Chapter 785 — The Youth Plows the Wasteland
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"Summon every demigod of the primordial world? Can it be that the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, still lives?" Unease stirred in Shen Mu's heart.
The primordial world, once the ancient primordial capital, had long lain under seal, folded up like a fan; and now the seal was broken, and who could say how many demigods would come surging forth.
And with a leader as mighty as the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, what upheaval would it bring to the ruins and to Jingping?
Of all this Deva King Buddha knew nothing. In the Kaihuang era the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, had long since vanished without a trace; in the ruins of the Supreme Emperor not one relic of her could be found, and not even a record or a legend had come down.
By Jingping's day, understanding of this ancient god was a total blank.
Shen Mu himself had only heard a few rumors of the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, from the Lord of Heaven and the Earth Lord; what sort of temper this ancient god possessed, and how she looked upon the human race, he had no way of knowing either.
The Lord of Heaven had told him that the Supreme Emperor era had some connection with the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, but the Supreme Emperor was divided into South and North, a Southern Supreme Emperor and a Northern Supreme Emperor — which Supreme Emperor's Heavenly Court did the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign, prop up?
And the Heavenly Court that stood against it — from where did its backing come?
The Supreme Emperor era had run on for three hundred thousand years — why could that age endure so long?
"What do you know about the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign?" Shen Mu asked amiably of the water qilin demigod in the great pit.
The water qilin said in a fluster: "I have never seen the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign. I only sensed her call."
Shen Mu frowned slightly and went on: "Then do you know of the Supreme Emperor era? How much do you know of it?"
The water qilin, pinned so that it could not stir, said: "When I was born, the fighting was already under way. I only heard that the Heavenly Court beyond the realms had come down in attack, to kill the Earth Mother, the Primal Sovereign. Of the rest I am not very clear. My station was not high..."
Shen Mu struggled to show a kindly smile: "Are you willing to follow my sworn brother, Lan Yutian?"
The water qilin ventured cautiously: "And if I do not agree to follow him, what will come of it?"
"By supper you will be carried to the table."
The water qilin said without a moment's hesitation: "I would gladly serve with the strength of horse and hound!"
Shen Mu said to Yutian Zun: "Sworn brother, this water qilin is yours, to bear you on your way. I have a dragon qilin as well; demigods of this kind eat a great deal, and they are gluttons besides. You must learn to refine a few kinds of spirit pills. Once you have mastered the basic runes of the Buddhist gate, I will teach you how to refine spirit pills."
Yutian Zun wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and said hesitantly: "I still have to feed them? Would it not be simpler just to eat them?"
Shen Mu's head began to ache. He made the water qilin swear an oath to Shen Fengqing and establish the Little Earth Lord's Pact, then said: "Do not think of betraying him. If you betray him, my elder brother will appear before you and eat you."
On the Shen-Character Continent, the big-headed doll who was busy beating the Earth Lord felt something like a pact twine itself about him, and doubt rose in his heart.
The Earth Lord climbed to his feet, his lava body re-forming, and said: "This is the Pact of Souls. You count as my little brother, so others may swear oaths to you as well; if they break their promise, the pact will stir to life, and you may take and devour that person's primordial spirit outright!"
The big-headed doll was overjoyed and asked humbly for instruction: "So that is why you eat so sturdily?"