Chapter 1082 — The Deadlock of a Hundred Thousand Years

" She gave Shen Mu no time to answer but laughed out: "Both sides had their Ancient Gods, both sides fought until their eyes ran red, with hatred deep as the sea and irreconcilable as heaven and earth! And when everyone braced for a bloodbath beyond imagining, the Ancient Gods of the two sides actually negotiated—actually played the peacemakers! " Her face contorted with fierce mockery as she ground her teeth, each word squeezed from between them: "The two parties of gods, all harmony and goodwill, talked it over, and so decreed a pact of peace—made us lay down our hatred, and made the demigods who were on the verge of seizing the Xiaohan Heavenly Court withdraw! The demigods could hardly swallow it; they squabbled and clamored, until the gods ate a batch of them, and then they withdrew obediently.

Only then did we understand. . . " The mockery on her face deepened: "We were all food, all livestock—the entire Origin Realm is one vast stockyard!

Mu, this place is a stockyard! We are nothing but livestock raised by the Ancient Gods! In the old days they devoured us straight; now they have grown civilized, so they make us fight among ourselves, make us offer ourselves up for their table!

" As though genuinely drunk on tea, she collapsed onto the table and wept aloud: "Tianzun, my ass! Divine Emperor, my ass! Yun Heavenly Emperor, Hao Heavenly Emperor, my ass! They are all just bellwethers and hunting dogs! We are the bellwethers and hunting dogs who herd the flock for the Ancient Gods!

Mu, all these years, we have suffered so. . . " Shen Mu laid his hand on her shoulder and said gently: "I know all of it.

But I also know what is to come: the age of the Ancient Gods ends at your hands, and they shall never dare do such things again. " "Truly? " Yue Tianzun raised her head and looked at him through tear-misted eyes. Shen Mu nodded.

Yue Tianzun mustered her spirits, smoothed her slightly disheveled temples, and forced a smile: "This tea is far too intoxicating—I made a spectacle of myself. Pray don't take it amiss.

" Shen Mu gave a tender smile: "Without you, there would be no us in the ages to come.

" Yue Tianzun felt as though she had received immense comfort, and she was greatly heartened; she went on: "Yun Tianzun has become an emperor—the very first to achieve the Imperial Throne.

But the Ancient Gods' dominion over the Origin Realm and all the worlds of the heavens is still deep-rooted. Hao Tianzun's talent is heaven-defying; he, too, is on the verge of achieving the throne.

This time Yun Tianzun has gone to the Longhan Heavenly Court not only to plead our case against the demigods' bullying, but also to meet Huo Tianzun.

" Shen Mu's heart stirred again. Yue Tianzun watched his expression and said: "He means to use Huo Tianzun as a bridge to Hao Tianzun. Do you know what he intends to do? " The corner of Shen Mu's eye twitched. He nodded slightly, his voice husky: "To invite Huo Tianzun, Hao Tianzun, and even Emperor Langxuan and the Ancestral God King to join the Heavenly Alliance and overthrow the Ancient Gods together.

" Yue Tianzun nodded and raised her hand to smooth her temple again: "Are we doing the right thing?

" The corner of Shen Mu's eye twitched once more. He wanted desperately to tell her that if they did this, Yun Tianzun would die because of it in the future; he wanted to tell her that the Heavenly Alliance would cease to be what it once was, that it would fall into the hands of the demigods.

Even more, he wanted to tell her that it was precisely the decisions Yun Tianzun and Yue Tianzun made today that would allow the Heavenly Alliance to replace the Ancient Gods and become a monstrous ruler in their stead! But he opened his mouth, and the words would not come.

He could not tell them.

However dreadful the Heavenly Alliance of later ages might be, it was not so dreadful as the Ancient Gods of today, and to join hands with Hao Tianzun and the others now was, after all, the best choice the human race had at this hour. If this alliance were broken, the age of the Ancient Gods would drag on and on, and the Origin Realm and all the worlds of the heavens would remain one vast stockyard!

A fellow Daoist is one who stands at your side and tells you that you have done right—and yet Shen Mu found these words almost impossible to utter. "You have done right," he said, his expression composed.

A smile surfaced on Yue Tianzun's face: "You are a man from the future.

If you think we have done right, then it seems we are bound to succeed in days to come.

Thank you, Mu. " She rose and smiled: "The courtyard is clean now.

Yan'er, come here—take up your lantern and walk a turn with your young master. " Yan'er appeared before her in a whirlwind, her eyes sparkling: "Call me Sister!

" Yue Tianzun grabbed her by the ear and said fiercely: "Call me what?

" Only then did Yan'er behave herself.

She took up her lantern and roused Long Qilin—who was still being beaten black and blue by the little horses.

Long Qilin yawned, stood up, and shook himself, scattering the ponies to the ground. "Cult Leader, where are we bound?

" he asked curiously, a pack of bamboo-pole ponies snapping at his rump behind him. Shen Mu looked at Yue Tianzun.

Yue Tianzun laughed: "Of late something has been stirring along the borders of the human territories—half-shadow thieves keep slipping into our lands, as though searching for something.

I did not go with Yun Tianzun to the Heavenly Court precisely because I wanted to see what these demigods are after.

Since Mu has come by rare chance today, let us go together and see what tricks they are playing! " Shen Mu hesitated a moment, then nodded: "Very well.

This time I shall wait until Yun Tianzun returns, speak my fill with him, and only then take my leave.

We'll use my carriage—it is the fastest. " "Sister Ling, will you come along? " Shen Mu asked. Ling Tianzun hurried over and thrust the hairpin back into Shen Mu's hand: "Of course I'm coming!

Wait a moment! " She suddenly thought of something, summoned Yue Tianzun, and whispered: "I haven't set foot outside my door in years, and my heart quails a little.

Help me wash and make myself presentable.

" Yue Tianzun did not know whether to laugh or cry: "Sister, you do remember you're a woman, don't you?

" "Stop your teasing—if I go out and shame myself, I shall be shaming the two of you as well. " The two young women went off to dress and adorn themselves; only, Ling Tianzun had no change of clothes, so Yue Tianzun went back to her own palace and fetched some garments and ornaments.

They felt very awkward on Ling Tianzun, but she braced herself and came out anyway.

Shen Mu's eyes lit up, and he laughed: "Sister Ling and Sister Yue, you both look wonderful.

" Yue Tianzun reddened a little, but Ling Tianzun only complained that the clothes did not sit right—the skirt was too long, the sleeves too long, forever getting in her way. They boarded the Heavenly Dragon Chariot and made for the borders of the human territories. Yue Tianzun opened the carriage window and looked down: "The demigods have been coming and going like specters, forever slipping into this region, as if searching for someone.

I have already sent people to scout the matter—word should reach us before long.

" At a small border town they came down. The townsfolk were mostly mortals, with few who possessed divine powers.

The Xiaohan Heavenly Court was rich and bustling, yet the humans of the Origin Realm still lived in want—though better off than in the early years of the Longhan era, barely able to keep body and soul together. Demigods could still be seen haunting the borders. As they descended, the sky abruptly darkened; Shen Mu looked up to see an enormous bird spreading wings of azure and gold sweeping in from the distance, blotting out the setting sun. Even as it flew, the bird cried out mournfully: "Great Hong!

Great Hong—" "A flood is coming!