Chapter 1150 — Can I Devour You?
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
The Northern Heaven was the domain of the Yin Heavenly Emperor, who dwelt in the Nether Capital, a continent formed from a piece of Tubo's horn, just like the continent that bore Shen Mu's name. Yet besides that horn-shaped land, there was also the Nether Sea, a treasure refined by the Yin Heavenly Emperor, and its vastness was in no way inferior to the Nether Capital continent.
Beyond the Nether Capital stretched a star region formed by the Forty Star Mansions, and within the boundless cosmos floated heaven after heaven. Now the Yin Heavenly Emperor too had led the great army of the Nether Capital toward the Heavenly Court, preparing to attack the Great Void.
The four great sects of the Great Void had suffered a disastrous defeat, and the Ten Heavenly Venerables were enraged.
This time they had mobilized the forces of the four emperors, including the Yin Heavenly Emperor, intending to trample the Great Void flat in one stroke.
As Shen Mu roamed through the Nether Capital, he saw that every building of its celestial palace was dark and sinister. The murals and sculptures on the palace walls were none other than the little ghosts and ghost kings of the Nether City, or the images of all manner of demon gods, and even totems of the Great Black Heaven.
Yet the most numerous of all were the statues and totems of Tubo, along with a wide variety of relief murals of Tubo. "Huh? " The little Tubo popped his head out from the Dragon Qilin's ear and studied those relief murals with suspicion, unable to understand why the Yin Heavenly Emperor worshipped him so fervently.
Yan'er plucked him out and set him on the Dragon Qilin's head, rewarding him with a spiritual pill.
After all, he had been the one to discover Crown Prince Qingzong, and that deserved a reward. Shen Mu glanced around.
The Yin Heavenly Emperor had taken most of the Nether Capital's military strength away, so not much here could threaten Shen Mu.
"The Yin Heavenly Emperor is definitely a fanatical worshiper of Tubo!
" Shen Mu thought, looking at those statues of Tubo.
He went from the Nether Capital to the Star Mansion of Shangli Palace and entered one of the heavens.
There he observed the life of the people and studied Ling Tianzun's manuscript. Looking around, he found that the beings here fared no better than those in the Western Heaven.
Although the Yin Heavenly Emperor was a great emperor among the human race, controlling souls and standing as an equal to Tubo, in his territories human beings still lived at the very bottom, becoming sacrifices to the ancient gods and demigods.
These people struggled to survive; they had to face floods and ferocious beasts from time to time, suffer the exploitation of the mighty adepts among the demigods, and endure the petty tempers of the demon gods—for if sacrifices were not offered at regular intervals, the demon gods would send down calamities. Shen Mu saw one temple after another, their incense blazing—or perhaps it could not be called incense, for the people of nearby towns prepared cattle and sheep or young boys and girls to offer to the lofty demon gods.
When the incense was lit, demon gods would ride upon billows of demonic qi at the head of demonic generals, and feast on the offerings. When he passed by the great river of this heaven, he also saw villagers placing young girls on bamboo rafts and letting the rafts drift downstream. That was the sacrifice to the River God; once the River God had eaten the girls on the rafts, he would not unleash great floods to drown the villages on both banks.
He also saw villagers throwing virgin boys and girls into a volcano, in which the Mountain God dwelt. If tribute were not paid, the Mountain God would grow angry, the volcano would erupt, and crimson flames would spread for a thousand li, burning countless people to death.
Shen Mu then arrived at the most prosperous place in this heaven and saw countless adepts being used as slaves to mine mountains.