Chapter 1567 — A Pilgrimage to the Sage

Venerable Hao and Venerable Xiao smiled faintly and stepped into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Venerable Hao said unhurriedly, "Is Venerable Mu not here?

Why has he not come out to greet us himself?

" Jiang Yunjian said, "My foster father is not here. He said that the Heavenly Consort Qiang is dead and that the chance is a rare one, so he has gone to rescue Venerable Ling.

" The seven Venerables were chilled at heart.

Venerable Hao halted and looked toward Venerable Huo and Venerable Gong; understanding him at once, the two turned and departed. Venerable Xiao pondered for a moment, then glanced back at the two ancient Taiji gods, an inquiring look upon his face. When those two ancient Taiji gods had sought him out this time and declared that they would lend him their aid, Venerable Xiao had of course welcomed them with the greatest haste — for he was now utterly alone, with no master at his side, and stood at a sore disadvantage before Venerable Hao.

Only, on this visit to Taiyi — these two ancient gods were themselves of the five Innate Primals, and the ancient Taiji gods would surely stay; besides, he too wished to see Taiyi. Yet the rescue of Venerable Ling was of the utmost importance.

First, Venerable Ling's death was bound up with him; second, the one who had slain Venerable Ling was Venerable Ming Fangyu, transformed from the primordial spirit of the Grand Emperor — and the flesh that Ming Fangyu drove was none other than the true body of Taichu, the Heavenly Emperor! If Shen Mu went to rescue Venerable Ling, then his own true body of Taichu would be at stake! The true body of Taichu was the very capital that would let him defeat Venerable Hao and the other six Venerables!

With his true body in hand, and the method of attaining the Dao mastered besides, no one would be his match.

Lady Taiyin saw his misgivings and said abruptly, "Elder brother, stay here.

I will go.

" The Sun Ancient God said, "Take our companion treasure with you, sister, against any mishap.

" Lady Taiyin departed with the Taiji Sand Table.

Venerable Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and said to Jiang Yunjian with a smile, "Young sir, you are of noble bearing and handsome features, and one so young already of no common cultivation — might I ask who your master is?

" Venerable Hao's gaze fell upon Jiang Yunjian as well, and something stirred in his heart: the boy's cultivation was not high, but his arts were truly strange, and his realm was strange as well — even they could not tell what arts Jiang Yunjian cultivated, or to what realm he had cultivated them. Jiang Yunjian smiled.

"My master is none other than Taiyi. " Everyone's expression shifted slightly. The Ancestral God King, Venerable Xu and the others exchanged looks, and the Ancestral God King suddenly laughed.

"If Taiyi taught you your skills, then they must be extraordinary indeed.

No wonder one so young has such cultivation and such strength.

I have heard that Taiyi knows all things; since you are his eminent disciple, let me put you to the test, and see how much of Taiyi's skill you have learned. " Jiang Yunjian was eager to try. The Ancestral God King smiled slightly and opened his palm; Jiang Yunjian fell into it against his will. "Set your mind at ease.

One who comes from afar is a guest; I will not make things hard for you.

" The Ancestral God King looked down into his palm and said with a smile, "If you can break open my Vault of the Heavenly Dao, then I will grant that you have learned Taiyi's skill.

" Jiang Yunjian stood in the center of his palm and looked up: white clouds curled, the sky was a deep blue, and the Heavenly Dao stretched far away, transformed into a world of all the heavens.

The Venerables halted and looked one after another toward the Ancestral God King's palm. The Ancestral God King was today the foremost man in the world in his attainments in the Heavenly Dao; he tested the boy with the Heavenly Dao himself, laying layer upon layer of Heavenly Dao seals in his palm.

If Jiang Yunjian truly was Taiyi's disciple, breaking those seals would be no hard thing. And from the way Jiang Yunjian broke them, they too might glimpse Taiyi's arts and divine abilities, and thereby judge the measure of Taiyi's strength.

Jiang Yunjian raised his head and laughed.

"So they are Heavenly Dao seals. I had thought the skills of a Venerable were something transcendent — I never imagined it was such crude sorcery. " He walked straight outward, raised his hand and gave a light tap; at once the Heavenly Principle Seal surfaced into view, the very hub of that great divine ability, the Vault of the Heavenly Dao.

And as the Heavenly Principle Seal appeared, the other forty-eight Heavenly Dao seals surfaced one after another! In the Ancestral God King's palm the ways of Heaven interwove and interlaced, the seals shifting through a thousand forms and ten thousand changes, too many for the eye to follow.

Jiang Yunjian paid the other seals no heed, but broke the Heavenly Principle Seal alone — and at once all the transformations of the Heavenly Dao ceased. Jiang Yunjian unhurriedly broke the remaining Heavenly Dao seals, walked out of the Ancestral God King's palm, sprang down and landed on the ground, thinking, "I am ashamed.

Had my master not taken me to the Sea of Heaven to comprehend the Heart of Heaven, and led me there to perceive the Heavenly Dao and expounded it to me so thoroughly, I could never have broken the Ancestral God King's divine ability. " His master, of course, was not Taiyi. Taiyi had never taken a disciple, had never taught his arts and divine abilities to another, had never passed on the Dao.

Jiang Yunjian's master was Lan Yutian — and it was Shen Mu himself who had asked Lan Yutian to take him as a disciple, an inner-chamber disciple at that.

Lan Yutian had many disciples, but Jiang Yunjian was his only inner-chamber disciple.

Jiang Yunjian was also the first, and for the present the only, person to cultivate the Five Primals system that Lan Yutian had founded. Among the younger generation of Jingping, his strength was the greatest — he was even more accomplished than many of the older generation. That, too, was why Shen Mu had chosen him to receive the guests. God Emperor Langxuan coughed and said, "The young sir's skills are not bad; he has indeed gotten a measure of Taiyi's ability.

I would like to test you as well — do not take offense.

" He was very courteous, yet the moment he made his move it was a Taichu divine ability.

Venerable Xiao's eye twitched.

The Taichu divine ability that God Emperor Langxuan employed relied upon the Dao fruit at the back of his head, yet it was exceedingly exquisite, and watching it he could not help but secretly praise this bastard son of his.

Venerable Xiao understood perfectly well.

He, too, was eager to see whether Jiang Yunjian, this heir of Taiyi, could break the Taichu divine ability.

Jiang Yunjian walked back and forth inside the divine ability and laughed.

"This is a Taichu divine ability. It is a little taxing to break.

But judging by the Way of Taichu my master taught me, this ability of yours is not entirely your own comprehension — even you understand only half of it.

" God Emperor Langxuan could not help laughing. "Such bragging. " Before long, his expression changed in spite of himself.

Jiang Yunjian had actually found the weak point of his Taichu seal, and calmly broke the divine ability! God Emperor Langxuan's face darkened and cleared by turns, and he said suddenly, coldly, "Venerable Mu, it is you, is it not?

Did you think that taking the form of this youth would let you deceive me?

" Jiang Yunjian was puzzled, and laughed.

"What muddled talk is this Venerable speaking now? Venerable Mu is my foster father — how could he possibly impersonate me? " God Emperor Langxuan gave a muffled snort, still suspecting that Jiang Yunjian was Shen Mu in disguise.

"Interesting!