Chapter 379 — Punishing on Heaven's Behalf
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The rain of blood was not heavy, nor did it cover a wide stretch of land; it fell precisely upon the mountain slope where they stood. Shen Mu watched the trees and grasses of that forest grow with terrifying speed, the trees tall and lush, the spiritual energy that hung about them so thick it seemed on the verge of condensing into substance, drifting in ribbons and streamers around the great trunks. Among the flowers and grasses a milky white mist spread, and they turned unnaturally vivid and tender green.
And after so long a rain, the lakes, ditches, and rivers were all brimming; now in those lakes and rivers countless fish grew madly, becoming like the fish-monsters of the Wasteland, several zhang in length.
Some fish had grown legs and feet, and hopped up onto the banks to open their mouths, mouths full of sharp teeth, catching the pattering blood rain from the sky. Some auspicious beasts of the mountains swelled in body, and bone spurs burst out of them, branching and forking, a frightful sight. And the mermaids in the lake had grown enormous too, their once-beautiful faces turned strange and monstrous. There was too much energy in the divine blood; it easily made living things grow into deformed monsters, and such growth was uncontrolled, whatever the blood rain touched first growing first, and often growing far larger than the rest.
Plants and insects had life as well, and were rained upon by the blood, making this mountain slope like another Wasteland.
In Shen Mu's view, it was the mighty qi of yin and yang, the qi of the Four Symbols, the qi of the Five Elements within the divine blood that had upset the balance inside these living things and so produced the mutations, which still differed from the Wasteland.
The strange beasts of the Wasteland mostly carried the bloodlines of gods and demons; that was inheritance. But the strange beasts on this mountain slope had mostly absorbed the mighty power in the divine blood and mutated.
"Which god has fallen?
Is it that Dragon-Rearing Lord? " Mu Qingdai said softly.
Outside the great hall, multicolored radiance and white mist covered the hills and fields, dressing the place like a holy land; but if they walked into the blood rain, they too would likely mutate as the life of these mountains had. Yet if one did not take the blood rain directly, one could cultivate here, drawing in the mighty divine power; for one who commands divine abilities, this was surely a holy land for cultivation.
Judged purely by spiritual and divine power, even the three great holy lands of Jingping would be far inferior to this place; after all, neither the Nether Demon Sect, nor the Daoist sects, nor the Great Tingming Temple could slay a god to nourish their own holy land.
"The old woman originally lived in this backwater, meaning to trap Fan Xuanshu with her own body. She surely never imagined this place would become a holy land for cultivation?
" Shen Mu's expression was odd. With the Wuyou Sword he carefully caught a drop of divine blood, examined it, and shook his head: "This is not the Dragon-Rearing Lord's blood.
The Dragon-Rearing Lord's blood is dragon blood; the divine power in this blood is not that of dragon blood. . .
" His expression suddenly turned strange: "This kind of divine blood, I have seen before. " Shen Mu flicked his sword; the drop of divine blood on the blade ran down to the tip.
He turned his wrist, working the sword, and the drop of blood flowed endlessly along the blade, yet never slid off. Suddenly the energy within the sword burst forth, and the might of that drop of divine blood was roused as well, like a divine ability exploding; the surging energy collided with the force of Shen Mu's stroke and drove him staggering backward again and again. Shen Mu nodded and said gravely: "This kind of divine blood, I have indeed seen.