Chapter 806 — The Final Winner

Shen Mu sat staring blankly, lost in thought.

One was Jue Wuchen, a woman of peerless beauty who had appeared out of nowhere, born in the Yuan Realm of the Earth Mother Yuanjun.

One was the leader of the demigods, Hao Tianzun, Heavenly Emperor of the demigod Heavenly Court.

One was the leader of the later-born living beings, the leader of the Heaven Alliance, Yun Tianzun, Heavenly Emperor of the human Heavenly Court.

At the time when the Heavenly Emperor was at his most invincible — which was also the time when demigods and later-born living beings slaughtered one another most savagely — they laid a trap for the Heavenly Emperor. Heaven Lord, Earth Lord, and the Earth Mother: their images in all this were none of them particularly glorious.

More than that, what sent a chill down the spine was this — the Heavenly Emperor's reincarnation had been a secret, and yet someone had found it out.

What Shen Mu found most terrifying was that Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun, those two mortal enemies, had actually joined hands. Their joining hands was the least likely thing in the world; the two sides were bound by a hatred as deep as the sea — how could they possibly set such hatred aside and join forces against the Heavenly Emperor?

The hatred between the later-born living beings and the demigods was the hatred of prey for predator, of slave for slavemaster.

As both sides rose and fought one another, that hatred could only grow deeper. Beyond that great racial hatred, the deadly grudge between Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun stemmed from the case of Yu Tianzun's murder; by any reasonable reckoning, Yun Tianzun was the last person who would join hands with Hao Tianzun.

And yet these seemingly impossible things had come to pass.

What alarmed Shen Mu most was that they had clearly been scheming all along, had already been allied long before; the so-called slaughter between demigods and later-born living beings had all been a show put on for the Heavenly Emperor, to make him lower his guard against them.

And in all that time, how many later-born living beings and demigods had died for it? The number of the dead could not even be estimated. Behind the mountains of corpses and seas of blood were the faces of Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun — faces cold beyond all warmth.

"Those two.

. . they make one's blood run cold.

.

.

" Shen Mu shuddered and steadied himself.

Heaven Lord's voice came to him: ".

.

. In that battle, the Heavenly Emperor died, blasted to scattering ash by their joined hands. I do not know why the Earth Mother would do such a thing, nor whether she struck a blow herself. The truth is, we all had our own selfish ends in those days. Heh heh. That the ancient gods are selfless and impartial is nothing but the mistaken praise of common mortals. The more you come to know us, the more you will find our selfishness; we ancient gods are not so splendid as you imagine. Shen boy, now that you know how we ancient gods conduct ourselves, you ought to be on your guard against us.

" Shen Mu let out a foul breath and murmured, "No wonder — no wonder Yan Qiling told me to be wary of the Heaven Alliance, wary of Heaven Lord and Earth Lord, and to guard against the Earth Mother. So that was it.

.

. " At last he understood.

Behind Yan Qiling stood the Heavenly Emperor; the Heavenly Emperor's death was bound up with Heaven Lord, Earth Lord, and the Earth Mother standing by with folded arms, while the Heaven Alliance were the ones who had struck at the Heavenly Emperor directly. "Then if the Earth Mother herself said she died at the hands of the Heaven Alliance, why did her Yuan Wood end up in the Heavenly Emperor's keeping?

" Shen Mu could not puzzle it out no matter how he tried. Suddenly Heaven Lord went on: "After the Heavenly Emperor died, a strange thing happened — and it is precisely that thing which leaves me unable to say which of the three Heavenly Courts of Xiao, Long, and Han was the final victor. " Shen Mu hastened to ask, "What thing?

" Heaven Lord said, "After the Heavenly Emperor was slain, both Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun raced at flying speed toward the Heavenly Court.

The two of them were swift beyond measure; by then their cultivation was already extraordinary. What baffled me was that Yun Tianzun took on Hao Tianzun's appearance at the time, and the two of them seemed to be hurrying for all they were worth, each trying to reach the Heavenly Court before the other. Later I understood. . .

" His gaze turned strange, and he said in a low voice, "They were going to contend for the Heavenly Emperor's body.

" Shen Mu's whole body shook.

"The news of the Heavenly Emperor's death was never spread abroad because, though the Heavenly Emperor was dead, the Heavenly Emperor in the Heavenly Court was still alive. " Heaven Lord's gaze was somewhat vacant as he said, "Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun sped to the Heavenly Court like wind and lightning, naturally to seize control of the Heavenly Emperor's body.

With the Heavenly Emperor's body in hand, they would hold the Heavenly Emperor's power and authority, and suppressing the other would be easy. Think on it — is there any easier way to seize power than that? Yet I never saw who in the end obtained the Heavenly Emperor's body. " Shen Mu sat dumb as a wooden fowl; after a moment he asked, "Yun Tianzun took on Hao Tianzun's appearance? How did he change himself?

" Heaven Lord did not answer. The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha sighed.

This old Buddha's brows were knit with care as he said, "I taught it to him.

He was the leader of the human race, the leader of the Heaven Alliance; he wished to raise the human race's confidence by transforming into the vanished Mu Tianzun and Shen Tianzun. He came to me, and of course I was glad to teach him. The human race was in a wretched state then. .

.

" Shen Mu pondered a moment, then suddenly said, "Then is Yun Tianzun truly of the human race?

" The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha was startled, then understood his meaning and shook his head. "I do not know.

" Shen Mu looked at Heaven Lord, who also shook his head.

"I do not know either whether he is human or demigod.

He has always worn a human face. But. . . " He paused, then said, "Hao Tianzun, too, has always worn a human face. " Silence fell all around. Heaven Lord said, "I know only that the Heavenly Emperor seated on the throne of the Longhan Heavenly Court was no longer the true Heavenly Emperor, but I do not know which of the two of them it was who sat there.

For after that there were more and more upheavals; later the Xiaohan Heavenly Court was destroyed, and the Longxiao Heavenly Court did not last long before it followed in the Xiaohan Heavenly Court's footsteps and was destroyed as well. And later still the ancient Heavenly Court rose higher and higher, far from Yuandu, which the great war had turned into a wasteland — until the Crimson Emperor rose from the ruins of Yuandu. . . " The Crimson Emperor stared blankly, lost in thought, and said, "That wasteland then was a chaos, a place of utmost peril; I too escaped death countless times. When I was young I loved to roam far and wide, and I saw many ruins of the two Heavenly Courts.

One day I saw a divine statue with three heads and six arms, its face already blurred beyond seeing.

Something stirred in me all at once; I sat withered beneath that stone statue for a long while, and at last I comprehended my own path.

" Shen Mu's mind roared; he said, his voice rough, "Was it my statue? " "The face could not be made out," the Crimson Emperor said, shaking his head.

Shen Mu's mind was a muddle; the information Heaven Lord and the others had let fall was far too much, a furious bombardment he could not digest all at once. Suddenly something came back to him, and he said in haste, "What of Her Highness the Empress? Are not the Empress and her sister still in the Heavenly Court?