Chapter 783 — The Giant Palm Condensed by Magnetic Force

When Shen Mu heard that voice, astonishment and delight seized him at once, and he cried out loud: "Deva King Buddha! Li Youran!"

That self-pitying voice broke off abruptly. After a moment, Deva King Buddha's wary voice came back: "Who is it?"

"Me! Shen Mu!"

Shen Mu said excitedly: "The very Shen Mu who stormed the Buddha realm and left you to carry the blame!"

After a moment, Deva King Buddha walked out from the ruined city, still like a young monk, still barefoot, and still spotless as he trod that devastated waste.

It could not be denied that among men there were many of handsome face, but few who could surpass Deva King Buddha. This monk cut a striking figure, and behind his head wheeled layer upon layer of halos and flames of light, his countenance precious and solemn.

"So it is Layman Shen."

Deva King Buddha let out a breath and smiled. "Why have you appeared here? Just now the ruins were thrown into turmoil, and many folded spaces suddenly burst forth. Could that be your mischief?"

Shen Mu shook his head. "Not me. It was Granny Zhu from our village... Granny Zhu wielded the primordial magnetic divine power, and it roused the lingering soul of the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, so that the primordial world of those years has reappeared in the world."

Deva King Buddha said in surprise: "Granny Zhu from your village? With such vast divine power, such a remarkable person must be met."

Shen Mu blinked, his smile pure and innocent: "And why has the King Buddha appeared here? Just now I even saw the phoenix ship of the Vermilion Emperor Qi Xiayu, and heard her zither music drifting out from the city. The Vermilion Emperor Qi Xiayu seemed to be mourning the bygone days of the Supreme Emperor era."

Deva King Buddha smiled. "A woman of the Bai family came just now and frightened her away. That woman of the Bai family belonged to the Heavenly Court of the Supreme Emperor in the old days; I once met her during the Kaihuang era. The Vermilion Emperor was once an old subject of the Supreme Emperor, yet she surrendered to the Heavenly Court from beyond the realms, and so she dares not face an old acquaintance."

Shen Mu went on: "The Vermilion Emperor Qi Xiayu hunted the King Buddha from the twenty heavens of the Buddha realm all the way to the ruins of the Kaihuang Thirty-Three Heavens. I had thought the King Buddha must have suffered every torment and every humiliation; I never expected there to be not the slightest wound on you, and you looking so radiant. It fills me with wonder."

Deva King Buddha said: "During the Kaihuang era, that woman of the Bai family came seeking a young man surnamed Shen who was skilled in the sword. Her search came to nothing, and Kaihuang did not help her find that young man surnamed Shen either."

Shen Mu said: "By what fate do we twine necks as mandarin ducks, and why do we rise and dip together in flight? Has the King Buddha in these days returned to lay life, and taken the name Li Youran?"

Yu Tianzun listened, lost in clouds and mist, unable to make head or tail of it.

The two of them seemed on the best of terms, yet the moment they met it was as though enemies had come face to face, eyes red with fury, tearing open each other's scars by any means they could; and as they tore, they ached to the marrow, and at the same time were thoroughly delighted.

At last Shen Mu and Deva King Buddha stopped tearing at each other's scars, each gave a ha-ha, and they were reconciled as before, as harmonious as they had been at their first meeting.

"King Buddha, how goes that blame of yours?" Shen Mu asked with concern.

"Still carrying it."

Deva King Buddha said: "Fortunately it is the Vermilion Emperor who hunts me; she leaves me a little chance of staying alive. But I hear the Heavenly Court is preparing to send other experts, who will stop at nothing to take me, and from my mouth obtain the Old Buddha's Emperor Throne cultivation art. The blame the Old Buddha pinned on me is firm and solid. And how goes your blame?"

"A few more pieces of it," Shen Mu said.

The two could not help feeling a mutual admiration, and a deep sense of sharing the same affliction.

"The Vermilion Emperor hunted me all the way here; luckily that Bai woman frightened her off, or I would truly have been captured by her, and half a lifetime of cultivation ruined."

Deva King Buddha glanced at Yu Tianzun and asked curiously: "And which benefactor is this young friend?"

"He is Lan Yutian."

Shen Mu did not introduce him at length. "Another Overlord Body, very clever, not inferior to me. Someone entrusted him to my care, and I am bringing him along to cultivate. He learns anything quickly, and his cultivation advances at astonishing speed. King Buddha, I intend to seek out old acquaintances in the Desolate Ruins and rescue the common folk. Since you happen to be here, will you come along? You could also teach Lan Yutian some of the basic Buddhist runes."

Deva King Buddha hesitated a moment. "These old acquaintances you seek — would I know them?"

Shen Mu shook his head. "No. Just ordinary villagers of the Desolate Ruins."

Deva King Buddha set his mind at ease. "To heal the sick and save the dying is the duty of the Buddhist order. I will go with you."

Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief as well. The three set off together, and Deva King Buddha taught Yu Tianzun the basic Buddhist runes. After some time he could not help marveling: "Layman Shen, is this Benefactor Lan truly an Overlord Body? He learns the basic Buddhist runes even faster than you!"

Shen Mu's face darkened.

The more Deva King Buddha looked at Yu Tianzun, the better he liked him. "If the Old Buddha were here, he would surely be glad to pass on the Emperor Throne cultivation art to him. Why do you let me teach him only the basic runes? I have learned the Old Buddha's Emperor Throne art as well; I will simply pass it on to him."

Shen Mu said hastily: "You must not. That would ruin a fine sprout. Not only must you not teach him any cultivation art, you must not even teach him divine powers! Divine Treasury, Heavenly Palace — none of it! Teach him only principles!"

Deva King Buddha was puzzled by his meaning, but he still taught Yu Tianzun the Buddhist runes as asked.

The Buddhist runes were called Sanskrit, a language system created by Mahabrahma King Buddha; the sounds of the spoken and written words all carried the rhyme of the Way, and bore some resemblance to the ancient divine script.

Lan Yutian learned very quickly, drawing three inferences from one instance, and Deva King Buddha marveled aloud.

But he soon discovered that though Lan Yutian was clever, he was also somewhat foolish.

"It seems something is missing from his soul."

Deva King Buddha, having seen much and traveled far, soon found where Lan Yutian's trouble lay. "His soul is somewhat unstable, and there are other fragments of soul scattered outside."

They walked out of that ancient battlefield, and suddenly the earth shook violently, the ground cracked open, and a stone statue of a divine beast rose from underground, higher and higher. Springs gushed up from beneath the earth, more and more of them, and soon a great river formed before them.

The stone statue of the divine beast was half submerged in the spring water, half exposed.

"A demigod — a water qilin!"

Shen Mu halted. In the river water, that demigod statue was transforming at flying speed; the stone veins on its body sloughed away, and it swiftly recovered flesh and blood. All at once it shook its head, tossed its mane, and stamped upon the great water, soaring into the sky!

The great river below rose into the air together with the demigod, and settled beneath his feet.

The water qilin demigod stood upon the river in the sky, ripples of water moving across the surface of his body. The next moment he stood upright and became a demigod with the head of a qilin and the body of a man; the mane on his body turned into blue garments, and his aura was wild.