Chapter 1663 — Summoning the Soul of That Old Man
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
With a swish it floated into the air, and at once the Dao resonance stored within burst forth. In an instant the thirty-six heavenly palaces and seventy-two treasure halls appeared, and Jiang Baigui's phantom stood upon Jade Capital City, battle intent surging to the heavens! Swish — Jiang Baigui thrust out a sword; the Dao of the sword stretched vast and boundless, radiant as the opening of the cosmos, grand and majestic! Shen Mu extended a single finger and lightly touched the blade-light.
Ding.
A faint ring sounded, and the blade-light scattered at once. Jiang Baigui appeared again, his swordsmanship fiercer still; his phantom unleashed the second heaven of the sword Dao, pouring every aspiration in his breast into the blade!
The power of this sword Dao carried the spirit to surpass Kaihuang himself!
The mere movement of the sword Dao drew the Village Head over; he tilted his head back to study Jiang Baigui's swordsmanship, stirred beyond measure.
Shen Mu pointed again, and Jiang Baigui's second sword Dao was broken once more.
The blade-light surged without cease, the sword Dao shifting, magnificent and thunderous, like the Jingping Reforms themselves, bearing within it the spirit and vigor of an age. Shen Mu broke each move with casual ease, and soon Jiang Baigui had exhausted all twenty-six heavens of his sword techniques. Disappointment showed on Shen Mu's face; with that final strike, Jiang Baigui's phantom, together with the thirty-six heavenly palaces and seventy-two treasure halls, shattered entirely and was ground to fine dust.
The Village Head watched, utterly spellbound, praising it again and again.
"Turning the acquired Dao into treasure halls is still not the right way. " Shen Mu shook his head.
"My junior brother Jiang's abilities have certainly reached the very summit; he can contend with the Celestial Masters of the Heavenly Court.
But the acquired Dao he has not perfected. If I force myself to cultivate his arts, I will only be filling in gaps; I cannot raise my fighting power to its utmost.
And the Dao of the sword may not surpass the innate primordial qi. . . " Suddenly the Silent Craftsman's voice came, displeased.
"Little Shen, do you look down on the acquired Dao?
" The people of Yincan Village were displeased as well; they had all risen by cultivating the acquired Dao.
Shen Mu said hurriedly, "Grandfather Silent Craftsman, I would never think such a thing. Kaihuang's sword Dao is itself an acquired Dao; how would I dare slight it? In the future the acquired Dao will surely produce many Dao-achievers, but not yet. If Jingping had enough time, the acquired Dao would one day flourish and prevail, surpassing the innate. But as things stand, I do not have so much time to deduce the acquired Dao to its highest reaches, and every craft has its specialists; the acquired Dao will need the wisdom and talent of the people of the future to complete it.
" He smiled. "We are their forebears.
All we can do is give them a world in which they can unfold their ambitions and display their talents!
That requires our generation to strive with flesh and blood, to shape such a future for them with our very lives! " The Silent Craftsman fell silent, and after a long while he sighed. "I misjudged you. Doesn't the Ancestral Court have seventy-two treasure halls? You lack only fourteen now. Go to the Ancestral Court once more, that's all. " Shen Mu shook his head. "The seventy-two treasure halls of the Ancestral Court have already been carved up between Haotian and Taichu. The remaining fourteen are all in Taichu's hands.
" "Can't you get them from Taichu? " the Village Head asked. Shen Mu shook his head. "Taichu, that one, was defeated by his own son, but there is no chance he would ever join hands with me.