Chapter 1833 — Sweet-Tongued and Ruthless

He stepped into the Chaos Sea, and at once the scene before his eyes shifted. Abysses great and small appeared above his head like so many deep wells.

In the Chaos Sea, lotus stalks of unimaginable thickness towered on high, blossom after blossom thrust into the great abysses.

Nor was the surface of the sea occupied by Shen Mu's Guixu lotus leaf alone; there were the Guixu lotus leaves of sixteen other Cosmic Epochs besides.

Arriving here, Shen Mu saw that Young Master Wuji was seated upon one of those leaves, leaning at an angle, scooping up handfuls of chaos water to wash her hair. Her hair was snow-white, yet she herself seemed very young.

Standing on his own lotus leaf, Shen Mu quietly admired the sight.

Young Master Wuji could be counted a peerless beauty; had she not been so wicked, she would have been a woman to stir any heart. After a long while, Young Master Wuji suddenly burst into a giggle.

"Seventh Brother, how much longer do you mean to watch?

" Shen Mu smiled.

"Second Sister washing her hair in the Chaos Sea is a fine sight.

However long you wash, that is how long I shall watch. " "Such a sweet tongue.

" Young Master Wuji lifted her head and shot him a bewitching glare.

"Wherever the Lord of Chaos passes, not a blade of grass survives; and yet when you speak words of love, you can make a heart bloom with delight.

" Shen Mu laughed heartily and glanced about. "When will Second Sister break free of her bonds? " Young Master Wuji asked, startled, "What makes Seventh Brother say such a thing?

" "You replaced the Hongmeng runes with Guixu runes, nibbling away at Teacher's Red Rope Knot Seal bit by bit. I may not have noticed before, but this time, knowing you would be up to mischief, I looked closely—and I still made out a few clues. " Shen Mu raised his head and gazed far off at the five chains that hung down from the great abyss of the Sixteenth Epoch, which were precisely the chains transformed by the divine power of the Red Rope Knot Seal. "In the Red Rope Knot Seal, Teacher ranks first, another ranks second, and I rank third. Your tricks could never escape my eyes.

You have been unraveling the Red Rope Knot Seal for nearly three thousand years, have you not?

When the Kaitian Host borrowed a path through your territory back then, did you come to some agreement with them? " "You think the Kaitian Host unraveled one of the runes in the Red Rope Knot Seal for me? " Young Master Wuji rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Ah, yes.

You believe that the one who is skilled in the Red Rope Knot Seal and ranks above you is the thirty-sixth member of the Kaitian Host, and so you think that person helped me unravel one of the seal's runes. Is that not so?

" Shen Mu did not deny it. Of those who had studied the art of the Red Rope Knot Seal and surpassed him in mastery, the first was its founder, the Master of Miro Palace, and the second was Ling Tianzun!

Ling Tianzun and the thirty-five members of the Kaitian Host were, after all, powers of Heaven Capital.

He suspected that it was Ling Tianzun who had helped Young Master Wuji unravel one rune, giving her the chance to escape. "It was not that Dao-blasphemer, but Third Brother. " Young Master Wuji said leisurely, "To prevent your child from being born, Third Brother asked me to act so that you could not draw power from the long river of chaos—but I would not help him for nothing.

Naturally, he had to pay a price. " Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Young Master Lingxiao had once been suppressed by him with the Red Rope Knot Seal, so it stood to reason that he had some understanding of it.

So long as it was not Ling Tianzun, Shen Mu could set his mind at ease.

"Of course, the Kaitian Host helped me as well. " Young Master Wuji blinked, looking rather sly. "Their strength is tremendous—would it not have been a shame not to borrow it? These Kaitian folk are none too clever, but their strength is passable enough. When they attacked me, I borrowed their divine powers to wear away Teacher's Red Rope Knot Seal.

Later that smiling-faced man spotted something amiss and, knowing he could do nothing to me, struck a bargain with me.

" Shen Mu gave an oh and asked with keen interest, "What bargain? " Young Master Wuji said with a smile, "They would help me wear away part of the runes, but I had to do them a small favor in return.

" When Shen Mu asked what small favor, Young Master Wuji would not divulge it.

The two fell silent and spoke no more.

After a long while, Shen Mu asked with a smile, "So how much longer until Second Sister breaks free?

" "Guess!

" Beaming, Young Master Wuji gathered her washed silver hair behind her with both hands, snapped off a few strands, and tied the rest up. A silver ponytail flowed down her back, her long hair reaching her waist.

Shen Mu watched her quietly, a smile on his face.

Dragging her five chains, Young Master Wuji paced to and fro on the lotus leaf and said with a grin, "Perhaps tomorrow.

Perhaps ten thousand years from now. And of course, perhaps right now. Take a guess—if you guess right, there is a reward.

" "I am not much in the habit of guessing.

" The vertical eye between Shen Mu's brows opened, and he said mildly, "Ever since I gained strength, I have preferred to search out the answer with my own hands. " Young Master Wuji stopped walking.

"Then what are you still waiting for?

" The two fell silent once more.

The atmosphere gradually grew oppressive.

In the vertical eye between Shen Mu's brows, it was as though endless starry skies surged; then they turned into sun and moon rising and setting, forming the Taiji Wheel; then again into the qi of the Great Plainness, and further into the qi of the Azure Void; then advancing to the Great Beginning, turning into the Great Change, and at last returning to chaos. His aura rose higher and higher, growing ever stronger, as though a deity of chaos stood there, calming the Chaos Sea to windless stillness, until the lotuses and lotus leaves no longer swayed. A Chaos Hall rose slowly from the Chaos Sea, breaking the surface of the water.

As the Cosmic Bell rose from the Chaos Sea, the Five Greats upon its walls revolved without cease, flashing with all manner of dazzling Dao light, as though it were absorbing the energy of chaos. Only when the Chaos Hall had fully emerged from the Chaos Sea did the radiance of the Cosmic Bell slowly subside, though it seemed all the more ancient and weighty.

Young Master Wuji looked toward the Chaos Hall, but its doors were tightly shut, and she could not tell what lay within. Crash—! The Chaos Sea abruptly heaved violently, shattering Shen Mu's suppression, and another great hall rose slowly from the Chaos Sea.

This hall overflowed with Dao light, filled with the vast vitality unique to the Dao of Guixu—vitality as though it could sustain the birth of an entire universe! Yet the doors of this hall too were tightly shut, and what lay within Shen Mu knew no more than before.

This hall was Young Master Wuji's supreme achievement upon the Great Dao—the Wuji Hall!

Young Master Wuji was indeed very near to breaking free; she could even summon her Wuji Hall over from Miro Palace!

At the same time, violent rumbling issued from one Guixu abyss after another, and Guixu lotus blossoms vanished one after another. Beneath Young Master Wuji's feet a lotus blossom appeared, then the first tier of the lotus platform, then the second, the third. .

.

Shen Mu's pupils suddenly contracted; his gaze remained fixed on the lotus platform.

Beneath Young Master Wuji's feet, when the lotus platform showed ten grades of Dao, it finally stopped. Waves surged across the surface of the Chaos Sea, and the other six Guixu lotuses swayed and appeared once more.