Chapter 863 — Where the Venerable One Sleeps

"Heavenly Venerable Yu!"

Yan Qiling cried out in shock, staring at the newcomer in disbelief before whipping her head around to look at Shen Mu.

She had seen Heavenly Venerable Yu before. He followed at Shen Mu's side, a slightly plump youth.

She had even fought Shen Mu fiercely over taking Heavenly Venerable Yu away, nearly killing him, only to have the tables turned and end up in his grasp, nearly dead herself.

But shouldn't Heavenly Venerable Yu be at Shen Mu's side?

Who, then, was this Heavenly Venerable Yu before her?

Xing An was also suspicious, casting a doubtful glance at Shen Mu. He too had seen the Heavenly Venerable Yu by Shen Mu's side and had taken him for a mere follower, thinking nothing of it—after all, Heavenly Venerable Yu's cultivation was still low and hardly worthy of his attention.

Yet the Heavenly Venerable Yu who had suddenly appeared in the hanging coffin put him on guard, wary, giving him a sense of danger.

The Heavenly Dragon King also looked doubtful, his gaze shifting back and forth between Heavenly Venerable Yu and Shen Mu. That day, when Shen Mu had brought Heavenly Venerable Yu to the palace of the Earth Mother Primordial Lady, he had nearly pressed his face against theirs to scrutinize them.

This Heavenly Venerable Yu differed somewhat in build from the one at Shen Mu's side, but only subtly.

The hanging coffin fell into utter silence.

That Heavenly Venerable Yu, his face wreathed in smiles, also looked at Shen Mu, his gaze settling on Shen Mu's hand.

Just now, the teacup in Shen Mu's hand had shattered from his loss of composure. Yan'er had taken out a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the water stains from his face.

At Shen Mu's fingertip, a token was spinning rapidly, its rotation slowing by degrees.

It was this token that had drawn his gaze.

Shen Mu ignored everyone's stares.

The Heavenly Venerable Yu who had suddenly appeared in this hanging coffin could not possibly be the real Lan Yutian.

A million years ago, Lan Yutian had perished, his soul scattered. Shen Mu had reconstructed his body, repaired the damage to his bodily functions, then forged a coffin and gave it to Venerable You to hide in the Nether Capital.

Only a few years ago had Shen Mu revived Heavenly Venerable Yu, and since then he had followed him ever since.

And now, Heavenly Venerable Yu was studying at Lanjiang Academy, personally mentored by Zai Fu.

This Heavenly Venerable Yu who had suddenly appeared in the hanging coffin was thinner than the real one. Originally, after Heavenly Venerable Yu learned alchemy, he had secretly eaten the Water Qilin's rations, becoming a little chubby, and only after being trained by Old Farmer for a time did his figure return to normal.

However, these past few days, with Yan'er—a Green Sparrow who loved to wait on others—around, Heavenly Venerable Yu was gradually trending toward plumpness again.

This Heavenly Venerable Yu before them, however, maintained a perfect figure, a perfect physique—so perfect as to seem inhuman.

He resembled the peerless Heavenly Venerable Yu Shen Mu had first met at the Jade Pool Gathering, radiant and dazzling.

There could not be two Heavenly Venerable Yus in this world. This Heavenly Venerable Yu who had suddenly appeared in the hanging coffin must have been created by the Dao Lord of the Heavenly Court, using the imprint of Heavenly Venerable Yu from the top floor of Shoucang Pavilion and the Heavenly Court's Creation Divine Artifact.

"Perhaps there is another possibility: someone learned the dharma of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha and transformed into Heavenly Venerable Yu. But the one who cultivated that dharma has been dead for a long time."

Shen Mu narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling on the token as it slowly ceased spinning. He thought, "If that person had revived, he would not be so cautious—after all, he too is a Heavenly Venerable. So this Heavenly Venerable Yu can only be a test subject created by the Heavenly Court with the Creation Divine Artifact to experiment with Heavenly Court cultivation methods! Heh heh, the one who pioneered the Divine Treasury and Heavenly Palace cultivation systems, reduced to a test subject..."

At last, the token stopped spinning, yet remained standing on his fingertip, the side bearing characters facing this suddenly appeared Heavenly Venerable Yu.

That Heavenly Venerable Yu's gaze fell upon the token, and he saw the character "Mu" upon it.

He made out the character, raised his eyes, and saw Shen Mu turned sideways, gazing at him with bright eyes, fury in his gaze.

"Heavenly Venerable Yu" smiled slightly and said, "It has been a long time."

Shen Mu laughed heartily, the fury in his eyes vanishing. His fingers moved slightly, and the Heavenly Venerable token disappeared. He rose and said, "Indeed, it has been a long time! You come from the Outer Realm Heavenly Court—what shall I call you? May I ask, are you an old acquaintance of mine?"

"Heavenly Venerable Yu" smiled and said, "You and I can be considered old acquaintances."

Yet he did not continue.

The hanging coffin was still descending, and the atmosphere within grew heavy.

Everyone scrutinized this "Heavenly Venerable Yu," each with their own conjectures. Xing An's eyes flickered: "This youth is well worth collecting. His physical body seems even more perfect than Shen Mu's Overlord Body..."

The hanging coffin suddenly paused slightly, as if it had fallen into water, then slowly rose upward, as though floating up from the depths, and with a splash broke the surface.

They heard the rushing of water, swift and urgent, carrying the hanging coffin to some unknown destination.

The atmosphere within the coffin remained oppressive; no one made a move.

Mu Qiubai suddenly laughed and said, "Junior Sister, consider the people in this coffin now: we come from the Ancient Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Dragon King from the Earth Mother, these few from Jingping, and this counterfeit Heavenly Venerable Yu from the False Dynasty—already quite strange. But what is even stranger, do you know, Junior Sister?"

Yan Qiling smiled and said, "Please tell us, Senior Brother."

Mu Qiubai's eyes flickered as he said, "The strangest thing is that this coffin contains so many living people and no dead ones. A coffin full of living people, no dead ones—would you not call that strange?" With that, he burst into laughter.

The Heavenly Dragon King said coldly, "How many dead would you like in this coffin? I can oblige."

Mu Qiubai smiled faintly, and the maidservants behind him suddenly moved as one, shielding him and facing off against the Heavenly Dragon King.

Just then, a creaking sound suddenly came from the hanging coffin. Everyone's hearts jumped, and they saw the coffin lid crack open a sliver, light shining down from outside.

The interior of the hanging coffin was vast; though the crack was not wide, in their eyes it seemed broad indeed.

The light shining down from above was not harsh, but it surprised them, for what emitted that glow was a river of stars!

The river of stars drifted over the coffin, each star like grains of stellar sand.

The Heavenly Dragon King hastily soared upward, poking his head out to look, and was struck dumb.

The others also soared up one after another, squeezing through the crack and landing on the coffin lid.

Yan'er flew to Shen Mu's shoulder. Shen Mu, Xing An, and the Dragon Qilin also leaped out of the coffin. The group stood atop the coffin, a brilliant river of stars above their heads, while the hanging coffin beneath their feet drifted along another river.

Shen Mu looked down and saw that this great river was actually flowing through the starry sky, mighty and vast, heading into the boundless depths of space.

The river's surface was unimaginably wide, reminding him of the Heavenly Court's Heavenly River.