Shrouding the Heavens: The Years of Being the Female Emperor's Sternest Master

How familiar this scene was.

Back in the Primordial Era, hadn't these pillars of the court, these trusted right-hand men, often thrown shameless tantrums and rolled about before him?

"Now that Your Majesty has returned, though Old Pang and I do not have much time left, we still wish to follow behind Your Majesty, to be the blade in Your Majesty's hand, to answer Your call, and to spend our final shred of strength..."

The old cultivator with the black mole was bent with age, yet his voice rang out like clashing gold and iron.

Compared to Guo Ziqian, Pang Ya, and the others, he appeared far more proper. He came from a great human clan of the Primordial Era and had once been a genius of his generation.

However, he later encountered the emperor he spoke of on the Ancient Road. After his defeat, he had followed at the emperor's side ever since.

After the Human Emperor Hall was established, he served as an inspector within the battle formations, wielding the authority Tan Lin had granted him. He was upright and impartial by nature.

During those old campaigns beyond the stars, amid march after march and battle after battle, Guo Ziqian and the others might have dared to act foolishly and throw tantrums before the Human Emperor from time to time, but they alone feared him.

"Jixian, my current state cannot endure forever. I will eventually fade away. I fear I must disappoint the passion in your heart."

Tan Lin looked at Duan Jixian and sighed.

Duan Jixian did not seem surprised. He stepped forward, bowed with cupped hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Then I ask Your Majesty to draw our souls into the battle banner of old. Our lifespans are nearly exhausted anyway. In the years to come, staying within the banner alongside countless old comrades will at least spare us loneliness..."

Before he could finish.

The few men beside him exchanged glances. Then, as though by prior agreement, all five old cultivators, including Guo Ziqian, stepped forward and bowed with cupped hands.

"May Your Majesty draw our souls into the banner, that we may speak at length with our old comrades!"

Enter the banner and speak at length with their old comrades...

Speak at length with their old comrades...

Speak at length...

At that moment, the five men's voices swept away all traces of frailty. Their words were forceful and resounding, each syllable clear and full of vigor.

Their voices echoed continuously through the great hall.

Tan Lin fell silent and gave no response.

When their voices gradually faded, the hall became deathly still.

Yet outside the hall, the enormous banner that had descended with Tan Lin, crashing down from the sky and piercing the earth, suddenly stirred without wind. The battle banner of old snapped fiercely in the air.

A long while passed.

The five old subordinates in the hall remained in their bowed positions, motionless as clay statues, their resolve unshakable.

Tan Lin furrowed his brow slightly and directly picked someone to rebuke.

"Guo Ziqian, you scoundrel of a soldier. You have at least several hundred years left to live. Why are you joining in their nonsense?"

Guo Ziqian merely stared at the ground before him with his old eyes. He said nothing, as though he had heard nothing at all.

Every one of them was stubborn. They were proud, battle-hardened generals who had followed the Human Emperor from before he had truly risen to prominence, experiencing event after event and battle after battle. Outside of major matters, disobedience was their usual state.

Though they were his subordinates, they were also comrades-in-arms, and even friends who could drink and laugh together.

Seeing this, even Tan Lin nearly laughed in exasperation at their determined attitude.

"Just now, I examined the treasury of the Human Emperor Hall with my divine sense. There is not much Divine Source Liquid left, but it is more than enough to seal the five of you away."

"..."

The five remained silent.

At this moment, even Duan Jixian, who had once obeyed Tan Lin's every command, simply looked at his nose and his heart, unmoved.

It was as if they had made a private pact. Until their Human Emperor gave his consent, they would all pretend not to hear him.

"Fine, fine, fine! What a group of loyal ministers and valiant generals. What pillars of the human race!"

Upon the Dao platform in the hall, Tan Lin truly "smiled."

"After a million years, it seems my words truly no longer carry any weight..."

For the first time since his return, he referred to himself as "I, the Emperor."

Before he could finish speaking, he acted and suppressed them.

