Chapter 1551 — Thrashing the Old Seniors
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Shen Mu straightened up, his smile gone, and said mildly: "As I see it, those days ought to end."
Slowly he drew the Tribulation Sword. From his earlier wild abandon to his present solemnity, his expression shifted with perfect composure, and he said unhurriedly: "Gentlemen, the days when one Heavenly Emperor's family ruled this cosmos of heaven and earth must end. You have grown old."
His gaze swept from face to face, and mockery rose upon his own: "You truly have grown old. Rotten. Not merely because the annihilating calamity has assailed you and aged you and rotted you, but because within power itself you have grown old, grown rotten."
He bent a finger and flicked the blade lightly, gazing at its ringing edge: "And I am still young. As one wanes the other waxes. You are no longer my match."
"Insolence!"
The two dao trees stirred suddenly and came hurtling toward the little boat!
The nine Venerables were mighty in strength; though the breath of the Great Calamity of Destruction had assailed them all along the way, though they had aged to this degree, they were still Venerables, still possessed of boundless battle power!
Shen Mu's eyes were utterly calm. The little boat beneath his feet abruptly surged and raced away; he did not meet the Venerables on the two dao trees head-on.
The surface of the Long River of Chaos was in no way a place for battle.
To fight here was too perilous; one misstep and a man would fall into the water and be turned to the ashes of annihilation.
Though he was confident of fighting these Venerables, he would not plunge himself into such peril.
Upon the Long River of Chaos, two dao trees and one little boat tore through the waves, through layer upon layer of chaotic qi, faster and faster.
At the stern, Heavenly Consort Qiang, doddering with age, clutched the two God-Slaying Dark Blades. Suddenly she clenched her teeth, and another tooth broke off; she swallowed it back down into her belly, thinking: "In this battle, where am I to stand? Do I fight that fellow Shen to the death and seize his strange tree, or join hands with him against the nine Venerables?"
She could not make up her mind. If she sided with Venerable Hao, Venerable Gong would not tolerate her, and Venerable Hao would surely make her submit; and she, a Great Emperor of renown, who had roamed the world at will, could only be above others, never below them!
Nor could she cast in her lot with Venerable Xiao; Venerable Xiao would be the first to refuse her.
She knew Shen Mu exceedingly well, and her usefulness to him was growing ever smaller. If Shen Mu reached the far shore, he might well rid himself of her first.
For Shen Mu to save Venerable Ling and Venerable Yun, he must first dispose of her!
As she wavered, the little boat suddenly gave a slight lurch and reached the far bank. The boat rushed up onto the land and thereupon flung Heavenly Consort Qiang up, then transformed into a walking staff that Shen Mu slung behind his back.
Heavenly Consort Qiang's face shifted from gloom to light; watching the two dao trees charging at the bank and the Venerables and divinities upon them, she suddenly sent the two God-Slaying Dark Blades howling up, slashing at Venerable Xiao on the nearest dao tree, and cried shrilly: "Venerable Mu, I will hold off Venerable Xiao. Finish them!"
The instant the words left her mouth, she threw her strength into her arms, and the two killing auras that flew at Venerable Xiao curled back, one left and one right, chopping at Shen Mu's head!
But Shen Mu seemed long since to have foreseen that she would turn on him. Two sword-lights flashed, and with two clear rings the God-Slaying Dark Blades were cut apart.
Heavenly Consort Qiang was startled; the God-Slaying Dark Blades too had been assailed by the breath of the Great Calamity, and were no longer as formidable as before.