Chapter 172 — The Insect Tide of Gua Prefecture
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The three Sect-Protecting Heavenly Kings fought their way out of the Xiaolei Forbidden Zone at great cost, only to see Shen Mu flicker away again and again, his figure growing ever smaller, ever farther from them. The three of them sighed.
"Had I known this task would be so brutal, I would never have taken it.
.
. " Heavenly King Lu wiped the black soot from his face and muttered, "This generation's Holy Sect Master is far beyond anything we expected.
" The other two elders felt much the same. Heavenly King Shi said, "At least it is over. The Holy Sect Master is young still, but he has already shown his edge; he is a blessing to our Holy Sect.
Now that matters here are settled, we should go look into the affair of Heavenly King Qian. " Heavenly King Lu and Heavenly King Yu felt a chill and straightened their faces.
"We must indeed look into it, and find out just who is striking at our Holy Sect! " Heavenly King Shi's face was grave, his voice heavy. "What worries me most is not that, but whether our sect's teleportation banner has been leaked abroad.
Troubled times.
. .
" His eyes dropped. "Look below. That looks like Gua Prefecture. " "Gua Prefecture? Our sect's holy land has traveled to the sky above Gua Prefecture?
" Heavenly King Yu's heart quivered. He let out a foul breath and said, "Gua Prefecture has rebelled.
The imperial kinsmen and their noble houses have risen, and their momentum is no small thing.
If the Holy Sect Master descends into Gua Prefecture, I fear. . .
" Shenglinshan lay hidden within the Xiaolei Forbidden Zone, suspended beyond the heavens, and that holy land did not stand still; it moved without cease. On Shenglinshan there was a place called the Gazing Abyss, and standing there, gazing down into the deep, one could see the land directly beneath Shenglinshan; even the ants upon the ground were clear to the eye.
But this time they had been too hurried, and none of them had found the moment to go to the Gazing Abyss and look, and so when the holy land came above Gua Prefecture, Shen Mu had slipped out of it. "Let us hope the Holy Sect Master did not fall into a battlefield," Heavenly King Lu murmured.
Shen Mu plunged down out of the sky.
Snowfox stirred up a demon wind, and Shen Mu walked upon it, and before long his feet were on solid ground. His primal essence was more than half spent, but he had come down safely, at least.
"It has been a long while since I went to the Grand Academy. I am its first Erudite, and the emperor granted me office besides, and yet I have sat in on only one lecture. " He looked around and had Snowfox take the Jingping geographical map from their bundle.
Shen Mu studied the lie of the mountains and matched them against the map until he found a range that answered. "Gua Prefecture. But still far from the city.
" Just then he saw a ship drifting leisurely across the sky.
His heart stirred; he roused the Sky-Skimming Divine Legs and ran along the mountain foot in pursuit of that tower ship. The tower ship flew a merchant caravan's flag; it was a vessel built for both cargo and passengers.
In these chaotic, war-wracked days there were still no few merchant ships and passenger ships, and even in rebel country boats came and went.
Shen Mu ran faster and faster. Suddenly he trod upon empty air and rose upon it, racing through the sky as though on flat ground, and in a few breaths he had caught up with the tower ship; with a flicker of his body he landed on its deck. Shhk, shhk, shhk!
The sound of drawn swords rang out, and the instant he landed, dozens of flying swords were leveled at his throat, before him and behind him and on every side. "Gentlemen, no alarm, I beg you.
I only wish to take passage.
" Shen Mu hastily raised both hands, speaking with great care.