Chapter 1738 — The Hunter of the Seventeenth Epoch

That is to say, battling these prehistoric powerhouses daily and tempering himself, his understanding of prehistoric Dao arts and divine abilities might well stand above even Lingguan's. That was Xu Shenghua's opening for victory! "He has secretly drunk a great deal of the Dao Dew, and that Dew greatly enhances his cultivation.

Drinking a little each day, releasing one prehistoric powerhouse at a time, gathering little by little into much, he makes up for the shortness of his cultivation time.

Were I in his place, the moment I saw Lingguan arrive I would decisively drain every drop of that Dao Dew and, with the power of Tai Yi's Dao Dew, contend against Lingguan! " "Xu Shenghua will do the same! He is as clever as I am!

" Even so, Shen Mu still struggled onward; only by seeing Xu Shenghua with his own eyes could he be at ease.

At last he came to the place of the final fluctuation, and saw the two ancient-god clones of Hall Master Lingguan, huge of frame, standing in a valley, the ground all around strewn with the remnants of divine abilities, still filled with deadly aftershocks. That divine ability was one born of the Miluo Palace; its Dao chains blazed fiercely, forming a net of heaven and earth that sealed the place off.

And Xu Shenghua now lay between the two ancient-god clones, blood all around him, motionless. "Surely not.

.

. " Shen Mu's heart sank.

Hall Master Lingguan's Dao Fruit was still there, his Dao Flower still there — battered and tattered, but not wholly destroyed. It was the Dao Fruit and the Dao Flower that sustained the net of Dao chains!

Shen Mu walked forward, his gaze falling on Lingguan's two ancient-god clones, and was briefly startled. He went straight toward the net, passing between the terrible Dao chains as their power erupted, violent beyond measure.

Shen Mu gave a stifled grunt. With no mana left to resist, he relied on his mighty Primordial Chaos Body to bear that final divine ability head-on as he stepped into the net. Boom. Boom.

Two great reports rang out: Lingguan's Dao Fruit burst, his Dao Flower burst; then the two ancient-god bodies swayed and toppled to the ground.

Xu Shenghua raised his head to look, then let it fall back, panting a few hoarse breaths, and said in a ragged voice, "Sect Master Shen, you've come. I can no longer break open his last divine ability. He spent his final strength sealing me in here, waiting for nightfall, when this place will become a paradise for the prehistoric powerhouses, and they will strike me down. . .

" Shen Mu came to his side and examined his wounds.

Xu Shenghua's body bore a great many wounds, and they had not healed; within them lingered remnants of the Miluo Palace's Dao arts.

Shen Mu tried to heal him, but there was no vital essence left within him to draw upon. "I have done my best to avoid fatal wounds. " Xu Shenghua, rarely, showed a smile.

"You are in a sorrier state than I am.

Heal yourself first.

I need only crawl up the World Tree and wait for Tai Yi's Dao Tree to appear; catching some Dao Dew should keep me alive.

. . " Suddenly he felt water strike his face.

Xu Shenghua was briefly startled, and saw the tears falling from Shen Mu's eyes like rain.

Xu Shenghua said hurriedly, "Sect Master Shen, what has come over you?

I am still alive and well. .

.

" Shen Mu suddenly wept aloud, swayed to his feet, and struggled outward. "I cannot save Heavenly Venerable Yun.

I will not make it back in time. . . I must get back, get back as fast as I can.

. .

" Xu Shenghua raised a hand and tried to grip his ankle, saying in a hoarse voice, "Calm yourself!

You are in no better state than I am.

Even if you force yourself on toward the Yuan Realm, you will be too late, and it will only cost you more time. Calm yourself. Night is nearly here.

Rest a while.

When Tai Yi's Dao Tree appears, drink some of the Dao Dew and recover a portion of your cultivation; then you will reach the Yuan Realm all the sooner!

" Shen Mu halted, was silent a moment, then bent to help him up — but staggered, and both nearly fell to the ground.

Supporting each other, they strove onward toward the World Tree. The two finest masters of Jingping now walked like two old men, tottering forward. The sun sank in the west.

It was at sunset that they finally reached the foot of the World Tree. Shen Mu had recovered a thread of cultivation; he worked his mana and carried Xu Shenghua to the top of the World Tree. The two sat upon the highest leaves and looked up. The starry sky of the Ancestral Court was brilliant, the stars shifting and changing like a revolving lantern, moving without cease; the cause of this uncanny phenomenon lay in Xuandu. The Ancestral God King led Xuandu's star gods and commanded the armies of Xuandu's Sun Watchers and Moon Watchers in an assault on Wuyou Township and Jingping.

The star gods and the Sun Watchers and Moon Watchers were all star deities, and so naturally threw the heavens into disorder. That the heavens were in such chaos showed that Xuandu's armies had all but entirely set forth!

Tai Yi's Dao Tree emerged from the Ultimate Void, and Shen Mu and Xu Shenghua rose unsteadily to their feet and caught the falling Dao Dew.

"Can Jingping be held?

" Xu Shenghua asked suddenly.

"Jingping can be held, but Wuyou Township cannot. " Shen Mu swallowed the Dao Dew and strove to work his art and refine it, saying, "But to take Wuyou Township, the Heavenly Court will surely pay an enormous price.

Wuyou Township is a weapon, forged in the Kaihuang era, a weapon made by expending all the wealth of that age. " Xu Shenghua was somewhat puzzled.

"I have been to Wuyou Township and examined the inner structure of its layer upon layer of heavens. Outwardly those heavens are ordinary land, mountains and rivers, but within they are forged of divine gold and divine iron, like machinery of incomparable intricacy. " (See Chapter 982, The Truth of Wuyou Township.

) Shen Mu went on catching the Dao Dew.

"The Wuyou Sword of Kaihuang Shen Ye is hollow, and the thirty-three heavens of Wuyou Township are the sword's heart. A complete Wuyou Sword should have Wuyou Township hidden within it.

The Wuyou Sword's power has never been very great, and it shatters easily; the chief reason lies with its sword heart.

Without the sword heart that is Wuyou Township, the Wuyou Sword cannot exert its utmost power.

" Xu Shenghua was silent a moment, then said, "Kaihuang was that forbearing a man. " Shen Mu nodded. "That is the kind of man he is.

Wuyou Township is his last means of wounding his enemies.

When the Heavenly Court's armies take the thirty-three heavens of Wuyou Township, the secret of Wuyou Township will be detonated. " He had recovered a measure of cultivation, and at once treated Xu Shenghua's Dao wounds, saying, "This night I cannot fight. I must gather strength to race back to the Yuan Realm at dawn.

Can you hold out? " Xu Shenghua said mildly, "I have been killing here for thirty years, and I have a modest name in the prehistoric cosmos. Several stowaways call me the Hunter of the Seventeenth Epoch, and my fame is not much less than that of the Miluo Palace's Seventh Young Master. In the first half of the night, none should dare come. .

.

" He coughed violently, and only after a while subsided, then went on, "In the latter half of the night there will likely be a probing wave. The second night will bring the true assault. Set your mind at ease; after you leave, if I cannot win, I will simply leave.

" Shen Mu nodded silently, refining the Dao Dew and striving with all his might to recover his cultivation. "What worries me more is that Heavenly Venerable Hao has gathered up nearly every holy land of the Ancestral Court.