Chapter 261 — The March of Blades and Armies
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
The Daoist Lord's eyes lit up; his sword art flowed, attacking Emperor Yanfeng like a violent storm and rain, and he praised: "Everyone says the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping is a prodigy of the Dao and its arts, but the world has overlooked Emperor Yanfeng. Your Majesty, you are already a grand master; you could well found a sect and establish a holy land of your own.
What a pity!
" Chi, chi, chi — the Dao Sword, bearing the rhythm of the great Dao, broke through Emperor Yanfeng's layer upon layer of defenses, leaving him covered in a number of wounds! Tathagata saw the flaw; his golden alms-bowl flipped sharply, the Twenty Heavens pressed down, and the pressure of the twenty small worlds within the bowl bore down wholly upon Emperor Yanfeng. Emperor Yanfeng gave a muffled groan and withstood the crushing weight of the Twenty Heavens; his movements became very slow, yet the might of his Daoist arts and divine powers only grew stronger, contending with the Dao Sword. This half-move of the Daoist Lord's sword art was endlessly transforming, leaving no trace to be found, pushing the calculations of numerology to their utmost, exhausting the derivation of the Dao begetting the one, the one begetting the two, the two begetting the three, the three begetting the ten thousand things, and grasping the very essence of the three begetting the ten thousand things.
Only, the Daoist Lord's wisdom had its limit, and so this final move had never been fully cultivated — only half of it had been mastered; yet even half a move of sword art was enough to break every Daoist art and divine power!
Tathagata suspended the golden alms-bowl in the air, chanted a Buddha-voice, and said: "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping has still not shown himself, but changes may yet come; better to decide the battle quickly.
" So saying, his body shook, and he manifested a sixteen-foot golden body; lightly, lightly he struck out a palm, and with a shake of his five fingers, five great mountains pressed down. And at this moment, three hundred li away, Shen Mu sat on the back of a dragon qilin, and this dragon qilin trod fire-clouds as it raced through the air.
"Faster, faster still! " Shen Mu sensed wave after wave of dreadful fluctuations, and urged: "If you can run faster, I promise you three pecks of Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills!
" The dragon qilin panted for breath: "Sect Master, I am doing my utmost. " Shen Mu ground his teeth: "Your speed is far below that fellow the Blue Ox!
When the Blue Ox runs, he is more than twice as fast as you, and can run ten thousand li without stopping! Fat Dragon, if you put your strength into it, I will take you to beat up the Blue Ox!
If you keep dawdling, I will take the Blue Ox to beat you up! " The dragon qilin clenched its teeth and suddenly put forth its strength, sprinting; fire-clouds burst from beneath its feet and its speed increased greatly, nearly flinging Shen Mu off; after running thus for thirty or fifty li, the dragon qilin slowed again, spitting white foam: "Sect Master, I cannot take it! " Shen Mu was helpless, and said viciously: "Greedy as you are, next New Year I will send you to the table!
" Just as he spoke, suddenly two rays of light, one blue and one gray, went whistling past; Shen Mu was startled, and the two rays turned back. "Shen'er, what are you doing here?
" The two rays halted, and Old Master Huo and the blind old man appeared.
The blind old man said: "If my eyes were not good, I would have missed you. When did you leave Great Thunderclap Temple?
Did the monks give you any trouble?
" Shen Mu said hurriedly: "I left as soon as you did. Grandpa Blind, Grandpa Huo, something terrible has happened — Tathagata and the others are killing the emperor! " Old Master Huo said: "We saw.
A small matter; emperors used to be changed often enough. " The blind old man complained: "Shen'er, do not muddle what is important with what is not. Fan Xuanshu is the real root of disaster.