Chapter 1656 — You Have Been Collected by Me
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu returned to the Golden Ship of Salvation and gazed down upon the Southern Heaven. The many heavens of the Southern Heaven hung like lustrous pearls suspended in the cosmos, glittering and radiant, splendid beyond measure.
Huotian Zun of the Longhan Era, once a Heavenly Man — this battle had at last brought him low, and a profound melancholy weighed upon Shen Mu's heart.
"Caught between power and desire, it is hard for a man to hold fast to his original heart; more often than not he sinks, and loses himself?
" Shen Mu murmured inwardly: "Huotian Zun likely lost himself the very moment Yutian Zun died. In the end, he sank deeper and deeper, and by now he has wholly forgotten what manner of man he once was. " He recalled the scene when he had returned to a million years past, when he had encountered Huotian Zun at the Grand Gathering of Yao Chi.
In those days Huotian Zun had been a high-spirited youth, a man of kindness, who believed that Shen Mu's lavish praise and encouragement of Lingtian Zun's painstaking research into the Unwithering Divine Ability had done Lingtian Zun harm — and for that reason had come to blows with Shen Mu. Even after being defeated by Shen Mu, he had borne no grudge. That Huotian Zun was the true Huotian Zun. Yet after Yutian Zun's death, that Huotian Zun had died as well.
"A pity that from first to last he never awoke, never performed one final good deed.
He educated the people of the Southern Heaven into slavery, yet even before death he could not lead them out of their servile nature. " Shen Mu withdrew his gaze, and the Golden Ship of Salvation sailed on toward the Yuan Realm.
Meanwhile, ever since Lady Yuanmu had appeared, the battle between Taichu and the Haotian Emperor had come to an abrupt halt. Taichu was too shrewd and seasoned — the moment he saw Yuanmu, he knew at once that he had not the slightest chance of victory. Not only was Huotian Zun certain to die; even his own son Langxuan could not be saved.
Better by far to settle down quietly and play the retired emperor.
And the Haotian Emperor, wary of his strength, would not strike him down. "Retired Emperor, tomorrow, I want to see the head of my elder brother Langxuan placed upon my desk. " The Haotian Emperor called out to Taichu just as he was about to leave, his tone bland and indifferent. Taichu's body stiffened; he nodded silently.
"Two fellow Daoists, will you not leave with Us?
" Taichu looked toward the two Taiji Ancient Gods, frowning slightly. He moved his feet, yet the two Taiji Ancient Gods remained where they were, and did not depart with him.
Taiyin Zun and Taiyang Zun exchanged a glance, then shook their heads together, saying: "Brother Taichu, our path to enlightenment stretches long before us.
We must still temper ourselves in the mortal world, gain clarity into our Dao-hearts, and cannot retire from the world alongside you.
" "You intend to throw yourselves upon the Haotian Emperor, then?
Indeed, indeed. . .
" Taichu laughed heartily, then turned and said solemnly to the Haotian Emperor: "Hao'er, if you wish to sit securely upon the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, the Taiji Ancient Gods must never be given high office.
Let them charge into battle and break the enemy lines, but grant them no authority whatsoever! These two have long since been tainted by the struggle for power — they trim their sails to every wind, they are fickle and ungrateful, they lean whichever way the wind blows, selfish to the bone. The Empress Dowager is a lesson from the past; Our own case is a lesson from the past. You must not fail to take heed! " The Haotian Emperor smiled with a hint of irony and said leisurely: "The Retired Emperor's lesson — I have heard it, but I may not necessarily adopt it. Retired Emperor, go and bring me my brother's head.