Chapter 844 — The Steward of the Heavenly Tower Library
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
The disciple of the Northern Emperor had already had his fleshly body cut away by Dao Lord Lin Xuan's sword, leaving only his primordial spirit to flee; the disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors had likewise been gravely wounded under Lin Xuan's blade. Now none of the three could evade the divine light shot from Shen Mu's third sacred eye.
Within Shen Mu's third sacred eye, layer after layer of heavens opened up, nine heavens in all.
This was the Ninefold Heaven Eye-Gazing Art the Blind Old Man had passed down to him.
In the past Shen Mu could only open the Jade Empyrean Eye, but now he could fling all nine heavens open at once. These nine heavens turned into ring upon ring of array patterns within his third sacred eye, while at the center of the eye stars swirled into a River of Stars, and in the very heart of that river a great sun rose and sank, never still.
The Blind Old Man's Ninefold Heaven Eye-Gazing Art had absorbed the Sun-Moon Twin Pupils of Ziqing, the deity of the First Sacred Eye in the Kaihuang era, and improved on them; because the Blind Old Man had obtained only the Sun Pupil formation at that time, what he transmitted to Shen Mu also contained only the Sun Pupil. He later added the Moon Pupil, but Shen Mu was always running around and had never had the chance to learn the Sacred Eye of the Moon Pupil. If the sun and moon had joined as one, its power would have been far greater.
But now Shen Mu was driving the Ninefold Heaven Eye-Gazing Art with his third sacred eye, so it was different from what the Blind Old Man had taught him. In his eye, surrounded by the circling stars, hung a black sun. The third eye in his brow was not an ordinary eye.
It was the mark of the Prince of Youdu, the same as the vertical eye in Tu Bo's brow—a demonic eye born of the Great Dao of Youdu, an Eye of Perdition, one that drives away ghosts and gods and beheads ghosts and gods. Originally this eye of Shen Mu's had always been sealed by Tu Bo.
Only later, when he inadvertently released his elder brother Shen Fengqing, did the third eye awaken. At this moment he assumed a three-headed, six-armed form.
Three beams of light shot out, carving three straight lines through the air—black, heavy straight lines. The disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors were not far from him and had no time to dodge; the black lines pierced the centers of their brows. The Northern Emperor's disciple had been killed by Lin Xuan, leaving only his primordial spirit, which had kept away from the battlefield and was therefore farther off.
But the black light was extremely fast, and before he could react, it passed straight through his body. His primordial spirit was a Black Tortoise spirit.
The black light went through the dark tortoise's hard shell and then pierced the Flying Serpent.
Where the black light struck, darkness spread with terrifying speed and soon stained the entire spirit, tortoise and serpent alike, jet black. Bang. His primordial spirit exploded into countless black soul-sands.
Blown by the wind of Qingyun Heaven, they went wherever the wind carried them and quickly vanished, invisible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, the disciples of the Eastern and Western Emperors each fell from the sky, landing near the Daoist palace. One lay prone and turned into an azure dragon stretching for a hundred zhang; the other became a white tiger blazing with light all over. The two giant beasts struggled to rise, roared twice, and then their breath suddenly ceased.
Their bodies rapidly petrified into two lifelike stone statues, and the shapes of their desperate struggle could still be seen.
On the other side, the Southern Emperor's disciple let out a shriek, shook himself, and transformed into a Vermilion Bird, fleeing headlong and leaving a trail of fire across the sky. Below, Lin Xuan called out, "Young lady, Cult Master Shen has said that he has an old connection with your master; he will not kill you!