Chapter 887 — The Longhan Cataclysm: Blood Stains the Heavens

"But if I do not ally with the Heavenly Emperor, Jingping will be in peril.

The Earth Mother alone is a trial Jingping cannot pass.

" Shen Mu withdrew his gaze, his heart somewhat adrift, and paced aimlessly through Dragon City, where bones littered the ground.

The dragon qilin had the good sense not to disturb him.

"The Heavenly Emperor deserves death ten thousand times over, and yet without allying with him, Jingping cannot hold out much longer. If I ally with him, and he revives and takes back his own body, this world is bound to return to that barbaric age!

The Heavenly Emperor can be used — he can buy us time — but he must never be revived!

He must not be brought back to life; let him remain in this half-dead state.

" .

.

.

Shen Mu's mind settled at last, and he looked around for any traces his Senior Brother Wei Suifeng might have left. Wei Suifeng acted with meticulous care; having left an object for Shen Mu at Guixu, he would certainly have foreseen that Guixu might one day be beyond reach.

If so, he would surely have left clues.

But Longbo Country was already a ruin, and an immense one at that — a continent comparable to Jingping, with relics everywhere.

Who knew how long it would take to search out the clue Wei Suifeng had left behind.

Walking on, Shen Mu abruptly turned, lay down on his back amid the heaps of dragon bones, hands behind his head, and stared blankly at the sky.

After a while, he gradually closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The dragon qilin chuckled, "Sister Yan'er, even the Sect Master has his idle moments.

. .

" He had barely spoken when a tiny Shen Mu poked his head out from among Shen Mu's hair, peering this way and that, babbling unintelligibly.

Startled, the dragon qilin was about to say something when more tiny Shen Mus squeezed out of Shen Mu's hair — each stretching its body, flexing its arms and legs, speaking in a tongue none could understand, as if talking in its sleep.

Then tiny Shen Mus crawled out of Shen Mu's mouth, his nostrils, his ears, more and more of them, scurrying in all directions, babbling in meaningless speech.

In no time at all the dragon qilin had no place left to stand and hastily floated up into the air. Of those tiny Shen Mus, some rose on the wind, some vanished into the earth, some muttered incantations over the Longbo skeletons — and then one skeleton after another clattered to its feet.

The little Shen Mus perched atop the Longbo skeletons' skulls, upon their horns, within their eye sockets, in high spirits, waving and shouting, "Maha! " This word the dragon qilin understood, for he, too, was half dragon.

"Maha" meant excitement, or to hurry on one's way; it carried many meanings. The tiny Shen Mus rode the Longbo skeletons wildly over the ground, flew up into the sky, dove into the ruins, ran out to the sea, scouring heaven and earth in an uproar.

"Maha, maha!

" When the tiny Shen Mus met one another, they even exchanged words, their expressions solemn. The dragon qilin and Yan'er watched all this in a daze, and still more tiny Shen Mus emerged from Shen Mu's head; before long, the deathly still Longbo Country was in a clamor, as countless little Shen Mus rummaged in dead earnest, turning the whole country upside down!

"I have heard of this technique — it must be the Throne Sutra of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha in the Buddha Realm," said Yan'er, taking human form and cupping a tiny Shen Mu in her palm.

The little Shen Mu dashed across her hand, scrambled up her body, and rushed about her this way and that.

"I have heard Her Ladyship say this technique can only be cultivated in sleep — it is deep and wondrous. " Yan'er, tickled by his darting over her, could not help giggling.

"Stop it — I'm ticklish there!

Come out, you can't go in there!

" She was just about to catch him when the little Shen Mu ran onto her head, grabbed hold of a feather, and pointed solemnly ahead, shouting, "Maha! " Yan'er could not help sprouting her wings and taking flight, following the little fellow's order and soaring in the direction he indicated. Another tiny Shen Mu jumped onto the dragon qilin's head and drove him racing along with cries of "Maha, maha!

" In the sky, on the earth, upon the sea — everywhere were these little munchkins, their three eyes blazing as they used their sacred pupils to search for the traces Wei Suifeng had left.

Suddenly, all the Shen Mus raced back at full speed, returned swiftly to Dragon City, and dove one by one into the space between Shen Mu's brows, vanishing. Shen Mu yawned, stretched his body, arched his back lazily, and laughed.

"Finally found it!

"