to undulate—booming sounds rang out on every side as the earth swelled upward into five mineral veins! One vein held the Dao of Taichu swirling within its depths; one held the two qi of yin and yang intertwined; one held the Dao of Taisu in the transformation of form and substance; and one held the Dao of Taishi, the mountain range itself turning into a phantom mountain with form but no substance.

Only the last vein, though risen, carried not the slightest aura of any Dao. Four of the five veins pressed down upon the Grand Emperor's head, and four different Daos invaded his body, suppressing his spiritual consciousness and branding seals of four innate Daos upon the consciousness within his mind! The Grand Emperor's spiritual consciousness was instantly locked—he could no longer mobilize it in the slightest—yet he burst out laughing.

"Mu Heavenly Venerable, was your divination taught by the Battle Martial Heavenly Master?

There are plainly only four veins here, and yet you insist on calling it five mines! " Shen Mu's face went black. He had never once comprehended the Dao of Taiyi, so naturally he could not use the Dao of Taiyi to seal the Grand Emperor.

The reason he had said "Five Mine Great Seal" was simply that the Ancestral Court had five mineral veins—it had slipped off his tongue. Suddenly he gave a muffled grunt; blood sprayed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and wounds burst open across his body, gushing blood in every direction. The Grand Emperor struggled with all his might, desperately gathering his disordered spiritual consciousness in an attempt to break the seal.

Seeing this, he could not help laughing aloud in mockery: "Mu Heavenly Venerable, so you've sealed me—but what of it?

Your wounds are even heavier than mine!

" Shen Mu's expression grew darker still.

Trembling, he fished out a small basket—inside were the spirit pills the Dan Master had refined for him. That night when the powerhouse of the previous epoch had invaded, the Dan Master had specially refined a basket of spirit pills.

Shen Mu and the others had not used them all; a few remained, so he had tucked the basket away against future need. The Grand Emperor's spiritual consciousness could not concentrate or congeal in the least. His head fled this way and that, yet the Four Mine Seal kept refining it smaller and smaller, and the pressure pressing in from all around grew heavier and heavier, leaving him no way to escape.

Still he laughed: "Shen! To have come this far is already quite an accomplishment.

But unfortunately, you cannot kill me—you can only suppress me. Once I've ground you down to death, I'll still be the winner! " Shen Mu kept refining the medicinal power, saying not a word.

The Grand Emperor laughed. "Cloud Heavenly Venerable killed me—so what? After his death, I still cast his primal spirit into the ultimate void and suppressed it within the Spiritual-Consciousness Great Luo Heaven. Ling Heavenly Venerable had the means to check me—so what? She was still slain by my hand and could only seal herself within the Heavenly River.

Mu Heavenly Venerable, you will come to the very same end.

" Shen Mu drove the medicinal power, suppressed his wounds, and only then released a breath. The Grand Emperor's head had already been refined down to the size of a bushel basket by the Four Mine Seal, and the four veins themselves had shrunk smaller and smaller. Shen Mu drove the remnant sword, cutting this way and that, shaping the ground into a round disc. He then drove Taishi runes into it, altering the material structure of the Xirang, and refined the Four Mine Seal into a great seal a little over a zhang square.

Upon this precious seal were four dragon-shaped mountain ranges, and at the center of those four dragon-shaped mountain ranges sat the Grand Emperor's head—like a pearl held fast within the jaws of four dragons.

Of course, the pearl was not at all round.

The precious seal was still too large. Shen Mu tried to wield his own dharmic power to refine it down to a smaller size, but his injuries were too severe, and he had to give up. He would leave the Four Mine Seal to continue its work; the seal should gradually shrink.

The Grand Emperor's head, trapped at the center of the seal with no path of escape, laughed heartily: "You know I hold the status of Qiang Tianfei and bear the imprint of a spiritual-consciousness Dao Fruit upon the Great Luo Heaven. You should know that sealing me is utterly useless.

Do you think Qiang Tianfei will not kill you?

Do you think my Dao Fruit imprint will spare you? You are nothing more than another trophy of mine, ripe for the reaping!

" Shen Mu straightened his clothes and took out a mirror to examine his face.

Carefully, he washed the blood from his features, then checked his wounds to make certain they would leave no scars. The Grand Emperor watched him and sneered: "I will not kill you outright. I will torment you little by little, make you taste every suffering under heaven, make you beg for death and yet find death impossible! " Shen Mu took out a comb and combed his disheveled hair before the mirror. Once his grooming was complete, he studied himself in the mirror again and again—and finding no fault—put away both mirror and comb.

The Grand Emperor said no more, watching Shen Mu rinse his mouth and clear away the blood within. Only then did Shen Mu turn to look at him.

He reached out and clamped his hand upon the Grand Emperor's head at the center of the seal. The Grand Emperor's face darkened, and he said coldly: "Mu Heavenly Venerable, are you certain you wish to do this?

" Shen Mu had already lifted the seal by the head. The Grand Emperor gave an angry snort.

"If you would refine my head into a divine weapon, that is permissible—but first wipe out my spiritual consciousness!

A knight may be killed, but not humiliated! Wipe out my spiritual consciousness, and my corpse is yours to defile as you please!

" Shen Mu laughed heartily and set down the seal. The Grand Emperor's head rolled once within the Four Mine Seal, his long hair coiling about him again, and he sneered: "At least you know what is good for you. Mu Heavenly Venerable, speak—what do you want? " Shen Mu said in a genial tone: "Cloud Heavenly Venerable's soul.

Give me Cloud Heavenly Venerable's soul, and I will let you go—you need not endure this humiliation. " "Impossible! " The Grand Emperor's head said flatly: "I sent Cloud Heavenly Venerable's soul into the ultimate void, where it lies trapped within the Great Luo Heaven.

If I were to release him, and you already have his flesh—would he not revive? One of you is already a headache.

Never in this world will I release Cloud Heavenly Venerable!

Besides, my head is not worth as much as Cloud Heavenly Venerable! Name another condition! " Shen Mu frowned slightly and pondered for a moment, then probed: "Grand Emperor, your head is still very valuable. You are revered as the strongest body of prehistory. I have heard many Creators say that even the Celestial Emperor Taichu's body is no match for yours.

Now all that remains of your body is this head. Keep this head—once you find a Taichu Primal Stone, you can still recast your body. Will you not consider it? " The Grand Emperor shook his head. "Even if I found a Taichu Primal Stone and recast my body, it would never measure up to the original.