Chapter 1117 — Defeating the Earth Mother Yuanjun

The Earth Mother's voice came from amid the leaves of the green vines: "In the past, you won the favor of the ancient gods because everyone believed you had the power to resurrect them. But now, Huo Tianzun has stripped that power from you. Without it, you are nothing but an ordinary, unremarkable human! " The green vines coiled gently around Shen Mu's neck, every tendril bristling with thorns.

Shen Mu flicked a finger; the vines burst into flame and crumbled to ash.

The Earth Mother's voice receded, now issuing from the crown of a great tree: "Mu Tianzun, you have a silver tongue and a mouth full of lies, all to eke out your own wretched existence.

You dart east and scurry west, and all for the sake of preserving your miserable life. You arrived late because you know full well that you are nothing but a fame-fishing rat! Today, this sovereign will let you die here without a sound, and become nourishment for the plants of this place. " She sneered: "No one will ever know that you died here, at the hands of this sovereign, a dead ancient god! My child, strike him down for me! " The Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse gave a roar and lunged straight at him.

Before it could reach Shen Mu, the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner came crashing down and planted itself before him. Shen Mu bowed.

The Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner hummed and quivered; ten thousand rays of rosy light descended, pressing down upon the Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse, subduing this one-time Shanghuang Heavenly Emperor! The Emperor-Corpse roared again and again, yet could not move an inch.

Shen Mu could not help but marvel: the foremost supreme treasure under heaven — its reputation was well deserved!

He extended a single finger and touched it lightly to the space between the Emperor-Corpse's brows. "The dead should return to Tubo.

" The Emperor-Corpse's expression went blank on the instant.

Behind it, a Mystic Gate of Heaven and Earth appeared and swung open.

The Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse let out a shrill, harrowing scream as its soul flew from its back and fell into the gate.

The Mystic Gate of Heaven and Earth snapped shut, sank into the earth, and vanished.

Shen Mu stroked the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner gently; its layered canopies folded closed one by one. He said unhurriedly: "I am the Great Mage who holds life and death in his hands. Earth Mother, sending an emperor's corpse against me — you think far too little of my name.

Your child, I have sent to Youdu for you; ask Tubo to discipline him on your behalf.

" "The supreme treasure, the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner? " The Earth Mother Yuanjun's cry of shock rang out. Suddenly the earth shook violently, and a root of the Primeval Wood, thicker than anything, burst from the ground and swiftly knotted into a great flower. The flower bloomed, and from within it came the Earth Mother Yuanjun's voice: "This supreme treasure was stolen and lost for six hundred thousand years — how does it come to be in your hands?

" Shen Mu rapped on the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner.

Its canopies unfurled once more, ready at any moment to unfold the Twenty-Eight Heavens, in case the Earth Mother should launch a sneak attack. "That is none of your concern. " Shen Mu smiled: "Earth Mother Yuanjun, I keep my promises — I can resurrect you. But you have no physical body now, and resurrecting you would be of little use.

If you are not in a hurry, you could wait a few more years. .

.

" "I cannot wait! " The Earth Mother's thick roots circled the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner like venomous dragons, as though searching for a flaw in this supreme treasure so she might seize it: "Today you will summon my soul. I will be reborn today!

" Shen Mu shook his head: "You have no body.

With only a soul, your fighting strength would hardly improve. How would you take your revenge? Would you go to Xiao Tianzun to seize the Primeval Wood?

" He sneered: "The Primeval Wood lies in Xiao Tianzun's hands, and the divine artifact Yu Tianzun suppresses it besides. With only the roots of the Primeval Wood and your three souls, I fear you would die a second time! " "The matter of a body is my own affair; you need not trouble yourself over it.

" The Earth Mother was still probing outside the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, searching for its weakness, and said coldly: "You need only summon my three souls for me! " Something stirred in Shen Mu's heart; the corner of his left eye twitched slightly, and he could not help but think of another little Primeval Wood — Gongsun Yan.

At once he understood the Earth Mother's intent in her eagerness to be resurrected.

A keen light flickered in Shen Mu's eyes. He said in a low voice: "Very well!

I will summon your three souls for you. But I need more than ten days to prepare!

" "Fine.

I will give you ten days! " The Earth Mother Yuanjun's roots whipped away at once and vanished deep into the earth.

The moment she was gone, the dense forest all around withered; in an instant it turned to dead wood, blackened and dull, and even the fallen leaves quickly rotted away.

All about was desolation. "Sect Master. . .

" Dragon Qilin was about to speak when Shen Mu raised a hand.

Dragon Qilin hastily shut his mouth and looked warily ahead.

Before them, that ancient Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse lay motionless.

Yan'er and the six heavenly dragons had meant to ask questions too, but at the sight they fixed their eyes on the Emperor-Corpse as well.

They had realized it too: though the imperial soul within the Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse had been driven into Youdu by Shen Mu, this was, after all, the Earth Mother's son, and the Earth Mother still had some standing before Tubo. She would surely be able to reclaim the Emperor-Corpse's soul. Yet the Earth Mother Yuanjun had left both the Emperor-Corpse and the stone coffin here, which showed that she had still not given up on the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, that strange treasure!

Suddenly a slender root drilled out of the ground, rolled up the Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse, and carried it into the stone coffin. The root coiled about the stone coffin, and the coffin gradually sank into the earth.

Shen Mu seized the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner and laughed: "It seems the Earth Mother Yuanjun has left.

.

.

" Dragon Qilin opened his mouth but said nothing. Just then, countless roots surged up from beneath the ground; the earth seemed to boil, and one thick root after another lashed out with a swish-swish-swish, coiling toward the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner! Dragon Qilin, Yan'er, and the others could not keep their footing; the surging earth flung them into the air.

In the very instant the Earth Mother struck, Shen Mu bowed, and the twenty-eight heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner unfolded. A series of cracks rang out — bang, bang, bang — as one thick root after another was severed by the ever-shifting heavens! The Earth Mother Yuanjun's roots were so tough that only an Emperor Throne cultivator could cut them. Yet with Shen Mu himself commanding the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, making the twenty-eight heavens iterate back and forth and shift their order without pause, slicing through the Earth Mother's roots was as easy as chopping vegetables!

A muffled roar came from underground. The severed roots writhed and leapt within the twenty-eight heavens like great serpents, trying to break free of the Banner's hold and return to their main body. But how could Shen Mu let her take these roots back?

One root after another was sent deep into the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, beyond the Earth Mother Yuanjun's reach. "Mu Tianzun! " The earth shook violently once more; a vast, blackened thing was about to surface from underground!

It was the root of the Primeval Wood — immeasurably huge, countless roots curled together into a colossal ball of roots!

When Shen Mu had helped the Earth Mother oppose Hao Tianzun, he had seen this root-ball before!