Chapter 1338 — A Storm Rises Anew
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
The bodies of the four Heavenly Venerables were tattered and torn; wounds covered them everywhere, their skin burst open, their robes in disarray, and the divine blood of Heavenly Venerables still dripped ceaselessly from their wounds onto the Sea of Chaos. These four must have been pursuing the Great Emperor, only to be wounded by his desperate counterstroke; yet judging from their wounds, besides those left by the Great Emperor, there were also wounds ground out by the void.
They must have chased the Great Emperor into the depths of the thirty-fifth layer of the void, and been eroded into such a state by it. Shen Mu stood in the center of the four Heavenly Venerables, meek and still, and at last understood the feeling of Lava Tu Bo when he was hemmed in by the assembled Heavenly Venerables.
Lava Tu Bo was only an avatar of Tu Bo, something that could be cast away at any time without much consequence to Tu Bo's true body; Shen Mu, however, could not be so free and easy as Tu Bo.
He steadied his mind and was about to speak, when suddenly Heavenly Venerable Xiao clutched his severed arm and said with a most affable countenance: "I have lost an arm; I fear I can hardly search out the Taichu Primal Stone anymore. This treasure, then, I yield to you three Dao-friends.
" He withdrew at once, and his form vanished. Divine Emperor Langxuan's face was waxy yellow and his breath faint; coughing blood, he said: "Dao-friend Xiao's wound is only external, but mine is internal.
Before you arrived, I was ambushed by the Great Emperor, and my injuries are the heaviest of all. This Taichu Primal Stone is beyond my fond hopes. Enough, enough — I leave it to you all.
" His form receded backward and disappeared.
Heavenly Consort Yan and the Ancestor God King each frowned. These two redoubtable rivals had withdrawn at the very first moment without searching for the Taichu Primal Stone; plainly they had other designs. All at once a succession of booming reports burst from within the Ancestor God King's body; his countenance changed drastically, and he cried out: "The treasure of my Way of Heaven is shattered — this cultivation of mine is as good as ruined! Your Ladyship, forgive me that I cannot escort you into the Sea of Chaos, nor find the primal stone to present to you!
I must hurry back to my domain to heal my wounds!
" Heavenly Consort Yan changed countenance as well; retreating, she sighed: "My old ailment has flared up, and little of my cultivation remains. I must return to my mineral vein to keep this injury in check.
" The Ancestor God King likewise withdrew, sneering: "Then let that rascal Heavenly Venerable Mu have the windfall! Heavenly Venerable Mu, you lucky dog! " In the twinkling of an eye the four Heavenly Venerables vanished without a trace, and upon the Sea of Chaos only Shen Mu remained.
Cold sweat streamed down the nape of his neck as he stood motionless on the Sea of Chaos. "These four black-hearted wretches know that none of them alone can stand against the other three; hence they withdraw on some pretext, but in truth they are waiting for someone to take out the primal stone, whereupon three will join forces and strike that person a crippling blow.
" His eyeballs darted to and fro.
Though the four Heavenly Venerables had departed, their Qi held this place locked in their grip!
And Shen Mu stood at the very center, held by the locked Qi of all four at once — the slightest movement, he felt, would disturb the intertwining Qi of the four and bring down a simultaneous attack from them all!
"Even if I could flee into the Sea of Chaos in a single instant, I could hardly escape death. " His eyes spun faster and faster; yet no matter how he calculated, the moment he shifted his form, what awaited him was a dead end — certain death, with no hope of life!
All around the Sea of Chaos, an eerie stillness reigned.