Chapter 764 — The Burden of Heavenly Venerable Yu
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
"Back then I bestowed my blessing on him. Even if you did not ask, I would help him search." The Lord of Earth opened the eye on his brow, and a panel of light shot out of the third eye. He said in a deep voice, "When I look at his physical body, I can already see that remnant soul of his crossing worlds beyond counting; the great cosmos flashed past in a breath."
Heavenly Venerable Yu stood within the light, fidgeting uncomfortably. Outside the light, Shen Mu and the old envoy saw world after world rush past inside it—towering green mountains, vast empty deserts, vanishing in a flash, followed in turn by countless stars flitting away. A moment later, abruptly, a celestial palace appeared in the light, beyond stately and beyond resplendent, with tall and majestic gods; then came a heavenly court of perpetual daylight. Hall upon hall in the light passed through Heavenly Venerable Yu's body, faster and faster, and then, abruptly, the leaping images slowed, gradually, slower and slower, until they settled before the gateway of one palace. The image passed through the gateway, through pavilions and towers and several more gates, and entered an inconceivable space. Then the image broke off.
The Lord of Earth said, "His remnant soul is suppressed in the Pixiang Hall of the heavenly court. The seals in that hall are too heavy; they cut off my sight."
Shen Mu heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. "As long as we know where it is, there is hope."
The old envoy's face was solemn, his brows deeply knitted. Clearly, Pixiang Hall was not as simple as Shen Mu imagined.
"Pixiang Hall is one of the seventy-two precious halls of the heavenly court, on the same scale as the celestial palace," the Lord of Earth said calmly. "Not to mention you—even an ordinary Lingxiao-realm expert could not infiltrate it."
Shen Mu smiled. "There's always some way in."
The Lord of Earth asked, "Do you know how to enter the heavenly court? Do you know where the heavenly court lies?"
Shen Mu stood in a daze. He truly did not know. Everyone talked about a heavenly court beyond the world, but where that beyond-the-world court actually was—even the Woodcutter Sage could not say. The Woodcutter Sage had never from beginning to end known who the enemy of the Kaihuang era really was. And the Crimson Emperor's consciousness within the Shen Continent did not know who the enemy of the Chiming era was either.
The Lord of Earth looked at him, then said, "You go outside first. I have something to say to the Palace Lord."
Shen Mu went out of the hall, poked his head back in, and with a sudden bang the great gates closed, shutting him out. "Stingy, and so mystifying!" Shen Mu muttered indignantly, yet his gaze could not help falling on the old envoy's little paper boat.
Inside the hall, the Lord of Earth looked at the old envoy and said, "His remnant soul cannot be retrieved for the time being. What do you intend to do with him?"
The old envoy was silent a while, then said, "He is the second kinfolk I have had. I must protect him."
"He is a blank sheet of paper now," the Lord of Earth said. "And a foolish blank sheet at that. If he follows you, he will shut himself away just like you; if he leaves Youdu, he will die miserably. Palace Lord, the reason you have lived through all these years is that you have remained in Youdu. If you went out, you would have died long ago. If he follows you, that is the only outcome."
The old envoy silently watched Heavenly Venerable Yu, who was secretly licking the grease from his fingers, and for a while he was at a loss. After some time, he raised his head and said, "I have seen it through. I really am not suited to bring him along. I want to entrust him to Heavenly Venerable Mu."
The Lord of Earth said, "Entrust him to him? Are you not afraid he will lead Heavenly Venerable Yu into the gutter?"