Chapter 1044 — The Sacred Emperor and the Four Directional God-Kings

The God King Langwan's eyes were like autumn waters as she said softly, "The ancient gods are not to be trusted. No ancient god is. Holy Infant, you bear the hopes of the Creators..."

Shen Mu looked at her and said quietly, "Do the Creators have the strength to stand against the Heavenly Court?"

The God King Langwan sat there quietly, her gaze fixed on the surging torrent beyond, where the spirit-energy translocation bridges flowed. Her eyes seemed deep and captivating as she said, "Holy Infant, the enmity between the ancient gods and the Creators is a hatred born of clan extermination. You cannot possibly reconcile it. This deep and bitter hatred is rooted in the very minds of the Creators, passed down from generation to generation. In the same way, the ancient gods will never let the Creators go."

This spirit-energy translocation bridge led to the Northern Pole Heaven. The Four Pole Heavens had already been linked by the ancient gods' Four Emperors; bridge after bridge of spirit-energy translocation connected the four pole realms, making travel convenient.

In former times, when gods and demons of every stripe hurried to the Four Pole Realms, they relied on the celestial river's waterways, traveling by boat, and it took a hundred years or more to get from the Heavenly Court to the Four Pole Heaven.

Of course, that was relative to ordinary gods and demons. For experts of the Imperial Throne level and Heavenly Worthies of immense power, the time required was considerably shorter.

The shortest route was to go to Youdu or Xuandu and use them to cut the journey short. Youdu had the paper boat of the old Yin Emissary; boarding it to travel to the four poles of the cosmos saved both time and effort.

Xuandu sat at the center of the cosmos, where space itself was twisted, and there were Sun Wardens of every kind; one could ride a golden crow to the Four Pole Heaven.

And with the spirit-energy translocation bridges, it was even more time-saving and effortless.

Shen Mu also gazed out the window. After a moment of silence, he murmured, "I am in difficulty too, Sister Langwan. I truly am..."

The God King Langwan glanced at him and said no more.

A long while later, Shen Mu asked, "You have examined the divine artifact, the Heavenly Worthy Regent, for so long. What have you found?"

The God King Langwan's eyes flickered. "The divine artifact, the Heavenly Worthy Regent, is indeed incomparably powerful. That the Heavenly Court could forge such a divine artifact means they could be said to be invincible under heaven—and it will not run out of control like the Great Emperor or the Heavenly Emperor. With such a divine artifact suppressing the heavens, the Heavenly Court's dominion would be forever secure, with no fear of being overthrown. Yet there is a weakness."

Shen Mu looked toward her and ventured, "Divine consciousness?"

The God King Langwan nodded. "A very great weakness. The divine artifact, the Heavenly Worthy Regent, is not the Heavenly Worthy's true physical body, but a manufactured weapon. The Heavenly Worthy must send his primordial spirit to reside within it before he can wield the Heavenly Worthy Regent's mighty power. But we Creators can bring to bear a powerful divine consciousness, and before the Heavenly Worthy takes control of the divine artifact, Heavenly Worthy Regent, we can seize control of the Regent first."

Shen Mu's eyes flickered. "You did not tamper with the God Emperor Langxuan's divine artifact, the Heavenly Worthy Regent, did you? There is one thing I have not yet had the chance to tell you—the God Emperor Langxuan is the son of the Heavenly Emperor and the Zhonggong Yun God King, one of the three ancient kings. He is half a Creator. His divine consciousness may not be the weaker for it!"

The God King Langwan stared at him wide-eyed and said in astonishment, "The God Emperor Langxuan is the son of the Heavenly Emperor? If that is so, then among the Heavenly Court's Ten Heavenly Worthies, does the Heavenly Emperor's own family not occupy half?"

Shen Mu thought about it, and indeed it was so.

The ancient god Heavenly Emperor, the Empress Consort Niangniang, Lady Yuanmu, the Heavenly Worthy Haotian, and the God Emperor Langxuan—the Heavenly Emperor's family alone accounted for five!

Apart from the Heavenly Emperor, there was also the Great Emperor Juyu of the Juyu Clan. Among the Ten Heavenly Worthies, only four had no such deep background!

"The East Emperor told me that his bloodline is the foremost bloodline under heaven, yet he merely sired many. The Heavenly Emperor, by contrast, sired ones of higher quality."

Shen Mu could not help but sigh with feeling, then said, "By the way, the Eastern Pole Heaven should not be the Ancestral Court either, should it?"

The God King Langwan shook her head. "It is not. However, within the Eastern Pole Heaven there are treasures from the Ancestral Court—Lingbao Mountain and the Jade Pool are both things of the Ancestral Court."

Shen Mu was deeply stirred. That the Creators' Ancestral Court should hold such treasures?

He could not help but look forward all the more to the Ancestral Court.

In the Eastern Pole Heaven, the East Emperor Azure Dragon led his civil and military ministers back to the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace. Crown Prince Yuanlong said, "Father God, will you truly not send anyone to hunt down and kill the Shepherd Heavenly Worthy and seize back Lingbao Mountain?"

The East Emperor shook his head and laughed. "Though Lingbao Mountain is precious, it is merely a treasure I used to whet my teeth on, not the most precious strange treasure of my Eastern Pole Heaven. Though he took my face from me, I have given him away nine times over; the Heavenly Court can no longer tolerate him, and will certainly send men to hunt him down."

Crown Prince Yuanlong said hesitantly, "Father God, since you need the Shepherd Heavenly Worthy, why then push him into such dire straits?"

The East Emperor shot him a glance and said blandly, "The Shepherd Heavenly Worthy is unruly and untamable, far too difficult to control. He is nothing more than a human junior whose luck has been unbelievably good, who by some chance and coincidence came to his present station. Had he been sensible, he would have obediently accepted my two trials. Yet he wished to turn guest into host, to take my face from me, to claim a station on equal footing with the ancient gods."

There was no lack of anger in his voice, yet his tone only grew more indifferent as he said, "If he were to grow to maturity, what difference would there be between him and the Heavenly Court's Ten Heavenly Worthies?"

"The Heavenly Court's Ten Heavenly Worthies aim to eradicate us ancient gods and seize complete power for themselves. And our ancient gods' aim, apart from self-preservation, is likewise to eradicate them—not to cultivate a rival!"

He strode forward, came to the Lingxiao Hall, and sat down directly upon the throne. His long, slender fingers spread out and gripped the armrests of the imperial seat, his majesty bearing down upon the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace. Coldly he said, "The Shepherd Heavenly Worthy has never grasped this point. Since he has not grasped it, then let reality beat it into him! After he leaves the Eastern Pole Heaven, let him run into walls at every turn, batter his head till it bleeds, break his bones and snap his sinews—then he will lower himself and bow his head to the ancient gods, and do his work honestly!"

His gaze was like lightning as he swept it over Crown Prince Yuanlong, his voice cutting like a blade: "The ancient gods, from the most ancient times to now, have been the masters of this cosmos. The so-called Creators, the so-called demigods, the so-called Ten Heavenly Worthies, the so-called human race—all are mere passersby. It is our charity that gave you the chance to survive; it is we who maintain the order of the cosmos and primeval chaos, giving you the possibility to multiply!"