Chapter 755 — Waves and Sword-Shadows Like a Coiling Dragon

The Jade Pool was like a sea.

To the ancient gods, whose bodies were vast, it was no more than a pond, but to humans it stretched wide as an ocean. In truth the Jade Pool had another name: the Jade Sea. Within that sea, divine turtles bore divine and sacred mountains on their backs, swimming at their ease, and great lotuses bloomed, their petals like mountain peaks, a riot of color, brilliant purples and vivid reds.

Coming into the Jade Pool, a divine-power practitioner did not feel that the pool was too vast, but that he himself had shrunk countless times over. Ahead, Heavenly Lord Hao had already halted. This place lay far from the Jade Pool Cottage and the Jade Pool Treasure Isle; all around, demigods came walking, others flew through the sky, hiding within the clouds.

Still others lurked beneath the sea. Shen Mu walked upon the water's surface and saw below him the bodies of colossal beasts gliding briskly, their scales the same hue as the green waves.

"Heavenly Lord Yu, is it truly you? " Heavenly Lord Hao watched him draw near, then suddenly sighed, his manner bleak: "Strange as it is to say, I actually hope you are him. But I also know you cannot be him.

You died; there is no way you could have come back to life. Under those circumstances, how could you possibly have survived?

Yet here you stand before me, alive and breathing, and that leaves me utterly bewildered.

" A look of confusion came over him: "I clearly killed you. I clearly scattered your soul to the winds. Yet you have come back to life. How did you manage it? " In the sky, an ancient god with great ears was listening to every stir in the Jade Pool.

Hearing Heavenly Lord Hao's words, he suddenly shuddered and turned on his heel. At the same moment, beneath the Jade Pool, another ancient god, one with a single eye in the center of his brow, changed countenance, burrowed up out of the earth, and soared into the air. The two ancient gods met, exchanged a glance, and their faces turned strange.

They were precisely the two generals Heaven's Hearing and Earth's Sight, sent down by the Heavenly Emperor to investigate this case. "Should this be reported to His Majesty?

" Heaven's Hearing said. Earth's Sight shook his head and said in a muffled voice: "Are you not afraid to die?

If we tell His Majesty, both of us are dead men.

" Heaven's Hearing frowned, his two great ears curling up, and said in a low voice: "His Majesty commanded us to investigate this case.

The assassination of Heavenly Lord Yu is no small matter—he is a Heavenly Lord, after all, the first Heavenly Lord, and the one for whom all the ancient gods offered prayers and blessings.

His death will likely breed great chaos in days to come! " Earth's Sight had only the one eye in his brow; he closed it now and shook his head: "Even if we told His Majesty, what then?

His Majesty would let it drop. Heavenly Lord Hao's connections run too deep, and his mother's power is vast as well! If His Majesty moved against Heavenly Lord Hao, the chaos would only be greater. And then His Majesty would simply silence us—seal our mouths by killing us.

" Heaven's Hearing was at a loss: "Then what are we to do? " "See nothing, hear nothing. " The ancient god Earth's Sight said: "I am the blind old man, you are the deaf old man; thus we may keep our lives. " The ancient god Heaven's Hearing nodded: "That is the only way. Only, Heavenly Lord Yu will have died for nothing.

Heavenly Lord Mu has transformed into Heavenly Lord Yu, passed on the dharma in his stead, and avenged him in his stead—and he too will likely die for nothing.

Lamentable, lamentable, two Heavenly Lords on the road.

.

. " The ancient god Earth's Sight sighed: "When he took out Heavenly Lord Yu's corpse and bones, I was startled. When he transformed into Heavenly Lord Yu's likeness, I was startled again. I do not know what he intends, but hearing him pass on the dharma in Heavenly Lord Yu's stead, I felt a certain admiration for him.

" Heaven's Hearing hesitated, then said: "Then what of his affairs—how do we account for them? " Earth's Sight hesitated as well, then said: "Hear nothing, see nothing, play deaf and blind. We never saw him, and we know nothing of his transformation into Heavenly Lord Yu. " "Exactly.

Whatever happened here, we know absolutely nothing of it!

" Their council concluded, the two ancient gods immediately took flight and departed. On the sea's surface, demigods roamed the air and wandered the waters, sealing off the place. Around Heavenly Lord Hao stood demigods as well, guarding him in a tight ring.

"Heavenly Lord Yu, are you determined to tear all pretense away?

" Heavenly Lord Hao sighed and smiled: "You know my origins.

You cannot touch me.

You have suffered a loss, but you must swallow it.

" "Heavenly Lord Yu, withdraw.

" Before him, a demigod with tiger whiskers and dragon scales, his body swaying, revealed his half-man, half-god form and said calmly: "Though you have taken a small loss, you have not died. You are a genius; you should be able to see the situation clearly.

" "Indeed.

" Another demigod likewise took half-man, half-god form and laughed: "When you died in the Manhui Corridor Pavilion, you should have understood that you cannot contend with Heavenly Lord Hao. Do you not remember why you could never escape the Manhui Corridor Pavilion? Do you not remember who sealed the Manhui Corridor Pavilion with his magic power?

" Another demigod took half-man, half-god form and laughed: "You may be a genius of the human race, honored as a Heavenly Lord, blessed by the ancient gods—but you are, after all, only human.

It was that existence who had us seal the Manhui Corridor Pavilion, so that you could call to heaven and get no answer, call to earth and find no door. " Another demigod stepped forward and said with a faint smile: "Humans are born weak. Even if you have cultivated the Heavenly Palace, you cannot be a match for a demigod. Defy the prohibition by force, and you will only die here a second time!

And this time, you will never come back to life! " Heavenly Lord Hao, his face full of smiles, said: "Heavenly Lord Yu. . .

" Shen Mu had not spoken for a long while; suddenly he cut him off: "Should you not call me father and elder brother? " Heavenly Lord Hao laughed heartily: "Call you father and elder brother? You? Do you know who my father is?

Who my elder brother is.

.

. " Boom!

Shen Mu stepped forward, the sea's surface bursting apart.

Heavenly Lord Hao's heart lurched, and before his eyes everything suddenly went dark: "So fast! " He stood amid a ring of demigods, followers he had chosen with great care; every one of them was exceedingly strong, and some were even stronger than he.

He too was a demigod, his bloodline nobler than the others', and once grown his strength would far surpass theirs. But for now he was still young, while the demigods who followed him were older and stronger. Yet the moment Shen Mu stepped out, his form came before him like a ghost, leaving the other demigods no time to react!

The darkness before his eyes was not the sky suddenly dimming—it was Shen Mu's fist blotting out his entire field of vision! Heavenly Lord Hao's face twisted.

Shen Mu's fist smashed into his face; he heard the sound of his own nose bridge breaking, heard his brow bone splitting, and in the next instant he heard the crisp crack of his ribs snapping. That was the first rib.

Then the second, the third! As Shen Mu's fist landed on his face, his knee had already driven hard into his ribs.

The two forces erupted at once. Heavenly Lord Hao flew backward, still unable to see anything.

Smack. He bounced high, landed on the water's surface, bounced again, fell again. "How dare you!

" Only now did the demigods react.

The demigod with tiger whiskers and dragon scales roared in fury, the divine blood in his body boiling, his divine power climbing rung by rung as though about to explode, his aura turning dreadful, savage beyond measure!