Chapter 936 — The Chess Piece Falls in the Heavenly Palace, Deciding Victory
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Que Jingxue wiped the bloodstains from her hands and looked deeply at Shen Mu, probing. "Prince Jade challenged Heavenly Venerable Mu, and was slain by Heavenly Venerable Mu in the Manhui Corridor Pavilion."
Shen Mu nodded. "I killed him."
"Thank you, Heavenly Venerable, for granting us this."
Que Jingxue bowed to the ground before Shen Mu, then rose and departed.
The others too bowed to Shen Mu one after another and took their leave.
Soon only Shen Mu, Qi Jiuyi, Yun Jianli, and a few others remained in the pavilion; outside the door Yan'er and the Dragon Qilin kept watch.
Shen Mu was the first to break the silence, sighing. "When I came to the Heavenly Court, my thought was to kill a few to establish my authority, to make a great disturbance here. I never imagined that I would kill no one at all, and instead take so many lives upon my back."
Yun Jianli coughed a few times, the black qi at his brow grown darker. "That is precisely where Heavenly Venerable Mu's skill lies. In one stroke you have dug away more than twenty geniuses from the Azure Splendor List and the Divine Elegance List. They are talents the Heavenly Kings, Heavenly Venerables, and ancient gods of the Heavenly Court spent untold pains to cultivate; you turned them, and turned them so that they had no choice but to turn. I cannot help wondering, Heavenly Venerable: what do you do in the Yuan Realm?"
Shen Mu's interest was roused. He turned. "Brother Yun, have you heard of the Heavenly Sacred Cult? You see that Brother Qi always calls me Sect Master Shen; that is because I am the Sect Master of the Heavenly Sacred Cult. Would Brother Yun be interested... "
Yun Jianli laughed heartily, then coughed violently.
Shen Mu's heart tightened. The vertical eye at his brow opened, and after examining him he said, "Since you opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, your cultivation and strength have grown greatly, and your death draws nearer by the day."
Yun Jianli laughed. "My death may not be far off, but Heavenly Venerable Mu's death is nearer still. You have many lives upon your back; before long a high god will come to kill you."
Shen Mu said leisurely, "In the Heavenly Court there are many who want me dead, and many who do not. For besides being one of the Three Heroes of the Jingping Overlord Body Reform, and Heavenly Venerable Mu, I am also the Great Mage of Myriad Kalpas Unperishing. When you and I fought, and I used my full strength, those who do not want me dead saw what I can do, and they will do all in their power to protect me. The Heavenly Court, unbreakable, will split in two because of my coming, one into two. The grievance between the two sides will deepen, and little by little come into the open."
Yun Jianli shuddered. After a moment he sighed. "Now at last I know why you, heedless of life or death, insisted on coming to the Heavenly Court. In the Yuan Realm, the Heavenly Court's inner contradictions could still be kept down. But you have come to the Heavenly Court, and its inner contradictions will be stirred up, will erupt, and will split the Heavenly Court apart. From then on the Heavenly Court will never again set its eyes on the lower realm. To quell the outside, one must first settle the inside; they will surely deal with the internal crisis first. Heavenly Venerable Mu, are your schemes so deep?"
Shen Mu smiled ambiguously. "In the lower realm, we call this being an old hand of the rivers and lakes. I was played in the palm of such old hands, until the Jingping Calamity broke out. Now I am merely collecting a little interest."
Outside the door came the Dragon Qilin's voice. "Sect Master, Miss Yun Chuxiu is here."
They broke off the subject at once. Shen Mu smiled. "I will have rooms prepared for you and your sister; stay here for the time being."