Chapter 818 — The Dragon Lord of the Star River

The Duke of Wei said, "But these days demigods have been appearing, leaving word that we must pay tribute."

Shen Mu frowned. "Tribute? Tribute to whom?"

"Tribute to the demigods."

The Duke of Wei said, "Otherwise they will visit calamity and tribulation upon us. Several powerful demigods nearby have established divine kingdoms in the mountains, demanding that we pay tribute and surrender, and become their subjects."

Shen Mu said, "For now the Emperor has neither the energy nor enough men. I fear his reach cannot extend here. Heavenly King Wei may surrender and pay tribute for the time being, and wait until the Emperor's power reaches this place before making other plans..."

"The tribute is virgin boys and girls," the Duke of Wei said abruptly.

Shen Mu fell silent.

After a moment, he took out a small box and taught the Duke of Wei how to use it. "This is the God-Slaying Mystic Blade of the Chiming era. Heavenly King, borrow the power of this divine blade to weather this period. Once drawn, this blade must drink blood. Use it with the utmost caution."

They left Bazhou City.

Shen Mu looked back at Bazhou in the night and sighed.

He had only one God-Slaying Mystic Blade, yet Jingping had countless cities. He could lend the blade to protect Bazhou, but he could not protect the others.

"How is Jingping to resolve this crisis?" He pondered bitterly and found no answer.

The noble and righteous of Jingping all agonized over the present state of affairs, yet they had no solution. The Earth Mother had not yet made her move, and already these demigods scattered across the world had plunged Jingping into its gravest crisis.

A few days later, they arrived at Tiansheng Academy. Many towns had sprung up around it as well, and the academy's disciples had gathered the people from all around and moved them here.

Within the academy, things were better. The Alchemist had poisoned a demigod to death and was now studying the demigod's fleshly structure together with the scholars.

That demigod had been exceedingly powerful, and even in death its lingering might remained; its corpse towered like a mountain.

"Maha maha maha!" A pack of flood dragons cried out nearby, swaying their heads and tails, waiting for meat.

"It's poisonous!" The scholars drove them off.

"Shen'er, you need not concern yourself with the safety of Tiansheng Academy. The demigods nearby have mostly been eliminated, and those not eliminated have moved away."

The Alchemist wiped the blood from his hands and said to them all, "We have planted many medicinal fields, so we lack for nothing in herbs, and the teleportation formations can be activated to link with the capital. Through the teleportation formations we can contact the other academies and support one another—there is no need to worry. You are going to Yongjiang; do you need to use the teleportation formation to get there?"

"No need. Better to conserve the medicinal stones."

Shen Mu took his leave of him and continued on the road with the Human Emperors.

Another six or seven days passed, and they arrived at the Yongjiang Academy in Lizhou Prefecture, where they paid their respects to Yuyuan Chuyu and Su Yunqing. Only then did Shen Mu come to the banks of the Yongjiang. Looking out, he saw the river spanned more than a thousand li, with divine mountains standing in ranks along both banks—truly magnificent!

"This is not the widest part of the Yongjiang. At its widest, the Yongjiang is some five thousand li across."

Yuyuan Chuyu, who had by now cultivated to the Heavenly Palace, said to Shen Mu, "The river teems with demigods, with all manner of dragon palaces and dragon mansions, and treasures beyond counting. Not long ago the Dragon Keeper Lord was wounded—he said the demigods had oppressed him, and he came to me for help. It was Libationer Su who healed his injuries."

Shen Mu was startled. "The Dragon Keeper Lord's days are hard as well... That mountain on the far bank—is that Baisui Mountain?"

He pointed to the far shore, where a towering mountain remained clearly visible a thousand li away, magnificent beyond compare.

"No."

Yuyuan Chuyu said, "Baisui Mountain is beside Lu County—a small earthen mound, invisible from here. That mountain beside it rose up suddenly. It is full of demigods. Baixi guards Lu County and even fought a battle with them."

Shen Mu scratched his head. "Baixi has had a hard time of it. In a few days, I will take that towering mountain, rename it, and bestow upon it the name Baisui Mountain, and let him serve as its mountain god."

Just then, the river's surface surged with towering waves. The Dragon Keeper Lord's enormous dragon head broke through the water. Seeing Shen Mu, he choked out, "Sect Master Shen, you have finally come! I will not be this Dragon King any longer—might we amend the pact with Tubo?"

Shen Mu laughed. "Very well. How about you become the Dragon King of the Heavenly River instead?"