Chapter 1660 — Hidden Killing Intent

I'm a retired Zun who still clings to power and influence. How could I live in the same little mountain village as before? " He visualized with his divine consciousness, and after a moment a magnificent heavenly palace appeared above Yincan Village, brocade and fragrance, splendid and grand, and hand in hand with Ling Yuxiu he walked into the heavenly palace.

The heavenly palace floated among the clouds, and below it countless Crested Fire Pheasant Dragons gazed up at it with immense envy. The Heavenly River flowed through the sky.

Shen Mu then used his great magic power to shift a piece of land and set it beside the Heavenly River, letting the cows graze on the riverbank. Green hills and clear waters, white clouds drifting, it was all very picturesque. Ling Yuxiu placed the two little red kun that Hantang the Fisherman had sent into the Heavenly River. The two little red kun, pacifiers in their mouths, swam to and fro by the shore, unwilling to leave.

No sooner had Ling Yuxiu turned to leave than two great cracks rang out from the Heavenly River, and two enormous red kun, each dozens of zhang long, leaped from the water, opened their mouths, and swallowed two of the cows grazing on the bank. The remaining two cows bolted at once.

Ling Yuxiu was struck dumb. She watched as the two red kun shifted their bodies, slowly retreated into the Heavenly River, and turned back into two little red fish, pacifiers in their mouths, swimming to and fro.

"My husband doesn't know about this yet.

Mm, I'll go buy two more cows to make up the number. He won't be able to tell. . .

" Ling Yuxiu hurried off and bought two cows, mixing them into the herd to make up the count.

She also planted the flower Langwan had sent beside the Heavenly River, and planted Yan Yunxi's carrot as well. The moment the carrot touched the ground, the part Lu Zheng had nibbled away suddenly grew back, quickly restored to its original state, and it transformed into a bare-bottomed infant that leaped out of the soil and jumped into the river to bathe. "Careful, there are kun in the river.

.

. " Ling Yuxiu had barely gotten the words out when another crack rang out, and the two red kun leaped from the water, only for the bare-bottomed infant to clench its fists and give the two red kun a thorough beating. Only then did Ling Yuxiu relax.

Shen Mu studied the texts among the gifts, leafing through them one by one. Ling Yuxiu had also brought the various fruits of Jingping's reforms, which were of great benefit to him, and he could not help but marvel at the development of Jingping's divine abilities and arts over the years.

He dug out the illustrated record of the three hundred and sixty great daos that Sage Woodcutter had sent, compared it, and his brow furrowed slightly. "Teacher Woodcutter formulated three hundred and sixty kinds of great dao, and this was also the prototype of the Heavenly Sage Sect's three hundred and sixty halls. But after more than a hundred years of reform in Jingping, are there really only three hundred and sixty kinds of acquired dao?

" Shen Mu closed the volume and stood up. Jingping's reforms ceaselessly gave birth to new trades, and each new trade represented the birth of a new acquired dao.

The dao has no end, and this does not mean the path of seeking the dao has no end, but that acquired dao is inexhaustible, and can never be fully explored. He drew on the fruits of Jingping's reforms while enjoying the sweet early days of marriage with Ling Yuxiu, loving and joyous, and also kept up with the elders of Yincan Village.

Time flew by. He rarely had such peace of mind.

In these days he quietly comprehended and organized his own techniques and divine abilities, and his dao heart grew ever more profound and unfathomable. What Lan Yutian had sent was greatly enlightening to him, and Jingping's reforms and Sage Woodcutter's three hundred and sixty kinds of acquired dao also gave him deep insight. Emperor Yanfeng and Jiang Baigui, Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, handled Jingping's affairs of state, while Yuchenzi was in charge of negotiations with the Heavenly Court. None of these trivial matters disturbed his dao heart.

Gradually, he felt that his dao arts and divine abilities were at a bottleneck, on the verge of a great breakthrough. He sensed that he was about to reach a wholly new realm, yet how to walk the road ahead was a complete blank to him.

Shen Mu paced back and forth, and before he knew it he had come to the bank of the Heavenly River. He saw that a flock of Crested Fire Pheasant Dragons had at some point flown up to this floating land and were rummaging through the mountain forest for insects. Beside them were several cows, lying in the shade of the trees, swishing their tails and chewing their cud, perfectly at ease. Shen Mu sat down on the grass and fell into deep thought.

How long passed, he did not know, when suddenly a voice came to him: "The Mu Zun of those days, the cowherd of today. You leave Us. .

.

leave me truly full of sighs and endless lament.

" Shen Mu turned his head, and saw Emperor Hao in plain clothes, having come here at some unknown time. Shen Mu rose and forced a smile. "Your Majesty mocks this humble subject.

" Emperor Hao came to his side and looked around.

"When I first heard that Mu Zun had lost his dao heart entirely, I could scarcely believe it.

Now, seeing you so dispirited, I believe it, yet a trace of bitterness wells up in my heart. " He raised his head to the sky and murmured, "Without an opponent like Mu Zun, what use is all my martial power? " Two clear tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.