Chapter 405 — A Visitor from Afar

"Xing An?"

Shen Mu looked blank. He thought it over carefully, then asked Ling Yuxiu and the others in a low voice, "Have you ever heard the name Xing An?"

The girls all shook their heads in a fluster. "Never heard of him. Xing is a rare surname, at that."

Si Yunxiang said, "Cowherd, ask him which Divine Doctor Shen he is looking for. Maybe we know the man."

Shen Mu agreed, and said to Xing An, "My junior sister asks me to ask you which Divine Doctor Shen you seek."

Xing An laughed. "This man is of great renown, the most famous young divine doctor in the capital. His surname is Shen, his given name Mu. He was once the leader of a demon cult, but he also bears the name of divine doctor. My own medical skill is not poor, but since this is a fatal affliction, after all these years of treatment something has always been off; the more I treat, the more wrong it goes. The bodies reject one another and cannot coexist. Not long ago I happened to meet the Great Venerable of the Golden Palace of Loulan, an old friend of mine. He recommended a man to me, and spoke of this Divine Doctor Shen, whose medical art reaches the gods. So I have come looking for him."

Shen Mu was furious within. "Ban Gongcuo again, that bastard! He is forever making trouble for me! Imperial Preceptor Jingping razed the Golden Palace of Loulan; why did he not have him slaughtered? Instead the wretch slipped away before the deed was done."

"So it is the Cult Master of the Nether Demon Cult."

Shen Mu made a show of sudden understanding. "I have heard his name. He is quite extraordinary."

Xing An gave him a smiling glance. "I have heard that the Nether Demon Cult Master has many tricks to his name. He helped Imperial Preceptor Jingping rebuild the great tower-ships, and in one stroke annihilated the grasslands, subdued the Khan, and leveled the Golden Palace. He also helped Emperor Yanfeng forge a divine cannon, and with a single shot killed one of the gods above. Truly a remarkable man. A figure that dangerous, and yet I have no choice but to come seeking him, because the Jade-Faced Poison King is even more dangerous than he."

He smiled. "The Nether Demon Cult Master's cultivation, after all, stands only at the Six Harmonies realm, so he is easy to control. The Jade-Faced Poison King, though, is ruthless and vicious, and thus far harder to deal with. By the way, they called you Cowherd. Is your surname Niu?"

Shen Mu hastily laughed. "No. I used to herd cattle, so my senior and junior sisters tease me by calling me Cowherd."

"I see."

Xing An looked around him and said, "There was once a battle here in which a god was slain. I heard the Nether Demon Cult Master appeared here as well, so I came here to seek him. I have eaten your fruit, and I cannot fail to give you something in return. Rise!"

He pointed a finger, and the fruit pits he had just buried in the soil took root and sprouted at once, growing at furious speed, and in a moment had grown into a great tree that blossomed and bore fruit, its branches heavy with them.

"The Art of Creation!" Si Yunxiang breathed.

Xing An glanced at her, waved his hand, and fruit after fruit fell to the ground, rolling everywhere. Those fruits took root where they landed, sprouted and put forth branches, and after a while the whole hillside was covered in fruit trees, blossoms blooming in profusion; then the blossoms fell, the green fruit swelled at speed, and soon the trees were laden with fruit again.

"Taste them. Is the flavor the same?" Xing An laughed.

Yan Jingjing was about to pick one and taste it when Shen Mu shook his head. "Little Sister Jing, do not pick it. That fruit is not good to eat."

Yan Jingjing set the fruit down and blinked, studying it closely. It was bright red, identical to the fruit they had picked, with nothing at all strange about it.

"Cowherd is remarkable. You saw through it."

Xing An laughed. "The Art of Creation can alter the course of a fruit tree's growth, and can alter the flavor of the fruit. It can even make the fruit poisonous. It can even change the fruit's structure, change the fruit's species. It can even make the fruit control another's every movement."

He reached up and plucked a bright red fruit. The fruit actually unfurled, turning into a small red snake, its tail coiled about his wrist while its flat head rose from his palm, hissing and flicking its tongue.

Everyone started in fright. And at that very moment, hissing came from every direction. The fruit trees blanketing the hillside bore tens of thousands of fruits, and now every last one of them unfurled, turning into small red snakes that hung suspended, staring fixedly at them!

"The Nether Demon Cult's Art of Creation is not bad, is it?"

Xing An laughed. "I learned it from the Great Venerable of the Golden Palace. A pity that even the Great Venerable himself never fathomed the essence of this art. Disappointing. And the Nether Demon Cult is even more disappointing: not one among them could comprehend the mystery of this art. But the girl is quite good, to have recognized the art. And Cult Master Shen is extraordinary too, to have seen that I used the Art of Creation to change the form of a species."

Si Yunxiang blurted out, "You recognized us?"

Xing An laughed. "I did not recognize you. But the Great Venerable painted me a picture, a portrait of Cult Master Shen, for fear I should mistake the man."

Shen Mu looked at the red snakes covering the hillside and his expression shifted. He knew the Art of Creation recorded in the Great Nurturing Nether-Demon Sutra was most extraordinary. He himself had tried using the Earth Origin Art to plant trees and hasten their ripening, and had once grown a whole tree of yellow pears. But Xing An had cultivated the Art of Creation to the point of changing a species, and that was a height that left one utterly behind.

"The young patriarch cultivates the Art of Creation as well. I wonder whether he could reach this step."

His eye twitched. Strong as the young patriarch was, he might not possess such an ability. This Xing An was like an omnipotent deity!

To plant a tree, to have the tree bear fruit, to turn the fruit into venomous snakes, that was the work of a god making things!

One after another the red snakes swayed their flat triangular heads on the branches, as though dancing to music, most orderly, and yet how could so many venomous snakes move as one?

Xing An had just said that eating the "fruit" would let one control that person. It seemed that had not been an idle boast!

The sight made the blood run cold.

Shen Mu drew a long breath and said gravely, "Why must Senior Brother Xing An seek me out and have me help you?"

Xing An sighed. He lifted his own hand, turned it over and over, and sighed. "Because these bodies do not always obey me. Sometimes they even reject me. I know there are many masters at your side. I know some of the old fellows about you, the Sword God, for instance. He poses a threat to me; not a strong threat, but the old fellow's skills are far from weak. Fortunately he has already left for the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Laughable, really."

Shen Mu's heart sank. This Xing An was harder to deal with than he had imagined. Going in search of Lord Huo was only a pretext; his true aim was to lure the tiger from the mountain, to send the Headman and the others off to the Great Thunderclap Monastery.

He had no need of Lord Huo's arm at all. He must long since have obtained a godlike arm!

His target was one and one only: Shen Mu.

"Laughable, that a man unknowingly sheds his dead skin, replaces his bones, his hair, his flesh and blood. In only seven years, every organ within the body is renewed."

Xing An's gaze was uncanny, a strange radiance shining from his pupils, nine rings arising in his eyes. That was the Nine Heavens.

The Blind Elder's Sacred Pupil.