Chapter 1620 — Against the Tide
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
He said, "I have been bored to distraction here, and have peered about in all directions; I know of the matter of the Earl of Earth. " Shen Mu asked his counsel: "Brother Cloud, if you were in my place, would you save the Earl of Earth? " "I would! " Venerable Cloud took possession of his own body and quickly mastered every aspect of it. Without a moment's thought he said, "The Earl of Earth and I have no friendship between us, but the Earl of Earth's life and death bear upon the ownership of Youdu! And the ownership of Youdu bears upon the success or failure of the Jingping Reforms, and upon the survival of the human race! Therefore, by whatever means, I would exhaust all my strength — I would not even begrudge my life — to save the Earl of Earth.
Under no circumstances can Youdu be allowed to fall into the hands of the Heavenly Court! " Shen Mu let out a long breath and smiled.
"With that word from you, my friend, I can set one worry to rest. " Venerable Cloud stretched his limbs and roused his qi and blood, and a smile touched his lips as well.
"If I can be of some help to you, I am glad also. " Shen Mu paced around him, imprinting one Creation divine art after another upon him, helping him clear his blood and refining away the impurities in his divine treasury. He mused, "Brother Cloud holds the same thought as I do, yet in the Longhan era he still failed. So to throw one's life into saving the Earl of Earth may not be a good plan. " Venerable Cloud's face darkened.
Shen Mu kept circling him, employing divine arts to strengthen his qi and blood while he pondered aloud: "Venerable Hao is your old rival, your old adversary; he must have studied you most thoroughly.
Your character, your arrangements, the moves you might make in the future — he knows them all like the palm of his hand. That is why you lost in the Longhan era. " Venerable Cloud's face darkened further, but soon the qi and blood Shen Mu had cleared reached his head, and his complexion looked much the better for it, ruddy and glowing. "Victors are apt to have a mind to replicate their own successes; and so Venerable Hao will use the method that defeated you to deal with me. " Shen Mu pointed a finger at the center of his brow, activating his brain, and smiled.
"And so I intend to do the opposite! " Venerable Cloud felt his brain revive at once, all his thoughts and consciousness stirring, and asked in astonishment, "How do you mean to do the opposite? " "I intend to kill the Earl of Earth!
" Shen Mu reached out, drew forth Venerable Cloud's divine bridge and divine treasury, severed his divine bridge with a sword-stroke, and laughed long and loud. "Venerable Hao wants to kill the Earl of Earth, does he not?
Then I will beat him to it, and finish off the Earl of Earth myself! " Venerable Cloud was struck dumb.
Beat Venerable Hao to killing the Earl of Earth? Wait — how had Venerable Mu severed his divine bridge and divine treasury?
The fellow had never once asked him!
He was a Venerable who had opened his divine bridge and divine treasury; with the bridge broken, every realm of the heavenly palace was gone as well! How could this body of his still bear his dharma power? If the dharma power of the heavenly palace realms came pressing down, this body of his would in all likelihood disintegrate in an instant, crushed into primordial chaos!
"Wait!
Venerable Mu, hear me out .
.
.
" With a light flick, Shen Mu's Tribulation Sword pierced into his body, and not only severed his divine bridge and divine treasury, but cut through his divine treasuries of Life and Death, Heaven and Man, the Six Harmonies, the Five Luminaries, and all the rest.