Chapter 1578 — Crushing a Mighty Foe in One Blow
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Before, Shen Mu had been standing upon the Heavenly River; now he had left that stretch behind and observed everything that happened within it from a bystander's vantage!
The Heavenly River rolled on in vast flood; Shen Mu stood outside it and looked from afar, and saw that after killing Lord Ling, the Great Emperor Ming Fangyu charged out beyond the river again and again, as though he meant to break through it, and each time he could not get out.
Shen Mu stood outside the Heavenly River, no sky above, no ground below, nothing to be seen on any side; he was like a mass of azure-void qi, of Taishi qi, poised between the transformations of substance and form.
Once more the Great Emperor Ming Fangyu killed Lord Ling; once more he took up his spear and assailed the Heavenly River; and then once more the Unchanging divine ability erupted, everything returned to the beginning, Lord Ling revived, and was killed again.
Shen Mu watched the scene in silence. Ming Fangyu's techniques and divine abilities were different each time, as he tried one means after another to break the Unchanging divine ability, but every time it ended in failure.
Shen Mu studied his divine abilities, then checked them against those he had just deduced, and corrected a few shortcomings. When all was ready, he slowly stirred the great divine ability of the Way of Taishi, his gaze fixed hard upon Ming Fangyu.
He must break Lord Ling's Unchanging divine ability before Lord Ling died, and block Ming Fangyu's attack before the Great Emperor killed Lord Ling; only so could he save Lord Ling! Timing, therefore, was all-important.
The one chance of life would flash by and be gone; there could be no room for the slightest error. The Great Emperor Ming Fangyu seemed to have discovered him and suddenly charged his way, the long spear in his hand boundless in power; joined to the Heavenly Emperor's body and the Great Emperor's primordial spirit, a single thrust made that stretch of the Heavenly River heave violently and evaporate, the spear tip churning up the waters of the river, howling toward him, aimed straight at the point between Shen Mu's brows!
And at that moment the Unchanging divine ability erupted and swept him away, returning him to the beginning.
At the beginning, Lord Ling turned her head and looked at Shen Mu; the girl in the leopard-skin skirt and straw sandals smiled sweetly at him, and though she was not beautiful, it made the heart drunk.
The next moment Lord Ling died: the Great Emperor Ming Fangyu nailed her dead with one thrust of the spear, charged Shen Mu again, and thrust once more! Each time the spear tip came closer to the point between Shen Mu's brows, yet it could never pierce him.
The vertical eye between Shen Mu's brows followed his figure closely; and just as the Great Emperor Ming Fangyu thrust again and the spear tip touched the point between Shen Mu's brows, Lord Ling's Unchanging divine ability erupted, reconstituting all matter and returning it to its original state!
At the same instant, Shen Mu's hand flicked, and his divine ability burst forth!
The Taishi Art: Matter and Form Question the Azure Void! As his divine ability unfolded, in a single instant the Unchanging matter that composed the whole Heavenly River shuddered violently and turned from matter into azure-void qi; the Unchanging divine ability was completely broken by his one move! In the instant Shen Mu's hand flicked, his body had already stepped out, and the God-Slaying Platform came whirling out with a howl!
In the next instant the azure-void qi shifted, and the Heavenly River, Lord Ling, and Ming Fangyu all appeared, though only as bodies of energy, having form but no substance.
The very moment Shen Mu's foot landed beside Lord Ling, the energy state turned back to matter; Lord Ling was raising her hand to use the Unchanging divine ability when her palm was suddenly gripped hard by Shen Mu's hand.