Chapter 1132 — The Divine Sovereign of Kun Virtue

In the Lingxiao Hall of Treasured Jade, the Heavenly Emperor sat upon his throne. The Ten Heavenly Venerables were present as well, each seated upright and grave, and below them the civil and military officials of the court stood in dense ranks, their divine radiances of every hue lighting the void.

Below, Gongsun Yan kowtowed; the Heavenly Emperor spoke a few words of encouragement and bade her rise.

A court official submitted a memorial praising Gongsun Yan as gentle and good, virtuous and wise, endowed with both virtue and talent, so that Heaven itself was moved; the Heavenly Emperor again spoke a few words of encouragement and ordered a seat to be given her. After Gongsun Yan was seated, another court official submitted a memorial praising her transcendent cultivation and her genius for ordering heaven and earth, saying, "The Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign of the Yuan Realm was corrupt in her morals and has already been executed.

Now the heroes of the Yuan Realm have no leader and it is in chaos; Venerable Xiaotian guards the Yuan Realm, but one beam cannot hold up a house alone. Therefore your servant recommends Gongsun Yan for the post of Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue, to be stationed in the Yuan Realm and share Venerable Xiaotian's burdens. " The Heavenly Emperor looked toward the Ten Heavenly Venerables and said with a smile, "What do my beloved ministers think? " The ten Venerables had long been of one mind; they nodded their assent one after another, and Venerable Xiaotian said with a smile, "Let Your Majesty decide.

" So the Heavenly Emperor issued his decree, enfeoffing Gongsun Yan as the Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue, permitting her to build a heavenly palace and to command a million troops.

Gongsun Yan bowed in thanks.

The gods all chanted in unison; divine light hung thick in the hall, and the sounds of the Dao rose in waves, sweet and lingering.

The Ten Heavenly Venerables then bestowed blessings upon Gongsun Yan, and behind her head halos of light appeared, ten in all.

The strand of Shen Mu's divine consciousness hidden between Gongsun Yan's brows saw this and his head ached: "Ten pairs of eyes fixed on Gongsun Yan — nothing she does can be hidden from them!

" Just then, one of the halos behind Gongsun Yan's head quietly sent out a thread of divine consciousness into the woman's brow. Shen Mu gave a cold laugh, and the divine consciousness hidden between Gongsun Yan's brows erupted! The consciousness that had stolen into Gongsun Yan's brow had clearly not expected another to be hidden there; at once it stirred and transformed into a Great Luo Heaven!

Yet to its surprise, Shen Mu's consciousness likewise became a Great Luo Heaven. The two Great Luo Heavens collided, and the two consciousnesses immediately knew each other's identity.

"The Great Emperor! " "Venerable Mutian! " The Heavenly Emperor further bestowed wealth, palace maids, and a great variety of treasures, saying, "Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue, the lower realm is not like this place.

The lower realm is full of tyrants who throw the world into chaos; I hope you will suppress them well and keep the common folk of the lower realm safe.

" Gongsun Yan assented, wholly unaware that a fierce battle had already broken out between her brows.

The Heavenly Emperor withdrew from court; the Ten Heavenly Venerables came forward to offer congratulations and to encourage Gongsun Yan. The other court officials pressed forward one after another to congratulate her, and Gongsun Yan, following Ling Yuxiu's instruction, observed every courtesy without a single misstep, dignified and gracious and proper, so that the officials marveled without end.

Shen Mu poured more of his consciousness into Gongsun Yan's brow and broke through the other's Great Luo Heaven of consciousness; yet the Great Emperor's consciousness was more practiced in its own arts, and its divine-consciousness powers came forth in endless succession.

Even though Shen Mu held the upper hand, he could not overcome him. The two consciousnesses fought on without cease between Gongsun Yan's brows. When Gongsun Yan had finished dealing with everything and stepped out of the Lingxiao Hall of Treasured Jade, Shen Mu went at once to meet her, touched her brow lightly, and the thread of the Great Emperor's invading consciousness was ground away and refined by him!

"The Great Emperor is truly remarkable; his attainments in the way of divine consciousness are exceedingly high, beyond my match," Shen Mu could not help but admire. This clash with the Great Emperor's consciousness in Gongsun Yan's brow had given him a deeper understanding of the Great Emperor's abilities. That the Great Emperor could become one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables was due to attainments in the way of divine consciousness that none could match; and having absorbed the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system, he was now immeasurably stronger in divine-consciousness powers than before.

"Young Master, what should I do? " Once away from the Lingxiao Hall, Gongsun Yan at once became that simple girl again, with no mind of her own, and said in a low voice, "I don't know how to be this Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue. I.

.

.

" Shen Mu said with a smile, "You don't need to do anything. " Gongsun Yan was puzzled, and Shen Mu went on, "You need only be as you were before, and be yourself.

In ordinary days, water the plants, tend a few flowers, spread a little fertilizer, catch a few bugs, raise a nest of phoenixes, and learn a little Daoist art and divine power from Granny Zhu.

" Gongsun Yan blinked her big dark eyes. "But His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor wants me to build an Earthly Virtue Heavenly Palace, and I have no experience in such things.

.

. " "Then it's even simpler. " Shen Mu said, "You can apply to the Heavenly Emperor for a sum of money, and once you have it, hand it to Jingping to build the palace for you.

As for raising troops and buying horses, you can leave that to Emperor Yanxiu as well. Ling Yuxiu will be glad to do all these things for you.

Just set your mind at ease and cultivate; so long as your abilities are high and you can fight ten thousand alone in battle, that will be enough.

" "There's going to be fighting too. . . " Gongsun Yan was somewhat uneasy.

Shen Mu laughed heartily.

"Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue, with half the Yuan Realm in your grasp, won't you have to fight back the powers that will not submit? " Even as he spoke, the divine official returned, bringing the various treasures the Heavenly Emperor had bestowed, a hundred palace maids, and an Eight Phoenix Imperial Carriage.

The eight phoenixes were very beautiful and exceedingly powerful, no weaker than the nine heavenly dragons of Shen Mu's Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot. The Eight Phoenix Imperial Carriage was of the rank of a feudal lord, one grade lower than the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Chariot, but it was no small thing either. Gongsun Yan climbed onto the carriage and parted from Shen Mu with reluctance.

The carriage started up and flew toward the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge, bearing the many treasures and the palace maids.

Shen Mu watched her go into the distance, his eyes flickering. "The blessings of the Ten Heavenly Venerables behind Yan'er's head are a troublesome matter.

The blessings of the Ten Heavenly Venerables are very hard to remove, even more vexing than the blessings of the ancient gods! " Still, once Gongsun Yan became the Primordial Sovereign of Earthly Virtue and opened the Earthly Virtue Heavenly Palace, Jingping would have a name to march under.

This was a good thing!

In the years since the calamity, Jingping had not trained troops at all, but had instead cut its forces.