Chapter 292 — The Intoxicating Long Night at Sea
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The other two girls nodded and went down the mountain. They did not pass through the Wasteland Ruins, but crossed the Western Lands, the Flame Desert, and the snowy highlands straight toward the Golden Palace of Loulan.
Without Star Lord Qiao, they did not dare set foot directly into the Wasteland Ruins.
The Eastern Sea.
Shen Mu drifted across the great sea with Si Yunxiang and Ling Yuxiu. At nightfall, the sea suddenly shimmered—countless luminous fish surfaced, painting the ocean like a gem.
Shen Mu rode the waves onward. The luminous fish leapt from his billows one after another. The waves pressed forward, and the fish pressed along with them—great fun to watch.
Some fish had a pair of barbels on their foreheads, each tipped with a transparent ball of flesh the size of a fist, like a lantern. At night they gave off a faint glow, so they were called lanternfish.
Lanternfish also had fins like wings. When they burst from the waves, they would vibrate all four fins and fly dozens of zhang in the air before splashing back down.
Sometimes these odd fish would keep pace with them, fluttering their fins as they floated alongside, lighting the path across the sea.
Now and then larger fish appeared, one or two zhang long, beating their fins and watching them with curiosity.
Si Yunxiang was still playful at heart. Seeing that the big lanternfish had developed intelligence, she wanted to tease them, so she taught them to speak, word by word. To everyone's surprise, a big fish actually learned a phrase or two and spoke in human tongue.
They also passed through the territory of the sea folk. Many sea-folk maidens rose up from the water, tails swimming, following their waves and swimming around them, singing beautiful love songs. They sang of two girls who loved a young man, the various feelings and fancies of girlish hearts. Beside them, several giant clams and other shellfish that had become spirits thumped and clattered their shells in accompaniment.
Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang, on the wave, were made shy by the sea maidens' singing. They stole glimpses at the youth beside them and couldn't help but feel irked.
They realized Shen Mu was not fully concentrating on the journey but was lost in thought. His mind was not on the road, nor on the sea maidens' beautiful singing—it had sunk into his own meditation.
He was contemplating something unknown. Though a smile was on his face, his thoughts were neither on the beautiful scene before him nor on the girls at his side.
All the way, Shen Mu had been trying to comprehend the Great Unification Art of the Six Harmonies realm, and in the last few days he had reached a crucial stage.
"The bastard! He deserves to be alone his whole life!" The two girls cursed in unison within their hearts.
The Dao Lord had allowed Shen Mu fourteen days of contemplation on the Dao Sword, from which he had gained much. Although the Dao Sword was a sword art, the mathematical principles hidden in its sword logic seemed capable of being integrated into many arts—well worth borrowing.
After another half hour, Shen Mu's vital energy gradually waned; the wave slowed and kept shrinking. Ling Yuxiu promptly took over, cast a spell, and a water dragon carried all three of them ahead.
Shen Mu relaxed, standing on the water dragon and letting Ling Yuxiu take him along.
The Six Void Divine Storehouses gave a huge improvement to a cultivator. Whether spells, sword arts, or battle skills, all were elevated to the rank of divine powers, their might doubled.
At this realm, a cultivation art must connect the three great divine storehouses—Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, and Six Harmonies—and fully summon the energies of all three. Shen Mu's Mystic Body Three-Elixir Art had power but no method; the Woodcutter's Transmitted Scripture had method but no gate; the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra contained all things but lacked unity. Nevertheless, the three could entirely form one whole.