Chapter 529 — The Dark Otherworld

"The Woodcutter Sage's stone statue has awakened?"

Shen Mu was shaken to the core, and quickly asked, "Where is he?"

"He has already left. Had you come a few days earlier, you might still have seen him. That Woodcutter Sage walked off with his axe in hand. When he woke, I nearly jumped out of my skin, thinking to myself, how is it that these two beings should wake one after the other?"

The Qingyou Hermit said, "As to where he has gone, that I do not know."

Shen Mu steadied himself. The First Ancestor of the Human Sovereign Hall and the Woodcutter Sage of the Heavenly Sage Sect waking in succession — there was indeed something uncanny in it. Why, of all times, had they woken now? And where would the Woodcutter Sage go?

The Heavenly Sage Sect was not founded by him; he was its founding patriarch, and the Woodcutter had only wished to leave behind his own lineage. So he might not go to the Heavenly Sage Sect at all.

Apart from the Heavenly Sage Sect, where else could he go?

Wang Muran and the others were not at Little Jade Capital but had gone to Crimson Dragon City, and only a few old immortals remained on the mountain. The Qingyou Hermit studied Shen Mu and said, "Human Sovereign Shen, your condition is somewhat off. Are you certain you wish to enter the Hall of Five Qi? You seem rather out of sorts just now."

Shen Mu shook his head. "May I ask, Immortal Qingyou, whether Little Jade Capital can now open the Hall of Five Qi, the Hall of Six Harmonies, and the Hall of Seven Stars? I wish to go in and take a look."

The Qingyou Hermit hesitated, uneasy about his present state. "If the Human Sovereign insists on forcing his way in, Little Jade Capital will of course do its utmost to satisfy him. But your state is not right just now, and if you force the trial, I fear it will go badly for you. You have only one chance. Should you pass the Five Qi breakthrough, the Six Harmonies breakthrough, and the Seven Stars breakthrough, your foundations would surely deepen enormously. Do not waste this chance. Better that you come again once you have settled your state."

Shen Mu smiled. "I wish to go in and take a look, not to take the challenge."

The Qingyou Hermit was helpless. "Then follow me."

He led Shen Mu to the Hall of Three Primes and said, "Last time you passed the Three Primes breakthrough. This time, upon entering the hall, you will pass of yourself into the Hall of Five Qi. If you clear the Hall of Five Qi, you will enter the Hall of Six Harmonies; and once the Hall of Six Harmonies is passed, comes the Hall of Seven Stars. Your state is not right. To keep anything from going amiss, I will preside over it myself."

Shen Mu thanked him and walked into the Hall of Three Primes. Before he had even found his footing, the scene before his eyes changed abruptly: five great stars hung in the sky, gleaming in the five colors of gold, azure, blue, crimson, and yellow, and upon the five stars stood five palaces.

Shen Mu gazed intently. Beyond those five stars he could also see the sun and the moon in the sky, yet they were immeasurably far from him, as though a whole world lay between.

The five stars in the sky were absurdly vast, some near, some far. Within the five divine halls, figure after figure of gods rose to their feet — one with an ox's head and a man's body, one with a man's head and a serpent's body, one with a tiger's head and a man's body, one with a man's head and a bird's body, one with red hair and a serpent's body — each corresponding to one of the Star Lords of the Five Luminaries.

Suddenly the Qingyou Hermit's voice came from afar: "Senior Sister Yinghe, let me take your place in this round."

The red-haired, serpent-bodied god rose and streaked away as a beam of flowing light.

A flash of radiance came flying in and landed in that divine hall. The Qingyou Hermit transformed into a red-haired, serpent-bodied god and said, "Human Sovereign Shen, the Hall of Five Qi is divided into the breakthroughs of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — the five phases. Which phase will you choose this time?"

Shen Mu shook his head. "I have come this time only to look upon a true god's divine treasury. I beg Immortal Qingyou to grant me the convenience."

The Qingyou Hermit frowned, and the other four old immortals frowned as well. One of them said, "The founder of Little Jade Capital left the Hall of Three Primes behind to instruct those who came after and make up for their deficiencies — not so that they might admire his divine treasury."

An old woman frowned. "Never in all the years has anyone who entered here to take the challenge made so bizarre a request. Senior Brother Qingyou..."

"Human Sovereign Shen is no outsider."

The Qingyou Hermit pondered a moment and said, "He made the method of becoming a god public, and we have all received his grace. His request is one Little Jade Capital ought to grant. Besides, that founding patriarch who left the trial behind was also surnamed Shen."

The other four old immortals said no more.

The Qingyou Hermit said, "Human Sovereign Shen, you have only one chance at the challenge. Succeed, and you will gain the Divine Origin Five Qi — a great benefit to you, for it can fill in the gaps in your cultivation of the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury. Do you confirm that you wish to waste this chance merely to look upon a god's divine treasury?"

Shen Mu bowed. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. I am willing to forsake the Divine Origin Five Qi."

The Qingyou Hermit's face broke into a smile. "Good. I had thought Human Sovereign Shen's mind was unsteady and feared you had lost your reason and could not attempt the challenge. But your spirit compels even my admiration. If so — come up!"

A shaft of azure light poured down, and Shen Mu rose against his will, landing upon the Water Luminary star. The red-haired, serpent-bodied god that was the Qingyou Hermit led him into the divine hall and said, "Human Sovereign Shen, look your fill. How much you can comprehend will depend on your own ability."

Shen Mu thanked him and examined everything closely, observing the runes and seals upon the four walls of the hall, studying them with the greatest care.

Each of the five stars of the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury bore a divine hall, and the halls were formed by nature. Whoever cultivated divine powers to this realm would forge five stars within the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury, the five stars corresponding to the five phases.

The stars were naturally formed, and the palaces upon the stars were naturally formed as well. Yet different cultivation methods gave rise to different runes and seals, and in the end those runes and seals, joined with vital essence, would transform into the gods within the halls.

In any cultivator's Five Luminaries Divine Treasury, the five gods breathed out and drew in vital essence, and the nature of that vital essence changed with them — hence the name Five Qi.

Shen Mu's Five Phases Divine Treasury had already been cultivated to its limit, and it was hard to advance another step. But crossing blades with the First Ancestor Human Sovereign had made him realize that his own limit need not be everyone's limit.

He observed with great care, and the Qingyou Hermit was patient, waiting for him all the while.

How long passed, he did not know, until Shen Mu stopped looking and closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes and looked at the Qingyou Hermit. "Immortal Qingyou, I have an unreasonable request."

The Qingyou Hermit understood. He transformed into a beam of light and fled far away, leaving Shen Mu alone in the divine hall. At once the runes and seals upon the hall's walls lit up in a throng, and Shen Mu's body changed against his will, becoming a red-haired, serpent-bodied god.