Chapter 748 — Shaking the Heavenly Court

These two days he had lived in fear and trembling, forever on tenterhooks: afraid Shen Mu would stir up some heaven-overturning disaster, afraid Shen Mu and Kaihuang would come to blows, afraid Kaihuang would recognize him, afraid Kaihuang would do away with Shen Mu, and afraid Shen Mu would do away with Kaihuang.

How could such grievances be borne by a blunt, straight-through fellow who had never learned to bend?

Yet bear them he must — and now that the discontent in his heart had burst out, there was no reining it in!

Such is the way of a martial Dao powerhouse.

If they do not erupt, well and good; but when they erupt it shatters stone and startles the heavens, and not even an ox could hold them back — and he was an ox to begin with!

Niu Sanduo fought himself into a frenzy; the ancient gods and demigods pouring in from all sides grew more and more numerous, and he could not help but low in high excitement as he struck down the assembled gods of the Heavenly Court.

Suddenly a sun in the sky blazed with dazzling light, and a pillar of radiance shot forth with a hum, blasting into him and sending the old ox flying!

On the sun, the Great Sun Star Lord wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth, and his magic power erupted; commanding the fire of the sun, he loosed another pillar of light that blasted Niu Sanduo flying again before he could steady himself!

Elsewhere, the moon in the sky burst into radiance as well; two pillars of light struck home, and Niu Sanduo's enormous body was smashed down out of the sky to land beside the Heavenly River.

In the sky the stars of the Five Luminaries also blazed forth, plainly the Five Luminary Star Lords each working their arts, commanding the five luminaries and preparing to join forces in a siege.

"Think Old Ox is afraid of you?"

Niu Sanduo roared, reached out a hand to seize — and the Heavenly River heaved violently. He actually meant to lift the Heavenly River and use it as a weapon to sweep away the assembled stars!

The countless divine-power wielders in the Jade Pool shuddered with cold dread. Shen Mu crawled out of the print of Niu Sanduo's palm, patted the dust from his clothes, and with a dark face said to Kaihuang, who was climbing up on the other side, "He dared to hit you. Rest easy — one day I will surely help you hit him back! This ox has gone mad, truly mad!"

Beside him Kaihuang stretched his limbs, and at these words was slightly taken aback. "Is he not my opponent? Then why speak of helping me hit him back? This man is truly strange. He plainly regards me as an enemy, yet when Niu Ben struck me down, he turned around and shielded me."

Ling Tianzun hurried over on the wing. "That old fellow just now has kicked up a tremendous commotion! He has already alarmed the powers of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces! This will not be easy to settle now."

Shen Mu gave a cold snort and said mildly, "He can resolve this crisis. He need only take out that yellow memorial paper and tear it to shreds, and no one will be able to recognize him. But this stupid ox has most likely fought himself into a temper; for a while yet he will not think of how to get through this pass. When he tires himself out, he will remember."

Ling Tianzun studied them curiously, thinking, "The relations among these three are truly strange..."

The Heavenly River heaved; Niu Sanduo had nearly shouldered it up to use as a primal weapon, when from deep within the Heavenly Court a muffled voice came. "I was born of the Heavenly River. If you take the Heavenly River for a weapon, will you not destroy my home? The Heavenly River — you must not touch it."

Niu Sanduo immediately felt the Heavenly River become immeasurably heavy, heavier and heavier, pressing his sinewy body down until it bent and bent.

He flung the Heavenly River aside and sprang clear, and there he saw an ancient god striding toward him over the river's surface. Behind that ancient god the waves surged, and the vast phantom of the Black Tortoise divine turtle rose up, a soaring serpent coiled about the turtle's body, its sky-swallowing maw agape, its long tongue flickering in and out, its serpent pupils standing vertical, staring at him with a look most sinister and uncanny.

Niu Sanduo was startled, and at last came to his senses — but just then the east filled with blue-green light, and another old man came walking, and behind him in the blue-green radiance a vast azure dragon coiled, immense beyond measure.

"Can these be the Northern Emperor and the Eastern Emperor of the Four Emperors?"

Niu Sanduo blinked his ox eyes, clenched his fists, and grew excited. "Are the Eastern Emperor and Northern Emperor of this age fiercer than those of later times? A fight will settle it! Old Ox does not fear them!"

Just then a voice came, high and distant as though it rode above the nine heavens. "Xuanwu, Azure Dragon, there is no need to bully him. This young fellow cultivator has cultivated a whole body of skills; it must be that We have never heard his name, and so he was not invited to feast at this Heavenly Court Grand Gathering. His heart is unconvinced, and so he makes a commotion."

The Northern Emperor bowed and said, "Your Majesty, he has come to disrupt the Heavenly Court Grand Gathering. If he is not killed, where is the majesty of the Heavenly Court? Your servant holds that he must be beheaded to establish our authority and warn others!"

Niu Sanduo was badly shaken. "The Heavenly Emperor? Was it the Heavenly Emperor who just spoke? If he means to kill me, how am I to escape?"

The voice laughed. "Does the Heavenly Court of today need to establish its authority? Under all heaven, do We still have enemies? You ox — with your abilities, you are fit to be enfeoffed as lord of a heavenly palace. But you have made a great commotion, and that is a crime, and must be punished. After the Heavenly Court Grand Gathering, come to the palace and serve as Our Golden Guard Commandant before Our throne."

Niu Sanduo hastily bowed, and saw a ray of light descend from the sky into the old ox's hand: a general's tally of command.

Niu Sanduo scratched his head and hung the Golden Guard Commandant's tally on his person.

"Consider yourself lucky." The Northern Emperor withdrew, and the Heavenly River returned to stillness.

The old man who had come from the east likewise faded and vanished.

Niu Sanduo hastily dispersed his martial battle body, shrank back to the size of an ordinary man, and returned to the Jade Pool. To Shen Mu he said, "The Heavenly Emperor of this Heavenly Court saw my whole body of skills and made me Golden Guard Commandant. He did not kill me."

Shen Mu shook his head. "After the commotion you made, sending you to the God-Slaying Platform to have your head cut off would have been lenient! I had thought you were mature; I never expected you to be worse than Shen Kai!"

Kaihuang gave a muffled snort and looked at the sky, the very picture of unruffled calm.

Old Ox said, "If you two had not run wild, would I have lost my temper? Settle down, all of you. The less trouble for everyone, the better — let us get through these few months safe and sound."

Shen Mu noticed the tally hanging at his waist and felt a stir in his heart. "Let me have a look at that tally of yours."

Old Ox took down the tally and handed it to him. Shen Mu, stirred again, was just about to rummage in his Taotie Pouch when he saw a young man come over wreathed in smiles and say to Ling Tianzun, "Ling Tianzun, who are these three senior brothers?"

"I do not know either."

Only then did Ling Tianzun come to her senses, and she said to Shen Mu, "What are your names?"