Chapter 472 — A Thousand Men Stay Their Hands, Who Dares Go Forward?

" Even as he thought it, the Imperial Preceptor charged again. Bang.

The Imperial Preceptor was beaten back again. And so it went, over and over. The gate of Heaven before the Lingxiao Hall was already heaped full with the corpses of gods and demons; Shen Mu too was exhausted, gasping for breath, and the Imperial Preceptor still rushed again and again at the Heavenly Emperor atop the Lingxiao Hall, and again and again was beaten back, each time more wretched than the last.

Shen Mu's eyes flickered; he made ready to bring out the Five Thunder Pot, thinking, "Even if I must blow this place apart, I cannot let the Heavenly Emperor in the painting utterly defeat the Jingping Imperial Preceptor.

. .

" The Imperial Preceptor charged out once more, and after a moment every killing cry suddenly ceased; outside the Lingxiao Hall, all the gods and demons wore looks of terror, turned, and scattered in flight.

Shen Mu was stunned; he looked back, and saw the Jingping Imperial Preceptor standing behind him holding the Heavenly Emperor's head.

At that moment, though his whole body was covered in wounds, the Imperial Preceptor was smiling, a very pure smile.

The two looked at each other, and burst out laughing together.

The Imperial Preceptor raised his arm and flung the Heavenly Emperor's head far out of the Lingxiao Hall, and said in a loud voice, "Blade in hand I come forth from the forbidden palace, my hand holds the sovereign's head.

The Heavenly Blade truly had a hero's spirit; I have grasped at last the realm of meaning within his blade-art and blade-way! " Shen Mu, aching in every limb, walked toward the hall and laughed, "You're a monstrous freak, your comprehension is too high. Grandpa Tu taught me for so many years and only then did I work out the marvel of his blade-art, and you, who study the sword, can grasp the meaning of his blade-way.

My comprehension is far beneath yours. " The Imperial Preceptor turned and said, grave and earnest, "A person's comprehension grows as his vision and experience widen, and so does wisdom.

Your cultivation and strength are not yet sufficient; when you reach my realm, you will have every chance of seeing through all mysteries. In the future you will not lose to me, you will only be stronger than I.

You could think of using a celestial feast to shatter the god in my heart and set my Dao-heart in order again, and I could not.

Why should the Cult Leader belittle himself?

" Shen Mu came before the Heavenly Emperor's throne, dragged the headless corpse aside, and plumped himself down on the throne, and said in surprise, "The Jingping Imperial Preceptor thinks I can surpass you, that straight line?

" The Imperial Preceptor laughed: "You are of the younger generation. If the younger generation cannot surpass the elder, would this world not be too pitiful a place?

And besides, you are an Overlord Body. " Shen Mu, filled with confidence, nodded, "That is true too. I am an Overlord Body, I am bound to be stronger than you.

" The Imperial Preceptor's face darkened. Shen Mu shifted his backside, yielding half the seat, and said, "Come, sit in the seat that only the Heavenly Emperor may sit in. " The Imperial Preceptor hesitated: "That. . .

would not be quite proper, would it? " "Come, sit.

The view here is fine! " "Very well.

" The Imperial Preceptor sat, and the two looked at the prospect beyond the Lingxiao Hall, and after a while the Imperial Preceptor said, "The whole great world gathered in one glance.

Sitting in this seat, holding boundless power, the life and death of any world, any living being, all within a single thought of mine.

Cult Leader, has this lust for power risen in your heart?

" Shen Mu sat there and said unhurriedly, "If I say yes, will you immediately do away with me, to rid the Emperor of a future threat?

" The two gazes met; the Imperial Preceptor drew back his gaze and said quietly, "No.

I will only be on my guard against you.

" He stood up, his face returning to calm, the same detachment as before, as though nothing in the world could change him. Yet Shen Mu knew that after this celestial feast inside the painting, the Imperial Preceptor's Dao-heart had entered a realm beyond the fathoming of gods and ghosts. Its firmness could no longer be broken. The Jingping Imperial Preceptor at this moment had no flaw left in his Dao-heart.

Shen Mu rose and walked out of the painting, and in his heart he had gained something: "Only by breaking through the despair in your heart can you kindle a greater hope and fighting spirit.

" The two walked out of the mural on the wall one after the other, their feet on solid ground.

The Imperial Preceptor turned back to look at the mural, and saw the palaces in the painting just as before, but the countless gods and demons in the painting lay in heaps of corpses, and some gods and demons still cowered trembling in the corners, shivering, terror on their faces. Shen Mu stepped up and wiped away the few brushstrokes he himself had painted, and the mural returned to its original state. Shen Mu scratched his head, puzzled: "The painter who made this picture had attainment of the highest order, no inferior to mine.

So why is this painting missing a corner?

With his attainment he could have given the painted people life; everyone at the feast could walk and speak and mingle, but with that corner missing, the painting is dead.

" "Probably it was knocked and damaged. " The Imperial Preceptor walked outward, saying, "The fighting outside should be over by now, should it not?

It is time to let Xiong Xiyu retake the position of Palace Sovereign, and for the Western Land to be merged into the Jingping Kingdom.

" Shen Mu followed him and laughed, "If you have the Emperor's decree, reading the imperial edict aloud at this moment, enfeoffing Xiong Xiyu as Sovereign of the True Heaven Palace, the effect should be even better. " The Imperial Preceptor took out the edict and said, "Before I set out on this journey, I already asked the Emperor to write the edict in advance.

" "The Emperor is an old fox too," Shen Mu said with feeling.

The two left the great hall, and in that mural, all at once the painted figure of a goddess stirred, looked this way and that, and finding no one about, ran out of the painting at a trot, hugging the wall.