Chapter 2648 - The Shepherd, Old Lord Gouchen

The night was dark, and all was silent on all sides.

The black sheep’s sudden bleat left Su Yi stunned.

It wasn’t at all strange for a sheep to appear in the mundane world, but it was standing in the Central Divine Continent at night. That was far too out of the ordinary.

Countless strange entities lurked in the darkness. Even Master Gods and Half-Step Eternals could only hide themselves, not daring to stick out their necks.

Yet the black sheep dared.

That wasn’t all, either. It was even blocking his path!

“Can you speak?” asked Su Yi, spreading out his divine sense. He wanted to envelop the sheep to see if he could figure out its secrets.

But the black sheep shook its head and, despite emanating no visible energy fluctuations, it avoided Su Yi’s divine sense.

“Baa——!” The black sheep glared at him, as if displeased by Su Yi’s behavior.

Su Yi raised an eyebrow and retracted his divine sense. “You can’t speak?”

The black sheep snorted, but Su Yi had no idea what it was trying to convey. Eventually, it raised a hoof, pointed at Su Yi, then turned and pointed into the distance.

“You want me to follow you?” asked Su Yi.

The sheep nodded, seemingly gratified, as if praising Su Yi for his teachability. Its eyes shone with obvious intelligence.

But Su Yi shook his head. “I won’t go with you unless you tell me why.”

The black sheep had been just about to lead the way when it spun around, shook its head angrily, and let out a series of bleats.

It was clearly trying to say something, but Su Yi didn’t understand a word of it, so it didn’t move him.

When the sheep saw this, it angrily lifted a hoof and wrote a line of sloppy characters in the dirt. “And here I thought you were clever and capable of understanding the speech of all living beings. Who’d have thought you were just another fool?”

“...” Su Yi didn’t know what to say to that.

Before he could respond, the black sheep wrote another line of text. “My master extends his invitation.”

“And who is your master?” asked Su Yi.

The black sheep fell briefly silent, then wrote, “In the Precious Garden of Nine Illuminations, and above the Profound Capitol of the Five Elements.”

It looked at Su Yi as if to say, “Now you ought to understand who my master is, right?”

Su Yi fell briefly silent. “I don’t recognize it, I don’t know your master, I don’t understand.”

“...” The black sheep looked incredulous.

“Can’t you speak directly?” Su Yi frowned.

The black sheep looked angry, too. It lifted a hoof and wrote, “I already told you everything you need to know. Someone of your level should have figured it out already, but you seriously have no idea? How stupid are you?”

It wasn’t the least bit polite, and it seemed quite ill-tempered, too. It flew off the handle at the slightest provocation.

Su Yi felt the urge to slaughter and roast it whole, but in the end, he held back and asked the heart devil in the rusted sheath, “Does the phrase ‘in the Precious Garden of Five Illuminations, and above the Profound Capitol of the Five Elements’ mean anything to you?”

The heart devil was stunned. “Who told you that?”

“An irritable black sheep.”

The heart devil laughed. “It can’t talk, can it?”

“It can’t.”

“Just as I thought. Its master has two hobbies. The first is herding stars. He often fishes unusual stones out of the River of Destiny and refines them into all manner of stars, which he flings into the starry void. He sees the starry sky as his chessboard, which he uses to divine celestial phenomena and contemplate the mysteries of the heavens. Thus, some people call him the Master of the Stars.

“His second hobby is herding sheep. He never kills anyone, so when he has an irreconcilable enemy, he shatters their physical body, crushes their powers of the Grand Dao, extracts their soul, and refines them into a sheep.

“He has a sheep pen in his territory. It's famous. Pick any of the sheep there at random, and odds are that they were originally a shocking, influential expert famed far and wide,” said the heart devil. “Thus, those familiar with the old-timer often call him ‘the Shepherd.’

“He doesn’t like it when the sheep talk. He thinks it’s unbecoming of a sheep, so he never gives them the opportunity.”

This explanation left Su Yi in a daze.

He likes herding stars, so they call him the Master of the Stars. Alright, fine.

He abstains from killing, so he refines his enemies into sheep. Thus, he’s known as ‘the Shepherd’, too.

Just what kind of person am I dealing with here?

“Do you remember the Four Heavenly Ministers I mentioned earlier?” asked the heart devil. “The Shepherd is one of them. His title is ‘Gouchen,’ or ‘Curved Array.’ He presides over the Nine Illuminations Imperial Palace, and controls the Five Elements Myriad Daos Diagram.

“Those who respect him call him Old Lord Gouchen, while those who despise him call him ‘Old Sheepdog.’”

One of the Four Heavenly Ministers, Old Lord Gouchen!

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed.

For his first incarnation’s heart devil to know so much about him proved that he wasn’t simple. After all, his first incarnation proved his Dao on the River of Destiny a long, long time ago.

Never mind experts of the God Domain. Even on the River of Destiny, few were truly worthy of the heart devil’s attention.

