Chapter 1349 — He Who Rears Men Is Made Livestock

Shen Mu walked up to him, unfastened his robe and draped it over his shoulders, and said with a smile: "I, too, have need of a champion who dares to strive and fight, who dares even to give his life for the Creator race. Stay. The Primordial Age is past; the Creators still have a future. " Shu Jun looked at him, his gaze somewhat bewildered, and murmured: "Celestial Venerable Mu, you are not truly one of the Creators.

. .

" Shen Mu laughed heartily: "Anyone who fears neither hardship nor peril, who dares to remake heaven and earth, who dares to create new things, who cuts through the mountain when he meets it and bridges the river when he comes to it—that man is a Creator. Shu Jun, what difference is there between Jingping as it is now, between the human race as it is now, and the Creators? " Shu Jun's spirit was deeply stirred, and he turned and followed him back. Within the treasure seal, the Grand Emperor sneered: "Shu Jun, sinner of the Creator race, you have already brought ruin upon your own kind—will you bring ruin upon the humans as well?

" He laughed aloud: "In the Primordial Age you were a loser when you faced me, and a loser when you faced the ancient gods.

You lost everything. And you will be a loser still, in days to come!

" Shu Jun's lips moved a little; he said nothing. Shen Mu said unhurriedly: "Grand Emperor, the one who truly set the primordial Creators on the road to extinction was you. Had any other man faced the situation of those years, he could not have altered the outcome.

What I admire in Shu Jun is this: he did not flee as you did, but chose to remain and fight on.

He bears his burden; you do not. " The Grand Emperor smiled faintly: "To survive is to be the victor. Celestial Venerable Mu, you understand nothing! " Shen Mu laughed aloud, and his vital essence swept the treasure seal up and delivered it into Shu Jun's hands. "You two are uncle and nephew," he said.

"Take your time and reminisce.

There is business I must see to. " Shu Jun cradled the treasure seal, his gaze falling once more upon the imprisoned head of the Grand Emperor.

The Grand Emperor's expression shifted slightly; he sneered: "Shu Jun, you struck me just now—so now we are even, are we not?

You should know that you are a sinner too. You have no right at all to accuse me, still less to humiliate me. . . Celestial Venerable Mu!

You promised me you would not treat me as a treasure, and would not humiliate me! " Shen Mu turned back and said with a smile: "When did I ever humiliate you?

But if your uncle wishes to humiliate you, it is not for me to stop him.

" The Grand Emperor was furious, raging and stamping—but he could not leap out of that treasure seal. Shen Mu came to the outer reaches of the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains, where he saw the gods of Jingping attempting to work another vein, and could not help shaking his head: "Who did these fellows of Jingping learn such wickedness from? They look as though they fear death not at all.

. . " He came to the edge of the mining ground and made inquiry; one of the gods said hurriedly: "We are only working the outer veins. The prehistoric divine weapons within are not something we would dare touch. Old Master Blind is shrewd—he has already marked out the areas we may mine, so that we keep clear of the divine weapons at the heart of the vein.

Old Master Silent Artisan says that once we have worked the outer parts, we should leave the central region for the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping to go and get himself killed. " Shen Mu was well pleased. "Grandpa Blind and Grandpa Silent Artisan understand me best," he said with a smile.

"Of course I am not going to get myself killed—I am perfectly certain I can subdue those prehistoric divine weapons! " He gave them some instructions, and then saw the First Ancestor Human Emperor and the rest leading the younger generation—Jiang Yunjian and his fellows—back from beyond, mounted on several primordial behemoths they had captured and ridden as beasts of burden; the young men sat atop the great beasts in high delight, looking very imposing indeed. "Perhaps Jingping might raise an army of behemoths.

.

. " Shen Mu turned the matter over in his mind, then went to see Dragon Qilin and Yan'er, took out that Void Beast egg, and said: "The Void Beasts in the Great Void may no longer be alive. This egg may be the last Void Beast of all; if it hatches, it will be a mother beast! You must guard it with the greatest care, and not let the line die out.

" Dragon Qilin was overjoyed, and made haste to take charge of the egg, but Yan'er snatched it away, laughing: "The nest I built last time for that great round egg is still there—just the thing for hatching this Void Beast egg! " Shen Mu watched her hurry off, then looked at Dragon Qilin. "Fat Dragon, what was it you wanted to show me?

" Dragon Qilin hastened to present his treasures, leading Shen Mu into the heart of the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains, where palace after palace had been raised, every one of them bound with seals and prohibitions. Dragon Qilin came before one of the palaces, undid the seals and prohibitions, pushed open the doors, and said with a smile: "Please look, Sect Master!

" Shen Mu walked into the hall, and his eyes glazed over: the great hall glittered with treasure light of every hue, and heaps of divine metals and divine materials from every vein were piled up like mountains, each kind sorted and arranged in perfect order. Walking among these treasures, he saw a dozen or so vats besides, which surely held Hongmeng Essence Liquid; the liquid's aura could not be concealed, and seeped out, lending the divine metals and materials beside them an incomparable luster.

Then he saw the Taishi divine stones from the Taishi vein—few in number, yet still more than two hundred pieces. His gaze was drawn next to the Taisu divine stones, which were more plentiful, three hundred-odd pieces.

Most plentiful of all were the Taiji divine stones, heaped up like a mountain. Dragon Qilin stood before the Taiji divine stones, smug as could be, his tail raised upright like a flagpole overgrown with scales. Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or to cry.

"Fat Dragon, these Taiji divine stones are all fakes. Not one of them is real. " Dragon Qilin was struck dumb, then hurried to turn and examine them—yet the stones were in truth exactly like true Taiji divine stones, and no difference could be told.

"The vein that Divine Emperor Langxuan occupies is a false Taiji vein; you have seen the real one. " Shen Mu stepped forward, picked up a Taiji divine stone, and with a flicker of thought the stone suddenly dissolved into a wisp of yin and yang qi and vanished.

"This is a blinding trick made by the ancient god in the Taiji vein. It may serve to fool Divine Emperor Langxuan, but it cannot fool me.

" Dragon Qilin was left gaping.

Shen Mu said with a smile: "Of all the things you have plundered, the most valuable are still the Taishi and Taisu divine stones. But there is no need to do such things from now on.

Celestial Venerable Gong Yun and I have some old affection between us, so I can claim a tenth of the Taisu divine stones from her; and I have an agreement with Celestial Consort Yan, through which I obtained half the divine stones of her vein. From now on they will deliver them to me of their own accord.

" Dragon Qilin hung his head in dejection, his raised tail slowly drooping. Shen Mu said with a smile: "Still, you have solved a great problem for me.

If I went to rob Celestial Venerable Gong Yun's vein myself, I could not bring myself to lose that much face.