Chapter 826 — Beyond All Scrutiny
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
What Mu Heavenly Venerable?
" Shen Mu smiled faintly and briefly recounted the matter of how he and Kai Huang had returned to the ancient era of Longhan.
Li Zheng's mind reeled as though struck by thunder.
His gaze went dull, and for a long while he could not collect himself. Suddenly the old man reached out to draw his sword — only to remember that his divine sword had already shattered.
Shen Mu asked curiously, "What is Li Zheng doing?
" "Kill the Dragon Keeper! " Li Zheng said with killing intent reeking from him, "This matter is of grave importance, and now that the Dragon Keeper knows of it, naturally we must kill the dragon to seal his mouth! " The Dragon Keeper's face turned the color of earth.
Shen Mu laughed.
"The Dragon Keeper has rendered meritorious service — how can we kill him just because he knows a little secret of mine?
Rest easy, Li Zheng. He has already sworn the pact of the greater and lesser Earth Earls; he would not dare turn traitor.
" The Dragon Keeper nodded frantically. Li Zheng had no choice but to let it go. He said, "Are you confident you can break this uncanny divine art? " Shen Mu stretched his body and walked outward, saying, "This divine art of the Ling Heavenly Venerable has been broken before — by the Four Emperors! " Li Zheng came to a realization and followed in his footsteps.
"That is right — the Four Emperors once came to this ship. There are seals of the Four Emperors upon the deck, sealing those black coffins. This shows that the Four Emperors — Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger — came here, and they broke this divine art and left this place! " Shen Mu nodded.
"At that time, the Ling Heavenly Venerable's divine art was still imperfect, which is why it caused the unstable material state of this ship.
Every time the ghost ship traverses through time, matter is recombined. Since there is a flaw, since the Four Emperors could find it, then so can I! " They left the great hall.
The lantern flew around them, up and down, its light shining in all directions.
From the distant deck came the old dragon's mournful horn-call: "Heaven and earth may change, but the constant number thirty-six does not change!
The unchanging constant, thirty-six — what does it mean. .
.
" Shen Mu furrowed his brow slightly. "Is that old dragon the Longbo or the Dragon Keeper? Or perhaps the Ancestral Dragon King who will go mad in the future?
" An ill feeling rose in his heart. If it were the Dragon Keeper or the Ancestral Dragon King, would there not be two of them?
"There must be more clues aboard this ship!
" A thought suddenly struck him, and he hastily called the lantern to a halt, asking, "Lin Xiao, where are the other Feather Forest soldiers? Why are you the only Feather Forest soldier aboard this ship? Where did the others go? " The bird-headed, human-bodied little man sitting on the lantern's threshold said, "Has the Lord forgotten? Please follow me.
" He flapped his wings, and the lantern flew forward. Shen Mu followed quickly, his heart stirring with excitement: "I possess the Feather Forest Army's tally of command. The Feather Forest Army recognizes the tally, not the man.
If I can obtain the aid of the most powerful army of gods and men of the Longhan Heavenly Court, then I can finish off everyone else aboard this ship, and then gather the combined strength of the Feather Forest officers and soldiers to break the Ling Heavenly Venerable's divine art! " This tower ship was immense beyond measure.
Behind the tower pavilions and great halls ahead lay the drill grounds of the officers and soldiers — an exceedingly vast and level expanse, sufficient to accommodate several thousand gods and demons drilling their formations. The moment Shen Mu arrived here, he sensed something was wrong.
He could distinctly sense hundreds upon hundreds of extraordinarily powerful auras — yet he could see no one at all!
Li Zheng and the Dragon Keeper also furrowed their brows.