Chapter 1500 — An Uninvited Guest from Afar
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
Running at full strength, they crossed distances beyond knowing in a flash, yet after more than ten days of running, the seals of the Pixiang Hall still had no end!
Shen Mu was slower, and gradually fell behind; but after some ten-odd days he began to catch up with the Lame Elder and Lan Yutian. The Lame Elder and Lan Yutian were indeed faster than he, but neither was of very high cultivation; after running so long, their mana could no longer sustain them.
Shen Mu at once unfolded his Divine Treasury Domain, covering the two of them, and poured his own mana into them without cease. The Lame Elder and Lan Yutian were greatly heartened; one on each side, they took hold of Shen Mu and ran with all their might. They ran at full strength for several tens of days more, watching the various seals fly past their eyes like a riot of blossoms. The Lame Elder and Lan Yutian were astonished and awed, for the mana surging from Shen Mu was still inexhaustible, like a boundless ocean, as though it could supply them with abundant vitality forever.
"Shen'er's speed may not be great, but this mana of his is truly mighty! " the Lame Elder could not help marveling inwardly.
Suddenly a gateway appeared ahead: a bronze gate, ancient and magnificent, rose before their eyes. The three were greatly heartened.
With a thunderous boom they burst through the last seal, and could not check their momentum; tumbling and rolling, the three plunged through the gateway.
On either side, massive bronze pillars flashed past their eyes, and in that hurried moment they glimpsed lamp after lamp of green flame.
They were still sliding when Shen Mu suddenly shot into the air, flung his arms wide, and spread out his vast mana, halting the three in place and finally bringing their momentum to a stop. Lan Yutian scrambled up in haste and helped the Lame Elder to his feet. Shen Mu descended slowly, standing guard before the two, and reached up to take down the divine bow he had obtained from the previous universe era, gripping it in his hand. The Lame Elder likewise hastily brought out the Lapis Azure Heaven Banner and gave the mighty treasure a shake; the Twenty-Eight Heavens revolved and bloomed, shielding them.
Then they heard the sound of reading from within the hall, clear and pleasing to the ear: ".
. . What Heaven has conferred is called the nature; an accordance with this nature is called the Way; the cultivation of the Way is called instruction. The Way may not be left for an instant!
If it could be left, it would not be the Way. .
. " Astonished, Shen Mu followed the sound and crept forward.
The three passed down a long corridor; the interior of the Pixiang Hall was a labyrinth of a thousand turns, exceedingly intricate. They walked on for an unknowable distance, and at last came to the place from which the reading came.
It looked like a village schoolroom, with many students seated there. Lan Yutian peered in through the window and could not help but stare: he saw another Lan Yutian sitting on the ground, swaying his head as he chanted the scriptures!
Shen Mu's gaze, meanwhile, fell upon a woman in a great red robe. She too was chanting the scriptures — and she was none other than the Southern Emperor, Vermilion Bird! Besides the Southern Emperor and the Imperial Heavenly Venerable, there were other strange and curious figures in this schoolroom: a burly Creator, ancient gods of peculiar appearance — and one who made the Lame Elder's whole body shudder.
He breathed, "Emperor Ming's soul. .
. " Shen Mu's heart skipped.
He said quickly, "Which one is Emperor Ming's soul? " The Lame Elder pointed a finger and lowered his voice.
"That one, the one who looks so gentle and refined. At the place where Emperor Ming fell in battle I saw his head.
He was dismembered, torn into countless pieces. All over the battlefield of Emperor Ming there were his severed limbs and his head. .
.