Chapter 1629 — Abnormal Thinking
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
"Of the eleven Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court," Kaihuang said calmly, "the Palace Heavenly Venerable, the Hong Heavenly Venerable, Consort Qiang, Shi Qiluo, and Consort Yan have already fallen and ceased to be.
Of the so-called Ten Heavenly Venerables, only Fire, Ancestral, Lang, Void, Taichu, and yourself remain.
As for us, besides myself there are the Cloud Heavenly Venerable, who has already attained the Dao, and Moon, Ling, You, Mu, and Langwan. In numbers, we already hold the advantage.
Moreover, the Imperial Heavenly Venerable is also on our side. Hao Heavenly Venerable, you ought to feel alarm rising in your heart.
" The Hao Heavenly Venerable waved his hand, and a cloud terrace appeared, floating between the two great mountains.
He stepped onto it—a stone table and two cushions awaited—and seated himself on the left cushion.
"Kaihuang, I once heard that at the Jasper Pool feast, when you saw the Imperial Heavenly Venerable and me, you said that if the Imperial Heavenly Venerable became Emperor, you would face north and acknowledge yourself his subject, but if I became Emperor, you could take my place. " Kaihuang shook his head. "That was not what I said.
At the Jasper Pool I perceived that you were headstrong and self-willed.
If you became Emperor, I would stand as your equal, seize the momentum of the world, gather the hearts of the people—and none could yet say under whose hand the deer would fall. " "If that is so, why do you not dare to sit facing me? " the Hao Heavenly Venerable said with a smile.
Kaihuang strode over and sat down across from him. The Hao Heavenly Venerable brewed the tea, and Kaihuang lit the fire for him. When the water had boiled, the Hao Heavenly Venerable dropped in buds of tender green leaf, and the two sat watching the buds slowly unfurl in the water, each breathing in the fragrance of the tea.
The Hao Heavenly Venerable poured for Kaihuang, who inclined slightly in gratitude. "You said just now that in the number of Heavenly Venerables your side has surpassed the Heavenly Court—in truth, that is a great error. " The Hao Heavenly Venerable poured himself a cup, waited quietly for it to cool, and said with a smile: "Langwan is a Creator, but her dharma power is a little low—far inferior to any Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court. The You Heavenly Venerable is strong in primordial spirit and weak in the fleshly body.
The Moon Heavenly Venerable squandered forty thousand years, held back by Dao wounds and hidden away in seclusion—and those forty thousand years were precisely the great eruption of divine arts and dharma methods across the world, the very time when the cultivation arts of the Great Heavenly Court took shape. She missed them all, and in dharma power she is far inferior to every other Heavenly Venerable.
Of those who can threaten the Heavenly Court, only Cloud, Ling, and Mu remain. " He raised his cup in salutation, and Kaihuang raised his in return. "And the three of them each have shortcomings of their own.
" The Hao Heavenly Venerable drank, set down his cup, and said: "The Cloud Heavenly Venerable relies on inheriting the Grand Emperor's legacy; how much of it he can truly wield remains in question. If he could match my divine father Taichu in might, you would still have room to maneuver. Unfortunately, he cannot.
His journey to the foot of the World Tree was precisely to remedy this flaw.
" He refilled Kaihuang's cup and went on: "Nor will the Ling Heavenly Venerable do.
The might of her Dao arts is admittedly terrifying—she slew the Grand Emperor with unsurpassed brilliance, and even I, if struck, might have my Dao cultivation annihilated and die outright. But her other skills are too slack, her means of battle far too poor. She can never approach me, nor any other Heavenly Venerable.
Once the Moon Heavenly Venerable is removed, she is utterly useless.
" He smiled.