Chapter 1133 — To Think I Was So Foolish

Venerable Haotian stepped forward and said calmly, "Venerable Mu, you seem to have been quite busy these past days—you have not returned to the Heavenly Court in years. At the recent Heavenly Alliance conference, all the Venerables and the younger disciples of the Alliance were present, only you did not come." "Heavenly Alliance conference?" Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. He knew only that the Ten Venerables were elders of the Heavenly Alliance, and that the Dao Ancestor and the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha also belonged to it, but he had never met the others in the Alliance. He smiled and said, "That was my fault, held up by trivial matters. At the next Heavenly Alliance conference, I will certainly not be absent." Divine Emperor Langxuan stepped forward, sized up Shen Mu's Heavenly Dragon Chariot, and said with a half-smile, "His Majesty granted you this chariot, Venerable Mu—how is it that even the draft beasts have been changed? Where are those nine heavenly dragons?" Shen Mu sighed and said, "This journey of mine was quite perilous; those nine heavenly dragons died a heroic death." Divine Emperor Langxuan looked at the chariot, saw the traces of repair, and sneered, "Have you been demolishing buildings again, Venerable Mu? No wonder the chariot was beaten into such a state!" Shen Mu said with a beaming smile, "Yes indeed. Had I known, I would have gone to demolish your Langxuan Shrine instead, and I would not have been hunted and battered like this." Divine Emperor Langxuan burst into loud laughter. "Who would dare demolish my Langxuan Shrine? What a joke!" Shen Mu laughed heartily as well, and thought to himself, Your Langxuan Shrine—I have demolished it twice! Heavenly Consort Yan stepped forward, a white cat in her arms, and said with a smile, "Venerable Mu, the road must have been wearisome; one can see the hardship." Shen Mu looked at the white cat in her arms and wondered inwardly, This white cat is even still alive? When the white cat saw him, alarm flashed in its eyes, and it hurriedly burrowed deeper into Heavenly Consort Yan's embrace. Shen Mu smiled and said, "Heavenly Consort, could you lend me this cat for a couple of days?" Heavenly Consort Yan chuckled and said, "I am afraid not. Some years ago, Little Seven was frightened while searching for the thief who stole the treasures from His Majesty's ancestral land, and she has not recovered to this day. She trembles with fear at the sight of her enemy. That thief is utterly detestable!" Shen Mu sighed, "What a pity." Venerable Qiang stepped forward to greet him, asking curiously, "Venerable Mu, where have you been all these years?" "So many places." Shen Mu returned the greeting and said with emotion, "I ran back and forth between the Primordial Realm and the Four Extremes Heaven, met many people, and nearly wore myself to death." Venerable Qiang said sympathetically, "Do have a good rest, Venerable. I have refined some tonics to enrich the blood and nourish the complexion; shall I send you a few?" Shen Mu laughed heartily, "A rough fellow with a stinking carcass is not worth tending to." Venerable Huo came up to him. Shen Mu gave a cold snort and said flatly, "You and I have already cut our robes to sever friendship; there is nothing to say between us." Venerable Huo showed no expression, flames revolving behind his head, his aura soaring to the heavens, and said blandly, "I too have nothing to say to you. As long as you do not stand in my way, I can spare your life. But if you should obstruct me..." "Fellow Daoist Xiao!" Shen Mu turned a deaf ear and bowed to Venerable Xiao, saying with a smile, "Regarding the matter of the Earthly Virtue Sovereign, I am deeply sorry." Venerable Xiao hastily returned the salutation and said with a smile, "The Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign's rebellion had long been a chronic affliction of the Heavenly Court. Now, in place of that affliction, we have a virtuous and worthy Earthly Virtue Sovereign—truly a blessing for the Primordial Realm." Shen Mu's heart stirred. None of the other Venerables had mentioned the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign; only he had. It was evident that Shen Mu's scheme in the Yankang capital to eliminate the Earth Mother had not escaped him. There was an underlying meaning in his words, and also a warning for Shen Mu. Ancestral God King strode over, yet passed right by Shen Mu, lofty and swaggering, looking down on everyone. Shen Mu smiled and paid him no heed. Venerable Xu approached and said, "Venerable Mu, you are quite close to my father, Earth Count. Is my father in good health?" Shen Mu said with a knowing smile, "Elder Brother Earth Count still has a sturdy body, but he is old and always thinking of his children. It is inevitable that he feels lonely when his children are not by his side." Venerable Xu said, "When a man is old, he should stop clinging to power, and retire early, lest he die in office." Shen Mu said with a full smile, "I shall relay your words to him." His gaze fell on Venerable Gong, and he bowed, "Fellow Daoist Gong." "Venerable Mu." Venerable Gong returned the greeting. Shen Mu looked her over. She was a woman who never smiled lightly, treating everyone with ice-cold indifference and never showing a friendly face. He therefore said seriously, "I have met the other nine Venerables, and our bonds of friendship are deep; they love and respect me like family. Only with you, Fellow Daoist Gong, have I never had a talk. Do you have time to sit and discuss the Dao?" "No time." Venerable Gong was extremely cold and turned to leave. The other Venerables all laughed and said, "Venerable Mu, do not take it to heart. That is just Gong's temperament; she is equally cold to everyone." Shen Mu gave two dry laughs to cover his awkwardness. Then everyone took their leave, saying, "Venerable Mu, do not overexert yourself. When you have leisure, come sit with us. In the next few days the Heavenly Court's great army will set out, bearing the Four Imperial Artifacts to suppress Taixu. You must not miss this grand spectacle!" Shen Mu assented and watched them go, his eyes flickering, "The Four Imperial Artifacts they have forged should be meant to open a safe passage, to use those mindless artifacts to suppress the various strangeness on the Heart Demon Star Road. But the Heart Demon of the Taixu Star Road can even manifest the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor—relying on the Four Imperial Artifacts alone may not be enough. They will certainly also seek out Grand Senior Brother's disciples..." "Venerable Mu, the geographic map of Yunluo Celestial Palace you requested." The divine official called out, and Shen Mu came to his senses. The official handed him the map, saying with a smile, "I have also marked the route to Yunluo Celestial Palace on it." That said, he did not leave, but looked at Shen Mu. Shen Mu understood perfectly well and took out another pouch of celestial coins. The official slipped it into his sleeve, bowed, and withdrew. Shen Mu returned to the chariot, unfolded the map of Yunluo Celestial Palace, and looked over it, then could not help laughing. He also brought out another map and compared the two—they were exactly identical! This map had been left to him by Wei Suifeng. Clearly, Yunluo Celestial Palace was also one of Wei Suifeng's treasure hoards, though he did not know what was hidden there. The map the official had given Shen Mu noted in detail that the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge led to Yunluo Celestial Palace. Shen Mu rolled up that map, and it burned up, turning to ashes, leaving only Wei Suifeng's. "Grand Senior Brother told me to follow the map to rescue him. Very well, I will follow the map. But rescuing him—I expect that will have to wait a little longer... Yan'er, head for the Western Heaven Gate." Yan'er and Dragon Qilin pulled the Heavenly Dragon Chariot toward the Western Heaven Gate. Shen Mu's gaze flickered, thinking, Bai Yuqiong of the Jade Flower Palace at the Western Heaven