Chapter 1181 — By One Battle Alone
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
From behind him came a crackling sound. Shen Mu whirled around and saw, within the mining grounds, one of the petrified Creators shedding its stone shell and gradually recovering a body of flesh and blood. That Creator swung its limbs, hefted an axe-pick onto its shoulder, and came striding toward him, chest bared, looking utterly fierce.
To claim this ore vein was truly no easy matter.
Shen Mu roused his spirits and fixed his eyes on the approaching Creator.
The Creator's sinewy frame radiated towering might, and in every lift of hand or step of foot, the Dao's resonance was born complete, as if wrought by heaven itself. On both sides, along the cliff walls of the Taiji ore vein, yin and yang energies flowed, and streak after streak of black qi and white qi twined around each other before boring into that Creator's body.
The Dao resonance about it grew stronger and stronger.
It had three eyes, and only the eye at the center of its brow still held a Primordial Divine Stone. A Taiji divine stone flew over and, with a snap, attached itself to the Primordial Divine Stone in its brow, forcing the Primordial Stone deep into its brain. And the Creator's two eyes turned utterly ghastly—each pupil split in two, becoming yin-yang fish that revolved slowly within the eye sockets.
Double pupils!
The corners of Shen Mu's eyes twitched.
The strangeness of this Taiji ore vein was even more dreadful than that of any other vein.
This Creator was clearly no longer the Creator it had once been, but a fearsome creature now controlled by this mining ground!
Moreover, the Taiji divine stone had replaced the Primordial divine stone, which meant the mining ground was controlling this Creator to unleash the Dao arts and divine powers hidden within the Primordial ore vein. Shen Mu focused his mind and fixed his gaze on the Creator's form. Having come this far, he had no road of retreat!
No matter what, he was determined to take this Taiji ore vein; his Primordial Embryo Divine Vault was itself divided according to the Taiji, and this mining ground was of vital importance to him!
Suddenly, that Creator swung its axe-pick, both legs driving with explosive force, and in an instant it was before him, the axe-pick coming down viciously!
Shen Mu swung his broken sword, which transformed into a long blade, and his opening move was none other than his own Dao-entering divine art!
It was by the blade that he had entered the Dao, and from it he had comprehended the first great divine art of the blade's Way—Knocking at the South Heaven Gate!
Blade-light blazed up, bearing a Dao resonance unique to the Acquired Great Dao, and met the axe-pick! The Way of the blade cuts through brambles and thorns, presses on against adversity, and fears nothing!
However steep the heavens, however hard the earth, a single stroke splits it all open!
If there is no road, cleave out a road; it asks for no more changes or transformations, only one horizontal stroke and one vertical stroke!
Clang!
A heaven-shaking, earth-sundering crash rang out, and Shen Mu was sent flying backward; then, with both feet, he kicked off heavily against the cliff wall and came rushing back at even greater speed.
The Creator's hands were knocked high into the air as it stumbled backward, and Shen Mu was already upon it—his hand rose, the blade fell, and a huge head flew up.
Shen Mu landed, and the earth trembled violently.
The tiger's mouths of both his hands had burst open, streaming with blood; but to have slain this opponent in a single move made such a wound count for nothing.
Suddenly, the headless Creator swung its axe-pick again.
Shen Mu's heart jumped, and he hurriedly retreated to avoid the descending blow.
The Creator's strike hit nothing; it pulled the axe-pick free, and then, from its chest, a pair of Taiji eyes grew out—its nipples had become eyes, a truly horrid sight.
Thud.
The headless Creator set down its axe-pick and stood there, leaning on the handle.