Chapter 318 — Yet Not a Single Righteous Soul

"This is not the Nether Valley.

" Fu Yuchun looked this way and that. The two white bats were somewhat ill at ease; it was the first time they had ever left the Nether Valley, and though they wished to hang themselves upside down, they were a little shy about it.

Shen Mu raised his head and glanced at the ruined hall and its eaves. "Hang under the eaves and rest for the night," he said. "Do not disturb anyone else. Tomorrow I will take you back to the Nether Valley, and once we are there I will give you the antidote.

" Both white bats breathed a sigh of relief, rose without a sound, and hung beneath the eaves with their arms crossed over their chests. Fu Yuchun opened one eye and said in a low voice, "That brat is lying to us.

We were never poisoned at all. " Fu Yuqiu was startled.

"Not poisoned? That cannot be.

When the poison flared up, it hurt terribly! " Fu Yuchun rolled his one eye. "The poison was probably cured long ago. The first time he gave us the antidote, that was the cure; everything after was only to frighten us.

Otherwise, in the two months and more since, we would have died of it long ago. " Fu Yuqiu was furious.

"That brat tricked us into risking our lives for him!

Let us roast him nine parts done and eat him! " "Enough, enough. " Fu Yuchun said, "Even if we had not joined hands with him, that little wretch Ban Gongcuo would have hunted us down with his men and never let us go. Joining him saved our lives, so we have lost nothing. And this time, thanks to him, we have learned that our ancestors are still alive. Now the White Bat Divine Race need not go extinct after all.

When we get back, we will wake the two ancestors and have them bear a girl. " Fu Yuqiu said excitedly, "Two females! No, no — a whole litter of females, so I can hold one in each arm. . .

Wait!

Brother, we are descendants of the ancestors by heaven knows how many generations. Even if the ancestors bear two girls, by seniority they would be our great-great-great-grandmothers. That seniority. . .

" The two white bats were overcome with gloom and could not sleep another wink. In the ruins, Shen Mu sat down and leaned against the Dragon Qilin to rest.

The site was guarded by more than a dozen divine statues, whose radiance lit the ruins. He still did not know where in the Wasteland this place lay; he would have to wait for dawn, fly high, and study the surrounding terrain before he could fix his position. Ban Gongcuo glanced at him and sat down as well, and the dozen or so surviving great shamans and Witch Kings, along with a scattering of Mandi Kingdom soldiers, formed a ring around him.

Shen Mu looked around.

The ruins held many strange beasts, and among them were some exceedingly powerful beings, enormous in size, far more colossal than the Dragon Qilin in its full form. "Eh, these people are rather interesting. . .

" His pupils contracted slightly as his gaze fell on the travelers in the ruins.

They were divided into three groups. One group was three big monks, their faces coarse and fleshy, yet their eyes gentle — though they carried a thick reek of demonic aura. "Monks of Little Leiyin Temple! " Sensing the demonic aura on them, Shen Mu understood.

Little Leiyin Temple was a holy land too, but a holy land of the demon race. Its head was honored as the Little Tathagata, a fellow disciple of the old Tathagata; his powers were supreme, and he too had reached the Tathagata's realm.

Little Leiyin Temple was called the Little Western Heaven, lying further west than the Great Thunderclap Temple on Mount Sumeru, at the far western edge of the Wasteland. "If demon monks of Little Leiyin Temple can be seen here, can we be in the western Wasteland?

" Shen Mu's heart sank a little. It was the first time he had gone so far; the Wasteland was vast beyond measure, and this place was likely even farther out than the Loulan Golden Palace.

The second group numbered only two, a man and a woman, both very young, like a little married couple; there was nothing about them that bespoke danger. The two were dressed in foreign fashion as well.

The man had white cloth wound about his head, black hair showing at the crown; the woman was adorned in gold and silver, hung with trinkets of gold, silver, and jade. Her hair was bound with a black scarf that fell, together with her tresses, to her gently swelling breast, and a small red flower was pinned among the strands. Her hands were very fair, and her sleeves were short, baring most of her forearms. Her arms were slender, yet at her wrists she wore a dozen or more bracelets of gold, silver, and jade, of varying thickness. They were guarding a treasure carriage, a fragrant chariot of very strange shape.

Shen Mu had seen such carriages before; most were squarely built, some with domed round roofs, others with octagonal square roofs. A domed round roof stood for the round heaven and square earth; an octagonal roof stood for the eight directions — both symbols of rank. This chariot, however, was round — a round base, a round top — and the ornaments hanging about it had a distinctly foreign feel.

The third group was a hundred or so divine-power wielders, foreign in look and dress, with blue pupils; but Shen Mu could not tell what nation they came from.

These wielders wore killing intent in their eyes, glancing from time to time at the young couple and the chariot. "Cult Master, the mood is wrong. " The Dragon Qilin stealthily opened its eyes and said to Shen Mu, "That woman is carrying far too many yuan weapons, and those divine-power wielders are all very strong! " Shen Mu raised his brows.

The Dragon Qilin's eye was indeed keen: the gold and silver necklaces, ornaments, and jade the woman wore were all yuan weapons. Just now Shen Mu had swept them with his Azure Heaven Eye, and the spiritual light each yuan weapon gave off was dazzling — plainly no small power.

To carry so many yuan weapons on her person, her own strength was likely considerable. On the other side, Ban Gongcuo had noticed these people too, and gave two great shamans a few low instructions. One of them rose at once, went to the young couple, saluted, and made inquiry; then he returned and reported, "They say they come from the True Heaven Palace of the Western Lands.

They ask whether we can help them. " "The True Heaven Palace of the Western Lands?

" Ban Gongcuo said, "If they are qi-refiners of the True Heaven Palace in the Western Lands, then they have no quarrel with us; there is no need to guard against them.

As for their business — we do not help. " Another great shaman returned from his own inquiries and said, "Those divine-power wielders are from the True Heaven Palace as well. They hope we will stand aside and help neither side.

" "All from the True Heaven Palace? " Ban Gongcuo was surprised, then laughed.

"An internal feud, most likely. Pay it no mind.

Those three demon monks are from Little Leiyin Temple and have old scores with our Golden Palace; we had best be on our guard against them.

" The Loulan Golden Palace often captured humans and demons for its cultivation, and had clashed with Little Leiyin Temple many times; the Golden Palace had seized no few demon monks of Little Leiyin Temple and used their souls to refine its arts. The three monks had also recognized the origins of Ban Gongcuo and his party; they exchanged glances but did not act. Ban Gongcuo gave low orders: "Meeting people from Little Leiyin Temple and the Western Lands here means this is the western Wasteland. We must be close to Little Leiyin Temple. These three monks cannot be left alive — the moment the sun rises, do away with them!

" The others assented in low voices.

"As for Cult Master Shen. . .

" He looked toward Shen Mu, who was rummaging through a Taotie Pouch. Sensing his gaze, Shen Mu raised his head and gave him a brilliant smile — a very sunny, big boy of a smile.