Chapter 816 — Shattering the Ancient Gods' Blessings

The group finally finished their study and drew up a charter; after that, each of them chose a direction of research and made it his own specialty. The Demonic Dao's divine treasuries are a vast system; were a single man to study them in full, he might exhaust a lifetime and still never fathom them.

Even if they chose but one facet to study, they would still need to gather a great many talented people. The Heavenly Sage Academy, where Granny Zhu and the village chief dwelt, the Dao Sect, where Dao Master Lin Xuan presided, and the Little Jade Capital, where Wang Muran resided, could each supply many capable hands to help them deduce and flesh out the details of every divine treasury, while they themselves need only grasp the overarching direction.

The group then spent several tens of days more and finished cataloguing the blessings of the gods upon the back of the Heavenly Venerable Yu's head; the Woodcutter compiled the gods' runes and delivered them to Emperor Yanfeng. Emperor Yanfeng wept for joy, tears falling as he said, "Jingping's divine abilities and Dao arts will soar to the heavens from this day on. " The others could not help but feel the same. The Heavenly Venerable Yu was a treasure house beyond measure; the mere study of the halo behind his head was enough to make Jingping's divine abilities and Dao arts leap forward! "Emperor of Jingping, that is not quite right.

" The Woodcutter said, "Your Majesty, you see only the divine abilities and Dao arts of the gods, and not those of us who are creatures born after Heaven and Earth. Do not pursue the branch and let slip the root.

" Emperor Yanfeng bowed low to the ground and said earnestly, "Pray instruct me, Master.

" The Woodcutter laughed.

"I am Kaihuang's Heavenly Master, not yours. I will not teach you; go and ask your own Heavenly Master.

" Emperor Yanfeng was briefly startled, then understood at once, and sought counsel from the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping.

"Your Majesty, our master means that though we have obtained the runes of the ancient gods' Dao arts, those runes do not belong to us creatures born after Heaven and Earth. " The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping said gravely, "Though we creatures born after Heaven and Earth are deficient from birth, we have nonetheless pioneered the Dao of the sword, the Dao of the blade, the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting, the martial arts and divine powers.

These are not the great Dao of the ancient gods, nor the great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but things we carved out of nothing.

Our master means that these are our foundation. " Emperor Yanfeng was suddenly enlightened.

The Imperial Preceptor continued, "Your Majesty, in reform and change, we may absorb what the ancient gods excelled at, but we must not abandon what we ourselves excel at.

Only with both can society advance. " Emperor Yanfeng agreed, saying, "Your words, Imperial Preceptor, have resolved doubts I have held for many years.

" The Imperial Preceptor lowered his voice. "Our master meant something more. To understand the runes of the ancient gods' great Dao is to understand the weakness of each ancient god. " Emperor Yanfeng was greatly shaken. "What do you mean, Imperial Preceptor?

" "Your Majesty understands well enough.

" The Imperial Preceptor said, "Now that the Yuan Realm's seal is broken and all manner of powers are emerging, we must prepare early. The mighty ones of Kaihuang's age aid us, but in the end we must rely on ourselves. If Your Majesty depends on Kaihuang's divinities in all things, what meaning has the Jingping Reform?

Your Majesty must make ready now, so that when we face the ancient gods in time to come, we are not left utterly without the power to resist.

" Emperor Yanfeng was solemn. Looking at the books the others had compiled, enough to fill an ox-cart to the rafters, he exhaled a turbid breath and said in a low voice, "I shall not fail your expectations, Imperial Preceptor, nor those of the elders and sages who came before!

Though I give my body for the realm, the Reform shall endure!

" The three Heavenly Kings and four Heavenly Masters gathered together.

Di Yiyue's eyes flickered as he said, "I am now somewhat confident of removing the ancient gods' blessings, but there are simply too many of them upon the Heavenly Venerable Yu, and their connections run very wide; there is no guaranteeing the ancient gods will not sense it. Therefore. . . " The Scholar laughed.

"Therefore we need a test subject! " The other Heavenly Masters and Heavenly Kings immediately turned as one to look at Shen Mu. Shen Mu remained wholly unaware, explaining the key cultivation methods of the Heavenly River divine treasury to the Human Emperors who had seized bodies and been reborn, and preparing to use the Human Emperor Yishan and the Human Emperor Qikang as test subjects.

Though the two Human Emperors Qikang and Yishan were none too pleased, the other Human Emperors were quite happy to oblige, and the First Ancestor had nodded, so it was not for them to refuse. The Scholar withdrew her gaze and looked at Di Yiyue, fanning herself with a feather fan as she smiled. "The First Heavenly King was praised by Kaihuang as the most outstanding talent of all. You could remove the Earth Mother's blessing; can you remove the Heaven Lord's blessing as well?

" Di Yiyue glanced at her and said coolly, "Kaihuang's foremost master of formations, the only one of the four Heavenly Masters whom Kaihuang took to the Land of No Sorrow, his regard for you exceeds even his regard for me.

So how many of the ancient gods' blessings can Zixi remove?

" The Scholar smiled. "I am indeed the only one Kaihuang took to the Land of No Sorrow, and I know that he took no one else, so that you all bear some grievance.

Yet I have never betrayed Kaihuang. Nor has any one of the four Heavenly Masters ever betrayed him.

But of the four Heavenly Kings, two fell at once. " Di Yiyue's face darkened at once. Heavenly King Buddha Shakra's expression was none too pleasant either.

Tian Shu, the Imperial Gate Divine Blade resting on his shoulder, sneered, "So the four Heavenly Masters are so very great? Don't forget, it was I who raised my blade and hewed off Tuba's horn. That is how Fengdu came to be, how the remnants of Kaihuang's host who stayed here found a place to dwell, how this land of Jingping was protected.

And you four Heavenly Masters, one fled, one hid, and one sat wallowing in self-pity, turned to stone for twenty thousand years. What face have you to mock us four Heavenly Kings? " The Woodcutter and the Fisherman Heavenly Master fell silent; the two of them had turned to stone after the defeat, and indeed had no face to speak. The Old Farmer said no more either; after the defeat he had guarded the Dou Niu Realm, and had not accomplished much.

By merit, it was Tian Shu, the Heavenly King of the Nether Capital, who had done the most.

The Scholar sneered, "The Heavenly King of the Nether Capital is indeed remarkable, but among the four Heavenly Kings you rank last.

The First Heavenly King married the Yin Son of Heaven before the war, and was ambushed by him on their wedding night, and lay dead for twenty thousand years! Kaihuang's strongest fighting power fell in an instant. How were we four Heavenly Masters to fight? We teach; we do not brawl! " She looked at Heavenly King Buddha Shakra and said coldly, "Heavenly King Li Youran is remarkable too. The Third Heavenly King, and he took up with Qi Xiayu, the Red Emperor of the false dynasty!

Kaihuang bade you build the Land of No Sorrow, and you, trapped by love, ran off and became a monk! As the Heavenly King of War, you ran away, and we teachers had to stiffen our necks and go up.

How could we not lose!

" "I say nothing of the Azure Emperor; he is old, an elder.