Chapter 612 — The Deduction of Starry Fate

Shen Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Zhe Huali alighted before the divine mountain. It stood solemn and austere, steeped in an extraordinary aura; rays of golden light drifted gently around its peak, inspiring such awe that none dared fly straight up. They chose to walk. The mountain's stairway led all the way to the golden-roofed hall at its summit.

A battle of extreme savagery must once have taken place here, for the stone steps were mottled with bloodstains.

The blood had flowed down from above. The blood of gods and demons dried with difficulty; even after ten or twenty thousand years it would still give off a terrifying pulse.

Yet the divine and demonic blood here had lost all its essence, reduced to patches of startling brown. Strangely, there were no traces of battle. Shen Mu channeled the Carefree Sword and struck fiercely at the divine mountain. Sparks flew, his hands went numb from the shock, yet not a single mark was left.

Some inexplicable force seemed to flow through the mountain's body, guarding it.

"The former Venerable King of Luofu Heaven and many demon gods fought their way here, and even they could not leave a mark on this mountain. What is the origin of this divine mountain?

" Shen Mu was deeply puzzled.

Zhe Huali and Qi Jiuyi exchanged a glance, each understanding the other, and said nothing. Zhe Huali's eyes flickered. He thought, 'Even the Venerable King could not leave a mark on this divine mountain.

Is this mountain really a counterfeit?

It doesn't quite seem so. .

. ' They continued onward. Ahead appeared the fallen skeleton of a god-demon, its flesh and blood long gone.

Shen Mu hurried over. The garments on the skeleton had rotted away, and the flesh and blood had rotted as well.

The skeleton had three neck bones and three heads, facing three different directions.

It had six arms, each hand gripping a divine weapon. "A god who died in battle!

" Shen Mu's eyes lit up. He reached at once for one of the tiger-shaped wine vessels, but the instant his palm touched it, the divine weapon crumbled to ash. Shen Mu was stunned.

The skeleton holding the wine vessel was also disintegrating into dust; soon the entire skeleton had crumbled, and along with the other divine weapons it shattered across the ground, too fine even to sweep up.

Zhe Huali stepped forward and said doubtfully, "Could his opponent have shattered him into powder? " Qi Jiuyi shook his head. He suddenly cut his finger, and a drop of golden blood fell onto the stone step.

The drop dried with astonishing speed, as if the step had absorbed all its essence. Qi Jiuyi's expression turned grave.

"It was this divine mountain that drained away all his essence," he said solemnly. "Even the essence within the divine weapons could not be preserved. " Shen Mu said earnestly, "Brother Qi, we have all been drawn into this alien star together.

If you know anything, you might as well speak of it. Let us share what we know - perhaps together we can find a way out. " The wound on Qi Jiuyi's fingertip was healing on its own.

He shook his head and laughed. "This is my first time descending to the mortal realm. What could I possibly know of this world?

Brother Shen, don't joke. " Shen Mu looked at the wound on his fingertip, and his heart grew wary. The wound healed on its own, with no need for pills or medicine.

Was this the work of his cultivation method, or of some special constitution? Zhe Huali was startled as well.

In their battle before the Divine City in the Painting, Qi Jiuyi had been the most gravely wounded - beaten half to death by Shen Mu and himself, then run through by Shen Mu's sword, nearly losing both body and soul. Yet in only a few days, Qi Jiuyi had recovered completely, his cultivation undiminished - indeed, stronger than before!

The three walked on, each nursing his own thoughts. On the stone steps lay the fallen skeletons of gods and demons, great and small - some demon gods from the demon race, others deities.

Every one of the deities had three heads and six arms, their skeletons almost identical in form. They must have been of the same race!

The essence of their bones and of their divine and demonic weapons had all been drained away by the divine mountain, not a trace remaining; a light touch would reduce them to ash. Zhe Huali studied the three-headed, six-armed skeletons of the deities, frowned, and looked at Qi Jiuyi.

"Are these skeletons of the divine race from the Heavenly Court? " he asked in a low voice. Qi Jiuyi shook his head and lowered his voice. "I don't know either.

There are indeed some three-headed, six-armed gods and demons in the Heavenly Court, but they are not a race. And with so many three-headed deities fallen here, they likely did not come from the Heavenly Court.

This divine mountain.

. .

" He shook his head. "The one in the Heavenly Court is the real one.

This divine mountain should be a fake. Yet why is this mountain also so powerful? " He was somewhat bewildered.

Behind Zhe Huali, the demon blade's demon eye suddenly opened and scanned the surroundings, yet even the demon eye could see nothing. "You mean this divine mountain is also real? How could that be? " Zhe Huali asked, perplexed.

Qi Jiuyi looked up and saw that Shen Mu was walking fast, almost at the summit. He said hastily, "There's something strange about this divine mountain. Let's go up too - if there's any treasure, he'll beat us to it!

" The two hurried up, only to find Shen Mu standing motionless at the end of the stone steps.

They rushed to his side and saw a demon god standing before him, brows and beard bristling with fury, one hand resting on a three-pointed, two-edged blade, awe-inspiring. They looked up.

The demon god's face was fearsome even without anger, and he seemed to be watching them, as if the three-pointed, two-edged blade in his hand might come slashing down at any moment! Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali went rigid, not daring to move. Shen Mu let out a foul breath and shifted his steps, circling to the side of the demon god, where he saw another face. He walked a full circle around the demon god, who actually had four faces - front, back, left, and right. He laughed.

"Brothers, there's no need to worry.

He must have been dead a long time. When I climbed up here just now and saw the eyes of his rear face fixed on me, I froze with fright too, thinking I was about to die at his hands.

" Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali came back to their senses and each breathed a sigh of relief, their bodies drenched in cold sweat. Zhe Huali circled around and said in surprise, "A four-faced demon god? Could this be the former Venerable King?

Why is he standing here instead of entering the hall? " Shen Mu examined him closely. "Four faces - one more than Vajra. Could he practice the same cultivation method as Vajra?

Has Vajra not yet cultivated to his level? " Qi Jiuyi also circled the Venerable King with him, examining him closely.

"Perhaps not.

Vajra has ears growing on the back of his head; he has no fourth face. They must be of the same race but different breeds. Vajra's cultivation and strength would not be inferior to his.

. . The wound is here!

" He had found something and pointed at the four-faced Venerable King's neck.

Shen Mu looked and saw a faint, barely perceptible thin red line on the neck.

This Venerable King must have been struck down suddenly when he fought his way here - his throat had been slit! Shen Mu opened his mouth and exhaled a breath that turned into a great wind, blowing toward the four-faced Venerable King's head.

The head suddenly rolled off the neck, fell onto the stone steps, and shattered like porcelain. Then the Venerable King's tall, imposing body crumbled with astonishing speed, like a ceramic demon-god statue.

His body was already hollow, flesh and blood gone, nothing left but skin! The three-pointed, two-edged blade in his hand also shattered across the ground!