Chapter 805 — The Fall of the Lord of the Heavenly Court
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
The Heavenly Duke went on. "His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. We ancient gods could not match him. When the Heavenly Court was founded in the early years of Longhan, we ancient gods were its heads, and we raised him up to be the Heavenly Emperor. We accepted him as Heavenly Emperor in full sincerity. Our thinking at the time was that postnatal beings and demigods were growing ever more numerous, and there had to be order to restrain these creatures, lest they slaughter one another every day. Yet we never imagined that the Heavenly Emperor would be so domineering, so deep in scheming. We took him as a fellow Daoist, but he took us as subjects."
Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly as he recalled the Ugly One he had seen within the Life-Slaying Cauldron.
The Heavenly Duke said, "Every ancient god was more or less held by some leverage in his grip. The Earthlord had his weakness in the Heavenly Emperor's hands, I had mine, the Earth Mother too. Among the old brothers and old comrades of those days, who could match him? Heh heh, who was not held fast in his grasp? Whether Yuandu or Youdu, or my own Xuandu, he planted countless agents, and yet we could not see the Heavenly Court's hand."
Shen Mu thought of Yu Tianzun's experiences and of what he had witnessed within the Life-Slaying Cauldron, and nodded silently.
The Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. Whether the Earth Mother, or the Earthlord and the Heavenly Duke, or any other ancient god, none could truly match him.
The Heavenly Emperor's position could only grow ever more secure, his reign unshaken, enduring through all ages!
And yet this emperor had still died.
"In truth, after Mu Tianzun left the Longhan era, demigods and postnatal beings began to develop at tremendous speed, and many mighty existences emerged. Demigods and postnatal beings advanced, yet the ancient gods advanced with difficulty. Ancient gods cannot learn the Dao arts and divine abilities of others; they can only study their own Dao arts to elevate themselves."
The Heavenly Duke sighed. "By the time demigods and postnatal beings also became ageless and deathless, their reverence and worship of the ancient gods gradually faded. The Old Buddha was an outstanding figure of that time, though he was not the most eminent among the demigods and postnatal beings."
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha nodded. "Each of the Seven Tianzuns surpassed me by no small measure."
"Old Buddha, do not belittle yourself. You are but a hair's breadth behind them."
The Heavenly Duke offered a word of comfort, then continued, "The Heavenly Emperor was deeply wary of the human race among the postnatal beings, deeply wary of the demigods who produced geniuses in every generation, and even more on guard against his own children. So he stirred up many conflicts to wear down the strength of demigods and postnatal beings. He even tacitly permitted the demigods and the human race to each establish their own lesser heavenly court, and watched them slaughter one another. Crown Prince Wuqi was immensely powerful at the time, and His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor deliberately gave him the opportunity to rebel, then used the pretext to execute him. Even after Crown Prince Wuqi's death, the Heavenly Emperor would not relent, and bestowed on him the surname Xie in death, calling him Xie Wuqi, and suppressed him within Youdu."
Shen Mu's heart stirred. "Xie Wuqi? I saw him at Yusuo Pass!"
The Heavenly Duke said, "I did not know the details of this matter either. I only knew that Xie Wuqi rebelled and was killed. The inside story was told to me by Little Bird. It was not until not long ago that I learned the Heavenly Emperor had deliberately given Xie Wuqi the chance to rebel in order to execute him."
The Great Sun Star Lord shrank his neck, his face mournful.