Chapter 875 — Wicked Charm Overwhelming
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
The bull-headed god-demon's face changed drastically; he was just about to restrain the man lest the surge of primal essence strike the letter of challenge, when suddenly the demigod's brow split open — his primal spirit had been slain by an invisible force; his soul scattered at once, and he died on the spot!
Startled, the bull-headed god-demon stepped forward to examine him, and saw that the wound at the demigod's brow was shaped like a sword scar — yet the force had not come from without, but from within.
"What divine art is this?"
Scarcely had he thought this when several more demigod divine-arts practitioners fell into panic, driving their primal weapons to attack in all directions, crying shrilly, "He is attacking me!"
Before the words had left their mouths, hissing sounds burst from the bodies of these demigods; countless arrows of blood shot from them head to foot; each body convulsed violently, and then their primal spirits were annihilated, and they toppled!
"Do not look at the letter of challenge!"
The bull-headed god-demon came to his senses and hurriedly closed the letter of challenge and put it away.
But it was too late.
Those divine-arts practitioners who had followed them to Jingping to challenge the Jingping Overlord Body seemed to fall into madness one and all, their divine arts and primal weapons striking out in every direction, as though they fought a life-and-death struggle against an invisible enemy!
The other gods and demons rushed forward, trying to restrain them; but even when these demigods were subdued, their bodies were riddled with a thousand wounds, their primal spirits cut down one by one, their lives lost to the Yellow Springs!
The bull-headed god-demon and the other gods and demons felt their hearts turn to ice; they stared blankly around them — at their feet, a field of corpses.
"Wicked!"
A god-demon cried out in anguish, "Wicked as hell!"
The other gods and demons went pale. From first to last Shen Mu had never lifted a hand against these challengers; he had merely displayed a touch of dharma power before Jiangling Academy, overawing the divine-arts practitioners of the heavens.
And yet, though Shen Mu had not struck a blow, his letter of challenge had cost these divine-arts practitioners their lives!
"What is the cause? What divine art is this?" one god-demon asked, trembling.
"A sword art."
The bull-headed god-demon said hoarsely, "A sword art that has entered the Dao! The moment one sees it, his sword art is branded upon the mind. This sword art is too wicked — it attacks the spirit and the will; when spirit and will collapse, it steals your dharma power and uses it to unleash the sword art's might inside your own body. Their spirit and will could not withstand the sword-dao will hidden in the sword-bearing portrait, and so they died. We are beings of the divine realm; the sword-dao will in the portrait has no effect on us."
The many gods and demons were struck with dread.
The bull-headed god-demon cried fiercely, "Go! To see the Great Black Heaven!"
The crowd hurried after him; one god could not help saying, "How could his sword portrait hold such a dreadful sword-dao will? Is there such a powerful will in this world?"
"This is not will, but indestructible divine consciousness."
The Black Heaven Palace: darkness spilled from that legendary palace, shrouding ten thousand li around, yet within the hall all was brightly lit. The Great Black Heaven, a black sun hanging behind his head, sat upon his throne, unfolded Shen Mu's letter of challenge, examined it closely, and said slowly, "This indestructible divine consciousness is handed down from the Chiming Era; it is the cultivation method of the Crimson Emperor, the first false emperor of the Chiming Era. That you do not recognize it is only natural. Even the Heavenly Court never possessed the Crimson Emperor's method. This sword-bearing portrait is not wicked in the least; on the contrary, it is upright and majestic, vast in spirit."