Chapter 984 — Three Prophecies

"Xiu Zhong's divine consciousness — approaching the cultivation of the Three Kings of Antiquity?" Shen Mu was taken aback, and fell into deep thought.

The civilization of the Creators had weathered several great purges. By rights, such a civilization should either be in decline, each generation weaker than the last, or else in a period of transformation, advancing by leaps and bounds.

But the Creators' civilization had already matured; transformation would be difficult indeed.

So how had Xiu Zhong cultivated his way to the heights of the Three Kings of Antiquity?

"The Creators of the Other Shore have betrayed the ancestral teachings!" Shu Jun seethed with indignation.

Shen Mu smiled faintly. What Shu Jun meant, surely, was this treasure carriage. The Creators of the ancient era had held to a creed of utmost simplicity — in their architecture, their furnishings, their furniture, there was scarcely any ornamentation at all; they pursued flatness and plainness, and their artistic attainments were pitiable.

Yet this treasure carriage that Xiu Zhong had visualized was opulent beyond measure: a canopy for a roof — and not one canopy but three, each canopy symbolizing a heaven. Beneath the canopies, sun, moon, and stars revolved around a center like the most beautiful of gemstones — luxury taken to its absolute extreme.

From the edges of the canopies hung strands of beads strung from seven-colored gems, each gem's hues distributed differently from the next. If one looked closely, the inner details of those gems were themselves a riot of color, a beauty beyond description — an hour or two of close study would yield new discoveries all the while.

And the carriage shaft, the body, the cloud couch, even the wheels — all were exquisitely carved and adorned. Even the reins binding the nine dragons were woven into intricate patterns — veritable works of art!

In the eyes of the ancient-era Creators, this was rank heresy!

For the sake of convenience in battle, the Creators of the ancient era had visualized things in the simplest possible forms, so that they could be summoned swiftly in combat.

But once a visualized object bore patterns and veins of ornamentation, it placed a burden on the divine consciousness; the speed of visualization slowed — and to a Creator this was a fatal weakness, an opening for the enemy to exploit.

"This is a betrayal of tradition!"

Shu Jun raged to Shen Mu: "The gravest betrayal of all! The Creators are heading for extinction!"

Shen Mu laughed heartily. "Divine King Shu Jun, this is art. Art is also combat power."

"Bah!"

Shu Jun's prejudices ran too deep; nothing pleased his eye. Everything Xiu Zhong visualized he sneered at and heaped with scorn.

Fortunately, their exchange took place within Shen Mu's mind — merely fluctuations of divine consciousness in his sea of thought, and no disturbance reached Xiu Zhong.

Xiu Zhong carried him onward, traveling an unknowable distance, out from that landmass and into the starry void. Ahead, a river of stars surged; Shen Mu saw Creators of enormous stature fashioning stars out there in the void.

They were ranged around a zone of emptiness, the Primordial Stones at their brows blazing with light, and a rocky planet was slowly taking form.

Shen Mu gaped, staring dumbly at these Creators, and saw behind each of their heads a divine treasure floating, radiating brilliance!

Spirit Fetus, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heaven-Man, Life-Death, Divine Bridge — all seven divine treasures, not a single one missing!

What shocked him even more was that at the far end of these Creators' Divine Bridge treasure there was also a heavenly palace — a golden, resplendent heavenly palace, dazzling bright in the starry void!

He could not help but stare spellbound, watching these Creators' colossal primordial spirits standing within their heavenly palaces, visualizing — and the stars forming with astonishing speed!

"The Creators of the Other Shore have taken up the divine treasure and heavenly palace system of cultivation!"

A profound sense of absurdity rose in his heart. These Creators, who had escaped death by a hairsbreadth to flee here, had actually cultivated the divine treasure system and the heavenly palace system that the human race had pioneered — and cultivated them rather well!

"Could it be that the Creators of the Other Shore absorbed the cultivation methods of the Carefree Land and set foot on the path of divine treasure cultivation?"

Shen Mu steadied himself. If the methods for cultivating divine consciousness were transformed into a divine treasure cultivation system — if the methods for cultivating vital essence were replaced with methods for cultivating divine consciousness — then indeed one could cultivate far more swiftly!

Shu Jun had once said that after his rebirth he would certainly abandon his original method of cultivating divine consciousness, and intended to combine divine consciousness with the divine treasure cultivation system to create a method suited to this era.

If Shu Jun could perceive this, then the Creators of the Other Shore must have perceived it too — and had already carried out the transformation.

In truth, Shen Mu had also modified the Creators' cultivation methods — Shu Jun's Shangshi of the Three Enclosures, for instance, had been altered by him beyond all recognition.

Moreover, the Great Emperor's Supreme Daluo Divine Consciousness was itself a technique of the divine treasure and heavenly palace system — the Great Emperor was the first Creator to absorb the divine treasure and heavenly palace system.

The Creators of the Other Shore would surely have realized that such methods were easier to cultivate.

Xiu Zhong's carriage passed through that star-forging region. The Creators saluted him — not speaking, but through fluctuations of divine consciousness, which in a single instant could accomplish what speech would take half a day to convey.

Shen Mu sensed their divine consciousness, and his own brushed against theirs; in an instant a great deal of information was exchanged.

These Creators were star-masters of the Xiu clan, charged with creating the starry sky.

They intended to create hundreds and thousands of stars and hurl them at the territory of the villains of the Carefree Land — to smash the villains to death with whole planets.

"Do not act rashly."

Xiu Zhong spoke after all — but the language that came from his mouth was not wholly the Creators' tongue; many of his sentences were spoken in the human language. The ancient tongue and the human tongue mingled together, producing a most bizarre effect.

Shen Mu sought Shu Jun's aid, and Shu Jun rendered Xiu Zhong's words into divine consciousness for him.

"The villain chieftain Shen Ye is formidable indeed. These planetary bombardments will not be enough to deal with them. If you provoke Shen Ye, your lives are forfeit."

Xiu Zhong said: "Continue creating the dead-star zone. Trap those villains inside the Carefree Land, let them never find their way out — that is enough."

The Creators assented, and looked at Shen Mu with curiosity in their eyes.

"His name is Mu Qing. He is only two years old, and runs about everywhere."

Xiu Zhong explained to them: "His cultivation is not at all bad — many adult Creators are no match for him. Look at the eye at his brow."

The Creators all turned their gaze to the eye at Shen Mu's brow, and their faces showed astonishment and delight.

A host of Creators began to dance in the starry void, capering with joy — grotesque in their postures, yet filled with a strange beauty.

"Wonderful! The Primordial Stone has manifested its divinity, blessing our clan!"

"A child born of the Primordial Stone — the Holy Infant will save our clan and lead us back to the Ancestral Court!"

"Shen Ye is in trouble now!"

"The big-headed monster infant of Shen Ye's house has met its match!"