Chapter 850 — A Single Line of Sword Mark
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 5 of 5
The Dragon-Rearing Lord smarted with pain but had no idea what he had done wrong to anger this lord. He only heard Shen Mu say to Yu Tianzun, "Once you have mastered the basic array patterns, learning arrays becomes easy — this is what is called 'master one and a hundred follow.' But mastering one and a hundred following is not enough; you must also draw inferences and grasp the underlying principle. Arrays are not merely arrays; they can be applied elsewhere as well — to dao arts, to swordsmanship. Some people only know how to memorize by rote, never realizing that rote memorization is the stupidest method of all."
Yu Tianzun said, "It is not so hard to learn. I have comprehended several arrays — Brother, help me see whether they are right."
The Blind Elder flew into a rage and pounded the Dragon-Rearing Lord's head twice more.
The Dragon-Rearing Lord did not dare speak and could only press on in silence. At last they reached their destination; Shen Mu and the others went ashore, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and hastily flee into the water.
This place was still a long way from the Kunlun Realm where the Dao Sect was located. Shen Mu and the others continued on their way, and after two days they saw a tower ship halt in the air, and many strange creatures with wolf heads and human bodies leaped down from it, sniffing about in every direction.
Shen Mu was startled and made the Dragon Qilin stop. He saw one of the wolf-headed creatures find a corpse, already mauled by wild beasts, its face unrecognizable.
"This corpse looks like a demigod who died at my hands. Then these creatures are—"
He looked up at the tower ship and saw a god in golden armor standing at the prow with his hands behind his back, and beside him was Yuchenzi.
Shen Mu's heart lurched.
One of the wolf-headed creatures bounded like the wind and suddenly appeared before Shen Mu and his companions, sniffed hard, then vanished and reappeared on the ship, whispering to the golden-armored god.
The golden-armored god, Qu He, looked in his direction and smiled, then said to Yuchenzi, "This man once appeared in Qingyun Heaven; the Howling Heaven God Clan caught his scent. Do you know him?"
Yuchenzi groaned inwardly and said hastily, "I know him. He is Shen Mu, Cult Master of the Heavenly Saint Cult of Jingping. I brought him up the mountain to pay his respects to the Hierarch."
"Shen Mu, Cult Master of the Heavenly Saint Cult?"
Qu He tilted his head and thought. "It seems I have heard the name somewhere... Since he is an old acquaintance of yours, let them pass."
Yuchenzi thanked him and called out loudly, "Brother Shen, the Heavenly Court is conducting business here. Take a detour and go around."
Shen Mu answered in the affirmative and told the Dragon Qilin to go around.
"Wait!"
Suddenly Qu He called him back, smiling. "Shen Mu, you cultivate swordsmanship? Would you show me a sword move? I found a sword mark on the wall of the Daoist academy in Qingyun Heaven, and it was unlike any Dao Sect swordsmanship."