Chapter 1288 — From the Azure Heavens Above to the Yellow Springs Below
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Heavenly Venerable Hao scrambled to his feet in haste, a chill of dread creeping into his heart; then he saw that the inner demons of Mu Tianzun had not revived, and he let out a breath of relief. "Without the power of the inner demons, you are far from my match.
.
.
" Boom, boom, boom! The blood and qi within him surged outward like a raging tide, flinging his head up off his neck, and his thirty-five heavenly palaces very nearly collapsed whole! That full-force clash with Shen Mu a moment ago had made his wounds graver still.
His injuries had been desperately severe to begin with, and he had been restoring himself by devouring and refining the inner demons of Mu Tianzun; but the woodcutter's single stroke of Restoration divine art had crammed the thirty-five heavenly palaces he had so painstakingly expelled from his body right back inside him, and had nearly killed him outright.
His battle with the Martial Combat Heavenly Master and Bai Yuqiong had heaped wound upon wound, worsening him further yet, and now, after trading one hard blow with Shen Mu, he could no longer hold his injuries in check at all.
Even though Shen Mu now had no inner demons of Mu Tianzun left to command, he could not afford to fight on.
He had to find himself a place of quiet safety, spin his heavenly palaces into Great Dao cocoons, and devour outer things to heal his wounds.
In former days, he need only heal his injuries and his cultivation and strength would climb another tier, surpassing what they had been. But now, after all the havoc the woodcutter and Shen Mu and the rest had wrought, even if his wounds healed, the Dao wounds upon his thirty-five heavenly palaces would likely never heal; his cultivation and strength would be greatly diminished from before, and how long it might take him to return to his peak, he could not begin to guess! "And what is worse — at this rate, I truly will die.
.
.
" Divine blood spurted from Heavenly Venerable Hao's neck, expelling the excess blood and qi from his body, and his head flew back into place.
He hesitated no longer, flying backward, and before his feet even touched the ground he stamped down upon it; the earth burst apart with a thunderous roar and his body shot skyward. Shen Mu, riding his Divine Treasury Domain, arrived in the space of a single breath and ground to powder the spot where Hao had just stood, then soared into the air; countless rays of sword light burst from the Divine Treasury Domain, striking his body one after another like comets, piercing clean through him!
The countless rays of sword light gathered behind Heavenly Venerable Hao — a move concealed within a move — and became a whole sword domain at his back!
Heavenly Venerable Hao's blood ran cold. He threw back his head and roared, and in that roar countless threads of Dao patterns drilled out from his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, swiftly spinning into cocoons that in an instant wrapped him round, dense beyond counting.
Shen Mu's sword domain erupted and shredded the Dao cocoon before it had taken shape; divine blood sprayed through the air.
Heavenly Venerable Hao cried out, and the Great Emperor's Consciousness Daluo Heaven flew forth to meet Shen Mu's sword domain. Shen Mu clenched his five fingers, and the sword domain that had been swelling without cease suddenly contracted sharply, grazing the very edge of the Consciousness Daluo Heaven by the narrowest of margins, never touching it. The Consciousness Daluo Heaven was a divine art of the Great Emperor, a divine art that trapped Heavenly Venerable Hao's primal spirit; the Silkworm Maiden's Seven Soul Grass had been formed from a sacrifice of consciousness, and so it could pass into the Daluo Heaven without triggering its power.