Chapter 305 — The Old Man in the Scroll
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
It was only that their methods of cultivation were grotesque, drawing upon the souls of living things, and so they were much reviled. But if they could take possession of this place and cultivate with its spirit-power and soul-power, the Loulan Golden Palace would surely grow to heights once beyond imagining!
Once this holy ground of the grasslands rose, it would surely contend for the Central Plains, and in one stroke overshadow the holy grounds of the Middle Kingdom! "The most important thing about the Nether Valley is not even this, but that ship from beyond the heavens.
" Ban Gongcuo's eyes were somewhat entranced as he said softly: "What draws me is not how to cultivate with the spirit-power and soul-power here, but how to break through -- to break through the boundary between man and god. This ship should hold what I want. It came from beyond the heavens.
.
. " He said no more, but leapt down. The other great shamans, the shaman kings, and the surviving soldiers of the Man-Di Kingdom leapt down after him, one after another, guarding him on every side. Ban Gongcuo was, after all, a being who had lived ten thousand years, and the secrets he knew were exceedingly many.
Other holy grounds, such as the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Daoist Order, relied on the texts and records within their holy grounds to chronicle history, and such records might well be biased. But he chronicled history through memory, and the things he had lived through were exceedingly many. Moreover, though his lifespan was not as long as the history of the Great Thunderclap Temple and the Daoist Order, Ban Gongcuo had once risen to high rank in both the Daoist Order and the Great Thunderclap Temple, and had even visited Little Jade Capital once, and seen the secrets recorded there.
"This ship may well come from that mysterious place -- perhaps the only place in the world where one can become a god. No matter what, I must obtain this ship and go there! " he thought to himself.
Midway down, they were set upon again by all manner of odd and monstrous creatures of the Abyss.
The soldiers, great shamans, and shaman kings struck out on every side, doing all they could to protect Ban Gongcuo, and left more than a dozen corpses behind before they reached the bottom of the Abyss.
Aboard the treasure ship, Shen Mu watched the demonic qi steadily retreat, hesitation stirring in his heart. Within that demonic qi there was surely a most terrifying being. He did not know whether it was a creature of Youdu, but its strength was exceedingly great -- greater even than that of the two white bats.
Yet at a single phrase of the Youdu tongue from Shen Mu, the being had withdrawn. There seemed something fishy in it.
After the demonic qi withdrew, the shrill and wretched screams that had haunted the place vanished all at once, and everything around grew incomparably still. The grotesque creatures that had poured in from the world of Youdu were now nowhere to be seen. And because of the stillness, it seemed all the more uncanny.
"That terrible being who worked the two eminent monks to death has likely already come aboard this ship!
" Shen Mu frowned. The ship was now frighteningly quiet. "Fat Dragon, Yuchun, Yuqiu, let us go in and take a look.
If we meet with danger, we withdraw at once! " Shen Mu said in a low, heavy voice, and stepped forward first. Fu Yuchun and Fu Yuqiu hurried forward and took wing.
The two white bats flew without a sound, heads below and feet above, ahead of Shen Mu, while the dragon qilin followed behind him, braced for battle. They advanced along the left side of the treasure ship. When they reached its center, they came upon the honeycomb seal, which was still very tightly knit here; demonic qi seeped faintly only from the cracks.
Suddenly the pavilions beside them gave out a creaking and groaning; a door swung open with a creak and a groan, and a faint, ghostly lamplight spilled from within.