Chapter 69 — The Land of Numinous Beauty
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu braced his hands against the roof, feeling that the girl beside him looked somehow familiar, and that fragrance even more so, and doubt grew in his heart. Ahead and to one side, the gates of the Crimson Dragon City Lord's manor flew suddenly open, and out marched a hundred or more people in grand procession. Each one's aura was exceedingly powerful, each bore himself with lofty dignity and uncommon bearing, all of them divine-power practitioners of Crimson Dragon City with formidable reputations.
What a tremendous display of might! The man at their head was tall and powerfully built, with tiger eyes and a bear's waist, walking with a dragon's stride and a tiger's step, possessed of an aura that made the heart quail. His beard bristled out to either side; his features, though hardly handsome, still carried a certain manliness. Behind him loomed the faint phantom of a god-demon, an eight-armed deity with eight kinds of ritual weapons in its hands, surely a manifestation of his primal essence.
Its aura was extraordinary. "The sect master's widow seized the Nether Demon Sect's sacred scripture, the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture, that safeguards the sect, escaped the pursuit of the sect's Holy Elders and Holy Patriarch, entered the Desolate Ruins, and vanished without a trace. "
The Lord of Crimson Dragon City laughed heartily.
"I have worried for your safety, madam, thinking of you morning and night. I never expected you to be safe and sound; it quite sets my heart at ease.
You have endured in hiding for over forty years without emerging; surely you have studied the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Scripture through and through. This time, coming forth from the mountains, you must no longer fear the sect's elders and patriarch, am I right? "
The widow of the Nether Demon Sect Master laughed and chatted amiably with the Lord of Crimson Dragon City, like old friends of many years.
Yet the Lord of Crimson Dragon City dared not draw near. He said invitingly, "Madam, my humble abode happens to be hosting a banquet for honored guests. Hearing of your gracious arrival, I hurried over. It would not do to keep my guests waiting long. Will you not come and grace my humble home with your presence?
"
The beautiful woman smiled lightly. "Very well.
I too would like to meet the lord's honored guest. I shall impose upon your hospitality, then. "
"You jest, madam. This way, please!
"
"That is the Lord of Crimson Dragon City's Eight Aspects Heavenly God Art, a most formidable technique. "
Beside Shen Mu, the girl said in a low voice, "They say the Lord of Crimson Dragon City, Fu Yundi, has already cultivated to the Life and Death Realm and successfully broken through the wall of the Life-Death Divine Treasure.
He is one of the rare masters of the Desolate Ruins!
"
Shen Mu looked at Fu Yundi.
His Eight Aspects Heavenly God Art was indeed extraordinary; if unleashed, it would surely manifest the Heavenly God in eight aspects, with all eight directions taken in at a single glance, able to strike enemies on every side. Shen Mu praised, "It is truly a formidable technique. "
The girl grew interested.
"Cowherd, you are quite formidable too. What technique do you cultivate? "
"The Mystic Body Three Elixir Art. "
Shen Mu said, "My name is Shen Mu. What is yours?
"
The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. "My name is Yuxiu.
"
Shen Mu said, "Yuxiu, as in 'spirit and excellence'?
"
Surprised, the girl said, "How did you know my surname is Ling?
"
"Ling Yuxiu?
That is a lovely name.
"
Shen Mu admired it a while, then said, "If your face were a little thinner, it would be worthy of the name.
"
Ling Yuxiu, annoyed, kicked him again, put on her shoes, and jumped down from the eaves.
"I am not speaking to you anymore! "
Her feet touched the ground, she took two steps, then turned back with a doubtful look.
"Why are you not following me? "
Puzzled, Shen Mu said, "You said you were not speaking to me.