Chapter 1664 — Boundless Magic Power
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
" Shen Mu raised a second finger.
"You are not to go and see the Void Heavenly Venerable. When the Heavenly Court and Jingping fight their decisive battle, you may see her then. " Achou hesitated a moment. "That too, as you say. " Shen Mu raised a third finger, his face darkening slightly. "No deciding things on your own, no reckless wild doings! Whatever you mean to do, you must discuss it with me first!
" Achou's brows lifted, and after a moment he said in his thick, muffled voice, "You are quite the grand one now. Very well, as you say.
" Shen Mu smiled. "You must swear an oath to the Earth Lord. " Achou said tentatively, "To which Earth Lord shall I swear? Or shall I swear to myself?
" Shen Mu said, "To the Earth Lord of Jingping, Shen Fengqing, of course. " Achou had no choice but to swear to Shen Fengqing.
No sooner had he begun his oath than a cold wind blew in gusts and demonic qi came surging; Shen Fengqing descended, spinning amid the demonic fire and demonic qi, twin horns atop his head and demonic flame wreathing his body, his voice heavy yet touched with a child's lilt.
"Who calls upon the great sovereign of Youdu, in whom wisdom and beauty both reside. .
.
the Earth Lord! " Catching sight of Achou, Shen Fengqing was startled and overjoyed at once; forgetting to finish his speech, he rushed over in a fluster.
"Big fellow, you're alive again! And you're so much smaller now, smaller even than me!
" Achou's face went stern, and he barked, "As an Earth Lord, you must not carry on like this!
I am going to conclude the Covenant of the Earth Lord with you.
Stand up straight.
. . stop clinging to me, stand straight.
.
. don't touch my head! Stand straight!
" He swore his oath to Shen Fengqing with the utmost reverence and concluded with him the Covenant of the Earth Lord: should he violate the three rules, Shen Fengqing might devour his soul. Shen Fengqing was beside himself with excitement at the sight of him, and fighting down the urge to pounce, waited until he had finished the words of the oath before flinging himself at him. Achou, helpless, could only keep a straight face and, in his thick muffled voice, instruct him in a few of the principles of being an Earth Lord.
The deaths of the Earth Lord and Kaihuang had struck Shen Fengqing a heavy blow, forcing him to grow into a youth; in all these days he had been joyless and sullen, and only on learning that Kaihuang still lived had he smiled again. Now, seeing Shen Mu resurrect Achou, he recovered the heart of a youth once more.
"There is one more thing I must beg of you, Brother Daoist. " Shen Mu had Shen Fengqing fetch the Earth Lord's Book of Life and Death, and said, his gaze flickering, "I wish to find the reincarnated bodies of Taichu's two souls here in Jingping.
" Achou shook his head and did not take the Book of Life and Death.
"Now that Jingping has an Earth Lord, and the Book of Life and Death as well, finding Taichu's reincarnations will not be difficult. What the Earth Lord lacks is only a good teacher. Better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish; let me instruct him for two days, and he will be able to seek out Taichu's reincarnations himself. " Shen Mu let out a breath of relief and bowed.
"Thank you, Brother Daoist.
" Achou returned the salute. "You are too kind.
Earth Lord, come with me. " Shen Fengqing followed him out; the two sought a quiet place in Shen Mu's heavenly palace, where Achou taught with all his heart and Shen Fengqing studied with all his mind, grasping everything at a touch, which pleased Achou greatly. Two days later, Achou and Shen Fengqing emerged, and Achou said to Shen Mu, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, the Earth Lord is ready for use. " Shen Mu thanked him once more.
"Brother Daoist, do not for a moment forget the Covenant of the Earth Lord.
" The Lord of Heaven laughed.
"And if we break it, do you really mean to take our souls? After all our years of friendship. .