Chapter 1432 — Crossing the Tribulation and Shattering the Pass

Shen Mu's heart clenched at once; the mighty one from the previous cosmos had cast out his greatest lure!

Divine Emperor Langxuan's dream was to stand first among the Ten Heavenly Venerables, to become a being who had attained the Dao, and yet the Dao Fruit of the mighty one within that coffin had offered something more precious even than his dream: to live on into the next cosmic era of the future. If Langxuan but submitted to him, he would not merely become first among the Ten Heavenly Venerables and rise as a Heavenly Emperor, branding his Great Dao upon the Ultimate Void and lodging his divine consciousness there; he might even escape death when the cosmos perished, and live another cosmic year. How vast was that temptation?

Shen Mu truly feared that Divine Emperor Langxuan would accept it and become the running dog of a mighty one from the last era. Then Shen Mu said suddenly, 'Divine Emperor, now that we have come into this fragment of the Great Luo Heaven from the prehistoric era, why not walk about a while? ' Divine Emperor Langxuan's eyes flickered as he looked at him, and Shen Mu's gaze met his in turn.

Divine Emperor Langxuan nodded as though moved by some ghostly hand, and smiled.

'Indeed.

The Great Luo Heaven is the place we once dreamed of reaching. This is not the true Great Luo Heaven, only a fragment, but even a glimpse of it is better than none.

' The two left that giant coffin behind and walked on side by side.

Shen Mu studied the fragment of the Great Luo Heaven in fine detail, then touched that stretch of void with his hand; when he pressed his palm lightly, a palm print appeared in the Great Luo Heaven fragment, and only after a long moment did it slowly fade. He then stirred his vital essence and tried to brand a few runes of the Great Dao upon it. To his surprise they took hold upon the Great Luo Heaven, though before long his brands vanished.

But while his Great Dao runes were branded there, he felt his Dao heart merge with this fragment of the Great Luo Heaven, a feeling that the heart of Heaven was his own heart! More than that, he felt something stranger still. With the runes of the Great Dao branded upon it, he felt that his Dao endured forever, coeval with the cosmos!

The heart of Heaven is my heart; my Dao endures forever — such is the wondrous virtue of the Great Luo Heaven. Yet it was a pity that when he sought to perceive it in fine detail, his Dao heart seemed to turn utterly foul and turbid, leaving him unable to sense the mysteries of the Great Luo Heaven at all, and the feeling of the heart of Heaven being his heart and his Dao enduring forever faded away with the brand.

Shen Mu tried branding with his divine consciousness; that too would take hold, and just as quickly vanish. A most peculiar feeling rose in his heart: the Great Luo Heaven was like a seal-ink pad that could restore itself, one that could be molded into different shapes.

But this was only a fragment of the Great Luo Heaven.

What was the true Great Luo Heaven like?

Could it be branded in such a way as well?

Divine Emperor Langxuan too was trying to probe the mysteries of the Great Luo Heaven, but even one as formidable as he could not make his Great Dao stay branded there forever. His Dao heart was poorer and his Dao realm shallower, yet his strength was so immense that his brands lasted longer than Shen Mu's. 'The Great Luo Heaven of the Ultimate Void is truly wondrous.

I can feel that if I brand my Great Dao here, I shall be eternal and indestructible.

Even if I am slain, my flesh destroyed, my divine consciousness destroyed, my primal spirit destroyed — even if everything of me is destroyed — still I shall not die. ' Divine Emperor Langxuan was full of feeling.

'That the Great Emperor could die without truly perishing is owed to the working of his Great Luo Heaven of Consciousness. Kai Huang Shen Ye was remarkable indeed.

The Great Emperor obtained his Dao but never understood its cause; only Kai Huang opened up the method of the Dao realm, to the benefit of those who came after. ' Shen Mu smiled.

'Does the Divine Emperor envy his method? Envy Kai Huang?

' Divine Emperor Langxuan shook his head, hesitated, then nodded. With a rather proud air he said, 'Kai Huang opened up the Dao realm and made good the deficiencies of the Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system, but he set out from the Dao as his starting point; that does not mean the Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system is wrong. ' Shen Mu was slightly startled and looked at him, asking humbly, 'Why does the Divine Emperor say so?

' 'He attained the Dao through the Dao, using the Dao realm and the Dao heart to ceaselessly raise himself, until at last he could brand the Ultimate Void and cultivate the Great Luo Heaven of the Sword Dao. ' Divine Emperor Langxuan said unhurriedly, 'Just now I used my own strength to try to brand the Great Luo Heaven. Though I failed, I saw the hope of attaining the Dao. The Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system prizes power; cultivate to the realm of the Great Heavenly Court, and one may attain the Dao through power!

' His spirit soaring, he declared in ringing tones, 'No need to comprehend any damned heart of Heaven, no need to sense any "my Dao endures forever"!

Once I have cultivated the Great Heavenly Court, my power will be so overwhelming that I will simply stamp my brand upon the Great Luo Heaven — and to hell with whether the Great Luo Heaven likes it or not!

' Shen Mu was left staring, tongue-tied; after a moment he praised him. 'The Divine Emperor is a man of great talent. ' Divine Emperor Langxuan smiled slightly.

'Kai Huang is a man of great talent too, not inferior to me.

' Shen Mu laughed heartily. Divine Emperor Langxuan knew as well that 'not inferior to me' was his own catchphrase, and so he said it.

Shen Mu laughed a long while, then the laughter stopped abruptly and his tone shifted. Quietly he asked, 'When will the Divine Emperor kill me as a sacrifice? ' Divine Emperor Langxuan smiled. 'Why does Heavenly Venerable Mu speak such words?

When did I ever intend to kill you as a sacrifice to please some old monster from the last cosmic era? I am one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, and I have glimpsed the possibility of attaining the Dao through power. Why would I kill you as a sacrifice?

' 'My Dao heart is transparent.

Anyone standing beside me need only stir the slightest murderous intent toward me, and it will be reflected in my Dao heart.

' Shen Mu said gravely, 'Just now, before that coffin, when the prehistoric being made his proposal, you were preparing to strike at me.

Your killing intent was refracted in my Dao heart.

' Divine Emperor Langxuan said curiously, 'The Dao realm can do such a thing?

Truly marvellous skill. Kai Huang was remarkable. ' Shen Mu smiled.

'Kai Huang's sword heart was luminous and clear. Strong as it was, it could not necessarily do what I have done.

' Divine Emperor Langxuan was faintly shaken. 'Then your invitation just now to walk about together and examine the mysteries of the Great Luo Heaven — it was so that, in examining the Great Luo Heaven and uncovering its mysteries, I would dissolve the killing intent in my heart?

' Shen Mu nodded.

Divine Emperor Langxuan sighed.

'So the Dao realm can go this far. It seems that cultivating only the Heavenly Palace and attaining the Dao through power will not suffice; to advance further, the Dao realm's aid is needed. Heavenly Venerable Mu, guess what means I would use to kill you?

' Shen Mu mused for a moment.

'Ordinary means can hardly kill me outright. My strength is no match for the Divine Emperor's, but I have many ways of preserving my life — the Unchanging Divine Art above all. When the Divine Emperor kills me, he must also guard against my dragging him with me into the great aberration where matter does not change.