Chapter 936 — The Chess Piece Falls in the Heavenly Palace, Deciding Victory
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
With a trace of arrogance, Qi Jiuyi said, "Sect Master Shen need not doubt my abilities. Since I opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, I am no longer what I was. Their arts and divine powers are all outdated; once I might not have been their match, but now they cannot withstand a single blow."
Behind him appeared a nine-headed phoenix soaring above the Heavenly River, its nine heads proud and untamable, savage beyond measure. "They were killed by Heavenly Venerable Mu. They challenged Heavenly Venerable Mu, never imagining that Heavenly Venerable Mu was so ferocious as to annihilate their souls outright. Surely Heavenly Venerable Mu does not mind taking that charge upon himself?"
Shen Mu smiled. "I do not mind. I can bear it."
Qi Jiuyi swept his gaze around, his eyes growing fiercer. "You may all rest easy. They are dead by my hand; even if you cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, no one will know."
A young man's voice trembled. "And if one of us does not cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury?"
Qi Jiuyi said no more. Behind him the nine-headed phoenix spread its wings, flames blazing.
The man said in despair, "Once we open the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, we cannot hide it from our fellow disciples, much less from our master. My master is a Heavenly King of the Heavenly Court."
Yun Jianli said abruptly, "You can go to the Yuan Realm."
Everyone was startled, not understanding why he had said such a thing so suddenly.
Yun Jianli said, "Going to the Yuan Realm is a way to live, to escape the scrutiny of your sects. And in the lower realm there is the Jingping Reform; you can draw far more of its strengths there. Since I have witnessed Heavenly Venerable Mu's abilities, I too wish to walk a while in the lower realm. To remain in the Heavenly Court is to sit at the bottom of a well and call it the sky; you never see the true heaven and earth. We who wield divine powers are also seekers of the Dao. Since the Heavenly Court is dead and stagnant, since the high gods cling to their offices and think only of their own gain, staying here we can see no hope at all. Better to simply descend to the lower realm!"
Que Jingxue rose and made to leave, giggling. "Heavenly Venerable Mu, Yun Jianli, and you, the savage fellow with nine heads — we shall meet again in the Yuan Realm!"
Suddenly she stopped, turned, and looked with a half-smile at a youth in yellow robes who had been silent all this while in the pavilion. "Prince Jade, you are of the imperial house; you cannot possibly support the Reform, can you? Nor can you cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, can you?"
The yellow-robed youth's face changed drastically. He rose at once, wary. "Senior Sister Jingxue, what are you saying? Even if my cultivation were higher still, I could never sit upon the throne. The Heavenly Emperor is ageless, deathless, imperishable; naturally I mean to rebel. I support the Reform!"
"Well said. And yet I do not trust you."
Que Jingxue smiled. "Friends of the Azure Splendor List and the Divine Elegance List — we all need a little blood on our hands before we can trust one another. Otherwise, if word of our cultivating the Heavenly River Divine Treasury gets out, not one of us will live."
The people in the pavilion rose in silence.
The yellow-robed youth knew things had gone wrong. At once he shot into the air, trying to break through the roof of the Manhui Corridor Pavilion and escape from above.
In the instant he moved, almost everyone in the Manhui Corridor Pavilion struck at once. Shadows flickered, and who knows how many divine powers burst forth in that instant, blasting the yellow-robed youth to powder and splintered bone.
His soul did not escape either; it was beaten out of existence by them, spirit and all.
They landed, robes flapping, and it was long before calm returned.
Shen Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Yun Jianli watched it all in silence. They did not stop it, nor did they speak.