Chapter 1674 — A Battle to Break the Deadlock

Taichu laughed aloud, his voice booming and shaking the void.

His power was too great; merely standing there, he twisted layer upon layer of the void, which tilted toward him.

He had regained his own fleshly body, and had attained the Dao through force, cultivating the One-Qi Daluo Heaven. Though Emperor Haotian kept him suppressed by a head, he was still one of the mightiest beings in this world!

His laughter made the starry sky heave violently, and the stars that had just vanished were shaken back into being, flickering in and out of light. Shen Mu only smiled and watched him quietly.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu, how many times have you been defeated?

" Taichu's laughter subsided.

"The Jingping Calamity was your first defeat, and you lost to Our hand. Life was worse than death for you; the survival or destruction of Jingping lay within a single thought of Ours. In that battle you wept to heaven and heaven did not answer; you cried to earth and earth gave no reply. With no road left, you had no choice but to separate yourself from Shen Fengqing; you could not even keep your identity as the Divine Son of Youdu. In the end, Emperor Yanfeng and Jingping's Imperial Preceptor became prisoners of the Heaven Court, Jingping was all but annihilated, and you came within a hair of losing everything! " Shen Mu smiled faintly.

"That was also the first time I crossed swords with you, Second Brother. You are deep in scheming, and you did me great harm.

" Taichu laughed. "Back then you were nothing but a green boy. For all your smug success and your air of deep stratagem, to me you were a cricket in a jar; every move you made, every thought you had, was laughable in my eyes. Your second defeat struck harder still: the Battle of Xuandu, where you were utterly routed. You seemed to have saved the Lord of Heaven, but you lost all of Xuandu, and you lost the Lord of Heaven's mortal body.

" A mocking look came over him. "Without the Lord of Heaven's mortal body, the Lord of Heaven is only a mortal man. Without Xuandu, Jingping lies exposed beneath it, and heavenly calamities may descend at will! The human race is just such a frail race; unlike the demigods, they are not born mighty, yet they possess an extraordinary power to breed and survive. But if Xuandu should fall into the Heaven Court's hands, then no matter how great the human race's power to breed and survive, it cannot withstand heavenly calamity! Your second defeat cost the human race its future!

" Shen Mu was unperturbed. "In the Battle of Xuandu, I would not call myself defeated. Second Brother, you think too highly of yourself, and too highly of Xuandu and the Heaven Court. In the Battle of Xuandu I revived the Lord of Heaven and obtained fifty Supreme Treasures of the Heavenly Dao.

With the Lord of Heaven and fifty Supreme Treasures of the Heavenly Dao, it is simply impossible for the Heaven Court to send calamity down from Xuandu.

" "Fourth Brother, there is no need to flatter yourself. " Taichu chuckled. "Your third defeat was Youdu. In the Battle of Youdu you made a surprise attack on Tubo and slew him one step ahead of us — truly an inspired stroke.

Had Emperor Haotian not had the Third and Fourth Young Masters in reserve, you would likely have won a complete victory and seized Youdu! Alas, there is no 'if.

'" He spoke with solemn respect. "In that battle you did not lose to Emperor Haotian, but to the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace. It was a defeat to be proud of.

" Shen Mu inclined slightly. "You overpraise me, Second Brother. Nor was I wholly defeated in the Battle of Youdu.

At the very least, Shen Fengqing grew to maturity, and Tubo was preserved. To you it was a crushing defeat for me; to me, I truly gained Tubo as an ally. And at the same time—" He smiled brilliantly. "I also gained a tremendous opportunity.

Haotian the Heavenly Venerable gathered power into his own hands; Langxuan died, Heavenly Venerable Huo died, the Ten Heavenly Venerables fell apart. That is great hope after great despair. " Taichu's expression turned grave. "Once I read you as easily as the lines of my own palm; by the Battle of Youdu you had leapt beyond my expectations.

Your growth is truly astonishing. In a mere hundred years you have grown to this point — admirable and fearsome. But the three great defeats of your life have drained your fortune to nothing. After the Battle of Youdu, you knew you had no strength left to oppose the Heaven Court, so you feigned surrender, hid your light, and even took a wife, meaning to buy time. But you could never have imagined that Emperor Haotian is more outstanding than I; he will not give you that time, and he will not let you live. " He said calmly, "Once you signed the Jingping Surrender Agreement, your usefulness was at an end.

Emperor Haotian sent me here to see you off. He gave me two choices. The first was to kill you — which I might not be able to accomplish. The second was to sink you into the Long River of Chaos in the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. If you do not die, you may return to the universe of the past and be the Seventh Young Master of Miluo Palace. Emperor Haotian's thinking and his methods are indeed far above mine; I lost to him and I am wholly convinced.

" Behind him the One-Qi Daluo Heaven grew ever brighter, and the Dao Tree gave off an ever more terrifying aura of the Great Dao. "Only after attaining the Dao does one know how vast the gulf is from those who have not. Fourth Brother, in memory of the sworn brotherhood we once shared, I will give you a way to live. Enter the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court of your own accord, and leap into the Long River of Chaos. I will not make things hard for you.

Nor will you die; you are, after all, the Seventh Young Master of Miluo Palace, and in the universe of the past you may live on quite well. " Shen Mu laughed aloud, hands clasped behind his back, and said in a desolate voice, "When the four of us swore brotherhood, we asked not to be born in the same year, the same month, the same day, but only to die in the same year, the same month, the same day.

Third Brother Luoxiao died young, and the three of us were all great liars with honeyed tongues — not one of us went to keep him company. Later, Second Brother and I together saw Eldest Brother Taidi on his way to join him, and I was comforted. Today, it is time to send Second Brother to keep Eldest Brother and Third Brother company as well. " Taichu's pupils contracted.

From the One-Qi Daluo Heaven behind him an Imperial Sword flew slowly forth, imperial majesty spreading all around. "You still will not shed a tear until you see the coffin.

You have not changed.

" Shen Mu slowly drew the Tribulation Sword and cast the scabbard aside. "Second Brother, I too will give you a chance. Jingping's situation is now excellent. If you are willing to join me against Emperor Haotian, in the future you may still be the one who attained the Dao, and need not die.

You and I, brothers, can join hands against the prehistoric invasion and atone for the evils of your past.

" Taichu sighed and closed his hand on the Taichu Imperial Sword. Though it was only a replica of the true Imperial Sword, this blade had, after all, been forged by his own hand. He said bleakly, "We four brothers swore our bond of gold and orchid.

I never thought that today I would be the only one left.

" Shen Mu flicked his sword, his gaze fixed on its tip, his eyes deep and dark. "In my life I have fallen three times and risen three times, great rises and great falls, and it is no more than that. After the settling of these three great rises and falls, the only one in this world who can defeat me is myself. This sword of mine need hide its edge no longer.