Chapter 212 — The Inevitable Parting
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
The old man's clothes were tattered, and his white hair and beard were flecked with blood. Heavenly King Lu's injuries were even more severe than those the Imperial Preceptor Jingping had suffered; he must have exchanged blows with several powerhouses of sect-leader level before being struck down!
His wounds were not merely physical—his divine treasuries had been hurt, and the damage to his soul was graver still! All seven divine treasuries had suffered nearly catastrophic blows: the Spirit Embryo had petrified, three of the Five Elemental Spirits had been destroyed, only two pillar-spirits remained in the Six Directions Divine Treasury, the Seven-Star, Heaven-Human, and Life-Death Treasuries were all in disorder and decay, and the flying bridge within the Divine Bridge Treasury had snapped.
If these were the only wounds, it would not matter; but the crux was that he was old, his body far weaker than in former days, and his flesh could scarcely contain a soul on the verge of scattering. Heavenly King Lu drew a long breath and said, "Cult Master, I have found out where Heavenly King Qian is.
.
.
" "Say nothing for now.
" Shen Mu frowned. "Who set an ambush for you?
" "They never showed their faces, but I recognized their arts. " Heavenly King Lu's body convulsed—the wounds of his soul were bursting forth, causing him agony.
He gritted his teeth and bore it, his white hair shaking along with his frame, and chuckled grimly: "What they were after was the art of teleportation of our Holy Cult. .
.
Cult Master, I can no longer support you. I have failed to live up to the Patriarch's instructions—" "Be at ease. You will not die, nor will you be maimed. " The corners of Shen Mu's eyes twitched, and he said in a deep voice: "Even if you die, I will drag your soul back out of Youdu!
" "One of those who wounded me was a first-rank minister of the imperial court! " Heavenly King Lu's body quieted again: "I know the art he used—it is the Numinous Treasure Immovable Meditation Art.
Among the first-rank ministers, Sun Nantuo, the Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, has brought this art to the pinnacle of perfection.
Seated within a jeweled pagoda hung with a thousand banners, he is a numinous treasure that never moves.
" Shen Mu's hands flew out with lightning speed, fingers leaping and tracing trails of afterimages through the air as he tapped across Heavenly King Lu's body; in the space of an instant he sealed Lu's soul within his flesh and kept it from leaving.
What he used was the Heavenly Demon Art of Creation—an art employed by the masters of the Youmo Cult to flay skin and fashion garments, yet in his hands it became a means of saving life.
He had sealed away Heavenly King Lu's three souls and seven spirits, but even so he could scarcely hold back the collapse of the old man's soul. "Cult Master, you are a divine physician, yet even a divine physician cannot save a man doomed to die. " A smile crossed Heavenly King Lu's face. Trembling, he got off the bed and sat down in front of the hall; a ruddy sheen spread over his face, and he smiled: "Do not waste your strength.
My soul is about to scatter, and the divine bridge is broken—I cannot hold on.
I had thought that after the Patriarch left, I could assist you, Cult Master, in reviving the Holy Cult and restoring it to glory.
I never expected I would not live to see that day.
" A rumbling, collapsing sound came from within him—the Divine Bridge Treasury, robbed of the support of its bridge, had begun to cave in. The collapsed Divine Bridge Treasury crushed the Life-Death Treasury, then the Heaven-Human Treasury, one divine treasury after another falling into ruin. Fierce flames blazed up around Heavenly King Lu's body, and his soul was splitting apart—an irreversible tearing.