Chapter 1672 — Suspended Alone Beyond the Mortal World

In my Heavenly Court, from the civil and military officials at the top down to the merchants and the carriers of burdens below, every one of them is one of the great and powerful houses you speak of. Even you are one of the great. With that single sentence, you have given offense to every soul in the Heavenly Court, high and low! " With a smile that was half a smile, he went on, "I, too, was born into a great and powerful house.

What you propose is to overturn the Heavenly Court itself, root and branch!

The words were improper, but I will not hold them against you—I will only dock half a year of your stipend. " The light in Meng Yungui's eyes went dim, and he bowed. "Your servant accepts the punishment.

" The Haotian Emperor issued his decree: "In the days ahead, let it be as Heavenly Master Shang advises—on the one hand, annex Jingping; on the other, issue more currency. Heavenly Master Meng, you need trouble yourself with this matter no longer; leave it to Heavenly Master Shang to carry out.

" Meng Yungui said, heavy-hearted, "Your servant obeys. " The civil and military officials chorused their praise: "Your Majesty is most sagacious! " The Haotian Emperor returned to the inner palace and asked, "Has the Heavenly Venerable Mu returned? I am still waiting for him to surrender and sign the treaty. " An imperial guard replied, "The Heavenly Venerable Mu has not yet come.

The envoys of Jingping also left a few days ago. " The Haotian Emperor said, "They no longer matter.

The crux is the Heavenly Venerable Mu.

" Two days later, the Haotian Emperor asked again, "Has the Heavenly Venerable Mu returned? I am still waiting for him to come back and sign. " The guard answered, "Your Majesty, the Heavenly Venerable Mu is not in the Heavenly Court.

" The Haotian Emperor frowned.

Another five or six days passed, and the Haotian Emperor asked, "Has the Heavenly Venerable Mu still not returned?

If he does not come, I shall issue the order and have the Heavenly Venerable Xu wipe out half the population of Jingping!

" The guard answered, "The Heavenly Venerable Mu has reached the Ancestral Court and sent word that he will arrive at the Heavenly Court in another ten days.

" The Haotian Emperor said furiously, "What dawdling!

" Ten days later, Shen Mu arrived at the Heavenly Court, and after dragging his feet and sponging meals for a dozen or more days, he at length signed the treaty and departed, heavy of heart. The Haotian Emperor was overjoyed and ordered that the Heavenly Venerable Mu be seen off with full honors.

After Shen Mu had left the Heavenly Court, a murderous light blazed in the Haotian Emperor's eyes.

He summoned the Grand Minister and said, "So long as that villain Mu draws breath, I cannot rest easy.

Go and ask the Grand Supreme Emperor to do away with him while he is on the road! " He raised his hand and chopped heavily downward, saying savagely, "Tell the Grand Supreme Emperor: if he cannot kill him, then sink him into the Chaos River of the Ancestral Jade Capital City and annihilate him!

" The Grand Minister said, "Why does Your Majesty wish to kill the Heavenly Venerable Mu? He has already surrendered.

.

. " "I do not trust him!

" The Haotian Emperor laughed coldly.

"Even if his Dao-heart were shattered to nothing and he hid himself away from the world, I could not set my mind at ease. Only a dead Heavenly Venerable Mu is a good Heavenly Venerable Mu! The Grand Supreme Emperor may not be able to kill him, but sinking him into the Chaos is something he can manage.

And if the long River of Chaos should fail to grind him away, then at worst—" A smile spread over his face, and he went on, serene and easy, "At worst, the Heavenly Venerable Mu will return to the past and be his young Master Mu again. As long as he is not in this universe, I shall be at peace.

" The Grand Minister shuddered and hurried away.

On the other side, Shang Pingyin ordered the Zaofu Heavenly Palace to issue more heavenly currency for the purchase of mineral reserves from the various great heavens.

Yet the prices of the reserves ran higher than he had ever expected, and, pressed by necessity, he could only go on issuing still greater quantities of currency. But this very measure set the heavenly currency careering down like an avalanche; its value plummeted at staggering speed, and within two short months it had lost half its worth. Shang Pingyin could not understand it, and was at his wits' end. He went carefully back over Meng Yungui's formulas and equations of numerology—there was not the faintest error in any of them.

He thought of going to Meng Yungui for guidance, but he could not swallow his pride, so he could only send men to investigate. Another month passed, and the masters of numerology of the Heavenly Court returned from the great heavens, saying, "Jingping made its move one step ahead of us, using heavenly currency to buy up mines and driving up the price of mineral reserves in a great many heavens!

Heavenly currency flooded those heavens, and with the Heavenly Court's currency pouring in on top of it, the currency lost its value.

" "Impossible, impossible. . .

for the currency to flood, for the prices of mineral reserves to be forced up, for the currency to lose its value, Jingping would have to spend every last heavenly coin it has ever amassed. .

. " A roar went through Shang Pingyin's skull; his legs lost all their strength and he collapsed into his seat.

Then he sprang up all at once and said at top speed, "When did Jingping start buying mines?

" "Five years ago," the Court's masters of numerology answered. "Ever since the Battle of Youdu, Jingping has been using its heavenly currency to buy up ore veins throughout the great heavens. " Shang Pingyin knitted his brows and paced to and fro, muttering, "Five years ago, five years ago. .

. Curse it!

That was also the very time when the Heavenly Venerable Mu's Dao-heart was collapsing and he meant to surrender! There is treachery in this!

His purpose was only to drag out the time, waiting quietly for the Heavenly Court to inflate the currency!

Quick—I must see His Majesty! " He raced toward the inner palace.

But just then, on the way, he saw the many generals who had been sent to Jingping to receive Jingping's wealth rushing toward the Lingxiao Hall with their faces bruised and swollen. Shang Pingyin hastily caught hold of one of them, and the divine general wept, "Jingping utterly refuses to acknowledge the treaty the Heavenly Venerable Mu signed! They gave us a beating and drove us back! That one they call the Heavenly Venerable Ling said that anything she had not signed was nothing but waste paper!

We have been done out of our due, and we are going to report to His Majesty and have Jingping wiped out, nine clans and all! " Shang Pingyin's mind was in a turmoil.

And then, all at once, he saw the light of a spirit-energy transfer bridge within the Heavenly Court dim; the funnel-shaped stream of light that had flowed through the bridge gradually faded away! "The spirit-energy transfer bridge has been severed! " His heart thrown into utter chaos, Shang Pingyin cried out unwittingly, "Quick! Quick!

Restore that bridge. .

.

no, wait—guard every spirit-energy transfer bridge, and beware lest Jingping break. .

. " Before the words were out of his mouth, the stream of light of another bridge in the Heavenly Court vanished, then a second, then a third, and within a single breath, a thousand bridges, hundreds upon hundreds of them, went dark all at once! Soon every spirit-energy transfer bridge in the Heavenly Court was wholly extinguished.

The Heavenly Court floated in silence in the sky above the Ancestral Court, far removed from all the heavens and all the worlds—a lone island suspended beyond the mortal world, its ties to the myriad heavens severed beyond all recovery.