荒墟牧神 - 第997章 再闖天君內苑 - 簡牘書房

Shen Mu was overcome with shame, feeling that he had sunk low, that he could not withstand temptation.

"If Long Pang were here, he would surely have told a few parables to wake me up, so that I would not be so intoxicated by beauty."

God King Langwan, for her part, had no other thoughts; she merely visualized a mirror and examined the willow leaf at the center of her brow, checking whether Shen Mu had placed it straight.

The leaf was lovely, and it pleased her greatly.

After all, this willow leaf had been forged by the joined efforts of the elders of Hidden Remnant Village. Though those elders could not compare with a God King like her, in crafts such as forging and painting they were masters rarely matched under heaven, and so the leaf had naturally been wrought with surpassing beauty.

What was more, the leaf had been refined through the sacrificial forging of the Earth Lord and the Lord of Heaven; it was no ordinary thing.

Worn at the center of her brow, it lent her a singular charm.

Shen Mu glanced at the phoenix crown on her head and hesitated. The crown was magnificent, the emblem of a God King's rank, and the treasures set into it were priceless; worn openly, it would surely draw every eye.

"But then, a woman so beautiful draws every eye wherever she goes."

He gave up the notion of asking God King Langwan to take off the phoenix crown: "It looks good on her, and so long as she does not look like a Creator, that is enough. There is a deep and deadly hatred between the Creators and the Ancient Gods, and I must be careful; after all, many powerful beings of the Ancient God lineage support me in secret. If God King Langwan's identity were exposed, it could bring unnecessary trouble."

God King Langwan summoned the chieftains of the various clans and gave them her instructions. Shen Mu sought out God King Shujun and said, "God King, I intend to return to the Heavenly Court. Will you come with me?"

Shujun hesitated, then said, "Going back is fine too."

Shen Mu was somewhat displeased. "Did you not say you wished to find your clansmen? Now that you have found them, why return to the Heavenly Court? The Heavenly Court is a perilous place. Stay here; you can go to the Worry-Free Land and study the lore of the Kaihuang Reform, cultivate diligently, and open your Divine Treasury and Heavenly Palace all the sooner."

"You come running to ask whether I will go with you, and then you want me to stay — two-faced and double-dealing!"

Shujun said angrily, "There is nothing worth learning in the Worry-Free Land, and its cultivation methods are not as good as yours; one can only pick up a few divine abilities and arts there. I am not staying. And do not forget, you still owe me a Creator hidden in the Heavenly Court!"

Shen Mu said, stammering, "I only meant well by you. After all, when I entered the Great Void I brought many people with me, but you alone were not among them. If you came back with me, anyone who saw that great head of yours would surely wonder where you came from..."

Shujun laughed in sheer fury. "And what of God King Langwan? If you take her back, will no one ask about her? Our bargain is not finished — do not think you can shake me off!"

Shen Mu was left speechless, and then a sudden alarm rose in his heart: "In my heart I wanted Shujun to come along, so that I would not be seduced by God King Langwan — that is why I asked whether he would come. Yet in my heart I also did not want Shujun to come, and so I told him to stay. It is over, it is over — I need Long Pang!"

They set out at once.

Several days later they came to the continent where the three rooms stood, climbed to the summit, and arrived before the three houses.

"I wonder whether the Fire Heavenly Venerable and the Void Heavenly Venerable have escaped from these three rooms," Shen Mu thought.

God King Langwan opened the middle door and said, "Opening the door from here requires none of those steps outside; walk straight in and you arrive at the Void Bridge."