Chapter 1384 — Summoning the Shadows of the Elders
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
" The two holy beings knew it well enough: Shen Mu loved grand deeds and grander displays, and loved to pile up the finest of everything; yet the finest things are not always truly of use. Had Shen Mu used the eggshell of Tai Chu, Lord of Heaven, then the power of this eye would have surpassed the old by countless times over; but in exchanging it for Tai Yi's eggshell, he had instead rendered himself unable to draw out the vertical eye's power at all. What they did not know was that, though Shen Mu could not bring out the vertical eye's power, by the strength of the vertical eye alone Shen Mu was still able to see through their primordial spirits. Were it any other art or divine ability, even one wielded by a Heavenly Venerable, Shen Mu would pierce it at a single glance. That was the fearsome power of the vertical eye.
"Heavenly Venerable Mu, we have done what we promised you.
This place of yours is perilous beyond measure, no place to linger; it is time for each of us to return. " The Lord of Heaven and the Lord of Earth took their leave, and Shen Mu escorted them out of the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains; only then did the two holy beings depart, each by his own arts.
Within the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains there was no way to leave directly; they had to walk clear of the mountains before they could return to their own worlds. Before the Lord of Earth departed, he said, his words heavy with meaning, "These black mountains are an ill-omened place, unfit for peaceful dwelling. In the age of the Primordial Ancients, countless uncanny things came to pass here.
And this is one of the few places into which we cannot descend directly, nor depart directly. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall—Heavenly Venerable Mu, think thrice.
" Shen Mu thanked him and bade the Lord of Earth farewell.
"How could I not know the peril of the Great Black Mountain?
" he said in a low voice. "But the greater the peril, the greater the opportunity—that is a truth I have understood since childhood.
There may be no place under heaven whose peril can be named alongside the Great Black Mountain's; yet the opportunities it holds likewise have no equal anywhere.
" This, and this alone, was why he would remain even knowing full well the danger of the Great Black Mountain. Shen Mu gathered Wei Suifeng, Granny Zhu, Crown Prince Youming, Yu Chudu, and the others; Long Qilin and Yan'er, and the Blind Elder and the Silent Craftsman, were invited as well.
He said, "Shu Jun has led the First Ancestor, Lan Yutian, Xu Shenghua, and the rest into the far side of the Ancestral Court. That place is perilous beyond measure. I mean to employ the art of summoning, and see whether I can summon them back. " "Can people be summoned as well?
" Yu Chudu asked, perplexed.
"To summon giant beasts is already beyond belief—would summoning people not be even more shocking to the world?
" Shen Mu laughed. "Nephew, the wonder of any art lies in the mind that wields it. When you learn a divine ability, you must learn to reason from one case to three. There is no great difference between a man and a giant beast; both are life.
The art of summoning but forges a bond with the one to be summoned, and through powerful divine consciousness draws him from another space into the space we occupy now.
" Yu Chudu half understood, and nodded again and again. Shen Mu said to Wei Suifeng, "Do not let your disciple teach Hua Xuanxiu. Any more of his teaching and she will be ruined. " Yu Chudu's face flushed crimson.
Wei Suifeng too had seen that this disciple of his was greatly lacking in quickness of wit, and he laughed.
"Then let me do the teaching. " Shen Mu shook his head.