Chapter 313 — The Lord Who Guards the Stars
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
This was a creature of the Netherworld — perhaps even a god! She was not the same being as the owner of those two eyes set two hundred and sixty-four zhang apart. "You and I had an agreement, Qin Hanzhen.
" She slithered to the foot of the tree and coiled about the ancient trunk. Her bewitching, lovely face pressed to the face of the man in the tree, cheek to cheek, temple to temple; the membrane behind her head quivered and gave voice as she laughed: "You and I made the Earth Lord's pact.
So long as you found that son of yours named Fengqing, you would set everything aside, come with me to the Netherworld, and tell me the location of the Land of No Sorrow.
Now you have found your son, your wish is fulfilled — it is time to keep your promise.
" The man in the tree did not stir.
His gaze still rested upon Shen Mu. His flesh had turned to wood, and his eyes could no longer see clearly the person before him. From those half-wooden eyes, tears fell. The strange creature's long body coiled more than a full turn around the ancient tree, then left the man and swam at her leisure, her voice drifting and wavering among the branches, fitful and unstill: "In those years you broke into the world of the Netherworld and shattered the seal-barrier. You were at death's door, and you fused with this divine tree to cling to a shred of life — all because you wished to see your son one last time, and so you did everything in your power to keep yourself alive.
I came here and have kept you company all this while. You promised me that once you saw your son, you would set everything aside — life itself, the Land of No Sorrow, all of it could be cast away.
You were willing to offer your soul to the Earth Lord, willing to tell me where the Land of No Sorrow lies. I agreed, and I did not take your life. " Her face suddenly dropped down from the divine tree and came to rest before Shen Mu. Her vast body turned slowly, coiling once around him, the membrane quivering as she gave a strange laugh: "Could it be that now, having seen your son, you mean to go back on your word? Do you wish to watch your son die before your eyes? Heh heh heh — what succulent flesh, what young life. He is only sixteen, is he not? He will surely taste tender and juicy… " Cold sweat broke out on Shen Mu's brow.
Abruptly he stirred the Mystic Body Three-Elixir Art, circulated the Star Lord's Earth-Marquise True Art, and transformed into the Star Lord form. His voice hoarse, he said: "Senior, I too am—" "You too are in the Star Lord form? " The strange creature of the Netherworld suddenly stretched out her serpent body and, with a swish, swam away from Zhong Yue's side and settled onto the ground, her long tail still coiled around the tree, not yet fully descended. Looking down from her height upon this tiny youth before her, she wore a playful smile: "Poor little thing. This little trick you play seems so laughable before me, so childish.
Do you not know? The Star Lord form is in truth an imitation of me.
I am—" "The Star Lord!
" She bent low and brought her face close to Shen Mu, seeking to read in the boy's face panic, unease, the despair left behind when every conviction crumbles. Shen Mu struggled to hold himself calm, yet still she saw through to the terror at the bottom of his heart.
The Star Lord raised her head in satisfaction and laughed: "What an amusing little creature — striving so hard to act the grown man, and only appearing ignorant and adorable for it. Did you not speak a phrase of Netherworld tongue when you boarded the ship? That one phrase is all the Netherworld tongue you know, am I right? The phrase means the Gate of Heaven.
Surely you did not truly believe that hearing it would make me withdraw and let you board?
" Shen Mu suppressed the trembling of his body. Before a deity such as the Star Lord, all his schemes were utterly useless!