Chapter 1573 — The First Clash

At the source of the Yong River, the Heavenly River had already changed its course when the Heavenly Court migrated to the Ancestral Court and returned to its original position; by now the channel of the Yong River no longer held any magnificent, surging flow. The channel remained, but the Heavenly River had drifted up into the sky.

There was still water in the river, but it was shallow and turbid, holding only a few fish, shrimp, and water creatures; the dragon clan that had once lived there had migrated into the sky together with the Heavenly River, and up there the Heavenly River had raised magnificent palaces.

Still, all around the river channel many gods and demons were encamped, waiting in strict formation. When the seven Heavenly Lords visited the Black Mountain Holy Land, the Fire Heavenly Lord, the Palace Heavenly Lord, and Lady Taiyin heard that Shen Mu had come to rescue Lord Ling, and so they came rushing over in a blaze — only to find no one there at all.

Their status was extraordinary, and having waited so long for Shen Mu in vain, they could hardly keep watch here forever; the gods and demons stationed here were their subordinates.

Shen Mu glanced around and saw that these gods and demons had already pitched camp and built one small divine city after another, and they looked on him as a mortal enemy. In those camps and divine cities, divine-demonic messenger after divine-demonic messenger flew off at speed, no doubt to inform the Fire Heavenly Lord and the rest.

Shen Mu paid it no mind. He went straight to the side of one divine city and said with a smile, "Who will go with me to notify Lord Xiao?

" The defending general in that city trembled with fear and shouted at the top of his voice, "Lord Mu, do not be so outrageous! This is not a place where you can run wild—" Shen Mu swept his gaze across them, and a great abyss of Guixu appeared above that divine city.

The defending general's face went white, and every god and demon in the city dared not stir in the slightest.

The Guixu abyss revolved, and a vast tidal pull of gravity locked them all in place; the moment the abyss unleashed its might, it could swallow every one of them whole, not a single one left!

Shen Mu's face was kindly as he smiled and said, "Don't be afraid.

I am, after all, a Heavenly Lord, not some great devil who kills without blinking.

Who will go with me to notify Lord Xiao?

" "This humble servant will go at once! " The defending general hastily transformed into a beam of divine light and fled far away, heading straight for the nearest Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge.

Shen Mu dispersed his Guixu divine art and walked into the divine city, going straight up to the city tower to sit down. The gods and demons in the city were as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to utter a word.

A few quick-witted divine-demonic officers hastily presented fragrant tea, fine wine, and dried fruits, and ordered singing girls to come and play strings and pipes, singing and dancing to entertain the Heavenly Lord.

Shen Mu opened his mouth, and the divine maiden beside him hastily popped a peeled purple-jade grape into it — even the seeds had been picked out of that grape.

Shen Mu ate the grape and smacked his lips, and at once a divine maiden held fragrant tea to his mouth. Shen Mu drank the tea and saw that the dancers' figures were lithe, their dancing lovely and moving, their song seeping into the heart; he could not help raising both hands. The divine maidens to either side hastily caught this Heavenly Lord's hands and helped him clap.

"Clap, clap, clap! " Shen Mu clapped and praised, "Wonderful.

This melody praises the soldiers who died gloriously for the Heavenly Court in the Battle of Yanggu, does it not?

A song of praise, praising the loyal and filial hearts of the Heavenly Court's soldiers, their loyal livers and gallant spirits, their refusal to bend, their refusal to yield even in death.

Wonderful!

Sung wonderfully — I nearly wept!

" The Heavenly Court's divine generals in the tower laughed awkwardly. One divine general said, "The singer is my daughter. Shall I send her to your chambers tonight, Heavenly Lord?

" Shen Mu turned his head and said, "Your daughter has a fine voice; then her mother must be no less—" The divine general hastily said, "If the Heavenly Lord likes her, I will send her along as well, to the Heavenly Lord's chambers—" Shen Mu roared with laughter, and the divine generals in the tower all laughed along with him. Then suddenly Shen Mu's face turned cold, and the smiles on every officer's face vanished as one; the tower fell utterly silent, and even the strings and pipes stopped.

Shen Mu slowly opened his mouth, and the divine maiden beside him hastily placed a peeled grape into his hand.

Only then did the Heavenly Court generals breathe a sigh of relief, and the strings and pipes resumed their playing.

Suddenly Shen Mu rose to his full height and laughed, "Great Emperor, you have finally come! " The music ceased. Everyone in the tower looked at Shen Mu as one and said with a single voice, "Lord Mu, you are seeking your own death!

" "I warned you long ago not to harbor vain hopes! " "Do not try to rescue Lord Ling!

" Shen Mu laughed and walked out of the tower.

All the Heavenly Court gods and demons in the city turned to look at him — a thousand people, a thousand faces, and yet every one of them was the Great Emperor alone. "And yet you go your own way, courting death at every turn!

" The tens of thousands of gods and demons in the city let out a heaven-shaking roar: "I need not even lift a finger — the other Heavenly Lords will cut you down!

" Shen Mu looked toward the camps of the armies under the other Heavenly Lords in the distance.

In those camps and divine cities, god after god and demon after demon turned their necks to look his way; the scene was exceedingly uncanny. On both banks of the Yong River, the whole Heavenly Court army spoke with one voice: "Once I could tolerate you, but now I cannot!

" Shen Mu raised his hand, and the God-Slaying Platform spun out from his Essence-Fetus Divine Treasury.

Two God-Slaying Mystic Blades coiled upon the platform like two wicked dragons, suffused with a murderous aura that filled the heavens.

"Great Emperor, do you see the God-Slaying Platform and the God-Slaying Mystic Blades? " A smile appeared at the corner of Shen Mu's mouth as he said unhurriedly, "Your Heavenly Consort Qiang's reincarnation — I have already killed her, and the God-Slaying Platform and the God-Slaying Mystic Blades have fallen into my hands.

Seeing this, do you still not understand?

" Around him, countless gods and demons in the camps and divine cities fixed their eyes on the God-Slaying Platform and the God-Slaying Mystic Blades, their faces showing shock and fury. "I sank Heavenly Consort Qiang bit by bit into the Long River of Chaos in the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, and watched her gradually annihilate, turning to kalpa ashes.

" Shen Mu said with a smile, "Great Emperor, you are old and no longer of any use.

Even if you lodge your consciousness in the Great Luo Heaven and become undying and indestructible, what of it? You can only cower there, only wait in silence, until someone grows strong enough to surpass you — and then storms the Great Luo Heaven and blots you out entirely!

" Tens of thousands of Heavenly Court officers and soldiers snorted in fury as one. "You are out of date, do you know that?

There are no fewer than four people now capable of storming the Great Luo Heaven and finishing you off!

" Shen Mu smiled faintly. "Abandon the notion of resisting me. Return Lord Yun to me, let me rescue Lord Ling, and I will not make things hard for your primordial spirit, Ming Fangyu.

The Heavenly Emperor's fleshly body — you may take that away with you as well.

Otherwise, in this kalpa you cannot escape your doom; like Heavenly Consort Yan, you too will turn to kalpa ashes!