Chapter 1625 — Pure Goodness and Evil Thoughts
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
Shen Mu seemed to be speaking to them, and seemed to be speaking to himself: "The ancient gods, who live forever and never perish, would become eternal rulers. The human race and other postnatal races are born with shorter lifespans; after a mere hundred years of cultivation, even if they reach the divine realm, death is hard to escape, and high-end fighting strength simply cannot be preserved. By contrast, ancient gods who can grant blessings and bestow long life can use those granted years to gather countless followers. To leave the world without gods would only restore the rule of the ancient gods—and how many died in those years to overthrow the ancient gods' rule..."
The Ling Heavenly Venerable said, "When the Heaven Alliance was first founded, its very purpose was to overthrow the rule of the ancient gods."
Shen Mu let out a turbid breath and opened his eyes; his gaze recovered its brilliance. "The lifespan of the human race is limited, and half-gods live longer than humans. Even without the ancient gods, it would be very hard for the human race to turn defeat into victory on limited lifespans alone. You Heavenly Venerable, you opened the life-and-death spirit treasury and greatly raised the lifespans of divine-ability practitioners, raising the lifespan of a divine-ability practitioner to as much as eight hundred years! The Yu Heavenly Venerable opened the heavenly palace, letting people possess limitless lifespans—only then did the human race's path of rise begin."
He shook his head. "To sever everyone's life-and-death spirit treasury is no progress—it is regression! A mortal may become a god through cultivation; this spurs divine-ability practitioners to cultivate unceasingly, to advance. Without such a spur, many would lose their drive. It cannot be countenanced!"
The You Heavenly Venerable looked at the Book of Life and Death. "Mu Heavenly Venerable, you have passed the Earth Lord's test. You resisted the invasion of the demonic nature within the Book of Life and Death, and so you may inherit the Earth Lord's power and become the new Earth Lord. Your Dao-heart is very strong; you are fully capable of putting this power to good use."
Shen Mu's gaze fell upon the Earth Lord's Book of Life and Death. This Book of Life and Death was a monstrous instrument of slaughter, yet he shook his head. "I may have succeeded in resisting the demonic nature of the Book of Life and Death this time, but I may not succeed the next. The Book of Life and Death in truth already has a master, and that person is not me."
He had originally hoped to steal the Book of Life and Death and strike the names of Jingping and the people of Carefree Village from it, so that even if the Heavenly Court took control of Youdu, it could not exterminate the human race.
Yet now he knew that he was not the one who could hold the Book of Life and Death.
"The power of the Book of Life and Death is too great, its consequences too far-reaching; it can only rest in the hands of the true Earth Lord..."
Shen Mu's gaze was dragged away from the Book of Life and Death only with difficulty. "I am not the true Earth Lord, and I fear that if I command the power of the Book of Life and Death, I will do something foolish."
His voice was still somewhat hoarse: "The Book of Life and Death must never fall into the hands of the Heavenly Court. You Heavenly Venerable, the Earth Lord chose you to keep the Book of Life and Death—he must have had his reasons."
The You Heavenly Venerable's gaze settled upon the Book of Life and Death. After a moment he put it away and said, "Nor am I a fit master for the Book of Life and Death. After the Earth Lord gave it into my keeping, he hoped that I would succeed him, but through these million years I too have been fighting the invasion of the Book of Life and Death's demonic nature. In those days it was the Earth Lord who helped me suppress that demonic nature. If the Earth Lord is dead..."
He did not continue.