Chapter 1620 — Against the Tide
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
. . " At the grand feast at Jade Pool a million years ago, he had been able to teach Venerable Ling the Dao of Creation; yet today, he could no longer quite grasp the state she spoke of.
It seemed that Venerable Ling had set foot upon a path of cultivation different from the system of the divine treasury and the heavenly palaces, different from the system of the Dao Realm, and even different from the system of the Five Primals of the Ancestral Court that Lan Yutian was even now studying! This path of cultivation left even a being like Shen Mu utterly in the dark. "You are as dull as Venerable Cloud.
" Venerable Ling shook her head, and paid him no more heed. Shen Mu stood blankly at the bow, staring wide-eyed into the boundless void, while the wind of cold silence howled past, as if blowing away the shards of his heart's Dao.
"A true fool.
" Venerable Ling's voice seemed to come borne on the wind. Shen Mu slumped.
He sat down and brooded bitterly.
Indeed, Venerable Ling had not spoken wrongly: the Primordial Finger was no Dao Realm divine art, yet its power was extraordinarily great. The Red Rope Knot Seal was the same — it could even suppress a Dao-attainer.
Not of the Dao Realm, and yet possessed of such terrifying power; then from where did that power come?
"Turn back and behold your own heart, turn back and behold your own heart .
.
.
" He chewed over the meaning of these words again and again, and the more he thought, the more bewildered he became. Venerable Ling's cultivation and dharma power were certainly nothing remarkable; her vital qi was even inferior to Shen Mu's, and she had achieved nothing in the Dao Realm. Yet with one finger she could slay at a point a dreadful existence like the Grand Emperor.
From where did her power come?
She borrowed no power from the Heavenly Court, none from the ancient gods, none from heaven and earth; she did not cultivate the Dao Realm. Why, then, was her divine art so mighty?
"She has already surpassed this era by far. Perhaps she and the Miluo Palace Master would find much to talk about.
" The Golden Ship of Salvation arrived at the Great Luo Heaven of Divine Consciousness. When Venerable Cloud saw the ship come, he hurried out to welcome it. Shen Mu descended from the ship, and glancing back, saw that Venerable Ling sat within, unmoving.
Shen Mu was about to call out to her when Venerable Cloud hastily stopped him, shaking his head. "Do not disturb her.
Why does Venerable Mu look so dispirited? " He scrutinized Shen Mu and showed surprise. When Shen Mu had come here to rescue him, and been seized and carried off by Venerable Hao, he had shown no panic at all — on the contrary, he had been quite delighted.
Even in such peril he had kept his optimism; now, though, he had turned dispirited and short of confidence, which truly astonished Venerable Cloud. Shen Mu sighed.
"On the road I was cut down to size by Venerable Ling.
" Venerable Cloud understood, and laughed.
"A small matter. I am used to it, and so will you be.
" Shen Mu gave a sullen hum, and took his physical body out of the vertical eye in his brow.
"I have come this time to return your body to you, and for one other matter besides . . . " "The Earl of Earth?
" Venerable Cloud examined his own body.
Though it was the body of an Imperial Throne powerhouse, its vitality was far inferior to what it had been; after his revival he would have to tend it with care.