Chapter 1598 — Burning the Body as an Offering to Heaven

"Her Highness the Empress seems even madder than when I last saw her."

Shen Mu was somewhat uneasy. Her Highness the Empress's symptoms had not eased in the least; they had worsened, worse than last time — raving and unhinged.

In truth, the present Empress could no longer be called the Empress, nor Yuanmu either, but rather the Goddess of Guixu.

For back in the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, the Ancient God of Taiji, greedy for quick results, had forcibly fused the Empress and Yuanmu together. Their consciousnesses were merged into one; neither had annihilated the other, but instead they had become a single whole, a strange state in which each was within the other.

The Ancient God of Taiji had sought in them a path by which he and his sister might fuse and attain the Dao, and the result was this bizarre Dao-attainer, the Goddess of Guixu.

The Goddess of Guixu had two personalities: one believed herself to be the Empress, the other believed herself to be Yuanmu. But in truth both were parts of the Goddess of Guixu — only, the Goddess had been tormented into madness and could not perceive it.

The Empress and Yuanmu had fought all their lives. When they were twin lotuses on a single stem, that was one thing; but to dwell in one body at the same time was quite another matter.

Crash — the sound of water was deafening.

Shen Mu and Gong Tianzun, battered by the waters of the Netherworld River, came through the Great Rift into Guixu.

Above Guixu floated dead stars and constellations, enormous planets hanging over their heads, shattered and broken, drawn on by the Great Abyss; now and then a star fell into the Abyss and burst into dazzling light.

There were even ruined heavens that drifted here, drawn in, caught by the Great Abyss and torn apart.

The Netherworld River rushed on, and when it reached this place it too was drawn by the Great Abyss and poured into that unfathomable cosmic rift.

Shen Mu poked his head out of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, his gaze flickering. Guixu had grown more complete than when he had last come; it must have recovered its original appearance.

When he had last come here, the Heavenly River had poured into the Eastern Sea of the Primordial World; it had not flowed straight into the Great Abyss — rather, the waters of the Eastern Sea had poured into the Abyss.

Now the Heavenly River had returned to its original course, flowing through Youdu, and in Youdu it became the Netherworld River. Only thus had this universe regained its true face.

Suddenly, the Great Abyss of Guixu, having swallowed too many stars and fragments of heavens, gave rise to a tide, spewing streams of light outward.

This was the Guixu Tide; Shen Mu had encountered it on his last visit.

But this time, with the Netherworld River pouring in, the Guixu Tide erupted more violently and more magnificently than ever. The streams of light rolled on in vast procession, like another Heavenly River made of radiance and shadow, jetting into the void, flying off to no one knew where.

The Netherworld River, however, still poured into the Abyss, and was not ejected along with the Guixu Tide.

Two great flowers, twined about each other, rose slowly from the Abyss; it was around these twin lotuses on a single stem that the Netherworld River coiled as it flowed into the depths of the Abyss.

The twin lotuses were fresh and gorgeous; in so harsh an environment they were still bewitching.

"Gong Tianzun, don't you find it strange?"

Shen Mu stared at the two great flowers in a daze, then said suddenly, "The ancient gods are born of eggs, born of the Dao, born of sacrifice, born of heaven and earth. Among the Dao-born ancient gods are the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Earl, Tianyin, and the Empress and her sister."

Gong Tianzun did not know what she was driving at, and listened quietly.

"The Heavenly Duke, the Earth Earl, and Lady Tianyin have no companion treasures; only the Empress and her sister have companion treasures."

Shen Mu leaned his upper body out of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel and pointed at the twin lotuses. "These twin lotuses are their companion supreme treasure! As the Five Primal Greats, from Taiyi to Taiji, all have companion supreme treasures!"

Gong Tianzun's expression shifted slightly. She probed, "You mean...?"

"Could the Empress and her sister not be Dao-born ancient gods at all, but deities of the same kind as the Five Greats?"

Shen Mu voiced the doubt in his heart. "The geography of Guixu is exceedingly peculiar. The Dao-born ancient gods are the ancient gods that appeared when the Dao was born — the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Earl, Tianyin. All three are bound up with life; where life exists, they are born. But Guixu seems not to be so. Then for what was Guixu born? And in what age was it born?"

Gong Tianzun raised the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel and studied the Guixu Tide, waiting for the tide to ebb so that she could toss him into the Great Abyss. She laughed. "Mu Tianzun, you are already at death's door — why do you still have the leisure to study such outlandish things?"

"To hear the Dao in the morning, one may die content at night. Gong Tianzun, where you fall short of the Grand Emperor, of Taichu, of Hao Tianzun, is precisely that you have so little thirst for knowledge."

Shen Mu laughed. "And so you fall short of me as well."

Gong Tianzun sneered. "How harmonious we were when first we met! I borrowed your skills to escape the Ancestral Court, and I owed you a favor — which I later repaid. When Longhan split, I seized the Heavenly Emperor's fleshly body and met with foul play; you saved my life — and I later repaid that too. Mu Tianzun, if not for your obstinacy, how would it ever have come to this?"

Shen Mu recalled the past and sighed with emotion. "Gong, if I had known back then what you were, would I still have saved you?"

"No."

Gong Tianzun said flatly. "You would have pushed me down the well and wished me dead."

Shen Mu said mildly, "Then I need not remind you that Her Highness the Empress is right behind you."

Gong Tianzun's hair stood on end. She whipped around, and there indeed stood Her Highness the Empress behind her!

The Empress had been reincarnated as Consort Yan; the two women's looks were not alike, and Consort Yan had always been one of the Ten Celestial Venerables, so few had ever doubted her identity.

And now she had reverted to the appearance of Her Highness the Empress.

The woman stood there expressionless, staring fixedly at Gong Tianzun, motionless.

Gong Tianzun let out a breath. "Consort Yan, though I have thrown in my lot with Hao Tianzun and you with Xiao Tianzun, there is no great grievance between us. On the contrary, our interests are the same. There is no need for us to fight to the death; in the end, whether Xiao Tianzun wins or Hao Tianzun wins, we shall still be Celestial Venerables."

Her Highness the Empress still stared fixedly at her, saying nothing.

Gong Tianzun frowned slightly, sensing that something was off about the Empress's state, and went on, "There were some grievances between us in the ancient era, but that is past. Let bygones be bygones."

Her Highness the Empress still stared fixedly at her, then suddenly raised a hand. Gong Tianzun moved to block, but blocked only air — the Empress's hand had already touched her face.

Gooseflesh rose on Gong Tianzun's skin; she did not dare move.

The Empress stroked her face for a while, then murmured as if in a dream, "Little sister, haven't you kicked up enough fuss? Here is a fine body — just move into it, and you need not contend with me anymore."

Gong Tianzun's scalp went numb. "A fine body — you mean me?"

From the back of the Empress's head came suddenly another woman's voice, like Lady Yuanmu's, giggling. "Elder sister, where have I contended with you? It is plainly you who contend with me! If you truly wish to be parted from me, kill Gong Tianzun and take up residence in her body!"