Chapter 266 — The Heavenly King Ranks Fourth
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
"The fourth Heavenly King. " The Imperial Preceptor said, "I will be that fourth Heavenly King—but His Majesty must on no account be entangled with the Heaven Sacred Cult. Your Majesty, I will join his Heaven Sacred Cult. " Emperor Yanfeng was astonished; after a long while he said slowly, "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping is put to hardship.
" Shen Mu smiled and said to Emperor Yanfeng, "Your Majesty seems to have some misunderstanding of my Heaven Sacred Cult. My Heaven Sacred Cult is not a cult; it simply carries out a philosophy for the daily use of the common people, and walks the way of the sages.
This reform of yours and the Imperial Preceptor's shares our philosophy. .
.
" The wife of the Imperial Preceptor laughed. "Cult Leader, we should be on our way. There is no need to preach further—His Majesty cannot join our Heaven Sacred Cult.
" The wife of the Imperial Preceptor sat on the Dragon Qilin's back, while Shen Mu, the Imperial Preceptor, and the emperor walked below; the two roused the Mystic Body Three Elixir Art Shen Mu had taught them to restore some of their vital essence. These two were like ascetics; their pace was not quick, and their walking was labored. Only after two or three days did they reach Qinzhou. The Nether Demon Cult of Qinzhou had already prepared the medicinal materials, and Shen Mu at last healed the injuries to Emperor Yanfeng's hun and po; the Imperial Preceptor's external wounds were cured. It was only that the remnants of the other divine powers the god had left within his body could not be drawn out.
The remnants of the god's divine powers were exceedingly powerful.
If the Imperial Preceptor could refine these remnants, it would be no trouble for Shen Mu to heal all his wounds.
The crux was that the Imperial Preceptor could not circulate his dharma power; these remnants hid within his body and his divine treasury, and he had to use his own dharma power to suppress them—a moment's carelessness might trigger their might. "The emperor and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping—not one of them can fight," Shen Mu reflected.
The two strongest men of Jingping were now both invalids, both needing his care and protection. He too cultivated, unceasing day and night; whenever he walked, the Mystic Body Three Elixir Art stirred of itself, and five streams of stellar power and starlight poured down without cease from the sky.
And as they traveled, Shen Mu diligently practiced his swordsmanship, rehearsing over and over the two sword techniques the village headman had taught him, trying to perfect them. When the Imperial Preceptor saw the diagrams of these two sword moves, he gave a soft cry of surprise, could not help but look a few more times, and asked in astonishment, "Cult Leader, which of the great ones in your village passed these on to you?
" "Our village headman.
The eldest one. " The Imperial Preceptor pondered a moment, then said, "You are trying to fuse the three basic sword forms I created into these two moves? These two moves are already perfection itself. Adding my basic sword forms would instead break their balance; it might increase their power, but it would open many flaws.
Why would you do such a thing? " Shen Mu executed the move One Sword Opens the Emperor, Blood Like a Vast Ocean, and suddenly felt in his heart a desolation that brought tears. One sword opens the emperor, blood like a vast ocean; the mountains and rivers remain, the heart is vast and lost; he looks left and right—the old kingdom is no more, and none still don the old attire. Here was a solitary man mourning his old kingdom, mourning his fallen heroes, filled with a grief both tragic and heroic.
The Imperial Preceptor picked up a branch from the ground and said, "There are still many flaws in your moves. Let me feed you moves.
" Shen Mu's eyes lit up.
"Please instruct me.