Chapter 786 — He Whom the Martial Dao Crowns Emperor
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
Shen Mu's condition had indeed moved him. Those people of the Douniu Realm were the fetter of his whole life. In the war that ended the age of Kaihuang, the soldiers of the Douniu Realm who fell in battle were buried in foreign lands, and he, their leader and commander, bore a guilt toward those heroic spirits; and so for twenty thousand years, day after day without change, he had guarded their descendants.
He had watched the descendants of those soldiers grow old and die, and new lives be born, and then grow old and die, and he had no way to mend it.
No one but him could, lacking a divine bridge and a divine treasury, ascend straight to the Heavenly Palace by the martial dao alone.
Even Shen Mu and Hu Bugui, who entered the dao through the martial, could scarcely reach such a step.
He alone was the one grand master of the martial dao through all the ages, the Great Emperor of the Martial Dao! If Shen Mu could truly solve this problem, then he must come out of his mountain retreat no matter what, to help Shen Mu, to help Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Teacher of Jingping! Shen Mu watched him with eager eyes, quietly awaiting his reply. The old farmer calmed himself; his face, like parched earth, broke into a smile, and he drove his fist into the spot one tenth of an inch above Shen Mu's brow.
Shen Mu gave a muffled grunt, vomited a mouthful of blood, and was filled with shock and doubt. The force of that punch was exceedingly overbearing and exceedingly strange: though it struck his brow, it did not act upon his flesh.
The power of that punch was vast and sweeping, crushing and withering, and when it struck into his body, he felt only that something within him had shattered! "I have already destroyed the divine bridge and divine treasury that you had not yet opened.
" The old farmer withdrew his thick fist and arm and said with a smile: "Your other divine treasuries are all perfectly intact, rest easy.
But the divine bridge and divine treasury have been shattered by my fist, not a scrap of them left!
Your wounds will heal soon enough and leave no hidden ill. However, even if you open the divine treasury of life and death, you will have but six hundred years of lifespan left.
You had best pray you can find a road to opening the divine bridge and divine treasury.
Otherwise, wait for death! " Shen Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said in a deep voice: "Martial uncle, I will succeed in a single stroke!
" The old farmer came to the center of the village and cried out in a loud voice: "Soldiers, hear my command!
I go to Jingping; you remain to guard the Douniu Realm! Bring me my armor!
" The villagers were astonished and delighted, and hurried to bring the armor. The old farmer put it on and stood majestic, and shot a glance at the Dragon Qilin, at which the Dragon Qilin shuddered.
The old farmer shook his head: "My frame is too heavy; you could never bear me.
We will wait until Sanduo is found. " The Dragon Qilin felt as if a great weight had lifted from it. One and all bowed low, their spirit like a rainbow, and said with one voice: "Farewell, Heavenly Master of Martial Combat! " Shen Mu bowed and said: "Farewell, Great Emperor of the Martial Dao! " "Great Emperor of the Martial Dao? " The old farmer was slightly startled, then laughed aloud; amid the laughter his whole body shone with ten thousand rays, and he leapt up, trod the void, and vanished without a trace.
Shen Mu straightened, walked to the edge of the stinking ditch, and said with a smile: "King Buddha, you may come out now.
" Deva King Buddha rolled his eyes at him: "Has the plowman really gone? You are not deceiving me again, are you?
" Shen Mu went into the stinking ditch, helped him up, and said gravely: "To save you, King Buddha, I took a punch from the Heavenly Master of Martial Combat, and he shattered my divine bridge and divine treasury. " "I almost believed you.