Chapter 1405 — The Origins of Summoning Arts
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Long Xiao's heart jolted. "To the Great Void?
The world made by those Creators who fled the Ancestral Court?
" "Indeed," Shen Mu said. "That is the place. The Creators built the Other Shore Void there; you may take your behemoths there and breed and thrive.
Of course, the Heavenly Court is attacking it even now, and you will be expected to do your part.
" His consciousness rippled, pouring the present state of the Other Shore Void into Long Xiao's mind. Long Xiao hesitated. If the Heavenly Court was assaulting the Other Shore Void, then once they went there, he and the primeval behemoths would have no choice but to enter the war. From the situation Shen Mu had shown him, if the Heavenly Court was resolved to wipe the Other Shore Void from existence, then the Great Void, the Void Bridge, and even the Other Shore Void itself could never hold! Even if he and the primeval behemoths of the back of the Ancestral Court could flee there, it would only put off the hour of their death.
Studying his face, Shen Mu said, unhurried, "If you choose not to go to the Great Void, then there is still one chance: an alliance with the Eleventh Heavenly Venerable. " Long Xiao blinked, at a loss as to his meaning.
Shen Mu said, "The Heavenly Court's Eleventh Heavenly Venerable stands outside the Ten. She has one gift, and that is the forging of artifacts capable of commanding a Heavenly Venerable. What is more, every such artifact comes from her hand, and she knows the weakness of every one of them.
But because she stands outside the Ten, an alliance with her carries great peril; both you and she may well be destroyed by them.
" Long Xiao's face flickered, now dark, now bright. The second road Shen Mu pointed out to him was likewise fraught with enormous risk. The Ten Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court would never suffer him to fall into the hands of any single one of their number; joining hands with the Eleventh would bring the Ten down to strangle them both. And this road, too, concealed a malicious design. So long as he did as Shen Mu directed, then when the Ten went to war with him and the Eleventh, the killing would shake the heavens and shatter the earth, and the back of the Ancestral Court would become a second battlefield! "Is there a third road?
" Long Xiao asked.
Shen Mu smiled faintly. "The third road is the most vicious of all. When the Ten departed just now, they invited me to a council of the Heavenly Alliance, whose business is precisely how to carve up the back of the Ancestral Court, along with other great matters.
I will be granted a stretch of territory in the back of the Ancestral Court, and you may openly pledge yourself to me and become a great general under my banner.
" Long Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he shook his head. "You cannot even preserve yourself, so how will you preserve me? " "It is precisely because I cannot preserve myself that there is a thread of life.
" Shen Mu laughed.
"The Ten are not of one body; each contends with the others. Yet they share a single aim: to keep the peace among themselves until all other enemies are rooted out. They will not tear off the mask with the Heavenly Court's Eleventh, and so they will allot her a share of the interests in the back of the Ancestral Court. They can allot it to the Eleventh, and they can allot it to me as well, for I have someone among the Ten. " Long Xiao frowned.
"You can preserve yourself, but I have no one among the Heavenly Venerables.
If I pledge myself to you, will they tolerate me?
" "Pledge yourself to any one of the Eleven and you break the balance; pledge yourself to me, and the balance holds. We two are the weakest of the Twelve Heavenly Venerables, and therefore we have a chance to survive whole. " Shen Mu spoke without haste. "The chance is small, but it can be fought for. " Long Xiao paced to and fro, unable to decide, then suddenly raised his head. "Then is there a fourth road?