Chapter 1569 — Helping the Sovereign Attain the Dao

" The Sun Ancient God was waiting beyond the Hundred Thousand Sacred Mountains. Not long after, Heavenly Venerable Xiao emerged from the mountains, and the Sun Ancient God hastened up to him and said in a low voice: "Brother Dao, how did the talk with Heavenly Venerable Mu go?

" "Very smoothly.

" Heavenly Venerable Xiao smiled faintly: "Heavenly Venerable Mu is most sensible.

And he must be sensible, for his greatest backing has already fallen; in this world, he can only lean on me. He is still ambitious; when he comes to rescue Heavenly Venerable Ling, he will surely make some move. But I shall teach him that any move he makes is utterly futile.

" He exuded a mighty confidence, as though the Celestial Emperor Taichu of yore, he who unified the world and ruled the cosmos, had returned: "When I have taken back my body, devoured the Great Emperor's primordial spirit, and slaughtered my way into the Ultimate Void to devour the Great Emperor's Dao Tree, I shall be the most powerful existence in this world, an invincible existence! Even if all the Heavenly Venerables joined hands, including Heavenly Venerable Shen, Heavenly Venerable Mu, Heavenly Venerable Yue, and Heavenly Venerable Ling, not one would be a match for me!

" The Sun Ancient God breathed a sigh of relief and laughed: "Let me offer my congratulations in advance, Brother Dao.

" Heavenly Venerable Xiao laughed loudly: "When I have annihilated the Other-Shore Void and destroyed all the Creators, attaining the Dao will be utterly simple for me! And when that time comes, the two of you, brother and sister, may also attain the Dao! " The Sun Ancient God's face revealed a look of longing. Within the sacred mountains, Shen Mu was still ruminating on the Miluo Palace Master's Dao patterns, his heart and spirit immersed within them.

The deeper he delved into this Dao pattern, the keener grew his reverence; the Miluo Palace Master's learning was simply too vast. By this single Dao pattern alone, he was worthy of being the foremost master of the seventeen universes! Yet in so short a time, Shen Mu still found it difficult to comprehend the pattern's transformations; he could only make his Hongmeng Finger a little more potent. He rose and made his way onto the World-Crossing Golden Ship, where he saw Blind Elder, Granny Zhu, and the others still coming and going, searching through every golden hall. "Shen'er, this ship holds many secrets," Granny Zhu said hastily as soon as she saw him. "From time to time you can see the ship's master within!

When we explore the golden halls, we encounter him at every turn!

" Shen Mu said: "This ship was forged by the Master of Miluo Palace to ferry across the world; he poured too much of his heart's blood into it, and so his image is stamped upon the ship, and occasionally an afterglow of history appears. " Granny Zhu shook her head: "Sometimes it does not seem like an afterglow of history. Once in a while we even see the genuine Master of Miluo Palace; we have even spoken with him!

" Shen Mu found this strange and shook his head: "The Master of Miluo Palace is dead.

What you encountered must surely be the last flicker of history's afterglow. As for speaking with him, that is most likely the ship playing tricks. This ship is possessed of a spirit.

" Blind Elder's face grew somber: "Shen'er, this ship is indeed uncanny.

What we saw was certainly no afterglow of history; it was the true Master of Miluo Palace! Let me take you to look!

" Shen Mu shook his head with a smile and followed in his footsteps. Blind Elder pushed open the door of a great hall, saying: "It was here that we encountered the Master of Miluo Palace.

He even guided us in our cultivation.

. .

Hah! " A dazed expression came over his face, for the great hall was completely empty within; there was no one there. Blind Elder said with misgiving: "There was someone here before!

Many people saw him! " Granny Zhu, Wei Suifeng, Crown Prince Youming, and the others all nodded and said in unison: "We all saw him!

" Shen Mu laughed: "Your cultivation is too shallow. Presumably the Master of Miluo Palace was so mighty, and his imprint so vivid, that it influenced you, making you mistake the afterglow of history for reality. There is no need to make a great fuss.

Once you have cultivated to my level, you will be able to see through all of this. " The group was greatly incensed, yet had no recourse. Indeed, Shen Mu now had every right to call their cultivation shallow.

Shen Mu tried to send them down from the ship, but the golden ship adamantly refused to release them. Shen Mu, with the most earnest persuasion, whispered furtively to the golden ship and pleaded for a long while, touching it with sentiment and convincing it with reason, until at last the ship was willing to set them free. The others saw him muttering and mumbling ceaselessly to the ship and could not help exchanging bewildered glances.

"Shen'er is under too much pressure; he has most likely lost his mind," Granny Zhu said with great heartache.

"It is time he found a companion.

. .

" Shen Mu sent the party off the golden ship, then rode the ship away from the Hundred Thousand Sacred Mountains, thinking to himself: "Is the Miluo Palace Master's imprint truly so strong that it can cause even existences at the Imperial Throne realm, like Wei Suifeng and Crown Prince Youming, to misjudge? Hmm, their vision is far inferior to mine; most likely they cannot distinguish between an imprint and reality. . .

" The World-Crossing Golden Ship sailed out of the sacred mountains when abruptly Shen Mu, by chance, caught a glimpse of a figure flitting past within one of the golden halls, and his heart gave a pound.

"Is it an imprint?

" His heart thumped with unease as he went to search, but he could not find it. "Never mind it. First, to Carefree Village to see Emperor Kai and Heavenly Venerable Yue!

" Two months later, the golden ship arrived at Carefree Village.

On the journey, Shen Mu had indeed discovered that he seemed not to be the only person on the ship; from time to time he would see other figures flitting past.

But whenever he went to search for them, he never found them.

These figures were like the Yulin Guard phantoms on the ghost ship; when one gazed at them, they would dissolve into nothingness, and even when he activated the divine power of the Immutability of Matter, he could not fix them in place. Emperor Kai came forward to meet him. Pushing aside all stray thoughts, Shen Mu went to receive him, smiling: "Emperor Kai, I have come to help you attain the Dao! " Emperor Kai alighted upon the ship and surveyed the golden vessel, saying: "I am still somewhat short of attaining the Dao.

Without the God-Beheading Platform, my Dao realm can never take another step. The ancestral court's God-Beheading Platform, however, is in the hands of Consort Qiang.

I went to see her, but she had taken the platform away with her, cutting off my path to the Dao.

.

.

There is someone else on your ship! " Shen Mu's heart skipped a beat.

He hurriedly looked around but saw no one, and laughed: "Consort Qiang has already been killed by me.

I have not only brought the God-Beheading Platform, I have also brought the Profound God-Beheading Blade, enough to bring your Dao realm to perfection! "