Chapter 1618 — Heavenly Venerables Honor Their Promises, the Supreme Unyielding

The Seventh Young Master of the Hall of Chaos was none other than Shen Mu, standing there before his eyes — one could well imagine how shaken Kaihuang had been at the time. And what that Seventh Young Master, Shen Mu, had told him shook him even more deeply still.

He had never once spoken to anyone of what he had undergone in the Hall of Chaos; he was far more steady than Shen Mu, and knew well how to keep a secret.

In those years when he had used Venerable Ling's divine power to return to the early years of Longhan, he had never breathed a word to anyone of his encounter with Shen Mu. He had been careful indeed, taking pains to remain a mere observer in the early years of Longhan, never attempting to alter any part of history. In this he differed from Shen Mu.

He did not meddle with history; Shen Mu, flamboyant by nature, had kicked up a mighty commotion in the early years of Longhan, and in the end the two of them had together fulfilled history. Kaihuang gradually stilled his heart, and leafing through the Sword Canon, he resolved to bury what had happened in the Hall of Chaos deep within himself and tell no one.

Shen Mu looked about him. Venerable Ling, Venerable Moon, Kaihuang, and himself besides — four of the five Heavenly Venerables who had founded the Heaven Alliance were gathered here, and his heart surged and heaved. He laughed aloud. "Of the five founding elders of the Heaven Alliance, only one is missing now. Where is my golden ship?

" Eagerly he said, "The Golden Ship of Salvation hasn't fallen into the enemy's hands, has it? With that ship I can send Venerable Cloud's body into the Great Luo Heaven of Divine Consciousness, and then Venerable Cloud can break free of his shackles and descend from Great Luo Heaven. That way, the Five Ancients of Creation will be complete!

" Venerable Ling raised her head from the vast ocean of books. "I left the golden ship outside Wendao Academy. " Shen Mu made at once to hurry off. Kaihuang closed the Sword Canon, his swordlike brows lifting. "Venerable Mu, are you certain you truly mean to save the Earl of Earth?

" Shen Mu halted and turned to look at him, a flicker of doubt on his face. "There is no chance of victory in this battle, and you know it perfectly well. " Kaihuang returned the Sword Canon to the village headman and rose to his feet. "Langwan's strength falls short. Matched against any one of the Heavenly Venerables, her defeat is certain.

After Taichu's bloodbath across the Void of the Other Shore and the migration war of Carefree Township, only one or two thousand Creators remain. If anything should happen to Langwan, the race of Creators will be in peril of extinction!

" Langwan sat quietly where she was. "Venerable Mu is the sacred infant of the Creator race.

I trust him.

" "Venerables Fire, Ancestor, Lang, Void and the rest have returned from the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, and every one of them is now a different being from before.

Venerable Moon's cultivation cannot compare with theirs; she can only harass the enemy, never inflict a fatal wound. " Kaihuang went on, "She has been plagued by her Dao wound for forty thousand years and has only just healed. Through those forty thousand years her strength scarcely advanced, while her enemies surged ahead! In the battle of the Nether Capital, her life will be at risk as well! " Venerable Moon's face was calm. "My Dao wound was healed by Venerable Mu.

If he wishes me to go to the Nether Capital, then to the Nether Capital I will go. On the battlefield, I can protect myself.

" Kaihuang said coolly, "That was before. Before, the ten Heavenly Venerables could not break your Dao of Space, but the Heavenly Court of today has many divine powers capable of breaking your arts. However exquisite your Dao of Space, can it escape the all-seeing eye of the Duke of Heaven's body? " Venerable Moon recalled how Shen Mu, in those years, had come into the peach grove to see her, guided there by the Duke of Heaven, and her heart sank.

The Ancestral God King who held the Duke of Heaven's body could break her Scripture of the Ultimate Void with ease! And then there was Venerable Fire, who, when he had held the ancestral land of Dao Fire, had used the Nine-Heaven Dao-Fire Altar to shatter her Scripture of the Ultimate Void; she could no longer be sure of preserving herself. Kaihuang was utterly calm. "Venerable Ling's strength rises and falls.

At its height she can slay those who have attained the Dao; at its lowest, even a Heavenly Venerable can put her to death. " Venerable Ling said, "Venerable Mu saved my life. And besides, no one can kill me.

" Kaihuang smiled coldly. "At worst you will be trapped for another forty thousand years? " Venerable Ling said nothing. "The Nether Venerable has strength, but is he stronger than Venerable Fire?

Not necessarily. " Kaihuang continued, "Venerable Cloud has only just been reborn.

Even if you return his body to him, it will be frail, at most a body of the Imperial Throne realm.

He may have a mighty Dao Tree and Dao Fruit, but after all they are not of his own cultivation; it will take time before he fully masters the power he obtained from Taidi. " He weighed the strengths of the two sides. "It is even possible that through the long years to come he will never fully master Taidi's power.

I can hold off Venerable Hao, but I cannot hold off Venerable Hao and Taichu at once! Let Taichu slip free of me, and any of the others may die at his hands! The Taichu and Venerable Hao of today are each of them no weaker than Taidi was in his day!

" Shen Mu said, "There is also me. .

.

" Kaihuang said, "Can you withstand Venerable Hao, or Taichu?

The Earl of Earth is of no use either; he seeks only death!

And beyond that, at Taichu's side stand two Taiji Ancient Gods. Who will hold them off? " Shen Mu frowned. Kaihuang said in a heavy voice, "The battle of the Nether Capital is a trap — not a trap to destroy the Earl of Earth, but a trap set for us! Venerable Hao's ascendancy is already established; he means to use the destruction of the Earl of Earth as his pretext and wipe us out in a single net while he is at it!

Even if we suffer grievous losses, we cannot win; we can only watch the Nether Capital fall into enemy hands! " His tone eased. "The Earl of Earth seeks only death, to be free of the bonds of the Great Dao of the Nether Capital. That battle is in no way necessary for us. We have finally come together again, and we have hope of victory — and now we would smash that future advantage to pieces over a war that need not be fought. That is the act of a fool. " Shen Mu fell silent.

After a moment he said, "If we do not move, the Heavenly Court's advantage grows greater.

If we go to war, there is still a chance to retake the Nether Capital. Retake the Nether Capital, and in the future we will have room to maneuver. If the Nether Capital falls, then in the future we will have no room to live at all.

.

. " "And if you cannot retake it? " Kaihuang looked straight into his eyes. His words were like his sword dao, pressing in step by step, granting him no chance to defend himself, striking straight at the weak place in his dao heart. "If in this battle, no matter how hard you strive, you cannot retake the Nether Capital?

If in this battle, some fellow traveler of your Dao dies because of it? " Venerable Moon frowned slightly. Kaihuang had spoken a great deal today, and his words were sharp; he seemed different from his usual self. Langwan's gaze rested on Kaihuang, and there was doubt in her eyes as well. She had had more dealings with Kaihuang than most; the Kaihuang of ordinary days was always unhurried, unshaken by thunder. Today's Kaihuang seemed to have lost some measure of his composure and his dao heart.

Shen Mu laughed. "I am the Grand Mage of Ten Thousand Kalpas Who Never Perishes; I can revive them. . . " "And if the you of now cannot revive them?

" Kaihuang pressed on.