Chapter 1637 — The Dao Heart Shatters

" "Shen Ye is dead!

" Hao Tianzun laughed aloud, glancing about him with a lively air, full of proud satisfaction.

"Shen Ye, the thorn in my heart.

With him dead, the whole matter is settled.

The rebel Mu has no more stomach for this fight.

He is the backbone of the traitors; he knows that with Shen Ye dead, this battle is lost beyond doubt, and so he strives only to preserve the rest.

He has lost the will to advance.

In this battle, Youdu falls into my hands, and no one in all the world will be able to shake the foundations of the Heavenly Court. " The Ancestor God King's spirit was shaken; he dropped to one knee, cupped his hands, and raised them above his head. "To pacify Youdu is the auspicious day of Your Majesty's accession!

I am willing to memorialize the Retired Emperor, laying out the rights and wrongs of it, and beg the Retired Emperor to abdicate!

" Huo Tianzun too hurriedly bowed low. "Your Majesty's vast talent and great strategy have quelled a turmoil a million years old and restored to the world an age of peace and prosperity.

Such a work has not been seen since the universe was first opened!

Your Majesty's accession answers Heaven and the hearts of men; I am willing to be the one who drafts the memorial!

" Xu Tianzun hesitated, then bowed as well. "At Your Majesty's accession, the Retired Emperor will surely be overjoyed and step aside of his own accord! " The two Taiji Ancient Gods saw the golden ship come flying, and at once abandoned Taishi and came to Hao Tianzun's side. Seeing the three Tianzuns kneeling in salute, they exchanged a look and bowed as one.

"We and Brother Taichu are all of the Five Tai; we are willing to go and serve as advocates.

Brother Taichu understands reason, and will surely submit with a glad heart.

" Hao Tianzun laughed aloud, looked toward Shen Mu upon the golden ship, and said with great leisure, "Mu Tianzun, do you see this rolling tide of the age? The great current of the world now runs toward me. Your resistance will be labor in vain; worse, it will bring ruin on the human clan and on the living beings born after Heaven. When the nest is overturned, no egg stays whole. Would you have all the living things of this world buried by your own hand? " Shen Mu stood woodenly at the prow, set against him from afar.

"Youdu has already fallen into my hands. " Hao Tianzun spread his five fingers and clenched them hard, smiling. "The Great Emperor has been beheaded, Taichu has submitted, Kaihuang has fallen; you have no chance of victory left.

" An uproar ran across the golden ship. Tiangong said hurriedly, "Mu Tianzun, is Kaihuang truly. .

. " Blood spilled from the corner of You Tianzun's mouth, his face ashen; Langxuan the Divine Emperor was silent; Yue Tianzun looked at Ling Tianzun.

Ling Tianzun nodded lightly. Shen Fengqing sat dumbly on the ground as though all her strength had left her, then suddenly raised her head and said woodenly, "Little brother, I want to go home. Take me home. I miss mother.

. . " Shen Mu did not stir. The hand that gripped the hilt of the Tribulation Sword loosened, then tightened again, then loosened once more. "Does Mu Tianzun perhaps think he can still turn this around?

" Hao Tianzun smiled.

"What lies in Guixu, you know better than I.

When my mother returns, you will have not a thread of life left. He who holds the Dao has many to aid him; he who has lost it has few.

Fight on, and you will all be buried here.

Mu Tianzun, you are a man who understands the times; if you die in Youdu, the consequence will be that the prehistoric Dao-achievers descend.

I think you would not wish to see that either?

Set your mind at ease: so long as you submit, I will not let the prehistoric Dao-achievers descend.

" He smiled. "I offer you amnesty. Submit, and I shall make you one of the Ten Tianzuns.

Jingping shall live, and the Land of No Sorrow I will not touch either. But if you dare speak one word of refusal, Jingping and the Land of No Sorrow alike shall be ground to dust and scattered on the wind!

" Huo Tianzun lifted an eyebrow.

"Your Majesty, they are traitors — how can they be granted amnesty? " Hao Tianzun laughed. "Huo my dear minister, do you take me for a sovereign of no breadth of mind? " Huo Tianzun dared say no more. Suddenly the golden ship sailed away and vanished into the darkness. Seeing this, Huo Tianzun let out a breath of relief.

Hao Tianzun smiled. "He will go to the Heavenly Court. He is a man who understands.

" He lifted his head, drew a long breath, and slowly spread his arms.

"This world is mine alone at last!

" The Golden Ship of Salvation went faster and faster, sailing through the gloom of Youdu; for the Earth Earl's fleshly body was ever crumbling, and the very space of Youdu crumbled with it.

"Where I stand, there is Youdu!

" The Earth Earl's flesh split into great pieces of land that drifted through Youdu, and Youdu too split piece from piece, no longer a single whole.

Some fragments of Youdu overlapped with several heavens, some with the Origin World, and some joined with the Ancestral Court.

The others stood at the prow and said nothing.

With Kaihuang's death this battle had collapsed utterly, and there was no hope of turning it back.

Suddenly Tiangong saw the body of A'Chou the Earth Earl floating upon a continent, and hurriedly reached out and scooped him onto the ship. He wanted to ask Shen Mu to summon the Earth Earl's soul, and he opened his mouth — then said nothing.

Because of the Earth Earl's unasked-for act, Kaihuang had died, and this great rout had come about; to open his mouth and ask Shen Mu to revive the Earth Earl would make them, the ancient gods, look utterly selfish.

"I will revive the Earth Earl. " Shen Mu's eyes shifted, and he said suddenly, "But Yun Tianzun is still in the Ultimate Void, in battle with Taichu; we should go there first.

.

.

I need quiet, a little quiet.

. .

" His strength failing him, he sat down, and suddenly felt heaven and earth spinning about him; he fell over backward.

"Let him rest a while. " Yue Tianzun said in a low voice, "I will take Ling Tianzun to the Ultimate Void. Frightening Taichu away should be no great matter.

" Ling Tianzun nodded lightly.

Hearing her words, Shen Mu slowly closed his eyes. Before him all was dark and heavy, and two lines of tears ran from the corners of his eyes to his temples, soaking the hair behind his ears. Is there no hope left?

Yes.

There is no hope left at all, he said silently in his heart.

Yue Tianzun led the others away; she knew that Shen Mu did not wish anyone to see the weak side of him, and they in turn did not wish to see the weak side of Mu Tianzun.