Chapter 669 — The Immortal Consciousness of the Three Primordial Spirits

"What a splendid idea! If I eat them all, Mother won't know anyone was ever here, and she won't scold me for doing something bad!"

The infant was manic with glee. Suddenly, countless suspended-realm deities came flying from all directions. Seeing the holy mountain's peak blown apart and the sacred halls shattered to dust, they were seized with shock and fury, and charged madly at the infant.

The suspended realm had no shortage of deities. Though for fifty thousand years there had been no enemies, and the cultivators of the suspended realm progressed slowly compared to the fiercely competitive outer world, fifty thousand years had still accumulated no small number of gods. Add to that the deities surviving from the Crimson Bright Era, and their numbers approached ten thousand. Such a multitude of gods and demons surging forth was an earth-shaking, magnificent spectacle — a veritable war of gods and demons!

Many more gods and demons of the suspended realm were evacuating the common folk from the Divine City, lest they perish in the aftermath of battle. These deities guarded the people as they fled the city at breakneck speed.

The Crimson Bright Era took physical cultivation as its path, tempering bodies to tremendous toughness, and thus its adherents attained the highest mastery in physical divine abilities. They typically practiced combat-technique lineages — close-quarters brawling, overwhelming all methods with sheer force — and so their battles were exceedingly ferocious.

Nearly ten thousand gods and demons came killing their way over, swiftly forming battle formations in the air. The Crimson Bright Divine Son hovered aloft, his body battered and broken, personally directing the formations. He bellowed, "Lure him into the sky! Use the Crimson Emperor's Eyes against him!"

The infant looked at the gods swarming toward him and was thrilled beyond measure. He rushed forward: "A smaller spectacle than in Youdu, but still good for a bit of play!"

Within the Shen Character Continent, the Heavenly Duke's clone, the Crimson Emperor, and Shen Mu sat rigidly, all three wearing grave expressions.

The Heavenly Duke said, "How strong is he? He is the first womb-born spirit ever to emerge from Youdu — heaven-favored, uniquely endowed. When he was born, he absorbed nearly half of all the resentment, grudges, and demonic nature that Youdu had accumulated over ages. Even the Earth Earl could do nothing with such foul qi, yet he absorbed it. That is why he has no realm divisions. Just as I and the Earth Earl have no realms either."

The Crimson Emperor frowned. "If battle prowess corresponds to cultivation realm, then what realm does he belong to?"

The Heavenly Duke's clone pondered a moment, then said, "Roughly equivalent to the Lingxiao level. However..."

He frowned and did not continue.

The Crimson Emperor waited a while, then could not help asking, "Daoist brother, what is it that you cannot say?"

The Heavenly Duke sighed. "Nineteen years ago — well, nearly twenty now — when he was born, he wreaked havoc in Youdu. Out of curiosity, I split off a thread of consciousness and entered Youdu to watch the commotion. Many ancient beings also entered Youdu at the time; the uproar was tremendous. At first the Heavenly Court was besieging him, but then he devoured thousands upon thousands of heavenly soldiers and ghost generals, and he and his mother and the others were driven ever deeper into Youdu. Later, having eaten so much, the Heavenly Court's forces in Youdu could no longer match him, and he smashed a great deal of the ancient beings' interests in Youdu as well. So these giants could sit still no longer. You should know a few of these ancient beings."

The Crimson Emperor shook his head. "I rarely went to Youdu. I know few there."

The Heavenly Duke smiled. "Those who can establish themselves in Youdu are, apart from the Heavenly Court, the deceased Imperial Throne powerhouses. The Heavenly Court carves out its territory; after death, Imperial Throne powerhouses also carve out territory in Youdu, and the Earth Earl still gives them some face. These Imperial Throne powerhouses have only their primordial spirits, no physical bodies — their strength is less than in life. The reason the Heavenly Court garrisons Youdu, besides guarding against the Earth Earl, is mainly to guard against them. That is why the powers in Youdu are extraordinarily complex — more complex than my Xuandu. Crimson Emperor, if you were to die in the outer world, you too would become a giant in Youdu, and no small power at that."

The Crimson Emperor's expression went blank. He murmured, "This havoc-wreaking demon king went to war with these Imperial Throne powerhouses?"

The Heavenly Duke nodded and sighed. "Indeed. These giants, even in death, still want to save face. They did not gang up on him but fought him one-on-one. And then... he grew too fast, devoured too many Youdu gods, demons, and ghosts. In just a few short months he..."

The Crimson Emperor felt a sense of foreboding and said flatly, "He cannot possibly be that strong!"

The Heavenly Duke said, "Within Youdu, he is that strong. He is a sacred one, a demon king born in Youdu; being invincible there is only natural. Only the Earth Earl can suppress him. But once he leaves Youdu, he will not be so powerful."

The Crimson Emperor relaxed. "The suspended realm is not Youdu. This is a microcosm. I built the suspended realm's cave-heaven with my own physical body."

The Heavenly Duke sighed. "This divine son of Youdu has the ability to transform other heavens and cave-heavens into Youdu. That is the crucial point. Once transformed into Youdu, his strength will surge by another enormous margin."

The Crimson Emperor's eyes went wide. After a long while he murmured, "That's cheating... that's just cheating!"

The Heavenly Duke said, "However, once it is transformed into Youdu, the Earth Earl can come here. With the Earth Earl's capabilities, he will certainly discover the anomaly here and know that this one has escaped again. The Earth Earl will seal him once more."

A glimmer of hope rose in the Crimson Emperor again. The Heavenly Duke continued, "But by then, the suspended realm will have essentially become Youdu, and there will likely be no living people left inside. Moreover, when the Earth Earl comes to save the day — this fellow is ranked alongside me — if he sees that I too am trapped here, though he may not say it aloud, he will be laughing himself sick inside. I cannot bear that shame."

The Crimson Emperor's expression changed drastically. Dejected, he said, "The people of the suspended realm are my last clansmen. If this place is destroyed, my race is finished... Heavenly Duke, Daoist brother, your powers are vast. Could you not come to the suspended realm ahead of time?"

The Heavenly Duke shook his head. "The suspended realm exists within another microcosm, beyond my jurisdiction. I cannot enter. Though I am the Heavenly Duke, I cannot go anywhere I please. Take Jingping, for instance — it does not even have a single true star; its celestial phenomena are all false. I cannot go there. However, it is not that there is no solution..."

He looked at Shen Mu and said in a low voice, "The way out of our current predicament should still fall upon young friend Shen."

Shen Mu had long since been staring dumbstruck. At these words he snapped back to his senses and said hastily, "How could I have such strength? I am just like you both — sealed and suppressed, unable to escape. And even if I escaped, I would be suppressed by him and sent back here..."

The Heavenly Duke smiled. "You and he are one body. Not only are you one body, you share a single soul. Therefore he can command Youdu's demonic nature and demonic qi — and so can you. In your past cultivation, did you never wonder why you are so special, why you could open the Gate of Heaven's Inheritance?"

"Because I have a Tyrant Body!" Shen Mu answered without thinking.