Chapter 981 — One Boat, Three Venerables

The Ark of the Other Shore sailed onward along the Void Bridge. This vessel was branded with hundreds of millions of runic seals, and whenever the great ship encountered a place where the void had ruptured, those runes would burst into radiance, holding back the might of the void.

The Ark of the Other Shore was the crystallization of the wisdom of the Kaihuang era. Moreover, because Kaihuang possessed the Geographic Map of the Great Void bestowed upon him by Heaven Venerable Yun, he alone had been able to cross the Void Bridge that even Heaven Venerable Xu could not cross.

Yet Shen Mu felt a measure of unease. After all, this ship had been visualized into being by his own mind, not forged by countless gods and demons. Whether in the sturdiness of its hull or in the power of its runes, it was far inferior to the true Ark of the Other Shore.

"If only we can cross the Void Bridge safely," he thought silently.

The Void Bridge was broken and intermittent. Whenever they reached a break, the void annihilated, the void erupted, and one small universe after another was born and destroyed, destroyed and born, eroding the runes upon the ship's surface so that countless runes perished without cease.

Shen Mu's expression shifted slightly. He looked back and saw that their ship had only reached one-tenth of the Void Bridge; the end was still very far away.

Luo Wushuang's expression changed as well. The peril of the Void Bridge far exceeded his expectations. The power unleashed by the annihilated void of this bridge was such that even a great expert of his Lingxiao Realm would likely be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

That the Ark of the Other Shore visualized by Shen Mu had held out this long was already beyond his expectations.

And now, the Ark of the Other Shore had begun to show damage, which meant this ship absolutely could not last across the Void Bridge—perhaps not even half its length.

"Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury Domain, open!"

Shen Mu gave a low shout. The Divine Treasury Domain opened, and he stood alone within it, stars glittering above his head, illuminating his face as it transformed into the Heavenly Lord, while the Taiji Diagram reflected his face and transformed into Tubo.

Behind him the Primordial Tree flourished verdantly. Above the tree, the stars of the heavens emerged, and one ancient god after another surfaced from among the constellations, while the Four Emperors of the four directions stood at the four poles of the Taiji Diagram.

These gods and demons all bore Shen Mu's face.

Though Shen Mu was aware that the Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury Domain had great shortcomings, his own domain was not yet fully refined, so he could only use the Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury Domain as an emergency measure.

Shen Mu stood at the center of the Divine Treasury Domain and activated the Mystic Body Three Cores Art. Within the domain, vital essence and divine consciousness darted swiftly between heaven and earth like dragons and serpents, transforming into streams of light that connected more than two thousand ancient gods.

He had comprehended the Great Emperor's Supreme Divine Consciousness of the Great Luo. Though it was only a fragmentary text, that fragment encompassed the forms of more than two thousand ancient gods—grander and more monumental than the present celestial system of ancient gods.

Vital essence and divine consciousness connected all the ancient gods between heaven and earth, forming a massive system of ancient gods within his Divine Treasury Domain.

These two thousand-plus ancient gods—all Shen Mu—visualized together to repair the damage to the Ark of the Other Shore, allowing the great ship to break through layer after layer of void and sail toward the end of the Void Bridge.

The Ark of the Other Shore shook violently, and within Shen Mu's Divine Treasury Domain, the ancient gods one by one lost their footing, making Luo Wushuang's heart leap with fright.

"I'm commanding so many ancient gods at once that my control is unsteady—not enough to repair the Ark of the Other Shore!"

As soon as this thought crossed Shen Mu's mind, he closed his eyes and sank into a dream. A massive bubble emerged from between his brows—that was the dream world. The dream world grew broader and broader, gradually enveloping the Divine Treasury Domain.

Within the Divine Treasury Domain, those two thousand-plus ancient gods—all Shen Mu—smiled and entered dreams one after another. One bubble-like dream world after another emerged, and the myriad ancient gods visualized separately within their dream worlds.

This was a double-layered dream.

In this way, even if a few ancient gods made errors in their visualization within the dream worlds, more ancient gods visualized correctly. The margin for error increased greatly, ensuring that the Ark of the Other Shore remained in a constant state of repair.

The Ark of the Other Shore stabilized once more. Luo Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Shen Mu within the Divine Treasury Domain, and thought, "I wonder how long he can hold out..."

The Ark of the Other Shore pressed onward. The runes on its hull broke and reformed continuously; it remained relatively stable, though its speed gradually slowed.

Looking toward the destination, it was only a tiny point of light. Only Heaven Venerable Xu was trapped in the void storm, still struggling, trying to break free and rush to the end of the Void Bridge.

The Ark of the Other Shore began to tremble again. Luo Wushuang frowned and called out loudly, "Sect Master Shen, we cannot go any further! Your divine consciousness cannot keep up!"

Shen Mu was within the double-layered dream; his words could not reach the second layer.

Luo Wushuang grew alarmed. He hurried to the ship's side and looked down, seeing the hull's runes continuously peeling off and turning to dust in the void storm.

At the same time, new runes formed on the ship. The rate of rune formation and the rate of rune peeling were held in a wondrous balance.

"Sect Master Shen can still hold on, but I fear not for much longer."

Luo Wushuang felt uneasy. Shen Mu was now within the double-layered dream and could not hear his words, so he could not wake him.

If Shen Mu could not sense the current peril and persisted stubbornly, the Ark of the Other Shore would likely soon be destroyed upon the Void Bridge, reduced to dust.

Just then, the Ark of the Other Shore suddenly halted, docking at a section of light bridge upon the Void Bridge.

Luo Wushuang was startled. There was no void storm on the light bridge, so they could take temporary shelter.

However, the light bridges were isolated islands, suspended neither in heaven nor on earth. Being trapped here was never a complete solution.

Shen Mu woke. The dream worlds dispersed. His divine consciousness was nearly exhausted, and he had no choice but to stop advancing and cultivate to replenish it.

"Sect Master Shen, do not force it. With this ship we can leave the Great Void and return to the Heavenly Court. This ship is enough to withstand the strangeness of the Great Void."

Luo Wushuang suggested, "Your divine consciousness cultivation is insufficient now. It will not be too late to explore the Void Bridge after your cultivation advances."

"That reasoning is sound."

Shen Mu activated the Mystic Body Three Cores Art to rapidly restore his divine consciousness and smiled. "But we have already crossed most of the Void Bridge. The other shore is not far. No matter what, we must try."

Luo Wushuang frowned deeply.

"Brother Luo, rest assured. I know my limits."

Shen Mu, full of confidence, smiled. "Reaching the other shore is difficult, but turning back is easy. If I cannot hold on, I will turn around immediately."

Luo Wushuang was still somewhat uneasy. He regarded Shen Mu as his lifelong rival and had studied Shen Mu's habits deeply, knowing that this fellow would not turn back until he hit a wall.