Chapter 1668 — Gnawing to Prove the Dao

"It is to break down so soon?"

Though Shen Mu had long foreseen this day, he had not thought it would come so quickly.

His aim was to stall for as long as ever he could, to give Jingping room to breathe. As matters stood, only a small part of Jingping had been moved into the chaotic void, and more to the point, Jingping's war preparations were nowhere near complete.

"How go the details of Yuchenzi's negotiations with the Heavenly Court?"

He frowned slightly. Talks with the Heavenly Court were a matter of maneuvering over details; the envoys of the Heavenly Court and the envoys of Jingping would drag the talks out on the strength of those details, and the longer they were dragged out, the better.

"The Heavenly Court's wish to tear up the agreement is in truth a good thing." He brooded a moment, then mused, "Jingping never intended to sign those agreements in the first place. Still, we can lower our posture and negotiate a new agreement with the Heavenly Court. In this second round of talks, let Yuchenzi sell off still more of Jingping's interests."

The Village Elder and the Alchemist frowned.

Shen Mu went on, "Done that way, it ought to buy us a little more time. However humiliating the agreement Yuchenzi negotiates, it must still pass through my hands. So long as I do not sign, it is a sheet of waste paper."

The brows of the Village Elder and the Alchemist smoothed out. The Alchemist laughed, "Then Yuchenzi will have to bear the infamy."

"He long ago realized as much," Shen Mu nodded. "When I sent him to the Heavenly Court to sue for peace, he already knew he might bear the infamy, might even be beaten to death by an angry populace. He has been prepared for it all along. While he is away negotiating with the Heavenly Court, the spirit-energy translocation bridges to the other heavens must likewise be made ready, linking us directly with those heavens and bypassing the Heavenly Court."

He paced to and fro, musing aloud, "During the second round of talks between the Heavenly Court and Jingping, with Heaven Coins running short, the Heavenly Court will surely set upon the other heavens. The court lacks money, and distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Draining the blood of the heavens already under its control is the quickest way to coin; draining the blood of heavens beyond its grasp takes far longer."

He lifted his head and murmured, "In those heavens the people can scarcely live, so revolt is inevitable. When those heavens rise in rebellion, how could the Heavenly Court tolerate it? Heavenly Venerate Hao has only just proclaimed himself emperor; he grants favor and wields terror together, and now is his chance to establish his authority. He will surely wipe out a few of the heavens to overawe the world. But to destroy heavens that cling to the Heavenly Court will only chill the rest and turn his own subordinates' hearts away. When Jingping steps forward to stand against the Heavenly Court, with Jingping as the bellwether, might it not set the prairie alight from a single spark?"

The Heavenly Court's great army of gods and demons was drawn from the countless heavens, and the geniuses of those worlds all took pride in entering the Heavenly Court.

If the Heavenly Court acted perversely and lost the people's hearts, it would lose the wellspring of its talent.

To be sure, Emperor Hao could coerce the countless heavens with the Heavenly Court's mighty arms, but the turning of hearts would mean ever more people rising against the Heavenly Court.

There might even be many heavens that allied with Jingping, or geniuses from across the worlds who joined Jingping!

In that way the gap between Jingping and the Heavenly Court in mid-tier strength would narrow greatly, and things would not be as hopeless as they now seemed.

The Village Elder asked, "And if the Heavenly Court forces Jingping to sign before Jingping is ready? Draining the blood of other heavens only slows the decline of the Heaven Coin, but draining Jingping's blood would settle the Heavenly Court's problem once and for all! You want to buy time, but Emperor Hao may not grant you the chance! Can you stake the lives of every soul in Jingping on it?"

Shen Mu shook his head. "I cannot. So when the Heavenly Court brings the agreement, I will sign. But a contract I have signed is also a scrap of waste paper, to be torn up at any moment."

The Village Elder and the Alchemist gaped, watching his back as he walked into the palace.

"Before the question of Jingping's survival, what do one man's honors and humiliations matter? The boy Shen has truly grown up."

The Village Elder rose, smiling. "I too must make a trip to Jingping, to negotiate with the Heavenly Court's envoys. Alchemist, come with me. You stand on excellent terms with Lady Yuanmu; if you take the field and open up that channel through Lady Yuanmu, we can surely put off the day a while longer."

The Alchemist's face turned bitter; the Village Elder meant for him to sell his charms.

He had only with great difficulty used the war in the Southern Heavens as his chance to escape Lady Yuanmu's clutches, and now he was to go back?

"Heavenly Venerate Mu."

The woodcutter Wentian Ge, the scholar Yan Yunxi, the old farmer Zhuo Cha, and the fisherman Han Tang saluted Shen Mu. Shen Mu returned the courtesy and said to the woodcutter, "Master, what brings you here?"

The woodcutter said, "Di Yiyue, the First Heavenly King, has succeeded to the office of Kaihuang, and so we have come to inform Heavenly Venerate Mu. Will Heavenly Venerate Mu attend the ceremony?"

"Di Yiyue has become the second Kaihuang?"

Shen Mu pondered a moment, then said, "In strength she may well be called the first person in Carefree Land, though she is still far inferior to Kaihuang in his prime. I am living in seclusion now, so I will not go."

The woodcutter said, "If Di Yiyue becomes the second Kaihuang, then the Heavenly Court will surely strike at Carefree Land. Can Carefree Land buy Jingping some time?"

Shen Mu gave him a long look and shook his head. "If Carefree Land pours out all its strength to resist a Heavenly Court expedition, holding out a single year would already be admirable. One Heavenly Venerate descending to the lower world at the head of a million gods and demons would be enough to crush Carefree Land within a year!"

The old farmer Zhuo Cha asked, "Would one year be enough?"

"The time I need is twenty years at the very least."

Shen Mu said, "Carefree Land need not throw its lives away for nothing. If you truly wish to help Jingping, then send every skilled craftsman of Carefree Land into Jingping, to help forge mighty instruments for the great war twenty years hence! Forty years from now, Shen Ye will appear as Kaihuang."

The four Heavenly Masters were shaken, and exchanged glances.

Shen Mu smiled. "If you trust me, then place Carefree Land's future in my hands. When Yuchenzi negotiates, Carefree Land will be a chip as well, one that can be sold away."

The old farmer Zhuo Cha flew into a rage, but the Woodcutter Sage, hearing the strings and knowing the melody, laughed. "Carefree Land is indeed an excellent chip. Then it is settled."

Once he spoke, the other Heavenly Masters all fell silent, raising no protest.

Shen Mu asked curiously, "The four Heavenly Masters would not have come together merely over Di Yiyue becoming the second Kaihuang. Is there something else?"

The Woodcutter Sage said, "I come on private business. You are my disciple, after all; as your teacher I ought to come and see you in person. Did you look at the congratulatory gift I sent when you were married?"

Shen Mu nodded. "I looked."

The Woodcutter Sage looked expectant. "Was it able to make up for what your cultivation art lacked?"

Shen Mu smiled. "In principle it could, but I have found something better!"