Chapter 1806 — The Eve of the Sealing

After the two Palace Masters, Phoenix and Hehuan, withdrew into the Jade Capital City, Kaihuang Shen Ye at once struck at the Dao-attainers of Miluo Palace who were striving to descend outside the city.

Without the protection of the two Palace Masters, those Dao-attainers of Miluo Palace could not withstand his sword dao at all; they were swiftly swept clean. Yet several among them proved decisive, halting their descent at once and returning to the Sixteenth Era to preserve themselves.

Inside the city and out, calm settled.

The Golden Ship of Salvation floated quietly beyond the walls. Everyone sat aboard, and Heavenly Venerable Yue, long sickness having made her a healer, tended their wounds — though to heal the injuries upon them all was beyond her power.

Nearly every one of the mightiest beings of Jingping had gathered here. Each had many questions for Kaihuang, yet none knew where to begin.

After a long while, Heavenly Venerable You broke the silence: "Shen Ye, where have you been these forty-two years?"

Kaihuang Shen Ye said: "In those years I broke into the Jade Capital City, crossed sixteen long rivers of chaos to Miluo Palace, and there, in the Chaos Hall of Miluo Palace, I met the Seventh Young Master. The Seventh Young Master told me certain things, and planted within my body a divine art meant solely to counter the divine art of the Fourth Young Master, Zixiao. Forty-two years ago, when I blocked the killing blow the Fourth Young Master Zixiao aimed at Heavenly Venerable Ling, it stirred the Seventh Young Master's divine art. From that moment on, I have remained aboard this ship."

"Aboard the ship?" Everyone was stunned. Heavenly Venerable Yue asked: "This very ship?"

Kaihuang Shen Ye nodded: "This very ship. I could see you, yet not touch you; I could hear your conversations, yet could not convey a single word to you. You could not see me, could not touch me, could not hear my words. Aboard this ship I pondered what the Seventh Young Master had imparted, and there I also encountered the master of Miluo Palace, and spoke with him at length."

"The master of Miluo Palace?" Everyone was aghast, and hurriedly turned to look at the golden halls of the Golden Ship of Salvation, one after another.

"It was the dao-shadow of the master of Miluo Palace," Kaihuang Shen Ye explained. "His abilities have reached a level I can neither comprehend nor fathom. His dao left many shadows upon this ship, and he gave me much guidance."

Heavenly Venerable Yue steadied herself and ventured: "Did Heavenly Venerable Mu tell you much of the future?"

All eyes fell upon Kaihuang Shen Ye's face, awaiting his answer. Kaihuang shook his head: "He did not tell me much. What I said just now was a lie to deceive those two Palace Masters, to force them to dare not oppose us head-on."

Everyone was half-convinced, half-doubtful.

In the past their trust in Kaihuang Shen Ye had come from the heart; they trusted every word he spoke, for all knew that Shen Ye was by no means a fellow like Shen Mu, whose tongue could gallop horses.

Shen Mu lied without end, but Shen Ye would never lie.

Yet now they discovered that an honest man's lies were all the more terrifying, for no one could tell which words from an honest man's mouth were true and which were false.

"He truly did not tell me much," Kaihuang Shen Ye said helplessly. "I know little of the future. At the time he had no leisure to tell me much, and it seemed he was also unwilling to tell me."

Everyone was deeply skeptical.

Kaihuang said no more.

"The longer we delay, the worse it is for us," Xu Shenghua said suddenly. "The Dao-attainers of Miluo Palace have ample time to descend, and so the Dao-attainers within the Jade Capital City will only grow more numerous. Before long we will suffer utter annihilation. Should we not storm the Jade Capital City and stop their descent?"

"No need." Kaihuang Shen Ye glanced back and said: "Now that the Ancestral Court is sealed, the blood sacrifice is confined within the Ancestral Court. The energy of the blood sacrifice here can come from only two sources: one, what has accumulated through history; two, the powerhouses who die in the Ancestral Court in the battles to come. Most of the blood-sacrifice energy accumulated through history was used up by Old Man Wuya; the blood-sacrifice power Miluo Palace can command is not much, and the number of powerhouses they can bring down should likewise have a limit. To break past that limit, they have only two paths."

He pressed his lips together and said: "To kill us — that is the first path. To destroy the World Tree and slay the powerhouses beneath Old Man Wuya's banner — that is the second path."

Xu Shenghua pondered for a moment. If Shen Mu's sealing were completed, these were indeed the only two choices left to Miluo Palace.

Even if Miluo Palace killed them, that would not suffice for all of Miluo Palace's powerhouses to descend; they would have to deal with Old Man Wuya's forces before they could ensure that every Dao-attainer descended into the Seventeenth Era.

In other words, by sealing the Ancestral Court, Shen Mu had turned the Ancestral Court into a three-way death struggle!

The Ancestral Court was a vast beast cage; whether Miluo Palace, Old Man Wuya, or themselves, all were savage beasts within the cage, and only the final victor could leave this place alive!

"The Jade Capital City is fraught with peril; there is no need for us to storm it. Storming the Jade Capital City cannot dispel the blood-sacrifice energy, and would only cost us grievous losses," Kaihuang Shen Ye said. "On the contrary, we should leave the Jade Capital City and no longer keep watch here. When the Dao-attainers of Miluo Palace descend, they will surely seek out Old Man Wuya; a death struggle between the two sides is inevitable. But before that, we must block the Dao-attainers of the Jade Capital City from leaving the Ancestral Court, until the Seventh Young Master's sealing is complete! Should anyone leave the Ancestral Court, they will only re-establish blood-sacrifice altars in the outside world!"

Emperor Xuan's heart stirred slightly, and he asked: "Shen Ye, did the Seventh Young Master tell you this?"

Kaihuang nodded.

Emperor Wu was greatly heartened and pressed: "What else did the Seventh Young Master tell you?"

Kaihuang Shen Ye shook his head: "He told me only this, and said nothing of anything else."

Lang Wan said suddenly: "Fellow Daoist, when did Heavenly Venerable Mu become the Seventh Young Master?"

Kaihuang shook his head: "I do not know."

Lan Yutian said: "How did my brother return to the past?"

"I do not know."

The crowd itched unbearably, wishing they could tear open his mouth and make him spill everything he knew; but Kaihuang would not speak, and there was nothing they could do.

In the south of the Ancestral Court, the earth suddenly heaved upward, and the fourth heavenly wall grew without cease — though its growth was far slower than that of the other walls. Clearly, Shen Mu, having folded three sides of the Ancestral Court in succession, had suffered grave damage to his vital essence and was no longer what he had been.

When Granny Zhu, Ling Yuxiu, the Village Chief and the others hurried there, the southern heavenly wall of the Ancestral Court had already risen to the very vault of heaven. Seen dimly, the Ancestral Court now resembled a great cauldron floating at the center of the universe.

Seen from outside, the four walls of the cauldron were ringed with sun, moon and stars; mountain ranges rolled on without end, rivers and lands stretched ten thousand li, and giant beasts dwelt and lived upon the cauldron's walls.

There, giant beasts roamed in herds, and there were magnificent palaces; Long Qilin and Yan'er were flying among the clouds, patrolling their domain.

Their speed was great, yet seen from afar, their flight seemed exceedingly slow.