Chapter 676 — I See Through You

Lou Yunqu hesitated a moment, then smiled. "Very well. Let me give you all a look.

" With that he drew out a scroll, unrolled it gently, and revealed a sheet of paper of unimaginable thinness, gleaming with a metallic luster.

Holding the paper up, Lou Yunqu peered through it at Shen Mu.

His body gave an involuntary shudder, and then he was overjoyed. "Iron shoes worn through searching everywhere in vain, and here he is, found without the slightest effort. So he is Shen Fengqing!

" Delighted, Lou Yunqu laughed.

"This really is an unexpected harvest. Honored King, I imagine you have long admired the Heavenly Court's Book of Life and Death by reputation? It is rarely that I bring it out. Take it and admire it.

" Vajra's expression shifted; he hurriedly received it with both hands and examined it closely. He had indeed coveted the Book of Life and Death for a long time.

The Book was a treasure of both the Heavenly Court and Youdu, or more precisely, the Heavenly Court's Book was an imitation of Youdu's. Yet Youdu's Book had few functions, whereas the Heavenly Court's Book possessed many, and formidable ones at that!

The Heavenly Court's Book of Life and Death had been refined by the Black Emperor of Mingdu.

Mingdu's cultivation arts and divine abilities were born of Youdu's, yet surpassed their origin. Vajra held the Book up and swept it around. Whoever the Book was turned upon, that person's figure would surface on the paper, followed by the corresponding name!

"A truly marvelous treasure! " Vajra could not praise it enough. "With this treasure the Heavenly Court holds the life and death of all men in its grasp. I once heard of a demon-god named Kui Wushen. His powers were not considered high, yet with the Book of Life and Death he annihilated countless demon-gods of the Kaihuang Era.

" Lou Yunqu took the Book back and said unhurriedly, "The power of the Book of Life and Death far exceeds your imagination. Mingdu refined the Book for the Heavenly Court, and for it to fall into Kui Wushen's hands was a pearl cast into darkness.

Treasures of this caliber are scarce even in Mingdu. This time, in swallowing Taihuang Heaven, we relied precisely on the Book's efficacy.

. .

" He had barely spoken when Shen Mu, riding his unknown creature across from them, suddenly produced a precious scroll of his own, unrolled it, and turned it upon them. The smile froze on Lou Yunqu's face.

His gaze fell on Shen Mu's hand. That scroll was indeed the Book of Life and Death, beyond any doubt!

"Lou Yunqu, Kui Qingpei, Fu Yanqi, Lou Qianzhong. . .

" Shen Mu swept the Book over them one by one, reading out the names. Lou Yunqu and the other demon-gods from Mingdu were shaken to the core, unable to believe it.

Treasures like the Book of Life and Death were exceedingly rare.

How could Shen Mu have one in his hand? Since when had the Heavenly Court's Book of Life and Death become a cabbage by the roadside, so that any man one met happened to own one?

Could it be that in Taihuang Heaven every single person had one?

Lu Li smiled and did not tell them the truth. He thought to himself, "His Book of Life and Death came from Kui Wushen.

I went to great pains to get his name out of Juehuang, and now you come to steal my credit. " Lou Yunqu had originally intended to use the Book of Life and Death against the demon-gods and divine ability users of Taihuang Heaven, but now that he saw Shen Mu casually produce a Book of his own, he hesitated. Shen Mu put the Book away and looked at Lou Qianzhong.

"You've come to kill me? " Lou Qianzhong looked back at him, some doubt in his heart. Lou Yunqu said in a low voice, "Junior brother, he is Shen Fengqing.

" Lou Qianzhong smiled. "I've come to capture you.

Killing you holds no interest for me. " "So it is true, then, that between an Overlord Body and a false Overlord Body there is an inexplicable entanglement of auras. Wait here a moment! " Leaving those words behind, Shen Mu rode off on the Dragon Qilin with a howl, a trail of fire streaking back toward Licheng, his speed so great it left onlookers dumbstruck. Wang Muran glanced at the Big Deer beside him and said in a low voice, "Can you run that fast?

" The Big Deer had been startled too. It shook its head. "No. But he has no stamina, and he's a glutton. Three days from now, when the fat dragon has eaten himself into a pig again, I'll run faster than him and farther than him. " Even as it spoke, the Dragon Qilin came howling back out of Licheng, bearing Shen Mu, and on its back was an old man with no limbs. Shen Mu pointed at Lou Qianzhong.

"Village Head, this is the false Overlord Body from Mingdu. You were right after all.

A false Overlord Body really has come looking for me. Just now he crossed blows with the false Overlord Body Xu Shenghua and nearly killed him. The divine ability he used resembles the Gate of Heaven's Mandate, but it differs somewhat, so he must be a false Overlord Body. " The limbless old man's gaze settled on Lou Qianzhong, and he said with perfect composure, "Would I deceive you?

But you must be careful. From now on there will be more and more false Overlord Bodies. False Overlord Bodies can sense one another's auras. They do not know that they are false Overlord Bodies, but they will follow the aura to find one another, kill the other, and seize his fortune to strengthen themselves. Had Xu Shenghua been killed by him, this Lou Qianzhong would have gained Xu Shenghua's fortune, his strength would have soared, and you would be in grave danger. " The old man spoke with great confidence, clearly not speaking at random.

"If you can kill him, you can likewise consolidate the fortune of your Overlord Body. " Shen Mu took out a small booklet and wrote these words down, then laughed. "Let false Overlord Bodies fight over fortune all they like.

No matter how much they win, they are not true Overlord Bodies, and none can compare to me. " With that he turned his mount and, in another streak of fire, returned to Licheng to deliver the old man back into the city. Lou Qianzhong and the others were utterly baffled.

He thought, "The divine ability with which I just defeated Xu Shenghua was plainly the Mingdu Mystic Gate. How could it be the Gate of Heaven's Mandate?

And how could mastering the Mingdu Mystic Gate become the basis for distinguishing Overlord Bodies from false ones? That is plainly a divine ability of my Mingdu! Besides, since when am I an Overlord Body?

And what is this about auras drawing one another? " Suddenly the Dragon Qilin came racing back with Shen Mu again. To go and return so swiftly, truly as fast as lightning. The crowd watched with deep envy.

"That exotic beast of his runs far too fast, surely? " Shen Mu was about to speak when a soul-seizing aura suddenly came from the sky.

The many demon-gods all raised their heads and saw a great star drifting across the heavens of Taihuang Heaven. The star could not be too far from the continent of Taihuang Heaven; it looked four or five times larger than the moon, and it moved with astonishing speed. Shen Mu's heart stirred.

"It is the strange star of the god-man Chixi!

It has broken from Luofu Heaven into Taihuang Heaven!

Which means the people who migrated from the Void Realm have all arrived! " The barrier between Luofu Heaven and Taihuang Heaven was exceedingly thin. The strange star had smashed straight through the world barrier, leaving behind it great shards of space like slabs of glass; refracted by sunlight, they glowed in a riot of colors, most bewitching.

The strange star was accelerating. Clearly it meant to smash through the world barrier between Taihuang Heaven and Jingping and descend directly into the skies above Jingping! In the sky, above the strange star, demon-gods of three heads and six arms flew out from it, more than a thousand of them, flying ahead of the star and hurling divine abilities forward!