Chapter 612 — The Deduction of Starry Fate

Shen Mu shuddered and turned to look back at the great hall. The four-faced Venerable King had been struck down just as he was about to step into the hall before them - his head severed, his primordial spirit cut away!

Now the hall stood before them, its doors open, dark and indistinct within, with shifting colors of light drifting into view from time to time. Qi Jiuyi's eyes flickered uncertainly. "Brother Shen, are we going in?

There may be danger inside!

" Shen Mu gritted his teeth and walked straight forward. "Brothers," he said in a low voice, "I'll go in first and scout the way. If there's danger, I'll warn you and you can flee at once!

" Qi Jiuyi was surprised and looked at Zhe Huali, who also looked back at him in surprise.

Both youths were deeply puzzled.

Could Shen Mu really regard them as friends who would share life and death, and willingly risk his life to scout ahead?

They had not had much contact with Shen Mu, but they could tell he was not that sort of person!

Ahead, Shen Mu walked into the hall and his figure vanished. The dim light within still shifted and flowed.

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali stared anxiously at the hall's doors, listening intently for any sound within. Suddenly a scream of incomparable anguish rang out, chilling them to the bone!

Shen Mu's agonized cry came: "There's a—" The voice cut off abruptly!

Whoosh— Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali made their decision instantly and raced down the mountain, the two figures turning into two streaks of flowing light, swift beyond measure.

It had taken them nearly half an hour to climb up, but descending took only a few breaths to reach the mountainside! Suddenly Zhe Huali stopped. "Brother Qi, stop!

Something's wrong! " Qi Jiuyi stopped hastily and turned around, looking doubtful.

Zhe Huali sneered. "That scream just now was full of vigor - does that sound like a dying man?

And do you think that whatever could kill the former Venerable King would give him the chance to warn us? " Qi Jiuyi's eyes went wide.

"You mean. . .

let's hurry back up! " The two rushed back up the mountain.

Arriving before the hall at the summit, Zhe Huali drew a long breath, gripped the hilt of the demon blade on his back, and walked step by step toward the hall's doors. Qi Jiuyi followed behind him, heads emerging one after another from beneath his neck, glancing about anxiously.

At last they reached the doorway.

One of Qi Jiuyi's heads poked out over Zhe Huali's shoulder, the others hiding behind him, and looked into the hall. He was slightly taken aback. There was Shen Mu inside the hall, taking out a great pile of miscellaneous calculation tools, assembling and combining them into a large calculation elemental soldier.

Qi Jiuyi gritted his teeth, withdrew his nine heads and merged them into one, stepped out from behind Zhe Huali, and walked into the hall. Zhe Huali followed him in. The two youths sneered. Shen Mu looked up, showed surprise, then broke into a smile. "Brothers, you've come at just the right time.

I was just about to tell you - there's an arithmetical puzzle in this hall. " Qi Jiuyi kept sneering and surveyed the hall.

At its center was a massive iron throne forged from crossed blades and swords. A three-headed, six-armed god-demon sat upon it in grand and arrogant posture, five hands resting on the throne's armrests, the sixth pointing in a certain direction. His three heads faced three different directions, mouths open wide, eyes bulging, as if he were letting out a heart-rending roar.

More bizarre still, all the flesh and blood of his body had shriveled away, like a dried corpse, skin and bones, his flesh entirely withered, leaving only dry skin clinging tightly to the bone. Even the eyes in his sockets had dried up, sunken deep, so that only black, shriveled pupils could be seen.

Before this three-headed, six-armed god-demon floated a small box - a jade box, not large, floating quietly, wisps of pale radiance spilling from it and swirling around the box. Around the small box, star sands in the shapes of stars, great and small, were revolving. The direction the god-demon's finger pointed was a mural, painted with a chart of the stars, occupying the entire wall.

Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali followed the direction of his finger and found he was pointing at a galaxy in the star chart. At the center of that galaxy was the pattern of a continent, and above the continent lay layer upon layer of heavens.

"The stars and constellations revolving around the small box - this is indeed an arithmetical puzzle! " Qi Jiuyi examined it closely and his expression changed.

"The Heavenly Court's Grand Celestial Star Astrology! Zhe Huali, did you study this in the Heavenly Court's Lingxiu Army? " Zhe Huali nodded, his expression grave.

"It is indeed the Heavenly Court's celestial star trajectories.

Hidden within is an arithmetical puzzle, corresponding to the celestial stars on the wall, forming a killing formation. Once the puzzle is solved, one can enter the formation and take out the small box! " The two at once took out various calculation elemental soldiers and began calculating at flying speed!

Just then, Shen Mu stood up. The large calculation elemental soldier beside him disassembled and flew with a clatter into his Taotie Pouch. "Brothers, there's no need to calculate. It's three hundred thirty thousand years. " Shen Mu stepped forward and studied the celestial star killing formation surrounding the small box.

"It's a star chart from three hundred thirty thousand years ago, subtly different from the skies of Jingping.

I'm ashamed to say that while solving the puzzle just now, I actually comprehended the true fourteenth sword of the Daoist sect from it! " His brows danced with delight.

He turned to the mural on the wall and laughed.

"And I've made a wondrous discovery - this star chart on the wall comes from the southern part of the Ruins three hundred thirty thousand years ago. The observation point was near the South Sea. Isn't that strange? This three-headed, six-armed god-demon comes from the South Sea of the Ruins three hundred thirty thousand years ago!

" Qi Jiuyi and Zhe Huali exchanged a glance, then stepped into the celestial star killing formation around the small box and charged toward it. Shen Mu had solved the puzzle and had the answer, so they could use that answer to easily enter the formation and seize the small box. "Oh no, I think I miscalculated! " Before the star chart mural, Shen Mu suddenly slapped his forehead and stamped his foot. "It should be three hundred fifty thousand years!

Brothers, you. .

. why have you gone in?

What are we to do?

"