Chapter 1280 — The Inner Demon Becomes a Venerable
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
"Lord Mu!"
Xi Tianjun, Qi Xiayu, and the rest stared at the figure stepping out of the darkness, unable to hide the shock in their hearts.
Even Yan Yunxi, the Martial Celestial Master, and the others could not help but be shaken; never had it crossed their minds that Lord Hao's inner demon would turn out to be Shen Mu!
The Woodcutter Sage above all — Shen Mu was his second disciple, always a clever, impish sort, forever bounding up and down; he had even thought that if Shen Mu would only settle down and stop stirring up trouble on every side, he might well reach greater heights.
Yet that the mightiest being in the world today should have Shen Mu for an inner demon — he found it truly beyond belief!
"Judging by Lord Hao's present state, he must already be gravely wounded, wounded so badly that he has no command of his Dao-heart at all, which is why the inner demon has leapt out beyond his control. Were he clear-headed, he would be able to master the inner demon, and would never let the Taixu Demon Realm conjure it forth."
The Woodcutter Sage swiftly judged Lord Hao's condition, his face strange, and said in a low voice, "The Great Emperor is truly formidable, to have wounded Lord Hao to such a degree. Though it is not wholly the Great Emperor's doing — Lord Kaihuang and the God King Langwo must also have seized the chance to deal him heavy blows."
"Lord Hao's inner demon is not the Great Emperor, not the Lord of Heaven, but this fellow Shen Mu..."
His face grew stranger still, and he could not help shaking his head. "This must never reach the boy's ears, or his tail will be up in the clouds. He would be smug to death over it, and he would mock me for good measure..."
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he suddenly sensed something; he turned to look, and saw that within the canyon space seemed to ripple a few times.
The Woodcutter Sage peered at it intently, but in the Eighth Canyon there was no further change.
"Was it my eyes playing tricks on me?"
He turned back, gazing at the dark valley ahead, and said quietly to Zhuo Cha, Yan Yunxi, and the others, "If I am not mistaken, Lord Hao's wounds must be at the very edge of death. Only so could he lose command of his Dao-heart and give birth to the inner demon Lord Mu. We truly do have a chance to kill him!"
Everyone's heart leapt with joy.
Yan Yunxi studied that inner demon Shen Mu closely, then asked, turning his head, "The inner demon Lord Mu? How is he different from the inner demon Shen Mu?"
"The inner demon Lord Mu and the inner demon Shen Mu are certainly not the same — one is the dread in Lord Hao's heart, the other merely an inner demon Shen Mu."
The Woodcutter Sage explained, "In Lord Hao's heart, Lord Mu is his enemy; his inner demon — he has fought this inner demon within his Dao-heart I know not how many tens of thousands of times, and never once has he slain it. That is to say, the inner demon Lord Mu has been strengthened by him, until Lord Mu has almost no weakness at all, his divine powers and Dao arts all but perfect. One might well say..."
He hesitated, then said, "One might well say that the inner demon Lord Mu is the most perfect enemy, the most perfect opponent, that Lord Hao can imagine!"
Everyone was aghast.
Xiuzhong murmured, "The Holy Infant holds such a place in Lord Hao's mind?"
"Perhaps higher than you imagine."
Yan Yunxi hesitated, then said, "I once heard that Lord Hao created the Hundred Methods of Slaughtering Mu, all for the sake of killing Lord Mu. The Hundred Methods of Slaughtering Mu are arts and divine powers Lord Hao spent several hundred thousand years creating, made solely for Lord Mu. From this it is clear that the Lord of Heaven and the Great Emperor are not the foremost foes in Lord Hao's heart; even the Heavenly Duke and the Earth Lord do not rank. Lord Mu alone is his foremost enemy!"