Chapter 1513 — We Are One Family, After All
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
said unhurriedly, "Most of the Dao trees here have already withered, their Great Dao erased, no longer of any use. But this one remains perfectly intact, which suggests that the power of its master was extraordinary, far outshining the others." The four Heavenly Lords said nothing, their eyes resting on the tree. They too wanted the tree and the fruit, but dared not show it. "A Dao fruit can raise one's Dao realm. My elder brother Langxuan obtained one and raised the cultivation of his Dao realm to the twenty-eighth heaven. But his Dao realm is false, raised by a Dao fruit. It looks impressive, yet it is hollow within." Heavenly Lord Hao went on. "A Dao tree is different. The tree records the entire process of attaining the Dao. Plucking the fruit is all very well, but the foundation is unsteady. Only by witnessing the process by which another attained the Dao can we gain the greatest benefit!" This speech set the other four Heavenly Lords thinking; they nodded again and again. Even the Goddess Taisu could not help praising him inwardly: "The Taiji Ancient Gods told me to choose Heavenly Lord Hao—this was indeed a fine move! Hao's talent and skill are far above those of the other Heavenly Lords! But when the Taiji Ancient Gods came into the world, they chose Consort Yan instead—that was a blunder. Strange. Why did those two choose Consort Yan?" She could not fathom the intent behind the Taiji Ancient Gods' action. Heavenly Lord Hao raised his hand and tossed the Dao fruit to Heavenly Lord Fire. Fire was startled and overjoyed, almost not daring to accept it. Hao said coolly, "The Battle of Xuandu brought you no benefit. The benefit from this Dao fruit is no less than Xuandu's Heavenly Dao—consider it compensation." Heavenly Lord Fire was moved to tears of gratitude. Hao plucked the Dao flower and gave it to Heavenly Lord Void, smiling. "There will be other days. When we smash our way into the Nether Capital, Friend Void will get something even better." The Ancestral God King laughed. "I gained the greatest benefit at Xuandu. This time I will not take a single share." Heavenly Lord Hao laughed heartily. "This Jade Capital is itself the greatest benefit—nearly inexhaustible! How could the God King's share be lacking? Let it be owed; let it be recorded as owed for now." The Ancestral God King smiled and agreed. Heavenly Lord Hao then brought the entire Dao tree before Heavenly Lord Gong. Gong was taken aback. If Hao gave her the tree, then had he not gotten nothing for himself? "I would like to exchange this Dao tree for your mineral vein, Friend Gong. What do you think?" Heavenly Lord Hao asked with a smile. Taisu felt deeply pleased when she heard this: "I was right about him. Heavenly Lord Hao has completely submitted to me. He knows that the stronger I am, the more he gains, and now he is devoting himself wholeheartedly to preparing Taisu Divine Stone for me." Heavenly Lord Gong gave a slight start and bowed. "How dare I refuse? But one-tenth of the yield from my mineral vein belongs to Heavenly Lord Mu. I promised him that, and I cannot go back on it." Heavenly Lord Hao smiled, unconcerned. "What you promised him must of course be given. Once the vein is mine, I will give him his tenth. Rest assured, I will not make things difficult for you." Heavenly Lord Fire said, "Brother Hao, just now in the Pixiang Hall we found no trace of Heavenly Lord Mu. Most likely he lured us here, hoping to use that old monster in the hall to get rid of us..." Hao shook his head. "He is not so shallow as to think an old monster in a hall can kill us. He probably had other plans..." He frowned and looked around, and he noticed that this divine city was in fact rather similar to the Jade Capital of the Heavenly Court. He thought to himself, "That scoundrel Heavenly Lord Mu must have long since rescued the remnant soul of the Imperial Heavenly Lord and the soul of the Southern Emperor. Since he had discovered this place, why would he lure us here..