Chapter 1718 — The Dream-Chasing Youth, Part One

"Long Xiao is dead. I sense that the covenant of the Little Earth Lord between him and me has vanished."

Listening to the zither music of Heavenly Venerable Yue, Shen Mu suddenly spoke these words, and said with feeling: "I had hoped he might lead the beast realm and do battle with the Heavenly Court. He would have brought coal through the snow, and such a kindness would have been beyond measure."

Heavenly Venerable Yue played on, her head tilted; a lock of her hair hung down the left side of her neck. Yet the melody came in broken snatches, not truly continuous. She said: "Long Xiao is a feeder on profit. In the age of antiquity he attached himself to the Divine King Boyang and lived thereby; the multitudes made sacrifice to him, and he fed upon the profit of the Divine King Boyang and of the Creator.

"When the Creator perished, Long Xiao could not bear to let the profit go, and yet dared not stake his life upon one throw; so he feigned death and slipped away, hiding behind the Ancestral Court and going on feeding upon the leftovers of the Creator's age.

"In the age of the Ten Heavenly Venerables he attached himself to the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Alliance, founded the beast realm, and went on feeding upon profit; without any need to fight for his life he preserved his station.

"In the age of Emperor Haotian, Emperor Haotian named him one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, and his rule over the beast realm was orthodox, and he went on feeding upon profit. Such a being, even should you be victorious in the future and found a new court, would cling to you and go on feeding upon profit. By then, how Heavenly Venerable Mu deals with him will prove a monstrous problem indeed!"

Suddenly she swept the strings into discord, and said with some vexation: "This score simply cannot be played!"

The score she played was the one Shen Mu had given her. It was exceedingly strange; and though Heavenly Venerable Yue was a master of the laws of the zither, a peerless adept of music, yet Shen Mu's score she could never play through to the end.

"It is a piece made by the dead wife of the Fourth Young Master, and the Fourth Young Master of Miluo Palace often plays it in the Long River of Chaos. If we would deal with the Fourth Young Master, we must begin with this piece."

Shen Mu's eyes flickered: "The Fourth Young Master has scarcely any weakness; his one weakness is this piece."

Heavenly Venerable Yue turned over the score and said: "This piece is very hard to play. The difficulty lies not in the score, but in its realm. The realm within these notes is deep beyond reckoning; whoever left this score behind had likely brought music into the Dao through all thirty-six heavens. I have achieved much in music, but I have not cultivated to such a level."

Shen Mu turned to her and asked: "Yue, when will your Zaiji Void attain the Dao?"

Heavenly Venerable Yue lifted her head and smiled serenely: "I feel it is not far off."

Shen Mu was greatly pleased, and laughed: "If you attain the Dao, our chances of victory gain another share."

Heavenly Venerable Yue could not help her curiosity: "And what does Heavenly Venerable Mu think our chances of victory will be, once I attain the Dao?"

"One part." Shen Mu held up a single finger.

She shot him a glare, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Only one part after I attain the Dao? Then if I never attain it, have we not even one part?"

Shen Mu nodded: "It is good to shelter beneath a great tree. Emperor Haotian shelters beneath the great tree of the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, and already stands in an invincible position. Thus far we appear able to hold off the Heavenly Court's assaults, but in truth we have not one part in ten! Yet as time goes on, our chances will grow ever higher."

His gaze fell upon the Golden Ship of Deliverance, and his heart burned within him. Hold out sixteen years more, and the figure of Kaihuang would appear upon that golden ship; only then would come the hour for Jingping to counterattack!

"What do you make of the Southern Heaven?"

Heavenly Venerable Yue said: "The Southern Heaven holds a vast multitude of humans. Some years ago Meng Yungui rebelled against the Heavenly Court and sent men to beg for aid. Emperor Yanfeng sent the Wandering Sage Longshan and Crown Prince Youming; yet the Heavenly Court likewise sent heavy forces. I fear the Southern Heaven cannot hold in this battle."

Shen Mu shook his head: "Neither Jingping nor the Land of No Sorrow has strength to spare for the Southern Heaven. In such a case, the Southern Heaven must rely on itself."

Heavenly Venerable Yue said no more.

Now the Heavenly Court's armies struck out without cease, and were near to forming a three-sided encirclement of the Land of No Sorrow, leaving open only a single gap toward Jingping.

And in the South Sea, the two Chiming Emperors, Yan'er, the Southern Emperor and the Crimson Emperor were attacking the Heavenly Court's armies throughout the Southern Heaven; the fighting there was not yet quelled, and they had no leisure to come to the rescue.

In the Kan lands of the Northern Frontier, Wei Suifeng led his old subordinates of the Yulin Guard and the armies of Jingping in a death-grapple with the host of the Black Emperor of the Northern Heaven, Nian Guanhe. Wei Suifeng's forces were few, and he begged Jingping for aid without cease.

Only the one army of Jiang Baigui in the Eastern Sea won victory after victory; yet by ill luck he faced the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven, a man famed for caution. For all his victories, Jiang Baigui, Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, won only small ones, and could not wholly destroy the Azure Emperor's forces.

Within Jingping there remained no small number of troops, but by now the various Directorates of Manufacture were running at full capacity, and needed these gods and demons to forge divine weapons and divine treasures without cease.

On the battlefield, divine weapons and sharp implements are consumed with fearful speed; even great treasures are pounded to powder. Hence a mighty logistics is needed!

War is fought with wealth, with reserves, and with the power of the forge.

The Heavenly Court relied upon its deep foundations and its reserves, yet in wartime its forging capacity was far inferior to Jingping's. Many of Jingping's Directorates had once been for civilian use, but by now all had been converted to military use!

The war machine of Jingping, once set in motion, burst forth with a force that might astonish the world!

Therefore the longer this war dragged on, the better for Jingping; the shorter, the better for the Heavenly Court.

"The Southern Heaven has been enslaved by Heavenly Venerable Fire, and has lost the spirit of resistance. In ordinary times, to change the minds of the humans of the Southern Heaven would take three to five generations, or longer still. It might take several hundred years to make the Southern Heaven like Jingping."

Shen Mu's voice was low: "But war is different. Suffering will awaken a generation swiftly. Jingping cannot help the Southern Heaven. The Southern Heaven is the Southern Heaven of the Southern Heaven folk; the Southern Heaven folk can help themselves..."

Heavenly Venerable Yue said no more, and went on practicing her zither.

In the Southern Heaven, Yanming Heaven.

Heavenly King Yiluo of the Northern Heaven and the Third Heavenly Preceptor Bai Yuqiong led their host in hot pursuit of Meng Yungui and the remnant of his troops, and came to this place. Heavenly King Yiluo gave the order, and countless gods and demons entered Yanming Heaven, flying to every quarter.

These gods and demons had vast powers, and descended upon every village and every city.

Bai Yuqiong frowned; Heavenly King Yiluo's command left her somewhat perplexed.