Chapter 1084 — An Upheaval Unseen Since Time Immemorial

Kuimu Lang laughed at the fleeing demigods. "Will you not come and beg pardon?"

On that day the ancient gods of the Twenty-Eight Constellations who guarded the Four Extremes Heavens among the ancient gods fell, and became face after face within the Slaughter Cauldron.

Achou, bearing endless fury, came to the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Court.

The Heavenly Court's army of gods and demons received the order and charged out, driving toward this demon god who grew ever taller and vaster yet whose face bore a desolate grief. At the same time Shen Mu's Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot, seizing the chaos, rushed into the Heavenly Court, making straight for the heavenly palace of the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird.

He looked back, and saw that countless hosts of the Heavenly Court's gods and demons, before they could even reach Achou's side, turned one after another into corpses.

That day was like the doom of the gods. Even ancient gods of inconceivable power, even demigods possessed of boundless strength, had only to touch Achou's power and their souls scattered on the wind!

The Heavenly Court's strength suffered a blow that was all but fatal.

That ugly man, wrapped round in the shackles of the Great Way, dragged a heaven-world turned to darkness and rushed into the Heavenly Court; the heaven-world beneath his feet was woven of magma and demonic qi, floating lava everywhere.

Hastily Shen Mu saw Achou's enormous fist come smashing toward the Southern Heavenly Gate; where the fist passed, the Southern Heavenly Gate collapsed.

Ahead, countless hosts of the Heavenly Court's gods and demons surged toward the Southern Heavenly Gate, making it hard for the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot to advance. But the next moment, the spatial storm raised by Tubo's fist flung all of them up together with countless palaces!

Countless people were torn to fragments in the spatial storm; their primal spirits dissolved, their souls falling toward that most baleful weapon under heaven!

The might of the Slaughter Cauldron grew ever more terrifying!

The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot too was flung up, sailing over the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace, flying toward Jade Capital City.

Yan'er gave a clear cry, rousing her divine power to shield the chariot. The six heavenly dragons each unleashed their magic, resisting with all their might, and the lantern hanging upon the chariot looked ready to go out at any moment.

Shen Mu hurriedly reached out to shield the lantern.

Endless darkness poured into the Heavenly Court, like a vast dark tide drowning all it passed. Even the lanterns the Heavenly Court had refined from the sun and the pearls refined from the moon winked out the moment they met this dark demonic qi.

This demonic qi and demonic nature were too ferocious by far: all whom the darkness swallowed were in an instant invaded by demonic qi, assimilated into demonic nature, and then devoured by the Slaughter Cauldron, becoming face after face within it.

Into Shen Mu's ears too came a roar freighted with endless fury: the roar of Achou.

The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot fell, crashing into Jade Capital City, and careened a hundred-odd li before it finally came to a stop.

Shen Mu was about to turn the chariot around and return to the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace, but saw that the darkness had already drowned it, and his heart went cold. Were he to charge into the darkness now, the lantern Wei Suifeng had refined would surely fail against Achou's demonic nature, and would certainly be extinguished.

And then he would never be able to see the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird at all!

The darkness, like an enraged ocean, swept in and swallowed everything, already rushing to the edge of Jade Capital City and crashing against it with a roar.

The imperial city of the Heavenly Court burst forth with dazzling light, blazing beyond compare, and held back the demonic qi of Youdu.

Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and fled with the gods and men of Jade Capital City toward the Heavenly Emperor's rear palace.

For the Slaughter Cauldron was spinning madly, hurled fiercely from Achou's hand, and it smashed down the gates of Jade Capital City!

From the cauldron countless faces flew out, giving shrill, wretched screams, dancing across the sky, rushing at the people fleeing in all directions.

Shen Mu drove the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot wildly to and fro. Some imperial princes tried to leap onto it and have him carry them to safety; Shen Mu's sword rose and fell, and he cut down several princes in a row.

Behind them the dreadful spatial storm came again: another strike from Achou!

The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot was again swept up by the storm, and behind it countless palaces shattered into fragments.

When the chariot came down, all at once wind and waves fell still. Shen Mu looked back and saw the Lingxiao Treasure Hall just behind them, where ancient gods of incomparable majesty stood, holding back the storm Achou had raised.

Shen Mu's pupils contracted sharply: he saw the figure of the ancient god Heavenly Emperor.

Light blazed from the ancient god Heavenly Emperor in a dazzling radiance, so that Achou's Youdu demonic qi could not invade this place.

"Excellent. Before long Achou will be driven down into Youdu, and I can slip into the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace amid the chaos and see the Southern Emperor."

Shen Mu breathed out. In his heart he thought, "But this treasure chariot is likely useless now. Too conspicuous. And Mu Qing's face will not serve either; I must change to a different face."

He leapt down from the chariot, took down the lantern, and said in a low voice, "Yan'er, Long Pang, this is the Heavenly Court. Too many people make it inconvenient to move. I will take you into the space between my brows!"

Without another word, the eye between his brows opened, and a curtain of light shot out, sweeping over the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot.

The dragon qilin, Yan'er, and the six heavenly dragons vanished together with the chariot, taken by him into the Shen Character Continent.

Shen Mu pondered a moment, then roused the Profound Art of Creation; his features gradually changed until he took on the appearance of Luo Xiao. In his heart he said, "Third Brother, I am borrowing your face. You will not blame me, will you?"

Just then he suddenly caught sight of Hao Tianzun.

Shen Mu was startled. Hao Tianzun was stealing furtively toward the rear palace.

"This is his own home. Why is he so furtive?"

Doubt filled Shen Mu's heart. Then he saw Yun Tianzun.

Shen Mu's heart leapt with joy. Yun Tianzun was being equally furtive, following Hao Tianzun; the two stole into the Heavenly Emperor's rear palace one after the other.

Something stirred in Shen Mu's heart. He tiptoed after the two, furtive as they were.

Ahead, Hao Tianzun came upon the palace maids guarding the rear palace. Suddenly he burst into motion, smashing the two maids to powder, then took out a white banner, waved it in the wind, and gathered the maids' souls into the banner.

"Yin Tianzi's treasure!" Shen Mu thought, watching from afar.

And Yun Tianzun, following Hao Tianzun, took out a sheet of yellow paper and pasted it upon himself; his features changed at once.

Shen Mu blinked. "You Tianzun's treasure! Both of them foresaw that Achou would make havoc in the Heavenly Court, and came prepared. It seems they have their eyes on some treasure in the Heavenly Court! What is it they mean to steal?"