Chapter 1598 — Burning the Body as an Offering to Heaven
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"Her Highness the Empress seems even madder than when I last saw her."
Shen Mu was somewhat uneasy. Her Highness the Empress's symptoms had not eased in the least; they had worsened, worse than last time — raving and unhinged.
In truth, the present Empress could no longer be called the Empress, nor Yuanmu either, but rather the Goddess of Guixu.
For back in the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, the Ancient God of Taiji, greedy for quick results, had forcibly fused the Empress and Yuanmu together. Their consciousnesses were merged into one; neither had annihilated the other, but instead they had become a single whole, a strange state in which each was within the other.
The Ancient God of Taiji had sought in them a path by which he and his sister might fuse and attain the Dao, and the result was this bizarre Dao-attainer, the Goddess of Guixu.
The Goddess of Guixu had two personalities: one believed herself to be the Empress, the other believed herself to be Yuanmu. But in truth both were parts of the Goddess of Guixu — only, the Goddess had been tormented into madness and could not perceive it.
The Empress and Yuanmu had fought all their lives. When they were twin lotuses on a single stem, that was one thing; but to dwell in one body at the same time was quite another matter.
Crash — the sound of water was deafening.
Shen Mu and Gong Tianzun, battered by the waters of the Netherworld River, came through the Great Rift into Guixu.
Above Guixu floated dead stars and constellations, enormous planets hanging over their heads, shattered and broken, drawn on by the Great Abyss; now and then a star fell into the Abyss and burst into dazzling light.
There were even ruined heavens that drifted here, drawn in, caught by the Great Abyss and torn apart.
The Netherworld River rushed on, and when it reached this place it too was drawn by the Great Abyss and poured into that unfathomable cosmic rift.
Shen Mu poked his head out of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, his gaze flickering. Guixu had grown more complete than when he had last come; it must have recovered its original appearance.
When he had last come here, the Heavenly River had poured into the Eastern Sea of the Primordial World; it had not flowed straight into the Great Abyss — rather, the waters of the Eastern Sea had poured into the Abyss.
Now the Heavenly River had returned to its original course, flowing through Youdu, and in Youdu it became the Netherworld River. Only thus had this universe regained its true face.
Suddenly, the Great Abyss of Guixu, having swallowed too many stars and fragments of heavens, gave rise to a tide, spewing streams of light outward.
This was the Guixu Tide; Shen Mu had encountered it on his last visit.
But this time, with the Netherworld River pouring in, the Guixu Tide erupted more violently and more magnificently than ever. The streams of light rolled on in vast procession, like another Heavenly River made of radiance and shadow, jetting into the void, flying off to no one knew where.
The Netherworld River, however, still poured into the Abyss, and was not ejected along with the Guixu Tide.
Two great flowers, twined about each other, rose slowly from the Abyss; it was around these twin lotuses on a single stem that the Netherworld River coiled as it flowed into the depths of the Abyss.
The twin lotuses were fresh and gorgeous; in so harsh an environment they were still bewitching.
"Gong Tianzun, don't you find it strange?"
Shen Mu stared at the two great flowers in a daze, then said suddenly, "The ancient gods are born of eggs, born of the Dao, born of sacrifice, born of heaven and earth. Among the Dao-born ancient gods are the Heavenly Duke, the Earth Earl, Tianyin, and the Empress and her sister."
Gong Tianzun did not know what she was driving at, and listened quietly.
"The Heavenly Duke, the Earth Earl, and Lady Tianyin have no companion treasures; only the Empress and her sister have companion treasures."