Chapter 54 — Three Hundred and Sixty Rooms
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
In the village, Elder Huo lowered his fists and said to Shen Mu, "Did you see it clearly?
" "I saw it clearly!
" Shen Mu mused, "Every dragon force stands for a different power. A different order of dragon forces, a different fist force. Scramble the order of a hundred Azure Dragon fist forces, and Nine Dragons Command the Wind and Thunder will yield countless variations! A man may take my first punch, but he will never take my second with the same move! Even if I throw a hundred punches, a thousand, each one carries a force unlike any other!
" A rare trace of a smile crossed Elder Huo's face. "Before, your Overlord Body qi had no attribute. You could not cultivate the Thunder Peal Mahayana Sutra, and I had promised the Great Thunder Peal Temple that I would not teach the sutra to outsiders. Now your Overlord Body qi bears the Azure Dragon attribute, and still I will not pass it on to you. Yet so long as you have fathomed the principles of the fist, whether you learn the Thunder Peal Mahayana Sutra no longer matters. You have already grasped the dragon's cadence, posture, momentum, breath, and spirit; even had you never set eyes on the Hundred Dragons Chart, you could still divine its mysteries. With your Mystic Body Three Elixir Art, the Eight Thunder Peal Arts will be no less formidable than the Thunder Peal Mahayana Sutra! " Shen Mu's spirits soared.
Elder Huo was ever cold as ice and seldom praised anyone; to win his commendation made the boy very happy. And Elder Huo's words had opened a door in his mind, giving rise to fresh ideas. The Nine Dragons Command the Wind and Thunder of the Eight Thunder Peal Arts dealt chiefly in dragon force — then what of the first form, Alone in the Eastern Sea, Bearing the Spring Thunder? If he watched a great river hang upside down and pour into the sea, with the sound of spring thunder in its waves, could he not grasp the essence of that form?
And the Pipa Hand of the Finger-Snap Thunder — was it not bound up with music?
Then there were Kuafu Chases the Sun, Wind and Thunder Urgent, and Sunlight Refines the Yang Spirit in the Air — each must have its own way of insight!
The more he thought, the more elated he became; he itched to leave home that very instant and wander the four directions, observing the wonders of heaven and earth and surveying the mysteries of creation!
"Tomorrow, remember to rise early and go pay your respects in the next village," said Granny Zhu with a smile. Shen Mu said doubtfully, "Granny, the next village belongs to the Nether Demon Cult.
Why do they call you the Cult Leader's widow?
Why do they want you to be Cult Leader? And if you refuse, why would they still kill us? " Granny Zhu stroked his head and laughed.
"One day you will know.
" Early the next morning, Shen Mu washed, ate, and gathered the eggs. The Plume-Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon came charging in fury and fought him to a standstill. The bird's wings beat and flurried; it slashed at the egg thief with feathers like swords and opened its beak to spew a great jet of fire. Shen Mu, the Azure Dragon coiling about his body, used the Pipa Hand of the Finger-Snap Thunder and blocked the sword feathers. "Shen'er, stop fighting it.
Go and pay a call on the next village," said Granny Zhu, coming over to drive the Plume-Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon away. Shen Mu hurried after her; behind him the Plume-Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon gave chase again, and Granny Zhu snarled it back.
Granny Zhu led him to the next village, where the Elder of Punishments came out to meet them, sized Shen Mu up from head to foot, and said to Granny Zhu, "Cult Leader's widow, all is prepared.
Three hundred and sixty rooms; the young master need only walk through them once. " Granny Zhu blinked. "Walk through three hundred and sixty rooms in one go?
Is that not asking the impossible?