Chapter 767 — The Karmic Red Lotus Stele
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Because he delighted in devouring demigods and post-natal beings — he could inhale a million people in a single breath — he committed a great crime. So after his death he was suppressed here at the Jade Lock Pass, and day and night he walks through this forest, enduring the agony of karmic fire.
A million years have passed since then. He walks on and on, but no matter how many years he walks, he cannot walk out of the forest. Only on the day his sins are burned away will he step out of it — and what will greet him then will be the devouring maw of Tu Bo.
" With that, he gave Shen Mu a sidelong glance.
Shen Mu said solemnly, "Tu Bo distinguishes clearly between reward and punishment; he is just and selfless. This was well done! " The deputy envoy thought, "You, who have done every kind of evil — are you truly not afraid?
" Of course, he dared not say that aloud. He continued forward, and they met another figure — the primordial spirit of a demigod, carrying a mountain on his back as he walked through the karmic fire, sizzling and shrieking without cease as the flames scorched him. "This is Xie Wuqi, the crown prince of the Longhan Heavenly Court, a mighty being carrying in his veins the blood of the Heavenly Emperor and the Heavenly Empress.
When he reached adulthood, his strength rivaled that of an Imperial Throne powerhouse, and so he rose in rebellion and plotted to usurp the throne.
After death he was suppressed here," said the deputy envoy. "A demigod. .
.
Imperial Throne? " The big-headed doll's drool poured down like a waterfall, and he rubbed his hands together in excitement. Shen Mu abruptly felt his body sink — and saw that he was already crawling on all fours toward Xie Wuqi, meaning to eat him. "Brother, do not act rashly! Seeing Mother is what matters most! " The big-headed doll uttered a regretful "what a pity," and only then did Shen Mu regain control of his physical body. They continued on, and Deputy Soul-Suppression Envoy Mo Qimi said, "Among the gods and demons suppressed here, the farther in one goes, the greater their sins. In every age and dynasty, the most vicious and evil beings have been suppressed and imprisoned in this place. No matter how ferocious they were in life, no matter how their magic flooded the heavens, in death they must suffer here!
" Having said this, he looked at Shen Mu again.
Shen Mu remained wholly unmoved.
"Mother never committed any great evil.
Why is she suppressed in the deepest part of the forest? " The big-headed doll was deeply indignant.
"It was all my doing — Mother had nothing to do with it! Tu Bo is unjust! When we catch him, I'll tear off his head and his legs and eat him!
" The deputy envoy shuddered several times.
"This fiend is savage beyond all reason," he thought. They continued deeper, encountering more and more mighty primordial spirits suppressed here. No matter how heaven-reaching and earth-piercing their arts had been in life, here they suffered the torment of karmic fire like common mortals.
And this torment had almost no end; none of them knew when they would be set free.
"Is Mother suffering this same torment?
" Grief shadowed Shen Mu's heart. They passed untold numbers of Karmic Fire Merit Steles before finally reaching the center of the forest. Here the steles were dense — one every three or five paces — yet few suppressed primordial spirits were to be seen. Shen Mu was puzzled.
Then, abruptly, he saw that the black steles ahead formed a great circle nearly a thousand zhang across, and within the circle were rings of steles, layer locked upon layer!
He looked toward the center: there, an ox-horned, tiger-headed deity was bound by chain after chain of black iron, karmic fire blazing about him in endless conflagration!
Shen Mu's face changed drastically. He looked at the deputy envoy, but Mo Qimi seemed not to see this ring of steles, nor the imprisoned deity at its heart, and simply walked around it.