Chapter 708 — The Sacred Blade of the Imperial Court

Tian Shu tipped his head back and drank deeply, wiped away the beads of wine clinging to his goatee, and said, "At that time I sensed that the divine blade Dique had somehow connected with the outside world. A pity I was drunk at the time—by the time I came to my senses and thought to escape, it was too late."

Shen Mu was startled. "Two thousand years ago? Granny Zhu and the others had their primordial spirits trapped in the divine blade only five years ago. So then—a single day outside is a year in here. Which means that Qi Jiuyi's and my primordial spirits were swallowed into the divine blade Dique only a little over two days ago. Our bodies have not yet died."

His spirit surged. He and Qi Jiuyi had run through the space within the blade for two and a half years. Even Shen Mu had thought his body must be dead—yet in truth only two and a half days had passed.

"So long as the body does not die, there is still hope!"

Shen Mu's eyes lit up. He said in a low voice, "Senior, you have controlled Dique for so long—surely you know how to activate the divine blade Dique? Then the internal formations and runic structures of the divine blade Dique must be equally clear to you. If we know the internal formations, we can try to unravel them..."

"No!"

Tian Shu shook his head. "You guess wrong. Though I can control this divine blade, I understand nothing of the runic structures and formations within it. The reason I could serve as blade-bearer is that my constitution is peculiar—I can enter Youdu. This divine blade was designed by Kaihuang himself, to sever the horn from Tubo's head. How vast and mighty is Tubo's horn? That Kaihuang himself designed it, specifically to cut off that horn—you may judge from this how profound the formations and runes within the blade must be."

Shen Mu frowned.

Tian Shu went on, "And the one who forged this blade was the most accomplished heavenly craftsman of Kaihuang's divine dynasty—the very man I mentioned to you, the one who had a dalliance with the Crimson Emperor Qi Xiayu, Li Youran. The fellow was handsome, loved by all..."

"You mean the one who forged the divine blade Dique was Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha?" Shen Mu was startled and delighted, and pressed for an answer.

"It was Li Youran. Who is Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha?" Tian Shu was puzzled.

Shen Mu was overjoyed. He paced back and forth in the corridor, laughing. "Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha, is Li Youran! Li Youran was his secular name. He later took monastic vows to escape the debts of love! Since it was he who forged the divine blade Dique, then perhaps we still have hope. I have studied his arts..."

Tian Shu had worn an expression of expectation. Hearing this, he lapsed toward despair. "So that was your thought. I advise you to save yourself the trouble. In here, even if you possessed heaven-shaking powers, you could not use them. The runes here were designed by Kaihuang. No one can escape—otherwise how could this blade have severed Tubo's horn?"

He wore a look of elation. "Of course, I was the one who bore this blade into Youdu and cut a length off Tubo's horn with a single stroke! You did not see the look of shocked fury in Tubo's little eyes. Tsk tsk tsk... This old man's life has been worth it, truly worth it!"

Shen Mu paced and paced, recalling the Emperor Shitian Heavenly King Sutra that Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha, had imparted to him. That art indeed contained much that did not belong to the Buddhist path. In the past Shen Mu had studied only its combat methods and had not deeply comprehended the rest. This time, examining it closely, he realized that the arts of Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha, concealed many mysteries of forging.

He devoted himself to comprehension, and before he knew it another half year had passed.

Tian Shu found Qi Jiuyi and dragged the drunken fellow back by the leg. The two sat on the ground and drank against each other until dead drunk. Long Qilin joined the drinking party too, drinking until he wept and laughed at once, clamoring to swear brotherhood with Qi Jiuyi and Tian Shu.

Shen Mu had comprehended what he needed, and just then he heard thump thump thump—the sound of kowtowing. Long Qilin, Qi Jiuyi, and Tian Shu were kneeling there, solemnly kowtowing before a wine jar, sworn as brothers of different surnames and different kinds.

"May we not ask to be born in the same year, the same month, the same day—but may we die in the same year, the same month, the same day!" the three said in unison.

Shen Mu shook his head and coughed. "I have thought of a way out."

The three turned to look at him.

Shen Mu said, "From the arts of Emperor Shitian, the Heavenly King Buddha, I have found a flaw in his cultivation method. From that flaw, I can find the flaw in the divine weapon he forged. This divine blade Dique is not without imperfection. If we find the right place, we can invoke the Heaven-Bearing Gate, flee into Youdu, and from Youdu return to the world of the living, back to our own bodies!"

Tian Shu clutched at his goatee and cried out, "Flee into Youdu? Would that not mean facing Tubo? I will not go! Tubo will eat me—I will not go!"

Shen Mu said patiently, "Senior Tian, I do have a little standing before Tubo. If I speak, I can surely turn your hostilities into friendship. Rest easy, Senior—put your heart back in your belly..."