Chapter 768 — Deep Karmic Ties Between Mother and Son
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu looked at the suppressed incarnation of Tu Bo. In the Longhan Era he must have been an incomparably mighty demon-god, yet burdened with a whole body of sin, he had no choice but to endure ceaseless torment in the karmic fire.
Tu Bo was selfless; even if the one who erred was himself, he would never show mercy.
Yet from this, too, one could glimpse just how many ancient gods and half-gods had died at Tu Bo's hands in those years.
The karmic fire had burned for a million years and still blazed fiercely to this day. Tu Bo had used hundreds of karmic-fire merit steles to suppress himself, hoping to wash away his own sins.
"The reincarnated Tu Bo of that time must have been in a state of boundless rage. The rage let him break through his shackles; in those days he was completely controlled by his demonic nature."
Shen Mu thought of the brother at his side and drew a comparison. The Tu Bo controlled by demonic nature held only the desire to kill in his heart — and in this, Shen Fengqing was still somewhat different.
Shen Fengqing was more like a savage yet innocent child. Though many people told Shen Mu that Shen Fengqing was controlled by demonic nature and knew only slaughter, Shen Mu still felt that his brother was not controlled by demonic nature — rather, he controlled it.
Now, weighing the deeds of Tu Bo's incarnated body against the way Shen Fengqing handled things, he grew all the more certain of this.
"A little farther ahead lies the place where Shen Fengqing's punishment was suffered."
The Deputy Soul-Suppressing Envoy hesitated, then said, "I will escort you only this far. I will not go in."
Shen Mu smiled. "Walk with me a little farther. Once we arrive, I will not press you to stay, Daoist Brother."
The Deputy Soul-Suppressing Envoy had no choice but to steel himself and continue on. Ahead, karmic-fire merit steles stood thick, a dense forest of them. After traveling three or four li, the surroundings suddenly opened up: verdant green hills, a small river flowing down from the mountain, winding through a stretch of paddy fields before emptying into a lake.
Several plumed-crested fire pheasant-dragons were racing through the fields, chasing a three-legged toad, cackling without pause. The toad plopped into the lake, and the pheasant-dragons stood at the shore, furiously clucking and clacking at the toad as it floated up in the water.
Shen Mu was stunned. In this barren, desolate Youdu, no green could be seen anywhere; everywhere were volcanic lava, everywhere demons, fiends, and monsters, ghosts covering the ground.
And yet here, at the renowned Yusuo Pass of Youdu — a forbidden ground where the most vicious criminals were suppressed — there was such a stretch of green hills and clear waters. What a strange, absurd thing!
He looked down the mountain and saw several households; a woman was spinning yarn before her door, turning a loom, and several farm girls were picking mulberry leaves to feed silkworms.
In the fields, several farmers were picking vegetables.
This did not look like Youdu, nor like a forbidden ground holding hardened criminals; rather, it looked like a peaceful, tranquil little village in the Barren Wastes.
"There is no karmic fire upon them — or if there ever was, it burned out long ago."
The Deputy Soul-Suppressing Envoy said in a low voice, "After they broke into Youdu back then, it was almost walking into a net. In Youdu, the Heavenly Court's four great military commissioners, and other powers besides, lay hidden. After they broke in, they hid here and there; within a few days, you were born, and then the Heavenly Court's pursuers found them. What happened after, you should still remember, shouldn't you?"
Shen Mu shook his head and said, his voice rough, "My brother remembers. I had not yet been born then."
"Everyone who struck Mother, I ate them all!" Shen Fengqing said viciously.