Chapter 1542 — Stirring Muddy Waves in the Chaos River

In the second Chaos River, each of them resorted to their own means. These Heavenly Venerables all had Dao Trees in hand and used them to cross the river, but Consort Qiang no longer had hers. Fortunately, Shen Mu kindly invited her aboard, and the two of them stood on that little boat without it seeming at all crowded.

This Chaos River too was full of strange and uncanny phenomena. Shen Mu let Consort Qiang take action, fending off the withered-bone souls of the prehistoric Dao Achievers that surged up from the river, while he himself enjoyed a rare leisure.

He looked around and saw that Venerable Hao and Venerable Xiao had also not lifted a hand, but instead let the other Heavenly Venerables hold off the uncanny things. The gazes of these several Heavenly Venerables had fallen from first to last upon the little boat beneath Shen Mu's feet.

This boat was transformed from Tai Yi's crutch, and since Venerable Xiao, the Ancient God of Tai Ji, and Tai Su all held the crutch's master in deep reverence, it could not but stir their curiosity. Shen Mu raised an eyebrow and thought to himself: "Tai Yi has fallen so low as to end up in the fourth prehistoric universe, and now Great Black Mountain has no backer to rely on. This matter must never be known to them, or disaster will be upon me.

Hmm, letting them think I have a powerful backer isn't bad either. . .

" "Venerable Mu, that sword of yours is a Dao Achiever's treasure blade, is it not?

" Consort Qiang blocked a Dao Achiever's withered skeleton and struck it down into the river, then suddenly said: "It seems you have profited greatly in this Jade Capital as well. Your luck is truly excellent! A Heavenly Venerable who has obtained a Dao Achiever's Dao weapon—why not bring it out and let us broaden our horizons?

" Shen Mu's gaze fell upon her, while Consort Qiang's gaze fell upon the Tribulation Sword.

Shen Mu understood, and quietly concealed the sword hilt, then laughed heartily: "What Dao Achiever's Dao weapon? This sword of mine was refined by my own hand—a crude, shallow thing, unfit for refined company. I had best not bring it out and make a fool of myself.

" The gazes of Venerable Hao, Venerable Xiao, and the others all fell upon the Tribulation Sword in Shen Mu's hand, their eyes flickering.

From the outside, this sword revealed no mystery, but the scabbard compelled them to pay it close attention.

For the scabbard was made of ordinary wood, unlike the scabbards of other precious swords, which exhausted every luxury.

A wooden scabbard seemed more like a disguise!

Consort Qiang sneered: "Even if you have a little boat that can ferry you across, you still lack the strength to deal with the uncanny things in this river. Without this Dao Achiever's Dao weapon, you would long since have died in the river! Venerable Mu is worthy of being the Heaven Alliance's leader—none of us found a Dao weapon, yet you alone obtained one. " "This sword of mine is truly not a Dao weapon!

" Shen Mu said with a solemn expression: "If I lie, may heaven strike me with five thunders!

" Yet as he spoke, the corners of his eyes could not help but lift, glancing up at the chaotic sky. Consort Qiang said no more.

The Divine Emperor Langxuan sighed: "Venerable Mu obtained a Dao weapon—his luck is truly excellent, and it makes one envious.

" "Using a wooden scabbard as a disguise—Venerable Mu, is this not rather too much of a cover-up?

" Shi Qiluo laughed: "A clumsy move that backfires.

Do you truly fear we would rob you of it?

" Shen Mu laughed heartily, but his expression darkened, while in his heart he was quite pleased: "The Grand Emperor is loyal enough—after suffering a loss at my hands, he still helps me secretly scheme against the other Heavenly Venerables! In the future, I must let him die swiftly, with as little pain as possible. " The little boat drew near the Dao Tree beneath Venerable Hao's feet.

In the Chaos River beneath that Dao Tree, a Dao-bone skeleton rose slowly from beneath the water, embraced the Dao Tree, and tried to drag it into the river. Suddenly a flame shot into the river—it was Venerable Fire who acted, helping Venerable Hao strike down that Dao-bone skeleton.

Shen Mu laughed: "Venerable Fire is truly a thoughtful, considerate man.

" Venerable Fire snorted coldly and did not respond.

Had he responded, Shen Mu would surely have found some way to humiliate him.

Shen Mu then looked behind Venerable Hao.

The Goddess Tai Su felt his gaze and seemed slightly uncomfortable. Shen Mu smiled: "Brother Hao's Dao Inquiry divine ability is superb beyond compare—it caught even me somewhat off guard.

Your cultivation in the Dao realm is no weaker than mine now.

" Venerable Hao's gaze fell upon his face.

Suppressing the turmoil in his Dao heart, he said: "What does the Alliance Leader wish to say? " But Shen Mu smiled at the Goddess Tai Su: "My lady, do you sense that there is someone else behind Brother Hao?

" The Goddess Tai Su was slightly startled and tried to sense his thoughts from his gaze, but Shen Mu's thoughts were too chaotic—she could not grasp at all what his true intention was.

"How many heavens has Brother Hao's Dao realm cultivation reached? " Shen Mu changed tack: "How many tiers do you think the God-Slaying Platform has? Thirty? The Grand Emperor trapped your primordial spirit within his divine ability, the Divine Consciousness Daluo Heaven.

I imagine you have already freed yourself, have you not?

You are twenty years earlier than I predicted. To call you a peerless genius is no exaggeration.

" The Goddess Tai Su felt a chill in her heart and carefully pondered the meaning of Shen Mu's words. The speed of Venerable Hao's recovery from his injuries had indeed exceeded her expectations, and the speed at which his primordial spirit had escaped the Grand Emperor's Divine Consciousness Daluo Heaven divine ability had also exceeded her expectations.

She had originally predicted that, with her power to assist him, Venerable Hao would need fifty years to heal his Dao wounds, break through the Divine Consciousness Daluo Heaven divine ability, and retrieve his primordial spirit. Yet although Venerable Hao's heavenly palaces remained dilapidated—many of them requiring her help, using the Answering All Prayers divine ability to rebuild them—his primordial spirit had already escaped from the Divine Consciousness Daluo Heaven! What was more terrifying was that Venerable Hao's cultivation was no weaker than before his injury—it was even stronger!

This power came from his advancement in the Dao realm!

Only after Shen Mu's reminder did Tai Su realize she had previously underestimated Venerable Hao.

"Then, the Dao Achiever behind Venerable Hao that Venerable Mu spoke of—does that person truly exist?

" The Goddess Tai Su recalled Venerable Hao's Dao Inquiry divine ability, a divine ability that used Dao speech to form a shout that interrogates the Dao heart.

It required extraordinary mastery of Dao speech. Had Venerable Hao comprehended this divine ability himself, or had someone taught it to him? However, Tai Su had always hidden behind Venerable Hao and had never seen any Dao Achiever meet or converse with him.

Clearly the first possibility was more likely! "Then his Dao speech has only one source!

" Tai Su felt a chill of dread: "That is—it was comprehended from me!

With such heaven-defying aptitude and insight, can I truly keep him under control? " Shen Mu was still watching her, and suddenly smiled faintly.

Tai Su could sense his thoughts from his gaze, but as an existence thoroughly versed in the Dao of Tai Su, he could also in turn observe Tai Su's thoughts. Now that Tai Su harbored doubts, his goal had been achieved. From Tai Su's reaction he could also discern much, and thought: "It seems Tai Su believes there is no Dao Achiever from the prehistoric universe behind Venerable Hao.