Chapter 1217 — The Year of the Ancient Emperor's Reign
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Shen Mu and the others followed the Moon Heavenly Venerable down onto the lands of the Primordial Realm. Their party was far too conspicuous by far, each one of them a glowing body of energy that drew every eye.
So the Moon Heavenly Venerable twisted the space around them with the art of space, hiding them from the sight of others.
Yet Shen Mu and his companions could still see out, and they saw that here in the domain of the Southern Ancient Emperor the people were prosperous, with god-cities great and small, the gods sheltering the folk of each region. Nor were the gods of the Southern Ancient Emperor of the human race alone, but a mingling of ten thousand races; among the acquired races there were many divinities, and much of the common folk belonged to other races as well, humans being only one part of them.
Humans dwelt together with all the other races, and on the streets and in the fields, scenes of the races living in harmony could be seen everywhere. As they passed a god-city, they saw a stone stele standing beyond its walls, inscribed with the words: "A human life is greater than heaven.
"
"Here, 'human' does not mean the human race alone, but every intelligent life and every race—all are human.
" The Moon Heavenly Venerable said with a smile, "This is the creed of the current Ancient Emperor. He is a man of great ideas, a truly remarkable man, and he has carried it out very well indeed.
"
Shen Mu halted, gazing at the stele for a long while before he caught up with her.
The Moon Heavenly Venerable led them on for a long way, a smile ever on her face, full of cheer. She must have passed through a long period of setback.
After the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's death, she had announced her retirement and withdrawn from the world.
Shen Mu could well imagine how grievous a blow the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's death and the fall of the Xiaohan Heavenly Court had been to her; yet she had still walked out of that defeat, joining the Ling Heavenly Venerable to support the Ancient Emperor Era and found the Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court.
The Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court was the lifeblood of the Ling Heavenly Venerable and her, but the Ling Heavenly Venerable was a madwoman of research, pouring all her energy into the study of the Unchanging Divine Ability; especially in the later years of the Ancient Emperor Era, when the Ling Heavenly Venerable's divine ability was nearing perfection, she was all the less willing to divide her attention.
So it fell to the Moon Heavenly Venerable to mind all affairs great and small in the Ancient Emperor Era, to handle relations between the Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court and the Extraterritorial Heavenly Court, and to confront the forces of the Northern Ancient Emperor Heavenly Court and the Earth Mother Prime Sovereign. Shen Mu could imagine how much heart's blood and effort she had spent on it all. Of course, it was also owing to her proper stewardship that the Ancient Emperor Era could be called the most resplendent of eras—though the Northern Ancient Emperor was the more savage and domineering of the two, upholding that crude set of rules of the ancient gods.
When the Crimson Bright Son of Heaven sent envoys to the Primordial Realm to seek out an Ancient Emperor, it must have been to the Northern Ancient Emperor that they went; what they saw was a scene of unspeakable terror and savagery, frightening them so badly that they dared have no contact with the Ancient Emperor Era. The Southern Ancient Emperor, by contrast, was a civilization of high development, abundant in achievements, birthing far more Great Emperor Throne powerhouses than the Dragon Han Era and leaving behind all manner of Great Emperor Throne techniques. Not only that, the spirit of this era was passed down, influencing the Kaihuang Era and even the Jingping Era.