Chapter 786 — He Whom the Martial Dao Crowns Emperor
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Shen Mu walked with the old farmer into the village, the Dragon Qilin and the Water Qilin following behind. The Water Qilin kept turning its head to study the Dragon Qilin, and suddenly sneered: "So you are of qilin stock too, a demigod, and yet you are a coward who shames our qilin divine race! Groveling so meekly to serve as a mount, plowing fields, and even sniveling and weeping! " The Dragon Qilin shot it a glance and said in a deep, booming voice: "And what is that on your back? " Yutian Zun sat on the Water Qilin's back, looking about in curiosity.
The Water Qilin was choked half to death, and snorted: "I am different.
Your lord caught me.
Surrender or die. So I bent to circumstance and became Lord Lan's mount. You are another matter altogether, you snivel and weep. Do you know how mighty our qilin divine race was in high antiquity, in far antiquity? Dragons, phoenixes, when they saw us they called themselves our juniors.
.
. " The Dragon Qilin was utterly unruffled: "Have you ever eaten a spirit elixir?
" The Water Qilin said angrily: "What spirit elixir? Men, demigods, demons, dragons, phoenixes, anything alive, we can eat it! What do we want elixirs for? " The Dragon Qilin looked this way and that, saw that no one was paying it any heed, and only then took out a pouch and pinched out a single spirit elixir with great care: "The sect master refined this specially for me.
It is of the thunder-fire nature, and most likely unsuited to you.
I have not many left, but I will give you one to taste.
" The Water Qilin tasted a single mouthful and was instantly struck dumb.
"Nonsense! Just now your lord gave you a whole basin of them, heaped to a peak! " The Water Qilin's brows and eyes bloomed with delight, and it pressed him again and again: "Two more, just two more!
" The Dragon Qilin shook its head: "These are thunder-fire elixirs.
You are a water qilin, not a dragon qilin.
You cannot take them; too many will harm you. You have a lord of your own, so let your lord refine them for you. " The Water Qilin hesitated, torn by inner struggle: "The dignity of our qilin divine race.
. . " The Dragon Qilin paid it no mind and went to catch up with Shen Mu. Shen Mu spoke of the purpose of his visit: "The ruins have grown vast beyond measure, perilous in every corner. Your nephew has come in the hope of marshaling the strength of the Douniu Realm to protect the people of the ruins. " The wrinkles on the old farmer's bark-dry face deepened, his brows knotted into three deep furrows: "Every village and every hamlet has its stone statue to guard it, and the cities have their statues as well.
The King of Hell of Fengdu has already given the order that the stone statues of the ruins may revive at any moment.
The King of Hell sent the bird god Chixiu to ask me whether the gods of Kaihuang should come and guard the Douniu Realm.
I declined. This time, with the primordial world reappearing, the ruins are but a single drop in its boundless ocean; the true peril has not yet shown itself. " Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly: "Then where does my martial uncle believe the true peril comes from?
" "The true peril lies not in the ruins, but in Jingping.
" Hearing himself addressed as martial uncle, the old farmer was greatly pleased, and no longer picked and chose and glared coldly as he once had. He said with a smile: "Compared with the demigods, Jingping is still far too weak. Have you ever heard of the stratagem of driving the tiger to devour the wolf?
" Shen Mu was startled, and ventured: "What does my martial uncle mean? " "This time the primordial world has broken its seal and reappeared in the world. The primordial world sealed is the ruins; the ruins unsealed are the primordial world. No one foresaw this upheaval, not even the woodcutter, who was caught unawares. " The old farmer went on unhurriedly: "In the ruins remain the remnant hosts of Kaihuang. The people of the ruins are few, only tens of millions.