Chapter 837 — Tea Offered on the River
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 5
Shen Mu was not without his smugness. He laughed and said, "Xu Shenghua and I made a wager, to see who could first open a new seventh Divine Treasury. Whoever won would be the true Hegemon Body; whoever lost would be the female of the pair. At first I had no confidence of beating him, but then I ran into the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign, who gave me an Earth Origin Dao Fruit, and in one stroke I broke through the wall of life and death and entered the Life and Death Realm. Xu Shenghua's talent is exceedingly high; whatever I can think of, he can think of too. But his cultivation progressed half a beat slower than mine, and so I was the one who created the Heavenly River Divine Treasury first!"
Zhe Huali was filled with longing. "To have such a fellow Daoist constantly spurring one on, truly that is one of life's great blessings."
He stayed behind to study and comprehend the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, while Shen Mu packed his things and set off for the far bank of the Heavenly River.
Since the Heavenly River Divine Treasury could be opened, there was no need for him to involve himself in what followed. All Jingping, high and low, would spread the Heavenly River Divine Treasury far and wide, and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping would also develop a technique to seal the Southern Heavenly Gate, so that the gods of Jingping too could cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury.
In the middle of the river, Shen Mu sat with the Dragon Qilin on Lord Dragon Keeper's head. Lord Dragon Keeper rode the clouds and mist, flying toward Hundred-Year Mountain on the far side.
In the river water, a sapphire-blue flood dragon king surfaced and followed along the whole way, swimming with Shen Mu toward the far bank at great speed.
After yesterday's battle, Lord Dragon Keeper was puffed up with pride, one might even say overbearing, charging recklessly through the river, wishing every dragon king and demigod in the water to know that he had a formidable lord.
The morning sun rose in the east, pouring down its light. Shen Mu looked eastward and saw the sun as if leaping up out of the waters of the Heavenly River, the river's surface ridged with golden waves, like golden serpents dancing in chaos.
Shen Mu and the Dragon Qilin cheered in unison, both declaring it a fine sight.
Then Shen Mu's face darkened. The sun rising from the river's heart in the east had turned crooked and warped, like a misshapen melon or a split jujube, indescribably ugly to behold.
Ever since the Origin Realm had reappeared, the Sky Chart a hundred thousand li across could no longer cover Jingping, and the Heavenly Court gods who kept the heavens' phenomena turning grew more slack by the day.
They could hardly be blamed. The Sky Chart was a hundred thousand li high and three hundred zhang thick, and now that the Origin Realm had reappeared, many of the magnificent towering mountains within it rose higher than the sky itself, propping the Sky Chart up so that it bulged here and sagged there. The courses of the sun, moon, and stars fell into disorder, throwing the Heavenly Court gods in charge of the Sky Chart into frantic confusion.
Shen Mu withdrew his gaze and looked no more. Suddenly the river water churned, and an old man with a dragon's head and a human body, leaning on a staff, rose slowly from the river's heart and stood upon the water, a host of dragon sons and grandsons behind him, blocking their way.
Divine clouds soared and divine light coiled over the river's surface.
Two of the dragon maidens took human form: one bore all manner of jewels whose radiance shot to the heavens, the other carried tea and refreshments.
Shen Mu had Lord Dragon Keeper halt, and said, "Old sir, why do you block my way?"