Chapter 834 — Seizing the Might of the Four Emperors

A very strange power, trying to control me!

" "Not control—it's stripping away our power.

.

. not just our power, but our very flesh! This power is trying to merge us with it!

" "This ship.

.

. it's alive!

It's a trap! " Boom, boom—waves of terrible force swept through the ship as the Four Emperors tried to break Ling Tianzun's divine ability. The Eastern Emperor transformed into an Azure Dragon, shaking its head and tail as it flew out of the ghost ship, its body disappearing into the black miasma outside.

The next moment, the Eastern Emperor Qinglong abruptly reappeared on the ship, landing and taking several swift steps, his face showing astonishment. The Eastern Emperor flew out again, and the next moment he was back on the ship. He flew out dozens of times, yet always reappeared on the ship.

Even an ancient god who commanded an entire heavenly palace could not help but feel some alarm. The other three ancient god Emperors each tried their own methods to leave the ship. The Southern Emperor Zhuque was the fastest: she leaped up, transformed into a Vermilion Bird, and fled—yet no matter how she flew, no matter how fast, she always returned to the ship. The Northern Emperor, master of the Heavenly River, tried to hurl the ship out of the river—but even when the ghost ship was flung away, it returned to the river's surface the next moment.

The Western Emperor manipulated metal qi, splitting and severing the black miasma around the ship, hacking it to pieces—yet the miasma swiftly recovered. This ship held mysteries that even the Four Emperors found unfathomable.

The ghost ship was a vast living entity that locked down everything, and the divine ability surrounding it was one they had never seen or heard of before! The Four Emperors possessed the power to reshape heaven and earth, each commanding an immeasurably mighty Great Dao, their cultivation profound beyond measure—yet before this ship, they were helpless.

"Join forces and break the divine ability around the ship! " The Four Emperors struck as one, attacking the black fog outside the ship. At that very moment, they suddenly felt the power within their divine abilities draining away at incredible speed, as if stolen!

Alarmed, the Four Emperors frantically channeled their magic and attacked with abandon. Within the ship's hull, the Four Phases Tribulation Array activated.

Shen Mu presided over it, siphoning the Four Emperors' power.

The array's might grew stronger and stronger, and at its center appeared the visions of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—roaring and surging! Suddenly, the Four Emperors' power burst forth with a thunderous roar, sending four beams of light that shone upon the pillar bearing Ling Tianzun's verse. Flowers that are not flowers, mist that is not mist.

Coming at midnight, gone by dawn.

Coming like a spring dream of brief duration, departing like morning clouds with no place to be found. The twenty-six characters gradually began to shine, growing ever brighter. "The Four Emperors don't know it is I who am stealing their power.

" Shen Mu smiled. His steps shifted, arms growing from beneath his armpits, runes bursting from his fingertips as he pointed at the twenty-six characters on the pillar, gradually awakening the divine ability hidden within them!

The twenty-six characters grew larger and larger, peeling off the pillar and floating in the air, each one a hundred zhang in breadth, spread across the sky. These twenty-six characters were composed of countless complex and minuscule runes.

Shen Mu studied them and drew upon the power of the Four Phases Tribulation Array to alter the structure of the runes.

The characters remained the same, but the runes composing them were changing, and the power hidden within was gradually awakened!

This was the most crucial moment. The smile faded from Shen Mu's face; he could not help but grow anxious, wavering between hope and fear. Suddenly, the voice of the King of Longbo came from the ghost ship's deck, shouting loudly: "Four Emperors, stop!

You may not know it, but there is more than just you on this ship! " The Four Emperors abruptly stopped attacking the black miasma outside the ship, and the Four Phases Tribulation Array could no longer siphon their power.

Shen Mu's heart skipped, and his expression darkened. "King of Longbo! " The Northern Emperor Xuanwu's voice came. "You rebelled and wreaked havoc, and were captured by General Wei.

I wonder who gave you such audacity. " Cold sweat broke out on Shen Mu's forehead.

He shouted sternly: "All warriors, hear my command—channel all the power of the Four Phases Tribulation Array to me! " The stolen power within the array surged toward him in a torrent.

The King of Longbo's voice came from outside: "There is someone beneath this ship's deck—the Right General of the Yulin Army!

He is directing the Yulin Army to steal your power; he wants to destroy you and trap you here!

They are dead men, they are ghosts, they cannot be observed!

" Shen Mu gritted his teeth and channeled all his cultivation to alter the runic structure of the twenty-six characters. Hearing the King of Longbo's words, Zhe Huali longed to rush out at once and hack the old dragon king to pieces.

At that moment, the firmament within the ghost ship's interior seemed to melt. Great hands descended from the sky, reaching down to seize Yulin Army warriors one by one and haul them upward!

The deck rattled and shook, planks clapping together to form black coffins that sealed the warriors inside.

Shen Mu shouted sternly: "Maintain the array—do not break ranks! " These warriors were immensely powerful; united against a foe, they could suppress even a master like the King of Longbo, and could stand their ground against the Four Emperors. But with Shen Mu as their commander, once the order was given, they abandoned resistance and kept the array running. Hands continued to descend, sealing more of the Yulin Army.

Fewer and fewer warriors remained around Shen Mu; with each loss, the others shifted their formation to keep the array running, without a word of complaint.

"Eldest Senior Brother trained these Yulin Army warriors too well. " Shen Mu finally finished adjusting the runic structure of the twenty-six characters.

They blazed with light, intense radiance pouring out from the ship's interior, so bright that even the Four Emperors on the deck could not see clearly and had to shield their eyes. "Warriors all, wait for me. " Shen Mu bowed deeply to the remaining warriors and said in a low voice: "The Four Emperors' seals cannot hold you.

Once you turn to illusion, you will break free. In the future, I will completely unravel Ling Tianzun's divine ability and free you from this state between life and death.

" "Swear it.

" The faces beneath the helmets turned to look at him. Shen Mu raised his palm. "I swear on my life. .

. " At that moment, more great hands descended, seizing the remaining warriors—along with Shen Mu and Zhe Huali—and hauling them upward. "Sister, do you remember Mu?

" Shen Mu raised his head and called out.

On the deck, the woman who had seized Shen Mu and Zhe Huali showed astonishment. She blurted out: "Mu Tianzun? " "Sister, I will explain everything later—release us now!

" The Southern Emperor Zhu Quer opened her hand.

The twenty-six characters exploded with a resonant hum, light sweeping in all directions, and the black mist outside the ship was wiped away in an instant! It seemed an instant had passed—or countless eons. The light before Shen Mu's eyes faded, and he found himself standing in darkness on the surface of the Yongjiang River, with the Village Chief and Huanlong Jun running up to him from behind. Shen Mu looked down into the water.

A ghost ship was sailing beneath the surface.

He turned to look at the shore.