Chapter 1117 — Defeating the Earth Mother Yuanjun
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
" He sneered: "The Primeval Wood lies in Xiao Tianzun's hands, and the divine artifact Yu Tianzun suppresses it besides. With only the roots of the Primeval Wood and your three souls, I fear you would die a second time! " "The matter of a body is my own affair; you need not trouble yourself over it.
" The Earth Mother was still probing outside the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, searching for its weakness, and said coldly: "You need only summon my three souls for me! " Something stirred in Shen Mu's heart; the corner of his left eye twitched slightly, and he could not help but think of another little Primeval Wood — Gongsun Yan.
At once he understood the Earth Mother's intent in her eagerness to be resurrected.
A keen light flickered in Shen Mu's eyes. He said in a low voice: "Very well!
I will summon your three souls for you. But I need more than ten days to prepare!
" "Fine.
I will give you ten days! " The Earth Mother Yuanjun's roots whipped away at once and vanished deep into the earth.
The moment she was gone, the dense forest all around withered; in an instant it turned to dead wood, blackened and dull, and even the fallen leaves quickly rotted away.
All about was desolation. "Sect Master. . .
" Dragon Qilin was about to speak when Shen Mu raised a hand.
Dragon Qilin hastily shut his mouth and looked warily ahead.
Before them, that ancient Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse lay motionless.
Yan'er and the six heavenly dragons had meant to ask questions too, but at the sight they fixed their eyes on the Emperor-Corpse as well.
They had realized it too: though the imperial soul within the Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse had been driven into Youdu by Shen Mu, this was, after all, the Earth Mother's son, and the Earth Mother still had some standing before Tubo. She would surely be able to reclaim the Emperor-Corpse's soul. Yet the Earth Mother Yuanjun had left both the Emperor-Corpse and the stone coffin here, which showed that she had still not given up on the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, that strange treasure!
Suddenly a slender root drilled out of the ground, rolled up the Shanghuang Emperor-Corpse, and carried it into the stone coffin. The root coiled about the stone coffin, and the coffin gradually sank into the earth.
Shen Mu seized the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner and laughed: "It seems the Earth Mother Yuanjun has left.
.
.
" Dragon Qilin opened his mouth but said nothing. Just then, countless roots surged up from beneath the ground; the earth seemed to boil, and one thick root after another lashed out with a swish-swish-swish, coiling toward the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner! Dragon Qilin, Yan'er, and the others could not keep their footing; the surging earth flung them into the air.
In the very instant the Earth Mother struck, Shen Mu bowed, and the twenty-eight heavens of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner unfolded. A series of cracks rang out — bang, bang, bang — as one thick root after another was severed by the ever-shifting heavens! The Earth Mother Yuanjun's roots were so tough that only an Emperor Throne cultivator could cut them. Yet with Shen Mu himself commanding the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, making the twenty-eight heavens iterate back and forth and shift their order without pause, slicing through the Earth Mother's roots was as easy as chopping vegetables!
A muffled roar came from underground. The severed roots writhed and leapt within the twenty-eight heavens like great serpents, trying to break free of the Banner's hold and return to their main body. But how could Shen Mu let her take these roots back?
One root after another was sent deep into the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, beyond the Earth Mother Yuanjun's reach. "Mu Tianzun! " The earth shook violently once more; a vast, blackened thing was about to surface from underground!
It was the root of the Primeval Wood — immeasurably huge, countless roots curled together into a colossal ball of roots!