Chapter 329 — The Old and New Supremes of the Sword Dao

The two clouds were borne on different winds, one drifting left, the other right; and high in the sky where those clouds hung, the wind blew at an angle utterly at odds with the course of both, precisely perpendicular to them. The only explanation was that the two clouds and that wind did not belong to the same space. Judging by wind and cloud alone, there were three layers of space!

Add to that Youdu, forever sunk in darkness, and the gray-hazed Fengdu: if the skies of those two worlds were to appear here, they would of necessity be black or gray. And though no black or gray sky could be seen, Shen Mu was certain that both worlds lay close at hand!

In other words, at the source of the Yong River, five worlds might be overlapping! When night fell and the darkness came creeping in, world after world would appear in turn, each making its entrance as the other made its exit, a din beyond measure!

"When I have the time, I must go and look at the place where the Western Lands border on the Ruins. The darkness pours in from there; perhaps more secrets are to be found.

" Shen Mu dropped down from the sky, his head aching a little.

What exactly had triggered the afterglow of history? Which worlds did the source of the Yong River truly connect?

And where were all these points of connection? The Ruins held many secrets, and this Yong River seemed to hold no few of its own.

"Some secrets are beyond my reach, beyond my solving. To force them open, I fear, would cost me my life. Better to return to the village first.

" They traveled downstream.

Xiong Xiyu kept studying Shen Mu, and at last could not help herself. "Sect Master Shen, are you truly a man born and bred in the Ruins?

" Shen Mu nodded, puzzled. "Why do you ask? " Xiong Xiyu said, "How did you survive in a place so perilous?

The Ruins are full of strange beasts, uncanny things, every manner of danger; at night the darkness comes creeping in, demons and monsters run rampant, and at any moment some other world may overlap with the Ruins.

That you have lived to this day is truly beyond imagining! " Shen Mu laughed aloud. "Palace Master, you have misunderstood! The Ruins are in fact very peaceful, far more peaceful than the world outside. It is outside the Ruins that things are perilous.

To tell you the truth, the first time I left the Ruins and came to Jingping, I stayed at an inn by the river, and that very night disaster struck. The place was called Dijiang County; every soul in the county town died, and only Ling'er and I escaped. In the Ruins I never once met with such a thing. " Xiong Xiyu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "That still does not make Jingping more perilous than the Ruins. You merely happened to be there when it happened. " Shen Mu's face was calm.

"Since entering Jingping, the murderous intents and deadly tribulations I have met with, the assassinations I have survived, are far more numerous than anything in the Ruins. By comparison, the Ruins are peaceful.

The greatest danger I ever faced in the Ruins was a danger brought there by outsiders who forced their way in. The Ruins are the safest place there is. " Xiong Xiyu was utterly baffled; she could not fathom how he had come to think the Ruins safer than the world beyond. Long Qilin snickered. "There is much the Palace Master does not know.

Our Sect Master does not dare use his real name when he goes out.

The moment he speaks it, the men who come running to kill him could line up all the way from the Kingdom of Jingping to Yincan Village. Those righteous gentlemen of the orthodox path hate him so badly their teeth ache. " Shen Mu glared at him, then hurried to explain to Xiong Xiyu, "Our Heavenly Sage Sect is in fact most upright, so do not misunderstand. By the way, once we reach the village I should be able to refine the poison out of you.

What do you plan to do then? " Xiong Xiyu was at a loss. Return to the True Heaven Palace? She had only her daughter left now.

To go back and contend for power, to seize the Palace Master's seat again: for one thing, she had no confidence of success; for another, she feared for Xiong Qi'er's life.

Yet to abandon the legacy of her ancestors, that she could not quite bring herself to accept. Shen Mu read her expression and smiled. "I will remove the Silk-Binding Poison from you, but your cultivation cannot be restored all at once.

I will need to nurse you for a while and help you recover your vital essence.

If you cannot make up your mind, I do have a suggestion: come with me and stay in the Kingdom of Jingping for a time. I am an Erudite of the Imperial Academy, and I can recommend you to teach there. " Xiong Xiyu's beautiful eyes were like cut water; she gave him a long look, and unconsciously the bearing of a master of a holy land came over her. "I am, after all, the mistress of the True Heaven Palace. And you would have me teach at the Imperial Academy? " Shen Mu thought for a moment, then ventured, "Then how about teaching at the school of my Heavenly Sage Sect?

" Xiong Xiyu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Her gaze flickered. "I will go and look around the Imperial Academy first.

" Five days later they came at last to the vicinity of Yincan Village.

Shen Mu went first to find Xue Hu'er.

Several white foxes came burrowing out of Xue Hu'er's house and spoke in human tongue: "Young Master, our elder sister has gone to the Kingdom of Jingping to look for you. She left months ago! " Shen Mu questioned them closely, and the foremost white fox said, "King Meiluo came to force a marriage. Our elder sister beat King Meiluo, so King Meiluo went and fetched his father.

Our elder sister could not beat him, so she ran off. She said she was going to the Kingdom of Jingping to find you, Young Master. " Shen Mu took his leave and led the others toward Yincan Village. The village came into view, and Shen Mu's heart surged.

He called out loudly, "Grandpa Village Head, Grandpa Alchemist, I am back! " Xiong Xiyu looked toward the little village. At its entrance an old man sat in a reclining chair, his beard unkempt, his face stubbled, his hair a tangled mess, and he had neither legs nor arms.

In the village a flock of chickens patrolled with great swagger, looking very imposing. "So little Shen is back? You have grown taller again.

" The scruffy old man rocked in his chair, basking in the sun.

He looked at Xiong Xiyu and the two white bats, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

"This girl is very pretty, and her cultivation is strong. A pity she has been poisoned. Those two white bats are interesting. " With a rustle the two white bats hung down headfirst from the tree above him, studying the village head with curiosity.

"You are strong too! " Shen Mu could not help frowning.

He gave the village head a once-over, then ran into the village for a butchering knife, found a length of white cloth in Granny Zhu's room and tucked it under the village head's neck, boiled a basin of hot water, laid a hot towel over his face, and let it steam there a while. Shen Mu peeled back the towel and began scraping at his beard with the butchering knife, rasping and scraping. "Village Head, where is everyone? Where is Grandpa Alchemist?

Is he not in the village? Look, your beard is about to drag on the ground. " "The Alchemist ran off.

" The village head sighed.

"Some women came and found this place, and scared him away. They left me here.

I have no hands and no feet; I cannot even crawl back into my room.

" Shen Mu was startled.

"Village Head, how long have you been sitting at the village gate? " "Nearly two months.

" Shen Mu was speechless.