ing galaxies that revolved around one another. Yin and Yang divided, revolving each around the other, forming one Taiji diagram after another within the cosmos. The most ancient continent became the Ancestral Court. The World Tree took root upon it; the Dao grew rich, and upon the Ancestral Court it became the Four Great Heavenly Gates, the Jade Pool and Jade Terrace. Baleful qi gathered and became the God-Slaying Platform; starlight converged and formed the Heavenly River and the Heavenly Sea. The Heavenly Sea reflected the boundless starry sky. Xuandu emerged; the Dao of Heaven gathered the stars of Xuandu, shining upon the matter that had gathered in dimension after dimension, and the matter in those dimensions formed one heaven after another. Thus did the Yuan Realm rise, Youdu was established, and the Four Extremes Heavens came into being by fate. Among the stars, constellations, and star lodges of the heavens, ancient gods were born one after another: above was the Heavenly Duke, below was the Earth Earl, at the center was the Earth Mother, and at the four extremes of the cosmos were the Four Emperors, the ancient gods. Beneath the Heavenly Duke's feet lay the Realm of Heavenly Yin; beneath the Earth Earl's feet lay Guixu. At some unknown point, Shen Mu's primordial spirit had separated from the World Tree. He stood beneath the tree and looked all around. He saw that the five kinds of Dao born in the five stages of the cosmos's formation had become five mineral veins within the Ancestral Court. Within those veins, divine stones were being born one after another, embedded deep in the veins, where rosy clouds and Dao light gathered, holding surging power of the Dao. Even more, the Taiyi vein he had longed for day and night was actually in the process of forming as well! Within the Taiyi vein, chaos swirled thickly, and divine stones were forming there too. Shen Mu stared blankly at this scene. Understandings of the Daos of the Five Primal Greats of the Innate came crowding in upon him. Some were things he had never comprehended before, and now they appeared in his mind like knowledge innate from birth. "...That World Tree is nothing but a monster born of seizing the spiritual essence of heaven and earth. Now do you know fear?" The Egg of Tai Shi was still chattering endlessly beside Shen Mu. "It's no use being afraid! I can't save you now. Facing that monstrous tree, I'm powerless too — even my Tai Shi primal stone was swallowed by it... Hold on a while, and I'll go find Taiyi. He and I are both egg-born ancient gods; he ought to give me some face at least..." He was just about to hop away when Shen Mu suddenly sat bolt upright, turned his head to look at him, and said, "Brother Tai Shi, come quickly into my God Treasury!" The Egg of Tai Shi was startled and hurried to flee: "A corpse risen! That demon tree is controlling Heavenly Lord Mu's body to trick me — how could I fall for it?" Whoosh— The instant he leaped up, a beam of light shot from the vertical eye between Shen Mu's brows, shone upon the Egg of Tai Shi, and drew it toward his brow. Tai Shi within the egg was both furious and frantic, pounding the eggshell with both fists, but he could not crack it open no matter what. He drew closer and closer to Shen Mu, and could only press himself against the inner wall of the eggshell, kicking wildly with both feet — yet he was still inevitably delivered by Shen Mu into the God Treasury. Thud. The Egg of Tai Shi landed in a brand-new Tai Shi mineral vein, landing precisely upon the altar. Tai Shi within the egg was stunned for a moment. The round, plump great egg spun once upon the altar, and he felt that this altar was more complete than the previous one, and that this vein was more complete than the previous one too; the Tai Shi Dao it contained was likewise so pure, no longer mixed with impurities. Both alarmed and delighted, he forgot for a time to flee, and settled comfortably into his nest here. He suddenly caught sight of the World Tree, and the round egg trembled several times. He wanted to flee, yet could not bear to leave his new nest, and so could only secretly keep watch. At this moment, he saw Shen Mu's primordial spirit sitting beneath the tree, seeming to ponder the Dao, and seeming to cultivate. "Heavenly Lord Mu is truly pitiful. The heavenly palaces he toiled so hard to refine are all gone..." He had barely thought this when he saw countless Dao runes interweave, becoming tiles, becoming pillars and beams, becoming stone steps, becoming pavilions and terraces. Kind after kind of resplendent Dao runes piled upon one another, raising up towers, great halls, palaces. Very quickly a heavenly palace took shape. In the distance, heavenly palaces were swiftly assembled one after another, and gradually they formed a vast, boundless Heavenly Court! Shen Mu's body, too, was at this moment gradually recovering its color.