Chapter 824 — One Sword to Godhood
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The voice of Lord Earth came: "Even the Lord of Heaven and the Heavenly Emperor could not resist the temptation. Had the Heavenly Emperor not gone off to his death, the Lord of Heaven would surely have reincarnated too, to flirt with this woman — and then lost his life. Old Buddha, has your mortal heart been stirred?"
The Great Brahma King Buddha said: "Fair flesh and whitened bones — to me they are no different."
"The trouble is, gods do not die of old age. There is only fair flesh, no whitened bones."
The Lord of Heaven said: "Old Buddha, there is still a flaw in your Buddhist dharma — beware of coming to grief. Great Sun Star Lord, what do you know about this woman?"
The Great Sun Star Lord said sullenly: "What could I know? Everything I know you have already wheedled out of me. Jue Wuchen died after me, and I would not dare harbor any thoughts about her."
...
"A peerless beauty indeed. If one could share a room with such a one... Strange — there are no visible wounds on her body!" the Divine Son Chi Ming said abruptly, having noticed something.
Everyone hurried to look closely. Indeed, there was no wound at all on Jue Wuchen in the coffin. She lay there peacefully, as if asleep, her fair cheeks touched with a faint pink flush — only she was not breathing.
"Could someone have used the arts of Youdu to forcibly strip away her soul?"
The crowd lingered before the coffin, unable to tear themselves away, wholly forgetting that the purpose of this journey was to determine whether the Empress was genuine — and not the woman in the coffin.
Feng Qiuyun suddenly sneered: "Men are all worthless creatures, and yet they dare call themselves heroes! A single woman — and a corpse at that — and you stinking men are bewitched body and soul. It is laughable."
Shen Mu said delightedly: "Sister Qiuyun, I am not bewitched — I am still perfectly clear-headed. Li Zheng, you too, right?"
Li Zheng's old face reddened slightly, and he chuckled: "I have long since grown used to the beauty of that old hag Si — naturally I am quite steadfast."
Feng Qiuyun gave a snort and looked at the Imperial Prince Qiuming: "Your Highness the bumpkin prince from the upper realm, the purpose of our coming to seek the Empress's coffin was to determine whether the one within is the Empress. Now that you have seen, do you have your answer?"
The Imperial Prince Qiuming withdrew his gaze and said in a low voice: "The one in the coffin is indeed Her Majesty the Empress."
A chill ran through everyone's hearts; even Luo Wushuang was deeply shaken.
Feng Qiuyun said: "Then who is the Empress of the Heavenly Court?"
The Imperial Prince Qiuming shook his head: "I do not know. And suddenly I no longer wish to know. Know too much, and you die quickly. I do not want to die. All I want now is this ghost ship. The rest of you may leave."
Every man's gaze rested on Jue Wuchen in the Empress's coffin. No one moved a step; the ghost ship no longer mattered. They all wanted to stay here, to keep company with the woman in the coffin.
Li Zheng sighed, withdrew his gaze, and drawing Shen Mu's hand, slowly backed away, saying: "We have no interest in the ghost ship, and no interest in... in the woman in this coffin either! We will go on ahead!"
He kicked Lord Huanlong, who struggled to his feet and followed them in retreating outward.
Just then, a burst of light came from no one knew where, turning everything before everyone's eyes to blinding white, so that nothing could be seen. Shen Mu's and Li Zheng's hearts clenched: "This ghost ship has reset time and space once again!"
Dragon roars came from within the hall, and wave upon wave of terrifying aura erupted. Shen Mu immediately sensed that the eight petrified divine dragons guarding the Empress's coffin were reviving in the light. He could not help but shudder with dread, and hurried to flee outside the hall.