Chapter 435 — An Eerie Affair at the Door
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
The two deities — one standing upon the river, one upon Hundred Year Mountain — gazed at each other, and neither spoke. The river wind howled, the mountain wind whimpered; the wind of early spring was cold to the bone.
After a long while, the Dragon-Rearing Lord slowly sank into the water and said, "First set Hundred Year Mountain in order, and build yourself a mountain god's shrine.
In a little while I shall hold a feast to welcome you and wash the dust from your travels. That mountain of yours is too desolate — only at Qingming and the Ghost Festival does anyone come to make offerings and sweep the graves. Incense is scarce there. If you cannot survive on it, I can share some of mine with you. " The White Gap Deity felt a profound desolation in his heart.
The Dragon-Rearing Lord fed on blood offerings; what he would share would doubtless be the folk who had thrown themselves into the river to die. He himself, however, ate only vegetarian fare — and yet this mountain of his bore scarcely any fruit trees, though it had buried no small number of corpses. "Best build the shrine first.
Once it is built, who knows — devout men and women may come to burn incense and bring a few vegetables and fruits. So long as they are not spoiled, they can be eaten.
. . " In Redbud City, Shen Mu looked at the Five Thunder Jar before him, more than five zhang tall, and felt a headache coming on.
Such a huge gourd, harboring world-ending energy — the Five Great Cloud Thunders.
If it were ever released by accident, it would be a catastrophe to end the world! "Sect Master, what shall we do with this Five Thunder Jar? Should we hide it away? " The folk of the Nether Demon Sect circled the gourd, sizing it up from every side, and all of them felt a chill of dread.
Shen Mu shook his head. "There is no place where this gourd can rest easy. The slightest carelessness will stir its power — heaven's thunder rolling and rolling, and who knows how many it will strike dead.
" He paced around the gourd, finding it a thorny problem. In the kingdom of Jingping there was not merely this one Five Thunder Jar; there were a dozen or more similar celestial-phenomenon weapons, enough to destroy Jingping a dozen times over. Suddenly Shen Mu crooked a finger and flicked it — flicked it upon the Five Thunder Jar.
The crowd could not help but shudder. In an instant, within a radius of more than ten zhang around the jar, heaven's thunder rolled, and the divine thunder of the five directions came crashing down, crack-crack! When that burst of thunder had fallen, everyone was scorched — tender within, charred without — their faces black as charcoal. The great courtyard where they stood was destroyed outright by the lightning; in the blink of an eye a thousand hundred bolts came crashing down, houses toppled and roofs collapsed, and the very ground was melted.
Shen Mu spat out a mouthful of black smoke and mused, "This thing is rather good for tempering the flesh. With the Five Great Cloud Thunders to temper it, one could cultivate the body swiftly. Let us carry it home.
.
. carry it back to the Holy Sect.
" "Sect Master! " Everyone's expression changed drastically.
Elder Sigong's face was a mask of mourning: "Carry it back to the Holy Sect?
If it bursts, the Holy Sect is finished! " Shen Mu looked troubled. "If this treasure cannot be put to the Holy Sect's use, would that not be a waste? " Elder Sigong said hurriedly, "No waste, no waste at all!
" Shen Mu knitted his brows and sighed. "This thing has many uses, but you do not know where its true benefit lies. Very well, I shall keep it myself.
Carry it to my True Dragon Lair — I have great use for it. " The crowd exchanged glances. A thing as perilous as the Five Thunder Jar — how could it be of great use?