Chapter 1755 — Half Righteous, Half Wicked: A True Wild Scholar
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Her Majesty the Empress returned the salute, her gaze falling on the shadow behind him, and said mildly, "Lord Shang, in the Ultimate Void I am no match for you, but outside it, you are no match for me. Best not to try. I have come to see Young Master Xu, and bear no ill intent."
Xu Shenghua's shadow did not stir.
Xu Shenghua said, "Your Majesty has seen me."
Her Majesty the Empress looked at his face, sighed, and said softly, "There are many extraordinary men in this world, but few are like Young Master Xu. What a pity that you and I are enemies. Could we but turn swords into plowshares, and share wine and merry talk with Young Master Xu, what a fine thing that would be."
Xu Shenghua said, "If Your Majesty would forsake the Heavenly Court and come over to Jingping, then we could turn swords into plowshares."
Her Majesty the Empress shook her head: "That is impossible now. The Heavenly Court and I share honor and ruin alike; how could I forsake it for the sake of one confidante?"
From within the coffin, Shen Mu could not help saying, "If Your Majesty were willing to forsake the Heavenly Court, I could act as matchmaker and betroth Brother Xu to you. And if Your Majesty does not mind, I think I might also..."
"Foul man, shut your mouth!" Her Majesty the Empress flared up.
Xu Shenghua, betraying nothing, closed the coffin lid, and Shen Mu's voice could no longer be heard.
"Your Majesty, you and I each have our own dao; it is only that the roads divide."
Xu Shenghua bowed low to the ground and said, "Parting from Your Majesty today, when we meet again on the battlefield, I hope Your Majesty will not hold back."
Her Majesty the Empress returned the salute in tears and left, covering her face: "I hope Young Master Xu will not hold back either. How hateful that I could not have known you sooner. Had it been a hundred years earlier, or had you been born a million years earlier, you and I might have come to a different end..."
Xu Shenghua watched her vanish into the distance, then raised the coffin once more and went on his way.
Shen Mu knocked from inside the coffin; Xu Shenghua opened it a crack, and Shen Mu's voice came out: "Brother Xu, if the Empress would come over to Jingping's side, we would have an overwhelming advantage against the Heavenly Court. Why not stoop to..."
Smack!
Xu Shenghua shut the coffin fast, thought a moment, then took out other nails and drove them into the lid.
Elsewhere, Taichu sped like wind and lightning, returning to the Yuan Realm a step ahead of Xu Shenghua and Her Majesty the Empress. He went straight to the Heavenly Court's main camp, but, with no time to see the Haotian Emperor, charged directly into the Zaofu Heavenly Palace, reeking of killing intent.
In the Zaofu Heavenly Palace, brains floated all around Venerable Star An. The number of brains under his control had grown greater still, the Divine Brain Matrix ever vaster in scale, its calculations faster and more exquisite.
The killing intent upon Taichu abruptly vanished; with a face like a spring breeze he walked slowly over, smiling: "Venerable Star An, how leisurely you are. Venerable one, I fear the Dao-Burial Divine Coffin you made is somewhat off, is it not?"
Star An raised his head and glanced at him: "How so, off?"
Taichu, genial of countenance, smiled and said, "On the road as the Yulin Guards escorted the Dao-Burial Divine Coffin to the Ancestral Court, they were waylaid by a man named Xu Shenghua, who seized the Dao-Burial Divine Coffin. That Xu Shenghua opened the divine coffin outright and released Mu Tianzun. Were it a true Dao-Burial Divine Coffin, could it be opened so easily?"
Star An was astonished and stood up, saying dubiously, "I know Xu Shenghua's abilities. I once traveled to the Western Lands of the Yuan Realm to visit him; his strength is indeed great, and in those years I too was defeated by him. But he could by no means break the Dao-Burial Divine Coffin I made — he does not have the strength for it!"