Chapter 1514 — Transmitting the Dao in the Tree's Shade

anding upon the Nine Hells Platform, urging on their Dao arts and divine abilities, attempting to imprint themselves upon the World Tree sapling. Xu Shenghua was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "What is he doing?" "Probably trying to refine the World Tree and make it his own treasure." Lan Yutian was not entirely certain either. "The World Tree is still a sapling now, the time most suited to refining it. If it grows any taller, his domain will no longer be able to contain it. So refining it now takes the least effort and is most likely to succeed." Xu Shenghua looked and saw that although Shen Mu's Primal Embryo Divine Treasury domain had been spread to its greatest extent, the World Tree's crown still reached the very dome of his domain's heavens. One more growth, surely, and it would burst through the dome of his domain! Even so, Shen Mu stubbornly kept trying to refine the sapling. Besides trying to imprint his own great Dao upon the World Tree, he was also attempting to sacrifice his spirit embryo into the tree's body. Even though he failed again and again, repelled each time by the World Tree, he never lost heart. Xu Shenghua was left gaping, tongue-tied. Just then the woman carrying a small water bucket passed by. That woman, Taiyi, was most caustic. She shook her head and sneered, "Silly fawn, a mayfly shaking a tree—overestimating yourself." With that, she shook her head and went on her way. Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian watched her go far off, then each withdrew their gaze. Xu Shenghua asked, "Do you think the Cult Master can succeed?" Lan Yutian shook her head. "How would I know? But the World Tree has probably never been cut down by anyone before, has it? Perhaps in its sapling stage it really can be refined. Still, refining this tree may indeed be, as Taiyi said, a bit like a mayfly hugging a tree root and shaking it..." The two shook their heads together, neither very optimistic. Xu Shenghua asked, "Has the Cult Master returned that Dao tree leaf he borrowed from Taiyi?" Lan Yutian shook her head. "He has not. My brother has never mentioned it, as if he had forgotten, and Taiyi has not mentioned it either, as if she had forgotten too." Xu Shenghua thought for a moment and said, "That shows Taiyi still hopes the Cult Master can refine the World Tree. He just will not say so, and must add a mocking word or two." "The way Heavenly Lord Mu stubbornly persists, he really is like a silly roe deer." Emperor Ming's voice came. Emperor Ming now looked somewhat different from before. Formerly he had been a soul; now he had a physical body, though this body was rather strange, bearing wooden veins upon it. This was because Shen Mu had gone to great pains, asking Taiyi to cut a small piece of bark from a branch of the World Tree, and with that bark had remade a body for him, using the dew upon the leaves as his blood. Now this body moved with difficulty, and Emperor Ming constantly worried whether he might take root and sprout, for he always felt signs of sprouting. Shen Mu had made two bodies in all, one for him to use, and he had not said much about the purpose of the other. He had already sent people to the place where Emperor Ming had fallen to seek Emperor Ming's flesh and blood. Once it was found, the powerful creative power of Emperor Ming's flesh and blood could be used to turn this wooden body into a body of flesh and blood. Fully revived, Emperor Ming's physical body would surely be even stronger than before! Emperor Ming moved his feet with difficulty, walked to the two of them, and bowed in salute. "Heavenly Lord Yu, you said earlier that you sensed a realm at the Heavenly Sea. Have you established this Heavenly Sea realm? I have died and come back to life, and must cultivate from the beginning, or I will be unable to control this body." Lan Yutian said, "The Heavenly Sea realm is both a realm of the Dao heart and a realm of dharma power. I also call it the Heavenly Heart realm. I established this realm not long ago as well. However, my path of the Dao differs from the present cultivation system of the Divine Treasury and heavenly palaces. I have merged the Four Heavenly Gates, the Jade Pool and Jade Terrace, the God-Slaying Platform, the Nine Hells Platform, and the Heavenly Sea all into the Ancestral Court realm. There is no realm of heavenly palaces." Emperor Ming humbly sought instruction: "May I ask, Heavenly Lord, if one were to merge in the realm of heavenly palaces, how should one cultivate?" Lan Yutian thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I will make an attempt to merge these realms into the heavenly palaces and explain it to you. Daoist Hua, Granny Zhu, Daoist Wenyuan, Crown Prince Youming, and Daoist Xu are great experts in the realm of heavenly palaces, and their help will be needed. As for the Jade Terrace, the God-Slaying Platform, and the Nine Hells Platform, the one who has comprehended those realms most deeply is my brother. If I say anything amiss, I must ask them to correct me." His consciousness rippled, summoning everyone. Emperor Ming stammered, "Hua Xuanxiu and Wenyuan are great experts too?" He looked at Hua Xuanxiu and Wenyuan, those two little runts, somewhat unable to believe it. Hua Xuanxiu, with the air of a seasoned elder, looked at him quite smugly. Everyone arrived, and Shen Mu also sent down a primordial spirit. Each of them expounded the mysteries of the various realms of the heavenly palaces, and all the people in the Holy Land gathered around to listen. On the second day, the World Tree trembled again and grew once more, finally punching a great hole through Shen Mu's Divine Treasury domain. Shen Mu was helpless, yet still persevered tirelessly in trying to refine this divine tree. Beneath the World Tree it was incomparably lively. The various realms of the heavenly palaces were recounted by everyone, greatly benefiting all and opening their eyes wide. After hearing everyone out, Lan Yutian tried to combine the realms of the Four Heavenly Gates, the Jade Pool and Jade Terrace, the God-Slaying Platform, and so on with the realm of the heavenly palaces, explaining them one by one and linking these realms together. Beneath the World Tree, Dao resonance lingered, and Dao sounds rose around the World Tree. Astonishingly, Dao flowers descended from the heavens one after another, intoxicating all who beheld them. These Dao flowers dissolved the moment they touched the ground and ceased to exist, but everyone seized the chance to comprehend many things. This gathering beneath the World Tree was, for the people of the present, merely a grand exchange; yet for later ages its significance would be no less than that of the Jade Pool Grand Gathering a million years before! Of the people beneath the World Tree, aside from Shen Mu and Lan Yutian, none were renowned; yet in the future they would be revered as Heavenly Lords! And the realms they founded would influence later ages as well! Yet at this moment, to those beneath the tree, this was merely an ordinary transmission of the Dao, and they gave no thought to its deeper implications and significance. Just then, Shen Mu's aura suddenly surged, and his Divine Treasury domain expanded once more, drawing the World Tree sapling into his domain again. A new realm had astonishingly appeared in him—the Heavenly Sea realm. This realm ranked between the Jade Pool and the God-Slaying Platform, greatly increasing his cultivation. In each of his heavenly palaces a Heavenly Sea had appeared, and within the Ancestral Court a Heavenly Sea had appeared as well, joined through to the Heavenly River! The Ancestral Court, the Heavenly Sea, Xuandu, Youdu, Yuandu, the myriad heavens and worlds, and even the heavenly palaces one and all were joined into a single whole through the Heavenly River, bringing his cultivation and strength a great leap forward! Seeing this, the Blind Elder, the Silent Craftsman, Granny Zhu, and the others were greatly gratified, and praised in un