Chapter 529 — The Dark Otherworld

After a long while, Shen Mu dispersed the god-form, left that hall, and came to another star, where he entered the palace and studied the runes and seals upon its walls.

More than ten days later, he had walked all five stars, and went on to the Six Universes Divine Treasury.

He lingered in the Six Universes Divine Treasury for over ten days, then entered the Seven Stars Divine Treasury, and another ten-odd days passed. As for the Heaven-Man Divine Treasury and the Life-Death Divine Treasury, no one presided over them, and so he could not enter.

At last Shen Mu walked out of the Hall of Three Primes. The Qingyou Hermit looked at the youth before him — unshaven, his face somewhat gaunt — and knew he had gone these days without sleep or rest. His heart ached for him a little. He asked, "Has Human Sovereign Shen found what he sought?"

Shen Mu's spirit was in fact excellent. Improving the Five Phases, Six Harmonies, and Seven Stars Divine Treasuries had profited him greatly and rekindled his confidence. He thanked him: "Many thanks, Immortal. As to whether I have found what I need, that still requires testing. May I ask — this founder of Little Jade Capital, compared with the first Human Sovereign of the Human Sovereign Hall, whose strength was the greater?"

The Qingyou Hermit said, "Of strength I cannot well speak. After all, they were already true gods twenty thousand years ago, and I have never seen them trade blows. But Little Jade Capital holds several volumes left by the founding patriarchs, in which it is said that they once went to seek out the first Human Sovereign, hoping to persuade him to come out of seclusion — yet they returned with their edge blunted, and spent months recovering from their wounds. The books say the first Human Sovereign moved the remnants of the Kaihuang Heavenly Court with immense dharma power, and that his strength was extreme; the Human Sovereign Hall was a hundred, a thousand times greater than Little Jade Capital — fearsome, truly. I think the founding patriarchs of Little Jade Capital were acting to preserve themselves, while the first Human Sovereign could lead untold numbers of every race across a battlefield. Whose strength was greater is plain at a glance."

Shen Mu's face turned ashen. After a long while, he bowed and said, "I understand. Many thanks, Immortal."

The Qingyou Hermit frowned, sensing that his state was worse than when he had arrived. "You have gone more than a month without sleep. Rest for a while first."

Shen Mu assented.

The Qingyou Hermit arranged a room for him and let him sleep.

Shen Mu did not wake until more than ten days later. His color was still poor, but he insisted on taking his leave. The Qingyou Hermit did not press him to stay. He said, "If the Woodcutter Sage returns, where shall I send word to you?"

"Trouble the Immortal to seek me in Crimson Dragon City. I will likely be there."

The Qingyou Hermit watched him go into the distance, puzzled at heart: "When Human Sovereign Shen first came here, how full of high spirits he was. Why has he now grown so much more dispirited?"

Shen Mu sat upon Chest and let Chest carry them along at a run, then poured the Dragon Qilin a great basin brimming with crimson fire spirit pills mixed with fire-element divine essence pills. The Dragon Qilin was startled and delighted, and uneasy besides, thinking, "Why has the Sect Master shown such mercy today? Is it because I have starved for a month, or because he means to send me to the table? Never mind — eat first and think later!"

He finished one basin, and Shen Mu poured him another.

The Dragon Qilin hesitated, lowered his head to look at the brimming basin of spirit pills, and suddenly burst into loud wailing, eating the pills all the while he wept.

Shen Mu was baffled. "What are you crying for?"

"Better to die a stuffed ghost than a starving one!"

The Dragon Qilin wiped his tears and choked out, "At least I will go to my death well fed. Sect Master, make it quick when the time comes!"

Shen Mu shook his head. "You have gone hungry these days, so I mean to make it up to you. I am not going to kill you for meat."

The Dragon Qilin was overjoyed and hastily devoured the pills in the basin.

When Shen Mu passed through towns, he stopped to buy medicinal ingredients. He went through several cities in succession and refined a great many crimson fire spirit pills and fire-element divine essence pills, stuffing them all into Chest. The Dragon Qilin was moved beyond measure: "The Sect Master is truly good to me!"

Shen Mu also bought dark iron and dark gold, and on the road refined a number of strange, outlandish essence weapons.

The Dragon Qilin could make neither head nor tail of them, and did not understand what he meant to do. He saw only that among the essence weapons Shen Mu refined were banners, altars, and things like the Eight Trigrams, the Taiji, abacuses, and five-phase talismans — tools of calculation.

Several days later they came to Crimson Dragon City, yet did not enter it.

Shen Mu set many Eight Trigrams platforms, Taiji diagrams, and other calculating tools to work, computing without cease. Then he looked all about, seeking out the lay of the mountains and rivers, measuring them with a folding rule, and recording string after string of symbols on paper. The Dragon Qilin leaned in close and could make nothing of it at all.

He calculated for a long time. The sky darkened by degrees, and darkness was about to fall.

At last Shen Mu finished his calculations. Swift as flight, he laid out an altar and planted banners all around it. He stood upon the altar; the Dragon Qilin and Chest tried to climb up and were driven off.

"Sect Master, what are you doing?" the Dragon Qilin asked, keeping close to Chest's side.

Shen Mu worked the banners one by one, gazing at the darkness all around. Within that darkness another world emerged, overlapping the Desolate Ruins. In that world, countless demon race figures, black smoke-like, surged and poured out from one vast spatial rift after another.

In Shen Mu's eyes, the people of that other world were holding off the demon race's assault. Before him lay a battlefield of immense scale.

"Dragon Fatty, I have already refined enough spirit pills to last you a very long time. Follow Chest these days. I mean to..."

Shen Mu's gaze locked hard onto a demon general sprinting across the battlefield. Upon the altar, countless runes lit up, and the teleportation banners too clattered and snapped, spinning around the altar: "Go to another world!"

Boom —

A great quake rolled out. The teleportation banners and Shen Mu vanished in an instant, and upon that altar a burly, towering demon general suddenly appeared, staring about him in bewilderment.

"Doo-doo —"

The horn sounded long and deep. Countless banners flapped and whirled, forming a great circle, and Shen Mu abruptly appeared upon a vast and boundless battlefield, surrounded by numberless surging demon armies that swept him up and bore him madly forward!

And ahead lay a city of incomparable splendor, great ships crossing the sky, gods and demons standing tall, divine weapons in hand, sweeping away thousands upon thousands of troops!

By the rites of sacrifice and the arrays of teleportation, he had come to the world where the Dark Maiden dwelt!