Chapter 1664 — Boundless Magic Power

" Achou's brows lifted, and after a moment he said in his thick, muffled voice, "You are quite the grand one now. Very well, as you say.

" Shen Mu smiled. "You must swear an oath to the Earth Lord. " Achou said tentatively, "To which Earth Lord shall I swear? Or shall I swear to myself?

" Shen Mu said, "To the Earth Lord of Jingping, Shen Fengqing, of course. " Achou had no choice but to swear to Shen Fengqing.

No sooner had he begun his oath than a cold wind blew in gusts and demonic qi came surging; Shen Fengqing descended, spinning amid the demonic fire and demonic qi, twin horns atop his head and demonic flame wreathing his body, his voice heavy yet touched with a child's lilt.

"Who calls upon the great sovereign of Youdu, in whom wisdom and beauty both reside. .

.

the Earth Lord! " Catching sight of Achou, Shen Fengqing was startled and overjoyed at once; forgetting to finish his speech, he rushed over in a fluster.

"Big fellow, you're alive again! And you're so much smaller now, smaller even than me!

" Achou's face went stern, and he barked, "As an Earth Lord, you must not carry on like this!

I am going to conclude the Covenant of the Earth Lord with you.

Stand up straight.

. . stop clinging to me, stand straight.

.

. don't touch my head! Stand straight!

" He swore his oath to Shen Fengqing with the utmost reverence and concluded with him the Covenant of the Earth Lord: should he violate the three rules, Shen Fengqing might devour his soul. Shen Fengqing was beside himself with excitement at the sight of him, and fighting down the urge to pounce, waited until he had finished the words of the oath before flinging himself at him. Achou, helpless, could only keep a straight face and, in his thick muffled voice, instruct him in a few of the principles of being an Earth Lord.

The deaths of the Earth Lord and Kaihuang had struck Shen Fengqing a heavy blow, forcing him to grow into a youth; in all these days he had been joyless and sullen, and only on learning that Kaihuang still lived had he smiled again. Now, seeing Shen Mu resurrect Achou, he recovered the heart of a youth once more.

"There is one more thing I must beg of you, Brother Daoist. " Shen Mu had Shen Fengqing fetch the Earth Lord's Book of Life and Death, and said, his gaze flickering, "I wish to find the reincarnated bodies of Taichu's two souls here in Jingping.

" Achou shook his head and did not take the Book of Life and Death.

"Now that Jingping has an Earth Lord, and the Book of Life and Death as well, finding Taichu's reincarnations will not be difficult. What the Earth Lord lacks is only a good teacher. Better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish; let me instruct him for two days, and he will be able to seek out Taichu's reincarnations himself. " Shen Mu let out a breath of relief and bowed.

"Thank you, Brother Daoist.

" Achou returned the salute. "You are too kind.

Earth Lord, come with me. " Shen Fengqing followed him out; the two sought a quiet place in Shen Mu's heavenly palace, where Achou taught with all his heart and Shen Fengqing studied with all his mind, grasping everything at a touch, which pleased Achou greatly. Two days later, Achou and Shen Fengqing emerged, and Achou said to Shen Mu, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, the Earth Lord is ready for use. " Shen Mu thanked him once more.

"Brother Daoist, do not for a moment forget the Covenant of the Earth Lord.

" The Lord of Heaven laughed.

"And if we break it, do you really mean to take our souls? After all our years of friendship. .

. " Shen Mu smiled faintly and said nothing.

The Lord of Heaven shuddered and did not utter another word.

Achou said, "The Shepherd Heavenly Venerable keeps his word. If we truly break our oath, we are lost beyond all redemption.

Brother Daoist, let us go.

" The Lord of Heaven followed after him and said in a low voice, "That brat Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, how obedient and well-behaved he was in the old days!

And now he even threatens the likes of us. .

. " Achou's voice drifted back.

"We were in the wrong; we have no case to stand on. Brother Daoist, say no more.

. . " Shen Fengqing brought the Book of Life and Death and roused his divine powers.

"Little brother," he said, "I need a little time.

I must search through every living being in Jingping, examine their past lives, and trace back a hundred lifetimes before I can determine which one is Taichu's reincarnation. " Shen Mu waited quietly, watching him work his art. Having received Achou's instruction, Shen Fengqing at once roused the Book of Life and Death, and the images of countless humans, gods, and demons rose from its pages; all the myriad beings of Jingping, of whatever race, were mirrored therein.

With a slight stir of thought he sifted out those who had past lives, and the myriad beings in the Book were reduced to a few hundred thousand, still a vast number. Shen Fengqing roused the Dao of Youdu; the twin horns on his head grew blazing hot, and the vertical eye at the center of his brow shone upon the Book of Life and Death, and wherever its light passed, the past and present lives of each living being surfaced one by one.

He searched with minute care, and after a long while every being in the Book, no matter how many past lives they had, was seen through by him with perfect clarity. Gradually, only a dozen or so remained. Shen Fengqing searched again.

The twin horns on his head were like vast mountain peaks standing between heaven and earth, winding through nine bends and eighteen turns, scorched red by magma. The vertical eye at his brow grew brighter and brighter, setting the horns alight, and between the two horns the Dao of Youdu seemed to gather into one enormous eye, blazing upon those dozen-odd people.

Their deeper past lives were illuminated, and several more vanished, leaving only seven.

"This one is me. " Shen Mu lifted a hand and pointed.

"I am well versed in the Dao of Reincarnation; elder brother, you will never find my roots. This one is the Youdu Heavenly Venerable, and his roots you cannot find either.

This one is the Ling Heavenly Venerable, and this one is Taishi; they have clouded the Book of Life and Death, so there is no need to seek them out.

.

. This one should be the Void Heavenly Venerable's reincarnation in Jingping; her Dao of Youdu is no whit inferior to yours, so do not alarm her. " Shen Fengqing excluded these few, and only two were left in the Book of Life and Death. Shen Mu studied them closely. Of the two in the Book, one was named Du Yufei and the other Yan Duxing.

Their past lives were even more numerous than those of the Heavenly Court's Celestial Master Bai Yuqiong, which made Shen Fengqing's search through their past lives incomparably hard.

"It must be these two.

" Shen Mu rose to his feet, and Ling Yuxiu said hurriedly, "Husband, how will you lay hands on the remaining fourteen treasure halls without alarming them? Taichu may live in seclusion in Dongji Heaven, but he is one who has attained the Dao, after all, and he holds the One-Qi Great Luotian.

No action of his reincarnations can hope to escape his eyes!

" Shen Mu smiled faintly; his form vanished, and only his voice remained. "My divine powers long ago passed beyond Taichu's understanding. " The Ultimate Void. Taichu's One-Qi Great Luotian.

Taichu's primal spirit sat beneath the Tree of Dao, while his two clones studied the Dao arts and divine powers of Jingping, seeking to make good what he himself lacked by means of the Dao of Taichu that Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and others had comprehended. Thus every movement of those two clones lay wholly within his grasp.

On this day, his clone Yan Duxing was attending the Grand Academy of Jingping.