Chapter 316 — Things Are Looking Bad

"The kid's been beaten this badly — could he have run into some dreadful being hidden aboard this ship?

" Ban Gongcuo gave chase, still nursing his doubts: "But didn't that dreadful being already flee?

" When the Lord Who Guards the Stars had escaped from the treasure ship, the commotion had been tremendous. At the time Ban Gongcuo had been searching the ship for the retainers scattered through the various cabins, while others still waited on the deck; it was then that the Lord Who Guards the Stars fled the vessel, and by the time Ban Gongcuo reached the deck, the several men upon it had vanished — swept into the world of Youdu by the hurricane raised in the Lord's flight, no doubt, never to return. And that had been two months ago. In the time since, Ban Gongcuo had led his people in stripping every cabin bare, carrying off nearly all the treasures here; only when he came to plunder the bridge had he met resistance, blocked outside by the Dragon Qilin and the two White Bat brothers, unable to fight his way in.

There was only one door into the bridge, and to enter one had to force a way through it; but the two White Bats and the Dragon Qilin were by no means weak, and guarding behind that door, even a Witch King of the Life-and-Death realm could not break in.

These past days they had used a rotating assault, giving the two White Bats and the Dragon Qilin no rest. No sooner had Ban Gongcuo burst into that room than he stirred the Myriad Locust Banner; swarms of flying locusts whirled about his body, warding him on every side. Then a door closed behind him, and Shen Mu appeared at the doorway and shut it.

Ban Gongcuo dashed a dozen paces forward before turning, smiling: "Cult Master Shen, what business brings you to lure me here? " The bruises and swellings on Shen Mu's face were plainly the marks of a beating. He said sullenly: "These two months I've taken a great many beatings, and my confidence has suffered badly.

Brother, you know how it is — a man who fails over and over, who keeps failing, his mind twists, he turns into a deviant.

" Ban Gongcuo said in astonishment: "What sort of person could beat Cult Master Shen into this state?

Now I'm curious.

In this world, besides me, there is actually someone who can defeat Cult Master Shen again and again and make him feel this frustration. Could that person be a divine-ability wielder of the Seven Stars realm? " Shen Mu touched the wounds on his face: "He was using the cultivation of the Six Harmonies realm.

" Ban Gongcuo was even more shocked; he exhaled a turbid breath and praised: "This man truly has skill. " Shen Mu said with utter sincerity: "So, brother, I could only come find you while I was resting. To keep my mind from twisting and my psyche from going warped — how about you let me beat you a while and work off some steam?

" Ban Gongcuo's brows lowered; his gaze fell on the hand gripping the Myriad Locust Banner, and he laughed softly: "Cult Master Shen, I have never fought a battle I was not sure of.

When I am not sure, I play dirty.

But when I saw you beckoning me with that sneaky look, I came running at once. Do you know why?

" He raised his head and smiled with conceit: "These two months I have trained hard, and I have improved enormously compared to two months ago. You know I am the Great Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace, and I have already undergone eighteen reincarnations. Two months of my cultivation is worth two years of yours!

I did not chase after you to listen to your nonsense, nor to be beaten — I came to beat you to death! " His rage surged; his black hair lifted his cap. He brandished the Myriad Locust Banner and charged at Shen Mu, crying fiercely: "I will beat you to death with my own hands! Hand over that silver helmet, and I will let you die a little more comfortably!

" Clang, clang, clang, clang — locusts and sword-rain collided; the golden locusts' thin wings were like blades, while Shen Mu's flying swords were heavy and solid, and in an instant the collision filled the room with dancing sparks. Amid sword-light and locusts, Ban Gongcuo drove the Myriad Locust Banner deep into the floor, and stepping and flashing through the rain of swords and locusts, his figure darting left and right, closed on Shen Mu.

Shen Mu's footwork was unfathomable, and he too closed swiftly through the sword-rain and locusts.

The room was not large, and with locusts and flying swords clanging everywhere, one careless moment could draw blood, or even cost a life. These days both Shen Mu and Ban Gongcuo had been studying how to make their divine abilities finer and more precise; so in this small room, both kept their locusts and swords as small as possible — the flying swords no more than three inches long, the locusts no more than a hand's span.

But the smaller they were, the more perilous; to weave through the enemy's sword-rain and locusts required extremely keen eyes and judgment. The next moment the two met; fist and palm joined, force exploded, and a clear peal of thunder rang through the room.

Ban Gongcuo smiled: "With my present cultivation.

. .

hngh! " He grunted, feeling the other's dreadful strength, and was startled. These days he had trained hard and his cultivation had greatly increased; he had thought his cultivation must give him an overwhelming advantage — yet without using his full strength, Shen Mu actually held a slight upper hand!

How could that be?

Was this kid also a reincarnated soul?

But then he sensed something was off: Shen Mu did not surpass him in mana cultivation; rather, the fellow's vital essence had become purer and more refined, his mastery of moves and divine abilities had risen another level, and his physical body had grown much stronger.

That is, Shen Mu could use less vital essence to make his divine abilities erupt with greater power. He was ahead of Ban Gongcuo in the fineness of his abilities: when a strike missed, little power leaked away; when it landed, the divine ability burst forth more violently. Ban Gongcuo and Shen Mu had entered that mysterious corridor together; both had seen the marks of divine abilities and divine weapons upon the walls, but both had only glanced at them in passing, without deep study.

And now Shen Mu had surpassed him in this art.

"Bad!

" Ban Gongcuo's mind went blank, and he sensed the danger at once. Shen Mu's cultivation had risen, his vital essence had grown purer, he spent less mana, and his body had improved as well; in that case, Shen Mu's fighting power and endurance both clearly exceeded his. Though not by much — but exceeding by even a hair was enough to win.

In the short run it was fine, but as time dragged on, he would be in trouble. Sure enough, as the two exchanged great techniques, the Eight Thousand Swords and the Myriad Locust Banner consumed mana terribly, draining their vital essence at a furious rate, until the flying swords and locusts they could control dwindled sharply. Yet Shen Mu's physical body remained formidable; his moves were wide and sweeping, ranging freely, each punch and kick splitting mountains and shattering stone, terrifying in power, driving Ban Gongcuo back and back.

Suddenly Ban Gongcuo slammed backward, bursting open a cabin door, and took the chance to roll inside, then moved to shut the door. Before it closed, a tremendous force struck him, hurling him away, and with a smack he was pinned flat against the opposite wall!

"I only need to hold out until my subordinates find me.

Once they come, this kid is dead for certain!

" Ban Gongcuo remained calm. In these two months, to search out the treasures aboard the ship and that mysterious corridor, he had taught several Witch Kings how to calculate the method of joining space. Those Witch Kings would surely come searching!

Of course, those Witch Kings' wisdom and arts of calculation were inferior to his; finding their way here would certainly take some time.