Chapter 751 — The Fall of Sovereign Yu

"What is so astonishing about Sovereign Yu being dead.

. .

" Old Ox walked on, and sneered: "These ancients are hardly men who have never seen a corpse. The racket is enough to split my skull. . .

Sovereign Yu is dead? Sovereign Yu is dead!

" He could not hold back a shout; forgetting all about fetching Shen Mu, Kai Huang and the rest, he bolted out of Fenghua Tower, and saw that the clamor outside had not yet subsided. Some were weeping aloud, some stood there woodenly, some ran to question others, and, their fears confirmed, sank down onto the ground and stared, dazed, at nothing. Old Ox's heart was all confusion; he felt as though the ancient worthies who had come to the gathering had lost their backbone in an instant.

He stared blankly at the noisy, panicked crowd outside.

While Sovereign Yu lived, this place had been a golden age in the midst of transformation; and now that word of his death had spread, everyone had become headless flies at once.

A golden age that was about to arrive had dimmed in an instant. The death of a great leader had struck the people of this age far too hard. Old Ox's own heart was a muddle too: "How could he simply die?

How could he die like this? Impossible, surely? It is a joke, is it not? This joke has gone a little too far.

. .

" Footsteps came from behind him: Shen Mu, Kai Huang and Sovereign Ling walked over, their faces equally blank. Inside the tower they had heard the weeping and the noise outside; the shock of Sovereign Yu's death was beyond imagining.

Shen Mu and Kai Huang had crossed over into this age and had had little contact with Sovereign Yu, only a single conversation, but their impression of the man was very good. In their hearts they held Sovereign Yu in deep respect, taking him for an ancient leader of world-spanning talent who would lead the post-heaven beings in opening up a new age. Their esteem for Sovereign Yu was exceedingly high; and yet such a young leader, still waiting to unfurl the ambitions of a lifetime, had died just like that, and neither Shen Mu nor Kai Huang could accept it.

Sovereign Ling could accept it even less.

Shen Mu and Kai Huang had had few dealings with Sovereign Yu; she, by contrast, had grown up on his legends. Later she had met him, and he had looked after her like an elder brother, giving her much encouragement. After she opened up the Divine Treasury of the Six Universes, she turned to researching the nonexistence of time, resolved to prove it by divine art.

Sovereign Yu did not believe her research could succeed, thought she had gone down a crooked path, and yet he remained wonderfully kind to her. Sovereign Yu's death struck her a heavy blow. Her face was ashen; she staggered forward.

Shen Mu said in a low voice: "Follow her.

Go and see just what happened! " The three of them immediately followed Sovereign Ling.

Ahead the crowd was a sea of people; the detached palace was packed with them everywhere, all sunk in grief, and in the sky a number of demigods were looking on as well. "How could Sovereign Yu die so suddenly?

" Kai Huang said quietly: "For a being like him, no divine-arts practitioner could kill him.

Unless a demigod or an ancient god made a move, there was no way to put him to death, was there? " Shen Mu was thinking of something else.

He mused: "Why kill him before Sovereign Yu made public the way to godhood? Killing him was not about removing him; it was about removing the way to godhood! " Old Ox said softly: "Is it possible Sovereign Yu faked his death?

If he had faked it, he could set the demigods and the post-heaven beings at odds with the Heavenly Court. .

.

" Shen Mu and Kai Huang shook their heads together.

Old Ox was baffled. Shen Mu explained: "To fake death before the Heavenly Court is utterly meaningless. With Tu Bo and the Lord of Heaven present, he could never fake it.

His soul cannot leap free of Youdu's grasp, and he cannot escape the Lord of Heaven's eyes and ears. He is. . . truly dead. " Kai Huang said: "Moreover, if he wished to set the demigods and post-heaven beings at odds with the ancient gods, he had no need to fake his death. He would do better to spread the way to godhood first; once it spread, the conflict between the new gods and the ancient gods would inevitably pile up day by day.

It comes down to the division of benefits: the new gods want a greater share, the ancient gods are loath to give up what they already hold, and the conflict arises of itself.

A man as clever as he was had no need of a trick like faking death. And besides, to fake death. .

. " He did not go on; plainly he had misgivings. Shen Mu had no such misgivings at all, and took up the thread: "And if he faked his death, that would amount to handing over the leader's seat, handing it to someone else.

He would never do a thing that sews the wedding dress for another man. " Kai Huang glanced at him, heavy with worry, and said in a low voice: "We are outsiders, after all; it will not do to become too tangled up with this age. We have been in this era only a few days, and already I feel the undercurrents surging, the murderous intent lurking on every side.

" Shen Mu shook his head: "We stand in time past; we are the things that already happened in the past. Whatever we do, when we return to the present, we will find that all we did was history already written.

" Veins stood out on Kai Huang's forehead, his voice a little hoarse: "You mean to act recklessly again?

Must you force me to strike you down? " Old Ox had no idea what they were talking about, and was full of doubts.

Shen Mu and Kai Huang, however, understood each other perfectly.

The one had spoken of a wedding dress, the other of surging undercurrents, and both had a target in mind.

They meant the one who stood to gain most from Sovereign Yu's death.

A leader dies: whoever takes Sovereign Yu's place as leader gains the most. A reformer dies, the road to godhood gone: the ancient gods gain the most. These past days Sovereign Yu had been running everywhere: entertaining the guests who had come to the gathering, mediating between demigods and post-heaven beings, and tending to the powers within the Heavenly Court, with scarcely any time to rest.

He had been staying in the Winding Corridor Pavilion of the Jade Pool Cottage, and by now the outside of that pavilion was packed with people. Sovereign Huo and Yin, the Son of Heaven, were guarding the door; Sovereign Huo's face was all grief and fury, his eyes glaring wide as he swept the crowd, forbidding anyone to come forward. Sovereign Ling squeezed to the front, her voice hoarse: "Is it true?

" Sovereign Huo choked, nodded, and said: "They are all inside.

Sovereign You is trying to summon his soul, to see whether he can be brought back to life. Sovereign Hao has already memorialized His Majesty, asking that Tu Bo return his soul. .

.

" Shen Mu looked toward Yin, the Son of Heaven, who stood there, eyes vacant, somewhat at a loss, staring blankly.

His pupils suddenly and violently contracted; he stared at his own two hands, and two tears splashed onto their backs. Sovereign Ling rushed into the Winding Corridor Pavilion. Shen Mu, Kai Huang and the Green Ox meant to enter as well, but Sovereign Huo raised a hand to block them. Yin, the Son of Heaven, came to his senses and hastily raised a hand to bar the way too, saying apologetically: "Brother Shen, Brother Mu, Sovereign Yu was murdered in there; you cannot go in.

.

. " "Sovereign Huo, let them in.

" Sovereign Ling's voice came: "Their attainments in divine arts and dharma are very high; perhaps they will spot some clue! " Sovereign Huo hesitated, lowered his arm, and, eyes red, said to Shen Mu: "If you can find some clue, I will not hate you anymore.

" Shen Mu nodded slightly: "I will do what I can.