Chapter 1673 — Your Life May Be in Peril
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
There, sacred cities covered the ground, and Jingping folk crowded everywhere, bustling and colorful, trade flourishing. The manufactories there were also at work; ships with high decks sailed through the air; and one could even see cultivators helping the people sow crops and summon rain.
The ministers in court began to discuss in murmurs. From what the mirrors showed, the Jingping people of the Black Mountain Holy Land were still there and had not been moved away by Shen Mu.
"All illusions!
" The Haotian Emperor pointed a finger toward the Black Mountain Holy Land, sneering: "The old thief Mu stayed at Black Mountain for more than ten days to weave this illusion with his divine sense, and while the illusion held, he moved every person out of the Black Mountain! " After a moment, the power of that pointing reached Black Mountain.
The hundred officials looked into the mirrors and saw a fierce wave spread outward from the center of the Holy Land; wherever it passed, the Holy Land, so prosperous only a moment before, wavered like flowers in the water and the moon in a mirror—and vanished. In an instant, the Black Mountain Holy Land stood empty; not a shadow of a human being was to be found.
"That thief Mu is formidable! " The faces of the entire Heaven Court changed color in unison.
The Haotian Emperor sneered: "Pacifying the Four Pole Heavens will only give the old thief Mu time, and time is exactly what he lacks! My Four Grand Celestial Masters, what you have said is indeed most reasonable; to pacify the Four Pole Heavens and encircle the Primordial Realm is honest, upright strategy.
But against the old thief Mu, one cannot play such an honest, upright game!
Pacifying the Four Pole Heavens will give him another twenty years to catch his breath! And none of us knows what may happen in those twenty years! Pass my command!
" He flicked his sleeve, and his voice spread through the Heaven Court: "Rouse the full army and march against the Primordial Realm! " "We obey! " The civil and military officials all bowed. Outside the Primordial Realm, Shen Mu was strolling along at ease.
He had returned from the Ancestral Court not by Spirit-Nexus Transfer Bridge but on foot, taking several months to come from the Ancestral Court to this place.
He walked because he was bringing with him an uncounted multitude of Jingping people from the Black Mountain Holy Land—the Holy Land had been almost completely emptied by him.
To take such a host through a transfer bridge would certainly have exceeded the bridge's limit. Walking was therefore the safest course. He let these people live in the universe of his divine treasure; a few months could be endured, but if the time grew longer they could not hold out, and there would likely be deaths on a vast scale. Fortunately, he was thoroughly skilled in the Lunar Heavenly Venerable's Scripture of the Utmost Void, so he could travel very quickly. Ahead was the Primordial Realm. He breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Just then, the celestial signs abruptly changed: stars winked out one after another, and the starry sky sank into complete darkness.
Shen Mu stopped and smiled: "The Ancestral God King, or the Grand Emperor Emeritus?
" He considered, then smiled: "It should be the Grand Emperor Emeritus. Sending the Ancestral God King against me would only be sending him to his death.
Only the Grand Emperor Emeritus has the skill to face me. Taichu, show yourself. " In the starry sky a brilliant radiance appeared.
Dazzling divine light came from the very depths of the void, and a Daoluo Heaven manifested out of nowhere—Dao trees dense and green, Dao blossoms dazzling to the eye.
In the radiant glow, a tall, extraordinary figure stepped out from the divine light, growing ever clearer. "Celestial Venerable Mu, you do not look like a man who has altogether lost his Dao heart.
" Taichu was surprised, and said with a gentle smile: "Hao'er fell into your trap and gave you so many years to recover.