Chapter 946 — Gazing Into That Abyss
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
The two Heavenly Courts slaughtered one another year after year; the war between demigods and acquired living beings never ceased, and that war between races endured for tens of thousands of years of the Longhan era, with none knew how many dead.
Yet in name both Heavenly Courts were branches of the Longhan Heavenly Court, and the ancient gods still ruled the whole world. The war between demigods and acquired living beings made the rule of the ancient gods utterly secure, and both Xiaohan and Longxiao still offered sacrifice and tribute to the ancient gods.
If sacrifice and tribute were not offered, the ancient gods of the Longhan Heavenly Court would descend and aid the other side in the war, punishing any force that defied the Longhan Heavenly Court, and truly rivers of blood flowed and bones piled into mountains.
It was under such circumstances that Heavenly Venerable Yun sought out the Dao Ancestor, already of some renown, and invited him to join the Heaven Alliance.
At that time the Dao Ancestor was attempting to use the arts of calculation to analyze the various great Daos of the world. He was proficient in every kind of divine power, only his fighting strength was not high; it was merely that he had learned a great many divine powers.
In that age of suffering, geniuses were as countless as the blazing stars, and those of great fighting strength were not few; the Dao Ancestor and the Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha were unremarkable among them.
When Heavenly Venerable Yun told the Dao Ancestor that his arts of calculation could decipher the great Dao of the ancient gods, and thereby utterly overthrow the rule of the ancient gods and end the world's suffering, the Dao Ancestor was startled, and could not believe his words.
At that time the Dao Ancestor had already parted ways with the Great Brahma Heaven King Buddha, each living his own life, each with his own disciples and followers.
Yet Heavenly Venerable Yun made him believe that this could be done, that mortals too could fathom the wellspring of the ancient gods' power, and even obtain that wellspring.
So the Dao Ancestor began to carry out Heavenly Venerable Yun's plan, ceaselessly deciphering the great Dao of the ancient gods, and this work went on for five or six hundred thousand years.
To this day, he had basically mapped out the great Dao of the ancient gods.
"But I too have sensed the changes in the world's affairs, and the ancient gods of today are no longer the threat between heaven and earth."
The Dao Ancestor sat staring blankly, then suddenly said, "It is the Heaven Alliance instead that has taken the ancient gods' place as the world's threat. I am only a researcher, one who asks nothing of worldly affairs. I never foresaw such a state of things, and do not know what to do. That is why, when I learned last time in Qingyun Heaven that Heavenly Venerable Mu had come, I took the risk of sending you to the Shoucang Pavilion, hoping to pass on the great Dao of the ancient gods to you and bring about some change."
Shen Mu thanked him, and said, "Why did the Dao Ancestor pass on the great Dao of the ancient gods in the Shoucang Pavilion to the ancient god Heavenly Emperor?"
The Dao Ancestor hesitated, then said, "That too was Heavenly Venerable Yun's idea."
Shen Mu was startled.
"In that final period, Heavenly Venerable Yun seemed to know his life was near its end, and so he told me that the Heaven Alliance had already slipped beyond control, and needed an enemy. He sensed that among the Heaven Alliance there was one who might be the ancient god Heavenly Emperor, and told me to keep close to him."
The Dao Ancestor said, "He had no strength to settle the Heaven Alliance; he could do only this, let the Heaven Alliance split, lest it become a monstrous colossus. It is a pity; the Heaven Alliance still became the very thing he dreaded."