Chapter 472 — A Thousand Men Stay Their Hands, Who Dares Go Forward?
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The scene before the Jingping Imperial Preceptor's eyes shifted violently, and when the light before him steadied again he saw that they had come into a celestial court, where palaces rose in towering majesty, divine mountains ranged one upon another, and holy radiance shone over a thousand worlds. "Is this a world inside a painting?
" The Imperial Preceptor was shaken to the depths.
If this was a world inside a painting, then it was far too vast by half!
He let his gaze travel outward: the heavenly palaces had no end.
The whole sky was filled with gods throned on high, some majestic, some holy, some utterly transcendent; but far more numerous were the gods pacing to and fro, seeking out friends, calling to companions, raising cups and passing goblets, counters and wine-vessels crossed in merry confusion. Shen Mu led him through, into the painting, into this celestial feast.
Long corridors like bridges, rainbows streaming with flying color; the sun and the moon hung from the pavilions; in the lanterns, divine birds wreathed in flame served as candles, giving out light and heat. There were goddesses plucking strings, blowing upon strange instruments; women dancing lightly on lotus leaves in midair, celestial blossoms scattering wildly about them.
Drunken gods reeled and lurched every which way, clutching wine pots, staggering to and fro, pestering bashful, shrinking goddesses who fled in shame. The Imperial Preceptor's eyes could not keep pace with it all.
Their own place was the very center of the feast; gods beyond counting crowded about them; far off, the divine mountains blazed with light.
Tu Bo was not far from him, nine-coiled horns springing from his head, sitting bolt upright and unmoving, flames spinning beneath him like a deep abyss. And several beings of immense and towering presence, high above, their faces indistinct, whose majesty yielded not the slightest to Tu Bo's.
"Jingping Imperial Preceptor, right now you look like a mud-turtle lumbering into the city, about the same as I was when I first entered Crimson Dragon City!
" Shen Mu laughed aloud, and suddenly snatched a jug of wine from the tray borne by a goddess passing by, and drank it back with his head thrown back.
The goddess was furious and shouted, "Where did this little wretch come from?
This is sacred wine for the high gods, is it yours to touch?
" "Nagging!
" Shen Mu lifted a foot and kicked the goddess flying; he caught another jug from the tray as it spun up into the air, stuffed it into the Imperial Preceptor's hand, and leaped onto the jade table before one of the gods enthroned on high, drinking deep with his head back.
That god was enraged and brought down a palm the size of an acre of field. Shen Mu reached out, drew his sword, and the severed arm went flying.
Shen Mu laughed aloud, heaved the jade table over, and cried in a great voice, "Sun and moon within the verse, an immortal in the wine; from level ground I wing up to the ninth heaven!
" Chi, and that god enthroned on high had his head shorn from his shoulders by a single stroke of the sword.
Shen Mu carried the head and stormed the hall, wreaking havoc through Lingxiao, and numberless gods rose up in fury and came at him to kill.