Chapter 661 — The Floating Realm
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
In the five or six months that followed, Chixi and Bangongcuo lived in peace with them. Chixi appeared of his own accord and paid his respects to the Primordial Ancestor, the Human Sovereign; and though the Primordial Ancestor was exceedingly weak, he did not avoid the meeting. Chixi could not gauge what lay behind his frailty, and so had no choice but to hold himself in check and devote himself wholly to steering the green boat toward the Floating Realm.
The tower ship was badly damaged, all six of its wings snapped off, its speed greatly reduced; Chixi replaced the original wings with the crow-wings of the Fire Crow divinities, but even so the ship was far slower than before, and though they took a shortcut, the voyage still took far longer than expected. During those months, apart from cultivating his primordial spirit together with Ling Yuxiu, Shen Mu sparred with Bangongcuo, studying the combat techniques of the three heads and six arms. Bangongcuo cultivated the Flawless Battle Divine Art that Chixi had transmitted to him, and was exceedingly skilled in it; Shen Mu had once gravely wounded him with a single palm strike, and so had somewhat looked down on this cultivation art from the Chiming era — but after witnessing Chixi's battle with the Great Sun Star Lord, he found himself taking an interest in the three heads and six arms.
Bangongcuo trembled with fear, dreading him from the bottom of his heart, and so when Shen Mu proposed a sparring match he refused outright without a second thought; only after Shen Mu beat him did he reluctantly nod. As the two sparred, Bangongcuo's understanding of the Flawless Battle Divine Art deepened.
Then one day a foolish thought rose in his heart: "My cultivation and strength have advanced so quickly — if I suddenly strike to kill, I can surely do away with that brat Shen! " He launched a sudden killing move in the midst of the spar, trying to finish Shen Mu off; afterward he lay abed for more than ten days before he recovered. Once Bangongcuo's wounds had healed, he would no longer spar with Shen Mu; even when Shen Mu swore he would not strike hard again, he refused.
Helpless, Shen Mu had Ling Yuxiu spar with Bangongcuo while he watched from the side. Ling Yuxiu cultivated the Ancestral Dragon Grand Mystery Art, a martial art and divine power of the Imperial Throne tier; though she was not of the dragon race, she had practiced the Nine Dragon Emperor Art since childhood, and so her progress was swift as flight.
Moreover, Bashan the Libationer had shown her the path where combat and dharma converge, and on that path Ling Yuxiu advanced with fierce valor, surging like a dragon, cultivating the strength of a feral dragon. Her strength was a match for Bangongcuo's; in raw power and the might of her divine powers she far surpassed him, but in the transformation of the flesh she could not match the three heads and six arms of the Flawless Battle Divine Art.
Then one day Bangongcuo suddenly broke through and opened the Life-and-Death Divine Treasury, and Ling Yuxiu was at once no match for him and was defeated.
Bangongcuo was smug; he glanced at Shen Mu, and all at once a tremendously fierce confidence surged up in his heart: "I have shattered through the Life-and-Death Divine Treasury, and he is still only at the Seven Stars realm — killing him will be all too easy!
I will piece his corpse together into a great big 'submit'.
. .
but the Primordial Ancestor protects him, so it will be hard to make a move. .
. " Just then Chixi suddenly cried out in alarm: "The Floating Realm is almost here!
" Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu at once went to the forest at the bow and looked out, but saw nothing at all; the Primordial Ancestor, the Human Sovereign, came over as well, and he too saw nothing.