Chapter 1504 — Setting a Trap in Secret

Shen Mu let out a sigh of relief. Several days of close fighting had taken a real toll on him; if it continued, he feared he might be the one to cough up blood from exhaustion.

"I want these people.

" His eyes flickered as he called out Lan Yutian, Yu Tianzun, the Lame Elder, the Southern Emperor, and the Ming Emperor. When the scholar heard him name the Southern Emperor and the Ming Emperor, he hesitated a moment.

Those two were the strongest pupils in the school, and their recovery would greatly help him escape.

Seeing his hesitation, Shen Mu drew his bow as if to shoot again. One schoolmaster said hastily, "Fine, they are yours. But you must swear that you will not enter the hall again to harass us.

" Shen Mu agreed and smiled. "This Hall of Pervading Fragrance is no great place anyway, and the others have nothing to do with me. I can't wait to leave this place—why would I bother to harass you?

" "You must swear that you will leave immediately with these people and not press your advantage any further!

" The scholar in the painting rose, pondered for a moment, then broke a branch from the Dao Tree, trimmed it into a teaching rod as thick as a finger, and sent it out of the painting. A schoolmaster caught the rod in both hands, carried it out of the schoolroom, and raised it high with both hands, saying, "This rod was refined from a branch of the Dao Tree and contains the spirit of my Great Dao.

Swear on it that, taking these people, you will leave at once. Then it shall attach itself to you, following you wherever you go. If you violate your oath, the rod will strike down. " Shen Mu hesitated and did not take it. Instead he scrutinized the rod.

It was straight, yet it seemed soft, and the grain on its bark was extremely strange—like Dao patterns, telling of the ineffable mysteries of the Great Dao of a former universe.

Compared with the other teaching rods, this one was far more exquisite; Dao patterns often burst out from its skin and revolved around it, emitting sweet Dao tones. Clearly, the schoolmasters' rods were not refined from branches of the Dao Tree; in power and mystery, they were inferior to this one.

Shen Mu glanced sidelong at the scholar beneath the tree and asked suspiciously, "You break off a branch of the Dao Tree, make me swear on it, and then say it will follow me. If I don't break my oath, doesn't that mean this rod becomes mine? " The scholar sat beneath the tree in silence.

The schoolmaster before Shen Mu said, "If you do not go back on your oath, there is no harm in giving you this rod. My attainment is beyond your ability to fathom.

This rod of mine is expert at striking the primordial spirit and the Dao heart. Whoever it may be, once the rod is raised, it will surely strike the primordial spirit. Once the primordial spirit is struck, the Dao heart becomes benighted and dull. " Shen Mu was half in doubt.

The scholar beneath the tree raised his brow and sneered, "You are more suspicious than anyone—clearly a man with no affinity. If you keep wavering, our trade is off. Go on shooting, then. I'd like to see how many tens of thousands of years it takes for you to shoot me dead! " Shen Mu smiled in a hurry and said, "Fine, I'll swear.

" With that, he snatched at the rod with one hand.

The schoolmaster refused to let go and said hurriedly, "The rod is in my hand. Swear on the rod in my hand! " Shen Mu forcibly wrested it away and laughed, "Better to swear while it's in my hand. It's not that I don't trust the Primordial Sage.

.

. well, it is exactly that I don't trust the Primordial Sage!

" Once he had snatched the rod, he first examined it carefully, then probed it point by point with primordial qi and divine sense, then peeled back half the willow leaf at his brow and stole a look through the vertical eye there. He found nothing to show that any trick was hidden within the rod, and only then was he at ease, sticking the willow leaf back into place.

The schoolmaster fumed, "Are you a thief? You're always worrying someone will plot against you! " "That's right, I am a thief. " Shen Mu made no denial.

First he had the scholar beneath the tree release Lan Yutian and the rest. When all of them had recovered their senses and come to stand behind him, Shen Mu finally swore on the rod that after he left, he would not take so much as half a step into the Hall of Pervading Fragrance.

As soon as the oath was made, Shen Mu felt his consciousness connect to the rod.

Not only to the rod—in an instant his thinking and awareness connected with the Dao Tree, the Dao Flowers, and the Dao Fruits within the fragment of the Great Luo Heaven! Shen Mu's countenance shifted. He immediately severed that thread of consciousness and said coldly, "You set a trap for me?

" Boom! He lifted the Glazed Azure-Sky Banner and smashed the schoolmaster in front of him into pieces. The scholar beneath the tree burst into loud laughter.

"Praise my name, and be granted eternal life!

You guessed right—I, the Primordial Sage, attained the Dao through faith.

When you swore, you recited my name, and that helped me break free!

Even if you sever your consciousness, as long as the oath remains, wherever you are, you will provide me sustenance without end! " Shen Mu's face turned livid. With a flick of his sleeve, he gathered everyone into his third eye, leaving only the Lame Elder and Lan Yutian, and turned away. From the schoolroom came the sound of clear chanting again, swirling through Shen Mu's mind without stopping for a long time.

The Lame Elder's face was full of worry, and he said quietly, "Shen'er, that scoundrel set a trap for you? Is it serious?

" "Not serious.

We'll talk once we're out!

" The three reached the front of the hall.

Outside, the layers of seals were even more complicated than when they had gone in.

Shen Mu looked at Lan Yutian and the Lame Elder and said, "The Primordial Sage of the Miluo Palace exploited my oath to imprint the school's chanting into my Dao heart, making me recite along against my will. It doesn't affect me yet, but the longer it goes, the stronger it gets. As things stand, I no longer have enough confidence to leave this place by myself. Can you take me out with you? " The Lame Elder carried Shen Mu on his back and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry—even if I die of exhaustion, I can still get you out.

" The two of them stepped back, then suddenly accelerated and charged into the layers of seals. Shen Mu closed his eyes and composed his mind, resisting the chanting from within.

He then unfolded the Domain of the Primordial Embryo's Divine Treasury, letting his own cultivation power pour ceaselessly into the two men's bodies to make up for what they had consumed.

All the way, they traveled as fast as wind and lightning. The Lame Elder pushed his speed to the absolute limit; the skin of his legs burst open, blood burning, as he strove forward to keep pace with Lan Yutian. After more than ten days, even though Shen Mu's cultivation power sustained them, the Lame Elder's physical strength could not be replenished.

He exhausted his physical strength and could only hold on stubbornly by sheer willpower. Lan Yutian slowed down.

The Lame Elder clenched his teeth and rasped, "Don't stop. If we stop, no one gets out.

" Lan Yutian had no choice but to steel himself and charge on. Two days later, Lan Yutian burst through the layers of seals around the Hall of Pervading Fragrance.

He looked back but did not see the Lame Elder or Shen Mu, and his heart sank.

Boom—A tremor sounded, and a figure covered in blood, wreathed in blazing fire, burst out of the seals, tumbling into a black mountain. The people outside the hall rushed forward and saw the Lame Elder burned black all over like charcoal, with Shen Mu lying beside him.

They were about to approach, but Shen Mu had already climbed to his feet.