Chapter 794 — The Earth Mother Bestows Her Grace
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu's heart pounded violently, like a giant beating a war drum with all his might, and his qi and blood surged in a fierce tumult; the vital force throughout his body blazed up all at once, roaring and crashing like sweeping tides.
"There is something the Earth Mother does not know," he said. "This art of mine requires forcibly boosting one's qi and blood before its power can be raised to its peak!"
Shen Mu's frame swelled, growing taller and taller, his aura growing stronger and stronger, and he said in a deep voice, "This art inflicts tremendous damage upon the caster. When I resurrected the Lady Tianyin, I nearly worked myself to death. Afterward she felt somewhat guilty and gave me many treasures in compensation."
The woman in the light understood, and said with a smile, "Rest assured, I will not be stingier than the Lady Tianyin. How much did she give you? I shall give you ten times as much."
Shen Mu was overjoyed and began to exert the Soul-Reaving Guideline with all his strength, though inwardly he groaned in secret bitterness.
He had originally assumed that the Earth Mother Primordial Goddess had died at the hands of the Outer Heaven Court, and so resurrecting her would be nothing much — it would add one more adversary to the Outer Heaven Court, and by the stratagem of alliance he could have Jingping and the Earth Mother join hands, which would greatly benefit Jingping's present situation.
Yet the Earth Mother Primordial Goddess had died at the hands of the Heaven Alliance!
The Heaven Alliance — and naturally not the Heaven Alliance of Jingping.
Rather, it was the Heaven Alliance founded by Shen Mu's own hand in the early years of Longhan, a million years ago!
When he returned to the present, Shen Mu had spoken to Ling Tianzun of the founding of the Heaven Alliance. At that time three had joined it: Shen Mu, Kaihuang, and Ling Tianzun.
How the Heaven Alliance had developed afterward, Shen Mu did not know.
Now it seemed the Heaven Alliance had survived the Longhan era, and in the several eras that followed had not been destroyed by the Outer Heaven Court, but had instead grown ever stronger, until in the Shanghuang era it had even slain the Earth Mother Primordial Goddess!
He did not know why the Heaven Alliance had killed the Earth Mother Primordial Goddess, nor was he clear on the grudges and grievances within it. If he resurrected her, what effect would it have upon the Heaven Alliance?
Was the Heaven Alliance of today still the Heaven Alliance he had founded in those years?
Had the Heaven Alliance changed in nature over a million years of time? Did it still preserve the original vow with which he had founded it?
The original vision with which he founded the Heaven Alliance had been to gather the geniuses and noble, high-minded folk among the lowly races of the Longhan era, and to win for the human race and other lowly races the right to survive.
But even if his original intent had been good, once one gained power it was all too easy to forget that original vow, to rot and change in nature.
If the Heaven Alliance had not rotted, then the Earth Mother's death had been deserved, and Shen Mu's resurrecting her would cause the Heaven Alliance's efforts to go down the drain and greatly trouble its schemes.
He now found himself in a dilemma.
If he did not resurrect the Earth Mother, he would surely be done away with by her; if he did resurrect her, then many variables would arise.
The Soul-Reaving Guideline divine power drew in the shattered soul motes of the Earth Mother Primordial Goddess, like the finest black sand, surging in from every corner of the Origin Realm, pouring into this underground palace, flowing into the radiance.