Chapter 328 — Afterglow of the Past
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
At the same time, another deity leaned upon a bronze plowshare, its body becoming a giant, splitting mountains and digging canals, channeling the waters.
Another deity brought out a precious vase and floated in midair; the vase turned downward, and at once a surge of green poured forth—the desert became grassland, and dense forests grew with wild abandon.
Yet another deity brought out a great cauldron; the cauldron touched the ground, and at once mountain ranges rose from the earth, the terrain transformed, and the great desert became green mountains.
Shen Mu and the others stared blankly at the scene. These gods of the Supreme Emperor's age used boundless power to remake heaven and earth; seas turning to mulberry fields was no more than this.
"This great river should be the Yong River, shouldn't it?"
Shen Mu was dazed. He saw the deity holding the bronze plowshare carve out a main channel; the great river was very long, rushing eastward.
The form of this great river was somewhat similar to the Yong River, but the course of its channel was not entirely the same. It resembled the Yong River, yet its waters were not as mighty.
Just then the mist surged in again, drowning everything before them. In a daze they felt the earth shake violently, and a tremendous sound like the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting apart. Within the mist was a scene of the end of the world: the sky spinning, the earth overturned, volcanoes and meteors, thick smoke and thunder, drowning the once-glorious palaces and burying a civilization.
They heard a rumbling sound behind them and turned to look. Within the mist a great chasm was slowly rising, cutting the continent in two.
The mist gradually dispersed, as though the rust of time and space were vanishing bit by bit. The chasm behind them slowly grew clear again, and a waterfall came rushing down to merge with the Yong River.
The yellow sand beneath their feet turned back into flowing water, rushing eastward without pause day or night.
Splash, splash.
The two white bats hanging upside down from the dragon qilin's chin were stunned. Their claws lost their grip and they fell into the water. The two white bats hurriedly flew up out of the water and clung to each other, trembling: "The Ruins are too uncanny! Sect Master Shen, hurry and send us back to Ming Valley!"
Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Brothers Bat, you two are yourselves part of the Ruins' uncanny things—and you still say the Ruins are too uncanny? You two in Ming Valley have frightened more treasure hunters who blundered in there to death than anyone can count."
The two white bats looked at each other. "We two are uncanny things too?"
Shen Mu was both exasperated and amused. These two brothers had not the slightest self-awareness. The uncanny things of Ming Valley were terrifying beyond measure—all manner of uncanny beings, such that even a heavenly being could hardly claim to escape unscathed. And these two brothers were the guardians of Ming Valley, uncanny things among uncanny things.
The mist around them had still not fully dispersed. Gazing into the distance at the chasm, all was hazy and indistinct.
Suddenly, clumps of mist walked toward them, and by the time they reached them they had become gray-white figures, which passed through their bodies with a soft puff.
The others hurriedly turned around, and saw those mists gather together again. From within the mist a voice said, "What happened in the Age of the Supreme Emperor? Why did this magnificent era vanish from between heaven and earth? Was what just happened the afterglow of history? Things that happened in history branded into time, and by some chance coincidence reenacting that scene from history? This land is truly wondrous, and the ancient empire is astonishing as well."
"Your Majesty, the Daoist sect and the Great Tingming Temple have preserved some records. If Your Majesty issues a decree, they need only send those records over."