Chapter 164 — The Holy Lady
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Along the way, Shen Mu could not help but marvel: in Luodu alone, those who wielded divine abilities were too numerous to count, and one could well imagine how many more there were throughout the realm. At present the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping could not command these forces, but once the opposition was eradicated or subdued, Jingping's overall strength would not be diminished in the least; on the contrary, it would rise greatly. At last he came to Yongzhou.
Unlike Luodu, Yongzhou presented a scene of peace and prosperity; the people lived and worked in contentment, flourishing and thriving. Passing by the fields, Shen Mu saw several martial artists casting spells, summoning wind and shaping it into blade after blade of wind to help the farmers harvest their dry rice. Shen Mu halted to watch.
He saw that the martial artists practiced the spells of the Youmo Cult; they controlled the wind, and after finishing the harvest of dry rice for several households, they went to settle accounts with the farmers. One of the girls said, "Do not dry the grain in the sun today; there will be rain toward evening. " The farmers thanked them again and again. Seeing Shen Mu standing at the edge of the field staring their way, the martial artists were puzzled. The girl came forward and stopped a short distance from Shen Mu.
She saluted and said, "Senior brother, is something the matter? " Shen Mu smiled warmly. "Are you from the Wind Hall?
" Shen Mu asked curiously, "Has the Wind Hall not taught you this spell in full?
" Shen Mu circulated his vital essence, transforming it into Azure Dragon vital essence, and said with a smile, "It happens I still have some time.
Let me teach you. Watch. " There beside the rice field he stirred his Azure Dragon vital essence and performed Autumn Wind Skims the Ground.
Blade after blade of wind, like curved scimitars, like snakes gliding through the fields, wove and darted onward; a hundred or more wind blades skimmed along the ground, making straight for an enemy's ankles.
"This move is not only about blades hugging the ground; it can also be used like this.
" Shen Mu suddenly tapped the ground lightly with his toes, leaped up, then landed his toes on a rapidly spinning wind blade, which carried him rushing forward. Standing atop the wind blade, he cast spells while attacking forward; a hundred or more wind blades howled, sweeping through a space of some twenty yards around him, screaming as they slashed ahead!
Although Autumn Wind Skims the Ground was an ordinary spell, its power was in truth not small; on the contrary, this single move was enough to display the greatness of the Great Yu Youmo Scripture, for it could evolve into all manner of different forms of attack. Shen Mu landed and dispersed the spell. They hurriedly sought his guidance. Shen Mu sat down beside the field ridge and answered them in detail, explaining the subtleties of how the power flowed in this move and how to control it with fine precision.
"This move has several other variations.
The wind blades do not necessarily have to travel along the ground. " Shen Mu performed Autumn Wind Skims the Ground again. Suddenly his fingers quivered, and blade after blade of wind stood upright and struck upward.
"The art of spells," he said, "is in fact interconnected with swordsmanship and combat techniques. Though Autumn Wind Skims the Ground is a spell, it can at any moment transform into sword arts or combat skills. " He suddenly produced a blade orb and gave it a gentle shake.
Curved blade after curved blade flew out from the orb, and what he performed was also Autumn Wind Skims the Ground. Though its variations were fewer than when cast as a spell, its power increased several times over. Shen Mu scooped up two curved blades in his hands. Suddenly the blade light flared.