Chapter 971 — Supreme One, Please Perish Here

The Tai Emperor's phantom split off a portion of its divine consciousness to block them. The phantom shrank a few more degrees and continued walking toward Shen Mu. Just then, an altar appeared in the sky, barring his path. Upon the altar, a massive head opened its eyes, its hollow, empty mouth opening and closing as it laughed: "Tai Emperor, long time no see!"

The swooping Tai Emperor's phantom halted at once, its gaze falling upon that incomplete head. In surprise, it said: "Shu Jun, one of the Three Kings of the Primordial Era? You're actually still alive?"

"That's right, this old man is alive!"

From Shu Jun's massive head, divine consciousness surged skyward, transforming into a colossal Creator with his own head tucked under his arm. He chuckled: "Didn't expect that, did you? This old man actually survived that battle! Tai Emperor, this old man is here—get lost!"

The Tai Emperor's phantom snorted coldly and said indifferently: "You are nothing but my defeated foe. Are you worthy of speaking of bravery?"

"Bah!"

Shu Jun sneered: "Tai Emperor, back then, if you hadn't gathered all the clans of the world to visualize you together, could you have defeated the Three Kings and proclaimed yourself emperor? Don't leave today—I'll fight you three hundred rounds!"

The Tai Emperor's phantom chuckled softly: "Your body is broken now, your divine consciousness unrecovered. To fight you, why would I need three hundred rounds?"

His body flickered, splitting into two. One Tai Emperor phantom went to meet Shu Jun, while the other walked toward Shen Mu.

Shu Jun was furious: "You underestimate me? This old man will show you my Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness!"

His divine consciousness erupted. The many star gods and demons of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, the Supreme Palace Enclosure, and the Heavenly Market Enclosure all emerged together. Starlight surged, transforming into a void storm. From the storm's center, countless towering gods and demons charged out madly, their forms almost identical to ancient gods, brandishing sabers, spears, swords, and halberds as they rushed at the Tai Emperor's phantom.

"The Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness is nothing more than this. Can it compare to my Daluo Supreme Divine Consciousness?"

That Tai Emperor phantom laughed heartily and also visualized various divine beings. The two sides slaughtered each other.

Shu Jun roared like thunder. His massive head flew up and charged at that Tai Emperor phantom. The Tai Emperor showed no fear, engaging him in close combat, fighting until Shen Mu's Primal Embryo Divine Treasury cracked and crumbled!

The other Tai Emperor phantom lightly paused and landed before Shen Mu's spirit fetus, gazing at him curiously.

Shen Mu likewise studied this legendary being with curiosity. The "Tai" in Tai Emperor meant ancient, beginning, primordial. The Tai Emperor was the most ancient and primordial Heaven Emperor.

Such a being could not help but arouse his curiosity.

"Longhan Tyrant Body, you and I finally meet," the Tai Emperor's phantom said with a smile.

Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. He said: "The Tai Emperor knows of me?"

"In the early years of Longhan, you were enfeoffed as Mu Tianzun at the Jade Pool Grand Gathering. I was there too—only I was at the Heavenly Court Grand Gathering, attending the grand feast of His Majesty the Heaven Emperor."

The Tai Emperor's phantom said with a smile: "By the time I heard the name Mu Tianzun, Mu Tianzun had already left the Longhan Heavenly Court. How regrettable that I could not meet you."

Shen Mu said with a smile: "I traveled back to the early years of Longhan and met many beings who later became renowned throughout the world, but there were also many I never met. So then, the Tai Emperor intends to seize my body?"

The Tai Emperor's phantom shook its head: "Not seizure, but life-borrowing."

Shen Mu asked curiously: "What is life-borrowing? What is the difference between life-borrowing and body seizure?"

"The difference is great."

The Tai Emperor's phantom said calmly: "Body seizure is devouring your soul and using my soul to occupy your physical body. Life-borrowing, however, has nothing to do with the soul—it is a level above body seizure. The soul is supremely important to you, but for us, what we rely on to live is not the soul but divine consciousness. Divine consciousness is the root of life."

He smiled gently: "I use my own powerful divine consciousness to erase your divine consciousness, yet your soul remains. Strictly speaking, after life-borrowing, only your consciousness dies. You as a person, including your soul, do not die. Consider that a small consolation."

Shen Mu's gaze flickered. He said with a smile: "Very well, very well. To go through fire and water for Your Majesty and offer my body—I am deeply honored. But how did Your Majesty come to such an end?"

The Tai Emperor's phantom's expression shifted slightly. It shook its head and said with a smile: "There's no harm in telling you, but not telling you is more convenient."

He stepped forward and said: "You should sleep now."

His form suddenly transformed into rolling streams of divine consciousness, hurtling toward Shen Mu's brow like a wisp of blue smoke, seeking to burrow into Shen Mu's spirit fetus!

Suddenly, the sky became incomparably bright. Countless starlights shone, converging into a pillar of light that descended from the heavens, landing before Shen Mu and transforming into a Tiangong with white brows and white beard, who raised his hand to block the stream of divine consciousness formed by the Tai Emperor's phantom.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—countless rays of light fell. One after another, the Celestial Stars True Gods rose slowly from the Taiji Diagram, trapping the stream of divine consciousness.

That stream of divine consciousness coalesced, once again becoming the Tai Emperor's phantom, which looked around with a grave expression.

At the same time, beneath his feet, he saw Tubo on the reverse side of the Taiji Diagram.

Whether Tiangong or Tubo, even these Celestial Stars True Gods—all of them bore Shen Mu's face!

The Tai Emperor's phantom's eye twitched. It laughed despite itself: "Mu Tianzun, do you intend to reenact the ancient gods' siege against us Primordial Creators? What a grand spectacle. Only, your spectacle seems to be missing quite a few ancient gods."

"Is Your Majesty looking for the Earth Mother, Tianyin, and the Four Directions Four Emperors of the ancient gods?"

Shen Mu smiled faintly. Behind him, a primal wood took root and sprouted, in an instant growing into a tree that reached the heavens. As the primal wood grew, a woman walked out from the tree—and she too bore Shen Mu's face, a male visage on a female body.

At the same time, from the shadow of Tiangong Shen Mu emerged a goddess, likewise a female body with a male visage.

Then, the four emperors—Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger—walked over from the four directions of the Taiji Diagram, east, south, west, and north. Only, all of them wore Shen Mu's face.

The Tai Emperor's phantom's expression shifted slightly. It said with a smile: "It seems Shu Jun passed his Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness to you, and you merged the Three Enclosures Higher Consciousness with the Rune Great Dao—that is how you managed this. Unfortunately, you never witnessed the Battle of the Blood Rust Zone. You are missing the two goddesses of Guixu, and you are missing the Heaven Emperor. You cannot do anything to me."

Shen Mu smiled: "In the world of the Primal Embryo Divine Treasury that I opened, I am the Heaven Emperor here."

He swayed lightly, his body swelling section by section. His soul and spirit fetus merged into one, his primordial spirit vast, his voice like thunder: "To invite the gentleman into the jar, how could I not put down some capital?"