荒墟牧神 - 第49章 丹心照破萬重霧 - 錦書坊

Shen Mu thought it over. Ling Hanchuan, sect master of the Lanjiang Sect, was of the second rank; this old man named Pei Wujiu was of the first rank, and must surely be even more formidable. "Everything this old senior says is true," he told Snow Fox. Snow Fox was doubtful. "How can you be sure he is telling the truth?" "The mist is breathed out by the dragon soul." Shen Mu pointed at the wandering soul of the Dark Dragon Mother in the hall: wherever the dragon soul drifted, the mist grew thicker, and wherever the mist spread, dried corpses rose to their feet again, one after another, seeming able to scent out where Shen Mu stood, drifting toward him of their own accord. "This mist can plunge these bodies into a state that is neither life nor death. It is a means of protecting her son, and a means of protecting this hall as well," Shen Mu reasoned. Snow Fox had seen as much herself: once the mist breathed out by the Dark Dragon Mother's soul dispersed, the dried corpses would drop to the ground and lie utterly still; but when the mist closed over them once more, the corpses came back to life and tried to attack anyone who entered. These dried corpses were like guardians of the hall, guarding it lest the Dark Water Dragon Pearl be seized and the "healing" of the Dark Dragon's young one be disturbed. And as for where the corpses came from, it could only be, as the old man said, the doing of the Dark Water Dragon Pearl—it had drained every drop of blood and vital energy from the martial artists who blundered into this dragon palace, using the blood and vital energy of others to prolong the life of the young Dark Dragon in the ice. Shen Mu said with some difficulty, "Elder Gu, I have the will to save you, but this junior's strength is thin, and I fear my will outruns my power." Pei Wujiu laughed heartily. "Of course you have not strength enough to melt the dark ice of the Dark Water Dragon Pearl—but I do. You need only follow my commands, and you can free me from my bonds! And once I am free, whatever you wish, you shall have!" There was arrogance in his words; plainly the office of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince was one of very high station. "Though I am trapped in the dark ice, my cultivation is still with me. This ice will not freeze me to death." Pei Wujiu said, "I will spend the last of my cultivation to move the sword at my waist out of the ice. You take up the sword and cut down the soul of the Dark Dragon Mother! Once the Dark Dragon Mother's soul is slain, the Dark Water Dragon Pearl will no longer be able to hold me! And when I am free, I may even give you this Dark Water Dragon Pearl!" Shen Mu was startled and blurted out, "Cut down the Dark Dragon Mother's soul? Senior, this junior has only just cultivated to the Spirit Fetus realm; I am a martial artist of no consequence—how could I possibly slay the Dark Dragon Mother's soul?" Pei Wujiu sneered. "Of course you could not—but with my sword in your hand, you can! This sword of mine is no common thing, nor is it the low-grade trash you carry on your back. This is a first-rank sword of the imperial court! The Jingping court gathered the finest craftsmen under heaven and forged it from the most exalted of treasures! In the Kingdom of Jingping there are only sixteen offices of the first rank, and only sixteen such swords, each with its own name. This sword of mine is called the Chubao Sword!" Shen Mu hesitated. "How does this sword compare with the staff in my hand?" Pei Wujiu snorted. "The White-Browed Monk's Ximilo is very fine indeed, and the Great Thunderpeal Monastery is a famous sect rarely matched under heaven—but can a treasure forged by the strength of one sect be spoken of in the same breath as a treasure forged by the strength of an entire kingdom? In the Kingdom of Jingping there are two or three great and famous sects like the Great Thunderpeal Monastery." Shen Mu was somewhat shaken, and also puzzled. "Since you possess such a treasure, senior, why did yo