Chapter 806 — The Final Winner
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 5
" Shen Mu could not puzzle it out no matter how he tried. Suddenly Heaven Lord went on: "After the Heavenly Emperor died, a strange thing happened — and it is precisely that thing which leaves me unable to say which of the three Heavenly Courts of Xiao, Long, and Han was the final victor. " Shen Mu hastened to ask, "What thing?
" Heaven Lord said, "After the Heavenly Emperor was slain, both Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun raced at flying speed toward the Heavenly Court.
The two of them were swift beyond measure; by then their cultivation was already extraordinary. What baffled me was that Yun Tianzun took on Hao Tianzun's appearance at the time, and the two of them seemed to be hurrying for all they were worth, each trying to reach the Heavenly Court before the other. Later I understood. . .
" His gaze turned strange, and he said in a low voice, "They were going to contend for the Heavenly Emperor's body.
" Shen Mu's whole body shook.
"The news of the Heavenly Emperor's death was never spread abroad because, though the Heavenly Emperor was dead, the Heavenly Emperor in the Heavenly Court was still alive. " Heaven Lord's gaze was somewhat vacant as he said, "Yun Tianzun and Hao Tianzun sped to the Heavenly Court like wind and lightning, naturally to seize control of the Heavenly Emperor's body.
With the Heavenly Emperor's body in hand, they would hold the Heavenly Emperor's power and authority, and suppressing the other would be easy. Think on it — is there any easier way to seize power than that? Yet I never saw who in the end obtained the Heavenly Emperor's body. " Shen Mu sat dumb as a wooden fowl; after a moment he asked, "Yun Tianzun took on Hao Tianzun's appearance? How did he change himself?
" Heaven Lord did not answer. The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha sighed.
This old Buddha's brows were knit with care as he said, "I taught it to him.
He was the leader of the human race, the leader of the Heaven Alliance; he wished to raise the human race's confidence by transforming into the vanished Mu Tianzun and Shen Tianzun. He came to me, and of course I was glad to teach him. The human race was in a wretched state then. .
.
" Shen Mu pondered a moment, then suddenly said, "Then is Yun Tianzun truly of the human race?
" The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha was startled, then understood his meaning and shook his head. "I do not know.
" Shen Mu looked at Heaven Lord, who also shook his head.
"I do not know either whether he is human or demigod.
He has always worn a human face. But. . . " He paused, then said, "Hao Tianzun, too, has always worn a human face. " Silence fell all around. Heaven Lord said, "I know only that the Heavenly Emperor seated on the throne of the Longhan Heavenly Court was no longer the true Heavenly Emperor, but I do not know which of the two of them it was who sat there.
For after that there were more and more upheavals; later the Xiaohan Heavenly Court was destroyed, and the Longxiao Heavenly Court did not last long before it followed in the Xiaohan Heavenly Court's footsteps and was destroyed as well. And later still the ancient Heavenly Court rose higher and higher, far from Yuandu, which the great war had turned into a wasteland — until the Crimson Emperor rose from the ruins of Yuandu. . . " The Crimson Emperor stared blankly, lost in thought, and said, "That wasteland then was a chaos, a place of utmost peril; I too escaped death countless times. When I was young I loved to roam far and wide, and I saw many ruins of the two Heavenly Courts.
One day I saw a divine statue with three heads and six arms, its face already blurred beyond seeing.
Something stirred in me all at once; I sat withered beneath that stone statue for a long while, and at last I comprehended my own path.
" Shen Mu's mind roared; he said, his voice rough, "Was it my statue? " "The face could not be made out," the Crimson Emperor said, shaking his head.