Chapter 834 — Seizing the Might of the Four Emperors

One after another, towering gods and demons rose to their feet, gazing at the youth who walked toward them.

The tally was a symbol of identity, a warrant for mustering troops; the Ten Guards of Heaven recognized the tally, not the man.

The Ten Guards answered only to the Celestial Emperor—without the tally, not even a commander could move their armies.

To command the Ten Guards of Heaven, there were only two ways: the tally, or the Celestial Emperor in person.

With the tally in hand, Shen Mu became the Right General of the Yulin Army, and held the power to command their forces.

The tally had been taken away by the founding patriarch Wei Suifeng and entrusted to the Old Man of Qinghuang, who in turn gave it to Shen Mu. Shen Mu had boarded the ship with the tally in hand but could never command these mightiest gods and demons—until he came to the source of the ghost ship's cycle of reincarnation. As the Yulin Army turned from illusion to substance, Shen Mu could at last wield the tally and command this terrible power.

Before the ranked lines of the Yulin Army, Shen Mu's features gradually changed, returning to the countenance of Mu Tianzun.

Mu Qing of the Nine Tianzuns, Mu Tianzun.

The Yulin Army's divine warriors watched his face change, and though a trace of surprise flickered in their eyes, not one of them asked.

In the Longhan era, the Nine Tianzuns each had their own strengths and marvels, each with extraordinary achievements; yet the most mysterious and unfathomable were Shen Tianzun and this Mu Tianzun before them—their comings and goings as elusive as the dragon's head appearing but never the tail. Whoever held the tally was their leader, and that was the end of it.

Shen Mu raised his hand; a sword flew out, slicing through the pillar on which Ling Tianzun had left her verse. As the pillar flew toward him, his body swelled section by section; he reached out, seized the pillar in his hand, and walked on, with tens of thousands of Yulin Army gods and demons following close behind. Zhe Huali, mustering his courage, followed close behind Shen Mu, only to realize that Shen Mu was leading these gods and demons straight toward the great hall where the Empress's coffin rested.

Before the hall, a dragon god of immense power was bound among chains, glaring viciously at Shen Mu as he approached.

"Heaven and earth can change, yet the thirty-six constants do not!

" he shouted. "What does it mean?

Tell me, what does it mean? " Shen Mu halted, his mind ringing.

Zhe Huali said hastily, "Sect Master Shen, why have you stopped? This dragon has been raving the same words all along, mad and babbling. . .

" Shen Mu shook his head, coming back to himself, and pointed at the King of Longbo with a sudden laugh.

"When I boarded this ship, that was the very thing you said. I always thought you were mad, spouting nonsense.

I never imagined you weren't questioning the others—you were questioning me! " He felt a sense of absurdity. The old dragon's expression turned wild, and he snarled, "Say it, what does it mean! " Shen Mu smiled faintly.

"Only by unraveling the immutable constants can one leave.

" With that, he turned and led the Yulin Army warriors into the great hall.

"Unravel the immutable constants? " The old dragon was taken aback, then cried out, "How?

Don't go!

Come back and tell me, how do I unravel the immutable constants? " Shen Mu entered the hall, where eight colossal dragons stood guard over the Empress's coffin, all bound in chains.

This time, the eight dragons had not been turned to stone.

He opened the passage once more and led the Yulin Army warriors into the ship's interior, then sealed the passage behind them.

In a low voice, he asked, "Did General Wei teach you to set the Four Phases Tribulation Array? " Tens of thousands of gods and demons immediately took their positions, forming the Four Phases Tribulation Array spread neatly around the ship's bottom, awaiting inspection.

Shen Mu made a circuit of inspection and let out a breath of relief. Wei Suifeng had trained these warriors well, passing on to them the Four Phases Tribulation Array from the Dayu Youmo Scripture.

He came to the center of the array and planted the pillar bearing Ling Tianzun's verse at its heart. In a low voice, he said, "The Four Emperors should be arriving.

If they do not board the ship during this cycle of reincarnation, then all my preparations will be for nothing. I only hope they come. . .

" Suddenly, the ghost ship trembled gently and came to a stop.

"This ship vanished for twenty thousand years, and has finally appeared again.

" A heavy voice came from outside—a voice Shen Mu had heard before. It was the voice of Xuanwu, the Northern Emperor.

At the Jade Pool Assembly, when Niu Sanduo wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Court, he had tried to seize the Heavenly River for battle, only for the Northern Emperor Xuanwu to suppress it. It must be the Northern Emperor Xuanwu who had stopped the ghost ship.

He claimed to be an ancient god born in the Heavenly River, and stopping a ghost ship that sailed upon it was no difficulty for him.

As master of the Heavenly River, spotting the ghost ship was equally easy. The voice of Qinglong, the Eastern Emperor, followed: "Brother Xuanwu, the case of the Empress's assassination is riddled with doubts, and the Yulin Army vanished on its return voyage.

Piecing these two matters together, there must be something deeply amiss within—it cannot go unexamined.

. . Western Emperor, Southern Emperor, you've finally arrived. " Four immeasurably powerful and sacred auras arrived.

Shen Mu relaxed. "Just as I predicted, all four Emperors are here! This is the only chance to escape—I cannot fail!

" "The Empress was attacked, the Yulin Army suppressed the rebellion, and then the Yulin Army vanished on the Heavenly River—this caused a sensation twenty thousand years ago. " Shen Mu heard a familiar voice and could not help but smile.

It was the voice of Zhu Quer—Zhu Quer, the Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird.

Her voice continued: "Rumors flew in those days.

I heard that before the return voyage, General Wei Suifeng sent someone ahead to the Heavenly Court to report what had happened at Guixu. I looked into it—General Wei sent someone to inform the Celestial Emperor that the Empress had died at Guixu, and that he was bringing her body back to the Heavenly Court by ship. Yet the Empress's body should have been aboard the Yulin Army's ship, vanishing along with them. The Yulin Army vanished, but the Empress appeared in the Heavenly Court. That has always puzzled me. " Another woman's voice came—surely Baihu, the Western Emperor. "Sister Zhuque, it was the Great Sun Star Lord who told you this, wasn't it?

I once asked him as well. He told me the same thing—that little bird knows a great many secrets. What's suspicious isn't only the Empress rising from the dead, but also that the warrior General Wei sent to report to the Celestial Emperor vanished without a trace, completely evaporated, never to be found again! Utterly bizarre! " "What's even stranger is that all these odd occurrences took place on the Heavenly River, and yet Brother Xuanwu claims to know nothing! " The Southern Emperor Zhuque said coolly, "Can anything on the Heavenly River be hidden from you? Yet you plead ignorance, Brother Xuanwu—you are highly suspect.

" The Northern Emperor Xuanwu gave a cold snort. The Eastern Emperor Qinglong cleared his throat.

"Brother Xuanwu is not that sort of man. It was Brother Xuanwu who informed us of this ship's reappearance and asked us to come as witnesses.

If he were responsible, why would he invite us?

Since we're here, let us board and investigate! " Suddenly, the ghost ship sank slightly—the Four Emperors must have broken through the black miasma surrounding it and boarded. "This ship is strange! " The Western Emperor's startled voice came.

"A power is trying to invade me! " "I feel it too!