Chapter 1793 — Dwelling in the Coffin
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
In times past, when Taiyi changed form he severed cause and effect, and the wounds upon his body ceased to exist. But in this battle, Taiyi had faced the Old Man of the Boundless and the Miluo Palace!
Of the Old Man of the Boundless's power, nothing need be said; the Miluo Palace's Third and Fourth Young Masters were more terrifying still; and to these add sixty or seventy Hall Masters each bearing several Dao fruits, along with countless Dao-attaining ones of the Miluo Palace—no second force like this could be found across all seventeen cosmic epochs!
His Dao wounds had reached his origin; no mere shifting of form could heal them now.
Suddenly the Taiyi qi became a youth Taiyi. Shen Mu hastily examined his wounds and said swiftly, "Brother Dao, among your injuries are Dao wounds from the Miluo Palace—those are the gravest. The Dao wounds the Old Man of the Boundless left on you are, by comparison, not so dreadful. And the Miluo Palace's Dao wounds are not so troublesome to resolve. Wait a moment!"
The youth Taiyi could not wait; his flesh collapsed once more into Taiyi qi.
Shen Mu pondered briefly, then opened the vertical eye at the center of his brow, illuminating the Ancestral Court, searching in fine detail. After a long while, he let out a breath.
In that brief span Taiyi had already changed form more than ten times in succession, each time unable to hold his shape beneath his grievous wounds.
He had just become a giant Taiyi when Shen Mu swiftly said, "Brother Dao, hold the bodily state you have now; change no more. I have a way to heal your wounds!"
Blood flowed ceaselessly from the giant Taiyi's wounds; at once he sat down cross-legged and suppressed them.
The Golden Ship of World-Crossing flew in. The two boarded, and the giant Taiyi sat at the prow, continuing to hold down his Dao wounds lest they worsen.
In this three-way battle, it was not that the stronger took the lighter wounds; on the contrary, having fused the Dao fruits of eleven cosmic epochs, his power had surged, and so he had drawn the Miluo Palace's and the Old Man of the Boundless's especial attention—and the heaviest injuries of all.
In a three-way struggle, the one with the greatest advantage is certain to be the one destroyed.
The golden ship turned about and sailed out of the Taiyi Daluo Heaven.
Xing'an sat quietly before the God-Coffin of Burying the Dao, eyes fixed straight ahead, waiting in silence. With Taiyi taking the field, the prize would surely fall into their hands.
He was already savoring in advance the look of astonishment on Shen Mu's face when Shen Mu was delivered here bound hand and foot, and he himself drove the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails into him.
A faint smile crept unbidden to Xing'an's lips. He raised his head, and saw the Golden Ship of World-Crossing sailing toward him, slowing by degrees.
Smiling, Xing'an rose to his feet—then saw Shen Mu, bearing the wound-covered Taiyi on his back, leap swiftly down from the ship and come charging forward without a word.
Thud. Taiyi was dumped on the ground.
Xing'an was dumbstruck.
Shen Mu seized the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails and said without raising his head, "Brother Xing'an, are you not going to help?"
Xing'an still had not recovered his wits, but he saw Shen Mu driving the Dao-Slaying Divine Nails one by one into the giant Taiyi's wounds. Shen Mu urged him again, and only then did Xing'an come to himself. He hurried forward, and the two of them together drove a hundred divine nails into every part of Taiyi's body.
Shen Mu let out a breath, lifted Taiyi, and laid him in the God-Coffin of Burying the Dao. "His wounds are too severe," he said. "For now, let the coffin suppress them. When my own wounds have healed and I have devised a way to undo his Dao wounds, I will treat him then."
Xing'an watched in silence as he lifted the coffin lid and set it over the coffin, unable to speak.
The Box stood at his feet, tilting its body curiously to one side, covertly studying his expression.