荒墟牧神 - 第1793章 鎮伏開天諸眾 - 墨香閣

The eyes of the Heaven-Opening Host fell upon Shen Mu and upon that Dao-Burying Divine Coffin. Shen Mu had reached this place a step ahead of them — not only earlier than they, but bearing the Dao-Burying Divine Coffin with him.

The Dao-Burying Divine Coffin had been forged by the First Young Master, Taishang, to suppress Taiyi.

Presumably, after arriving here, Shen Mu had awakened Dongyang and the others, and had persuaded Dongyang to lay the mortal body of the Lord of Tiandu — that paralytic — inside the Dao-Burying Divine Coffin.

As for the obelisk steles, Shen Mu had come many times before and knew the way like an old hand; and since the Heaven-Opening Host and Taiyi had been delayed a while upon the road, Shen Mu had instead stolen a march on them, arriving first and setting his arrangements in place.

"Young Master Hundun — unyielding through a hundred setbacks, never once giving up hope."

The Smiling Man, Shijing, said, "You have already tasted our Dao arts; you should know that you are no match for us. Not you — even the Second Young Master, Wuji, is no match for us. And even if you have laid the Leader in the coffin, what of it? To strike you down, open the coffin, and invite the Leader out is no difficult matter for us of the Heaven-Opening Host."

"If you wish to strike down the Seventh Young Master, you must first strike me down."

The woman at the side stopped pounding the clothes, rose to her feet, shouldered her washing mallet, and said with a fearsome air, "Heaven-Opening Host of Tiandu, you have become twisted monsters. This place will not suffer your insolence!"

"And me as well!"

The old crone rose, trembling, and said, "Though this old body has had few dealings with the Seventh Young Master, and has heard that his name stinks to the heavens, compared with that Seventh Young Master whose crimes are full to bursting, this old body finds you even harder to stomach!"

"And me — Zhu Santong!"

The pig hanging upside down from the tree at the village mouth suddenly burst its ropes, dropped to the ground, transformed into a burly man, and came striding over with a cold laugh: "I have always set myself against Miluo Palace, and for those so-called Young Masters I have nothing but contempt — meet one, and I would wash his face with a mouthful of thick phlegm. But the Seventh Young Master is a freak of Miluo Palace, and I find him rather easy on the eye. You lot, on the other hand, I cannot abide! If you want to deal with the Seventh Young Master, you will have to trample heavy over my corpse!"

"Very well." The Smiling Man, Shijing, laughed heartily, yet no change came over his face.

"You will have to strike me down as well."

The old man Dongyang said mildly, "It was Ling who asked me to come, to protect the mortal body of Tiandu, and to let no one do it harm. For Ling, I hold her in the same admiration as I hold Tiandu. What I promised her, I will surely accomplish. Even though I too was once of the Heaven-Opening Host of Tiandu, even though I was once one of you, still I will stop you."

The girl sighed, slid down from the tree, and said plaintively, "Yaya neither admires the Seventh Young Master, nor knows the Lord of Tiandu, nor has any notion of your grudges. But during the time Yaya was locked up, she became good friends with Zhu Santong and Dongyang and the rest. If good friends are going to stand against you, then Yaya has no choice but to do the same. When you step over Yaya's corpse in a moment, do be gentle."

The Smiling Man, Shijing, sighed: "You are all sick. Sick in the brain. You need treatment."

Zhu Santong cursed him roundly: "You're the sick one! Your whole family's sick! Your skulls are all rotted through!"

The Heaven-Opening Host paid his abuse no mind at all. Though they had strayed from the path, their attainment in the Dao-heart was immeasurably strong; they simply regarded Zhu Santong and the others as patients in need of treatment.

And the more it was so, the more it made the heart quail.