Chapter 1054 — The Young Sect Master
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu shared the same misgiving: as the ancient War-Presiding Deity, the Western Emperor could not possibly be so naive. But to him, whether she was naive or not was beside the point. What mattered was that the Western Emperor's life had to be preserved, and that the Heavenly Artificers of the Western Extreme Heaven had to be sent to Jingping.
Jingping had no shortage of artisans, but there were not yet many divine smiths who could truly be called Heavenly Artificers. A new generation was still being trained, and so the most accomplished Heavenly Artificers of the Western Extreme Heaven were needed to travel there and instruct them.
Although Shen Mu was on very good terms with the Indra Heavenly King Buddha, the latter was, after all, Emperor Kaihuang's War Heavenly King, and he had been ensnared by love, his whereabouts unknown to this day.
After the Jingping Calamity, Shen Mu knew that the Indra Heavenly King Buddha could not be relied upon. Raising Jingping's own people was the wisest course.
In the early years of the Kaihuang era, a host of nameless men had gathered around Emperor Kaihuang and carved out a world at his side; in time, they became his Four Heavenly Kings and Four Heavenly Masters, shaking the world with their fame. The celebrated figures of the Shanghuang era, by contrast, held no important posts under Kaihuang and accomplished nothing at all.
This could serve as a mirror for Jingping.
Shen Mu and the Western Emperor settled on how many Heavenly Artificers would be sent to Jingping. Only after watching these artisans walk into the Spirit-Energy Transfer Bridge, bearing great furnaces and divine weapons, did he finally set his mind at ease.
The remaining Heavenly Artificers set about repairing the Celestial Dragon Palanquin. The palanquin was exceedingly intricate, and since those dispatched to Jingping had been the most skilled, the ones left behind were not their equals. Shen Mu had to take the field himself.
The Western Emperor acted as his assistant, lending a hand as she laughed: "As a Celestial Venerable, you actually understand this sort of thing?"
Shen Mu wiped the sweat from his brow. "I was originally a cowherd and a blacksmith. This is my old trade."
The Western Emperor asked, curious: "A cowherd and a blacksmith? What else can you do?"
Shen Mu thought for a moment. "An elixir master who can paint, a fortune-teller who plays with knives and swords, a thief steeped in Buddhist wisdom — and, yes, I am a tailor who can make furniture."
The Western Emperor could not keep from laughing. "You're such a countrified Celestial Venerable! Nothing like the other Celestial Venerables, each of them so lofty and aloof, their words so sweet to the ear."
Shen Mu, wholly absorbed in repairing the palanquin, said, "I am not like them. They were born noble; I was born with mud on my legs."
It was a full two days before the palanquin was repaired.
"Your Majesty, I must hurry to the Southern Extreme Heaven to see the Southern Emperor, so I will not linger here." Shen Mu took his leave. "The Ten Celestial Venerables of the Heavenly Court quarrel on the surface, but in truth they are scheming against you. I must go to the Southern Extreme Heaven to see whether the Southern Emperor is safe."
The Western Emperor did not detain him, but said earnestly, "Once you reach the Southern Extreme Heaven, send word to me that you are safe."
Shen Mu assented. God King Langwan had already boarded the palanquin. The Western Emperor came to see them off, cast a glancing at the female God King within, and said in a low voice, "Celestial Venerable, is she truly the God King among the Creators?"
After much hesitation, Shen Mu said, "She and I have met the Earth Earl."