Chapter 1015 — It Never Rains but It Pours
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Shen Mu sighed and shook his head: "I cannot. That I possess the identity of Holy Infant at all is thanks to Sister God King's maneuvering. If Sister God King wished to strip me of my godhood and my standing, it would be a simple matter—easier than turning over a hand."
God King Langwan frowned and said gently: "I will not recklessly use my spirit consciousness to probe the thoughts of others anymore."
"It would be best not to."
Shen Mu said with utter sincerity: "This is not the Other Shore World, nor is it the Worry-Free Land. This is the Heavenly Court—a place where dragons lurk and tigers crouch. Not one Heavenly Lord's strength is inferior to Kaihuang's; some are stronger still. The Heaven Lord and the Great Emperor are hidden here as well, and countless ancient gods keep their eyes on this place. If you use your spirit consciousness as you please, you will easily expose your identity. I treat Sister God King with a sincere heart, and I hope Sister will treat me with a sincere heart in return."
God King Langwan said that she would.
Shen Mu breathed out in relief and smiled: "I will have Ling'er arrange lodgings for you. We most likely cannot stay long at the Heavenly Lord Residence, but at least there will be a place to set our feet. Once you have grown familiar with the Heavenly Court, we will go in search of the ancestral court of the Creators."
He called Snow Fox over, explained at length, and Ling'er led the two away to choose their lodgings. When Snow Fox had finished the arrangements, Shen Mu sought her out again and asked after the current state of Jingping.
"This time Jingping's Directorate of Works took on Zaofu Palace's contract, forging the components for the spirit-energy translocation bridges. In just two years we turned out so many translocation bridges, and the quality is fine while the price is low. When the Heavenly Court's Daoist sects came to measure them, they all said the calculations were exquisitely subtle, with very few flaws."
Snow Fox said: "Our Jingping name is well and truly made now, and we've earned a great deal of money. The Heavenly Court's Daoist sects have handed us some work designing divine weapons as well; the Directorates in every region are working day and night forging divine weapons, though there isn't much work to go around. Besides us in Jingping, plenty of other heavens are forging divine weapons for the Heavenly Court too, so the orders they give us are few."
"It will pick up soon."
Shen Mu said: "The Heavenly Court looks to be at perfect peace, but I fear war will come before long. The Worry-Free Land will make its move. The Heaven Lord, the Earth Lord, and the Four Emperors of the Four Extremes Heaven—in time the Heavenly Court will send troops against them all. Before the army moves, provisions go first; the same holds for fine weapons. If the Heavenly Court means to move against those forces, it will surely stockpile every kind of divine weapon and sharp blade in advance, so that the battlefield will not burn through them and leave them with nothing to wield."
He paced to and fro: "When the Heavenly Court opens the Great Void battlefield, the slaughter will be terrible. By then, too many heavy divine artifacts will have been destroyed, and the Directorates of the Heavenly Court and of the great heavens will not be able to keep pace. At that point Jingping will be allowed to forge heavy divine artifacts. The more war there is, the faster wealth flows to Jingping and the less the other heavens hold. And the more the other heavens will rebel."
Snow Fox said: "When will the Young Master return to Jingping?"
Shen Mu hesitated, then said: "I cannot go back for the time being. If I remain in the Heavenly Court, Jingping will be all the more secure. If I go to Jingping, Jingping will only gain more peril."
"Heavenly Lord, Yun Chuxiu of the Yun family requests an audience!" a maidservant's voice came from outside the door.