Chapter 1186 — The Void Beasts Invade
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
In years past Tian Gong too had dwelt in the Ancestral Court through long ages, and of the Ancestral Court he knew a great deal; in the Primeval Age there had been far too many uncanny legends concerning the Great Black Mountain. Some said that place was the ash left behind when the last universe was destroyed; others said that imprisoned there was a Demon King capable of destroying the whole of creation.
Creators had once gone to explore it, yet no matter how many went, not one ever came back.
In his day Tian Gong had likewise attempted to explore the Great Black Mountain of the Ancestral Court, and had arrived at a conclusion that made his blood run cold: that the universe had been born and destroyed no fewer than sixteen times.
And the Great Black Mountain was in truth a tree that propped up all things in the universe, save that, for reasons unknown, this divine tree had died, leaving behind nothing but a stump.
It must have perished at the destruction of the last universe, leaving later generations endless room for wondering.
Yet when Tian Gong explored the Great Black Mountain he had seen many exceedingly grotesque visions that chilled him to the bone, and from that time on he kept his distance.
So far as he knew, Tubo had also been to the Great Black Mountain; but when he asked Tubo what he had seen there, Tubo sealed his lips, refusing to speak of it, and he had no choice but to let the matter drop.
Among the Heaven Venerables who had entered the Ancestral Court, who would dare be so reckless as to claim the eerie Great Black Mountain for his own? Heaven Venerable Hong did not need his toes to work out who that person was.
"Heh heh.
I need not look at his face to picture how that little bastard looks when he is courting death!
" Though Heaven Venerable Hong laughed, his face was ashen. Yet for now, upon the Great Black Peak of the Great Black Mountain, Shen Mu still felt profound gratitude toward the two ancient gods within the Taiji Divine Egg, thinking that he had not seized their vein, and that they had pointed him toward a treasure ground second only to the Five Great Veins, a bond of goodwill between them.
But it had never occurred to him that he had forced his way into the Taiji Vein, slaughtered his way to its deepest reaches, driven his divine sword into the altar, and, reeking of murderous intent, extorted a hundred Taiji Divine Stones and a piece of Taiji Origin Stone. How could they possibly have sincerely directed him to obtain such a treasure ground?
Surely they were only too eager for him to go and get himself killed, the better to take back the Taiji Divine Stones and the Origin Stone. In the span of ten-odd days, Shen Mu had deciphered four Taishi runes, and his pace of study grew ever faster. He thought to himself: "Within half a year I shall have worked out every rune within the Taishi Egg.
Then, by inducing the Taishi Egg to converse with the ancient god's egg inside the Azure Heaven Canopy, I shall be able to make out the Dao runes of that ancient god's egg as well, clear as day!
" Full of confidence, he was about to press on with his studies when a sudden premonition came over him; he waved his hand to put away the Taishi Egg and rose to his feet. Dragon Qilin came striding over, his face flustered. "Sect Master, Yan'er and I have run into something strange.
.
.
" Shen Mu raised a hand.
"I already know.
Say no more. The Void Beasts are here!
" He hurried to the center of the Great Black Peak, where stood the jade pillar of the Glazed Azure Heaven Canopy, a pillar like a mountain, propping up the sky and standing upon the earth, translucent blue-green throughout.
Dragon Qilin opened his mouth to go on, then saw beyond the Black Wood a vast, sky-blotting tide of Void Beasts charging toward them, and hastily swallowed his words.