Chapter 840 — Setting Out to Take a Life
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
After seeing the Heavenly Chart, I no longer do. " There is no grief greater than a dead heart.
He had come with the mind of a fellow disciple and fellow Daoist, yet after seeing the Heavenly Chart, his Dao heart had been gravely wounded once more. Lin Xuan composed himself and said with a solemn expression, "If you strike down the Heavenly Court's envoys, you will not leave Qingyun Heaven alive. " "If these people forge the Heavenly Chart, then whether it be Jingping or the Yuanjie, the life and death of every soul will already be decided, held in the grasp of the Heavenly Court beyond the realms.
Only then will there truly be no way to survive! " Shen Mu said indifferently, "In the beginning, when we measured the sky to be a hundred thousand li high and three hundred zhang thick, we founded the Heaven Alliance. The Heaven Alliance, was it not founded to overturn this heaven? Now the opportunity is right before us!
As for safety, set it aside. Only after the deed is done do we speak of safety! " Dao Master Lin Xuan could not help but be infected by his heroic spirit. He smiled and said, "Sect Master Shen, though you and I are good friends, in truth I have always held a certain prejudice against you, thinking your conduct eccentric and your ways those of the demonic path. Though I thought you a demonic cultivator, I do not know why, but I have always admired you greatly; sometimes I even fantasize that I too could do whatever I wished, just as you do, without looking ahead and behind, without worrying about the consequences. " Shen Mu laughed heartily. "Dao Master Lin, do you still hold the struggle between the righteous and the demonic in your heart?
" Lin Xuan laughed.
"I have received such teachings since childhood; it is hard to remove them all at once. After meeting you, Sect Master Shen, I actually no longer place such importance on the so-called righteous path and demonic path. I rather think that although your actions are eccentric, your heart is that of a pure and innocent child. Having seen this, the distinction between righteous and demonic has grown fainter still, and more often than not, I am simply won over by the way you conduct yourself. " Shen Mu praised him. "The old Dao Master chose you as the next Dao Master; his discernment was truly unmatched.
" "And Patriarch Mingmo chose you as the Heavenly Sage Sect Master; that was true dharma-eye discernment, unmatched indeed.
" The two laughed heartily, climbing the stone steps all the way, chatting and laughing with ease.
Before they knew it, they arrived at the Daoist academy, which was a maze of palaces and towers.
Several old Daoists rushed out in a fluster. "A thief! A thief! The Qingyang Hall has been robbed; many treasures have been stolen!
" Shen Mu stopped and blocked an old Daoist. "Elder, a thief has come to Qingyun Heaven?
" The old Daoist nodded. "I do not know what happened. The thief seems to have cultivated our Daoist sect's wall-piercing technique. The seals on Qingyang Hall were not triggered at all, yet the treasures inside were stolen clean! And several Daoists were stripped naked and tied to trees, bound with their own Golden Dragon Cords, no less, and they could not struggle free! This thief is among us; it must be a disciple of the sect! " Shen Mu was momentarily stunned.
Suddenly the old Daoist turned back, sized them up from head to toe, and said warily, "Your faces are unfamiliar.
Where are you from? " Shen Mu smiled.
"I am Shen Mu, the Jingping Overlord Body, Heavenly Sage Sect Master, and Grand Libationer of the Jingping Kingdom's Innate Academy. This is the Dao Master of the Jingping Daoist sect. Hearing that the Qingyun Sect is a branch of the Daoist path, we have come to pay our respects.
" The old Daoist scrutinized them left and right, circled them twice, then sneered. "So you are poor relatives from the countryside, come to cling to wealth and status. I doubt you have the ability.
" Shen Mu smiled and said nothing.