Chapter 1444 — The Blade of Law
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
"So-so.
" Shen Mu had barely gotten out his modest reply when Zaifu rapped him on the head, and he was forced to say, "Last time I entered the Dao through the blade, I comprehended a single move, Knock at the Southern Heavenly Gate. Since then, nothing. " Zaifu shot him a cold glance, and Shen Mu felt at once as though he had been slashed, shrinking a head shorter.
"Your blade Dao has made no progress, so your sword Dao has likewise made none, I take it? " Zaifu sneered.
"The medical Dao, the painting Dao, the Buddhist Dao, the formation Dao, the Dao of thievery, the Dao of forging—none of them have advanced, am I right?
" Shen Mu admired him from the bottom of his heart. "Grandpa Tu's dharma-eye is without equal—one glance and you see my predicament!
" Zaifu made as if to strike him, and Shen Mu hastily said, "But in divine arts I have comprehended twenty-six heavens! " "You comprehended them from the innate Dao, no doubt?
" Zaifu suppressed the urge to beat him. "The innate Dao—countless outstanding figures past and present have labored over it.
The Ten Heavenly Venerates of the Heavenly Court, the Daoist sects—all of them study the innate Dao assiduously, parsing the great Dao of the ancient gods.
You need only learn it and you can use it; once you have mastered it thoroughly, you can enter the Dao. Even in the Ancestral Court you could comprehend any number of divine arts and Daoist techniques. But why have you not comprehended deeper blade Dao, sword Dao, painting Dao? " Shen Mu pondered a moment. "Because the blade Dao and the sword Dao are both acquired. They must be conjured out of nothing, comprehended by oneself, explored and ordered by oneself. " "And that is precisely why, even having comprehended the great Dao of the ancient gods, you cannot advance a single step in blade, sword, calligraphy, or painting. " Zaifu said, "Shen'er, you have been away from the mortal world too long.
The acquired Dao arises amid the dust and red dust of the world. Since you ascended to the Heavenly Court, what you face above the court are the towering gods, and below the court the holy ones of the heavens; those who scheme and wrestle with you are the Ten Heavenly Venerates. In the mortal world you could comprehend your sword Dao's three heavens in a scant few years, but once you reached the Heavenly Court you advanced no further.
Shen'er, you have grown very far from the acquired Dao. I dare not say now whether you can still keep the original heart of that youth from the Barren Ruins.
" Shen Mu's brows lifted. "My Dao heart is firm. It is impossible that I have forgotten my original heart. " "Is that so? " Zaifu drew his blade, meaning to toss it to him, then thought better of it. He broke a three-foot length of iron off the gunwale of the painted boat and thrust it into his hand. "Seal all your cultivation—the Heavenly Palace, the Divine Treasury, seal them all. Become a mortal again. I will take you to see your original heart.
" "No need for such trouble.
" Shen Mu gave a low shout, closed the Primordial Embryo Divine Treasury, and sealed his primordial spirit inside the treasury as well.
Zaifu glanced at him. "You have yet to seal your mortal body. " Shen Mu's ten fingers flew, tapping point after point across his body, sealing all hundred apertures of his flesh. At once he felt his body grow heavy and solid, not a trace of vital essence within him. Zaifu leaped out of the painted boat.
"Bring your blade and follow me.
" Shen Mu sprang out after him and sank with a splash to the bottom of the river. A moment later he surfaced, then broke into a run, and at last found again the feeling of treading the waves of the Surging River as he had in years past.
Before long they came to the riverbank.