Chapter 458 — Formation Dao Tactics
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Rumble, rumble — the colossal Yun City lurched forward, and Shen Mu stood shoulder to shoulder with He Yiyi atop the city tower. Even though he had already witnessed the marvel of this city walking of its own accord, Shen Mu still found it beyond belief. The divine arts of the Western Lands had not advanced for over ten thousand years, yet this creed that all things possess a spirit and all things possess a god was still something quite extraordinary.
He looked back and saw the streets thronged with passersby coming and going, and could not help clicking his tongue in wonder. After the Formation Master He Yiyi conceded defeat, she had summoned the residents of Yun City; some hundred thousand souls dwelt there, and all of them had now returned within its walls.
For a great city to carry so many people as it walked, crossing mountains and ridges — such a spectacle was truly beyond comprehension, and yet there it was, right before his eyes.
"Toppling Zhentian Palace's Palace Master Yu will not be easy. " He Yiyi said, "Beyond our He family, we will need the support of other great houses. In our Western Lands there are two paramount houses, the Yu and the Xiong, the strongest of all. The Xiong have already fallen, their seat as Zhentian Palace Master seized by the Yu.
Then there are the Mu family of the poison master Mu Yingxue, the Luo family of the sword master Luo Yinyu, the Fang, the Liu, the Gong, the Xi, and the Fu — ten great houses in all.
Beyond these, there are also the Geke, Maochi, and Kaxiangka houses, whose strength is not to be slighted either. " (Note 1) Shen Mu mused, "Why was the Xiong family able to inherit the seat of Zhentian Palace Master? Do the other houses hold that same right? " "The Xiong inherited the seat of Zhentian Palace Master through ancestral succession — the first Palace Master of Zhentian Palace was surnamed Xiong. " He Yiyi said, "In later generations the Palace Masters were likewise usually surnamed Xiong. Though now and then someone of another surname would take the seat, it never took long before the Xiong returned to it. It is said.
. .
" She glanced at Xiong Qi'er, who stood beside Shen Mu, and said, "It is said that the Xiong ancestors enjoyed the backing of a deity, and that this is how they kept the seat for so long. But this time was different.
It is said that this deity grew displeased with the Xiong family's Naikui, and instead made contact with the Yu family — and that is how the Yu were able to uproot the Xiong's power so easily. " "A deity? Could it be the master of the wooden idol I encountered in the Flame Desert?
" Shen Mu was rather perplexed. "If this deity always backed the Xiong family, then why would it suddenly turn and back the Yu? " "That brings us to Bagou. " (Note 2) He Yiyi said, "Bagou's origins are no small matter. Rumor has it he is a mighty one who came down from the upper realm, and it is said that he is the one who linked the Yu family to this deity.
" "Bagou?
" Shen Mu blinked. Bagou, like Naikui, was a title of respect — Naikui being the mother of a princess, Bagou the father of one.
Yet by his understanding, the princess of Zhentian Palace was Xiong Qi'er, and her father had already fallen in battle; so the Bagou He Yiyi spoke of must be the husband of the Yu family's Zhentian Palace Master.
And yet, the Palace Master had never borne a daughter, so she ought not to deserve the title of Bagou. "This Bagou can make contact with that deity — his standing is no small matter.
" He Yiyi said, "He is exceedingly mysterious.