Chapter 839 — The Chief Culprit
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
To subdue demons and guard the Dao is the bounden duty of the Dao lineage, and Jingping, moreover, is a target the Heavenly Court wishes to root out. " Shen Mu gazed at the firmament, his eyes coming to rest upon the Heavenly Duke, and smiled. "For public reasons and private alike, I had to come.
Had I not, the heavens would soon change. " Yuchen looked at him, sensing that his words carried profound meaning, but he did not dwell on it.
"That over there is the Dao Palace. I shall take you to pay our respects to the Grand Master of Qingyun Heaven. Whether the Grand Master will receive you, I cannot say.
" The Dao Palace stood at the very center of Qingyun Heaven, ringed by mountains, with twenty-four halls surrounding it—these twenty-four halls surely corresponded to the twenty-four divine kingdoms under Qingyun Heaven's command. Qingyun Heaven belonged to the Qingyun School, one branch of the Dao lineage, and its scale was already vast beyond imagining; since the Dao lineage must surely have other branches as well, one could well imagine how awe-inspiring the true Dao lineage was!
When the party arrived outside the Dao Palace, they all dismounted from their mounts. Yuchen bade them wait outside while he hurried up the stone steps, tier upon tier, toward the golden hall at the summit.
The steps climbed along the mountainside, and from below, no one could count how many there were. "Is this how they treat guests?
" Daoist Zha laughed in fury and pulled a steel fork from his Daoist cap, shouting, "At least we come from the Dao lineage!
Even if we are not orthodox, there is no reason to leave us out on the doorstep!
Dao Master, let us fight our way in and turn the place upside down! " Lin Xuan waved his hand. "Since we are guests, let us do as the host pleases.
We shall simply take a look around.
" The Dao Palace was immense, and many Daoists were practicing their arts. Shen Mu and the others came to a place where Daoists were drilling their techniques. A crowd of disciples stood before a bronze wall more than ten zhang tall and more than a zhang thick. An old Daoist said in a slow, measured tone, "All things in this world are made up of countless particles; so it is with the human body, and so it is with bronze walls and iron bulwarks. Once you see through this principle, you can alter the structure of your own flesh, making the vibration frequency of your bodily particles equal to that of the bronze wall, and then you can pass through the wall. Master the art of passing through walls, and no forbidden technique or sealing formation under heaven will be able to stop you. Watch me. " He walked up to the bronze wall, stepped slowly into it, passed out the other side, then came back through.
"Now you may try. " The young disciples were delighted and tried one after another; some dashed themselves against the wall until their heads bled, but others passed straight through.
The old Daoist narrowed his aged eyes, watching the disciples practice and from time to time pointing out an error. Dragon Qilin watched the scene, full of curiosity, and could not help saying, "Elder, you are one disciple short!
There were seventeen just now, and now there are only sixteen!
" The old Daoist counted and was thrown into a panic. He hastily slapped the bronze wall, and a disciple whose cultivation was not yet up to par, stuck fast in the middle of the wall, was knocked out by that palm—he gasped for breath, having nearly died.
The old Daoist looked at Dragon Qilin and praised him: "You have a natural aptitude for the Dao. Would you be willing to enter our Qingyun School and cultivate under me? " Dragon Qilin shook his head.