Chapter 602 — Blood Sacrifice to Luofu
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Lu Li knew things had turned bad. She turned to look at Varahi. His three faces were wooden. One of them tilted upward to face Luofu Heaven directly. After a moment, Varahi's incomparably resonant voice emerged: "Heavenly Master, I shall make a covenant with you—we cease hostilities for now! Let our two sides conclude peace. My demon race and the gods and devils of Taihuang Heaven shall divide the world in two. My demon race shall occupy half the territory of Taihuang Heaven, and the other half shall belong to you. You shall hold Luofu Heaven, and with a hold over my demon race, you too may rest easy."
"Agreed!"
The sky was torn open, and the Woodcutter's massive face appeared in the air—only the face, not even the ears showing. This face appeared so abruptly in the sky, looking down at Varahi below, its voice rolling like heavenly thunder: "Swear before Tubo?"
Varahi said solemnly, "I swear before Tubo!"
Zaifu, the Blind Elder, and the others, racing toward Li City, also saw this scene and heard the words exchanged between the Woodcutter Sage and Varahi. Granny Zhu shook her head and said, "Who is this foolish old man? So silly—he dares to swear before Tubo with the Demon Race's Exalted King? He'd better be careful, or Varahi will cheat him out of even his underclothes!"
The people of Hidden Remnant Village nodded repeatedly.
Shen Mu said cautiously, "Granny, look at that face in the sky—does it not resemble the Woodcutter Sage in the murals of our Sacred Mountain?"
Granny Zhu examined it, then gave a shudder. Was this face not the Woodcutter Sage?
"So it is the Sage."
Granny Zhu's expression brightened, quite charmingly, and she laughed, "Then he will not lose out in swearing before Tubo with Varahi. So many cunning, ghost-like figures in the Heavenly Sage Cult all learned their craft and slyness from the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture—and when it comes to cunning, this Sage is the ancestor of them all."
Beneath her smile, everyone's minds went blank, and the matter of Granny Zhu having just called the Woodcutter Sage a foolish old man was involuntarily and selectively forgotten.
Lu Li's gaze flickered. She looked into the distance and was about to step forward to chase Shen Mu when Varahi suddenly said calmly, "This concerns the survival of my Luofu Heaven. Fellow Daoist Lu Li, it would be best not to act rashly."
Lu Li's graceful brows furrowed slightly. The opportunity was rare—she very much wanted to seize the chance to capture Shen Mu and the others—but she was also deeply wary of that face in the sky. If she forced a move, even Varahi, under coercion, might turn against her. She had no choice but to endure for now.
"Rest assured, I said I would hand this brat over to you, and I will never go back on my word," Varahi said.
Lu Li giggled and said, "If you dare break your word, then I might just help Taihuang Heaven wipe out your demon race."
Varahi shook his head. "You will not. The Heavenly Master comes from the Kaihuang Heavenly Court. His deep enmity with you surpasses even your hatred for the demon race—it cannot possibly be resolved."
Lu Li glanced toward the direction in which Shen Mu and the others had fled and restrained herself. She did not fear Varahi, nor did she fear the Woodcutter Sage—but if the Woodcutter Sage and Varahi struck at her simultaneously, she would not fare well either.
"Nevertheless, what I promised you, I will certainly accomplish."
Varahi's front face was in the midst of concluding the Covenant of Tubo with the face in the sky. His left face said to Lu Li, "He has already fallen under my divine ability. Whether he looks into a mirror or upon water, he will fall into my grasp."
Only then did Lu Li feel at ease. She laughed and said, "I truly admire your spatial arts."
Qi Jiuyi frowned slightly and said, "Then, Military Commissioner, the agreement between you and me…"