Chapter 458 — Formation Dao Tactics
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Rumor has it he came from the upper realm, a visitor from Heaven Above. He has joined with the Zhentian Palace Master, and it is said she has already conceived, that there is a child in her womb. Bagou has let it be known abroad that the child in the Palace Master's belly is certain to be a girl — that is, the princess of Zhentian Palace! " That bearing a daughter was what secured one's seat as Zhentian Palace Master — such a rule Shen Mu had never heard of.
But in the Western Lands, women were held supreme, and their customs were indeed vastly different from Jingping's.
Moreover, so long as one cultivated the Sacred Pupil, discerning whether the child in a womb was boy or girl was no trouble at all.
Since Bagou was certain the child was a girl, then he could not be mistaken; the Palace Master would surely bear a little princess and secure her seat. Shen Mu asked, "What surname does this Bagou bear? " "Yu. " Shen Mu was taken aback.
"Yu as well? What is his connection to the Yu family?
" He Yiyi smiled a smile that was not quite a smile.
"We would like to know that too. There are many rumors in the Western Lands — some say Bagou is the Yu family's founding ancestor, others say Bagou is the son of Heaven Above's Lord Yu, and that the Yu family are Lord Yu's descendants.
With so many rumors, it is hard to tell true from false.
" Shen Mu's expression turned strange.
He Yiyi said, "Some say it was Xiong Xiyu's lack of talent and lack of virtue that cost her the seat, which the Yu then seized.
Yet in my view, though Palace Master Xiong is indeed wanting in both talent and virtue, what truly steers the winds and clouds of the Western Lands is this Bagou. " Shen Mu nodded. Xiong Qi'er was right there beside him, yet even he had to admit He Yiyi was not wrong. In neither statecraft nor scheme nor cunning did Xiong Xiyu much resemble the mistress of a holy land.
She had weathered few intrigues, few bloody struggles and slaughters; she had ascended to the Palace Master's seat at a tender age, and it was only natural that she could not outmatch the Yu family and Bagou.
Shen Mu too had ascended young to the seat of sect master of the Youmo Sect, that holy land of the demonic path — yet the ones who had taught Shen Mu were the Nine Elders of Yincan Village, who from his childhood had drummed into him every manner of intrigue, treachery, and cunning, and even they still thought him too honest. And so Shen Mu had been able to hold the sect master's seat firm, with everyone in the sect, high and low, obedient to him. Yun City raced through mountain and field, heading west, not making straight for Zhentian Palace. This time they were bound for the ancestral land of the He family, the Sword River Valley, where the He family's seat of power lay.
As a great house, the He naturally commanded a colossal force of their own; though not the equal of the Yu or the Xiong, they were still a power not to be taken lightly.
Yun City ran for half a day, and at last, as the sun sank, arrived at the Sword River Valley. Gazing into the distance, Shen Mu saw a great river running straight as a sword, with the He family's walled towns and settlements built at the hilt; the mountains to either side took the shape of a blade, walled towns arrayed in ranks, guarded on both flanks by the Sword River. The cities here were most uncanny.
As Yun City arrived, Shen Mu was astonished to see great mountains rise to their feet and open a road, while from the water stone bridges surfaced from the depths — stone giants, each with its back bowed, so that Yun City might tread upon them and cross the Sword River. "How marvelous — the Western Lands truly are a place brimming with wild imagination," Shen Mu could not help exclaiming. He Yiyi's gaze was like autumn waters, like a pair of cut gems.