Imperial might erupted. These few Great Saint Realm peak cultivators, their vitality already failing, were no match for him at all. In an instant, they were suppressed.

Then, with a sweep of his hand, he ignored the treasury's restrictions with imperial power, retrieved the remaining Divine Source Liquid, and sealed the men away one by one.

? The Day of My Return Once More Shall Be the Day the Seas Are Clear and the Rivers Peaceful (3K)

"Your Majesty! We are like hairs attached to Your Majesty's body. If Your Majesty has passed away, what meaning is there for us to linger in this world, struggling on in wretched survival? Our lifespans are nearly spent, and we will eventually vanish. Better to enter the banner and speak at length with our old comrades..."

"May Your Majesty grant our request!!"

"Your Majesty..."

Sealed in an instant, Duan Jixian and the others had no means of resisting. Their pleading voices abruptly ceased as the Divine Source Liquid completely enveloped them.

Splash!

Five humanoid Divine Source Blocks slowly took shape, each radiating dazzling divine light. The hall became utterly silent as well.

In the end, Tan Lin stood upon the Dao platform for a long time before letting out a long sigh.

Time was like a blade. Even beings as powerful as Celestial Venerables, Ancient Emperors, and Great Emperors rarely escaped its edge.

The passing of old friends always brought sorrow.

Perhaps immortality meant silently watching old acquaintances around you die one after another, while you alone lived to the end, utterly alone.

When I truly return, I will find an Undying Medicine for each of you. Then we shall drink and laugh together once more...

Tan Lin remained silent within his heart.

So long as a wisp of his true soul remained, he could continuously begin another Lifetime. Such a secret concerned the workings of heaven and could not be spoken aloud.

After a moment, he calmed his emotions. With a sweep of his sleeve, he put away the five Divine Source Blocks and walked out of the great hall.

When he looked outside, he found that at some point, a great number of cultivators from the hall had been restrained by formation patterns.

They were Gong Xuan's followers from the forbidden zones, a different kind of "hounds" raised outside by Supreme Beings. Bound at this moment, every one of them wore an ashen face.

All around them, countless Human Emperor Hall cultivators who had once been forced by circumstances to swallow their anger were now filled with righteous indignation, cursing and striking those people.

Suiren Lianlei, Suiren Hong, and the others from the Ziwei Star Domain stood far away to one side. They did not interfere, though they occasionally discussed something among themselves.

But the moment they saw the Human Emperor emerge, everyone instantly fell silent. The scene became frighteningly quiet.

Tan Lin's deep gaze swept across every face, taking in their excitement, suppression, fanaticism, unease... and every other reaction.

He remained calm at heart. This was simply human nature.

"My current state will eventually fade away. Gong Xuan's life remains. When he returns, it would not be impossible for him to continue presiding over the Human Emperor Hall. Whether you stay or leave is up to you. Those who remain may decide for themselves..."

Amid the deathly silence, Tan Lin slowly spoke.

"Those who wish to leave may follow the Ziwei Lineage beyond the stars, away from this land of right and wrong. Where you settle may be Ziwei, or somewhere else of your own choosing..."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an intangible majesty.

He knew that after that reckless Supreme Being had launched a surprise attack on the Five-Colored Immortal Egg, the Undying Daoist would be unable to leave the core of that ancient star until his true body had completely finished this nirvana.

That would take a long time—long enough that he might even return to his peak in his next Lifetime.

Yet he still made only these arrangements.

If he could return once more, everything could naturally be reversed. The black mist would recede on its own, the seas would become clear and the rivers peaceful, and there would be no need to dwell on every detail.

If he perished completely or died midway, then there would be nothing more to say. It would merely be repeating the same mistakes.

"Your Majesty..."

After Tan Lin finished speaking, countless Human Emperor Hall cultivators around him burst into tears.

"We are willing to go beyond the stars! With Your Majesty gone, there is no point in remaining at the Human Emperor Hall of the Big Dipper!"

