Chapter 2354: The Earth Mother's Objective

The mining supervisor's shout left even He Lingchuan without an answer. Zhu Xiuer stepped forward two paces and said to him:

"This is the monster we must track. Tell me, doesn't it have a leader?"

"It does!" the mining supervisor said, "It is a stone giant five zhang tall, as if kneaded from earth and stone, with moss, mushrooms, and small trees growing on its body!"

"On the day it descended, it personally swallowed the city lord! Its monster underlings followed suit, publicly devouring officials as if holding a banquet. Everyone who saw it was terrified out of their wits." The mining supervisor swallowed, "Other monsters all call it 'Mother Sovereign'! I have only seen it once; afterward it stayed in that strange city and never appeared again."

"Indeed, it is the Earth Mother." Dong Rui nodded, "That strange city must be Yujing City."

Zhu Xiuer then said, "The Earth Mother does not necessarily stay in the city all the time; it's just that mortals do not know its whereabouts."

"I am the mining supervisor; when transporting ore, I have to deal with monsters." The mining supervisor added, "I heard them say that after Mother Sovereign awoke, she soon complained that the local ore veins had been exhausted, so she needed to find another source of xuanjing, and also said that operating the strange city consumed a great deal."

A great monster like the Earth Mother has an enormous demand for spiritual energy and xuanjing, and furthermore, it has a large entourage of monsters that also need to be provided for.

When the elder brother eats meat, does the younger brother not deserve to drink some broth?

"So these monsters took the entire Yujing City and ran out, everywhere plundering xuanjing mines?"

"Shaocheng is the third city they have occupied; the first two were Wuzhou in the northwest and Chongning State. Their leader probably wants to occupy a larger realm, with more people and more xuanjing mines."

Zhu Xiuer said to Dong Rui, "This Earth Mother is even more outrageous than your snail toad—not carrying a shell, but carrying an entire city!"

The Soul-Capturing Mirror clicked twice: "This Earth Mother, could it not be an oversized snail toad?"

He Lingchuan pondered:

"Do you know whether Shaocheng belongs to Ling Mountain?"

"I know, I know!" the mining supervisor nodded, "The former city lord obtained his position only with Ling Mountain's support; otherwise, in this chaotic age, this chaotic age..."

He trailed off.

In this chaotic age, a small power like Shaocheng, if it does not cling to a strong thigh, easily becomes someone else's dish.

"Our xuanjing mines, once mined and refined, Ling Mountain regularly sends people every two months to collect." As the mining supervisor, he naturally knew many details unknown to ordinary townsfolk, "That price is about thirty percent below market value, but Ling Mountain will provide Shaocheng with protection and also bring in outside supplies and weapons!"

Generally speaking, with Ling Mountain's protection, Shaocheng would be much safer. After all, there are no overly powerful local forces in the surrounding areas.

But he never imagined that the calamity of the Earth Mother would render even Shaocheng's clinging to a strong thigh useless!

Zhu Xiuer raised the key question: "During the period Shaocheng was occupied, what was Ling Mountain's response?"

Ling Mountain could not possibly ignore the Earth Mother; otherwise, with this bad example, all future great monsters could disregard it.

Having accepted others' protection fees, one must fulfill the duty of protection; otherwise, Ling Mountain's prestige would suffer greatly.

"There have been two battles. Outside the city, many people came, seemingly also immortals, whose divine abilities all bore light... but they did not fight the strange city, either dying or fleeing."

He Lingchuan pressed: "How do you know they were sent by Ling Mountain?"

Dong Rui understood his implication, saying it might possibly be the Heavenly Demons?

"Ah, I heard them shouting curses during battle, saying Ling Mountain would not let off such a scoundrel as the Earth Mother, and so on, and then they were eaten."

"Do you know which sects these people came from?"

The mining supervisor stammered, "I am not sure; I rarely leave Shaocheng."

Nowadays, the wild countryside is unsafe; ordinary people seldom leave the protection of cities unless they follow large caravans on official roads.

Dong Rui interjected: "Recently, has the Earth Mother received any other foreign visitors?"

Have those two gods come?

The mining supervisor shook his head: "I don't know; I spend most of my time in the mines."

"Do you not know where the Earth Mother intends to go?"

"Not..." the mining supervisor was shaking his head when he recalled something, and his head shook slowly, "Ah yes, when I went a few days ago to deliver the last batch of xuanjing ore, upon entering I heard several monsters say they were going to Shenguo, to go to some desert. At the time I was still pleased, thinking these plague gods were leaving—could the people of Shaocheng rid themselves of them?"

Little did he know, they had no intention of bidding him farewell, but instead directly stuffed everyone into their bellies and carried them away!

Shenguo? Desert? Hearing these two keywords, He Lingchuan's expression changed.

Shenguo's vicinity also has two or three deserts, but He Lingchuan could only think of one: Panlong Desert!

What is the Earth Mother doing in Panlong Desert? There are no xuanjing veins there.

Zhu Xiuer shook her head: "The Earth Mother is truly old-fashioned, still using ancient methods."

In ancient times, great monsters ran rampant, lawless; devouring an entire city's populace was nothing. Without protection from a great monster of the Xian Sect or other supernormal forces, civilians easily became meat on the chopping block.

In the present world, emerging great monsters rarely do this anymore, the reason being self-evident. But the Earth Mother's strength allows it to still maintain its innate disposition of running amok without restraint.

He Lingchuan mused: "How long did it sleep before awakening?"

The Blood Demon replied: "If no accident, given its strength, at least seven or eight hundred years, though I do not know whether there were intermittent periods in between."

The stronger one was in ancient times, the harder it is to endure in an age of scarce spiritual energy, forcing one into prolonged slumber.

"If it has long been asleep in the past, why would it know of Panlong Desert? Why would it go to Shenguo?"

The predecessor of Panlong Desert was a wilderness; it became a desert only after the fall of Panlong City, and to this day it has only a history of over a hundred years. If the Earth Mother slept for several hundred years, how could it know of Panlong Desert's existence?

Zhu Xiuer speculated: "Either, it has a clone acting in the human world."

The Earth Mother's main body could be asleep, while perhaps a weaker clone remains awake?

He Lingchuan said slowly: "Or perhaps someone told it."

"You mean a person, or a god?" Dong Rui understood what he was implying.

He Lingchuan stood up; the mining supervisor saw him take out a flute and begin to play.

Strangely, there was no sound.

"Do you still have relatives nearby?"

"My second uncle, who lives in the village county beyond a hundred li."

"Go rely on him." He Lingchuan glanced at Dong Rui, who then took out a waterskin and dry rations, as well as two ingots of gold and silver, "Barring accidents, the Earth Mother will not come again."

The mining supervisor wept gratefully.

Soon, a flock of giant cranes flew in from the horizon, Xu Xu landing before everyone, their wing-winds whipping up and causing the mining supervisor's hair to dance wildly.

He Lingchuan then dispatched a giant crane to carry this unfortunate soul to the village county, afterward returning to the flock.

Dong Rui put away the demonic puppet, and the two of them and the spider mounted the crane and rose into the sky, heading for Shen State.

"Let's go, revisiting the old place."