Chapter 1217 — The Year of the Ancient Emperor's Reign

Shen Mu and the others followed the Moon Heavenly Venerable down onto the lands of the Primordial Realm. Their party was far too conspicuous by far, each one of them a glowing body of energy that drew every eye.

So the Moon Heavenly Venerable twisted the space around them with the art of space, hiding them from the sight of others.

Yet Shen Mu and his companions could still see out, and they saw that here in the domain of the Southern Ancient Emperor the people were prosperous, with god-cities great and small, the gods sheltering the folk of each region. Nor were the gods of the Southern Ancient Emperor of the human race alone, but a mingling of ten thousand races; among the acquired races there were many divinities, and much of the common folk belonged to other races as well, humans being only one part of them.

Humans dwelt together with all the other races, and on the streets and in the fields, scenes of the races living in harmony could be seen everywhere. As they passed a god-city, they saw a stone stele standing beyond its walls, inscribed with the words: "A human life is greater than heaven.

"

"Here, 'human' does not mean the human race alone, but every intelligent life and every race—all are human.

" The Moon Heavenly Venerable said with a smile, "This is the creed of the current Ancient Emperor. He is a man of great ideas, a truly remarkable man, and he has carried it out very well indeed.

"

Shen Mu halted, gazing at the stele for a long while before he caught up with her.

The Moon Heavenly Venerable led them on for a long way, a smile ever on her face, full of cheer. She must have passed through a long period of setback.

After the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's death, she had announced her retirement and withdrawn from the world.

Shen Mu could well imagine how grievous a blow the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's death and the fall of the Xiaohan Heavenly Court had been to her; yet she had still walked out of that defeat, joining the Ling Heavenly Venerable to support the Ancient Emperor Era and found the Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court.

The Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court was the lifeblood of the Ling Heavenly Venerable and her, but the Ling Heavenly Venerable was a madwoman of research, pouring all her energy into the study of the Unchanging Divine Ability; especially in the later years of the Ancient Emperor Era, when the Ling Heavenly Venerable's divine ability was nearing perfection, she was all the less willing to divide her attention.

So it fell to the Moon Heavenly Venerable to mind all affairs great and small in the Ancient Emperor Era, to handle relations between the Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court and the Extraterritorial Heavenly Court, and to confront the forces of the Northern Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court and the Earth Mother Prime Sovereign. Shen Mu could imagine how much heart's blood and effort she had spent on it all. Of course, it was also owing to her proper stewardship that the Ancient Emperor Era could be called the most resplendent of eras—though the Northern Ancient Emperor was the more savage and domineering of the two, upholding that crude set of rules of the ancient gods.

When the Crimson Bright Son of Heaven sent envoys to the Primordial Realm to seek out an Ancient Emperor, it must have been to the Northern Ancient Emperor that they went; what they saw was a scene of unspeakable terror and savagery, frightening them so badly that they dared have no contact with the Ancient Emperor Era. The Southern Ancient Emperor, by contrast, was a civilization of high development, abundant in achievements, birthing far more Great Emperor Throne powerhouses than the Dragon Han Era and leaving behind all manner of Great Emperor Throne techniques. Not only that, the spirit of this era was passed down, influencing the Kaihuang Era and even the Jingping Era.

In all this, the Moon Heavenly Venerable's merit was beyond measure. Shen Mu gazed with admiration at the woman ahead of him; she had given far too much for this era.

Yet the Extraterritorial Heavenly Court's harvest was at hand, and the Ancient Emperor Era was about to be extinguished with the death of the Earth Mother Prime Sovereign, the disappearance of the Ling Heavenly Venerable, and the crippling of the Moon Heavenly Venerable.

A dull ache stirred in his heart. The Moon Heavenly Venerable chatted and laughed, then suddenly said with a mysterious smile, "Just ahead is where I live.

I have one more thing that will astonish you—something you would never imagine. .

. " She could not hold back after all and told Shen Mu straight out, chuckling, "The Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird—no one knows with whom—bore a child, and before it was even born she hurriedly sent the egg to me.

She said it was no longer safe where she was, and asked me to raise the child for her.

The child was born very early, a girl, and ate the whole eggshell clean.

.

. "

Shen Mu's eyes lit up.

The Moon Heavenly Venerable chuckled, "Her name is Yan'er!

A thoughtful girl, and so clingy! Everyone in my palace has been fed by her until they're plump and fair; if I didn't restrain myself a little, I'd be fed plump and fair too!

I have a disciple named Xiayu, and she was fed by her until she could barely fly. . . "

Shen Mu nodded with a smile, involuntarily picturing the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu—a nine-headed phoenix—fed by Yan'er until round and plump, unable to fly.

"We mustn't let her see you.

If you get worked up and explode, that would be terrible. " The Moon Heavenly Venerable's face took on a worried look again. "I'll keep a close watch on her and not let her run over to your side. This girl is clingy, and she likes to feed people mouth-to-mouth.

With girls it's all right, but no boy could possibly withstand such temptation. .

.

"

Her palace had arrived. The Moon Heavenly Venerable brought them inside and said, "I'll fold some space for you to stay in for now; Yan'er won't run in. I remain here to keep the Earth Mother Prime Sovereign in check.

As long as I am here, she will not dare act out. When you are freed from this strange state, I'll take you to the Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court for a look. Sister Ling is there. When she sees you, she'll be so excited she'll go mad. "

Shen Mu nodded with a smile.

"You can't get excited—how dull.

Stay here for now. If we can't undo your current state, I'll go find Sister Ling and drag her out of her study no matter what.

"

The Moon Heavenly Venerable rolled her eyes, then stealthily poked Shen Mu's body. Shen Mu said helplessly, "Sister Moon, stop playing around.

"

The Moon Heavenly Venerable chuckled and turned to leave, saying, "I still have some government affairs to attend to. I won't have much time to stay in the palace; when I've finished, I'll come visit you again.

Oh, right! " She reached out and drew a line through the air, sketching out a doorway, and said with a smile, "Don't go running out this door. If you do, others will surely be scared half to death by your forms. Also, the space here follows the sun; there will never be night, so you needn't worry about returning to your own era.

"

Shen Mu nodded gently. This place was not bad—there was sky and earth, clear mountains and fine waters, and no outsiders to disturb him, so he could calm his mind and study his current strange state.

The Moon Heavenly Venerable closed the door and left.

Wei Suifeng went at once to settle the Yulin Army soldiers; the Dragon Elder King and the seven Dragon Elders each found a place to stay for the time being, without disturbing Shen Mu. Shen Mu tried to rouse his divine ability, and found that it could still be used—more than that, it activated even faster.

"Divine abilities are simply strange arts that people created from the laws of the great Dao, transformed into power of mighty force. We have become glowing bodies of energy, and so we can use divine abilities even faster.