Some of the elders who, ever since entering the Human Emperor Hall, had offered incense every morning without fail for a thousand years before the Human Emperor's meditation seat wept with tear-filled eyes.

"Your Majesty..."

"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"

Within the formation-pattern restraints, those cultivators who had believed they would soon die were instantly granted a reprieve upon hearing Tan Lin's words.

They were overjoyed, as though they had been given a new life, and could not help shedding tears.

"Your Majesty's holy virtue surpasses the emperors and sovereigns of all ages..."

Thud... Thud...

After the formation patterns dissipated, they knelt before Tan Lin and bowed in heartfelt worship.

At this moment, in their hearts, perhaps no one in all of history deserved the title of "Human Emperor" more than this sovereign.

The greatness of his heart and the far-reaching scope of his vision inspired awe. It was impossible not to revere him.

To one side, the cultivators of the Human King Hall lineage from the Ziwei Star Domain were even more shaken. The gazes Suiren Lianlei and the others cast toward Tan Lin became increasingly devout.

Among them, the old Human King Suiren Hong suddenly attained a trace of enlightenment, and his aura began to surge.

Only today did he understand what a Human King was, and what a Human Emperor was.

Rumble...

Tribulation clouds gathered overhead.

Suiren Hong soared into the air and flew toward the Heavenly Tribulation.

He felt that perhaps he had never made a decision as correct as choosing to come pay respects at the Human Emperor Hall of the Big Dipper.

Witnessing the actions of the Human Emperor of old had allowed him, in his later years, to take another step forward. He rose from the sixth minor stage of the Great Saint Realm to the seventh!

Rumble rumble!

As the Heavenly Tribulation swept forth, the various great orthodoxies of the Central Plains outside the Human Emperor Hall's territory, which spanned hundreds of thousands of miles, were successively alarmed.

At first, they followed the sounds and gazed toward the distant sky, believing they might see the Human Emperor. Instead, they saw an old Human King.

Like withered wood welcoming spring, he had advanced another step.

After a while, the tribulation clouds dispersed.

"Thank you for Your Majesty the Human Emperor's boundless grace!"

Suiren Hong descended from the sky, knelt before Tan Lin, and performed another grand salute.

Tan Lin gave him a slight nod, then raised a hand.

At once, with a hum from not far away, the Human Emperor Banner flew up in fierce billows and landed in his hand. Yet in the next instant, he handed it to Suiren Hong.

Whoosh...

At that moment, countless gazes gathered around them. Their eyes burned, but not with greed. Rather, they were filled with longing for this symbol of the Human Emperor Hall's master throughout the ages.

"Your... Your Majesty, this... this..."

Seeing this, as though realizing something, Suiren Hong's kneeling body trembled uncontrollably.

"I will temporarily entrust this battle banner of old to you. Take it. When that junior comes into her own in the future, pass it on to her."

Tan Lin spoke lightly.

Whenever he activated the All-Causes Soul Pearl and reincarnated, he could not determine the exact location or time of his rebirth.

In the previous three Lifetimes, the span of time had ranged from a thousand years to even tens of thousands of years, so he did not know when he would be born and begin his next Lifetime.

This battle banner and the souls of soldiers and generals within it had previously languished beneath the Undying Daoist's restrictions for nearly a million years, only occasionally able to emerge and see daylight again. Moreover, it was far too conspicuous. Before returning to his peak in his next Lifetime, it would not be suitable for him to use it.

He did not wish for it to remain buried in dust for another long stretch of time, so he simply placed it temporarily in the hands of the Ziwei Human King lineage.

It was also a reward for the Ziwei Lineage's future care of the surviving cultivators from the Human Emperor Hall who would leave the Big Dipper.

"Thank you for Your Majesty's generous bestowal! We will certainly safeguard this divine artifact properly. Even if we are ground to dust and our bones shattered, we will never allow any harm to come to it!"

Kneeling before Tan Lin, Suiren Hong raised both trembling hands and carefully received the Human Emperor Banner.

At his side, Suiren Lianlei was also overwhelmed with excitement, her lovely face flushed red.