Chapter 1370 — Revealing Divine Might

That mass of karmic fire suddenly parted. Its structure was that of a cocoon, layer upon layer, and each layer of the karmic-fire cocoon was branded all over with the great Dao runes of Youdu, a splendor beyond all measure.

The karmic-fire egg held thirty-six layers of cocoon in all; the deeper one went, the fiercer the karmic fire and the greater its power.

When the final layer of karmic-fire cocoon was peeled away, Shen Mu and Heavenly Venerable Yue saw A Chou, Tu Bo.

A Chou, suppressed within the Jade Lock Pass, enduring the grinding of boundless karmic fire.

A Chou was not within this karmic-fire egg at all, but inside the Jade Lock Pass; yet the energy of this karmic-fire egg was pouring ceaselessly into A Chou's body. A Chou had committed a crime that reached the heavens.

His body was wound about with chains wrought from the great Dao of Youdu, yet he had seized Youdu itself and dragged it along, marching upon the Heavenly Court, washing the Heavenly Court in blood to avenge his family, to fight for his daughter's life. He had destroyed nearly half the Heavenly Court, sent countless ancient gods and half-gods down to death at his hands, and even slaughtered imperial princes and imperial grandsons.

His sins towered to the heavens; even though he was the reincarnated body of Tu Bo, he must atone, sinking forever amid the fire, enduring the torment of karmic fire.

A Chou was Tu Bo, but Tu Bo was not A Chou. Tu Bo must deal justly and could not bend the law for private ends, and so Tu Bo suppressed A Chou.

But Tu Bo could not bend the law alone; he had private desires of his own.

He envied A Chou, he wished to become A Chou, and so he used the karmic fire of all living beings to forge a true body for A Chou. "The sins of all living beings, let them come to rest upon my body.

" Tu Bo's face was calm as he said, "On the day I die, that will be the day I leap free of my bonds.

" Shen Mu frowned and said no more.

Heavenly Venerable Yue's brows drew faintly together, and she too fell silent.

They had looked forward to Tu Bo becoming their ally, fighting shoulder to shoulder with them.

The Ten Heavenly Venerables were at their weakest now.

Heavenly Venerable Hao had been gravely wounded, Heavenly Venerable Xiao exiled, the Great Emperor left with nothing but a head; Heavenly Consort Qiang, even with her wounds healed, would pose no great threat; the Ancestor God King, God Emperor Langxuan and Heavenly Consort Yan were each wounded; and Heavenly Venerable Fire and Heavenly Venerable Void had not yet recovered from their injuries. Heavenly Venerable Hong was the reincarnated body of the Lord of Heaven; Heavenly Venerable Gong would very likely choose neutrality; the only one still at the peak of her fighting strength was Lady Yuanmu. Now was the best moment to strike at the Ten Heavenly Venerables.

If the Lord of Heaven and Tu Bo raised the cry, with Heavenly Venerable Yue, Heavenly Venerable Hong and Heavenly Venerable You at their side, with the East Emperor Azure Dragon, the West Emperor White Tiger and the North Emperor Black Tortoise rising in revolt, and with the Founding Emperor Shen Ye and the God King Langwo cutting their way out of the Great Void, the balance of victory might be said to have tipped in their favor. Yet Tu Bo had a wish to die, longing to cast off his present body of the great Dao.

This was something neither Shen Mu nor Heavenly Venerable Yue had foreseen. "Tu Bo cultivated A Chou, and the Lord of Heaven cultivated Heavenly Venerable Hong. They must both have grown weary of their own bodies of the great Dao, and wish to use a great calamity to cast off their present selves and win their freedom.

" Shen Mu and Heavenly Venerable Yue left Tu Bo's body.

Heavenly Venerable Yue said to Shen Mu, "Or rather, Tu Bo and the Lord of Heaven are in truth indulging the Ten Heavenly Venerables, letting the Ten Heavenly Venerables kill them.

" Shen Mu nodded and said softly, "Now truly is not the time to go to war. If war came, Tu Bo and the Lord of Heaven, one unable to leave Youdu and the other unable to leave the Mystic Capital, could fight only on their own territories; leave those places and their fighting strength would fall away sharply.

And though we are not short of high-tier fighting strength on our side, your strength, and that of Heavenly Venerable You, the Founding Emperor and Langwo, is in truth no match for the Ten Heavenly Venerables. " Heavenly Venerable Yue nodded in agreement.

She had been crippled for more than forty thousand years; Heavenly Venerable You had shut himself away for a million years; the Founding Emperor had hidden in the Land of No Sorrow for over twenty thousand years; and Langwo, though she had never met her, could not be so very strong. The Black Tortoise, the White Tiger and the Azure Dragon were mighty on their own territories, but once away from those territories their strength would wane. Never mind that Tu Bo and the Lord of Heaven did not want war; even if they did, such a war would be bitterly hard, and might well end in the annihilation of their whole army. Heavenly Venerable Xiao alone had been enough that Heavenly Venerable Yue, Heavenly Venerable You and Tu Bo, joining hands, could not stand against him; had Shen Mu not used the eggshell of the Heavenly Emperor Taichu against him, those three great beings would surely have suffered a great loss. As for the three ancient god emperors, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise, all were penned in their own lairs and could not leave.

The Founding Emperor and Langwo were likewise blocked in the Great Void by Heavenly Venerable Fire and Heavenly Venerable Void.

"I have found that among our allies, there are in truth very few who are of one heart with us. " Shen Mu was somewhat dispirited.

He said in a low voice, "The reason the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise allied with us is in truth for their own standing as ancient gods, to restore their own rule.

The reason the Lord of Heaven and Tu Bo allied with us is to borrow our strength to protect their reincarnated bodies, to give themselves a chance to leap out from the bonds of the great Dao.

" He said bitterly, "Langwo acts for the future of the Creator race. If she were made to risk the Creator race's annihilation, or if the Ten Heavenly Venerables offered her generous terms, she would not hesitate to turn and join the enemy.

Heavenly Venerable Hong will not help us.

Heavenly Venerable Gong's relationship with me is merely an exchange of interests; when I can no longer give her interest, she will stand on the side where the greater interest lies.

And Lady Yuanmu need not even be mentioned.

What they seek is not the same as what we seek. " Heavenly Venerable Yue halted her steps and laughed. "And yet we now have the strength to wrestle with the Ten Heavenly Venerables, do we not? " Shen Mu smiled too, and halted as well.

"Yes. Compared with the Jingping Calamity of those years, that deep despair and helplessness, we are already far better off now. " The two of them set off again, walking out of Tu Bo's palace halls. Shen Mu said, "Of the ancient gods among our allies, there are not many we can count on; at any moment they may drag us back by the leg. Therefore we must have strength of our own.

Yue, you and You had best make a trip to Jingping and study the fruits of the Jingping Reforms.

Even if you cannot abolish the divine bridge, you may still gain a few more divine abilities. " Heavenly Venerable Yue hesitated a moment, then nodded in agreement, saying, "The Yuan Realm now has no master.