Chapter 1190 — The Venerable's Lantern
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
The one who had destroyed Shen Mu's altar and wiped out the two Heavenly Venerable treasure carriages and the eighteen heavenly dragons beyond all trace was an incomparably mighty artifact-wielding Heavenly Venerable! "The number of artifact-wielding Heavenly Venerables is limited.
To this day, though the Zaofu Heavenly Palace has produced many of the lesser sort, only ten truly possess a power that can rend heaven and earth. " Divine Emperor Langxuan's face shifted between light and shade, and his voice came out hoarse: "And now there is an eleventh! Who in the world forged this eleventh artifact-wielding Heavenly Venerable?
" "Lady Yuanmu, of course. " Venerable Gong looked all around and said, "Not the slightest trace is to be found here.
Our treasure carriage, Venerable Mu's altar — they seem to have been utterly destroyed.
Such means belong only to the Empress and her sister. " Heavenly Consort Yan and Heavenly Consort Qiang nodded. "Only the Empress and Lady Yuanmu, with their Guixu divine art, can annihilate matter completely.
" The eight Heavenly Venerables wore anxious looks. The Ancestral God King said in a low voice, "But Lady Yuanmu was already killed by Venerable Ling.
.
.
" No one spoke.
In the Heavenly Court there was, he feared, indeed an eleventh Heavenly Venerable, and that one was none other than Daosheng of the ancient gods, Lady Yuanmu, who held the power to destroy matter! Shen Mu said abruptly, "Could Lady Yuanmu be Venerable Fire or Venerable Xu?
" Every heart turned solemn.
Shen Mu blinked and said, "Of the ten Heavenly Venerables, only those two are absent from this place.
They are the most suspect! " Venerable Hao coughed once and said mildly, "Venerable Mu, do not try to muddy the waters.
They are leading the Heavenly Court's armies against Taixu and have no strength to spare; it cannot be them. " Shen Mu smiled faintly and said no more.
His purpose had been precisely to muddy the waters.
Even if Venerable Hao spoke thus, in his heart he could hardly keep from suspecting Venerable Fire and Venerable Xu; and so long as there was suspicion, his words had not been wasted. "Troublous times. " Venerable Hong gave a melancholy sigh and said with feeling, "These ancient gods are dead yet unyielding.
When will they be rooted out, and the countless beings of the world given back a bright and clear heaven and earth?
Ah — away, away! " His great sleeves fluttered; graceful and free, he fled far into the distance.
The other Heavenly Venerables departed one after another as well, leaving Shen Mu stranded where he stood.
Shen Mu's face went black, and he set himself dutifully to the road.
The starry sky stretched vast and endless.
Though his speed was not slow, it was still slower by he knew not how much than these Heavenly Venerables; his form became a streak of flowing light, and he raced on for several months before he finally came upon the first star. "If I travel on these two legs, I fear it will take more than ten years to return to the Heavenly Court! " Shen Mu steadied himself, and suddenly recalled that he still had the lantern Venerable Yue had given him.
His heart stirred despite himself: "Venerable Yue established her Dao upon the art of space and became a Heavenly Venerable of her generation.
Might there be something strange about her lantern? " He took out the lantern, hoisted it on its pole, and drove it with his vast and surging primal energy. Where the lamplight shone, the endless starry sky contracted beneath his feet.
Under that light even the sun in the distance grew exceedingly small, as though a single step could carry him across it. Shen Mu was stunned a moment, then tentatively took a step — and in that one step he crossed the whole solar system; several dozen steps in succession carried him over an entire nebula.
"This divine art. .
. it is worthy indeed of the name of Heavenly Venerable!