Chapter 225 — Hanging the Portrait to Quell Evil
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Fire clouds sprouted beneath the dragon qilin's feet, and it rose into the air and sped out of the valley. Qingyu the Wanderer sat up and struck forward with his palm; at once thunder surged, and countless bolts of lightning coiled and writhed like an azure dragon as they hacked toward the dragon qilin. Qingyu the Wanderer suddenly retched up blood; his hand trembled, and that thunder of the palm-strike went wide, blasting a gap out of the mountain peak ahead of the dragon qilin.
Shen Mu was startled. These beings of the Heaven-Man realm, wounded though they were, still wielded terrifying power in their divine arts; to be struck by one would mean a death too hideous to look upon.
Lu Wenshu, the Arhat Pushan, and the rest staggered to their feet, each unable to hold back another mouthful of blood, their hearts still fluttering with lingering dread. They had, after all, underestimated the Great Bear Demon God Shen Mu had summoned; a single blow from it had gravely wounded them all.
Had Daoist Withered Leaf not interrupted Shen Mu's summoning once, the Great Bear Demon God called forth would have been even stronger, and they feared that all of them bound together would not have been enough to kill this one demon god. "Do we still give chase? " Lu Wenshu asked in a low voice. By now Daoist Withered Leaf was sitting cross-legged, his breath withered and spent, and he said with a bitter smile, "I fear this old Daoist can no longer accompany you friends in subduing demons and defending the Way. The demon god cut short the root of my life; this stinking husk of a body is of no more use. .
.
" Sorrow rose in every heart. Daoist Withered Leaf recited softly, "A man's life is but a withered leaf; the day it drifts down to the Yellow Springs must come. My friends, you must cut down the Nether Demon Sect Master; I will be waiting to meet him on the Yellow Springs road.
I go on ahead.
. . " With that, he passed away. Lu Wenshu wept aloud and bowed.
"Brother, go slowly!
We will surely send this fiend to meet you! " The Arhat Pushan sighed in desolate grief, pressed his palms together in salute, and said gravely, "This life is but a stinking husk; cast off the husk and see the Tathagata.
Brother, fare you well.
" "Fare you well! " said Qingyu the Wanderer, tears falling.
Luo Sanpo said, "That dragon qilin is swift of foot. We must catch up as soon as ever we can, or if he summons a second demon god, that will be disastrous!
" Lu Wenshu's face was cold with killing intent. "He will have no such chance!
On the road ahead, beings stronger than we await him, and he will walk right into the snare! " So the words were spoken, and yet every one of them forcibly suppressed his injuries, swallowed healing elixirs, and hurried off in the direction Shen Mu had gone. Astride the dragon qilin, Shen Mu took out a white-bone altar and tried to summon a second demon god; but the dragon qilin's running jolted him about, and it was all too easy for the talisman treasure to lose its alignment with the runes on the demon god's image. One rune out of place, and the whole endeavor would come to nothing, so he had no choice but to give it up.
Shen Mu examined himself: there was not a scratch on his body, nor was Xue Hu'er hurt. The dragon qilin's hide was thick and its flesh coarse, guarded by dragon scales, and it too was unscathed. Only the Dutian Demon King had been beaten out of shape.
Shen Mu used his Vermilion Bird vital qi to burn that body red-hot, then straightened the deformed limbs. The Dutian Demon King was so consumed by shame and rage that he said nothing at all. To be despised by the Great Bear Demon God this time, and trampled underfoot besides, was an utter humiliation.