Chapter 650 — The Might of the Sacred Wheel
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
Chi Xi rejected a few items on Shen Mu's list, but agreed to most of them, requiring only that Emperor Yanfeng establish academies and schools in the territory of the Chiming remnants and teach them Jingping's dao arts and divine powers. Emperor Yanfeng agreed, and marked out a large tract of land in the Southern Wasteland near the Desolate Ruins, where the remaining Chiming folk might dwell and multiply. The Wheel of Creation that Shen Mu had ordered obtained at all costs - to that too Chi Xi agreed.
Shen Mu was beside himself with joy, and straightaway hurried off to the South Sea with Chi Xi to haul the Wheel of Creation back to the capital, afraid that Chi Xi might change his mind.
When Ban Gongcuo saw that Chi Xi had granted the greater part of Shen Mu's demands and that many treasures of the sea-bed divine city had been handed over to the State of Jingping, he could not keep from aching with pain. "Master, this is an alliance, not submission. You have given Emperor Yanfeng too much! Tens of thousands of divine weapons and keen blades!
And the Wheel of Creation above all - a treasure among treasures - how could you promise it to Jingping? " Chi Xi sneered.
"This Sect Master Shen is a country boy who has never seen the world.
The emperor has never seen the world either. Neither have you.
" Ban Gongcuo was baffled. "I beg your instruction, Master. " "Those divine weapons and keen blades were all forged in the Chiming Era. How rich the Heavenly Court was in those years!
A mere few tens of thousands of divine weapons - nothing to be concerned with; only the stores of a single treasure vault in the Heavenly Palace. " Chi Xi said calmly, "As for the Wheel of Creation, it is true that the Chiming Divine Dynasty spent great effort forging this wheel, and that it could never be forged again, for the blueprints are gone and so are the craftsmen capable of it.
Yet this wheel was only ever a key to break a seal!
The people of the Chiming Divine Dynasty are all unsealed already; keeping this wheel is of no use, and it has cost us a great tract of territory instead! What matters most is that the Chiming Divine Dynasty have a foothold in the ancestral land, from which they can nibble away step by step and enlarge their domain! Once we have learned Jingping's dao arts and divine powers, will Jingping still be able to withstand the gods and demons of the Chiming Divine Dynasty?
" Ban Gongcuo's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands in unceasing admiration. Chi Xi smiled. "From different heights, one sees different things. Disciple, the height you stood at before was like standing on a chicken coop, thinking that scratching worms out of the earth is a fine thing; but to an eagle in the sky, scratching worms from the earth is what chickens do. " Ban Gongcuo bowed down and said in all sincerity, "Master's reproof is just. How laughable that Sect Master Shen still thinks himself clever and swaggers so proudly! " Chi Xi laughed. "That is because his vision and understanding are low, so he cannot see far.
But Emperor Yanfeng is the great sovereign of the Jingping Era, and I never expected him to be so short-sighted as well.
That, and no more, is what makes me hold him in contempt. Such an emperor deserves not to rule this land. Come, go with me to see Emperor Yanfeng; I have a matter to seek him on.
" The master and disciple went into the palace to seek an audience. Yan Zhigui hurried out to meet them.
"His Majesty is in the imperial garden, watching Lord Shen test a treasure. Pray follow me, both of you. " Chi Xi followed him to the imperial garden, and from afar saw the massive Wheel of Creation standing atop a rockery, surrounded by high walls that barred all outsiders. Coming inside, he saw three or five gods - civil officials, by the look of them - standing with Emperor Yanfeng and the others around the Wheel of Creation, and the Primordial Ancestor, the Human Emperor, among them.