Chapter 1123 — The Phoenix Descends in Grace
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Shen Mu took out the Grand Emperor's Seal and the Grand Emperor's Altar. The vertical eye between his brows opened; he gathered his spirit, and vital qi and divine consciousness surged forth. A beam of light shot from his vertical eye and struck the Grand Emperor's Altar!
The altar was only palm-sized, but bathed in the glow of his divine consciousness and vital qi, it at once gave off a soft hum, and faint, elusive ripples spread outward.
Runes gradually surfaced on the altar—Shen Mu's spiritual imprints. Then the runes burned brighter and brighter, and with a hum, beams of light shone down upon the Grand Emperor's Seal.
Shen Mu kept circling the little altar and the seal, hands fluttering, branding more and more runes into the two treasures.
Gradually his arms multiplied, the seal techniques of each hand shifting without pause, and the imprinted runes grew ever more numerous!
After a long while, Shen Mu stopped to rest.
Gongsun Yan was about to ask questions, but remembering his words, she restrained herself.
Shen Mu went to the Yuanmu tree and buried the Grand Emperor's Altar among its roots; then he rose into the sky above the Upper Capital and set the Grand Emperor's Seal within the canopy.
Gongsun Yan followed him, and saw that once he had finished all this, his ten fingers shifted with blinding speed, casting out seal after seal—and the Grand Emperor's Seal and the Grand Emperor's Altar shuddered at once!
Gongsun Yan let out a soft cry; her whole body felt numb and itchy, as if countless tiny insects were burrowing all over her.
But the strange sensation soon passed.
Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "For these two days, speak to no one, drink no water, eat no food—and do not open your mouth."
Gongsun Yan nodded obediently.
"Yan'er, Fatty Dragon, watch over her. On no account let her speak."
Dragon Qilin and Yan'er hastily assented.
Shen Mu left the capital and came to the far bank of the Tu River, where he chose a deserted spot. The vertical eye between his brows opened; he visualized an altar, then busied himself at once, laying rune after rune of the Great Dao upon it.
When the runes were laid, he cut open his wrist and traced each rune anew with the divine blood from his own body.
While he labored, Gongsun Yan bustled about helping Yan'er set up her nest. Yan'er had always loved to wait upon others, yet whenever she was with Gongsun Yan, the girl would wait upon her instead until she was utterly comfortable—a pleasure beyond words.
"Yanzi, Fatty Dragon and I will be married soon," Yan'er said with a smile. "When that day comes, we'll hatch a brood of little birds and let them live here with you."
Gongsun Yan beamed and was just about to speak when Yan'er hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth. "You mustn't talk!"
Gongsun Yan's brow knitted in dismay.
Dragon Qilin said, "The Cult Master means well by you. His divine art can keep you safe from outside enemies—but it requires you to seal your senses. The moment you open your mouth, the qi leaks out, and his art can no longer guard your flesh. If the Earth Mother comes, she will be able to seize your body."
Gongsun Yan blinked, a doubt stirring in her heart. "The Earth Mother wants to possess me?"
All at once, streaks of rosy cloud spread across the sky, and a phoenix came flying, circling the Yuanmu tree in graceful dance. The pair of phoenixes flitted round and round the tree, their dancing exquisite, and from their beaks came a song:
"O phoenix, whence do you come?
Rustling your wings, you sing upon the high ridge;
The mountain wind passes like a flute of jade,
And bamboo seeds abound for your store—"
Throughout the Upper Capital, the people who heard it jumped for joy, all declaring that a phoenix had come in grace—a most auspicious omen.
Gongsun Yan too was thrilled. She had long wanted to raise a pair of phoenixes, and now that they had truly come, she could hardly resist flying over to lure them into her nest.