Chapter 430 — Passed Down Through the Generations

The Village Chief followed the man onward, and saw that Fengdu too bore the scars of battle; here and there gods and demons were still hunting down paper men and paper horses, and unease stirred in his heart. "Fengdu has just come through a great war. King Yan himself led us against Youdu.

" The man said, "This is not the first time.

We have fought many times before. This time it was because Youdu invaded. Youdu has long been watching the world beyond the Desolate Ruins, and believes the Jingping Tribulation is about to break out, so it came to reap souls. We beat it back.

" The Village Chief was aghast.

Fengdu and Youdu at war?

He had never known that such things happened in the Desolate Ruins in the dark! Two worlds at war, and yet the Desolate Ruins remained calm, with not a trace to be detected—it was truly inconceivable!

As for the "Jingping Tribulation" and the "reaping of souls" his master spoke of, that was even more terrifying, and it made his blood run cold. There was far too much in his master's few words; he could not help but ponder it deeply. And Fengdu had fought Youdu many times before; much of it concealed secrets unknown to others.

They came to a mansion. The man banged on the door, and said to the old man who opened it, laughing, "You old bastard who won't die, I've brought your grand-disciple to see you!

Good disciple, come and meet your grandmaster! " The Village Chief kicked him in the rear and said angrily, "How dare you speak to my grandmaster like that? My grandmaster is your master, after all—have you no manners at all?

" The man was furious too: "He tricked me into this line of work! Do you know how much I've suffered? Wife and children scattered, friends all dead—calling him an old bastard who won't die is letting him off lightly!

Besides, I'm your master. Where are your manners? Your temper has grown, has it? You're asking for a beating!

" "Stop quarreling!

" The old man was furious as well: "You're all Human Emperors, and the moment you meet you brawl and shout—what sort of conduct is that? I'll take you to see my master. That old bastard will be delighted to see you—you're dead too, after all!

" Both the Village Chief and the burly man were displeased. The Village Chief said, "Grandmaster, he may be your master, but he is also my founding master. Calling him an old bastard is somewhat disrespectful.

" The old man sneered again and again: "That old bastard tricked me into becoming a Human Emperor and made my whole life a misery, with not a bit of joy in it. If he weren't already dead, I'd gladly beat the old scoundrel to death! Come, I'll take you to see him! " The Village Chief and the burly man exchanged glances.

The burly man tightened his clothes and said in a low voice, "Good disciple, you've passed on the seat of Human Emperor, haven't you? " The Village Chief nodded.

The burly man let out a foul breath and said, "After your disciple dies, he will find his way here too, and curse you and beat you, and say you ruined his life.

" The Village Chief grew alarmed and shook his head: "Shen'er is a good boy. He wouldn't do that.

Shen'er is the most filial. .

. " The burly man sneered: "I thought that when you died and came here, you'd throw your arms around me and weep. Instead you kicked me the moment you arrived! If you're like that, what about your disciple?

Just wait—when he dies he'll come and beat you! By the way, have you ever lied to him?

" The Village Chief's face went black at once, and he stammered, "I lied to him and told him he had an Overlord Body.

He worked so hard. " "What Overlord Body?

" The old man leaned in, curious.

The Village Chief explained the whole story. The two dead ghosts were struck dumb, speechless for a long while, and could only give the Village Chief a thumbs-up. "You're done for! " The two said again and again, "You lied the worst of all—you're done for!

We lied to our disciples too, but never so viciously. You, though—you let him live his whole life inside a colossal lie.

When he dies, kicking you will be the least of it—cursing you as an old bastard who won't die will be the least of it! " The Village Chief's face was black as charcoal.

He consoled himself: "Shen'er won't be like that.

He won't.

Shen'er is the most filial. . .

" "You were filial once too. You used to be the most filial to me of all—and didn't you kick me off the bridge the moment we met? " "Shut up, you old wretch! " .

. . The Flood Dragon King God tracked the wounded deity all the way to the Divine Severance Mountains. Shen Mu forcibly suppressed his own weakness and refined spirit pills to heal the Flood Dragon King God's injuries. Piloting the Po Boat drained him enormously.

The Po Boat's moon was likewise a treasure forged by the Sister Qing Deity, but it had gone dark and no longer shone, and could not supply the Po Boat with the immense power it required; to pilot the Po Boat, it had to draw on his life force. Last time, when Shen Mu had fished up a new sun for the Sun Herding Clan, he had already expended a great deal of life force, and only soaking in the Pool of Pure Yang had barely restored him.

This time, controlling the Po Boat had cost him just as much.

Unfortunately the Po Boat was damaged far more badly than the Xi Boat, and the Pool of Great Yin had run dry and could not replenish his life force; he could only rely on his own skills as a divine physician to nurse himself back little by little.

But now he had to hunt down that wounded deity, and could not let him escape into Jingping; there was no time to heal himself. "This deity of the High Heavens did not take the Surging River. .

. " Shen Mu's eye twitched, and his heart sank a little.

If the High Heavens deity had taken the Surging River route, he could have used the Dragon Emperor of the Surging River to block him; with the combined strength of the Dragon Emperor of the Surging River and the Flood Dragon King God, they ought to have been able to take him down. But since he had not taken the Surging River, even if the Flood Dragon King God caught up with him, whether the Flood Dragon King God's strength alone could take him down was still unknown.

"If I use Lord Dragon Keeper's Dragon Taming Art and borrow the power of the flood dragon horde, perhaps I might still have the strength for a fight. " Shen Mu looked back at the flood dragons around the Dragon Qilin, and felt a pang of reluctance. In a fight to the death, these flood dragons would likely be wiped out, and even he himself might not survive.

At the edge of the Desolate Ruins, in the Divine Severance Mountains three or four thousand li away, the fierce battle still raged. Shen Mu sensed wave after wave of dreadful throbbing—the ripples of power unleashed when godlike and demonic strength erupted, a suppression upon the mind. He also dimly saw the Butcher's blade-light flare in the sky, and the Silent Artisan's great furnace erupt, burning the heavens crimson. Without the Village Chief, that mighty presence, how many of them—the Butcher, the Wing King, the Silent Artisan—would live?

"Village Chief. .

. " Shen Mu's heart twisted with pain.

He hastily cast aside his stray thoughts and went on single-mindedly refining pills to heal the Flood Dragon King God.

Ahead, the sky was turning pale. After a moment the sun rose from below the horizon, and a thread of sunlight shone over.

Shen Mu's heart sank. That deity had already set foot on the territory of the Kingdom of Jingping.

The celestial-phenomenon weapons of the gods had appeared all across the Kingdom of Jingping.