The second form of the Tribulation Sword: the Raising Tribulation Sword!

After the Opening comes the Raising; and the Raising must claim a life!

Facing this ancient god's projection with no power of retaliation left to him, Shen Mu at last comprehended the second chapter of his own sword dao, taking one more step forward on the road of the sword!

Nor was that all: his sword art had finally brought forth a nineteenth fundamental form, pushing the way of the sword in this world one step further still!

Blood-light flashed from Heavenly Lord Hao's body; the Raising Tribulation Sword leaped and wavered, breaking free of every suppression, its moves so uncanny and unfathomable that he could not fend them off.

Not he alone — even the goddess could do nothing at all against these sword-lights.

In this age, the sword arts had not yet brought forth even the fourteenth form, let alone a nineteenth.

At the same moment, the goddess's projection struck out a palm at the imprisoned Shen Mu. Since the sword-light could not be suppressed, then she would slap Shen Mu to death first, and his attack would collapse of itself!

Her palm-force was swift beyond measure; as the palm came down, the sea suddenly sank for a hundred-odd li around, leaving a vast handprint.

And almost in the same instant she saw another youth running across the sea's surface toward them, the water bursting apart beneath his feet.

As the youth ran, his hands flew, and countless divine arts howled around him, surging toward Shen Mu like toppling mountains and overturning seas!

"Too weak."

The goddess paid it no mind — and then a vast fist suddenly filled heaven and earth, and with a thunderous boom met her palm before the youth's divine arts could arrive!

The Jade Pool shook; countless lotuses in the sea were shaken till petals and leaves scattered, and one old turtle after another, bearing sacred mountains and holy isles, was flung into the air by the great waves, struggling weakly.

"Witch! Old Master Niu Ben is here!"

A shout rang out; the old ox transformed into a god-devil with an ox's head and a man's body, sinews hideous, muscles bulging, and landed with a thud upon the sea's surface.

The waters surged in torrents, shattering Kaihuang's countless divine arts and sweeping up Shen Mu, Kaihuang and Heavenly Lord Hao, hurling them far away.

Kaihuang struggled to shift his body in the air, leaping, catching up to Shen Mu and gathering him into his arms.

On the other side, a ray of cloud-glow rolled up Heavenly Lord Hao and blocked that dreadful shock.

Heavenly Lord Hao bled from eyes, ears, mouth and nose; his body was riddled with a thousand wounds, all of them made by the uncanny Raising Tribulation Sword.

The cloud-glow shot into his body with a hiss, sealing the wounds so that they bled no more, then carried him to the Jade Terrace on the distant shore.

Heavenly Lord Hao lay sprawled on his back there, utterly motionless.

Kaihuang clutched Shen Mu and rushed madly outward; in his arms Shen Mu's bones were all broken, yet his flesh writhed without cease, expelling the broken bones and growing new ones.

"He can still live under such pressure?" Kaihuang marveled.

"My sword..." Shen Mu said weakly, in a low voice.

"To hell with your sword!"

Kaihuang raged and shouted: "I told you long ago not to go making trouble! This time, if I hadn't been quick and called Senior Niu Ben to come search the Jade Sea with me, you would have been dead long ago!"

Shen Mu smiled: "You seem like a living, breathing man now. I'm glad..."

Kaihuang was briefly taken aback, then smiled a little too: "Don't talk. Heal."

Shen Mu opened his palm and beckoned behind him; countless tiny sword-lights flew swiftly to him, clashing with a ding-dang of metal, gathering into a sword core that flew along with them, closing rapidly.

"Let's go kill Heavenly Lord Hao."

Shen Mu spat blood and said, breathless with weakness, "He is nearly dead. One more sword will finish it..."

"Compared with him, I think you had better worry about our own lives."

Kaihuang sighed. Around them demigods were gathering in ever greater numbers. He said softly, "There is no need for you to kill him for certain. In the future I will kill him myself, and avenge Heavenly Lord Yu. Right now I am only worried about how we are to escape."

Shen Mu suddenly wept, turning his head away, and said in his heart, "Old Ancestor, you did not... I do not know whether you are still alive... I once even wished that you had fought with all valor, even if you died upon the field of battle; but now I would rather that you were alive in the Land of No Sorrow..."