Chapter 470 — Palaces in Heaven

A great noise came from behind the hall, and then came the sound of chewing.

Liu Zhenqing was frantic with anxiety and hastily ordered the other Liu family members: "Pull the chains, hurry, drag the old thing back! Do not be afraid, he has the White Tiger Pearl in his mouth, he is suppressed by the White Tiger Pearl! Hurry! Hurry!"

Among the many black coffins, Liu family experts strained to haul on the chains bound to the golden coffin; the chains clattered loudly. After a moment, a burly divine corpse was dragged back out of the hall by them.

The divine corpse was still struggling with all its strength, trying to break free of them. Liu Zhenqing and Liu Ruyin also went forward in person, doing all they could to drag the divine corpse back into the coffin.

Liu Zhenqing climbed onto the divine corpse's head, raised her little fist, and hammered at the corpse's nose, saying in a crisp voice: "Spit it out, spit it out quickly!"

The divine corpse's mouth was bulging; clearly something was hidden inside.

The divine corpse glared viciously at this audacious little girl, looking as though it might devour her at any moment, but its four limbs were locked by chains and it could not move.

And what was in its mouth was precisely the White Tiger Pearl, which it had just swallowed together with that True Heaven Palace expert; but only after the White Tiger Pearl entered its mouth did it learn how terrifying it was. It had nearly been assimilated by the White Tiger Pearl and had failed to swallow the pearl down into its belly.

Liu Zhenqing beat the divine corpse until blood streamed from its nose. The divine corpse could bear it no longer, opened its mouth and spat out the White Tiger Pearl, and sprayed a stream of corpse poison, biting at Liu Zhenqing.

Bang.

The coffin lid closed. Liu Zhenqing swiftly pasted the sealing talismans back in place, picked up the White Tiger Pearl that had fallen to the ground, her brows and eyes full of delight, and jumped back onto her own little coffin lid, pulled out her candied hawthorn and licked it, then said to Shen Mu with a smile: "Brother Shen, we are going back. When you have time, come to Spirit Burial Valley and play with us mother and daughter!"

Shen Mu laughed heartily and waved to them.

"Let us go!"

The coffin lid flipped over with a bang, covering the little girl inside the coffin. From within came Liu Zhenqing's muffled voice, tinged with pride: "No more fighting, back to Spirit Burial Valley! Our Liu family did not come to the True Heaven Palace to carve up power. With this White Tiger Pearl, our Liu family's Spirit Burial Valley can also become a holy land of the Western Land!"

A great host of coffins, escorting the golden divine coffin, howled away and withdrew from the True Heaven Palace.

"Little sister Liu Zhenqing is no small matter. Perhaps she really can forge a holy land of the corpse cultivators."

Shen Mu continued deeper into the True Heaven Palace, thinking: "But I cannot call her little sister either. Her years should be about the same as her mother Liu Ruyin's—she must be four or five hundred years old."

Deep within the True Heaven Palace, the might of another spirit treasure, the Vermilion Bird Pearl, was terrifying; wherever the Vermilion Bird's true fire passed, everything was burned to ash, and only the halls of the True Heaven Palace could still survive.

People of the great families were rushing toward the place where the Vermilion Bird Pearl's power had erupted, clearly intending to get their hands on this Vermilion Bird Pearl before Xiong Xiyu and her daughter.

"So it is Sect Master Shen."

From a hall on the other side, Imperial Preceptor Jingping walked out, and for once showed a smile, nodding to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu stepped forward and said with suspicion: "Imperial Preceptor Jingping, with your present abilities, seizing the three great spirit pearls would not be difficult, yet you turn a blind eye to the treasures in the True Heaven Palace. What exactly are you searching for?"

"Searching for history."

Imperial Preceptor Jingping walked toward another hall, saying leisurely: "The treasures of the True Heaven Palace belong to the Western Land; I will not contend for them. To me, the treasures of the True Heaven Palace are indeed stirring, but the history of the True Heaven Palace is the true wealth. Sect Master Shen, there is no need for you to contend for treasures and power as they do either. Come with me, and let us bear witness to the past history of the True Heaven Palace, shall we?"

He showed an inviting look.

Shen Mu said gladly: "Imperial Preceptor Jingping, your vision is extraordinary. If I too were moved by the wealth of the True Heaven Palace, would I not be held in contempt by you?"

He followed Imperial Preceptor Jingping to another hall.

The halls of the True Heaven Palace were imposing and towering. Although the war was still going on, with all manner of divine powers and primal weapons flying through the sky, this palace complex remained safe and undamaged.

"The Daoist Sect, the Great Thunderclap Temple, and Little Jade Capital are all losers. If even losers record history, then how will the victors write the history of their victory?"

Imperial Preceptor Jingping walked into this hall. Many Yu family disciples were hiding within it, and they immediately attacked the two of them. Imperial Preceptor Jingping waved his hand, and at once all of them felt their strength had nowhere to be used; with pa-pa-pa sounds they were plastered against the four walls of the hall, unable to move.

"I have already seen the histories recorded by the Daoist Sect, Little Jade Capital, and the Great Thunderclap Temple. I wish to see the history written by the victors."

He waved his hand, and the many Yu family women on the wall were moved aside against their will, revealing the murals.

Shen Mu looked at these murals. Painted on them was the scene of a divine being standing atop a palace complex, descending from the heavens. The appearance of this divine being was somewhat similar to Bagou.

And in the second mural, Bagou came to visit a female divine being; that goddess sat as an equal with Bagou, matching him in status.

"She is the founder of the True Heaven Palace, the Old Mother of True Heaven."

Imperial Preceptor Jingping showed a thoughtful look and said: "To be able to sit as an equal with Bagou, she should not have been slain by a single sword stroke of mine... There is something strange here."

Shen Mu was slightly startled, recalling the wooden divine statue he had seen in the Flame Desert; its features were vaguely those of this Old Mother of True Heaven.

He looked on. Bagou's figure did not appear in the third painting. The third painting showed the Old Mother of True Heaven using the Vermilion Bird Pearl to turn a land of tens of thousands of li into a great fire, into a desert.

"The Flame Desert!"

Shen Mu narrowed his eyes. A place tens of thousands of li across, turned into a desert of flame—such dharma power was truly terrifying!

"Sect Master, do you think a person with such ability could be slain by a single sword stroke of mine?" Imperial Preceptor Jingping asked.

Shen Mu felt a chill and said: "She is still alive!"

Imperial Preceptor Jingping nodded and said: "The Old Mother of True Heaven whom I slew with one sword stroke must have been a divine statue. Her Way of Natural Creation is infinitely mutable; she can transform even mountains and great rivers, turning them into living beings. To make a false body would not be difficult. Is she still in the True Heaven Palace?"