Chapter 1191 — Frank and Open

Shi Qiluo led the gods of Zaofu Heavenly Palace in tallying up the various divine weapons, his voice loud and carrying far: "Emperor Yanxiu, these divine weapons of yours aren't of very high grade. For these goods, I want to shave off another point!"

Ling Yuxiu's voice drifted over: "High God, Jingping's goods are already the lowest among all the heavens! Apart from Jingping, no heaven can offer you this price! Shave off another point, and Jingping will have no profit left—we won't even be able to cover wages! Eh, the cowherd... Shepherd Heavenly Venerable!"

Her eyes lit up as she saw Shen Mu approaching, and she nearly blurted out the words "the cowherd" before catching herself and correcting her address.

Shi Qiluo glanced at Shen Mu as he walked over and sneered, "Even if the cowherd Shepherd Heavenly Venerable shows up, it won't help! I'm a man who only recognizes hard logic—even if all ten Heavenly Venerables came together, I absolutely won't yield you half a point..."

He had just said this when his expression suddenly changed drastically, for he saw Hao Heavenly Venerable and Langxuan Divine Emperor entering Zaofu Heavenly Palace side by side.

The skin on Shi Qiluo's face and his full beard twitched wildly, his legs trembled, and he was about to drop to his knees.

Hao Heavenly Venerable said indifferently, "No need. Fellow Daoist Mu's footsteps are rather quick."

Shen Mu replied politely, "It was merely the power of a borrowed treasure—nothing worth mentioning. You two fellow Daoists are the ones with true skill."

Hao Heavenly Venerable's gaze shifted to Yun Chuxiu, and with a cold laugh, he turned his head and said, "Shi Qiluo, you are in charge of the Creation Divine Artifact. I ask you—just how many divine artifact Heavenly Venerables have you manufactured?"

Shi Qiluo dropped to his knees with a thud, trembling, and fumbled for the account books.

Hao Heavenly Venerable gave a humph: "I did not tell you to kneel. Why did you kneel?"

Shi Qiluo looked up with a fawning smile: "This humble one's two legs are always disobedient—the moment they see a Heavenly Venerable, they feel that kneeling is more comfortable. Heavenly Venerable, please wait a moment, this humble one will find the account book..."

Langxuan Divine Emperor smiled genially from the side: "Palace Master Shi need not worry. Brother Hao is not here to investigate your little treasury. Those matters of yours—taking kickbacks, lining your own pockets, falsifying prices, shaving off points—none of them are a problem."

Cold sweat rolled down Shi Qiluo's forehead, and he grew even more flustered, taking quite a while before he found the records of the Creation Divine Artifact's usage and hurriedly handed them to Hao Heavenly Venerable.

Hao Heavenly Venerable opened the account book and carefully browsed through it once, his expression growing ever more somber.

Shi Qiluo's face was ashen, deeply uneasy.

Hao Heavenly Venerable handed the account book to Langxuan Divine Emperor at his side. Langxuan Divine Emperor flipped through it once, and Shen Mu leaned his head over to look. Langxuan Divine Emperor hastily closed the account book, and with an ambiguous smile said, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable also wishes to manufacture a divine artifact Heavenly Venerable? This account book—you cannot see it."

"Stingy."

Shen Mu laughed: "Fine, I won't look. That divine artifact Heavenly Venerable refined by the Creation Divine Artifact—I'd like to get one too..."

Hao Heavenly Venerable's expression was mild as he said, "It is not that I am unwilling to give one to you, fellow Daoist, but the materials required to manufacture a divine artifact Heavenly Venerable are extraordinary. Even in the Heavenly Court such materials are scarce, and there is no spare funding now to make another."

Shen Mu smiled faintly, knowing that he naturally could not be telling the truth.

Langxuan Divine Emperor raised an eyebrow and said, "Palace Master Shi, you manufactured eleven divine artifact Heavenly Venerables."

Hao Heavenly Venerable stared at Shi Qiluo and said indifferently, "This eleventh divine artifact—who told you to make it?"

Shi Qiluo hesitated a moment, then said cautiously, "Replying to Heavenly Venerable, it was His Majesty who ordered this humble minister to make it. This humble minister even has His Majesty's handwritten edict here..."

Kneeling on the ground, he rummaged around again, searching for quite a while, and finally found the Heavenly Emperor's handwritten edict, which he carefully presented.

Hao Heavenly Venerable opened the edict, his expression growing ever more somber. He glanced at Yun Chuxiu not far away.

Yun Chuxiu was happily running about everywhere, helping Jingping's gods and demons move divine weapons, paying him no heed whatsoever.

Hao Heavenly Venerable's eye twitched. Such a lively and adorable young girl truly drew people's gaze—yet he had to call her mother.

Langxuan Divine Emperor, meanwhile, was studying Hao Heavenly Venerable's expression, knowing what was in his heart.

The ten Heavenly Venerables jointly controlled the Heavenly Emperor's physical body. It seemed safe, but in reality it gave others an exploitable opportunity.

Madam Yuanmu was not among the ten Heavenly Venerables, yet she had seized this opportunity—while the ten Heavenly Venerables were caught off guard, she controlled the Heavenly Emperor's physical body and used this body to issue an edict, manufacturing a divine artifact Heavenly Venerable for herself!

"If Shepherd Heavenly Venerable seizes this opportunity—heh heh, this fellow would probably also make himself a divine artifact Heavenly Venerable!"

Langxuan Divine Emperor looked toward Shen Mu, and his heart gave a start. Sure enough, Shen Mu's eyes were gleaming wickedly—clearly he too had thought of exploiting the Heavenly Emperor's physical body to manufacture a divine artifact Heavenly Venerable for himself!

He coughed, reminding Hao Heavenly Venerable, who immediately understood and said indifferently, "Shi Qiluo, keeping your dog's head still has its uses. I will not pursue this matter further. From now on, without the handwritten edicts of all the Heavenly Venerables, even if the Heavenly Emperor himself comes in person, you are not permitted to manufacture divine artifact Heavenly Venerables!"

Shi Qiluo hastily professed his loyalty: "This humble minister follows only the Heavenly Venerables' lead!"

Hao Heavenly Venerable strode away, and Langxuan Divine Emperor followed, laughing: "Fellow Daoist truly has excellent methods. This time Shepherd Heavenly Venerable will not be able to stir up trouble again."

Shi Qiluo waited until they were far away before crawling up and brushing the dirt off his knees.

Shen Mu laughed: "The mighty master of Zaofu Heavenly Palace, the Heavenly Court's foremost forgery master—yet you grovel so abjectly, kneeling to others. Palace Master Shi, your Emperor Throne cultivation has quite a bit of water in it."

Shi Qiluo's face turned haughty, and he sneered: "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, are you also from Jingping? I will not yield you even a single point here—but out of respect for your being a Heavenly Venerable, I will yield you half a point."

Shen Mu was about to say more when Ling Yuxiu quietly tugged at his clothes, and he fell silent.

Ling Yuxiu waved her hand: "Unload the goods!"

The gods and demons of Jingping on the ships immediately set to work. Ling Yuxiu said to Shen Mu: "Half a point is already enough. Actually, we can still make some profit. In recent years the Heavenly Court has been attacking the Great Void, printing vast amounts of heavenly currency, and prices across many heavens have soared. Where did you come from?"