But the heart devil knew Old Lord Gouchen, and understood him in detail. That proved that Old Lord Gouchen was no ordinary expert!

“But why would he come looking for me?” Su Yi couldn’t help but ask.

It really was strange. It wasn’t at all easy for Eternals to enter the God Domain’s Central Divine Continent.

And why would someone of Old Lord Gouchen’s level send a black sheep to invite him for an audience?

“He must have long since figured out your origins. He takes you for me,” said the heart devil. “If it’s as I suspect, he ultimately has just one goal.”

“What is it?”

“Killing you.”

“...” Su Yi didn’t know what to say to that.

“Are you afraid?” asked the heart devil. “You shouldn’t be. Ever since the establishment of the Eternal Pact, the Three Pure Ones and Four Heavenly Ministers have been fettered. They can’t even go to the River of Destiny, let alone interfere in the God Domain’s affairs.

“Even if he tried his utmost, Ol’ Gouchen at most sent an avatar of will... no, not even. You couldn’t call it that, as not even a portion of his will could possibly exist here.

“If all is as I expect, the one who wants to see you is a mere imprint of him.”

But before Su Yi could sigh in relief, the heart devil continued, “But even an imprint of him could crush you like a bug.”

“Just how strong is he?” Su Yi furrowed his brow.

“All I can tell you is that the Shepherd and I are from the same era, and that he reached the Far Shore of Destiny a long, long time ago,” said the heart devil.

He continued, seemingly to himself, “But it’s strange. What’s an old-timer like him doing in the God Domain? Don’t tell me... that something changed in the All-Profound Dominion?”

Su Yi wasn’t concerned about any of that. He just asked, “Is there a grudge between you?”

“He isn’t worthy of becoming my enemy,” the heart devil said casually. “But he did once suffer a major loss at my hands, and he hates me to the bone.”

“Go see him and see what he wants. If all he wants is to kill you, there’d be no need to go to such lengths to do so here and now.

“Relax. With me here, the Shepherd won’t dare to try anything.”

Su Yi was just about to respond when the black sheep stamped impatiently and wrote, “Have you thought this through yet? My master is waiting for you!”

Su Yi pondered briefly, then said, “Lead the way.”

The black sheep snorted, then glanced at Su Yi as if to say, “I’m glad you finally saw sense.”

Now that Su Yi knew the black sheep’s origins, he’d lost all interest in roasting it, and he naturally couldn’t be bothered to hold it accountable for its rudeness.

The black sheep promptly set off, Su Yi following the way. Together, they traversed the inky darkness on foot for almost an hour.

Finally, the black sheep stopped, then gazed at a squat little hill in the distance.

A thin figure was seated cross-legged atop it.

He wore undyed cloth robes, straw shadows, and a brimless hat. His features were aged, but his eyes were as bright and clear as a child’s.

When Su Yi and the black sheep arrived, the old man looked over. The moment their eyes met, Su Yi felt as if he were staring into an endless starscape. Countless stars revolved within it, manifesting endless transformations. He felt as if his very soul itself had been trapped inside it, completely lost.

But this sensation only lasted a moment before Su Yi came back to his senses. When he next looked at the old man, his heart and soul were no longer affected.

This wasn’t because his Dao Heart was strong enough to withstand the pressure. Rather, the moment their eyes met, a strange ripple emanated from the Sword of the Nine Hells, restoring his mental clarity.

Su Yi was instantly solemn. He could tell that the old man wasn’t acting out of hostility, and that he hadn’t done that on purpose. All he’d done was look at him.

But the power of his gaze was still enough to startle the Sword of the Nine Hells into action!

Su Yi didn’t even need to think that this was one of the Four Heavenly Ministers, Old Lord Gouchen!

Just as the heart devil had guessed, this was merely an imprint of his power, not even an avatar.

Su Yi found it hard to stay calm.

If even an imprint of him is this terrifying, just how strong is the real thing?

“Baa~” The black sheep knelt and baa’ed as if reporting something.

Unfortunately, Su Yi didn’t understand any of it.

Beside long, the thin old man waved it away. “Step back.”

The black sheep obediently retreated into the distant darkness.

“You might be that swordsman’s reincarnation, but you haven’t become him yet,” said Old Lord Gouchen, his voice ringing like a bell. It had a unique, pleasant rhythm.

But Su Yi could tell that he was disappointed!

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“No wonder even those from the River of Destiny dare to fight you.” Old Lord Gouchen sighed, then got to his feet. “I shouldn’t have come here. Just pretend we never met.”

With that, he started to leave.

Su Yi was flabbergasted, and he couldn’t help but feel looked down on. It was deeply displeasing.

He said calmly, “Shepherd, you invited me, only for you to leave as soon as I arrive. Don’t you think that’s too much?

Shepherd?

Old Lord Gouchen froze, then lowered his foot and whipped around.

The depths of those clear, childlike eyes surged with dazzling light.