Chapter 1402 — The Realm of the Nine Prison Platform
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
At the edge of a great marsh there were herds of Kui oxen, their heads bent as they grazed on the lush water grass; when the grass around them was eaten bare, they would spring up on a single leg and leap to another place thick with growth, and there go on eating. The bulls among them had foul tempers and fought often, and whenever they fought, thunder would burst from their bellies, rumbling and shaking the air.
These giant Kui oxen were born able to command the thunder, and their strength was by no means weak.
Just then the shadow of a Tianzun appeared above the herd, divine light blazing around him like leaping flame, gathering behind his head into an enormous wheel of fire, so that his features could not be made out. His body loomed vaster than the greatest of the giant beasts, standing erect in the sky, warping the heavens themselves.
At the sweep of his gaze the Kui oxen went weak on their single legs, one by one, and dropped flat to the ground.
The Tianzun made his survey, found nothing amiss, and went howling off, vanishing without a trace.
After the Tianzun had gone, the herd returned to its old ways: those that grazed, grazed, and those that fought, fought.
Among the herd were two Kui oxen, one large and one small, tails swaying as they grazed with all their might, and the small one wept even as it ate: "Foster father, must we really eat grass?
" "Say nothing! " The old ox chewed on earnestly, mumbling indistinctly, "That Tianzun has not gone far; he is still watching us.
Keep eating — even with tears in your eyes, keep eating.
. .
" In the sky a fiery eye surfaced without a sound, watched the herd, and then silently faded away.
.
.
. "Long Xiao is very good at hiding; his tracks are hard to find.
" The six Tianzun gathered once more, shaking their heads one after another: "He is gravely wounded.
He is, after all, a creature of the savage age, with no civilization to his name; if he wishes to heal himself, he must take a thousand years longer than we would. " Even as they spoke, two more Tianzun suddenly descended: Qiang Tianfei and Gong Tianzun, arriving on the far side of the Ancestral Court one after the other.
"Two fellow Daoists have yet to arrive. Xiao Tianzun and Hao Tianzun will not be coming, I think?
" Hong Tianzun looked about him and laughed softly.
Scarcely had the words left his mouth when Hao Tianzun's voice came sudden from beyond the heavens: "Xiao Tianzun was exiled by Yue Tianzun and the other traitorous ministers, so he may stay away — but how could I fail to come? " The other Tianzun were startled at heart, and saw Hao Tianzun descend from the sky.
"My friends, we must settle on a set of rules for how the far side of the Ancestral Court is to be divided.
" Hao Tianzun swept his gaze around him, and every Tianzun felt a chill, unable to gauge his depths. "The Nine Prison seals the Dao Heart, and to break through such a seal is exceedingly difficult.
" Taishi within the egg watched Shen Mu's every movement with care; dwelling within Shen Mu's Divine Treasury Ancestral Court, he too could plainly see that Shen Mu's Ancestral Court was gradually coming back to life. His Great Dao was little by little regaining its flow; vital essence filled the air like a breeze at the first of spring, coaxing the life of the Ancestral Court to grow.
"Yet Mu Tianzun is trying, little by little, to break through this seal, and he will grow faster and faster. If his Dao Heart breaks the seal, then his cultivation will break the seal as well — primordial spirit, fleshly body, vital essence, spiritual consciousness, bloodline, Divine Treasury, Heavenly Palace — each will shatter its bonds in turn! " Taishi within the egg was rather curious about Shen Mu's present state.