Chapter 153 — My Body Is a Hegemon Body
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
When they reached the summit, they saw a luxury beyond compare: towers and palaces all ablaze with golden light, the pillars beneath the great hall alone so thick that two men could not span them with their arms, and golden statues even more numerous, with many grassland barbarians standing beneath the golden figures. Suddenly one of the golden statues moved. Shen Mu's heart lurched, and only then did he realize these were no golden statues but great shamans, one and all!
The great shamans of Loulan's Golden Palace had refined their bodies until they seemed cast of pure gold, radiating golden light! Before the Golden Palace, beneath a towering gate, great shamans stood like radiant deities, majestic and solemn.
At their head was an elder with golden hair and a golden body, tall and powerfully built, robed all in gold, a staff in hand, a feather crown on his head, his voice like a great bell: "Martial Khagan, you have roamed free for so many years.
Why deliver yourself to our door today? " "'Deliver yourself to our door' — well said. Qingniu, set down the mountain gate! " With a thunderous crash Qingniu set down the mountain gate.
Libationer Bashan laughed heartily: "Shaman Venerable, I have brought you your mountain gate.
These golden senior brothers here — it seems most of them have had a beating from me. In those days I blocked your gate for a hundred days and wounded or killed no small number. The strong I could not spare, so I had no choice but to kill them; the weak all survived my hands. And these weak ones are precisely the honored company seated here today.
" At these words an uproar swept the mountain. The elder generation of Loulan's Golden Palace were furious beyond restraint, and a killing chill filled the air.
Libationer Bashan's tongue was too venomous by half; in one breath he had offended every expert of Loulan's Golden Palace and roused the anger of the crowd. Add to that carrying their mountain gate up the mountain, and this matter could hardly end peacefully.
One of the great shamans, his features stern, his voice like the clashing of metal and stone, said coldly: "Our wounds healed long ago. These years the Golden Palace has husbanded its strength, and we have long wished to cross hands with the Martial Khagan once more and wash away our former shame. " Libationer Bashan smiled: "There will be a chance.
But this visit, I have come to block your gate, not to beat you to death. " He led Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu forward to the golden mountain gate, looked up and studied it, recalling the past, and said with feeling: "In those years I stood beneath this very gate with my honored master and beat many men to death.
. .
" The great shamans, golden and godlike, glared at him with eyes that seemed to spit fire. Libationer Bashan turned back, winked at Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu, and said with a smile: "And now, this mountain gate is yours to handle. " Ling Yuxiu was somewhat uneasy and said in a low voice: "Teacher, the rules here seem different from those in Jingping.
" Libationer Bashan kept his smile, his voice like a mosquito's whine: "When the Daoist sects and the Great Thunderclap Temple came to block the Grand Academy's gate, it was only a contest of victory and defeat, not of life and death; after the fighting all was amiable.
But here, every blow is struck to kill. If you wish to spare your opponent's life, you may — but when you meet an expert who is your equal, and a kill is required, it becomes very hard to hold back. In those years I met many experts here who were my equals, and so no small number died. " Ling Yuxiu's scalp went numb. Shen Mu steadied himself too, drew a long breath.
At last, the rules of the Wilderness Ruins.
The rules of the Wilderness Ruins were the same!
The Shaman Venerable walked over to the golden mountain gate, his gaze falling on Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu, and said unhurriedly: "The gate-blocking shall follow the old rules — life and death not reckoned.