Chapter 207 — Cunning as a Ghost

This time, Shen Mu felt a genuine chill of dread run through him.

That day, when the Imperial Preceptor Jingping fought his great battle outside Daxiang City, Shen Mu had stood atop the mountain peak gazing at the battlefield, yet could not clearly see the moves of those powerhouses. The Demon King of Dutian had watched the battle through his eyes, enabling him to see the techniques of the Imperial Preceptor Jingping and Poor Scholar and the others with perfect clarity—he could even comprehend the profound mysteries of the moves of such terrifying beings!

But at the time, Shen Mu believed he had concealed it well and had not alerted this Demon King.

And now it seemed his little schemes had been utterly useless. The Demon King of Dutian had long since sensed the fluctuations in his heart, and had even guessed his innermost thoughts!

"Foolish summoner, playing your seemingly clever little tricks before the greatest ruler of Dutian is utterly pointless."

The Demon King's voice continued to resound in his mind, rattling his eardrums: "A feeble life like yours had best not try to play games before me. My power is beyond your imagining! Submit to me, worship me—that is your only way out."

Shen Mu steadied himself and suddenly smiled: "Great Lord of Dutian, in this world, the only one who still understands the Talisman Command for Summoning Ghosts and Dispatching Gods is me—the only one left who can still wield this art."

The Demon King of Dutian fell silent.

After a moment, his voice sounded again: "An interesting little brat, daring to haggle with me. Very good, very good..."

Shen Mu's heart was uneasy. He did not know whether this bargain of his would succeed.

If it failed and the Demon King turned hostile, he would most likely be in dire trouble.

If the bargain succeeded and his life was spared, then once he returned to the village, he would ask the village head and the others to gradually do away with the Demon King of Dutian.

Judging by the Demon King's behavior, it was indeed possible to kill this Demon King.

Because when Shen Mu had traveled in the company of the Imperial Preceptor Jingping, the Demon King of Dutian had shown no unusual movement, remaining perfectly quiet within Shen Mu's body.

And only when the Imperial Preceptor Jingping was locked in fierce combat with Poor Scholar and other sect-leader-level beings did the Demon King dare to borrow Shen Mu's eyes to observe the battle—both to gauge the Imperial Preceptor's true strength and to seek out his weaknesses.

But at that time, Shen Mu was surrounded by experts of the Youmo Sect, and the Demon King had also made no sound.

Later, as Shen Mu healed the Imperial Preceptor's wounds along the way, the Demon King remained silent throughout.

When Shen Mu parted from the Imperial Preceptor and arrived at the Imperial Academy, where he encountered the Lame Old Man and Old Master Huo, the Demon King still did not appear.

Now that Old Master Huo and the Lame Old Man were gone and Shen Mu was alone, he had finally shown himself.

If the Imperial Preceptor Jingping, Old Master Huo, and the Lame Old Man posed no threat to him, he would not be so cautious.

In other words, he had revealed his fear.

That is to say, he could be destroyed—unlike Fan Xuanshu within Granny Zhu's Dao-heart, who was nearly impossible to erase. So long as the method was clever enough, he could still be obliterated.

"My Dutian is finished, destroyed, with nothing left but boundless darkness. So I need to find a new world for my people of Dutian—a place where my people can live and multiply."

The Demon King's voice came: "I went to great lengths to transmit the Talisman Command for Summoning Ghosts and Dispatching Gods to this world, to the people of this world, and now you are the only one who understands this art. You should know that I will not let you off easily."

Shen Mu was completely reassured and let out a breath: "So you want me to summon demons again, to summon you over?"

The Demon King coaxed him patiently: "I once had that idea, but now I have seen that this world's natives include some powerful beings as well. So I only wish to use your hand to send some of my people to this world. I do not wish to provoke a great war between the powerhouses of the two worlds—it would be bad for you and bad for us. My Dutian is already finished; I only want to keep my clan from extinction, and I have no intention of seizing this world."

"Believe him? Like hell!" Shen Mu thought.

But he could not say this aloud—if he did, killing him would likely be no trouble at all for the Demon King.

At present, that consciousness was lodged within his own body, along with a portion of demonic power. The strength of gods and demons was far beyond his reach. If the Demon King turned hostile, this consciousness and power would make killing him no great difficulty.

He had need of Shen Mu now, so he would not strike at him; but if he discovered that Shen Mu never had any intention of summoning him, he would likely turn hostile and kill him.

"You need not summon me—you can summon a few of my subjects."

The Demon King said: "Afterward I will leave you, and you may enjoy your freedom to the fullest. You need only do me this small favor, and I will explain the characters on this door for you."

Shen Mu smiled: "The characters on this door—my family's elders would likely recognize them. There is no need to trouble the Demon King..."

"Heh heh, recognize them? These are the characters of Youdu. Even if you recognized them, could you read them?"

The Demon King said leisurely: "The script of Youdu—if you cannot read it aloud, it is of no use at all. And this scroll—what it records are the arts of Youdu. Do you not wish to know?"

Shen Mu's gaze flickered: "I still cannot clearly see the characters in the book, nor can I see the characters on the door. Learning the Youdu script now would be of little use. Besides, not learning the Youdu script would have little effect on me. Demon King, I have no need at all to trade with you."

"Hahaha!"

The Demon King laughed: "It seems you still have not truly comprehended the true mystery of your cultivation realm! Once you learn the Youdu script on these, you will be stronger than the Imperial Preceptor Jingping at this realm! Did the Imperial Preceptor not say that others are all triangles while he is a straight line? Once you learn the characters on the gate, your straight line will be longer than his!"

His voice ran to and fro within Shen Mu's mind, with no fixed location, now left, now right, sometimes sounding in front, sometimes from the back of his skull, so that Shen Mu could not pin down where he was hiding.

"A lowly creature like you surely has no idea what Youdu is. Let me tell you what kind of place Youdu is!"

"Youdu is the ultimate destination of you mortals after death; all souls will in the end enter there—the dwelling place of Emperor Tubo, the world that rules over all living beings of all worlds after death!"

"He is a truly ancient and immeasurable deity, a primordial god, who controls all death. Even gods and Buddhas are enslaved by him after death."

"Youdu is not the hell that gods and Buddhas speak of. Hell is meant to frighten you mortals. Youdu is a hundred times crueler than hell!"

"Once you master the script of Youdu and the arts of Youdu, they will strengthen your soul—that is the true stairway to becoming a god!"①

Shen Mu was greatly tempted and smiled: "Words alone are no proof. No matter how eloquently you speak, it will be hard to make me believe you. Tell me one art of Youdu, and then I will believe you."

The Demon King chuckled: "You should already know one."

Shen Mu was stunned and blurted out: "Soul-Pulling Charm? The Soul-Pulling Charm is a Youdu art?"

"The Soul-Pulling Charm is not a complete Youdu art. It is a Youdu art rebuilt by mortals of your world using mortal language, and it is far from displaying the true power of a Youdu art."