Chapter 643 — Twenty Thousand Years of Bloodline Legacy

The First Ancestor Human Emperor looked somewhat dazed, as if he had not yet recovered from the storm of blows Shen Mu had dealt him. Yet the Second Ancestor and the others knew that what truly bewildered him was why Shen Mu refused to learn his cultivation arts and divine abilities.

His original intent had, in fact, been to spur Shen Mu on, to make him unleash more of his latent potential, and only then to pass on his own arts and abilities to the young man.

Shen Mu had indeed been spurred on. He had cast aside all thought of his own safety, defied death itself, and resolutely transported himself to Taihuang Heaven. There he had weathered countless perils, escaped death time and again, and at last brought his cultivation arts into the Dao, gaining the strength to fight the First Ancestor as an equal. Anyone else would have found it nearly impossible to return alive from Taihuang Heaven; the dangers he had faced could well be imagined.

Yet after all Shen Mu had sacrificed, he had rejected the First Ancestor's arts and abilities with a single contemptuous phrase.

Was it contempt for his arts and abilities, or contempt for the man himself?

Perhaps both.

The Human Emperors of past generations exchanged glances, then fixed their eyes on the Second Ancestor and reached out together to poke him in the ribs.

The Second Ancestor Human Emperor winced in pain and stepped forward reluctantly, saying in his blunt way, "Old man... bah, you look younger than I do! Master, Human Emperor Shen has his own pride. If you hadn't destroyed our life's work, hadn't smashed my bones and my gravestone, he wouldn't have treated you like that. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. If he won't learn them, you can pass your arts on to me."

The First Ancestor Human Emperor glanced at him and shook his head. "I gave you eight hundred years, and you never managed to learn them. I have long since given up on you. I believe Human Emperor Shen has an Overlord Body; he could master them in a few months at most."

The Second Ancestor Human Emperor stormed back, furious. "This is too much of an insult! I'm not going to persuade him. Whoever wants to go, go! With that temper of his, he deserves to be beaten to death!"

The other Human Emperors looked at one another.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor strode forward, sweeping away his earlier bewilderment and dejection. "This is Yuming Heavenly Palace, one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces. Though all of you are Human Emperors, you have only ever visited the outer reaches of Yuming Palace—the area around the Hall of Human Emperors. I will take you to see the true Yuming Palace. Follow me."

The Human Emperors were puzzled. A moment ago he had been quietly grieving, and now he wanted to lead them to see Yuming Palace. They truly could not fathom what the First Ancestor Human Emperor was thinking.

Still, the First Ancestor had not spoken falsely. Though these Human Emperors had often come to the Hall of Human Emperors in life, they actually knew very little about it. They could sense that the space of the Hall extended far beyond the land visible before them, but whenever they walked into the mist to explore, they would find themselves, step by step, back before the Hall of Human Emperors.

Even at full speed, whether flying or running, the result was always the same. They would fly and run, and then another Hall of Human Emperors would appear ahead, as if every direction led down a looping path.

They had realized then that someone had used great magic to fold the space around the Hall of Human Emperors, unwilling to let anyone discover the secrets deep within. And that person could only be the First Ancestor Human Emperor.

The First Ancestor must have had his reasons for hiding Yuming Palace. But now he wanted to open it—for what reason?

The First Ancestor Human Emperor led them onward. "Yuming Palace was not a place of high office or great authority, but it was an exceedingly sacred place in the Kaihuang Heavenly Court. This was a place of teaching and nurturing, where four Heavenly Masters held office. When the calamity broke out, I was studying here."

The Second Ancestor mused, "Was one of the four Heavenly Masters dressed as a woodcutter? The founding patriarch of the Heavenly Sage Cult regarded him as a sage."

The First Ancestor Human Emperor nodded. "He was one of them. When the calamity began, he left Yuming Palace for the front lines, offering strategies and counsel. Later, when upheaval struck Yuming Palace, he thought I was dead. Then he discovered that I had not joined the war but had fled, and he never paid me any heed again."

"Upheaval in Yuming Palace?"

The Human Emperors were perplexed. The Third Ancestor Human Emperor asked, "First Ancestor, what happened to Yuming Palace?"

The First Ancestor Human Emperor did not answer. He led them onward, and suddenly the mist dispersed. Before them appeared a magnificent complex of heavenly palaces. Pavilions stood every five paces, towers every ten, row upon row, all bathed in fragrant spring light.

The buildings were as bright and lovely as maidens in their prime; the palace halls and winding corridors curved gracefully. The scent of books drifted from the doorways, and faintly, one could almost hear the clear sound of recitation.

The Human Emperors were astonished and uncertain. This place seemed to have escaped all flames of war—not even the slightest damage from divine abilities.

The palaces, towers, pavilions, terraces, and pagodas all appeared immaculate, as if newly built, without a trace of the erosion of time.

This was almost impossible.

The Kaihuang Heavenly Court had already been destroyed. Outside Yuming Palace, one could still see the scars of war—scorched earth and the countless graves of gods and demons who had fallen in battle. How could this place have escaped the flames of war entirely?

The First Ancestor Human Emperor said nothing and led them onward. They passed a great hall. Within, prayer mats were scattered like blossoms, and young boys and girls sat in the hall, heads raised toward the front, as if listening to a lecture.

The Human Emperors were deeply shaken. These youths looked so vivid and lifelike, yet they could tell that these boys and girls had been dead for countless years!

At the head of the hall stood a god-demon with the air of a scholar, one hand raised, a smile on his face, as if explaining the mysteries of divine abilities to the youths below.

This god-demon was also a corpse, utterly devoid of life.

"How is it that their bodies have not decayed?" asked Human Emperor Qikang in a hoarse whisper.

No one answered him.

The First Ancestor Human Emperor continued on, and they hurried after him.

Along the way they saw stranger things still. At a corner they saw a little girl with two horn-like braids, frozen mid-run as she chased a black divine hound. The hound was mischievous, leading the girl in pursuit; its eyes sparkled with playfulness, and the girl wore a smile, as if clapping her hands and saying something.

Yet the little girl and the divine hound were both frozen in place. They had died in an instant, still holding the poses of their final moment.

The Human Emperors looked around, their hearts growing more alarmed by the moment.

Not far away stood a deity with the look of a scholar. Before him stood a young girl, several scrolls cradled in her arms, gazing up as if asking her teacher about some difficult question.

In the courtyard were several youths cultivating divine abilities. Two of them were sparring, their movements agile, hands forming seals as if executing a seal-art technique. Several youths standing nearby smiled and whispered to one another, as if debating who was the more skilled.

The Human Emperors withdrew their gazes, suppressing their shock, and followed in the First Ancestor's footsteps.