Chapter 1402 — The Realm of the Nine Prison Platform

The Dragon Qilin was overjoyed, and he too draped himself over the edge to look toward that place; yet what he saw was Shen Mu still walking slowly and with bitter difficulty, each step seeming to drain him of all his strength. Only after another two days could he see clearly that Shen Mu's pace was in truth quickening.

But the improvement was so slow it wrung the heart.

Gradually Shen Mu walked faster and faster: where before it had taken him half a shichen to finish a single circuit, now it took only the burning of one stick of incense.

Long Xiao paced to and fro, now lifting his head to the heavens, now lowering it to watch Shen Mu struggling in the heavenly prison, and doubt lay heavy on his heart. He had no wish to ally himself with Shen Mu; Shen Mu's strength was too feeble.

Were he to pledge himself to any one of the Ten Tianzun, he could hold fast to his present station, and at worst serve a Tianzun as a mount.

An alliance with Shen Mu would preserve his independence in name, true enough, yet Shen Mu could give him no protection at all — could give the giant beasts of the far side of the Ancestral Court no protection at all. "And yet Mu Tianzun's potential is immense.

And, as Mu Tianzun himself said, if the Ten Tianzun carve up the far side of the Ancestral Court between them, then my position becomes exceedingly awkward. " Long Xiao's nine faces shifted between gloom and brightness: "Most likely they will split me into ten parts and share them out evenly.

But if there are eleven of the Ten Tianzun, they will most likely cut me into eleven. After all, the Four Emperors of the Ancient Gods are four in name yet number five, and the Ten Tianzun in all likelihood number eleven as well.

. . " Suddenly Long Xiao's expression altered slightly: he had sensed a dreadful presence descending upon the far side of the Ancestral Court.

"This one is not Gong Tianzun, nor Yan Tianfei, nor the Langxuan Divine Emperor — so it must be another of the Ten Tianzun!

" Long Xiao examined that aura with all his senses, then hastily gulped down a few mouthfuls of the miraculous medicine the Dragon Qilin had brought him, first to suppress his wounds, and said in a low voice, "One of the Ten Tianzun has come down, so the rest cannot be far behind.

Dragon, you can be great or small, manifest or hidden; Pi, we must hide ourselves now! " The Dragon Qilin hesitated. "Then Mu Tianzun.

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" "When he comes out, I will go and find him. After all, I too need a road by which to live!

" Long Xiao sensed yet another dreadful aura descending upon the far side of the Ancestral Court, and his expression changed again: "The Ten Tianzun are arriving faster than I imagined.

Go, quickly!

" Without another word he swept the Dragon Qilin up and said in a low voice, "I will teach you the way of transformation; ponder it with all your heart! " And at that very moment another dreadful aura descended upon the Ancestral Court, and Long Xiao hastily transformed into a howling gale and sped away.

In but a short while, six of the Ten Tianzun had arrived.

All six moved with extraordinary speed, measuring heaven and earth with their steps and surveying the far side of the Ancestral Court with their eyes, rousing the countless giant beasts that dwelt there.

Their bodies were magnificent; the aura of a single Tianzun was enough to subdue the whole far side of the Ancestral Court, and how much more so six?

Even the exceptionally powerful giant beasts of the Ancestral Court dared not show their heads now; they trembled and groveled on the ground. The six Tianzun measured heaven and earth, roaming lakes and seas, mountains and rivers in but a few short days, making their survey.

At the edge of a great marsh there were herds of Kui oxen, their heads bent as they grazed on the lush water grass; when the grass around them was eaten bare, they would spring up on a single leg and leap to another place thick with growth, and there go on eating. The bulls among them had foul tempers and fought often, and whenever they fought, thunder would burst from their bellies, rumbling and shaking the air.

These giant Kui oxen were born able to command the thunder, and their strength was by no means weak.

Just then the shadow of a Tianzun appeared above the herd, divine light blazing around him like leaping flame, gathering behind his head into an enormous wheel of fire, so that his features could not be made out. His body loomed vaster than the greatest of the giant beasts, standing erect in the sky, warping the heavens themselves.

At the sweep of his gaze the Kui oxen went weak on their single legs, one by one, and dropped flat to the ground.

The Tianzun made his survey, found nothing amiss, and went howling off, vanishing without a trace.

After the Tianzun had gone, the herd returned to its old ways: those that grazed, grazed, and those that fought, fought.

Among the herd were two Kui oxen, one large and one small, tails swaying as they grazed with all their might, and the small one wept even as it ate: "Foster father, must we really eat grass?

" "Say nothing! " The old ox chewed on earnestly, mumbling indistinctly, "That Tianzun has not gone far; he is still watching us.

Keep eating — even with tears in your eyes, keep eating.

. .

" In the sky a fiery eye surfaced without a sound, watched the herd, and then silently faded away.

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. "Long Xiao is very good at hiding; his tracks are hard to find.

" The six Tianzun gathered once more, shaking their heads one after another: "He is gravely wounded.

He is, after all, a creature of the savage age, with no civilization to his name; if he wishes to heal himself, he must take a thousand years longer than we would. " Even as they spoke, two more Tianzun suddenly descended: Qiang Tianfei and Gong Tianzun, arriving on the far side of the Ancestral Court one after the other.

"Two fellow Daoists have yet to arrive. Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun will not be coming, I think?

" Hong Tianzun looked about him and laughed softly.

Scarcely had the words left his mouth when Hao Tianzun's voice came sudden from beyond the heavens: "Xiao Tianzun was exiled by Yue Tianzun and the other traitorous ministers, so he may stay away — but how could I fail to come? " The other Tianzun were startled at heart, and saw Hao Tianzun descend from the sky.

"My friends, we must settle on a set of rules for how the far side of the Ancestral Court is to be divided.

" Hao Tianzun swept his gaze around him, and every Tianzun felt a chill, unable to gauge his depths. "The Nine Prison seals the Dao Heart, and to break through such a seal is exceedingly difficult.

" Taishi within the egg watched Shen Mu's every movement with care; dwelling within Shen Mu's Divine Treasury Ancestral Court, he too could plainly see that Shen Mu's Ancestral Court was gradually coming back to life. His Great Dao was little by little regaining its flow; vital essence filled the air like a breeze at the first of spring, coaxing the life of the Ancestral Court to grow.

"Yet Mu Tianzun is trying, little by little, to break through this seal, and he will grow faster and faster. If his Dao Heart breaks the seal, then his cultivation will break the seal as well — primordial spirit, fleshly body, vital essence, spiritual consciousness, bloodline, Divine Treasury, Heavenly Palace — each will shatter its bonds in turn! " Taishi within the egg was rather curious about Shen Mu's present state.

He himself had no realm at all: were he to emerge into the world in perfection, then from the very moment of his birth he would stand beyond the so-called Heavenly Court realm, reaching straight to the ultimate void of the Great Dao. He had no need to cultivate as Shen Mu did, no need to risk life and limb again and again in adventure and insight, no need for Shen Mu's desperate striving.

Yet in the matter of the Dao Heart, he was not one whit Shen Mu's superior. He had experienced too little.