Chapter 1230 — Your Uncle Is Going to Beat Your Father
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
"The greater momentum?"
Shen Mu smiled scornfully, shook his head, and walked on. "Taichu, a million years ago you could say that to Heavenly Venerable Yu. Several hundred thousand years ago you could say that to Heavenly Venerable Yun. A dozen-odd years ago you could say that to me as well. But now you cannot say it."
He looked ahead. The mountains and rivers of the Yuan World were magnificent.
All living beings swarmed in their multitudes; across the great heavens, men came and went for profit.
"I borrow momentum now, to nurture a greater momentum. You seem to hold the greater momentum today, but it is hard to say what you will hold tomorrow."
"Your momentum is great, but it can be whittled down; mine is small, but it can grow!"
"This duel has only just begun!"
In the Western Lands, the Shangcang Divine Sect.
Shen Mu arrived, and met Xu Shenghua again. When the two came face to face, Xu Shenghua was teasing a little girl of three or four. Shen Mu looked, and looked again, his expression turning odd. "Xu Shenghua, a man cold as ice, actually has a child?"
The girl was surely the child of Xu Shenghua and Jing Yan: she had Xu Shenghua's thin lips and straight, proud nose bridge, and Jing Yan's brows and eyes and delicate air.
Shen Mu stepped forward and said with a smile, "Brother Xu, you live an easy life indeed, serving your wife and teaching your daughter here. What is the little one's name?"
Xu Shenghua lifted the girl and set her on his shoulder. The little girl said in a crisp, clear voice, "My name is Xu Mengqing. Uncle, are you that great demon king called Shen Mu?"
Shen Mu was startled, then laughed. "This little girl has no small courage, to speak aloud what is in your old father's heart."
Xu Shenghua roared with laughter.
Shen Mu warned him, "Mind she does not piss down your neck."
Xu Shenghua set the girl down. "You must not call him the great demon king; call him Heavenly Venerable Mu. Your Uncle Shen is formidable, and no weaker than your father."
Shen Mu said, sullen, "I have only just come back from beating Dao Lord Lin Xuan."
Xu Shenghua, straightening the little girl's collar, did not even raise his head. "I have beaten him too, and more than once. I have also gone to beat your brother, the Xuanliao Demon Ape. He is the Tathagata now, entering the Dao through dreams every day, roaming the myriad heavens and worlds; his strength is formidable as well."
Shen Mu said, "He is my brother. It would not be fitting for me to beat him."
"I have beaten Immortal Wang too."
Xu Shenghua thought for a moment. "The Lesser Yujing has less foundation than the Great Tingming Temple and the Daoist Gate, but these years Immortal Wang has been a master of scheming; he ran about Jingping seeking instruction everywhere, and actually comprehended a fearsome cultivation art. Formidable indeed."
Shen Mu said with feeling, "I come back so rarely, and yet you have all grown old and become famed elders."
Xu Shenghua rose and shot him a glance. "Are you trying to say that because I have not thrashed you all for so long, you have grown swollen with conceit?"
Shen Mu nodded, all smiles, and drew out the flying dagger he had obtained from the Ancestral Court, giving it to little Xu Mengqing. Gently he said, "Your uncle is going to thrash your father. Go play over there a while, and come back later."
Xu Mengqing ran off grinning with the flying dagger, then turned her head and called, "My father will beat you to death!"
Xu Shenghua waved a hand. "In truth, among those of my generation in the Yuan World, I am not invincible. I have crossed hands with Xing'an. His progress is swift, and he is near to catching up with me."
Shen Mu laughed. "Xing'an occupies a divine artifact, Heavenly Venerable Yu, within which lie hidden the Dao runes of the Ancient Gods. His cultivation speed must be terrifying indeed."