Chapter 211 — Knocking at the Gate of the Firmament

. " Shen Mu felt as though he had fallen into a nightmare of boundless darkness, with no way to escape the ever-blackening dark, no way to struggle, no way to save himself.

It was a darkness that bred despair, a sinking into despair.

And the boat that could carry his soul had already sailed far away.

Suddenly Shen Mu gathered all his strength and shouted with his soul, crying out the phrase of the Youdu tongue the Demon King of Dutian had taught him, obscure tones winding and crooked, impossibly awkward, yet utterable only by a soul! No sooner had he spoken than a voice came out of the boundless dark, equally obscure, ancient and weathered; it too spoke the Youdu tongue, like the chanting of scriptures, like the primeval forebears holding a sacrifice, offering up life and blood to a deity of vast and all-bearing weight.

At once Shen Mu felt his body begin to rise slowly, faster and faster, until at last it became a streak of flowing light. In the flowing light he saw the boat, and then he saw the gateway.

The streak of light whistled out of the darkness and rushed into Shen Mu's body within the gateway.

Shen Mu's body convulsed; he gasped in great heaving breaths, drenched in sweat as though he had just crawled out of water. And behind the gateway the boat came drifting again; the old man on it looked toward him, but this time did not raise the lantern to shine on him.

Shen Mu stood before the gateway, ready at any moment to disperse the form of the Star Lord of Zhen and let the gateway vanish, and called out loudly, "Brother of the Way, what does that phrase you spoke mean?

" The old man's gaze fell upon him; the little boat turned and sailed off into the darkness.

"Great indeed is Kunyuan; all things draw their life from it, and it obediently bears Heaven. " "Kun is thick and bears all things; its virtue accords with the boundless.

It contains and embraces, it is vast and bright, and all creatures come to fullness. " "The mare is of the earth's kind; she travels the earth without limit, gentle and docile, advantageous and steadfast. When the noble man would set forth, if he goes first he loses the way; if he follows, he finds the constant course.

.

.

" "The phrase you spoke is 'Great indeed is Kunyuan.

' Had you spoken it sooner, your soul would not have been detained.

" The boat sailed farther and farther, gradually vanishing, the old man's voice drifting back, fainter and fainter: "This gate is the Gate of Bearing Heaven of Youdu.

Kunyuan bears Heaven; ghosts and gods may enter it, but it is not for you to enter. .

.

" "The Demon King of Dutian truly did me harm!

" Shen Mu was furious, then burst out laughing.

"Still, it is a mercy I did not lose my life; I will deal with him little by little.

Eh, my soul seems to have changed.

" He felt that his soul, after its journey to Youdu, had grown far tougher; dazed, Shen Mu roused the Three Elixirs of the Mystic Body, and at once felt an indescribable power flowing from the Gate of Bearing Heaven, nourishing his soul! He could not help but be stunned.

The Demon King of Dutian had deceived him, but not entirely.

The Demon King of Dutian had not been wrong: to know the Youdu script upon the gate and open it could indeed leave no weakness in his cultivation, and put him a notch above the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping at this realm!

The form of the Star Lord of Zhen of the Five Luminaries realm was of the utmost importance to him, the very key to the cultivation of the soul! After a long while, Shen Mu felt his soul grow ever more stable; he looked at the scroll in his hand and saw the writing upon it gradually grow clear, strange characters in the shapes of birds and beasts, insects and fish, the sun and the moon emerging upon it.

Though he still did not recognize these characters, he seemed somehow to understand their meaning; as his gaze swept over them, the mysteries of the writing turned of themselves into knowledge in his mind.

Browse and read at: