Chapter 700 — The Netherworld's Supreme Presses the Frontier
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Behind them the Yin Son of Heaven's voice came again: "We ought indeed to have a good talk. But that master improvising on the spot a divine art to gather souls, and so bringing about a change in the Dao and law of heaven and earth, cannot fail to make one curious.
" Shen Mu's head swam; he stopped in panic, not daring to take a single step, afraid that to walk was to fall into the Yin Son of Heaven's snare.
Lady Tianyin laughed.
"Very well, very well.
If the chance comes, I will introduce him myself. " The instant her voice sounded, Shen Mu seized the chance and ran for all he was worth, in one breath charging out of the mountain crevice with the Kaihuang Divine Man. Light came from ahead; Shen Mu leaped, lightly struck the stone gate before the crevice, and turned his body to spring out over the cliff.
And behind him, the moment the sunlight outside struck the Kaihuang Divine Man, black smoke poured from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and he became a sheet of human skin; Shen Mu still gripped his hand and would not let go, and the man and the skin drifted down together from the air. Shen Mu's primordial spirit likewise burst from the crevice and floated down with them.
Yan Jingjing, He Yiyi, and the others had waited anxiously outside the cliff for several days and nights.
Taihuang Heaven had already been opened through by Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi, and the road paved, yet Shen Mu still had not appeared, which could not but worry them. Yan Jingjing said, "Fatty Dragon, are you sure you did not see which crevice Brother Cowherd went into? " Dragon Qilin shook his head.
"I was dozing. I had just heard the sect master's voice and was about to open my eyes to see where he was, but I felt someone pressing my eyelids down, so I did not open them. .
.
" Just then Shen Mu suddenly flew out of the cliff with someone in tow, startling and delighting them. Then they saw the man beside him open his mouth in a miserable scream, black smoke jetting from the five features of his face as he turned into a sheet of human skin, which gave them all another fright. Shen Mu landed, still gripping the Kaihuang Divine Man's hand.
He looked back; there was no unusual movement in the crevice, and Lady Tianyin's and the Yin Son of Heaven's voices could no longer be heard.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. Yan Jingjing stared blankly at the Kaihuang Divine Man, whom he held limp and dragging over the ground, and could not help saying in a trembling voice, "Brother Cowherd, what is that in your hand.
. . ?
" Shen Mu hastily spread the Kaihuang Divine Man flat on the ground and swiftly rolled him up, as one might roll a few garments, saying, "This is a divine man of the Kaihuang era whom I met in the Tianyin Realm. Teacher Woodcutter sent him into the Tianyin Realm to probe the source of the darkness.
He has no body left, and his soul is sealed within his skin. I will roll him up for now; when night comes, he will revive.
" "The Tianyin Realm? The source of the darkness? " Yan Jingjing and He Yiyi stared wide-eyed, utterly at a loss as to what he was saying. Shen Mu took out a small cord, rolled the Kaihuang Divine Man up, and bound him fast. "Fatty Dragon, put him away safely.
Fatty Dragon?
" Dragon Qilin had thrust his head into the mountain stream, his hindquarters sticking out, trembling all over.
Shen Mu shook his head, tied the Kaihuang Divine Man to his back, and asked, "Has the cave been opened through? " He Yiyi said, "With Sister Jingjing's help, Taihuang Heaven has been opened.
This cave is very large; even the Xizhou could sail in, though the sun must be gathered in first.
This human skin.
. .
" She too felt a chill of dread.
Shen Mu laughed. "You need not be afraid.