Chapter 1624 — No Gods in the World
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
After the You Heavenly Venerable had withdrawn all his Yin Envoy Elder clones, he reverted to the body of his youth, as though he had become once more that autistic boy wearing the ghost-faced mask of years past.
His mother had occupied nearly the whole of his sealed inner world. His mother had sustained him, kept him walking forward, kept him alive to this day.
Few could claim a place in his heart. Only three were exceptions.
The first was the Yu Heavenly Venerable, who had died at the Yaochi Grand Gathering. The Yu Heavenly Venerable was his elder brother—he supported him, encouraged him. After his mother's death, it was the Yu Heavenly Venerable who entered his heart and roused him, enabling him to accomplish the great feat of opening the Life-Death Divine Treasury.
The second was Shen Mu.
Shen Mu had avenged the Yu Heavenly Venerable, dared to defy the Heavenly Court in wrath, dared to offend Lady Yuanmu and the Heavenly Emperor Taichu—and so earned his respect. Shen Mu had also stolen the Yu Heavenly Venerable's corpse and promised to resurrect him a million years hence. Because of that promise, the You Heavenly Venerable had remained in Youdu for a million years. A promise weighing a million years as lightly as that—nothing more than that.
The third was the Earth Lord.
On the surface, the Earth Lord and the You Heavenly Venerable were sovereign and subject. The Earth Lord was the master of Youdu; the You Heavenly Venerable was the Tianqi Rensheng King he had enfeoffed, presiding over all affairs of Youdu, and was also the Yin Envoy Elder, responsible for guiding all the dead of the myriad heavens and worlds.
The Earth Lord had only one subordinate—the You Heavenly Venerable. Virtually all the work was done by the You Heavenly Venerable alone. The hardship of it could well be imagined.
But in truth, the You Heavenly Venerable and the Earth Lord were friends.
How alike the two of them were—both bound by kinship. The Earth Lord was trapped by his fatherly bond with his daughter, the Void Heavenly Venerable; the You Heavenly Venerable was trapped by his mother-son bond with his mother.
The two shared many common topics. Though when they conversed they were like gourds with sawed-off mouths, scarcely spilling a few seeds, they understood each other well.
Both were deeply withdrawn, yet each saw his own reflection in the other, found courage in the other.
In the battle of Xuandu, the You Heavenly Venerable, for Shen Mu's sake, had been able to step out from the bond with his mother, willing to follow Shen Mu to Xuandu to fight, risking death without regard for himself.
And in the battle of Youdu, the You Heavenly Venerable was willing, for the Earth Lord's sake, to let his mother reincarnate, to let his mother forget every memory of him!
"We have come to kill the Earth Lord. The one who will find it hardest to accept should be the You Heavenly Venerable."
Shen Mu thought silently: "But the You Heavenly Venerable should understand. He will find release, set down the burden in his heart—because A'Chou the Earth Lord will come back to life."
"I sense from both of you that you bear killing intent toward the Earth Lord."
The You Heavenly Venerable gave Shen Mu and the Ling Heavenly Venerable a deep look, a wary light flashing in his eyes as he warned them: "Do not act rashly. Do not do anything foolish."
Though withdrawn, he was exceedingly clever, and had vaguely guessed Shen Mu's intent.
"It must be because the Youdu Great Dao is hostile to me. I once resurrected a million people, and enraged the Youdu Great Dao."
Shen Mu laughed heartily and activated his Samsara divine ability, saying: "Thus the Youdu Great Dao urged the Earth Lord to kill me. The Ling Heavenly Venerable worried for me, and we grew vigilant in our hearts—so you mistook it for killing intent toward the Earth Lord."