Chapter 1610 — The Price of Curiosity
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Beneath the Chaos Sea, the woman looked up and watched Shen Mu and the Empress climb swiftly, drawing farther and farther from her, sinking ever deeper into the great abyss of Guixu in the Sixteenth Universe. "At last the day of my release has come, Teacher.
" She murmured softly, "You said I was too extreme in my ways, and so you sealed me here.
But you never imagined, did you, that in the end it would be Old Seven who set me free. Heh heh heh.
. . " She laughed low. "You have grown old.
I can feel the rot in your dao heart. For a being like you, when the dao heart ages, death is not far off.
The moment your dao heart dies is the moment you die. Teacher, I will weep for you — and I will laugh for my own release!
" "You always said my methods were too cruel.
You were so merciful, wanting to save everyone, and yet you failed every single time! Perhaps only someone like me can accomplish what you never could! " Her gaze followed Shen Mu and the Empress closely; gradually they sank into the darkness and could no longer be seen.
"Even if Old Seven and the Goddess of Guixu cannot save me this time, I have another road to walk. " She laughed softly.
"You know it well — I have many means. You said yourself that I am ruthless, that my deeds offend heaven and violate nature. Heh heh.
So long as that Goddess of Guixu cultivates my Mirror of Guixu, what does it matter if I am not released? " Her face beneath the sea looked very happy.
"I will still live again. You know it — when the Goddess of Guixu awakens, that is my awakening.
. .
" On the stem of the twin lotus, Shen Mu and the Empress climbed swiftly; all around them the history of the Sixteenth Universe flashed past like a revolving lantern, rapidly recounting the six hundred million years of the Sixteenth Universe's history.
The Sixteenth Epoch of the universe had lasted far less time than other universes.
At the very birth of this universe, countless dao-attainers had smuggled themselves across, crowding out and occupying its mass and energy.
The Sixteenth Universe was far, far smaller than Shen Mu and the others had imagined, and the coming of its formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness was far, far swifter than they had imagined. For so many dao-attainers to smuggle themselves across required an exchange of mass and energy: the mass and energy of the Sixteenth Universe was exchanged into the destruction kalpa of the Fifteenth Universe, and the dao-attainers exchanged themselves in — hence the Sixteenth Universe was so small.
An universe so small, holding so many dao-attainers, made the formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness of this universe extremely swift!
In the end, after only six hundred million years, the Sixteenth Universe collapsed completely, and all became emptiness! "Six hundred million years.
. .
" Shen Mu's eye twitched.
Their universe was the Seventeenth Epoch.
Taiyi had said the Seventeenth Epoch had already passed six billion years — ten times the lifespan of the Sixteenth.
Even so, the present universe was still in the formation phase of formation, abiding, decay, and emptiness, and had not yet reached the abiding phase. Yet as the number of dao-attainers in the Seventeenth Epoch increased, the universe would cease to grow and expand, and it ought to reach the abiding phase.
"If we let these prehistoric dao-attainers cross over as they please, I fear our universe will not hold out until it has fully grown before it is utterly annihilated.
" Shen Mu stopped climbing and fell into thought. "My dear! " The Empress halted as well, and Lady Yuanmu lowered her voice and called out, "What do you intend to do? " Shen Mu's eyes flickered.
"The two of you — since you have obtained the method of the Mirror of Guixu, why not cultivate it, and spare yourselves madness? " The Empress said indifferently, "Heavenly Venerable Mu should know the reason. " Lady Yuanmu laughed.