Chapter 688 — The Tribulation of the Divine Descendants' Degeneration
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
These Celestial Courts may have overlapped, and the heavens connected to them were thus smashed together in one place—which is why so many bizarre and grotesque things appear.
" Shen Mu thought it over from every angle and still could not quite understand how he, Ban Gongcuo, and the Dragon Qilin had been able to return to antiquity.
His meeting with Bai Qu'er in antiquity had not been a mere pipe dream. "When will the secrets of the Yong River all be unraveled? " He withdrew his gaze and turned back, thinking, "I will surely unravel these mysteries!
" At last they came to the Po Spring. Shen Mu jumped down from the Great Red Kun's back; the red Kun grew smaller and smaller, turning back into a little red fish that leaped into the basket, where the two red fish nestled together, billing and cooing. Yan Jingjing looked around and saw that the Po Spring too was upheld by an invisible barrier of moonlight from the well, guarding the place and forming a world of its own. If an outsider came here without knowing the path, they could certainly never enter the Po Spring, for from the outside one could not see the Po Spring at all—only a stretch of forest.
The Angler had clearly been here before and knew the way well.
The space shrouded by the Po Spring was a scene of devastation, strewn everywhere with rubble and broken buildings, and on the ground lay countless skeletons. Shen Mu knew what had once happened here: enemies had invaded and broken into the Po Spring, yet the Moon Guardian abandoned his clansmen and fled alone in panic aboard the Po Boat, escaping to Fengdu. His clansmen had all died in battle around the Po Spring, and because this Moon Guardian had betrayed his people, even King Yama was unwilling to take him in; he could only moor the Po Boat on the outskirts of Fengdu. What was more infuriating, a demon god had followed him into Fengdu and likewise entrenched itself outside the city. This female demon god had seduced Shen Mu and nearly captured him; fortunately the village chief had wounded her.
Later, because Shen Mu took his place as the new Moon Guardian, this Moon Guardian was devoured by the Po Boat—a fitting end, one might say. Shen Mu carefully avoided the bones of the Moon Herders and said to the Dragon Qilin, "These Moon Herders were the guardians of the Wilderness Ruins and deserve our reverence.
Do not tread on them and injure them. " The Dragon Qilin was most afraid of things like white bones. It immediately tucked in its dragon tail, wishing it could leap into Shen Mu's arms, and said in a trembling voice, "Injure them?
Sect Master, are they still alive? " "In a moment I will wake them and have them dig their own graves and bury themselves.
" Shen Mu said calmly, "The brave who guarded the Wilderness Ruins should not be left without a burial place. " The Angler set down his little folding stool and sat by the well, smiling.
"You have the bearing of a benevolent man. When the Heavenly Master Zhuocha meets you, he will surely like you very much.
" Shen Mu said, "The Heavenly Master Zhuocha is.
.
. ?
" "One of the four Heavenly Masters of the Kaihuang Celestial Court.
A farmer, leading an ox.
" The Angler cast down his fishing line; the little female fish leaped from the basket and swam into the Po Spring. The Angler said, "He is the martial Heavenly Master among us four, the strongest of us all. "