Chapter 643 — Twenty Thousand Years of Bloodline Legacy
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The First Ancestor Human Emperor looked somewhat dazed, as if he had not yet recovered from the storm of blows Shen Mu had dealt him. Yet the Second Ancestor and the others knew that what truly bewildered him was why Shen Mu refused to learn his cultivation arts and divine abilities.
His original intent had, in fact, been to spur Shen Mu on, to make him unleash more of his latent potential, and only then to pass on his own arts and abilities to the young man.
Shen Mu had indeed been spurred on. He had cast aside all thought of his own safety, defied death itself, and resolutely transported himself to Taihuang Heaven. There he had weathered countless perils, escaped death time and again, and at last brought his cultivation arts into the Dao, gaining the strength to fight the First Ancestor as an equal. Anyone else would have found it nearly impossible to return alive from Taihuang Heaven; the dangers he had faced could well be imagined.
Yet after all Shen Mu had sacrificed, he had rejected the First Ancestor's arts and abilities with a single contemptuous phrase.
Was it contempt for his arts and abilities, or contempt for the man himself?
Perhaps both.
The Human Emperors of past generations exchanged glances, then fixed their eyes on the Second Ancestor and reached out together to poke him in the ribs.
The Second Ancestor Human Emperor winced in pain and stepped forward reluctantly, saying in his blunt way, "Old man... bah, you look younger than I do! Master, Human Emperor Shen has his own pride. If you hadn't destroyed our life's work, hadn't smashed my bones and my gravestone, he wouldn't have treated you like that. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. If he won't learn them, you can pass your arts on to me."
The First Ancestor Human Emperor glanced at him and shook his head. "I gave you eight hundred years, and you never managed to learn them. I have long since given up on you. I believe Human Emperor Shen has an Overlord Body; he could master them in a few months at most."
The Second Ancestor Human Emperor stormed back, furious. "This is too much of an insult! I'm not going to persuade him. Whoever wants to go, go! With that temper of his, he deserves to be beaten to death!"
The other Human Emperors looked at one another.
The First Ancestor Human Emperor strode forward, sweeping away his earlier bewilderment and dejection. "This is Yuming Heavenly Palace, one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces. Though all of you are Human Emperors, you have only ever visited the outer reaches of Yuming Palace—the area around the Hall of Human Emperors. I will take you to see the true Yuming Palace. Follow me."
The Human Emperors were puzzled. A moment ago he had been quietly grieving, and now he wanted to lead them to see Yuming Palace. They truly could not fathom what the First Ancestor Human Emperor was thinking.
Still, the First Ancestor had not spoken falsely. Though these Human Emperors had often come to the Hall of Human Emperors in life, they actually knew very little about it. They could sense that the space of the Hall extended far beyond the land visible before them, but whenever they walked into the mist to explore, they would find themselves, step by step, back before the Hall of Human Emperors.
Even at full speed, whether flying or running, the result was always the same. They would fly and run, and then another Hall of Human Emperors would appear ahead, as if every direction led down a looping path.
They had realized then that someone had used great magic to fold the space around the Hall of Human Emperors, unwilling to let anyone discover the secrets deep within. And that person could only be the First Ancestor Human Emperor.
The First Ancestor must have had his reasons for hiding Yuming Palace. But now he wanted to open it—for what reason?