Chapter 410 — The Two Crafty Merchants

Shen Mu hastily stirred the Nine Heavens Far-Seeing Art and looked—and there he saw the two blade-lights, one horizontal, one vertical, cleaving the box cleanly in two. Countless arms, legs, and torsos came tumbling down, flinging themselves wildly in every direction, soaring into the high sky, diving into the mountain forest, burrowing into the earth. "Heaven's Blade! " Xing'an's voice came from all quarters at once: "Sooner or later, you too will become one of my collection!

" A mighty figure charged to that spot, blade rising and falling, and hacked to pieces the severed limbs that had not managed to escape the box.

"Grandpa Tu, don't let Xing'an get away!

" Shen Mu cried out. But his cultivation was not enough to carry his voice so far; Granny Zhu hurriedly transmitted the message in his stead.

Zai Fu let out a thunderous roar, and a butcher's knife plunged down from the sky, embedding itself in the earth; blade-energy slashed outward through the ground in every direction, seeking to force out the remnants of Xing'an's body that had burrowed beneath the soil, while another knife flew up into the sky and tore off through the air.

After a moment, the two knives came flying back. Zai Fu caught the two butcher's knives in hand and bounded away swift as flight, his voice carrying back: "My blade-energy is in him—he cannot escape my senses! I will return before long! " "The Lizheng and the others haven't come back?

" "They are still guests at Lord Huo's place. I feared they might return here ahead of time! " Shen Mu set his heart at ease—when suddenly the Blind Old Man at his side began to sway and topple from the air.

Shen Mu hurriedly darted after him and caught the Blind Old Man in his arms, and all at once his body turned dreadfully heavy: it was the Blind Old Man's Longtuo Divine Spear, come falling too.

This spear of the black dragon, like the Blind Old Man himself, had been gravely wounded.

Only, this spear had been transformed from the bones of a black dragon. The dragon was a divine dragon, endowed with spirit and sentience, truly heavy and solid beyond measure, and it dragged Shen Mu down without cease. Granny Zhu reached out and seized him, and was herself pulled down from the air; only when they were nearly at the ground did they finally come to a stop. The three landed safely.

The last flood dragon upon Shen Mu's body slid off him and lay on the ground like a dead snake, heaving for breath, blood-froth spilling ceaselessly from its mouth. Shen Mu forced himself upright, hands and feet trembling without pause.

His own wounds were likewise grievous; he had escaped death again and again, and had it not been for the Blind Old Man, the Lame Old Man, and the Deaf Old Man coming to his rescue in time, he would likely have been captured or slain by Xing'an long ago. Though he had forced his way into this battle on the strength of a dozen flood dragons, in both fighting strength and combat experience he had revealed grave deficiencies.

In a life-and-death struggle against an existence like Xing'an, he could only do his utmost to turn the tables through petty cleverness. Fortunately, the turning of the tables had more or less succeeded. Yet as he looked around and saw the estate strewn everywhere with gravely wounded experts, he could not help but feel dread in his heart.

To say nothing of existences like the Blind Old Man, the Deaf Old Man, the Lame Old Man, Emperor Yanfeng, and Fan Xuanshu—even Shen Mu's dozen or so flood dragons would, set loose in the martial world, have been more fierce and terrifying than some sect-leader-level existences! So many mighty ones, and added to them the Empress Dowager and other heroines, and an existence like Yu Zhaoqing—and even so, they had nearly been wiped out entirely. Had it not been for that one dose of Shen Mu's medicine, everyone would likely have died at Xing'an's hands!

"Strong. . . truly damned strong.

.

. Ow!

Ow! " Shen Mu had just spoken these words when his ear suddenly flared with pain—Granny Zhu had seized his ear and was pulling him down by it. "Cursing again!

" Granny Zhu said crossly. "Who taught you that? Zai Fu?

Or the Patriarch?

Or is it some no-good pack of fox-and-dog friends you took up with out there?

" "Ow!

I'll stop, Granny, let go! " Granny Zhu released him.

Shen Mu let out a breath of relief, rubbed his ear, and ventured, "Granny, Cult Master Li has left.

Surely you need not keep playing the ugly one anymore? Don't be heartbroken—" "Who's heartbroken? " Granny Zhu walked forward, shaking her head.

"Now that Fan Xuanshu is dead, I can set down one burden.

I ought to be happy. " Yet though she spoke thus, she showed no smile; instead a bleak, sorrowful look came over her face. She turned away from Shen Mu, not letting him see her in her moment of weakness, and summoned the spirits that had hidden themselves in the great hall to carry the wounded inside.

Shen Mu, for his part, summoned the many wounded flood dragons and had them bring over the pieces of Xing'an's body they had gathered, all of which he tossed into the True Dragon Nest. The True Dragon Nest contained a hidden space within, capable of shielding one from sensing.

Still uneasy, he transformed the Heaven Emperor Jade Tablet into the Lord of True Dragons and sent the Jade Tablet into the Dragon Nest. The Lame Old Man had fallen unconscious clutching his legs; with great effort Shen Mu worked the two legs free, and then, finding the Deaf Old Man's painting as well, tossed it into the True Dragon Nest to be sealed.

This done, Shen Mu let out a sigh of relief and went into the great hall to treat the wounded. But there were far too many injured, some of them so gravely hurt that death might come at any moment. If he were to treat them one by one, it would take far too long—perhaps before he had healed even a few, someone's grave wounds would erupt and kill them. Shen Mu had no choice but to summon the Dragon Qilin.

"Fat Dragon, a thousand days of raising a dragon for the use of a single hour—lick them all. " The Dragon Qilin hesitated and complained, "Cult Master, where am I to find so much saliva? " "Shh, don't say saliva. " Snow Fox hurriedly leaped to the Dragon Qilin's ear and whispered, "Call it dragon slaver.

If you say saliva, we'll never be able to sell it in the future. Lick them well, and I'll have the young master give you an extra meal.

" The Dragon Qilin roused its spirits and bustled off to work, saying, "Sister Ling'er, don't forget about the extra meal.

" Shen Mu picked out the several most gravely wounded and diagnosed them first, took up silver needles to seal their wounds and suppress their injuries, and then set to refining elixirs for their treatment—only his hands were still trembling, and he ruined two furnaces of spirit elixirs.

He steadied himself, first treating his own wounds, and only once his hands no longer trembled did he tend to the others, refining elixirs to heal them. There were many wounded, and their injuries differed greatly. Shen Mu first gave them all a rough treatment to keep their wounds from erupting and their lives from being imperiled, and only then began to treat them carefully, one by one.

His dozen or so flood dragons were also badly wounded. They exposed their wounds and waited for the Dragon Qilin to lick them, but the Dragon Qilin could not bring itself to stoop so low; the flood dragons were so enraged they began cursing, "Maha, maha!

" Ling Yuxiu, Yan Jingjing, Si Yunxiang, and Snow Fox came to help as well. After treating them for a long while, Shen Mu was drained to the bone and could truly hold on no longer. His own wounds were not yet healed either, so he had no choice but to rest first.

Fortunately, no one among them now bore a fatal wound; most had already awakened. Only their full recovery would still require Shen Mu's continued care.