Chapter 547 — Accord with Heavenly Principles

Though he had taken out the jade pendant, Shen Mu had not yet removed it from his neck. He hesitated. "King Yan said this jade pendant is meant to suppress the demonic nature within me, and that it must not be lightly shown to others. If it is kept too far from my body, ill things will befall me."

The Woodcutter Sage shook his head. "With me by your side, what ill thing could possibly befall you? At most it would be some petty trick like a curse or a lightning strike—nothing worth my notice."

Shen Mu gritted his teeth and took off the jade pendant, thinking, *In the past, when I removed this pendant and showed it to the villagers, and showed it to Sister Jing, no ill ever came of it. This time should be no different.*

The Woodcutter Sage took the pendant and gazed at it intently, then nodded. "It is indeed a jade pendant of the Kaihuang lineage. Hm? This one is not entirely identical to those of the Kaihuang lineage—within its deeper spaces hides a peculiar sealing formation. Such a formation would be used to seal something away. Could it be the formation that seals your demonic nature?"

Shen Mu said, "Someone carried me out of Youdu and brought me to the Barren Ruins, where I was found by Granny Zhu, who lived there. Apart from a basket and swaddling clothes, there was only this jade pendant. And the one who brought me there died of grave wounds..."

His expression dimmed, and he continued, "Granny Zhu was the Holy Maiden of my Tian Sheng Sect, and it was she who raised me to adulthood. This jade pendant has always been worn on my person. Granny Zhu and the others never discovered its other functions—they only said it could repel the darkness of the Barren Ruins, but that it could only protect an infant. Later, the village headman discovered that the pendant had another effect: it could guide us toward the Land of No Sorrow. Yet that proved to be a trap—the pendant led me toward Fengdu, and outside Fengdu we were ambushed by the Demon God."

"There are indeed more secrets hidden within this jade pendant."

The Woodcutter Sage turned the pendant over in his hands, a strange light in his eyes. "The pendant can guide you not only to the Land of No Sorrow, but also to Youdu. Because this pendant was forged in Youdu itself, and its forger was a man of extraordinary skill—even more skilled than I. How strange. Such a powerful seal—what exactly is it meant to seal?"

His gaze grew deep and distant, and curiosity stirred within him. "If I suppress the sealing formation within the pendant, I could learn what it is meant to seal..."

Shen Mu felt a stir of anticipation as well. Last time, in Fengdu, King Yan had attempted the same thing—but Shen Mu had then lost consciousness and never saw what happened afterward.

He too was curious about what the jade pendant sealed, and what would happen if the seal were broken.

The Woodcutter Sage looked at his expectant expression, pinched the pendant between his fingers, and mused for a moment. In the end, he tucked the pendant back into Shen Mu's hand.

Shen Mu was baffled.

"The one who forged this pendant was extraordinary—surely a being of immense power within Youdu. Youdu has always been shrouded in mystery; few have ever explored its true face. Even Kaihuang does not know how many masters are hidden within."

The Woodcutter Sage said, "This pendant being placed on your person must carry some deeper meaning. I think it best that I do not probe it. Since King Yan told you to keep the pendant always on your body, then do as he said."

He too wished to know what would happen if the seal were suppressed, but he held himself back.

Shen Mu had no choice but to put the pendant away, still hanging it around his neck.

By now, a great army of divine ability practitioners from Taihuang Heaven had already garrisoned in Li City, repairing the ruined buildings and fortifying the city defenses. Shen Mu looked around but saw no weapons such as true yuan cannons or sun-shooting divine cannons.

Though the divine ability practitioners of Taihuang Heaven were formidable in cultivation and strength—a notch above those of Jingping—their mastery of the arcane arts was poor. Weapons like true yuan cannons required profound attainments in the arcane arts, and they could not refine them.

Even if Shen Mu were to draw up the blueprints for true yuan cannons and sun-shooting divine cannons and hand them over, they likely could not manufacture them. Only Jingping, with its countless divine ability practitioners well versed in the arcane arts, could produce such things.

"How did you come to Taihuang Heaven?" the Woodcutter Sage asked.

Shen Mu recounted how he had modified the flesh-and-blood sacrifice ritual, substituted himself for a demon general, and transported himself to Taihuang Heaven. The Woodcutter Sage shook his head. "What sheer recklessness—substituting yourself into the enemy's camp. Are you not afraid of death?"

Shen Mu drew a long breath and said in a low voice, "To defeat the Primordial Human Sovereign, the risk is worth taking! I beg the Sage Master to teach me the method of the Youthful True God!"

The Woodcutter Sage was slightly taken aback. "You wish to become a Youthful True God, and then defeat that deserter from the Human Sovereign Hall?"

Shen Mu nodded heavily.

The Woodcutter Sage broke into a smile. "Do you not know his origins?"

Shen Mu was at a loss.

"He is like you—his surname is Shen, and he was also my disciple. Fu Ri Luo calls me Heavenly Master. The Heavenly Master is a teacher who accords with the heavenly dao, and also the teacher of the Son of Heaven—in truth, nothing more than a schoolmaster. In those years, I was commanded by Kaihuang to instruct the imperial princes, and among them was that deserter from the Human Sovereign Hall."

The Woodcutter Sage strode toward the eastern gate of Li City, recalling the past, his gaze distant. "That prince was indeed extraordinarily gifted, with keen comprehension. But when the catastrophe erupted, in the great war the Heavenly Court fell, crashing down from the heavens. The prince, in his terror upon the battlefield, died—and fled. Yet by chance he saved several races, and so was honored as the Human Sovereign. I too survived. He came to see me several times; I refused to meet him. Later I transformed into a stone statue and sent my primordial spirit wandering to seek answers, and I have not seen him since. To defeat him—that will be very difficult."

Shen Mu clenched his fists and said loudly, "But the Sage Master must have a way, surely?"

The Woodcutter Sage climbed the tall city tower. Because it needed to withstand the demon invasion, the tower had been built very high; ascending it was like climbing a mountain.

"I taught him. Among all the princes I instructed, his gifts and comprehension were the finest—any divine ability he learned at a glance, understood at a word, grasped one and comprehended a hundred. He honored his teacher and revered the way. Though I scorn him for having been a deserter, I still admired him greatly. If you wish to surpass him, relying on my teaching will not suffice."

Like a mortal, the Woodcutter Sage climbed step by step, using no divine ability whatsoever. "I was Kaihuang's schoolmaster. Though I bear the title of Heavenly Master, in terms of combat strength, I was not the strongest of Kaihuang's era. On the contrary, my combat strength was merely middling. If I taught you, you would not surpass that deserter. Moreover..."

He smiled faintly. "Have I not already taught you?"

Shen Mu was startled. He must mean the transmission of scriptures upon the stone. By rights, the Woodcutter Sage had indeed already taught Shen Mu—but such a transmission left Shen Mu feeling unsatisfied.