Chapter 1046 — True Martial Sword Pavilion
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 5
Kaicheng, in that age, had carried the acquired Grand Dao of the sword path to its limit, and that was a reform. Beyond the sword path, formation arts, forging arts, the blade Dao, and many other Daos—these were also acquired Grand Daos, all developed and grown to brilliance during the Kaicheng Era.
One could say the Kaicheng Era was a time when acquired Grand Daos burst forth, gradually vying in splendor with the innate Grand Daos. And Emperor Xuan's proficiency in formations and numerology showed that he did not reject acquired Grand Daos; it was only that the limits of his innate nature prevented him from carrying those two acquired Daos to their ultimate heights.
They walked on, and Shen Mu saw more traces of Kaicheng: a sword-discussion terrace, a sword-washing pool, a heaven-and-earth chessboard left by Yan Yunxi, and the Xuanwu Six Harmonies Scripture wall left by Di Yiyue. "Kaicheng was on such good terms with Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu—why, then, was the Northern Emperor's divine weapon borrowed to destroy the Kaicheng Era? " Shen Mu asked. Emperor Xuan said, "The tide of events made it unavoidable.
What I thought at the time was this: if the Kaicheng Era could last three hundred thousand years like the Shanghuang Era, the acquired Grand Daos would be imprinted upon the void, and the gods of the Kaicheng Era would turn from acquired to innate and become new ancient gods.
Then we could contend with the Heavenly Court. " Shen Mu's mind shook—so the ancient gods of that era had nurtured the Kaicheng Era precisely in order to create a new generation of ancient gods!
"At that point, Kaicheng's interests would be one with ours. They would become new ancient gods, and we could join forces to sweep away the Heavenly Court. Then Kaicheng would be the new heavenly emperor of the ancient gods.
" Emperor Xuan said, "Even without three hundred thousand years, a hundred thousand years would have allowed the Kaicheng Era to establish itself, divide the world with the Heavenly Court, and make them afraid to move against the ancient gods. But we never dreamed the Heavenly Court would grant only twenty thousand years.
Under such a tide, we had to compromise; had we not, it would have meant certain death for us. " He walked toward the jade terrace, shaking his head with sigh after sigh, and murmured, "Only twenty thousand years. . .
As for Jingping—heh, eight hundred years. .
. " Shen Mu followed him and, after a hesitation, asked, "Emperor Xuan, there is something I do not know whether I should ask. Your relationship with Emperor Wu does not seem very harmonious.
Why is that? " "You saw it too? " Emperor Xuan sighed. "Emperor Wu and I were originally divine beings born from the Heavenly River, each governing a stretch of it, with no dealings with each other. Later, as more ancient gods were born, our strength was a little weaker than that of big fellows like the Azure Dragon and the Sovereign Consort.
But when we joined as one, our combined strength was a little greater than any of theirs. " He led Shen Mu past the Jade Pool, and they saw that the Jade Pool of the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace had also been split in two.
The Xuanwu Heavenly Palace was far smaller than the Heavenly Court; just ahead was the God-Slaying Platform. A strange look crossed Shen Mu's face.
This platform, too, had been neatly cut apart, and even the two entwined God-Slaying Dark Blades upon it had been separated, leaving only a streak of blood-colored baleful aura.