Chapter 919 — Illusory Blossom of the Western Realm
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Western Lands.
A vast walled city came rushing past before Shen Mu's eyes; he started, and hastened to call out loudly: "Is that Sister He Yiyi coming this way?"
The running city slowed its steps. On its battlements stood several deities, who poked their heads out and said: "This is the conveyance of White Emperor City, not any sister. Who are you?"
Shen Mu said: "Heaven Venerable Mu. Might I ask whether High Heaven Academy has come under the White Emperor's banner?"
A deity on the wall said: "High Heaven Academy? You mean High Heaven? That is no power of White Emperor City. There is a man there named Qi Jiuyi, a disciple of the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu. The Red Emperor conferred with the White Emperor and split the Western Lands in half between them, and the Red Emperor gave the White Emperor half of the Southern Lands as well... What was it you said you were?"
"Heaven Venerable Mu," Shen Mu said with a smile.
The deities on the tower came to their senses and looked at one another.
Shen Mu asked: "Then how does one get to High Heaven Academy?"
The deities conferred a while, and one of them said: "Heaven Venerable, look yonder. Those pale-blue heavens are High Heaven. When you come beneath High Heaven, you may meet the people there and ask them, and they will tell you the precise whereabouts of High Heaven Academy."
Shen Mu thanked them and bade the Dragon Qilin head toward the heavens of High Heaven, saying: "I once thought High Heaven a most mysterious thing, keeping watch over the doings of Huangxu and Jingping. Only now do I know that High Heaven is merely one of the myriad heavens and worlds of the Yuan Realm, and nothing to speak of."
The Dragon Qilin said: "Sect Master, in the old days you were only a petty wielder of divine power, and you thought High Heaven a monstrous, terrifying colossus. Now you are Heaven Venerable Mu, and High Heaven looks like nothing much at all."
Shen Mu laughed: "Fat Dragon grows more perceptive by the day. And so have you. You have grown too."
The several deities watched them go off into the distance, then again exchanged looks. One deity said: "Heaven Venerable Mu has come to the Western Lands of the Yuan Realm. Should we inform White Emperor City?"
"He is bound for the Red Emperor's domain. If the strongmen of our White Emperor City blocked his road, would that not offend the Red Emperor?"
An elder deity, being the more seasoned, said: "Besides, he is a Heaven Venerable. Who would dare lay a hand on him? Let him go his way."
The deities assented, and the great city once more strode out, rolling up thick smoke as it sped away.
Along the road Shen Mu met many such land-cities, flying at great speed. All of them were conveyances used by the gods and demons of the Western Lands to travel, to move armies, to put down rebellions here and there; exceedingly convenient.
"This is a spell of the True Heaven Palace, and the True Heaven Palace comes precisely from the Outland Heavenly Court."
Shen Mu said in a low voice: "The Old Mother of True Heaven is a true god of the Outland Heavenly Court; most likely she is one of the White Emperor's subordinates..."
Because of High Heaven and the True Heaven Palace, the Western Lands had not suffered the horrors of war as Jingping had; the common folk here could still make a decent living.
When Shen Mu came to the Red Emperor's territory, he found it governed rather better than the White Emperor's lands; the people of the Western Lands dwelt in peace and contentment, and seemed no different from before.
Some girls of the Western Lands saw him, and to his surprise still recognized him, and greeted him of their own accord.
"Now there is no High Heaven Academy, only the High Heaven Divine Sect, whose sect master is the former Grand Libationer of High Heaven Academy, Xu Shenghua."