Chapter 992 — A Beauty Bathes Her Shoulder (Third Update!)

Shen Mu's heart thumped wildly. According to Mother Earth, the Hongmeng Primordial Essence was a peculiar water in which she had rooted herself and moistened her root-tendrils—a water like liquid light, wonderfully nimble, brimming with energy. It was by means of the Hongmeng Primordial Essence that Mother Earth, an ancient god, had awakened her spiritual intelligence and become one of the ancient gods!

He had never imagined that the Creators of the Far Shore should also possess this Hongmeng Primordial Essence!

The Silkworm Maiden said, "The Hongmeng Primordial Essence was originally the water of a pool in the Ancestral Court.

It was very beautiful to look at. Later, all the clans came to draw from it, to water their sacred relics, and little by little there was less and less of it. I heard that when our whole clan migrated, they took away every drop of essence in the pool, and after that they merely ate into their stores, so that now very little of the essence remains. You are the Sacred Infant—if you want some, go to the Godking. What remains is all with her. " She looked this way and that, then whispered, "If you coax some essence out of her, give me a share. My family's Seven Souls Herb is sick and has been listless and wilting all this while.

" Shen Mu nodded again and again. The Silkworm Maiden was delighted, and rode off on a great white silkworm to continue her preparations for the Grand Sacrifice.

"I forgot to ask her how the battle went.

" Shen Mu walked toward the Azure Feather Hall, thinking, "If I ask Godking Langwan, she will probably tell me too.

Then again, the Creators are an exceedingly ancient race, and they must possess no end of heavenly treasures and earthly riches—rich as oozing oil!

The Hongmeng Primordial Essence, the Taichu Divine Stone, the Taichu Primeval Stone—treasures that are nearly impossible to find in later ages, and they have them all. Surely they have other immensely precious treasures as well! Since I am the Sacred Infant, then these precious things. . . " The Azure Feather Hall was in fact a great hall with wings.

From its two sides grew a pair of fleshy wings, feathered in azure, that could beat and carry it flying through the sky. Such a strange building was almost impossible to see in the outside world, yet in the Creators' world of the Far Shore there were quite a few of them.

The Creators would, for instance, envision buildings that grew legs and feet, for ease of migration, or envision plants with ox bodies and tree crowns, which put on flesh by growing more leaves to draw in the sun's energy. Shen Mu came before the Azure Feather Hall and examined the two great wings closely.

Where the wings joined the hall, flesh and blood and metal and stone were perfectly fused as one, and he clicked his tongue in wonder. "The Godking invites the Sacred Infant to enter the hall," said the phoenix at the gate, ruffling its feathers. Shen Mu gave thanks and followed the phoenix into the hall.

The Azure Feather Hall was immensely high and vast; walking within it, one felt oneself to be exceedingly small, and could not help but feel awe. Shen Mu, however, was accustomed to the Creators' grand architecture, and hurried to keep up with the rainbow phoenix. What surprised him was that Godking Langwan was not receiving him in the front hall; the phoenix led him toward the rear hall.

The hall was truly too large; Shen Mu followed the phoenix for quite a while and still had not reached the rear.

"Sister, why haven't you transformed into human form and become a person?

" Shen Mu asked. The rainbow phoenix tilted its head, its feathers gorgeous, and asked curiously, "Become a person?

You mean take on the appearance of a Creator? " Shen Mu thought about it and nodded. In truth the Creators differed little in appearance from the human race; they were only taller in build, and had one extra feature—a diamond-shaped vertical eye at the center of the brow.

The rainbow phoenix shook its head.

"I was envisioned into being.

I cannot cultivate, and I cannot do what you call taking human form. From the moment I was envisioned, I have been bound by my own power.

" A roar filled Shen Mu's head; he shook it. "Sister, say that again?

" The phoenix repeated itself: "Bound by my own power, it is very hard for me to change, so I cannot open a divine treasury, nor can I cultivate with divine sense. But I can keep raising the might of the Nirvana Sacred Fire within me. " Shen Mu was in a daze.

He murmured, "Your state—it is so like the ancient gods, so like them.

. . " "The Godking is just ahead.

" The rainbow phoenix led him to the rear hall, and Shen Mu saw Godking Langwan beside a pool, scooping up water to wash a wound.

The ribbon of her garment had been loosened at the shoulder; it was her shoulder that was injured, revealing a long bloody gash.

It must have been Emperor Kai who wounded her. Her long hair fell like a waterfall, and the pool's surface glittered with rippling light. The sight made Shen Mu hold his breath.

Then his breathing quickened—that entire pool of water was Hongmeng Primordial Essence!

What a vast pool!

The pool was a pool only by the Creators' measure; by Shen Mu's, it was a lake—and the whole lake was Hongmeng Primordial Essence!

He itched to rush over and plunge straight into it! "The Sacred Infant is not yet three years old—does the sight of a woman's shoulder set his heart pounding so fiercely?

" Godking Langwan caught sight of him, drew up her garment to cover her shoulder, and asked with a sidelong smile.

Shen Mu tore his gaze from the pool with difficulty, then, as if possessed, stole another glance at it. Only then did Godking Langwan realize that what set the boy's heart racing was not herself but that pool of water. Her expression turned strange, and she waved the rainbow phoenix away.

"Sacred Infant, follow me.

" Shen Mu followed behind her, turning his head again and again to look back. The pool of Hongmeng Primordial Essence rippled with light, giving off a mesmerizing luster—so alluring it was. Within a few steps, Godking Langwan's body gradually shrank, and soon she was about his height, her long hair draped over her shoulders, glossy black, as if freshly washed and not yet fully dry.

"Was this head of beautiful hair, too, washed with the Hongmeng Primordial Essence? " Shen Mu was filled with envy.

"The Hongmeng Primordial Essence is wonderful. I'd love to have a pool of essence that big. " Godking Langwan's long skirt covered her feet.

As she walked ahead, Shen Mu could faintly glimpse her two feet behind her—she wore no shoes, this woman walking barefoot, her feet appearing and vanishing by turns, her soles very delicate and lovely.

"These feet must have been soaked in Hongmeng Primordial Essence too?

Truly lovely! " Shen Mu thought, looking back at that pool of Hongmeng Primordial Essence. Godking Langwan stopped. Shen Mu nearly ran into her and hastily halted.

Godking Langwan said with a half-smile, "The Sacred Infant seems to take a keener interest in that pool of water. Men like you are very rare.

In the past, before I became Godking, the Creators of our clan looked at me oddly, and their courtship antics were endless and ever-changing.

Only when I became Godking did they rein in their little schemes—and now you have more interest in that pool of water. " Shen Mu probed, "And if I were interested in the Godking, what would the Godking do? " "Naturally, I would cut it off," Godking Langwan said, raising her hand and chopping downward. She explained softly, "Sever your root of trouble. You are only three and already letting your thoughts run wild—how then will you be the Sacred Infant? Once it is cut off, you will put all your strength into comprehension and cultivation, and only then can you lead our clan's revival and take revenge on the Supreme Emperor.