Chapter 872 — Driving the Gods to Solicit Votes

" He suddenly asked another question. The figure in the black sand said: "Which Yutian do you mean?

" Shen Mu was startled. The figure in the black sand laughed: "The Heavenly Court has manufactured many Yutians, and those Yutians have most likely all descended to the mortal realm by now.

They wanted to run an experiment, to see whether the Yutians they had manufactured were perfect.

Which Yutian you encountered, and who manufactured him, is not something I can know.

What is more, I manufactured one myself.

" The corner of Shen Mu's eye twitched.

He looked at Yutian again, felt sorrow for him in his heart, and with it an almost uncontainable murderous intent. "Let me ask one more thing. " Shen Mu steadied himself and forced a smile: "Kaihuang—is he in the Heavenly Court? Has he too become one of its power-holders? After all, he is also an elder of the Heavenly Alliance.

" The figure in the black sand shook his head: "He was unwilling to compromise, and he refused to die, so of course he hid himself away in the Land of No Worry. The Heavenly Court has been searching for the Land of No Worry ever since, and to this day has never found it.

" Shen Mu stared blankly for a moment, and suddenly felt a stone lifted from his heart.

His eyes even grew a little moist—he was moved. "This is the real Kaihuang.

. . " he murmured with a low laugh, evaporating the tears at the corners of his eyes.

Kaihuang had once said that the more one learned of the Outer Heavenly Court, the deeper one's despair. He could now understand the state of Kaihuang's heart when he said those words—and yet Kaihuang had not compromised, had not chosen to become one of the exalted power-holders.

For as long as he could remember, Kaihuang had been Shen Mu's motive force and model; despite all the misunderstandings between them, Shen Mu's admiration for him had never once been severed.

Had Kaihuang been in the Heavenly Court too, the blow would likely have crushed him all at once! Shen Mu's mood brightened considerably. He stood up and said with a smile: "Let us end today's talk here.

I can find a way with the Lord of Heaven; the Earl of Earth will have to be your task. Your Majesty, I have many affairs on my hands, so I take my leave.

Brother Yutian, let us go.

" He was leading Yutian toward the door when the figure in the black sand suddenly called him back, laughing: "Lord Shepherd, you came to converse with me and asked me many questions. I, too, have a question that perplexes me. " Shen Mu halted. The figure in the black sand said with suspicion: "I do not know—what is it that you are after?

You possess stunning talent and ability, fearsome aptitude and comprehension, and an unquenchable curiosity; you are diligent, you are full of schemes, and you even hold the title of Lord Shepherd. Your status stands above the crowd. You need not do anything for the mortal world and you would still gain the Heavenly Court's esteem; if you were willing, you could even go to the Heavenly Court and be a Lord Shepherd sitting on high.

Yet here you are, still rushing about in this mortal world, willing to make an enemy of the Heavenly Court, an enemy of a power that made even Kaihuang despair.

" He voiced the doubt in his heart once more: "So what is it that you are after? What is it that you wish to obtain? " Shen Mu turned his head, his eyes flashing with light, and an innocent smile spread across his face. "Your Majesty, from the moment of your birth you were the towering authority of the entire universe, the paramount of heaven. You are no mortal; you have never lived in the mortal world, never lived in Jingping. " He smiled: "I have lived among mortals since I was a child. Here there are so many who love me and whom I love. They have all kinds of small faults, but they are all human beings—all dear, lovable human beings.

They are not gods; they do not sit lofty and apart.

" "When I learned that the gods of the Heavenly Court fear these dear mortals, cutting off their divine bridges, cutting off their prospects and their futures, I knew that it is not the mortals who stand in dread of the gods—it is the gods who stand in dread of the mortals.

" The figure in the black sand was briefly taken aback. The slovenly old Daoist, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in repose, opened them again.

"When I stood with Blind Grandpa in the village and pissed on the idols of the gods, my heart no longer held any reverence for deities like you. When I was small, I herded cattle along the banks of the Yong River. In truth, I was merely a cowherd.

I had no earth-shaking ambition, no world-startling designs. I only wanted to herd the gods—to make the deities from beyond the sky cease to sit lofty and apart. " Shen Mu walked out toward the gates of Tianyin Palace, and his laughter came drifting back: "A cowherd must give his cattle a rule, so that they do not run wild.

A herder of gods must likewise give the gods a rule, so that the gods may serve mankind.

When they commit evil, there will be rules to punish them, and new gods to replace them.

And the new gods are born from among mortals—not from the games of power played among the deities. The reform of Jingping is exactly this. " The figure in the black sand was silent for a moment, then sighed: "To ask a tiger for its skin—a canker buried at the heart! " Shen Mu turned around outside the hall, his smile radiant: "Indeed. But that is the future.

For now, we still need to cooperate. " The black sand receded and vanished. The slovenly old Daoist rose to his feet, came out of the hall, and walked past Shen Mu, saying: "You will fail. You will die. Many have held the same conviction as you—the successive retired Heavenly Emperors of the Southern Shanghuang line, Kaihuang, Ling Tianzun. Every one of them failed without exception.

" Shen Mu watched him go, then called out after him: "Someone must do it!

There are things one must do and things one must not do—one cannot be all non-action! " The old Daoist paused mid-step, and his form vanished.

"Someone must do it.

" Shen Mu murmured, then turned to Yutian beside him: "Am I right? " Yutian looked lost and confused. Shen Mu pressed on with a strained smile: "Am I right? " Yutian could not answer him.

A dazed look came over Shen Mu's face, and he murmured: "Am I right? " The Dragon Qilin, which had been lying prostrate before the palace, stood up, shook its body, walked over, and said: "Right.

" A smile broke out on Shen Mu's face, and his heart was filled with joy.

Yan'er glanced at the Dragon Qilin and whispered: "Why did you say 'right'?

" "When the Ancestral Master was still alive, the Imperial Tutor of Jingping often came to see him.

" The Dragon Qilin said in a low, muffled voice: "The Imperial Tutor of Jingping often had his moments of bewilderment and helplessness, and he would ask the Ancestral Master: 'What we are doing—is it right?

' When the Ancestral Master did not answer, the Imperial Tutor's heart felt empty and forlorn.

It was only when the Ancestral Master said 'right' that the Imperial Tutor would smile.

Our Sect Master needs a fellow Daoist to hold him up, but he has none.

I do not want him to grieve.

"