Chapter 811 — Showing Off His Skills

As a matter of fact, his ascension through the martial dao counted as one method in itself—except that from the Kaihuang Era to the present, he was the only person ever to have cultivated it successfully. And before the Kaihuang Era, no existence like him had ever appeared. The old farmer, as a Martial Combat Heavenly Master, devoted every ounce of his energy to the martial dao; anything else, he simply did not understand.

It was precisely because his mind was free of distractions that he came to be called the Martial Dao Great Emperor—the foremost martial artist past and present!

Had he been like Shen Mu, with a mind that leaped and bounded, fond of tinkering here and dabbling there, he would never have achieved what he had. Focus was the key to his success. That said, Shen Mu conjuring twenty-six kinds of Seventh Divine Treasury in one go still dealt him a heavy blow.

Before Shen Mu produced his twenty-six kinds of Seventh Divine Treasury, Xu Shenghua had already fashioned the Innate Divine Bridge of the Jianmu Tree—an achievement equally terrifying in its magnitude, a single Jianmu connecting heaven and earth, binding all divine treasuries into one.

What was more fearsome still was that the Innate Divine Bridge of the Jianmu rendered his martial ascension far simpler, allowing Hu Bugui to ascend by way of the Jianmu, crossing the void to ascend to the Heavenly Palace. Though the old farmer talked tough, he had long since been thoroughly won over by Shen Mu and Xu Shenghua, and now it was merely a doubled dose of the same medicine.

"I can't stand these quick-witted types.

The moment you turn around they're saying, 'Oh, I'm stupid too, I didn't work hard either, I didn't study either—I just thought about it for a bit,' and then they hand you twenty-six ways to solve the problem. These scoundrels—they'd love nothing more than to write 'I'm smarter than you' across their faces and wait for you to praise them!

" He had suffered such blows since his early years. The woodcutter, the scholar, the fisherman—every one of them was smarter than he was, making him feel he was the dullest of the four. That sting had accompanied him through twenty thousand years of the Kaihuang Era, filling him with resentment. The old farmer did his best to look kindly and benevolent, and said in a gentle voice, "Twenty-six solutions, is it?

Then why do you still need to destroy the Other Shore Divine Treasury? " Shen Mu laughed. "Those twenty-six methods—I've only deduced them, I haven't tested them one by one yet.

Once I've run through a round of trials, I'll pick out the simplest one and give it to you, Martial Uncle. Then you can teach it to the martial artists of the Dou Niu Realm and relieve them of the hardship of having no divine bridge.

" "Pick out the simplest one. . . " The old farmer felt his kindly expression might twist into something savage at any moment. He hurriedly steadied himself and smiled.

"Keep the Other Shore Divine Treasury. No need to destroy it—just open a second divine treasury. Keep them, and you'll have an extra reserve of mana.

" Shen Mu was taken aback. He clapped his hands in admiration.

"Martial Uncle is indeed extraordinarily wise—worthy of being the Martial Dao Great Emperor! I never would have thought of such a method! " The old farmer felt somewhat pleased with himself, thinking, "These clever people always tend to overcomplicate things.

" "But stuffing so many divine treasuries into one body—it's a mess. Irritating. " Shen Mu thought for a moment, then said, "I think some of these divine treasuries might not be necessary. The extras are just a burden. .

.

Martial Uncle, wait a moment. I need to calculate first whether the physical body can even contain this many divine treasuries! " The old farmer's brow twitched. He gave a grunt of assent, and then watched as Shen Mu spread his hands outward, his vital essence constructing a numerical model of the human body and a numerical model of the divine treasuries.

Then Shen Mu gave a light snap of his fingers, and one divine treasury after another began to expand at furious speed. Shen Mu walked among the divine treasuries, observing closely. Suddenly another mass of vital essence flew out and transformed into a Heavenly Palace, with the Southern Heavenly Gate standing tall and lofty.

Shen Mu used his vital essence to manifest the twenty-six forms of divine treasuries, laying them out one by one, attempting to contain them all beneath the Southern Heavenly Gate. The old farmer looked carefully, and found he could no longer understand what he was seeing.

He gave a cold snort and thought, "Showing off!

" Shen Mu kept permuting and combining, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter. After a long while, he withdrew his vital essence and shook his head. "Martial Uncle, you're thinking too simply. If these were ordinary Seventh Divine Treasuries, five or six could fit beneath the Southern Heavenly Gate.

But some of these divine treasuries can't even fit beneath the Southern Heavenly Gate—they'd have to be connected to the Heavenly Palace itself. I think one divine treasury is best. More than that is useless. " The old farmer maintained his kindly expression.

"In that case, I'll destroy your Other Shore Divine Treasury first, and you can keep pondering. I'll go stay at the Imperial Preceptor Jingping's residence. Once you've opened a second divine treasury, send someone to call for me.

" Shen Mu said hastily, "Martial Uncle, why not stay here? Imperial Preceptor Jingping has no money—even food and clothing are a problem for him.

Besides, I'm skilled in medicine. I can help treat Martial Uncle's injuries.

" "No need! " the old farmer said stiffly. Then his tone suddenly softened, and with a gentle countenance he said, "Your cultivation is what matters. I won't disturb you. Imperial Preceptor Jingping has a poison expert named Fu Yuanqing who is also skilled in medicine. I'll have him treat me. " Shen Mu laughed.

"Fu Yuanqing is my senior brother, the Little Poison King. His medical skills aren't as good as mine, but they're not bad either. He certainly can treat Martial Uncle. In that case, I'll send some money to Imperial Preceptor Jingping's residence to cover Martial Uncle's expenses for these days.

" The old farmer urged, "Hurry up—where exactly is your Other Shore Divine Treasury located? " Shen Mu hastily indicated the location of the Other Shore Divine Treasury. Without another word, the old farmer pointed a finger at it.

A thunderous boom rang out, and the Other Shore Ark that Shen Mu had painstakingly constructed exploded into fragments—no more, no more!

Shen Mu's vital essence was thrown into violent turmoil, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. The old farmer was about to leave when Shen Mu hurriedly suppressed his injuries and said, "Martial Uncle, this halo behind my head is a blessing from the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign. Could Martial Uncle destroy it with martial force? " "What's so hard about that? " The old farmer threw a punch, and the halo behind Shen Mu's head burst apart with a crackling pop!

Shen Mu was stunned. He could not help but exclaim, "Martial Uncle's martial prowess is unmatched! " The old farmer felt quite pleased with himself. But just then, his expression shifted slightly. He stared at the back of Shen Mu's head and saw that within the shattered halo, countless runes were automatically reassembling.

Those runes were exceedingly small, and he vaguely sensed that their automatic recombination was drawing power from the earth. Soon they had restored themselves as before.

Shen Mu's expression also changed. He stood there dumbfounded. The old farmer threw another punch, once again shattering the halo formed by the Earth Mother's blessing—but the halo quickly restored itself again! "Something's strange here!