Chapter 1167 — Fleeing into Taixu
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Shen Mu said with a smile, "It suddenly occurs to me that Gong Heavenly Venerable and I address each other as brothers, and he calls me a fellow Daoist, so it is only reasonable that I call you worthy nephew."
The Ancestral God King was furious beyond measure. The other Heavenly Venerables hurriedly urged, "You had best address each other as fellow Daoists. We are all Heavenly Venerables here; there is no need to make things so tense. Calm down, curb your anger."
Hong Heavenly Venerable also advised, "Mu Heavenly Venerable, say a little less and take a little less advantage. He has a violent temper. If this really blows up and he decides to kill you, none of us will be able to hold him back."
Shen Mu said angrily, "That day in the Jade Pool, he was the first to jump out and try to kill me! What is wrong with me taking a little advantage of him and making him call me uncle?"
The Ancestral God King had just calmed down, but on hearing this he flew into a rage again and shouted, "Do not hold me back! I am going to hack this wretch to death!"
Shen Mu leapt up in a fury and jabbed a finger at him, cursing, "If you have the guts, come on then, aim for my head! If I so much as blink, I will take your surname!"
The others rushed to intervene. Hong Heavenly Venerable held Shen Mu back, and Langxuan God Emperor wrapped his arms around the Ancestral God King, saying again and again, "Calm down, calm down!"
The two of them kept cursing and grumbling, each turning his face away and refusing to look at the other.
Shen Mu took the chance to look around, filled with misgivings. Apart from them, no one else had arrived, not even Gong Heavenly Venerable or Tubo.
"Where is Lady Yuanmu? This is not right!"
Shen Mu frowned and thought, "By all rights, Lady Yuanmu would never let this chance slip by; she would surely come. Why has she not shown herself?"
He looked this way and that. Qiang Heavenly Venerable was the Grand Emperor, that was beyond doubt, so then who was Lady Yuanmu?
Could it be Hong Heavenly Venerable?
Shen Mu looked at Dahong and grew suspicious. Lady Yuanmu was a brazen little flirt, hardly the image of an eminent Daoist like Hong Heavenly Venerable.
"Aside from us, the only ones here are those heavenly dragons pulling the treasure carriage. Lady Yuanmu cannot have turned into a heavenly dragon."
Suddenly Shen Mu's gaze fell on the white cat in Consort Yan's arms. Long Qilin coughed once. Shen Mu knew what he meant and pretended not to hear, thinking, "Lady Yuanmu could not have turned into the white cat in Consort Yan's arms, could she? That white cat is male, and Consort Yan is suspected to be the Empress herself, a most proper sort. The white cat looks like her paramour, not like Lady Yuanmu..."
His head began to ache. Compared with the white cat, he was more inclined to believe that Hong Heavenly Venerable was Lady Yuanmu.
The other Heavenly Venerables gathered to confer, and at last reached a decision: "Splitting the spoils evenly is still workable. But Huo Heavenly Venerable and Xu Heavenly Venerable must be included as well. The Ancestral Court will be divided into eleven shares. Counting Mu Heavenly Venerable, each of us takes one share."
"As for the ancient gods like Gong and Tubo, their aspirations are lofty, so let them be."
"Once we reach the Ancestral Court, each of you may seek out your own treasure grounds and first secure a foothold. The Ancestral Court is crawling with void beasts; it will need a thorough clearing."
When the discussion was finished, they said to Shen Mu, "What does Mu Heavenly Venerable think?"
Shen Mu said with a half-smile, "Can we not simply divide the Ancestral Court into eleven shares, one for each of us?"