Chapter 1657 — By Nature, a Wild and Unbridled Guest
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"A collection?"
Haotian Zun's reincarnated body frowned. The man's tone sat ill with him. Mutian Zun was arrogant enough, but in ordinary dealings he was courteous and never failed in propriety—he would not go so far as to be utterly unrestrained.
But this youth, who had sprung up from who knew where, spoke in a manner that could choke a man to death; his words were light as wind and drifting cloud, yet they gave one the sense that he looked down upon all things.
His features were the same as those of the Yutian Zun of old; one glance told that he was a youthful Yutian Zun made by a Creation Artifact. In the year the divine artifact Yutian Zun had first been successfully developed, some among the Ten Tianzun had tried their hands at making youthful Yutian Zuns and sending them down into the world, but most of them had died at Jingping.
Presumably the youthful Yutian Zun this man had obtained came from that batch.
"I am Haotian Zun," Haotian Zun said with a faint smile.
Xing An nodded. "You're quite a challenge."
Haotian Zun drew a long breath and thought to himself, "This man can send a person into a fury with a single sentence—how has he lived until now?"
He did not know how many people wished to kill Xing An. Even Shen Mu, in his day, had wanted to kill Xing An, yet had never been able to rid himself of him.
"From the traces left by your battle with Huotian Zun's reincarnated body, I see that what you have mastered is another link in the Way of Taichu—the Innate One Qi."
Xing An surveyed his surroundings, then lightly raised a hand. The corpse of Huotian Zun's reincarnated body floated up, and with a swish it split into pieces—heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys; sinew and bone, skin and flesh and membrane—all separated neatly and in perfect order, until Haotian Zun felt a bizarre and dazzling bewilderment steal over him.
With that single move, Xing An laid bare the fleshly structure of a god-devil to its utmost extent, so that one could see with perfect clarity the most minute structures of a god-devil's body; even the subtle architecture of the marrow was displayed, leaving almost no secret at all.
The various divine storehouses and heavenly palaces within Huotian Zun's body were spread open, every wound and injury laid out at a single glance.
This move set Haotian Zun's hair on end all the more. "This man is far too familiar with the bodily structure of gods and devils. Was he a butcher by trade?"
Xing An said, "Judging by the look of death on Huotian Zun's reincarnated body, his soul was distorted; his heavenly palaces and divine storehouses were all twisted into vortices by some dreadful force. The other art you have mastered must take the Way of Guixu as its body."
A look of approval came over him. "You fused two great Ways, and you have comprehended the Dao realm of the Innate One Qi to the thirtyfold heaven. To have cultivated to such a level is most remarkable."
Haotian Zun's reincarnated body was astonished all the more, and could not help but feel a pang of fondness for talent. Curious, he said, "You can tell?"
"Mutian Zun likewise mastered the Innate One Qi and the Way of Guixu. Naturally I can tell."
Xing An continued to examine the traces of divine powers all around and the flesh of Huotian Zun, and analyzed: "Your heavenly palaces are exceedingly numerous; one of your Great Heavenly Court arts must already be perfect, having reached thirty-six heavenly palaces. What Huotian Zun guarded against was this art of yours, but your other art, which takes the Way of Guixu as its body, he could not guard against. His Dao-fire happened to be countered precisely by this art of yours, so that your divine power invaded his body, twisted his divine storehouses and heavenly palaces, and crushed his soul outright."
He surveyed the marks of battle around them and went on: "But as for this art of the Way of Guixu, its number of heavenly palaces is not yet perfect—it should be only thirty-five."