Chapter 505 — Thrashing the Grandmaster
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Human Emperors of every generation nodded one after another, feeling much the same.
True, in their masters' eyes every Human Emperor had deserved a beating—but a Human Emperor this deserving of one was something they had never seen before.
Every Human Emperor had been the supreme powerhouse of his age. It was not merely their station that made the other sects revere and honor them; it was that their strength was truly great enough to sweep their generation clean, leaving them scarcely a rival to be found.
Any Human Emperor who had not, while alive, fought a few bouts with the gods of Heaven would be too ashamed to face his ancestors after death—and how many such figures did any single age produce?
And yet Shen Mu, facing powerhouses so overbearing and tyrannical as these, had actually said he feared he might wound them, and had even declared their arts and divine abilities outdated and obsolete. How could they possibly endure it?
The Third Ancestor limbered up his body and said mildly, "Every Human Emperor is full of swagger, and after death each one swaggers to the heavens, wanting to fight this one and that one. But you are the first to call us outdated! Human Emperor Shen, how impressive."
The Fourth Ancestor said coolly, "It is common enough for a disciple to defeat his master. I, for instance, have thrashed the old man. But to thrash every old man at once—Human Emperor Shen, that is no small boast. I would rather like to see whether you have the skill to back it up."
The Third Ancestor glared at him.
The Second Ancestor, his face stern, said, "Human Emperor Shen is still a living man, and how he is to cross hands with us is a problem. But the First Ancestor left a treasure here, I believe—it is called Between Life and Death. That treasure can place us between life and death, which makes it most suitable for a contest."
The Human Emperors all frowned. "The First Ancestor is not here. Who can wield Between Life and Death?"
The Second Ancestor laughed. "As the First Ancestor's disciple, with the First Ancestor absent, I am the master of the Five Yang Divine Hall, so naturally I can wield Between Life and Death. Be patient, all of you. I know this place well—better than my own home. Wait a moment for me; I will go fetch Between Life and Death."
They were all rather curious. They had heard of the treasure Between Life and Death but had never seen it. It was said that the First Ancestor, longing for his dead wife, had forged it in order to open a passage to Youdu and meet with her.
Such treasures, however, were of little use and possessed scant power, so very few ever forged them. Yet for a duel between the living and the dead, Between Life and Death could not have been more perfect.
Before long the Second Ancestor returned. Seeing his hands empty, they could not help but doubt, and asked suspiciously, "Second Ancestor, where is Between Life and Death?"
"This is Between Life and Death!"
The Second Ancestor shook his sleeve, and suddenly a long river flew out from it. The great river flew out of the Five Yang Divine Hall, growing wider and broader, until a river hundreds of li long floated in the sky above Fengdu.
The others hurried out of the Five Yang Divine Hall to look. They saw the long river suspended in the air, with a flying bridge spanning it, and on the river a painted pleasure boat moored by the bank beneath the bridge.
They all cried out in admiration. "To meet his dead wife, the First Ancestor expended such great dharma power to forge this treasure! Come, come, onto the bridge!"
Shen Mu followed them onto the long bridge. The moment he stood upon it, something wondrous happened: he saw that flesh and blood had grown upon him once more!
In the Dead-Living Realm of Fengdu, the dead come back to life and the living turn to dry bones—yet this river and this bridge could actually restore his body of flesh and blood. How strange indeed!