Chapter 1080 — Tidings of That Expert's Death

Again and again Shen Mu tried to sense the altar outside the Ancestral Court, and again and again he failed; there was always a force in the void interfering with his divine consciousness. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead despite himself — that interference came from within the ore vein; plainly, Dahong was sabotaging his reverse summoning.

Suddenly he felt the interference vanish, and at once his spirits soared: his divine consciousness had at last made contact with the altar outside the Ancestral Court! Overjoyed, Shen Mu immediately stirred the divine ability of reverse summoning; vital essence and divine consciousness mingled as he worked the altar beyond the Ancestral Court from afar.

Just then he seemed to hear a song — exquisite and lilting, yet bleak, desolate, plaintive — like a woman forsaken singing by the river, singing as she walked into the water, little by little vanishing into the cold river.

He turned to look, and saw a queen in full ceremonial dress walking toward him, Dahong in her grip.

Shen Mu's vision swam; the Ancestral Court before his eyes vanished, and he heard the sound of flowing water. The scene before him shifted, and a river appeared, its surface veiled in faint mist, while a woman in anguish walked toward the middle of the stream, her body slowly swallowed by the water. She hummed a mournful ballad, but he could not understand the words.

"An illusion!

" Shen Mu abruptly roused his divine consciousness and shouted in fury: "A divine-consciousness illusion!

You dare swing a blade before me — I am the grandmaster of divine-consciousness illusions! " He heard a woman's voice whisper at his ear: "I am the ancestor of divine-consciousness illusions.

" Shen Mu gritted his teeth and stirred the Profound Body Three Elixirs Art, marshaling the Supreme Divine Consciousness of Daluo, the Scripture of Immeasurable Kalpas, deploying every divine-consciousness ability he knew, striving to shatter this sudden illusion.

Yet he felt his body and primal spirit moving beyond his control, carrying on the reverse summoning, the link with the altar outside the Ancestral Court growing ever tighter.

Cold sweat sprang from Shen Mu's brow: Divine King Gongyun's divine-consciousness illusion had already invaded his very flesh, making him carry her and Dahong away from this place. He tried to break it, but clearly Divine King Gongyun's consciousness was above his own, pressing him steadily down.

The reverse summoning opened; the void shook, and another altar surfaced from the depths of the void.

Radiance blazed! Shen Mu clenched his jaw, fighting desperately against Divine King Gongyun's divine-consciousness illusion.

The river and the woman within it vanished and appeared by turns, clarity turning hazy again and again, haze turning clear again and again. That desolate song receded and drew near, and again and again it battered down Shen Mu's divine consciousness.

Suddenly the woman's voice came to his ear: "Are you Mu Qing? The divine-consciousness abilities of later ages are truly no small thing.

Perhaps we shall meet again in the future — if you do not die.

.

.

" The voice drifted further and further away; all the illusions before Shen Mu vanished, and all around him blazed with lamplight. The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot had appeared upon the altar outside the Ancestral Court. That lamplight came from the tower ships and great warships of the Heavenly River Navy!

Countless tower ships and great warships had sealed this place in layer upon layer, banners streaming and fluttering from their decks, and numberless heavenly soldiers and heavenly generals of the Heavenly Court stood upon the altar; besides the Heavenly River Navy, there were also the armies of the Nanluo Sect.

After they had entered the Ancestral Court, these two armies had still pursued them here and kept watch outside the altar, hoping to catch a turtle in a jar! Luo Xiao, driving the giant void beast, had already charged into the encirclement, striving to cut his way out, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Brother Mu, follow me and let us fight our way out! " Countless heavenly soldiers and generals activated their formation arrays and surrounded him on every side; from the ships countless divine weapons and countless divine abilities soared up and came thundering toward him.

Still other numberless heavenly soldiers and generals pinned down the altar and killed their way toward it. Shen Mu looked all around, but did not see Divine King Gongyun, nor did he see Dahong.

To that ancient divine king, even more troops could not have held her; for not even Shen Mu's divine consciousness could break her divine-consciousness illusion.

She came and went through the armies of the Heavenly River Navy and the Nanluo Sect as though through unpeopled land. This goddess-king had taken Dahong away, and what awaited Dahong would be endless torment and humiliation. "Gongyun — could she be the Gong Tianzun of later ages?

" Shen Mu wondered silently. His gaze passed over the countless gods and demons charging in and fell upon Luo Xiao, who was fighting desperately.

Luo Xiao had already fallen into heavy encirclement; the Heavenly River Navy and the Nanluo Sect had laid a net spanning heaven and earth, and even Shen Mu would have found it hard to escape such layers of entrapment. "Luo Xiao!

" Shen Mu's divine consciousness surged and rushed that way, yet amid the might of countless divine abilities and divine weapons his consciousness was shattered again and again: "Do not take the void beast back to Taixu! That void beast was not subdued by you — it was subdued by the Great Emperor and deliberately given to you!

Do not bring it back to Taixu!

" Countless divine weapons shrieked up, a vast black mass, completely blocking the altar.

Yan'er hastily lifted the lantern, her face pale as she watched, and urged: "Young Master! If we do not leave now it will be too late!

" Shen Mu's divine consciousness struck out once more, but still he could not drive it to Luo Xiao's side.

"Yan'er.

" Shen Mu gave up trying, closed his eyes and said softly: "Put out the lamp.

" Yan'er blew out the lantern, but the radiance of the divine weapons and abilities made the area around the altar bright as day; still they could not leave this place and return to the ghost ship. Yan'er, Long Qilin and the six heavenly dragons watched the oncoming divine weapons and abilities in despair and could not help closing their eyes. "Where my body is, there is Youdu," Shen Mu said softly.

With a swish, infinite darkness spread outward from him as its origin and swiftly shrouded the altar.

The darkness came swiftly and vanished swiftly; in the next moment it was dispelled by the light of the divine weapons and abilities, and the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot upon the altar, and Shen Mu, Long Qilin and Yan'er upon it, had all vanished. The waves of the Heavenly River surged; the river waters ran dark and deep, piercing through all heavens and all ages, and a ghost ship abruptly appeared, leaping up from beneath the water to float upon the river's surface. Banners fluttered, and on the banner faces were embroidered the two words Yulin. Wei Suifeng stood at the bow, gazing at the layers of mist ahead, then turned his head and said, "Junior brother, you were gone so long — what did you encounter?

" Shen Mu stepped down from the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot and quietly regarded the mist on the waters of the Heavenly River, savoring it for a long while before he spoke: "I encountered history.

" "History is like that. " Wei Suifeng understood him, and said slowly: "It will not change because of your interference and experience; all your efforts will be part of the history that is past.

I know the feeling well.

" Shen Mu came to his side, and the two gripped the ship's rail and looked out, as if they wished to see through the mist of history.