Chapter 1073 — The Foundations of the Ancient Gods
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
"Nüxin created the White Tiger, Fangbo the Azure Dragon, Juyu the Black Tortoise, and Yanglu the Vermilion Bird. Such is the origin of the Four Emperors of the Ancient Gods. The other clans, great and small, created the Orthodox Star Gods. Because each clan visualized and sought a different kind of power, these spirit gods differ in their natures as well."
Luo Xiao said, "Every clan treated these spirit gods as weapons to guard the tribe; when clans warred, the Creators and their spirit gods slaughtered the enemy together. Later the Juyu grew strong, and there arose the order of one emperor and three kings. The one emperor was the Great Emperor of the Juyu; the three kings were Fangbo Shu Jun, Nüxin Gong Yun, and Yanglu Boyang."
Light broke upon Shen Mu. "So that is how it was."
Gu Xiao and Dahong likewise showed looks of sudden understanding, and said in unison, "So that is how it was. Brother Luo is truly learned, to know so many tales."
"We Creators pass down history and wisdom through divine consciousness; that is how I come to know the origins of the ancient gods."
Luo Xiao said modestly, "Still, much history has been lost to war. The fourth kind of ancient god is the ancient god born of heaven and earth."
Something stirred in Shen Mu. "The Earth Mother Yuanjun!"
"The Earth Mother Yuanjun is one of them, and the strongest."
Luo Xiao said, "This kind of ancient god is born of heaven and earth — the Earth Mother Yuanjun, for instance, transformed from the primordial wood; the True Dragon, transformed from dragon veins; the phoenix, transformed from the essence of wind and fire; the qilin, transformed from the essence of mountains. In all their myriad forms, they are ancient gods. Such gods vary in strength and are many in kind."
Shen Mu fell into thought.
Each of these four kinds of ancient gods had its own formidable aspect.
Even among the gods born of sacrifice there were beings as mighty as the Four Emperors of the Ancient Gods, and among the gods born of heaven and earth there were powers as dreadful as the Earth Mother Yuanjun.
And among the Dao-born ancient gods there were those as "weak" as Lady Tianyin.
Of course, Lady Tianyin's weakness was only relative to Tiangong and Tubo; in truth she too was exceedingly powerful. And since Shen Mu had revived her, Lady Tianyin had shaken off the bonds of the Great Dao, and her strength was now even greater.
Gu Xiao said abruptly, "The birth of every ancient god is bound up with the Creators — so why would the ancient gods want to wipe out the Creators? Brother Luo, being a Creator yourself, do you know the answer to that?"
Luo Xiao shook his head. "My people went through the War of Destruction and the War of Blood and Rust; much of our history was lost, and the Ancestral Court vanished. I came out this time to seek the lost history of those two wars. And I wanted to see whether the Creators still have any chance of returning to the Ancestral Court."
Gu Xiao's eyes flickered. "And if you learn that lost history and find that the Creators deserved their fate — how would you face yourself then?"
Luo Xiao's face flushed red. "I do not know about the rest, but the clansmen who raised me were good people. We opened up the void to escape the chaos of war — we are no gang of monstrous villains! I do not believe our forebears deserved their fate."
Gu Xiao laughed. "Whether they deserved it or not is hardly for you to judge, Brother Luo — after all, you know little enough about those dark primeval years."
Dahong said with a smile, "So then, little brother Xiao, you must know those dark primeval years very well?"
Gu Xiao said hastily, "I was only saying it in passing. Don't frighten me, Brother Hong."
The two roared with laughter.
Shen Mu laughed along with them.
Luo Xiao watched the three of them laughing merrily, not knowing what they were laughing at, and could only laugh twice along with them.
The smile faded from Shen Mu's face, and he looked out the window.