Chapter 873 — The Secret Treasure of the Star Sea

It seems the god of water conservancy of Jingping himself sits on the coast, guarding the sand barges. " Shen Mu cast a glance about and said, "The blue-backed fish on the sea are of the Kun clan, and those Xuanwu are of the Xuanwu divine clan. In the battle of the Shenduan Mountains, they came to fight under the pact of the Human Emperor's Seal and suffered grievous losses.

With the god of water conservancy and the sea clans of gods here, the sand barges are in little danger.

" Reassured, he drew his head back into the mirror and went on with his studies.

Yu Tianzun, meanwhile, crawled out of the mirror, sat himself on the Water Qilin's head with great dignity, and said to Yan'er, "Sister, don't feed me anything more. I mean to go into seclusion for the next few days.

" Yan'er was uneasy. "Won't you go hungry? Perhaps you had better eat your fill first? " Yu Tianzun thought it over.

"Then I had best eat my fill first. " Dragon Qilin quickened his pace and followed the coastline north, and only after nearly twenty days of running did they reach the mouth of the Jin River.

During that time, one night, a strange phenomenon erupted: the stars in the sky fell into disorder, and star power gathered into streams, visible to the naked eye, that burrowed madly into Yu Tianzun's body.

This continued for several days and nights before it ceased. Yan'er and the Water Qilin wanted to wake Yu Tianzun and ask the reason, but Dragon Qilin hastily stopped them.

"Blue Fatty is in the midst of enlightenment.

He must not be disturbed. The Sect Master says that a state of enlightenment is a rare thing.

To have one or two in a lifetime is already remarkable.

" The Water Qilin was skeptical. "Really?

I remember my lord was enlightened when he opened the Primordial Fetus Divine Treasury. Enlightenment looks easy enough for him. " Dragon Qilin was somewhat puzzled too. "That is what the Sect Master says.

" Dragon Qilin went upstream from the river mouth and came to Jiangling, where at last he set the mirror down from his back, rapped on its surface, and said, "Sect Master, Jiangling is here.

" Shen Mu leaped out of the mirror, flicked his sleeve, and put the mirror away in his Taotie pouch. Yu Tianzun woke, elated.

"Brother, I have opened my second divine treasury!

" Shen Mu jumped down from Dragon Qilin's head, gestured for them to walk, and said with a smile, "What treasury did you open?

" He had never taught Yu Tianzun how to open a divine treasury, nor taught him any cultivation method or divine ability; he had only told him to learn without forcing his cultivation. Jingping today was an age of abundant knowledge.

The methods and abilities of the great academies and halls of learning could all be taught openly, and Yu Tianzun had read through the canons of the Grand Academy, the Yong River Academy, the Heavenly Sage Academy, the Lan River Academy, and the Dao Gate Academy. His store of knowledge was already profound, his vision and understanding extraordinary, far surpassing the Yu Tianzun of ancient times.

Shen Mu firmly believed that even without practicing the methods of others, he could walk out a path of his own.

"The Star River Divine Treasury! " Yu Tianzun was jubilant. "I observed the heavens and was moved to thought, and so opened a star river around my spirit fetus. " Shen Mu halted, stupefied for a moment, then asked tentatively, "The Star River Divine Treasury?

Not the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury, nor the Six Universes Divine Treasury? " Yu Tianzun shook his head.

Shen Mu was stunned again.

"What does this Star River Divine Treasury look like? " Yu Tianzun thought for a moment, then opened his divine treasury and showed it to Shen Mu.

Shen Mu looked into the treasury, and his mind went blank.

Yu Tianzun's spirit fetus sat plump upon the spirit platform, and all around it a vast star river revolved.

Most crucially, there were no barriers between the divine treasuries! Shen Mu shook his head and looked carefully; indeed, he saw no barriers between the treasuries!

In other words, Yu Tianzun's Primordial Fetus Divine Treasury and his Star River Divine Treasury were one! "Sect Master, Blue Fatty fell into enlightenment again while opening the Star River Divine Treasury.

" Dragon Qilin spoke carefully. "And once he settled, he stayed so for ten days. Sect Master, I think it hardly matters whether this body of tyranny is male or female. . .

" Shen Mu's face could not hold.

He nodded.

"Dragon Fatty, you speak great sense. .

. I don't know what has come over me, but suddenly I have a powerful urge to hit someone!

" With an ill-favored look he walked toward the Jiangling fabrication yards.

Jiangling was where the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping had risen to power, and the Jiangling Academy was built here as well; here too were gathered the most fabrication yards in all Jingping, more even than those near the Yong River Academy.

When the sand barges reached this place, they unloaded their cargo at the yards and smelted the Tianyin metal.

Shen Mu saw that many great components of Sun-Shooting Divine Cannons were already being built, though assembly had not yet begun. When Shen Mu arrived at the yards, men of the Heavenly Craft Hall of the Heaven Sage Sect came up to greet him.

Shen Mu ordered them to bring the blueprints of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon and examined them, then smiled.

"So Blind Grandpa did improve them after all, adding formations from the Kaihuang era that borrow the power of heaven and earth.

This way the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannons can float on the power of heaven and earth, without consuming too much medicine and stone.

" A disciple of the Heavenly Craft Hall said, "Sect Master, the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon must gather, in the space of a single instant, enough energy to slay gods and demons.

It still needs medicine and stone to drive the elixir furnace, so that it can fire swiftly. " Shen Mu nodded and smiled.

"Is the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping in Jiangling? " "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping is not here, but many outland guests have come to Jiangling of late, to challenge the academy.

" The Heavenly Craft Hall disciple said, "They are said to be young champions from the heavens of the north, come to challenge.

. . " He glanced at Shen Mu and said carefully, ".

.

. come to challenge the body of tyranny of Jingping.

These champions have blockaded the Jiangling Academy for more than ten days. " "The northern heavens, challenging the body of tyranny of Jingping? " Shen Mu was astonished. "Since when did I become so famous? " The Heavenly Craft Hall disciple grew even more cautious, beads of sweat standing on his brow.

"This disciple heard. . .

this disciple only heard it, and cannot vouch for it.

This disciple heard that the Woodcutter Sage and the Celestial Master Zixi went to visit the northern heavens and loudly proclaimed that Jingping had a body of tyranny that had beaten every realm and found no match.

They also said that if anyone could defeat the body of tyranny of Jingping at the same realm, Jingping would surrender as a nation.

This disciple also heard that the Woodcutter Sage made countless wagers with the gods of the northern heavens, sworn under something called the Pact of the Little Earth Lord. .

.

" Shen Mu was struck dumb.

After a moment he came back to himself. "Shifting the conflict onto me? Teacher, you really are, you really are an old bastard! Still, I just happen to want to hit someone! "