Chapter 780 — The Magnetic Earth Mother

This time, when he came to Taihuang Heaven, he saw any number of strange structures: pillars forged of dark bronze, hollow within, some long and some short, some thick and some thin. The long ones stood several hundred zhang high, the match of mountain peaks; the short ones were scarce a chi.

Several hundred pillars rose within the elemental magnetic anomaly points, and the border between Taihuang Heaven and the Desolate Ruins held the greatest number of anomaly points of all; of such installations there were twenty or thirty, a truly magnificent sight.

Within every elemental magnetic anomaly point, divine ability users with paper and brush in hand surrounded the bronze pillars, recording the data produced by the magnetic reactions of the anomaly points, which was then sent to the nearby divine cities of Taihuang Heaven to be sorted.

Pang Yu the True God, Sang Ye the Revered God and the others had rebuilt Taihuang Heaven and raised several divine cities, where the people multiplied and thrived; and for this derivation of elemental magnetic runes, Grandmother Zhu had borrowed no small number of divine ability users from Taihuang Heaven.

Taihuang Heaven's attainments in the arts of calculation had once been wretched indeed, but after the two realms were opened, the divine ability users of Taihuang Heaven had gone into Jingping to study the arts of calculation, and by now there were many among them skilled in reckoning.

When Shen Mu came into the city, he saw Grandmother Zhu buried head-down amid mountains of paper, with a hundred or so scholars sorting the data sent in from the various anomaly points, and all manner of computation elemental soldiers clattering away without pause.

And on the walls were branded more than a thousand wondrous runes, flickering bright and dim, faintly giving off elemental magnetic power.

"There is only the last rune left."

Xu Shenghua studied the brands upon the wall and said in amazement, "Grandmother Zhu's speed is truly remarkable!"

Scarcely had he spoken when Grandmother Zhu's laughter rang out: "Done at last—it is calculated!"

The beautiful woman sprang to her feet, came before the wall, and her vital essence surged, transforming into the final rune, which she branded upon the wall.

Shen Mu stepped forward and studied the elemental magnetic runes upon the wall, and could not help but be moved, praising, "Granny, the cataloguing of these more than one thousand nine hundred runes is a merit beyond measure!"

Only then did Grandmother Zhu notice them, and she said in delighted surprise, "When did Shen'er arrive? You have not come to see me for many a day! Four parts of the credit for these runes is yours, and the other six parts Xu Shenghua and I split between us. Xu Shenghua worked out more than a thousand elemental magnetic derivation equations. What I sorted out was only a small share."

Xu Shenghua made a modest noise and glanced at Shen Mu.

Shen Mu smiled. "I derived the first few equations, and Brother Xu carried on along the road I opened, and did very well indeed."

Xu Shenghua gave a muffled snort.

Shen Mu's words might smack of self-praise, yet they were the plain truth.

Shen Mu had discovered the mystery of elemental magnetism, and had pioneeringly set down several of the most fundamental elemental magnetic equations, and then handed the task of deriving elemental magnetic runes to them.

Shen Mu was the pathbreaker, they the perfecters, and so Shen Mu took close to half the credit.

"Granny, now that the elemental magnetic divine arts have been sorted out, can one comprehend elemental magnetic divine arts from them?" Shen Mu asked.

"We can give it a try!"

Grandmother Zhu was all eagerness, and led them outside the city, saying, "These days, as I derived the elemental magnetic runes, I was turning over countless divine arts in my mind, and sorted out no few elemental magnetic divine arts. Just now, when the final rune was derived, I naturally comprehended a great divine art, one that can perfectly fuse these more than one thousand nine hundred runes into one."

Shen Mu knew that she was a being who had long since entered the Dao through divine arts. Now that she had sorted out every foundational rune of elemental magnetism, the great divine art she had comprehended was surely no trifling thing, and he could not help but anticipate it with all his heart.

Shen Mu, Xu Shenghua and the Heavenly Duke followed behind Grandmother Zhu, and other divine ability users of Taihuang Heaven and scholars of the Tiansheng Academy came flying over in swarms.

Pang Yu the True God, Sang Ye the Revered God and the others hurried over at the news, and the sky was filled everywhere with divine ability users and deities, all waiting for Grandmother Zhu to perform.

Grandmother Zhu stood in Taihuang Heaven, and below her, directly beneath her, lay the Desolate Ruins.

"I have not yet named this divine art of mine. Let me first perform it and open your eyes!"

She stirred her divine art, her vital essence vast and billowing. Grandmother Zhu had long been a deity; her magic power was majestic and her divine arts exquisite. Now, as she unleashed the great elemental magnetic divine art she had comprehended, at once everyone in the sky fell like rain, each one crashing to the ground, unable to stir.

Shen Mu too was pressed to the ground, feeling as though a whole heaven were bearing down upon him, and his heart quailed.

Pang Yu the True God clambered up with difficulty, his legs trembling so that he could scarcely stand, terror in his heart, and he said hastily, "Revered Goddess Youyou, easy does it—you will crush us to death!"

Grandmother Zhu turned back, and only then noticed that they were pinned to the ground, and laughed. "My divine art is aimed at the Desolate Ruins, not at you. Once I unleash this divine art, the elemental magnetic divine power will press upon you no longer."

She struck out a palm forward, and elemental magnetic divine light burst forth. Within the divine art one could dimly see billions of stars coiled into a river, the stars joined one to another by elemental magnetic divine light, interwoven and interlaced, crashing down upon the Desolate Ruins with a thunderous roar!

The Desolate Ruins below abruptly sank a hundred zhang, while in the distance mountain after mountain rose up from the ground, surging forth from beneath the earth in an unbroken chain!

Grandmother Zhu praised, "A truly fine divine art. Now you no longer feel the pressure, do you?"

Shen Mu and the others felt the pressure lift, and scrambled to their feet. Sang Ye the Revered God laughed and said, "Revered Goddess Youyou, your magic power is exquisite and your divine arts surpass all others—truly remarkable. But might you now withdraw your divine art?"

The Desolate Ruins shook with quaking earth and mountains, and still more mountains were rising up, spreading outward.

Grandmother Zhu said, perplexed, "I have already withdrawn my divine art... Eh, something is wrong!"

Shen Mu and the others looked down at the Desolate Ruins below, and saw mountain after mountain receding from them at flying speed, the earth endlessly expanding, the nearest peak already several thousand li away, beyond the sight of the naked eye!

At the same time, Shen Mu saw that the Surging River was broadening, broader and broader, its waters fiercer and more urgent!

Earlier this great river had been a hundred zhang wide, and now it seemed to widen by a hundred zhang with every blink of the eye!

"What is happening?"

Everyone was bewildered, staring blankly at the sight.

The Desolate Ruins were not only spreading east and west, but north and south as well, and those mountains were actually growing with mad speed, larger and larger, higher and higher!

"This is not something Granny's divine art could have caused..."