Chapter 1324 — The Firmament Draws Nigh

Xiu Hongsu and the white cat waited until wind and wave had stilled, and were about to head back into the mine, when of a sudden, from deep within it, that uncanny radiance erupted once more!

"Mu Tianzun!

That wretch is still alive?

" Xiu Hongsu ground her teeth, yet there was nothing she could do. In the Great Beginning lode she had already come off the worse three times, and was long since a bird that starts at the twang of a bow; now, with the eruption so violent, even a being of her Emperor's Throne realm who ventured in would find nothing but death!

"How did he live through it?

" Hatred and doubt warred in her heart. Twice the mine had erupted, each time more violent than the last; even by her strength she could not withstand it, and at the heart of the eruption she would surely be assimilated, with not so much as a chance of escape — so how had Shen Mu survived it? Suddenly the white cat said, "Can it be that Mu Tianzun truly found the primordial stone?

" Xiu Hongsu's heart went cold.

Of the primordial stone she knew little; she had seen it three times, but each time, scarce had she laid eyes on it and felt greed stir than she found herself on the verge of assimilation, and had no choice but to flee for her life.

Whether the primordial stone could hold back the mine's eruptions was, to her, no more than conjecture. Before long the second eruption at last subsided, and Xiu Hongsu bit lightly at her lower lip with pearl-white teeth: "Surely Mu Tianzun will settle down this time.

.

. " BOOM — the mine erupted a third time, a pillar of light rushing straight to the heavens, shining even beyond the Ancestral Court.

They saw, too, many void beasts sprawled upon the canopy of the sky, hanging upside down there, peering curiously at the great hole torn open in the heavens.

One curious void beast poked its head out, thrusting it into the mine's pillar of light; shhk — the void beast drew its head back, and the head was gone, nothing at all sitting atop its thick neck. The other void beasts fled in terror.

Yet the headless void beast did not die; it fled along with the other titans, which only threw the rest into greater panic, so that they scrambled and tumbled, scattering in every direction. "God-King, you are one I have never quite understood, never quite seen through.

" Heavenly Consort Yan and Ancestral God-King searched for the whereabouts of Earth Mother Yuanjun while chatting and laughing as they went, and Heavenly Consort Yan's gaze flickered as she said, "As the most ancient of God-Kings, the leader of the demigods, it is only natural that you should wish to rid yourself of the Heavenly Lord and take his place.

Yet the Heavenly Lord is, after all, your father. Can you truly bring yourself to strike him down?

Not only can I not understand you, cannot see through you — I fear even Hao Tianzun cannot understand you or see through you.

" Ancestral God-King waved a hand, and the stars of the sky twinkled like countless eyes aiding him in watching the movements of the Ancestral Court, and in a flat, indifferent tone he said, "Hao Tianzun? He is gravely wounded, and can scarcely fend for himself now. " Heavenly Consort Yan had heard this news as well: Hao Tianzun and the Great Emperor had done battle, shattering the Great Void, and Shen Mu had seized the moment to strike a killing blow, pursuing him six hundred thousand li, until Hao Tianzun fled in wretched disarray and escaped with his life. Though the matter had not been openly spread, no wall in the world is proof against wind, and it had reached her ears. "How powerful is Hao Tianzun, after all?

" With the ghost of a smile she said, "You surely do not suppose that Hao Tianzun has been broken by this, never to rise again? " "Of course not.

Toward Hao Tianzun, I am wholly won over. " Ancestral God-King was full of feeling. "What I admire most in him is that he dared join hands with Yun Tianzun to do away with his own father. To speak frankly, the reason I left Xuandu in those years was that my father was too craven: he saw plainly that the later-born creatures would rise, that they were certain to set upon the ancient gods and the demigods and destroy the glory of demigod and ancient god alike, and yet he did nothing, lifting not a finger to intervene.

" "My Father God has grown old.

As the Heavenly Lord he intervenes in nothing in this world, striving to be fair and just.

Heh heh, where in this world is there any fairness or justice to speak of?

I mean to change all of it! " He raised his head and gazed into the sky, his eyes deep. "In those years, from the moment Mu Tianzun slew the first ancient god, I resolved to change all this, and never to let those base creatures steal the orthodox lineage of heaven and earth! I had thought the ancient gods might join hands with the demigods and together rid the world of these vermin, but to my disappointment, those among the ancient gods willing to join me were all men of no account, while those of true power were every one of them like my Father God.

From that time I knew. .

. " He smiled coldly. "The ancient gods and the demigods are not of one road! Though the demigods were born of the ancient gods, they are not the same race; rather, the ancient gods will become the demigods' stumbling block! When we demigods joined hands with the ancient gods in those years, we slew the Creator and seized the orthodox lineage of the world — and that glory does not belong to the ancient gods alone! Since the ancient gods will not contend for it, then let power fall to the demigods!

Therefore I resolved that whatever bars my way, even my own Father God, must be removed! " He smiled. "Father God is old, and it is time he stepped aside for his better. If he will not, then he shall have to die in office! " Heavenly Consort Yan chuckled softly, and was about to speak when of a sudden she raised her head to look at the sky, and saw a pillar of light blasting furiously upward!

Her expression could not help but shift.

Ancestral God-King looked that way as well, and said doubtfully, "Consort, that seems to be your domain.

" Heavenly Consort Yan nodded, her face shifting between light and dark.

Ancestral God-King's gaze flickered, and he smiled.

"Congratulations, Consort!

It seems your lode has yielded a great treasure. Of the five great lodes of the Ancestral Court there are five kinds of primordial stone; the Great Emperor obtained one, and reigned supreme over the cosmos for billions of years. Now you have obtained one too, and your position hereafter is secure.

" Heavenly Consort Yan gave a humph, somewhat vexed and unsettled, only to see that light turn the sky to void, turn the seal of the gods to void, joining the Ancestral Court wholly to the outside world! The light dispersed.

Heavenly Consort Yan steadied herself and thought, "To raise such a commotion — it must be that Mu Tianzun, while I was away, found the primordial stone and provoked the mine's fury.

An eruption of that strength could not even be withstood by the seal the gods wrought from the shadow sides of the great worlds; he could certainly not withstand it, and is dead within my mine! " Scarce had the thought formed when another pillar of light shot up into the heavens, lighting the sky! Heavenly Consort Yan stared, and Ancestral God-King could not help but stare too, murmuring, "Consort, are there two primordial stones in that lode of yours? " Heavenly Consort Yan gave no answer, but of a sudden rose and flew off, fury towering in her heart: "That wretch Mu Tianzun is not dead, and instead is making havoc in my lode!

" Scarce had she set out when the third eruption of the Great Beginning mine burst forth!