Chapter 1390 — Two Kings and One Emperor

Granny Zhu departed swiftly with the lantern.

That lantern was a treasure of Celestial Venerable Moon; used for travel, it outpaced even a Celestial Venerable. When Shen Mu had left the lantern behind, he had said that Celestial Venerable Gong was Consort Qiang's natural bane, and had cast a glance at Long Qilin; Granny Zhu understood his meaning at once — she was to carry the lantern and fetch Celestial Venerable Gong, so that Long Qilin might send her into the back of the Ancestral Court. Passing over the domain of Divine Emperor Langxuan, Granny Zhu happened to glance down, and suddenly saw countless roots and tendrils whirling and flying as a massive altar took shape!

Rank upon rank of divine generals appeared upon the altar in perfect order, while Divine Emperor Langxuan worked his art, reversing the summoning divine art! "Just as Consort Qiang foresaw — it was no great feat for Divine Emperor Langxuan to deduce the reverse summoning art!

" Seeing space twist and figure after figure vanish from the altar, Granny Zhu knew the situation was urgent and tarried no longer.

When she reached the outside of the Ancestral Court, she crossed a spirit-energy transfer bridge into the Heavenly Court.

Each of the Ten Celestial Venerables had a spirit-energy transfer bridge of their own, running straight to their heavenly palace; the bridge Granny Zhu took led directly to Celestial Venerable Gong's palace in the Heavenly Court. She had scarce stepped off the bridge when the divine generals guarding the palace barred her way.

Granny Zhu announced herself and said, "Celestial Venerable Mu sent me.

I have urgent business to report to Celestial Venerable Gong. " Before long she was brought before Celestial Venerable Gong, and Granny Zhu said, "Celestial Venerable Mu has been coerced by Consort Qiang and has gone to the back of the Ancestral Court to subdue Long Xiao.

" Celestial Venerable Gong rose at once.

"That wretch thinks to overturn the heavens?

Take me there. " By the time the two of them returned to the Hundred Thousand Great Black Mountains of the Ancestral Court, Long Qilin and the others had already prepared the altar.

Celestial Venerable Gong stepped onto it, only to find Wei Suifeng, Crown Prince Youming, and the rest standing upon it as well.

Celestial Venerable Gong shook her head. "In a war of Celestial Venerables, can the likes of you lend a hand?

I will go alone. With so many of you, I would only have to look after you.

" Wei Suifeng hesitated. Celestial Venerable Gong left behind an hourglass and turned it over, saying mildly, "Stay here.

When the last grain of sand falls, you will have word.

" That said, she nodded to Long Qilin, who at once roused the reverse summoning art and set the altar in motion. Light blazed upon the altar, and Celestial Venerable Gong's divine consciousness immediately established a link with a giant beast far away in the Ancestral Court. She grasped at once how this reverse summoning art was worked, and said, "So it is a matter of building a summoning altar in the other's mind with one's divine consciousness. How ingenious — worthy of Celestial Venerable Mu. Only he could conceive of such a thing. But to summon me across, a thousand giant beasts would not suffice.

Better to use Long Xiao himself to build the summoning art! " Long Qilin suddenly felt his divine art severed and was struck with dread — Celestial Venerable Gong had cut off his divine consciousness and replaced it with her own, taking the initiative to seek out the giant beasts in the back of the Ancestral Court! "This Celestial Venerable Gong is a fierce woman indeed.

No wonder the Hierarch's tone cannot help but betray admiration when he speaks of her," Long Qilin thought to himself. At that moment, in the back of the Ancestral Court, Long Xiao's nine heads lay in slumber.

His frame was immeasurably vast, no less than such beings as the Heavenly Duke and Tubo, and only a place like the back of the Ancestral Court could contain his body. Countless giant beasts lived upon his body, breeding and multiplying there. Some never descended in all their lives; from birth to adulthood, to mating, to death, to rotting into white bone, all of it took place upon his body.

Suddenly Long Xiao's heart prickled with alarm. He opened his eyes and raised his heads; the eyes of his nine heads opened, and the back of the Ancestral Court was flooded with dazzling light, as though eighteen suns had appeared in the sky at once! He had sensed the descent of an incomparably mighty being, come into his domain!

Just then, thousands of giant beasts in the back of the Ancestral Court were dragged into the air, and there, helpless, they formed a strange formation in the sky! Their divine consciousness was forcibly torn from their minds by a power transmitted from another world; the consciousness assembled of itself and became runes.

Countless runes, like the most delicate components of a colossal machine, assembled of themselves into chains of the Dao!

The chains of the Dao threaded through one another and formed an altar! It was the reverse summoning art!

Long Xiao was filled with doubt and alarm. When Shu Jun and the others had descended last time, there had been no such commotion; now thousands of giant beasts were being dragged into place to form a summoning altar!

At that very moment, countless more giant beasts were hauled into the sky, assembling of themselves into another altar!

One after another, gods and devils surged forth, appearing in the back of the Ancestral Court!

"Heh heh, so the so-called Celestial Venerables have come?

Courting death! " Long Xiao rose to his feet and shook his body, and countless giant beasts tumbled from him.

He was the god of the Creators, the Beast God whom the Creators had hoped would restrain the ancient gods and chastise them.

He possessed boundless power and the most robust of bodies.

It had been a very long time since he had truly struck a blow!

When he opened his eyes, it was day; when he closed them, it was night.

When he moved, the whole back of the Ancestral Court would be riven with thunder and swept by hurricanes! Now at last he would display his power!

Whoosh — The power of the first reverse summoning art bloomed in full, and Shen Mu and Consort Qiang appeared in the back of the Ancestral Court.

Consort Qiang's lovely eyes roved, first alighting on the colossal creature slowly rising to its feet, then turning to the distant place where another reverse summoning art had erupted. "So Divine Emperor Langxuan came after all.

" Consort Qiang frowned and sneered, "Taichu wants to snatch everything of mine — power, station, women — and even his son wants to snatch everything of mine!

They truly do not know the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth!

" Shen Mu stepped back and said mildly, "Divine Emperor Langxuan is the bastard son of Divine King Gongyun and Celestial Emperor Taichu. From the moment he was born he possessed boundless glory, blessed by the Celestial Emperor, blessed by the ancient gods, becoming the first demigod and the leader of all demigods. And now he is a Celestial Venerable besides.

If the son of Gongyun and the Grand Emperor were still alive, he should be no less than Langxuan, no?

" At that moment the reverse summoning art burst forth with incomparably intense light, and Divine Emperor Langxuan descended, bringing Earth Mother Yuanjun with him! "What is Taichu worth?