Chapter 1813 — Returning to the Miro Treasure Hall

Shen Mu rested for a few days, recovering some of his cultivation, and then grew busy again. Shang Jun had fallen under Jiang Baigui's Immutable Divine Art and been trapped between life and death, and freeing him from that state was a bothersome affair, for it required that in the single instant when the Immutable Divine Art was broken, the Master of the Hall of Joy's killing blow be blocked. The Master of the Hall of Joy was, after all, a being of Hall Master rank; though she was dead, her divine power still circulated ceaselessly within the Immutable Divine Art, slaying Shang Jun again and again. Apart from Shen Mu, only Kai Huang was capable of blocking her killing blow.

The two made their preparations. Shen Mu would break the Immutable Divine Art; in the very instant it unraveled, Kai Huang, Shen Ye, thrust out his sword and blocked the divine power that came striking at Shang Jun.

Shang Jun was hauled back from the gates of hell by the two of them, and the alchemists at once came forward to tend his wounds.

Shen Mu let out a breath of relief, then summoned Tai Yi out, and saw that Tai Yi lay motionless upon the golden ship, his whole body studded with Dao-Slaying Divine Nails. "Brother Yutian, Brother Xu, Junior Brother Jiang, I will teach you the Primal Chaos Runes of the Miro Palace, and you shall heal Tai Yi.

" Shen Mu called the three of them over and passed on to them the Primal Chaos Runes, along with the Miro Palace's dao arts and divine powers that he himself had comprehended.

"The Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master suffered a setback this time, but they will surely return. And sooner or later Elder Wuyai will heal his dao wound and appear once more.

You must heal Tai Yi as soon as you can. " Jiang Baigui hesitated, then asked, "Did you not say, Second Senior Brother, that Tai Yi is the Lord of the Heavenly Capital?

Once he is healed, if the Heaven-Opening Host of the Heavenly Capital comes knocking. . . " "Healing Tai Yi and the Heaven-Opening Host coming to our door are two different matters.

" Shen Mu smiled. "The Heaven-Opening Host will not find their way here so easily.

If they could find this place, they would have come long ago.

After all, Tai Yi guarded Great Black Mountain of the Ancestral Court for billions of years, and was once sent by the master of the Miro Palace into the Fourth Epoch. If it was Tai Yi they sought, they would have had ample opportunity. It is clear, then, that what they seek is not Tai Yi, but the Lord of the Heavenly Capital. " Xu Shenghua was puzzled. "Is there a difference? " "Tai Yi is a lone wanderer, coming and going by himself.

The Lord of the Heavenly Capital, however, is the leader of the Heavenly Capital.

That is the greatest difference of all. " Shen Mu said, "Tai Yi and the Lord of the Heavenly Capital must differ in some way, but precisely how, I cannot say.

It may take Ling Tianzun to explain it clearly. " Lan Yutian said, "Brother, would it not be easier for you to heal Tai Yi yourself?

Your attainments in the Primal Chaos divine arts are far higher. " Xu Shenghua and Jiang Baigui both nodded.

"There are still the Dao-Burial Divine Coffin and the Lesser World Tree in my Hall of Chaos.

I must go in once more, to settle the Third Young Master's hand that is sealed there. " Shen Mu sighed and said gravely, "And there is still the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, and those under Elder Wuyai.

These two great forces are bound to stir before long. I must make the rounds as well, subduing what must be subdued and killing what must be killed. And the Cage of the Ancestral Court is not yet stable; I must keep reinforcing it. There is too much to do, and I have no leisure to heal Tai Yi. I will teach you the Miro Palace's dao arts and divine powers; you may take this chance to better yourselves and strive to attain the Dao as soon as you can, so that I need not toil so. " The three had at first suspected that he found healing Tai Yi too troublesome and had therefore dumped the task on them; hearing this, they could not help feeling ashamed. The World-Ferrying Golden Ship landed.

Shen Mu asked everyone to disembark, leaving only Ling Yuxiu behind. The golden ship grew smaller and smaller, and bore the two of them away into the distance.

After a moment, Shen Mu's shadow suddenly quivered upon the golden ship, and then Shang Jun's figure emerged, flung out of the ship by Shen Mu. Jiang Baigui looked up and said to Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian, "We guessed right.

He simply finds it troublesome. Any troublesome business, he cannot be bothered with, and only dumps it on us.

" Lan Yutian shook his head. "My brother is not that sort of person. Brother Xu, isn't that so?

" Xu Shenghua neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Healing Tai Yi is what matters.

" The three of them could be said to be the three with the highest comprehension and aptitude. Joining forces to grasp the Miro Palace's dao arts and divine powers that Shen Mu had passed down, examining the dao wound upon Tai Yi's body, and exchanging insights among themselves, they would naturally advance faster than Shen Mu groping his way alone, step by step. But to heal Tai Yi, they would need profound attainments in the Miro Palace's dao arts and divine powers, and that would take time.

Meanwhile, the golden ship drifted leisurely toward the Jade Capital City, neither hurried nor slow, and Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu leaned against each other at the bow, savoring a rare moment of peace and tenderness. Ling Yuxiu suddenly laughed.

"Husband, is it not a little unfair of you to dump Tai Yi on them? " Shen Mu laughed heartily.

"If I took everything on my own shoulders, they would have no chance to temper themselves.

Now their chance has come. Besides, we do have rather a lot to do. " He took Ling Yuxiu's hand and led her toward the golden hall aboard the ship.

Ling Yuxiu's face flushed red; she covered her lips with her other hand, somewhat unwilling, yet still she followed his steps. After a while, the World-Ferrying Golden Ship began to sway and lurch like a drunkard, suddenly crashing into a divine mountain, then wobbling up again, then plunging once more to the ground and dragging across it for tens of thousands of li, then abruptly soaring aloft and diving into a sea of clouds.

Fortunately, the Ancestral Court was now devoid of people, so there was no fear of shocking the world. How much time passed, none could say, before the World-Ferrying Golden Ship at last drifted slowly to the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. Several Dao-attainers of the Miro Palace had already descended into the Jade Capital City, and they watched this strange golden ship as though facing a mighty foe. Then, as if it had lost all control, the ship crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom and lay there motionless.

News of the deaths of the three Hall Masters, of Union, of the Phoenix, and of Zengcheng, had already reached the Miro Palace, throwing the whole palace into shock.

More shocking still was that the Third Young Master, Ling Xiao, had had his right arm severed, which set the entire Miro Palace abuzz, filling them with shock, fury, and dread toward the Seventh Young Master.

They were shocked that Shen Mu, though he had not yet attained the Dao, already possessed such strength; furious that Shen Mu, the Seventh Young Master of the Miro Palace, would strike so ruthlessly at his own; and afraid that Shen Mu would show them no mercy, so that if they themselves descended into the Seventeenth Epoch, they would likely meet a foul end at his hands. In recent days, the Miro Palace had still been using the power of blood sacrifice to send new Dao-attainers down into the Seventeenth Epoch, but the newly descended Dao-attainers were far more cautious, and never once left the Jade Capital City. They had never gone out, and yet, unexpectedly, Shen Mu had come barging in.