Chapter 1071 — A Brotherhood of Glass
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu's divine consciousness rippled; he transmitted a message to the Dragon Qilin, telling him the location of the Ancestral Court, and bade him head there.
Just then, he sensed his divine consciousness being probed.
The one probing him was Luo Xiao — Luo Xiao's consciousness was the most obvious of all. He was intensely curious about Shen Mu, knowing Shen Mu's consciousness to be exceedingly powerful and profoundly mysterious, and that he seemed to understand the Creators extremely well.
So when he sensed the ripples of Shen Mu's consciousness, he tried to probe it with his own.
Yet Shen Mu also sensed a second consciousness.
This consciousness was exceedingly hidden, hidden to the point of being almost imperceptible!
It came from layer upon layer of the void, and so was hard to detect. Had Shen Mu not obtained the Tai Emperor's Great Luo Supreme Consciousness, he too would have found it hard to detect this consciousness secretly probing him.
Yet in this treasure chariot, besides Luo Xiao and Hong, there was also the youth who had just boarded; it was hard to determine which of the two was probing Shen Mu.
"But one thing is certain: the Tai Emperor is in this carriage!"
Shen Mu forced down his dread and said: "Daoist Hong, you were in the Heavenly Court in those years? If you were not at the Jade Pool, then you must have been at the Heavenly Court Grand Gathering. Since you could receive the Heaven Emperor's invitation to the Grand Gathering, your strength must be fearsome — surely a leader among demigods. Why then are you hunted by the Heavenly River Navy?"
Hong tucked his hands into his sleeves and sighed: "Mu Tianzun is truly a clever man. I am the world's foremost demon, after all different from you humans. Our demon race awakened very early; when you humans could not yet cultivate, we demons had already begun our practice. I was the first demon to awaken, feeding on wind and drinking dew, absorbing the essence of sun and moon, and in time gave birth to a spirit of intelligence. The Heaven Emperor commanded me to lead the demon race, and invited me to the Heavenly Court Grand Gathering. Only, I was in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall at the time and did not see Mu Tianzun."
"So that is how it is."
Shen Mu looked at the handsome youth who had just boarded the treasure chariot, and silently praised the youth's comeliness — surely a beauty who could vie with Yin Tianzi and Yin Chaojin — and laughed: "May I ask how to address you, Daoist?"
"My name is Xiao."
The handsome youth laughed: "The Xiao of the human race, the Xiao of the spring dawn. Mu Tianzun may not have heard my name, but your name has long been thunder in my ears."
Shen Mu's heart gave a sudden lurch, his blood nearly congealing: "It cannot be Xiao Tianzun? If it is Xiao Tianzun, then this little treasure chariot of mine is in a fine uproar. The Tai Emperor among the Creators and the ancient god Heaven Emperor have both graced us with their presence."
He forcibly suppressed the urge to have Yan'er douse the lamps and flee this place, and with a smile that was no smile said: "Xiao is your name, but what is your surname?"
The handsome youth said: "Mu Tianzun does not know — surnames came later, and only persons of some standing were entitled to bear one. My family was poor and lowly, and had no surname, only a name. Later I took a surname at random — Gu, so Gu Xiao — but those who know me still call me Xiao."
Shen Mu looked at Great Hong and at this human Gu Xiao in the carriage, and his heart convulsed violently twice more.
Great Hong looked very young, smiling, hands tucked in his sleeves and folded before his chest; from his appearance one could faintly make out the look of the Hong Tianzun of later ages.
Gu Xiao, by contrast, was extraordinarily handsome, utterly unlike the Xiao Tianzun of later ages.