Chapter 1493 — Sins Committed in Life, Debts Collected After Death
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
" Tianshu sighed with feeling. "They have mended the roof before the rain and made their preparations. The Void Bridge is easy to hold and hard to storm; for the Ten Celestial Venerables to take it would be no easier than assaulting Xuan Du. " He led the reborn Heavenly Duke into the Heaven-Bearing Gate, and they vanished from sight.
Shen Mu watched them go, then turned to Zaifu, Zhe Huali, and Luo Wushuang as they came near, and bowed to the three of them. "I have troubled you all to risk your lives and share in this battle at my side. I, Mu, am grateful beyond all words! " Zhe Huali and Luo Wushuang hurriedly returned the courtesy.
Luo Wushuang said solemnly, "Where the Dao and righteousness are at stake, there is no such thing as being troubled.
If a Celestial Venerable throws himself into the fray without care for his own skin, how could we do less? " Zhe Huali stroked his demon blade and snickered. "Dragon Fang and I have had our fill of glory—we have even hacked at a Celestial Venerable!
At last I hold something to brag of to my descendants for the rest of my days!
" The demon blade Dragon Fang felt most content; having drunk the blood of a Celestial Venerable, it too was growing. Zaifu stepped forward. "Take good care of yourself. And if ever you go chopping at people again, call us along.
" Shen Mu nodded hard. The three strode away, and Zhe Huali looked back to wave. "Remember to call us!
" Shen Mu laughed heartily and watched them until their figures disappeared. Only then did he say, "Let us go. " "Very well.
" The voice, cold and clear, came from beside him, yet its owner was nowhere to be seen; all that could be seen was that at Shen Mu's feet, besides his own shadow, there lay another shadow.
You Du. Tianshu delivered the Heavenly Duke to the space between Tu Bo's brows, then went at once to the mansion of Prince Tianqi Rensheng to request an audience with Celestial Venerable You and inquire after his wounds.
In the great hall upon the platform between Tu Bo's brows, the Heavenly Duke's figure looked far too small beside Tu Bo's primordial spirit, and he had to tilt his head back to look up at this fellow Daoist of his.
"You have transcended.
You are free. I envy you.
" Tu Bo's face was calm, though flames flickered in his eyes.
"You are a living being now, with three hun souls and seven po, with a mind of your own and a road of your own; your joys and angers, sorrows and delights, your every word and deed need no longer be pulled about by the Great Dao. I do not know when I shall win the release that you have won, fellow Daoist. " "Now I can taste the hundred flavors of the mortal world," the Heavenly Duke said, "and without my noticing, my grasp of the Dao of Heaven has risen another layer.
Before, I was born of the Dao of Heaven and held it in my grasp, yet I knew that it was so without knowing why it was so.
It is not so now; instead my understanding runs deeper. What is lost and what is gained—it all has a strangely kaleidoscopic feel.
" Tu Bo was delighted. "You are another step closer to attaining the Dao. Since that is so, then surely you can guess why I asked you here, fellow Daoist?
" The Heavenly Duke smiled.
"Sow sins in life, settle accounts after death—that is the rule of You Du. The Heavenly Duke is dead, so the sins the Heavenly Duke sowed in life must now be reckoned after his death. You are just and impartial, Tu Bo; that must be why you summoned me. " Tu Bo's tone grew grave. "In the battle at Xuan Du, Celestial Venerable Hong took life beyond counting; those who died at his hand are past all numbering, and the resentment of Xuan Du's dead surges to the heavens.
By the laws of You Du, he ought to be seized and made to suffer punishment, to purge the sins that stain him. Celestial Venerable Hong is dead, and though he and you, fellow Daoist, were one body, you are different souls. That is why I asked you here—to inquire into the case of Celestial Venerable Hong. . .