Chapter 816 — Shattering the Ancient Gods' Blessings
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The group finally finished their study and drew up a charter; after that, each of them chose a direction of research and made it his own specialty. The Demonic Dao's divine treasuries are a vast system; were a single man to study them in full, he might exhaust a lifetime and still never fathom them.
Even if they chose but one facet to study, they would still need to gather a great many talented people. The Heavenly Sage Academy, where Granny Zhu and the village chief dwelt, the Dao Sect, where Dao Master Lin Xuan presided, and the Little Jade Capital, where Wang Muran resided, could each supply many capable hands to help them deduce and flesh out the details of every divine treasury, while they themselves need only grasp the overarching direction.
The group then spent several tens of days more and finished cataloguing the blessings of the gods upon the back of the Heavenly Venerable Yu's head; the Woodcutter compiled the gods' runes and delivered them to Emperor Yanfeng. Emperor Yanfeng wept for joy, tears falling as he said, "Jingping's divine abilities and Dao arts will soar to the heavens from this day on. " The others could not help but feel the same. The Heavenly Venerable Yu was a treasure house beyond measure; the mere study of the halo behind his head was enough to make Jingping's divine abilities and Dao arts leap forward! "Emperor of Jingping, that is not quite right.
" The Woodcutter said, "Your Majesty, you see only the divine abilities and Dao arts of the gods, and not those of us who are creatures born after Heaven and Earth. Do not pursue the branch and let slip the root.
" Emperor Yanfeng bowed low to the ground and said earnestly, "Pray instruct me, Master.
" The Woodcutter laughed.
"I am Kaihuang's Heavenly Master, not yours. I will not teach you; go and ask your own Heavenly Master.
" Emperor Yanfeng was briefly startled, then understood at once, and sought counsel from the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping.
"Your Majesty, our master means that though we have obtained the runes of the ancient gods' Dao arts, those runes do not belong to us creatures born after Heaven and Earth. " The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping said gravely, "Though we creatures born after Heaven and Earth are deficient from birth, we have nonetheless pioneered the Dao of the sword, the Dao of the blade, the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting, the martial arts and divine powers.
These are not the great Dao of the ancient gods, nor the great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but things we carved out of nothing.
Our master means that these are our foundation. " Emperor Yanfeng was suddenly enlightened.
The Imperial Preceptor continued, "Your Majesty, in reform and change, we may absorb what the ancient gods excelled at, but we must not abandon what we ourselves excel at.
Only with both can society advance. " Emperor Yanfeng agreed, saying, "Your words, Imperial Preceptor, have resolved doubts I have held for many years.
" The Imperial Preceptor lowered his voice. "Our master meant something more. To understand the runes of the ancient gods' great Dao is to understand the weakness of each ancient god. " Emperor Yanfeng was greatly shaken. "What do you mean, Imperial Preceptor?
" "Your Majesty understands well enough.
" The Imperial Preceptor said, "Now that the Yuan Realm's seal is broken and all manner of powers are emerging, we must prepare early. The mighty ones of Kaihuang's age aid us, but in the end we must rely on ourselves. If Your Majesty depends on Kaihuang's divinities in all things, what meaning has the Jingping Reform?
Your Majesty must make ready now, so that when we face the ancient gods in time to come, we are not left utterly without the power to resist.