Chapter 149 — The Mighty Martial Emperor
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
" He sealed his own divine treasuries, keeping open only the two great treasuries of Spirit Embryo and Five Luminaries so that he stood at the same realm as Ling Yuxiu, then stirred the spell formulas of the Azure Empyrean Lightning Guide, pinching his two middle fingers together as though threading a needle, as if invisible needle and thread hung before him. At once lightning flashed and thunder rolled over the river; bolt after bolt came crashing down, striking wherever he pointed, fierce beyond measure — in an instant several dozen thunderbolts had fallen!
The river's surface turned white with foam, and everywhere great fish floated blasted belly-up.
Ling Yuxiu was won over completely, in heart and in word; Libationer Bashan was clearly cultivating this Azure Empyrean Lightning Guide for the very first time, yet the moment he made his move he was consummately masterful — one could not help but marvel.
Libationer Bashan said with a smile, "Your royal house's art, the Nine Dragons Emperor Art, is fierce and domineering; if your foundation were solid enough, then when you wielded the Azure Empyrean Lightning Guide its power would surpass even mine. Seventh Princess, for these days to come I will teach you no other arts — I will only help you lay your foundation firm.
" Ling Yuxiu hastily assented.
Libationer Bashan was himself a being of patriarch rank, of vast knowledge and experience; add to this that he had lived through the reforms of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, and that in recent years he had contemplated, in that holy ground called the Grand Academy, the arts and divine abilities of every great sect and school and every noble clan — his foundation had grown so deep that he was already a master of the very highest tier in the whole Jingping Nation. The azure ox traveled on toward the border pass, and along the way Libationer Bashan preached the Way and discoursed upon the arts, going through the scrolls they had brought out of the Tianlu Tower one by one.
After two or three days they at last drew near Qingmen Pass. Qingmen Pass lay at the boundary between the Jingping Nation and the Mandi Nation, and also at the boundary between the Desolate Ruins and the Mandi Nation.
Here, more than a hundred li lay between Qingmen Pass and the Mandi border pass; yet in the middle of that hundred-odd li stretched a belt of mountain forest a dozen-odd li long. This forest reached out from the Desolate Ruins and belonged to the Ruins' domain; whenever night fell, darkness came creeping in and cut the two mighty passes off from each other.
The Desolate Ruins thus became a natural barrier between the Mandi Nation and the Jingping Nation; neither army could launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness, and each could assault the other only by day, and so the war had settled into stalemate.
The soldiers on both sides aptly called this strip of Ruins land the Duck Tongue. Shen Mu and his companions entered Qingmen Pass; Libationer Bashan handed the border guards their passage tally, and the soldier, checking them off against the count, suddenly caught sight of Shen Mu, started slightly, and hurried off running into the city.
The others could not make out what it meant, and Libationer Bashan asked with misgiving, "Have you gotten into some trouble? " The azure ox said, gloating, "Trouble? Far more than trouble.
Master, have you forgotten?
This junior brother of yours is a forsaken one of the Desolate Ruins. The border soldiers received a divine oracle: any forsaken one who dares enter Jingping is to be put to the sword. I'd wager this junior brother of yours will lose his head, or else be sold off as a slave.
" Libationer Bashan frowned slightly. A moment later there came from within the city the clatter and clash of armor, and a deep, mighty voice called out, "The Divine Physician — where is Divine Physician Shen?