Chapter 244 — Wreaking Havoc Upon the Living
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
The blind elder leaned on his bamboo staff and said mildly, "You and I never crossed hands before. How do you know you were stronger than me?"
Shen Mu hurried at a run into Granny Zhu's room, fetched out a human-skin mask and ragged clothes, and threw them over Cult Master Li. Cult Master Li became a little old woman again, and cried out harshly, "I will not become this! I am the most beautiful woman in the world; I will not become this hideous thing! I want to wear the loveliest clothes and be the loveliest woman!"
Lord Huo came over quickly, reciting the Buddha's name to suppress her demonic nature, and pressed Fan Xuanshu down. After a moment Granny Zhu woke with a long sigh, her voice restored, and thanked Lord Huo.
The alchemist hurried forward, examined her wounds, and healed them, saying, "Blind elder, you struck a little too hard. Shen'er, you refine elixirs faster than I do — you make the spirit elixir."
Shen Mu answered in assent and set to refining the medicine with all speed.
The blind elder sighed: "I had no choice but to be hard. Granny's cultivation has risen too fast; she is already near the Life and Death realm. Cult Master Li's primal spirit must have merged with her too deeply. And Cult Master Li's Great Unification Art is truly overbearing; I could not but strike hard."
Granny Zhu rose, swallowed the spirit elixir Shen Mu brought her, and said, "I am fine, much better."
The village head drifted over and shook his head: "Granny, you are fortunate to be in the village. Had you been outside, and Cult Master Li taken your body, he would have brought calamity on the nation and its people. His demonic nature is too heavy; wreaking havoc on the world would be nothing to him. Even the emperor, seeing you, would not be able to hold himself; in a few years even Jingping Kingdom could fall into Cult Master Li's hands."
Lord Huo said, "Your inner demon grows stronger by the day. Dragging on like this is no solution. My Buddhist dharma is not as deep as Old Tathagata's; perhaps Old Tathagata can help you suppress Cult Master Li. You had best make a trip to Great Thunderclap Temple."
The butcher touched his face and found his hand covered in blood; in his haste to shave he had cut his cheek with the slaughtering knife, but he had been so drunk on Granny Zhu's beauty that he felt nothing. Now that Granny Zhu had put on the old woman's skin, he noticed, and was aghast. He said hurriedly, "No time to lose — Granny had best set out at once! The longer you delay, the more peril we are in!"
The village head coughed and said, "We go to Great Thunderclap Temple to ask Old Tathagata to suppress Granny's demonic nature, not to wipe out a household. There is no need for many to go. Lord Huo knows the way well and must go; the blind elder can ignore Granny's looks, so he goes too. Shen'er is quick-witted, has cultivated the Creation Heaven-Demon Art and can lend a hand, and is skilled in medicine besides. You three accompany Granny to Great Thunderclap Temple."
His face was grave, and he said in a low voice, "Remember: on no account let Cult Master Li get out, or the world will fall into chaos!"