Chapter 1447 — May the Good Prosper
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
All around was silence, save for the distant sound of soldiers from the northwest, their thick regional accents carrying through the dark as they called out their comrades' names in long drawn-out cries, summoning their souls to return, begging them not to stray into the Netherworld—for the Netherworld has Lord Tu, tiger-faced and ox-bodied, who will drive them on with the whip of the Styx. Shen Mu listened to those long, drawn-out calls, somewhat entranced. "The Netherworld has the Netherworld's rules," said the Netherworld Heavenly Venerate. "To revive so many is to defy the Netherworld's rules. Lord Tu will never permit it.
" "I know the Netherworld's rules well enough.
To revive so many in one breath is to defy the great Dao of the Netherworld," Shen Mu said. "And yet Lord Tu is so tightly bound by the rules that we are all left helpless. Netherworld Heavenly Venerate, Jingping is a mere pellet of ground to the Ten Heavenly Venerates. The Fire Heavenly Venerate has already begun to move troops against Jingping.
When he truly sweeps over us, Jingping will crumble to dust and more will die. If we let the rules shackle us to death, only ruin awaits us.
Lord Tu too wishes to break free of the shackles of the Netherworld's great Dao—so why not turn a blind eye?
" The Netherworld Heavenly Venerate shook his head. "Lord Tu is still Lord Tu, and the great Dao of the Netherworld is still the great Dao of the Netherworld. It must be handled with strict impartiality. " "Wooden skull!
" Shen Mu laughed in sheer exasperation.
"Netherworld Heavenly Venerate, go back and tell Lord Tu that I consulted you only out of courtesy!
I can revive these people directly without asking Lord Tu's opinion at all! Whether Lord Tu agrees or not, I am going to do this!
" The Netherworld Heavenly Venerate's gaze settled on him. "Your wings have grown stiff.
" "Stiff as iron, hard as a board! " Shen Mu's voice was just as hard. "The ancient gods value me because I am the Great Dharma Master of Undying Through Ten Thousand Kalpas. The ancient gods hope I will use my arts to revive them—even if their souls have scattered, I can pull their spirits back. And now that I am to revive the human race, you lecture me on rules? I have the power—why should I not use it? " The Netherworld Heavenly Venerate's face remained expressionless.
"The battlefield dead are without number. To revive them is not only to act against the Netherworld, but to consume your own dharma power.
How many can you save?
These bodies are already destroyed. Even if you have mastered the Dao of Creation and can repair their flesh, how many can you repair? " The corner of Shen Mu's eye twitched. The Netherworld Heavenly Venerate went on.
"This is but one of countless battlefields.
On the others, the dead are beyond counting—can you raise them all?
Every day, every turning instant, in the heavens and the myriad worlds, untold numbers die. Can you save them? Mu Heavenly Venerate, even if you are a Heavenly Venerate, your power has its limit. You cannot save everyone. What is more, if you revive the dead on a grand scale, the great Dao of the Netherworld will bind Lord Tu and set him against you.
Lord Tu was born of the great Dao; he cannot do as he wills. " He rose to his feet. "Anything that disturbs the order of the Netherworld must be punished! The worlds I have destroyed are beyond counting—let Jingping not become one of them. For if Lord Tu is bound by the great Dao of the Netherworld and forced to act, more worlds still will be destroyed!
The reason Lord Tu has not moved against you all these years is that he has been struggling against the rules of the Netherworld's great Dao, resisting the Dao's command.