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

The Heavenly Duke went on. "His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. We ancient gods could not match him. When the Heavenly Court was founded in the early years of Longhan, we ancient gods were its heads, and we raised him up to be the Heavenly Emperor. We accepted him as Heavenly Emperor in full sincerity. Our thinking at the time was that postnatal beings and demigods were growing ever more numerous, and there had to be order to restrain these creatures, lest they slaughter one another every day. Yet we never imagined that the Heavenly Emperor would be so domineering, so deep in scheming. We took him as a fellow Daoist, but he took us as subjects."

Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly as he recalled the Ugly One he had seen within the Life-Slaying Cauldron.

The Heavenly Duke said, "Every ancient god was more or less held by some leverage in his grip. The Earthlord had his weakness in the Heavenly Emperor's hands, I had mine, the Earth Mother too. Among the old brothers and old comrades of those days, who could match him? Heh heh, who was not held fast in his grasp? Whether Yuandu or Youdu, or my own Xuandu, he planted countless agents, and yet we could not see the Heavenly Court's hand."

Shen Mu thought of Yu Tianzun's experiences and of what he had witnessed within the Life-Slaying Cauldron, and nodded silently.

The Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. Whether the Earth Mother, or the Earthlord and the Heavenly Duke, or any other ancient god, none could truly match him.

The Heavenly Emperor's position could only grow ever more secure, his reign unshaken, enduring through all ages!

And yet this emperor had still died.

"In truth, after Mu Tianzun left the Longhan era, demigods and postnatal beings began to develop at tremendous speed, and many mighty existences emerged. Demigods and postnatal beings advanced, yet the ancient gods advanced with difficulty. Ancient gods cannot learn the Dao arts and divine abilities of others; they can only study their own Dao arts to elevate themselves."

The Heavenly Duke sighed. "By the time demigods and postnatal beings also became ageless and deathless, their reverence and worship of the ancient gods gradually faded. The Old Buddha was an outstanding figure of that time, though he was not the most eminent among the demigods and postnatal beings."

The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha nodded. "Each of the Seven Tianzuns surpassed me by no small measure."

"Old Buddha, do not belittle yourself. You are but a hair's breadth behind them."

The Heavenly Duke offered a word of comfort, then continued, "The Heavenly Emperor was deeply wary of the human race among the postnatal beings, deeply wary of the demigods who produced geniuses in every generation, and even more on guard against his own children. So he stirred up many conflicts to wear down the strength of demigods and postnatal beings. He even tacitly permitted the demigods and the human race to each establish their own lesser heavenly court, and watched them slaughter one another. Crown Prince Wuqi was immensely powerful at the time, and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor deliberately gave him the opportunity to rebel, then used the pretext to execute him. Even after Crown Prince Wuqi's death, the Heavenly Emperor would not relent, and bestowed on him the surname Xie in death, calling him Xie Wuqi, and suppressed him within Youdu."

Shen Mu's heart stirred. "Xie Wuqi? I saw him at Yusuo Pass!"

The Heavenly Duke said, "I did not know the details of this matter either. I only knew that Xie Wuqi rebelled and was killed. The inside story was told to me by Little Bird. It was not until not long ago that I learned the Heavenly Emperor had deliberately given Xie Wuqi the chance to rebel in order to execute him."

The Great Sun Star Lord shrank his neck, his face mournful.

The Heavenly Duke said, "With humans and demigods fighting each other, his children not daring to rebel, and every ancient god held by leverage in his hand, his reign was secure. In that era, none could oppose him. None in the past, none in the present, and none in the future."

"And yet he died," Shen Mu said, his gaze flickering.

The Heavenly Duke was silent a moment, then said, "Little Bird said just now that he died young, but that is not right. The Heavenly Emperor actually died before you."

Every feather on the Great Sun Star Lord's body stood on end, and he blurted out, "Impossible! I was sent by the Heavenly Emperor's command to suppress the Yun Heavenly Emperor, and then I took an arrow in the back. I have the Heavenly Emperor's handwritten edict. It is impossible!"

The Heavenly Duke gave a long sigh. "In truth, your death came later. When demigods and humans were locked in a fight to the death, a beauty appeared in Yuandu. She was so beautiful that even I could not help but cast my gaze upon her. Her name was Jue Wuchen, flawless without a single blemish, unstained by the slightest dust. Her beauty stirred even my mortal heart..."

Shen Mu's expression turned strange.

The Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor also wore strange expressions.

The Heavenly Duke paused, then said, "And then the Heavenly Emperor reincarnated. Of course he dared to reincarnate, but this time it was a furtive reincarnation. No one knew whom he reincarnated as, where he reincarnated, or what race he became. Until one day, a Tianzun of the human race came to Xuandu and found me..."

Shen Mu grew anxious. "Which Tianzun?"

The Heavenly Duke fell silent, but still went on. "Yun Tianzun. By then he was already the Yun Heavenly Emperor of the Xiaohan Heavenly Court, and moreover, he was the leader of the Heaven Alliance."

Shen Mu's body trembled violently, his gaze blank.

"Yun Tianzun came to me and said he could free me from the deadlock in which the Heavenly Emperor held me, so long as on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, I merely watched and did not intervene."

The Heavenly Duke said, "I did not know what he intended to do, but I agreed. And at that very time, another Tianzun came to Youdu and found the Earthlord."

He looked at the Earthlord. "Fellow Daoist, do you still remember which Tianzun came to call on you?"

The Earthlord said, "Of course I remember. Hao Tianzun, leader of the demigods, came to me and said that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, I need only watch what happened in Yuandu, without intervening, and the troubles of Youdu would be resolved. I agreed."

The Heavenly Duke said, "At that time, Hao Tianzun was the Hao Heavenly Emperor of the Longxiao Heavenly Court."

Shen Mu was bewildered, murmuring, "Hao Tianzun, Yun Tianzun, how could they be together? Were they not mortal enemies? One represented the demigods, the other the postnatal beings, and were they not locked in a fight to the death?"

"This is precisely what I can never understand, and what I find terrifying."

The Heavenly Duke's face showed bewilderment and dread as he said in a low voice, "Then that day truly came. The slaughter began. The first to strike was Jue Wuchen, and then the mighty ones of every race, led by Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun. Only then did I realize that the one they meant to kill was the Heavenly Emperor. Bound by my oath, I did not move to stop them. And besides, I felt a certain dread of the Heavenly Emperor, and in my heart I also wished him dead. Fellow Daoist Earthlord did not act either..."

Shen Mu shook his head, his hands and feet cold as ice, and said in a low voice, "And the Earth Mother Yuanjun. The Earth Mother Yuanjun, she..."

"She also watched, and did not act."

The Heavenly Duke's gaze was somewhat strange as he said in a low voice, "The Earth Mother also sealed the sky above Yuandu. The branches and leaves of the Yuan Tree blocked the heavens, so that the Heavenly Court could not see what happened there."