Chapter 224 — For the Righteous Path of All Under Heaven
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The old Daoist rejoiced and laughed, "Little wretch, still you will not submit? Do you want your soul scattered and your spirit dispersed?
" At that very moment Shen Mu patted the Taotie Bag. Its mouth widened, and a demon-god puppet of eight arms and four faces leapt out of it, gripping eight treasures in its eight hands: a zither, a pearl, a bow, an arrow, a relic, a broken sword, a demon-subduing pestle, and a thousand-banner pagoda, the very treasures Shen Mu had stolen from the Golden Palace of Loulan. Shen Mu had kept this Dutian Demon King in the Taotie Bag; the Demon King had been fretting that he had no weapons to hand, and now he seized these treasures at once.
When Shen Mu let him out, he understood Shen Mu's meaning well enough: he was to help in the slaughter.
The Dutian Demon King also knew good from ill.
So long as he followed at Shen Mu's side, Shen Mu might spare his life; but were Shen Mu slain, and he left to fall into this old Daoist's hands, death was the only road. For the great cause of the migration of the Dutian living things, he must fight this old Daoist to the death. The treasures Shen Mu had stolen from the Golden Palace of Loulan were all of the grade of sect-guarding treasures, mighty in power.
As the greatest holy ground beyond the frontier, the Golden Palace of Loulan would naturally not collect anything commonplace; it was only that Shen Mu himself had no leisure to use these treasures for cultivation.
With these treasures in hand, the Dutian Demon King's murderous intent surged. All four faces showed a ferocious look, and he thought: "If I take this brat unawares right now, I'll be free! But then again, this steel body of mine has been packed full of mechanisms by the brat; if I kill him and the mechanisms lock up, I'll be trapped in this demon-god image and unable to stir. .
. Better to deal with this little Daoist first! " The zither in his hands rang out loud, bursting with wave upon wave of demonic sound.
The old Daoist's soul and spirit were assailed; he felt his soul stir and fidget, and demons rising in every corner of his heart. Hastily he shouted, formed a Mudra of Purity, and pressed the demons down. The turtle-backed god-shade behind him raised a hand; the white-serpent whisk lifted, and of a sudden the waves rose to the heavens and came crashing down upon the Dutian Demon King.
The Dutian Demon King's four faces snarled and bellowed; the eight treasures in his hands burst with power and struck at the heaven-covering waves.
In a world-shaking roar, the Dutian Demon King was sent flying backward and smashed deep into the cliff. The white-serpent whisk opened its great mouth and rammed straight into him, driving the Dutian Demon King into the mountain's body. "Little Daoist, you have no idea how dreadful the sovereign of Dutian is.
You have angered me! " The cliff exploded; the Dutian Demon King flew out from the shattered mountain, shook the thousand-banner pagoda, and the thousand banners whirled into a pagoda a thousand zhang tall, pressing down upon the old Daoist. The old Daoist sneered. The god-man behind him raised a hand and struck a seal, smashing the Dutian Demon King, pagoda and all, down to the ground, where he lay flat and could not stir. Just then, the dense blood-light in midair and the surging magic power suddenly vanished.
Upon a white-bone altar, the bear-headed demon-god statue became a demon god a hundred zhang tall, and gave a world-shaking roar: "You worms of this lowly world, prepare to receive the wrath of the great Dutian Bear Demon God. . .
eh? Old Dutian!
" Seeing the Dutian Demon King lying at his feet, the great Bear Demon God laughed aloud for joy: "Old Dutian! The mighty supreme sovereign of Dutian, beaten into such a state! It was leaders as useless as you who dragged Dutian down to where it stands today!
A good-for-nothing like you should long ago have vacated the Demon King's seat!