Chapter 322 — Following One's Heart

Those powerful figures of the True Heaven Palace retreated at breakneck speed, vanishing from sight in moments, leaving behind nothing but havoc and ruin. Shen Mu frowned slightly.

This youth called Yu Bochuan was a ruthless character indeed—decisive and resolute, never dragging his feet in anything he did. It had been a long time since he had encountered such an outstanding young man. "A remarkable youth.

" He felt considerable admiration in his heart as he set the mother and daughter down. Long Qilin walked over and grumbled, "Cult Master, you've gone and stirred up trouble, haven't you?

Now we've been marked. If these fellows pick a fight with us outside the basin, they could just turn any mountain into a mountain giant and crush us to death. " "This is the Wasteland, not the Western Lands. " Shen Mu shook his head.

"To contend with me on my own territory—they wouldn't even know how they died.

Besides, the bond between mother and child moved my heart. If I cannot act according to my own nature, would that not make me a heretic? " Long Qilin was stunned for a moment. To act according to one's own nature, purely following the natural way—this was a line from the general principles of the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Scripture.

And the next line was: "And this is called the Way! " This was the Way! "This is what the Heavenly Saint Cult Master should be," Long Qilin thought with emotion.

Shen Mu examined the young woman's injuries and asked, "Madam, what exactly is your background?

Why would the people of the Western Lands' True Heaven Palace hunt you down?

" The young woman was already at Death's door, weakly raising her head. "This concubine is a Naikui of the True Heaven Palace. .

. " "What does Naikui mean?

" Shen Mu turned his head to ask Long Qilin.

"It means 'Princess Mother' of the True Heaven Palace. In the Western Lands' True Heaven Palace, women hold the reins of power and take men in walking marriages. There are evening banquets with singing and dancing, and if a couple takes a fancy to each other, they go to the woman's home to consummate the union. " Long Qilin continued, "The man must leave the next morning.

If this happens repeatedly and a man and woman spend several nights together, the woman becomes pregnant, gives birth, and raises the child. The child often knows only its mother and not its father. The Patriarch also went to walking marriages before—that old rogue. . .

" Shen Mu glared at him.

"No speaking ill of the Patriarch! Get to the point! " The image of the young Patriarch loomed extremely tall in his heart. Though the man appeared to be a youth about his own age, to Shen Mu he was a flawless being, not to be tarnished by the slightest blemish.

"The Patriarch was always a romantic old rogue, wearing foreign garb in the Western Lands and philandering everywhere without taking any responsibility! The old rogue was so happy he was skipping with joy. .

. " Seeing his displeasure, Long Qilin hastily changed the subject. "The mistress of the True Heaven Palace also needs to enter walking marriages. If the Palace Master of the True Heaven Palace becomes pregnant or has a child, and the child is a girl, she becomes a princess, and the princess is the next successor. If it is a boy, he is sent out of the palace. A True Heaven Palace Master who has borne a child is called Princess Mother, which in the Western Lands' language is Naikui. However, Naikui are usually extremely powerful—after all, the cultivation method they practice is that all things have spirits and all things have gods, and women tend to excel far more than men in this regard. " Shen Mu crouched down, took out silver needles one by one, and inserted them into the young woman's body. Curious, he asked, "Since you are the True Heaven Palace Master, the mistress of the True Heaven Palace, how did you end up in such a state? Are you not an expert of the Divine Bridge realm?

" He then took out some spirit medicines, prescribing the right remedy, and refined a spirit elixir to heal her wounds. "There is no need to waste your efforts. " The woman shook her head. "My injuries are beyond saving.

If my cultivation were still intact, I would not have fallen to such a state. They also poisoned me.

The poison was refined by the most formidable poison master, Mu Yingxue.

The poison is called Entangling Silk, and she administered it herself. . . " Long Qilin snickered. "Rest assured, if the Cult Master does not wish for you to die, even the Lord of the Underworld cannot take your soul!

" Shen Mu's hand techniques shifted as he skillfully refined the elixir. He shook his head.

"Stop bragging. Be more modest. Besides, my medical skills are not number one under heaven—only number two. As for poison, at best I rank third under heaven. That Little Poison King fellow is still a bit better than me.

" As the young woman was needled, she felt her body relax somewhat. Astonished, she said, "My mother was the true Palace Master. After she passed away, the True Heaven Palace nominated me to succeed her. My cultivation realm was passable—enough to barely take up the role. But at the succession ceremony, something went wrong. I was poisoned by Mu Yingxue, and nearly all my cultivation was lost. Almost everyone in our Xiong family was poisoned, their cultivation crippled. The Yu family seized the opportunity to exterminate our entire Xiong clan, leaving only me and my daughter. .

.

" Shen Mu extracted the medicinal power and sighed.

"Your True Heaven Palace does not conduct itself properly. " The young woman felt some anger in her heart. "How do we not conduct ourselves properly? " Shen Mu merged the medicinal power, concentrating it into a pill. "The Kingdom of Jingping has three great holy lands: the Great Thunderclap Temple, the Daoist Sect, and my Heavenly Saint Cult. I am the Cult Master of the Heavenly Saint Cult, and when I succeeded, I was only at the Five Luminaries realm—yet no one rebelled against me. As for the Daoist Sect's new Dao Lord, Lin Xuan, his cultivation realm is about the same as mine. When he became Dao Lord, no one in the Daoist Sect rebelled or tried to overthrow him. Now the old Tathagata of the Great Thunderclap Temple has departed, and the position of Tathagata remains vacant, yet they remain harmonious, without anyone resorting to bloodshed to seize the Tathagata's seat. My Heavenly Saint Cult is called the Dark Demon Cult in Jingping, regarded as utterly vicious and evil, and yet we still maintain proper succession. Compare yourselves to your True Heaven Palace—you fall far short. That is why I say you do not conduct yourselves properly.

" The young woman was taken aback.

She wanted to refute him but truly could find no grounds to do so. Shen Mu pried open her mouth and fed her the spirit elixir. Two fingers slid down from her throat, the vital essence at his fingertips carrying the elixir all the way down to her abdomen. Then he flicked his fingers repeatedly, catalyzing the elixir's medicinal power.

His sleeve swept through the air, and the young woman rose involuntarily. Shen Mu's ten fingers flew, his sleeves fluttering, and in an instant he had struck countless points on her body, completely refining the medicinal power into her system. Shen Mu withdrew his hands, and the young woman landed, stumbling slightly, but her internal and external injuries were recovering at astonishing speed. Shen Mu then turned to look at the little girl.

This little girl was adorable as ice and snow, appearing to be only four or five years old, with two little braids and many ornaments of gold, silver, and jade on her person—all quite decent primal weapons. He examined her and found the little girl had only suffered minor superficial injuries, nothing serious.

A little dragon saliva applied to the wounds would do. "Little miss, what is your name? " Shen Mu asked. The little girl blinked her dark, glossy eyes and said in a crisp voice, "Xiong Qi'er!