Chapter 1685 — The Master of Tiandu

"Seventh Brother, you have always loved to dream, so why do you dream no longer?

" The Fourth Prince of Miluo Palace ceased his playing, lifted his head to gaze at the figure beneath the World Tree, and said coldly: "The Teacher is not here, but Miluo Palace is no place for your insolence. In this Miluo Palace you rank seventh, not first. " The figure beneath the World Tree drew near, growing clearer by degrees.

Even though the Annihilation Calamity destroyed all things, it could not shake his form, nor even stir his aura. He walked through Chaos, and the Annihilation Calamity felt to him like a fish returning to water, easeful and content.

He was tall and powerfully built, yet his temples were flecked with white, and his face bore the marks left by years and wind and frost.

He was identical to Shen Mu, only more mature and steady, having clearly endured many trials after returning to the past universes.

"The Teacher transmitted his Dao in seven lines, and what each of us comprehended is different.

" Shen Mu of the past universe swept his gaze across the assembled accomplished ones, studying their faces and their Dao fruits, and said: "Each of us has his own attainment.

Our ranking follows only the order in which we entered the Teacher's gate, not our strength. The Teacher leads us through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. In truth, long ago I had already transcended what the Teacher taught. Third Brother, Fourth Brother, I have cultivated something better. " The Fourth Prince of Miluo Palace lowered his head and played on, a smile curling at his lips, as a treasure palace sped forth from the depths of Miluo Palace, tearing through layer upon layer of Chaos, crossing the Annihilation Calamity of fifteen universal eras, to arrive behind him.

Zixiao Palace. He was called Zixiao by the Lord of Miluo Palace, but those outside Yujing City called him Dao Lord Zixiao. The Third Prince smiled faintly, and the Lingxiao Palace crossed the long River of Chaos at that same moment to appear behind him.

He was called Lingxiao by the Lord of Miluo Palace, but those outside Yujing City called him Dao Lord Lingxiao.

Nor was that all.

The Celestial Court of the seventeenth-era universe bore a profound connection to him. When Taidi and Taichu first entered the ancestral court of Yujing City, he showed them his Lingxiao Palace, leaving an indelible impression upon them.

Later Taichu became Celestial Emperor and forged the Celestial Court, rebuilding the Lingxiao Palace, and the Lingxiao Palace of the Celestial Court became the symbol of power and station throughout the universe.

When Yu Tianzun founded the Celestial Palace realm and Yun Tianzun perfected its final two realms, Lingxiao and Dizuo, they took the Lingxiao Palace of the Celestial Court as their model. And the source of it all was the Third Prince's Lingxiao Palace! What was more, in the seventeenth-era universe, all who cultivated to the Lingxiao and Dizuo realms lent their strength to the Third Prince's cultivation.

As their cultivation rose, so too did his! "Seventh Brother, your accumulation is too shallow. " The Fourth Prince of Miluo Palace kept his head bowed over his playing, the notes faltering and broken, and said lightly: "Had you come earlier to keep us company, we might have gone over sooner to seek a better means of resolving the Annihilation Calamity. You and I seek the same end.

Why must fellow disciples slaughter one another?

" The Third Prince clasped his hands behind his back and said leisurely: "Seventh Brother, for the Teacher's sake we will not make things hard for you. Now Taishang is absent, Wuji is suppressed, and Wuzong and Zhanji are nowhere to be found.

Every accomplished one in Miluo Palace will heed our command.

You have no chance of victory. " Shen Mu sighed and sat down, as the Chaos Palace emerged from the River of Chaos: "Talking to you blockheads is truly wearying. I sit here, and whoever dares lend strength to Hao Tianzun shall be my mortal enemy. " The accomplished ones of Yujing City fell silent, and none moved.

The Third Prince raised an eyebrow, his Dao tree emerging behind him hung with nine Dao fruits, and strode forward to meet the motionless Shen Mu. Shen Mu kept all three eyes shut and did not open them. The Third Prince came before Shen Mu, still four yards away, lifted his foot, yet long delayed letting it fall.

The Fourth Prince looked up in surprise, and the music beneath his hands abruptly changed, no longer faltering and broken but growing impassioned and fierce, filled with the aura of slaughter! Behind him his Dao tree and Dao fruits burst forth with dazzling Dao light, leaping in time with the music, and for a moment the dancing light grew resplendently beautiful as it surged toward Shen Mu! The Third Prince's foot came down, and step by step he drew nearer, saying faintly: "Even the Teacher facing us would not dare such arrogance!

Rise!

" Shen Mu remained seated and motionless, and did not rise. The Third Prince raised his hand, overturning heaven with a single palm, and the whole River of Chaos churned unceasingly!

He took another step forward, and his palm fell!

The murderous aura of the music grew incomparably thick!

Shen Mu still kept his three eyes closed and did not open them, as the Third Prince's palm pressed down! At that very instant, the World Tree behind Shen Mu swayed, and amid the flying leaves a Dao fruit emerged, spinning with a hum, its great Dao divine power growing incomparably dense as it rose to meet the Third Prince's palm.

Boom! The River of Chaos trembled, then subsided, as the wind of heat death howled past.

The vertical eye on Shen Mu's brow slowly opened, and within the parting slit Chaos lay vast and misty, with purple light faintly pulsing forth from within the Chaos, about to emerge yet not quite. The Third Prince's robes snapped in the wind as he withdrew his hand and turned away, saying in a low voice: "Seventh Brother, for the Teacher's sake I spare you this once.

Do not let it happen again!

Let us go!

" He swept his sleeve and departed, and after a moment's hesitation the many accomplished ones of Yujing City turned and followed him.

Yet only a portion of the seventy-two palace lords left.

Others remained, standing behind the Fourth Prince.

The Fourth Prince frowned slightly, his gaze falling upon the vertical eye on Shen Mu's brow. The Third Prince had not truly withdrawn for the Lord of Miluo Palace's sake, but had sensed peril and retreated of his own accord to spare his dignity.

What could make even him sense danger must be no trifling thing.

"My purpose is but one, to shatter the Annihilation Calamity and find my lost wife.

" The Fourth Prince laid his palm upon the strings and said indifferently: "I am not like Lingxiao. He seeks eternal power and dominion.

He would create a universe that will never be annihilated. I have only this meager wish.

Whoever blocks me, I shall kill.

" The vertical eye on Shen Mu's brow slowly opened, shooting forth a beam of light, and the Fourth Prince plucked the strings with all his might as the music swelled.

Suddenly the music turned abruptly mute, as a string snapped. The Fourth Prince gave a cold snort, rose, put away his zither, turned, and left. The remaining palace lords hastened after him and vanished without a trace.

Beneath the World Tree, Shen Mu's other pair of eyes slowly opened, and he exhaled a breath of foul air: "To you, it is power for some, or kin for others.

To me, it is the right of those of the future to survive.

" He rose to his feet, and upon the World Tree that Dao fruit suddenly split, broke off, and fell into the River of Chaos. The roots of the World Tree sank into the River of Chaos, drawing in the qi of Chaos, and after a moment a new Dao flower slowly bloomed and a Dao fruit was born. "Jingping, how fare you?