Chapter 805 — The Fall of the Lord of the Heavenly Court

The Heavenly Duke's avatar and the Molten Lava Earthlord remained silent still. Off to the side, the Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor sat at a stone table, leisurely sipping tea, lifting their eyes now and then to glance over with smiling faces.

The Great Sun Star Lord sat obediently to one side, head lowered, cupping his tea, a tiny flame flickering from his beak as he muttered, "I don't know a thing. Don't ask me. I died early, and it was because I knew too much that I took an arrow in the back..."

The white-bearded old man coughed again and again, glanced at the Earthlord, then at Shen Mu, and at last could not hold back. "Young Shen," he said, "let me have a word with the Earthlord first."

Shen Mu nodded lightly.

The Heavenly Duke and the Earthlord walked into the distance, away from the others, and spoke in low voices. "Fellow Daoist, what are we to do now?"

The Earthlord said, "You are the one with wide experience and broad knowledge. You speak."

The Heavenly Duke said, "All the dead end up in your domain in the end. You know the most."

The Earthlord said nothing.

Helpless, the Heavenly Duke had no choice but to go on. "That girl Yan Qiling has already made it plain, warning this young fellow to be on guard against us, sowing discord. If we do not divulge a few secrets, this young man will surely harbor a grudge."

The Earthlord said in a muffled, sullen voice, "I do not know much."

The Heavenly Duke laughed in sheer exasperation. "You did it all, and you still claim not to know much? Believe me, I could expose everything you have done. In these times, the Yuan Realm's seal is broken, and even true and false Earth Mothers have come leaping out. The Heaven Alliance, the Heavenly Court, even the Heavenly Emperor of ancient times, one after another they spring forth. It is plain the world is meant to fall into chaos, and then the net will be drawn in to catch the fish! Do you think our Youdu and Xuandu can be preserved?"

The Earthlord was silent a moment, then said, "I agree to tell him some secrets, but matters that implicate us cannot all be told."

Only then did the Heavenly Duke breathe a sigh of relief. "Will you speak, or shall I?"

"My lips are sealed. I will speak," said the Earthlord.

The two turned back, and Shen Mu looked at them expectantly.

By the stone table, the Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor could not help but prick up their ears, full of anticipation.

The Great Sun Star Lord had not dared to listen and meant to leave, but curiosity burned too fiercely in his heart. He steeled himself and stayed, thinking, "I am already dead through and through. What have I to fear?"

In the distance, the big-headed doll Shen Fengqing tiptoed out of the Shen Clan Mountain Range, and his pair of ears suddenly swelled to tremendous size, standing taller than a mountain peak, straining to listen to their words.

The Heavenly Duke coughed once and said nothing, looking to the Molten Lava Earthlord. The Molten Lava Earthlord was silent for a moment, then abruptly spoke, unhurried and measured. "The Heavenly Emperor of the Longhan Heavenly Court is indeed dead."

Shen Mu was deeply shaken, and looked at him expectantly.

From afar came the voice of the big-headed doll, calling out, "Great Earthlord, where can one eat the Heavenly Emperor's soul? Did you hide it away? I knew you still had many fine things hidden!"

Seeing the expectant gazes of the crowd, the Earthlord hesitated, then said, "That is all. Heavenly Duke, my lips are sealed, and I do not know what to say, for fear they will trick me into talking. You do it."

Shen Mu was skeptical yet expectant as he looked at the white-bearded old man.

The Heavenly Duke's head felt as big as a bushel, and he laughed in exasperation. "You are not tight-lipped at all, you simply want me to be the one to speak! Fine, I will! The Heavenly Emperor of the Longhan Heavenly Court was murdered when he reincarnated to take a woman as his wife!"

The Old Buddha spat a mouthful of tea right into the Great Sun Star Lord's face. The Great Sun Star Lord sat stunned, too dazed to wipe the moisture from his face. He was a mass of primordial spirit, scorching hot, and the tea sizzled and evaporated on his face, turning into a wisp of white mist curling upward.

The Crimson Emperor's three heads all stared wide-eyed, somewhat bewildered.

Shen Mu stammered, "The Heavenly Emperor died when he reincarnated to take a woman as his wife? Was it the Empress's younger sister?"

"No."

The Heavenly Duke sighed. "His Majesty was brilliant and martial, and his stratagems surpassed all. I, the Earthlord, the Earth Mother, none of us could match him; he held each of us by our braids. As the first life in the universe, his abilities were immense and his methods extraordinary. I admired him to the point of prostration. Yet he had but one weakness: lust."

The Earthlord coughed.

The Heavenly Duke said in annoyance, "This can be said, it does not matter. Besides, Mu Tianzun was present when the Heavenly Court was founded and knows some of the inside story. He should have been able to see His Majesty's character."

Shen Mu's expression turned strange. "I know that the Heavenly Emperor reincarnated once in order to bed the Empress's younger sister, and that it was because of that reincarnation that Hao Tianzun came to be. Beyond that, I know nothing."

The Heavenly Duke continued, "Later, when Yu Tianzun died, the matter blew up enormously. The postnatal races were in a fury, clamoring for Hao Tianzun's execution, and several Tianzuns even plotted to assassinate him. To protect Hao Tianzun, the Heavenly Emperor formally took that lady as his wife, and at last fulfilled his wish. Hao Tianzun thus became an Imperial Son, and none dared touch him thereafter."

Shen Mu's eyes went wide, and he blurted out, "The Heavenly Emperor married both the Empress and her sister?"

The Earthlord coughed heavily.

"It is fine, it is fine, this too can be said. Do not keep coughing to interrupt me."

The Heavenly Duke said, "People often say the ancient gods are selfless, but this saying is wrong. The ancient gods are not selfless; it is the Great Way that gave birth to them that is selfless. Thus the ancient gods often follow the Way, acting according to its guidance, yet the ancient gods do have selfish desires. For instance, many ancient gods, seeking to break free of the bonds of the heaven-and-earth Great Way, attempted reincarnation and sired children. Some ancient gods, for a moment's pleasure, bore many children with postnatal beings, forming demigod races, and some demigods were born of the union between ancient gods..."

The Earthlord coughed repeatedly, reminding him, "Fellow Daoist, why speak of such things? It damages the image of the ancient gods. Just get to the point."

The Heavenly Duke was unconcerned. "Ever since I came into this seal, I have been beaten savagely every day by the Youdu Godson. My image was lost long ago. Speaking of it does no harm. Moreover, it bears on what I am about to say. If I do not explain clearly, this young fellow will ask again, and I will have to drag it out anyway."

The Molten Lava Earthlord said in a muffled, sullen voice, "Have some sense of propriety. Do not always imitate the Great Sun Star Lord."

The Great Sun Star Lord nodded hastily. "I never knew I had a big mouth either, until I took an arrow in the back..."