Chapter 1598 — Burning the Body as an Offering to Heaven
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
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!"