Chapter 827 — Hard to Tell Flowers from Mist

His swordsmanship might not match Shen Mu's, but in the power of the sword way, even the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping was his inferior!

In the bright light the might of the sword way erupted, and even amid that radiance the marvel wrought by the twelfth form of the sword diagram could be seen clear and distinct.

It was the Jade Seal of the Azure Heaven: the sword diagram was like a seal, the seal like heaven, the sword-light like the great norms of the heavenly Dao. Rank on rank of heavenly majesty crossed and interwove, shrouding the lantern within.

Inside the lantern that little sun burst forth; solar fire poured out unchecked, melting the sword-light. Its radiance pierced through and burned a great hole in the sword diagram.

"Sword God of Jingping, it is not that I am no match for you. In truth, my strength is beyond anything you can imagine!"

The lantern flew swiftly away, and the little man's voice came from far off, laughing: "But in this place, the stronger your power, the faster you turn to Void! When I brought Jue Wuchen here, I discovered this, and at once killed the companions who came with me, then severed my own cultivation! This sun within my lantern is what my cut-away cultivation became. Heh heh. If you wish to live, you must do as I did — kill the others who boarded with you, and sever your own cultivation. Otherwise, you too will turn to Void..."

The light vanished.

Li Zheng put away his sword and handed the hilt to Shen Mu; his flapping robes settled.

Shen Mu did not take the sword. He said gravely, "Li Zheng, Lin Xiao's words are most likely not true. Perhaps he is setting another trap to destroy us, to make us fight the other powerful ones to the death."

"It should be true." Li Zheng raised a hand and looked at his own skin; his flesh had already grown much fainter.

Shen Mu's heart trembled.

Li Zheng sighed. "The stronger the power, the faster one turns to Void. Then the first to turn to Void should be that corpse of the Supreme Emperor that Feng Qiuyun carried on her back. After that, the Ancestral Dragon King, Feng Qiuyun, the Crimson Bright Divine Son, Luo Wushuang, and those several attendants of Prince Qiuming. After that, it will be my turn, and Lord Dragon-Raiser's. This ship and Ling Heavenly Venerable's divine power must have come alive; they will weaken the powerful ones who pose the greatest threat to them. The greater the threat, the faster one turns to Void. Let us return now to the great hall where the Empress's coffin rests, and we will see!"

Shen Mu's heart grew heavy, and the three of them at once returned to the great hall.

In the hall eight dragons encircled the Empress's coffin, but the emperor's corpse in the Supreme Emperor's coffin had vanished, leaving only an empty coffin!

In the murals, Feng Qiuyun's figure had grown even dimmer, though the Earth Mother's Kunyuan Sword was still as it had been.

"I have already begun to turn to Void; the other boarders have no doubt begun to turn to Void as well."

Li Zheng said, "Shen-er, a very great power is hidden in your brow. You must seal it away, or you too will turn to Void! Only when you are weak enough to pose no threat to this ship can you keep your life! I am an old hand — trust me!"

Shen Mu took out the willow leaf and sealed the third eye in his brow. "Li Zheng, you should sever your cultivation as well..."

"No need!"

Li Zheng shook his head and smiled. "If I sever my cultivation, who will protect you? Besides, in one cycle of reincarnation only one person can survive. I must keep my cultivation. I must make certain that the one who survives is you."

Shen Mu's mind went blank.

Li Zheng patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Now that we have exposed Lin Xiao's identity, he will likely tell the others of this, and set us to slaughtering one another. To keep from turning to Void, the others will strike at us. If I sever my cultivation, you will scarcely escape death. You are the cleverest man in our village; only if you become the last survivor will there be any chance of unraveling this ship's uncanny divine power, any chance of freeing us from the Void. Lord Dragon-Raiser."

He turned to Lord Dragon-Raiser and said mildly, "You must remember this too: it is not so terrible to turn to Void. So long as your lord lives, he can free us both! Do not harbor any thought of betrayal, or I will be the first to take your life! If you wish to live, the simplest way is to keep your lord from dying! After I have turned to Void, it will fall to you to guard your lord's life with all your strength. Do you understand?"

Lord Dragon-Raiser grew solemn, cupped his fists and bowed. "Understood! Lord Dragon-Raiser will follow his lord unto death!"

Li Zheng walked on ahead and said gravely, "Let us continue to explore this ship, and find more clues before we turn to Void!"

They went on, passing the training grounds, until they came to the barracks — the halls great and small where the Feather Forest Army had dwelled.

The Feather Forest Army were the mightiest gods and demons of the Longhan era, and their treatment was naturally of the highest.

Li Zheng led them straight to the most magnificent of the main halls, which must have been where Wei Suifeng had lived.

Wei Suifeng, as Left General of the Feather Forest Army, held the highest rank, and he should by rights have dwelled in the most lavish of places.

On the pillars before the hall someone had inscribed several lines of verse, written in divine script, very graceful and delicate, as though from a woman's hand.

Shen Mu read them and said softly, "It is not a flower, nor yet a mist. It comes at midnight, departs at daybreak; it comes like a spring dream for but a little while, and goes like morning clouds, nowhere to be found." (1)

"Does this verse not speak precisely of the crossing through the Mist?" Shen Mu was dazed.

It comes at midnight, departs at daybreak — the Yong River crossing was the same: a crossing lasted only half a day. Cross at night and you return by day; cross by day and you return by night.

"This handwriting is... it was left by Ling Heavenly Venerable! She has been aboard this ship! The mystery of her divine power lies within this verse!"