Chapter 1425 — Turning the Palm Brings Clouds, Flipping It Brings Rain

The information revealed in this made men's blood run cold! But the Ten Celestial Venerables' power reached the heavens, and they quickly suppressed the matter.

Now, from Crown Prince Mingya's defection to Hao Celestial Venerable's becoming Crown Prince Hao, it seemed there was no smoke without fire.

The order in which Shen Mu promulgated these four great matters was carefully considered. The campaign against the Heavenly Duke was placed first, to shock; it showed that the killing of the Heavenly Duke had nothing to do with him.

The opening of the Ancestral Court and the founding of the Beast World were placed in the middle, to buy men's hearts.

And the investiture of the crown prince was placed last, to set the rulers of the myriad worlds pondering. When the Heaven Alliance assembly ended, this fourth matter would keep the rulers of every realm discussing it for a long while, imperceptibly diminishing Hao Celestial Venerable's standing in men's hearts and lowering the prestige of the Ten Celestial Venerables as well.

Moreover, once word that the Heavenly Emperor was already dead spread, all manner of rumors would race abroad, and the image of the Ten Celestial Venerables would suffer greatly.

This was a war upon the heart; had the order of these four announcements been altered even slightly, the effect would not have been the same. It was precisely because Shen Mu had passed through the baptism of the Nine Hells Terrace that his heart of the Dao was pure and his wisdom clear, and so he could, without seeming to try, summon clouds and call down rain, turning the Ten Celestial Venerables' excellent position into a disadvantage in a few words. The heart of the Dao and the realm of the Dao — through the ages, divine arts practitioners and gods had paid them little heed; but from now on, more and more would prize the heart of the Dao and the realm of the Dao.

There were also those who saw further, and said silently in their hearts: "If the Heavenly Emperor is a puppet and not the true Heavenly Emperor, and the Ten Celestial Venerables hold victory in their grasp, then when the great matter is settled in the future, who will be Heavenly Emperor? After all, there are eleven of the Ten Celestial Venerables.

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In the future we shall have to choose sides not only between the Heavenly Emperor and the Ten Celestial Venerables, but among the Ten Celestial Venerables themselves!

" "One wrong step, and there is no recovery from ten thousand kalpas! " "Even if the Ten Celestial Venerables level the ancient gods in the future, the world will not be at peace; on the contrary, the strife will grow fiercer and bloodier!

We too must prepare early!

" At the grand assembly of the Heavenly Court, the Ten Celestial Venerables wore faces as mild as a spring breeze, but none of their hearts was calm.

Imperceptibly, Shen Mu had become a formidable opponent — and this opponent had even slipped in among them, calling them brothers, dividing up the spoils with them! "Still, in years past, the Cloud Celestial Venerable, a harder man to deal with than he, also died at our hands; the Mu Celestial Venerable of today is not yet the equal of the Cloud Celestial Venerable.

If he thinks to overturn the heavens with one hand, he is surely deluding himself! " Each of the Ten Celestial Venerables had his own abacus in his heart, reckoning his gains and losses.

After this grand assembly, the myriad worlds would all see the potential of the Jingping Reforms and the Kaihuang Reforms, and it was to be feared that more and more would yearn for them and try to absorb the fruits of the reforms.

The situation was gradually slipping from their control. They must strictly forbid the other worlds from following Jingping and Kaihuang in reform, and at the same time must hasten to infiltrate Jingping, so that their own clones might draw in more of the fruits of reform, preparing for the future and seizing every advantage!

In the future, even if the tide of reform ran on irresistible, they would, having seized every advantage, still stand at the summit of the world, at the apex of power!

Jingping, a tiny patch of land, had imperceptibly become the place that would shape their future! "But whatever changes the future brings, our position will not be shaken! We remain the world's most apex predators!

" The Heaven Alliance's grand assembly ended, and undercurrents surged.

Founding the Beast World was a great undertaking, not easily accomplished. The Beast World required the uniting of the reverse sides of the great worlds, and the migration of the giant beasts on the reverse side of the Ancestral Court into the Beast World.

Besides the Ten Celestial Venerables and Long Xiao breaking the seal on the reverse side of the Ancestral Court, the sealed reverse sides of the various worlds had to be opened up and joined.

For the Heavenly Court of today, this was not difficult. The Ancestral Court and the reverse sides of the great worlds had been sealed by the Heavenly Emperor Taichu together with the ancient gods of the primeval age, and the Heavenly Court's strength now far surpassed what it had been then.

But to accomplish this — to unify the reverse sides of the worlds into the Beast World, to let only the ancient giant beasts dwell there and bar all other races from entering — new sealing divine arts had yet to be developed. This was not difficult for the Ten Celestial Venerables and the holy ones of the Heavenly Court; the Ten Celestial Venerables handed the matter to the Dao Ancestor and the Daoist sect of the Heavenly Court.

Shen Mu, for his part, had leisure; he sat in the Mu Celestial Venerable's residence cultivating, seeking to comprehend more of the uses of the Nine Hells Terrace, that realm.

From time to time rulers of the various worlds came to visit, and he had them turned away, presenting the air of one who strove with no one and devoted himself to quiet cultivation. The Ten Celestial Venerables built the Beast World and shut him out of it, yet Shen Mu did not take it to heart; so long as he mastered the summoning divine art, it mattered little that he took no part in building the Beast World.

Half a year later, the Ten Celestial Venerables completed the Beast World; Long Xiao led the ancient giant beasts into it, and the first god successfully summoned the first ancient giant beast. When the beast returned to the Beast World, it caused another sensation throughout the myriad worlds.

Only then did Shen Mu step out of the Mu Celestial Venerable's residence.

He looked about and saw that some gods in the Heavenly Court had summoned ancient giant beasts and were joyfully riding them on their way.

In streets and alleys, all the talk was of summoning ancient giant beasts and of the wealth of the Ancestral Court; already many people from the various worlds had moved to the Ancestral Court, preparing to settle there and mine its riches.

There were even rumors that His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor had gathered the Ten Celestial Venerables to deliberate, and was preparing to move the Heavenly Court into the Ancestral Court.

Shen Mu walked toward the Langxuan Divine Emperor's Langxuan Divine Palace.

In the sky another giant beast descended, and a young god was wild with joy, cheering without cease — it must have been he who had summoned the ancient giant beast.

"Long Xiao, do not disappoint me — otherwise, when you meet my elder brother in the future, it will truly be your day to die.

" Shen Mu's eyes flickered, and he came to the Langxuan Divine Palace.

The Langxuan Divine Emperor came out to welcome him, and the two sat down in the Lingxiao Hall within. Shen Mu made his purpose known: "I would like to borrow Your Divine Majesty's Jade Pool and Jade Terrace in the Ancestral Court.

" The Langxuan Divine Emperor's eyes flickered.

Holding his teacup, he stole glances at Shen Mu's face, letting no change of expression escape him, and sipped his tea.