Chapter 1348 — The Fiend Who Destroyed Creation

On the back of the treasure seal, the Grand Emperor's heart gave a lurch.

"That voice.

. .

Damn it!

The old bastard is still alive! " He hastily stirred his divine consciousness, trying to fashion an illusion to blind Shu Jun's senses.

But Shen Mu's Four Mines Great Seal was far too strong; the divine consciousness he could call upon was truly limited, and he was no great master of consciousness-illusions—Gong Yun was.

The Grand Emperor groaned inwardly. Shu Jun was not only his old rival; by seniority, he was also his uncle. Of the Three Kings of the Primordial Age, Divine King Boyang had been the steadiest and most reserved, and had never contended with him for the seat of Grand Emperor; Divine King Gong Yun had wanted the throne badly, but had failed to best him, and in the end had simply married him.

Having failed to become the Grand Emperor, she would become the Grand Emperor's woman, and rule the world by a roundabout road.

Shu Jun, though, was not so easy to deal with.

From first to last, Shu Jun had never once softened toward him—always contending, always fighting, and leaning on his standing as uncle, he had never given the Grand Emperor a civil look. In the Primordial Age, he had been the Grand Emperor's greatest headache. If he were to see now that nothing of the Grand Emperor remained but a head, heaven knew what he would say. But Shu Jun had already come to Shen Mu's side, thrusting his great head forward to peer at the treasure seal behind Shen Mu, and laughed: "Where did you rob this treasure from?

You should have gone to pick over the Grand Emperor's corpse—I went to pick it over myself, and a pity it was, arriving too late, I got nothing at all. . .

Juyu!

" A look of shock spread over his face; his gaze fell upon the head bound to the seal's back by four mountain ranges and could not be torn away.

His expression froze, and a moment later turned savage; he ground his teeth: "Grand Emperor! " The Grand Emperor sighed to himself and sneered: "Shu Jun, you're still alive? Truly, in this life there is nowhere we do not meet.

.

. " "You son of a bitch!

" Shu Jun flew into a rage, his voice harsh: "You scum who destroyed my Creator race!

Heaven be thanked, even you have come to this day—you son of a bitch, you killed my Creator race! Everyone is dead—why aren't you dead, you son of a bitch?

You dog—" "Silence! " The Grand Emperor's fury erupted, every curl of his hair standing on end, the majesty of the Primordial Great Emperor beyond all challenge, his voice shaking with rage: "You are merely a King, while I am the Emperor.

Keep your filthy mouth clean. . . " "You son-of-a-bitch Grand Emperor! " The big-headed youth stepped forward, meaning to come to blows with him, and raged: "Without the Creator race, what the hell kind of emperor are you? Every one of the clan died because of you!

" He wrenched the seal away; inside it the Grand Emperor could only take the beating, powerless to resist, and in a transport of fury he shouted: "Mu Tianzun, stop him for me!

" Shen Mu did not intervene. Beside himself, the Grand Emperor cried: "Shu Jun, do you have the face to lay the extinction of the Creators at my door? Back then, were you any better than I?

When we were driven out of the Ancestral Court, our strength was already inferior to the Ancient Gods—and was it not you who insisted on war?

By then I had already lost my authority; I could not command the armies of the Creator clans! Their clans recommended you as commander-in-chief—you were the Grand Emperor then! I was already a stray dog, with no power left!

" Shu Jun pinned his head down and beat him savagely, until the Grand Emperor's face was bruised and swollen. Unable to resist, the Grand Emperor gave a cold laugh: "Boyang was already dead by then; I was exiled after the Taichu Primordial Stone was shattered; Gong Yun was struck down in secret by the Heaven Emperor Taichu. Of the Three Kings, only you remained—you were the last Grand Emperor of the Creator race!

And what did you do?

" At these words Shu Jun's rage knew no bounds; he pinned the head down and hammered at it for dear life, panting hoarsely.

"Back then, you should have led the clans in flight, to seek out the Great Void, or to build another Great Void! But what did you do? You took up the post of commander and led the clans into a decisive battle against Taichu and the other Ancient Gods! And the ground you chose for that battle—it was the Bloodrust Zone! " As though he felt no pain at all, the Grand Emperor cried: "The last elite of the Creator race were spent by you—they all died because of you!

Our race was exterminated because of you!

And you have the face to call me a son of a bitch? You are the son of a bitch! " Shu Jun abruptly sat down on the ground, his gaze dull, with no strength left in him to beat the Grand Emperor. The big-headed youth's face was all dejection, heavy with the air of twilight, and suddenly he covered his face and began to sob aloud. His face beaten out of all human semblance, the Grand Emperor said coldly: "You always dreamed of defeating me, dreamed of becoming the Grand Emperor yourself—and in the race's direst hour, you truly did it.

The clan chiefs and the elders recommended you and set you upon the throne of the Grand Emperor. They hoped you could turn back the tide, hoped you could lead the clans to snatch victory from defeat. Did you?

" Shu Jun threw himself on the ground, weeping, his body twitching without cease. The Grand Emperor struck on, his voice icy: "You did not.

You took the clan chiefs and elders, and with the last wealth of the Creator race you arrayed countless altars across the starry sky, gathered the strength of all into sacrifice, and with the divine consciousness of every Creator you fashioned Ancient God after Ancient God. You remade Tiangong, remade Tubo, remade the gods and sages of all the heavens! You brought out the sacred relics the clans had worshipped for billions of years—those mighty relics were the guardians of the clans. How mighty they were! You were full of confidence, certain you could do battle with the Ancient Gods.

That battle—even I had never imagined it could be so tragic and so glorious. The starry sky, unbroken for countless myriads of leagues, was smashed to powder; numberless continents made of Xirang were ground to dust; the sacred relics born of the Creator clans' sacrifices shattered one after another, and died. Countless clansmen died in that battle; with their blood they dyed that stretch of starry sky the color of blood rust. Heh heh, they are all dead, dead in the Bloodrust Campaign you led! Your Taipu died there too, did he not? Taipu grew up following you; that giant beast was utterly loyal to you—it looked up to you, worshipped you, as though you were its child.

When it fell in battle before your eyes, did you think then that you had been wrong? " The Grand Emperor watched coldly as Shu Jun writhed on the ground from the violence of his weeping, and struck on without mercy: "Everyone says that I exterminated the Creator race, that I am the sinner.

But had it been I who led the clans, I would never have chosen the Bloodrust Zone for the decisive battle.

I am a sinner against the Creator race, but my sin is not as great as yours.

You are the sinner who brought about the Creator race's extinction! I have borne too many of your sins for you!

" Shu Jun braced his four limbs against the ground, straining to rise, but he could not rise; instead he retched and gagged, bringing up nothing at all—only mouthful after mouthful of bitter bile. "Sinner!

" said the Grand Emperor, ice-cold. All strength had utterly left Shu Jun; he lay prone on the ground, not a spark of life in his gaze. Shen Mu watched the scene in silence and said nothing; only Shu Jun, like a dead fish, heaved and rasped for breath.