Chapter 877 — The Chicken Thief
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The Earth Earl, born in accordance with the great Dao of heaven and earth, presided over death, punishing evil and rewarding good. Yet even the Earth Earl had to act according to the laws of the Netherworld; he could not act on his own likes and dislikes. As souls in the Netherworld grew ever more numerous, the resentment, greed, and other negative emotions of the dead bred a terrible demonic nature in the Netherworld, and incomplete remnant souls and lingering spirits wandered in its darkness, so the demonic nature deepened day by day.
Thus the monsters of the Netherworld came into being.
They had little self-awareness, but they were condensed from the filthiest and most vile thoughts mixed with the Netherworld's demonic qi.
The monsters devoured one another and became demon gods. Great Black Heaven was a demon god born in this way, and he was the very first demon god of the Netherworld.
Like the Netherworld's Divine Son, he possessed extraordinary traits. He was born before Longhan, in that extremely ancient and barbaric age when the Longhan Heavenly Court had not yet been established.
It was only because of his appearance that the demon race came to exist.
— Some also said that the demon race in the true sense was the Earth Earl's daughter, and all the so-called demon races in the world were false demon races, but there were few who held this view.
The demon race revered him as the ancestor of the demonic path, the ancestor of all demons, the king of the demon race. In truth, the true progenitor of the demonic path and the true ancestor of the demon race should have been the Earth Earl. However, the Earth Earl had few descendants, so the demon race was instead propagated by Great Black Heaven and the successive demon gods born in the Netherworld after him, with little connection to the Earth Earl.
It was only natural that Great Black Heaven, the first demon god born in the Netherworld, should be raised to such a height by the demon race.
Shen Mu saw that he actually bore some resemblance to the Earth Earl, also having two long, curved ox horns; but since he had not turned around, Shen Mu could not tell whether, like the Earth Earl, he had an ox tail. "You are all very bold. " Great Black Heaven looked around, somewhat pained.
"You make the Little Earth Earl pact with others and then intend to break it—truly bold. Do you not know that Wentian Pavilion is one of the Four Grand Celestial Masters of Kaihuang, with the nickname 'the Cockcrow Thief'?
When he proposes a bet, he simply does not bet; only then can he avoid losing.
If he bets, he is certain to lose. You schemed against Jingping, thinking it within easy reach, but he was scheming against the Northern Heavens!
What am I to do?
" Around the Great Black Palace, there was not a sound.
Great Black Heaven sighed. "The three hundred and sixteen Northern Heavens were won by the hard fighting of my generals and soldiers, yet you, coveting a moment's gain, would hand the Northern Heavens over to others.
The Cockcrow Thief truly has a formidable hand! " "Can we break the pact? " a demon god asked in a trembling voice. Great Black Heaven cast him a glance, and that demon god's face turned the color of earth.
"To break the pact is to face the Little Earth Earl directly.
" Great Black Heaven said calmly, "Though I am not afraid of him, this act would certainly ruin my reputation; others would laugh at me for being faithless. I have come from ancient primordial wilderness. Under my rule, the demon race has grown mightier day by day, yet it has never been able to soar to greatness.
I later thought about it, and perhaps it is because I was too cunning in the past, always going back on my word.