Chapter 1039 — The Divine Dragon Soars Through the Clouds
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Dragon Qilin slipped the harness from his body and stole a glance at Shen Mu. Shen Mu glared ferociously back at him, and Dragon Qilin said hurriedly, "Sect Master, I never said a word about you pulling the cart!"
Divine King Langwo laughed. "Better that we get down and fly the rest of the way."
Shen Mu nodded. The two of them stepped down together, leaving the six dragon gods behind. "Guard this treasure palanquin and wait for my return," he told them.
The six dragon gods assented, and Shen Mu led Divine King Langwo, Dragon Qilin, and Yan'er off in the direction of the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace.
They walked upon the sky itself, with range upon range of mighty mountains rolling beneath their feet, cloud and mist all below them.
In the heavens stood the dragon cities built by the divine dragons, magnificent beyond compare—vast cities whose intricate and gorgeous architecture left one gasping in wonder.
"You have never been here before, Yan'er?" Shen Mu asked.
Yan'er shook her head and flitted about in curiosity, taking in the sights of the East Pole Heaven.
She was the daughter of the South Emperor Vermilion Bird and the East Emperor Azure Dragon. In her childhood the South Emperor had sent her to Venerable Moon, and there she had acquired the habit of loving to wait upon others—though she seldom got out.
Venerable Moon lived in seclusion in a peach grove, and in those days Yan'er could only remain within that grove. Only after Venerable Moon gave her to Shen Mu did she have the chance to run out and see the vast world.
Her father, the East Emperor Azure Dragon, was a stranger to her; he had never once come to see her and barely had any contact with her, and the South Emperor Vermilion Bird had met with her only a very few times. Only on her last trip to the Heavenly Court had she been able to spend a few days with the South Emperor.
"I wonder where Lingbao Mountain is."
Shen Mu looked this way and that, hoping to spot the legendary Lingbao Mountain.
He was curious indeed about Lingbao Mountain. The first he had heard of it was from Zhe Huali, who said that in the East Pole Heaven there stood a divine mountain called Lingbao Mountain, and that it was the whetstone of the East Emperor Azure Dragon.
The East Emperor Azure Dragon brimmed with vitality, and his dragon teeth grew fast and needed frequent grinding, so he used Lingbao Mountain to grind them. The teeth ground off fell upon Lingbao Mountain and became strange, tooth-shaped creatures.
Many young blade-students of the Heavenly Court made their way to Lingbao Mountain to seek treasure, hoping to win a dragon-tooth blade. Zhe Huali's demonic blade had come from there as well.
That demonic blade possessed wondrous qualities. In the days when the Carefree Sword was still in Shen Mu's hand, the demonic blade had clashed with it many times, and even when a notch was cut into it, the blade would swiftly grow itself back as good as new—a most marvelous thing.
The last time Shen Mu was within the Three Rooms at the end of the Void Bridge in the land of the Great Void, opening and closing doors, he had inadvertently glimpsed the East Emperor Azure Dragon with his eyes squinted, hugging a divine mountain and grinding his teeth.
Whether the East Emperor's dragon teeth or Lingbao Mountain itself, both were treasures beyond measure, and he envied them greatly.
Lingbao Mountain in particular, which could grind through the East Emperor's dragon teeth—its very substance must surely surpass even the teeth, and it stirred Shen Mu's heart all the more.
The East Pole Heaven was filled with magnificent mountains. Every divine peak was towering and majestic, and even in the Yuan Realm they would have been reckoned rare.