Chapter 700 — The Netherworld's Supreme Presses the Frontier

The Kaihuang Divine Man could not help but grow anxious. He hastily tugged at Shen Mu, wanting to drag him out of the Tianyin Realm as quickly as possible, lest they be caught in an undeserved calamity, yet he could not budge him.

Shen Mu turned back. Dimly he could see the black sand of the Tianyin Realm suddenly turn dense and violent; everywhere in the air, wildly surging black sand formed arcs of black current, thick as dragons, rampaging at will through heaven and earth. But such things were everywhere in the Tianyin Realm, so that his eyes could not see very far.

"Lady, take care of yourself!

" Shen Mu knew well that he was not even qualified to watch the battle.

At once he gathered up the two Taotie Bags, cradled the Heavenly Fire Prism in his arms, and walked with the Kaihuang Divine Man out of the Tianyin Realm, into that long crevice in the mountain wall. The Kaihuang Divine Man tottered, drowsy and half asleep. Shen Mu frowned.

His primordial spirit emerged behind him; he handed the Taotie Bags and the Heavenly Fire Prism to it, and then roused the Heaven-Demon Art of Creation from the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Scripture, using his vital essence as needles to tap again and again upon the Kaihuang Divine Man's body, saying in a low voice, "The seal Teacher Woodcutter left on you is a little too heavy, and presses far too hard upon your soul.

He never foresaw that you would be this weak. Let me first loosen a thread of it for you! " His casting was swift, and the Kaihuang Divine Man felt somewhat better. Just then a very gentle voice came from the Tianyin Realm: "Lady, it has been a long time. " At the sound of that voice, Shen Mu's mind suddenly swam and went dim and muddled, and he roused himself in alarm: "The Yin Son of Heaven's voice carries some divine art that beguiles the soul!

" He hurriedly pulled the Kaihuang Divine Man along the crevice in the mountain, outward, borrowing the effort to keep himself clear-headed, while his primordial spirit followed close at their heels. "That the Lady has returned from the dead is a matter for rejoicing.

Might I ask, Lady, where is that fellow cultivator who restored you to life? " The Yin Son of Heaven's voice continued, gentle and fine, carrying not only the soul-beguiling divine art but also a feeling that he was the most intimate, most devoted of lovers, though it was of no use against men.

"This fellow cultivator is truly remarkable, to have created a divine art that can gather a shattered soul back together. A figure of such unmatched gifts, one fit to call me fellow cultivator, I ought to visit and seek instruction from in person.

Why does the Lady not make the introduction?

" Lady Tianyin's voice came: "That master has already gone, Yin Son of Heaven. You need not waste your thoughts on him. You and I have not met in a long while, and we ought to have a good talk.

" Her voice snapped Shen Mu abruptly awake. He looked around and could not help but shiver with dread, cold sweat springing over his whole body. Before him, the Tianyin Realm Stele stood quietly erect!

He had thought he was walking outward along the crevice; he had never imagined that he had come back to the Tianyin Realm Stele! Clearly he had been caught without ever noticing, bewitched by the Yin Son of Heaven's voice.

He believed he was leaving, yet the divine art hidden in the Yin Son of Heaven's voice had stripped him of all sense of his surroundings, so that he did not even know when he had turned back.

Had Lady Tianyin not broken the Yin Son of Heaven's divine art with her voice, he would surely have already returned to the Tianyin Realm.

"This man's attainments in the soul surpass Lou Qianzhong's by a hundred thousand li!

" Seizing the moment of clarity, Shen Mu at once hauled the Kaihuang Divine Man forward in a mad sprint.

Behind them the Yin Son of Heaven's voice came again: "We ought indeed to have a good talk. But that master improvising on the spot a divine art to gather souls, and so bringing about a change in the Dao and law of heaven and earth, cannot fail to make one curious.

" Shen Mu's head swam; he stopped in panic, not daring to take a single step, afraid that to walk was to fall into the Yin Son of Heaven's snare.

Lady Tianyin laughed.

"Very well, very well.

If the chance comes, I will introduce him myself. " The instant her voice sounded, Shen Mu seized the chance and ran for all he was worth, in one breath charging out of the mountain crevice with the Kaihuang Divine Man. Light came from ahead; Shen Mu leaped, lightly struck the stone gate before the crevice, and turned his body to spring out over the cliff.

And behind him, the moment the sunlight outside struck the Kaihuang Divine Man, black smoke poured from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and he became a sheet of human skin; Shen Mu still gripped his hand and would not let go, and the man and the skin drifted down together from the air. Shen Mu's primordial spirit likewise burst from the crevice and floated down with them.

Yan Jingjing, He Yiyi, and the others had waited anxiously outside the cliff for several days and nights.

Taihuang Heaven had already been opened through by Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi, and the road paved, yet Shen Mu still had not appeared, which could not but worry them. Yan Jingjing said, "Fatty Dragon, are you sure you did not see which crevice Brother Cowherd went into? " Dragon Qilin shook his head.

"I was dozing. I had just heard the sect master's voice and was about to open my eyes to see where he was, but I felt someone pressing my eyelids down, so I did not open them. .

.

" Just then Shen Mu suddenly flew out of the cliff with someone in tow, startling and delighting them. Then they saw the man beside him open his mouth in a miserable scream, black smoke jetting from the five features of his face as he turned into a sheet of human skin, which gave them all another fright. Shen Mu landed, still gripping the Kaihuang Divine Man's hand.

He looked back; there was no unusual movement in the crevice, and Lady Tianyin's and the Yin Son of Heaven's voices could no longer be heard.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Yan Jingjing stared blankly at the Kaihuang Divine Man, whom he held limp and dragging over the ground, and could not help saying in a trembling voice, "Brother Cowherd, what is that in your hand.

. . ?

" Shen Mu hastily spread the Kaihuang Divine Man flat on the ground and swiftly rolled him up, as one might roll a few garments, saying, "This is a divine man of the Kaihuang era whom I met in the Tianyin Realm. Teacher Woodcutter sent him into the Tianyin Realm to probe the source of the darkness.

He has no body left, and his soul is sealed within his skin. I will roll him up for now; when night comes, he will revive.

" "The Tianyin Realm? The source of the darkness? " Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi stared wide-eyed, utterly at a loss as to what he was saying. Shen Mu took out a small cord, rolled the Kaihuang Divine Man up, and bound him fast. "Fatty Dragon, put him away safely.

Fatty Dragon?

" Dragon Qilin had thrust his head into the mountain stream, his hindquarters sticking out, trembling all over.

Shen Mu shook his head, tied the Kaihuang Divine Man to his back, and asked, "Has the cave been opened through? " He Yiyi said, "With Sister Jingjing's help, Taihuang Heaven has been opened.

This cave is very large; even the Xizhou could sail in, though the sun must be gathered in first.

This human skin.

. .

" She too felt a chill of dread.

Shen Mu laughed. "You need not be afraid.