Chapter 433 — The Northern Emperor's Divine Artifact

This round of poison-refining had consumed no small amount of time and energy. The venom Shen Mu concocted was a compound of many layers, demanding repeated cycles of refinement. He first smelted several hundred base poison pills, with which he fed venomous creatures — poisonous insects, poisonous toads, and gu worms — and then employed those very creatures as fertilizer to grow poisonous fungi and herbs. Cycle upon cycle he repeated the process until, at the last, he condensed a handful of poison ova and planted them deep within the marrow of both his legs.

The shells of these ova would not readily dissolve; yet the moment the marrow began to generate fresh blood, they would crack open and ride the bloodstream to every corner of the body, corrupting the vital organs, rending the primordial spirit, and extinguishing the soul. He had just finished refining the exquisite venom and set aside a few ova for later use when Si Yunxiang arrived with word: "The sect's elders and the adepts versed in the Five Ghosts Transposition Art have come. " Shen Mu exhaled in relief. "Show them in," he said in a low voice.

Si Yunxiang brought in the worthies of the Nether Demon Sect. Shen Mu swept his gaze over them and saw that many among them were indeed generals of the field, still clad in iron armor they had not yet shed.

The Five Ghosts Transposition Art was by no means a technique of the highest order.

In truth, it was quite contemptible — an art of the basest sort. Yet even the lowliest art possesses a power beyond all imagining. There is no good or evil in magic; what matters is how it is used.

Were they to storm Fragrant Well Compound by main force — even if every one of these men had mastered the most exalted divine arts and each stood at the Divine Bridge realm — they would likely suffer grievous losses and still fail to stop the White Gap Deity from activating the Five Thunder Jar. Yet the lowliest, most disreputable Five Ghosts Transposition Art could lift the jar away without costing a single life. "Gentlemen!

" Shen Mu bowed in formal salute.

"This venture must end in success, not failure. Should we fail, a thunder calamity will engulf Jingping, and heaven knows how many common folk will perish! Whether we prevail now rests entirely on your skill!

" The assembled men hastily returned the salute. "It is our bounden duty.

We dare not accept the Sect Master's great courtesy!

" Shen Mu straightened and said gravely, "Within the Five Thunder Jar lie the five great cloud-thunders of East, South, West, North, and Center, and within those cloud-thunders dwell the Fire Bell Divine Soldiers. Even transporting this divine treasure demands the utmost vigilance, lest its might be roused. Have you gentlemen any understanding of the five great cloud-thunders?

" The men exchanged glances.

One elder stepped forth from the crowd. "Sect Master, I do hold some acquaintance with the five great cloud-thunders and the Fire Bell Divine Soldiers. In my early years I roamed far and wide, and once, in the Black Tortoise Temple amid the desolate wastes, I came upon a strange tome recording certain anecdotes of the Northern Emperor. " Shen Mu's expression stirred slightly.

The desolate wastes again. "The five great cloud-thunders and the Fire Bell Divine Soldiers are treasures refined by the Northern Emperor. " That elder was the Nether Demon Sect's Minister of Works Elder. "The Northern Emperor, also known as the Black Tortoise Great Emperor, excelled in thunder arts; the five great cloud-thunders and the Fire Bell Divine Soldiers were his signature marvels, of immense might.

The strange tome in the Black Tortoise Temple of the wastes was inscribed upon the shell of a black tortoise, cast entire from iron — turning its pages was extremely difficult.

I managed to open two pages of that iron book, and read therein certain records.

Emperor Kaihuang once held a banquet and invited the Northern Emperor. The Northern Emperor showed his prowess, sending thunder-clouds piercing through every realm, and Kaihuang praised him without stint. What lay beyond in that tome, I cannot say. " Shen Mu was startled. The Northern Emperor and Emperor Kaihuang — there was a connection between them? The Northern Emperor had once been a guest of Kaihuang? "That tome touched on certain mysteries of the Northern Emperor's five great cloud-thunders, and I am not wholly unversed in thunder arts myself. " The Minister of Works Elder went on: "The Greater Cloud-Thunder Art is lost to the world, but the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture contains the Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art. What I cultivate is precisely this Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art.

Though I read only two pages of that tome, it advanced my cultivation of the Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art by leaps — I profited beyond measure. If the Sect Master can trust me, let this old servant take charge of the Five Ghosts Transposition!

" Shen Mu nodded. "The Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art is a technique of no small power.

Since the Minister of Works Elder cultivates it, let us compare notes. Share your own understanding of the art. " The Minister of Works Elder laid out before the assembly everything he had comprehended of the Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art. Shen Mu listened closely, cross-examining it against the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture. When the elder finished, Shen Mu in turn expounded, unhurriedly, his own understanding of the art.

From childhood he had received tutelage from the Nine Elders of Hidden Ruin Village; his breadth of vision had long since reached heights few mortals could hope to attain. Add to that the scripture transmitted upon the Woodcutter's Rock, the cultivation bestowed by Treasure Ship Qin Hanzhen, his reflections at the Great Thunder Ming Temple, the sword-enlightenment before the stone stele, the awakening in Little Jade Capital, and the glimpse of the Jingping Imperial Preceptor's realization at Qingmen Pass — while his insight might not be first under heaven, few indeed could claim to surpass it. The Lesser Cloud-Thunder Art was a technique of the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture.

The Woodcutter's Rock transmission had already expounded it to a very high degree. With Kui Sou, that great classical savant, as his guide, and being himself a grand master who had created the Six Harmonies Primordial Spirit, Shen Mu had more than enough measure to instruct the Minister of Works Elder in thunder arts. When Shen Mu finished, the listeners were entranced, each gleaning some new realization. The Minister of Works Elder, hearing him through, felt reverence well up from his heart.

He bowed in wholehearted submission. "The Sect Master is a heaven-gifted prodigy — a born holy sovereign.

" Though Shen Mu was young, just sixteen, his cultivation only at the Six Harmonies realm, his vision and depth had already proven enough to win over a Divine Bridge powerhouse such as himself. "Meditate on this with care. Within these few days we must move the Five Thunder Jar. " Shen Mu turned to question Si Yunxiang. "Where is the Emperor now?

" "The Emperor has just reached Youzhou — still more than ten days' journey from here. " Si Yunxiang replied: "His Majesty's wish is that the Sect Master delay matters for ten days; if ten days cannot be managed, then at least eight. Eight days hence, he shall fire cannon from five thousand li away and blast Bai Xi to death. " Shen Mu shook his head. "Bai Xi will not give us eight days.

Within three to five, he will make his move.

How go the battles in the Divine Severance Mountains? " Si Yunxiang frowned.

"That place is utterly destroyed — every scrap of it awash in the aftershocks of divine powers. Even a master of the Celestial realm cannot set foot within. The Emperor has ordered the garrisons of Yanbian Pass and Mishui Pass to withdraw, abandoning both to avoid being caught in the blast.

As for who won or lost.

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