Chapter 585 — Dubious Origins
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu hastily sheathed his sword and gazed at the towering old man before him in mingled surprise and joy. "Grandpa Butcher!
" he cried happily. Before the words had left his mouth, the other roe deer suddenly burst apart, and figures shot into the sky to intercept Tianfeng Gou as she lunged at the Venerable God Sangye. Her sword-light was already driving at him, and there was no time for her to change her move.
A long spear transformed into a black dragon and scattered the glow of her blade. Tianfeng Gou's entire body shuddered. The great spear twisted and shifted, and in its black-dragon form every thrust struck the pivot of her sword forms, leaving her magic power broken and fitful, so that she could not bring the full might of her swordsmanship to bear. She had devoted her life to the way of the sword, and her mastery had been second to none in Taihuang Heaven.
But after Shen Mu opened the passage between Taihuang Heaven and Jingping, and Jingping's sword arts flowed through, her swordsmanship could hardly claim such rank any longer—there were far too many masters in the kingdom of Jingping whose skill surpassed her own. What she found truly terrifying was that this black-dragon spear could defeat strength through weakness, shattering her magic power outright. Strange stars flickered in the sky, weaving a Daluo Heaven star-force field, and just as she clashed with the black dragon spear, it came from nowhere and blasted against her chest. It was a bizarre divine art—one that turned the star-lore of all heavens into power.
In the transformation of divine arts, too, Jingping far outstripped Taihuang Heaven.
Tianfeng Gou gave a stifled groan and spat blood, then fell back at tremendous speed. Suddenly her back went cold: an old man had appeared noiselessly behind her with a blade in his hand.
She collided with his knife, and it drove straight into her heart from behind. The blow was not strong—this plain, honest-looking old man was clearly good only at stabbing people in the back, and his actual technique lacked force.
She swung her sword backward, but before her sword-light could reach the simple old man behind her, another old man, carrying a furnace on his back, smashed down with a hammer!
The furnace behind the hammer-wielder blazed into the heavens, and the stroke was of such appalling weight that it snapped her bones and tore her sinews.
She tumbled and rolled along the ground, her body bouncing high, falling, and bouncing again. Her strength was exceptional—even above that of the Venerable God Sangye—and she still lived. But she knew she had fallen into an ambush and could never overcome so many masters, so she fled at once despite her wounds.
She bounded a hundred li, then turned and saw an enormously tall old man lifting a palm, as if he were rolling up the vault of heaven. Her heart jolted.
This old man's ears were a pair of gleaming iron ears, and his body loomed so immense, more towering than true gods or true demons, that he had actually folded the space around her! "There is no way he can have such dreadful power.
. . " she had only just thought, when she realized the truth: the iron-eared old man had not folded space at all. After being gravely wounded by the blacksmith, she had fallen into a painting.
She was fleeing inside the painting now. Tianfeng Gou immediately drove her divine sword and tore the space apart. The painting split, and a shaft of sword-light flew straight at the iron-eared old man's face.
The iron-eared old man looked supremely majestic, his aura enough to shake heaven and earth, but in truth his strength was pitiful. Seeing the sword-light coming, he knew he could never withstand it and turned to run in panic.