Shen Mu was just about to enter the potted plant when waves of terrifying divine power came surging in from outside — an exceedingly powerful aura was racing toward the Yunluo Heavenly Palace. Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. He turned his hand and put the potted plant away, then strode out of the great hall. Behind him, the hall collapsed and crumbled into a heap of broken bricks and shattered tiles. Yan'er and the Dragon Qilin had noticed it too, and both looked up. Six gods and demons were hunting down a young man, and the divine abilities they wielded were exceedingly strange. The divine abilities of those six gods and demons were like great azure-blood banners planted upright in the sky, unfurling in the wind. As the banners rolled and snapped, countless rust-eaten iron swords shot from their surfaces, striking at the young man. "The Azure Blood Rusted Banner Sutra — the White Emperor's art." Shen Mu gazed into the distance. The White Emperor of the West Heaven was also called the Gold Emperor, and he excelled at commanding metal qi. The Azure Blood Rusted Banner Sutra had once defeated the Martial Combat Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha — a formidable art indeed. Shen Mu had once faced Prince Qiuming, who cultivated the Azure Blood Rusted Banner Sutra, and he knew this art well. "Yu Chudu, you cannot escape. Stay, and come back with me to the Heavenly Court to answer for your crimes!" The young deity fought off the siege of the many Heavenly Court divinities, battling as he fled, intending to escape to the Spirit-Energy Transposition Bridge. The White Emperor's disciples besieging him were exceedingly powerful — every one of them a Jade Capital realm expert. Their waists were hung all over with heads that still dripped blood; they must have been cut off not long ago. The young deity was wounded in many places, yet he fought with fierce valor, his divine ability wrought to perfection. Between a single motion and a single stillness he summoned the Heavenly River to hang inverted and the Heavenly Dipper to rise on high! "The Heavenly Dipper Dao Art! He is a disciple of Senior Brother Wei Suifeng!" Shen Mu's eyes lit up. The Heavenly Dipper Dao Art was an art of the Imperial Throne realm that Wei Suifeng had comprehended after cultivating the Great Nurture Dark Demon Sutra, combining it with other arts, the Xuandu Heavenly Dao, and the Xuandu and the Heavenly River of the ancient age. This young deity had received his true transmission; he must be one of Wei Suifeng's trusted disciples. These experts of the Heavenly Court had come to capture him precisely for the method of crossing the collapsing void! The young deity's strength was immense; he had already cultivated the Heavenly Dipper Dao Art to the Jade Capital realm. Even with six Jade Capital experts of the Heavenly Court joining hands, they could not bring him down in a short time. But he had fled here gravely wounded, and escape was now all but impossible. Six Azure Blood Rusted Banners encircled him completely, each a hundred zhang apart, countless rusted swords weaving through the air, while the six disciples of the White Emperor stood firm in the sky without drawing closer. Wherever the rusted swords passed, rust-mottled metal qi quaked and shook, reducing all it shrouded to fine powder! Yu Chudu had cultivated the Heavenly Dipper Dao Art to an extremely high level, yet trapped by the six Azure Blood Rusted Banners, though he tried again and again to break through the banner formation's blockade, the next moment he was sealed inside it once more. The White Emperor's art was exceedingly strange, more like a formation. Wielded by a single person, it was merely an ordinary Imperial Throne art, but the more people there were, the stronger its power became. With six Jade Capital realm deities joining hands, their combat strength already rivaled that of Lingxiao realm gods and demons! That Yu Chudu had held out until now was already no small feat; his capture was only a matter of time. Suddenly, Shen Mu felt something and looked up. A tower ship was sailing over, arriving above the Yunluo Heavenly Palace. Spears were planted all along the ship, and the spears were hung all over with heads. The heads' mouths gaped open, and the spearheads thrust out through them, making the heads look all the more hideous. The ways of the West Heaven's gods and demons were indescribably savage, still preserving the manners of the barbaric age at the dawn of civilization! A man in purple robes stood at the ship's prow with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the young deity. Shen Mu looked up. The man in purple felt it, swept his gaze over, raised an eyebrow, and called out in a clear voice: "Heavenly Venerable Mu!" The tower ship halted. The man in purple stepped down from it and bowed, saying, "Disciple of Heavenly Venerable Hao, Star Lord Tusikong beneath the White Emperor's seat, Jing Baichuan, pays his respects to Heavenly Venerable Mu." Shen Mu sized up the man in purple and said in surprise, "You are the Star-Dipper Ancient God of the West Heaven Palace, Star Lord Tusikong? Why would an ancient god take Heavenly Venerable Hao as his master and become his disciple?" Jing Baichuan laughed. "There is something Heavenly Venerable Mu does not know. Star Lord Tusikong is dead — I killed him. So I took his place and became the Star Lord of the Tusikong Star Domain. I plucked off Tusikong's head and refined it into a divine weapon, and I ate his flesh as well. The flesh and blood of an ancient god is exquisite in flavor. Heavenly Venerable Mu, have you ever tasted it?" Shen Mu shook his head. "Many ancient gods have died at my hands, but I have never tasted their flesh and blood." Jing Baichuan laughed heartily. "I too have heard that Heavenly Venerable Mu once killed ancient gods — but that was in the Longhan era. The ancient gods of that time were savage and cruel; though they were born bearing the Great Dao of heaven and earth, they did not understand their own dao. The ancient gods of today have delved deep into their own dao, and their abilities surpass those of the Longhan era by I know not how many times." Shen Mu gave a soft "oh" and said, "If my worthy nephew could kill Star Lord Tusikong and take his place, then his abilities must be a notch higher still." Jing Baichuan, smiling, watched the six experts besiege Yu Chudu and said unhurriedly, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, tell me — if I traveled back to the early years of Longhan, could I become Heavenly Venerable Jing?" Shen Mu smiled. "Perhaps. Or perhaps you would find no burial ground even for your corpse. Worthy nephew, the heads on your ship..." "They are the disciples of the Yunluo Emperor." Jing Baichuan said leisurely, "The Yunluo Emperor rebelled and was captured. His disciples, unmindful of heaven's grace, actually fled in rebellion into the Nine Provinces world and turned to banditry. I could not be bothered with them at first, but the Heavenly Court gave the order, so I had no choice but to come clean up the mess. These heads are the capital with which I will go to the Heavenly Court and trade for military merit. If Heavenly Venerable Mu's head could be traded for military merit, I would gladly hang it up there too — only, alas..." Shen Mu laughed. "My head is worth a great deal. At least seven of the Ten Heavenly Venerables want it. As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought amid danger. Worthy nephew, you might be doomed beyond redemption, or you might rise to dazzling heights. Do you not want to try?" Jing Baichuan's eyebrows twitched, and he chuckled. "Heavenly Venerable, do not tempt your little nephew. My self-restraint is very poor." Shen Mu smiled faintly, then suddenly chanted aloud: "The Purple River wheels the heavens round, the Dipper's handle lies athwart; neighing, the gaunt horse founders on its hurried march!" Hearing this, Yu Chudu, trapped within the banner formation, was struck by sudden inspiration. His techniqu