Chapter 657 — Hard to Tell Friend from Foe
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu's heart turned cold. He hastily grasped the Wisdom Bead at his throat, gave it two turns, steadied himself, and said, "We should not wander blindly now. Best to stay where we are and quietly wait for the First Ancestor, or Chixi and the others, to come find us.
" Ling Yuxiu looked around and murmured, "But what if they never find us?
What if. . .
" "If they never find us, our air will run out before long.
" Shen Mu took out a handful of herb seeds, dug some soil from the Taotie Pouch, and sowed the seeds in it, then roused the Creation Earth-Origin Art.
The seeds put forth roots and shoots at astonishing speed, and soon a little medicinal plot sprang up on the remaining deck. He spread his fingers, and a ball of firelight rose from his palm — a small sun formed of pure yang qi, bathing the green herbs in sunlight. His pure yang qi was far more abundant than others', because when he had traveled back forty thousand years he had met a god-devil who had died in the era of the Supreme Emperor, and it had bestowed on him two strands of divine qi, one pure yang, one pure yin. Shen Mu raised a little moon in his other hand and said softly, "May this buy us a while longer.
" Ban Gongcuo crawled out of the hold, and seeing that he had even packed a heap of soil in his Taotie Pouch, cried out in disbelief, "Sect Master Shen, you even carry soil in your Taotie Pouch? " "Better safe than sorry. " Shen Mu opened his hand, and the tiny sun and moon revolved around the little herb plot. "I feared I might not be able to grow herbs in a desert or the like, so I brought some along. I never thought I would use it here.
" Ban Gongcuo's face turned strange. He sighed, "Now I know why I was never able to kill you.
" Enduring the pain in his body, Shen Mu laughed. "You never once beat me — how could you kill me?
" Ban Gongcuo's face darkened and he said no more, and dared not make a move either.
Shen Mu mused aloud, "Three of us breathing uses up the air faster than two. . .
So.
.
.
" Ban Gongcuo's expression changed drastically. He was about to flee when suddenly the tower ship lurched violently.
The three of them turned to look aft, and their faces went ashen. There stood the Great Sun Star Lord at the stern, riddled with wounds, wings broken, one leg lame, his whole body a mass of injuries, two of his three eyes apparently beaten blind — a sight too ghastly to behold. "Cough, cough! " He coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of fiery phlegm, which burned without cease where it landed, setting even the Divine Ship alight in one place. "What a formidable Kaihuang divine power —" The Great Sun Star Lord gasped with pain, blood streaming endlessly from his body, and laughed with a nasty grin.
"It nearly killed me, but only nearly.
. .
What was it I said earlier?
Ah yes. You are already dead. " His single eye opened wide, and within it seemed to brew a great sun of divine fire!
Shen Mu hurriedly snatched out the small box and, without a word, flung it open.
Two red beams of light shot at the Great Sun Star Lord with lightning speed! The Great Sun Star Lord's tattered pinions suddenly wrapped around his whole body.
The two blood-red beams coiled about him, severing countless feathers, and fresh blood burst forth. "Agony —" came the Great Sun Star Lord's shocked and furious voice from within the feathers.
Shen Mu's heart went cold.
The God-Slaying Dark Blade had failed to slay this already grievously wounded Great Sun Star Lord. What drove him to despair even more was this: if the Great Sun Star Lord stood here before him, could the First Ancestor Human Emperor already be dead in battle? The two red beams returned without success, and the box snapped shut with a clack.
"Without the God-Slaying Terrace, a mere God-Slaying Dark Blade cannot touch me.
" The Great Sun Star Lord spread his wings, both streaming blood.