Chapter 439 — Dying in Another's Stead

Within the city of Fengdu, deity after deity came flying in, gathering round King Yan, and looked down from the bridge. When they saw that whirlpool, the faces of the many gods and demons changed drastically, and they were about to strike, when King Yan raised his hand and said in a low voice, "There is no need. Let him go.

" The many gods and demons of Fengdu were greatly perplexed.

"The divine art beneath the bridge is a Youdu art.

Youdu comes to Fengdu to snatch our people — how can this be borne? " One of the gods and demons said, "Leave Youdu to run wild, and before long Fengdu will be lost!

King Yan, let us strike back at Youdu! " King Yan shook his head. His voice was somewhat strange as he said, "That man employs a Youdu art, but he is no god or demon of Youdu; he is a visitor from the Land of No Sorrow.

I have seen that face before; it is very like that man's. . .

There is no need to pursue it further.

" Beneath the dark cloak, his gaze was like a candle flame, burning faint and ghostly: "The people of the Land of No Sorrow have appeared. An old dream of a former dynasty — I was waiting for the old swallow to return, for the old nest to be built anew.

Yet instead of the old swallow, I have received a new one. " The Village Head said, "The swallow that seems familiar has returned. Old swallow, new swallow — most difficult to tell apart. " King Yan lowered his head and looked at him; the cloak shook and seethed above the city of Fengdu, and then, with his figure, drew away and vanished into the city.

The Village Head looked down from the bridge and sighed, "I had thought we were to be reunited with the Alchemist and the others.

I never expected Shen'er to summon them back. I wonder whether their mortal bodies are dead. If their bodies are dead, then most likely we shall meet again in Fengdu. . .

Master, what is this river beneath the Bridge of Helplessness? " "Legend says it is a river of Youdu.

We call it the Wangchuan. " The Human Sovereign of two ages past came to his side, bent down and looked beneath the bridge, and said, "Many stories lie within it, too many to tell in a moment.

Monsters are often in that river; these monsters too come from Youdu, and they are most terrible.

That powerful one who just now used a Youdu art to seize men by force found his way here through the Wangchuan River and used his art to steal them away.

This man who wields the Youdu art — you should know him well, should you not?

" He looked at the Village Head's face, his gaze flickering, and said, "Just now you stood nearest of all. You heard that man's voice, and yet you did not raise a hand to stop him.

" The Village Head nodded, and there was pride in his voice: "He is my disciple — the Human Sovereign of this age! Well, old bastard?

The disciple I chose is stronger than the disciple you chose, is he not?

" "Bah!

The disciple I chose was you, you fool! " "Old bastard, give up your life!

" . .

.

Within the God-Severing Mountains, in the Great Luo Heaven Star force field, the Alchemist, the Lame Elder, the Kun King and the others suddenly opened their eyes. The Deaf Elder blurted out, "This is bad — my mortal body is dead, and I can no longer hold my primordial spirit! " The Kun King and the Grey Immortal likewise woke, one after another, their faces changing drastically; their primordial spirits had been parted from their mortal bodies too long, so that the bodies had begun to die!

A moment before, the Flood-Dragon King God had sensed that they no longer breathed, and the cause was this same death of the mortal bodies, and so their breath was gone. "Shen'er, how long can you hold out? " The Alchemist hurriedly rose, took out all manner of medicinal herbs and silver needles, his face frantic, and said, "If you can hold out a while longer, I can renew our lives for us and bring these mortal bodies back to life!

" Shen Mu stood before the Heaven-Bearing Gate, continuing to borrow the power of the flood dragons and the Flood-Dragon King God to sustain the Soul-Drawing Pull, and said, "Rest easy, Grandfather Alchemist. I can hold out for days and nights yet!

" "It will not take that long. " The Alchemist brought out a honeycomb and said, "First I shall use soul-gnawing worms to join the mortal bodies to the primordial spirits; then I shall use poison to nourish the bodies, and the poison shall sever the spirits' ties to Fengdu and Youdu; then I shall raise substitute-life worms to die in our place.

" He tossed up the honeycomb, and it floated in the air and swiftly grew.

In each cell lay eggs of every size and seeds of every strangest kind; the worms within the milk-white eggs were all unlike one another. The Alchemist swiftly cultivated poisons and refined medicines, made the others swallow the worm eggs one by one, his techniques shifting beyond all prediction, slapping them upon the people's bodies — and once more the sound of heartbeats rose from within them. The Alchemist then swiftly covered every part of their bodies with silver needles.

The Deaf Elder eyed the worm eggs with some dread, and the Alchemist pinched his jaw and shoved them down into his belly.

The Deaf Elder's face went ashen.

The Alchemist swiftly dug pits and planted several seeds. After a moment the seeds sprouted, and from beneath the ground grew great swollen flower buds.

The great flowers spun, their petals unfurling as they turned outward.

"Everyone, into the flowers! " The others entered the flowers, and the Lame Elder said, "Quack doctor, what is this flower of yours?

It feels fleshy to the touch. " The Alchemist's face was frantic as he said, "These are no flowers — they are substitute worms. Do not move; let the substitute worms swallow you.

" "Substitute worms? " The others were briefly startled; then the great flowers suddenly contracted, their petals closing, wrapping the people within the flower chambers, binding them tight. Those flowers were indeed no flowers but a kind of uncanny worm. After swallowing the people, the buds began to twist and change, and little by little grew heads, limbs and bodies, in the very likeness of each of them.

Shen Mu and the others were stunned. The men those worms became were in no way different from the Kun King, the Alchemist and the rest — but what was uncanny was that these worms somehow bore the Alchemist's, the Kun King's and the others' auras, and even simulated their souls and primordial spirits, so nearly identical that none could tell the slightest difference!

More uncanny still, the bodies of "the Alchemist" and the rest aged at a flying pace: in an instant their hair was white, in the blink of an eye they passed from middle age to old age, and from old age into death. After a moment, "the Alchemist" and the others, one after another, exhausted their allotted years, fell to the ground and died, their breath gone, leaving only corpses upon the ground.

Shen Mu dispersed the Soul-Drawing Pull. Strange auras came surging from no one knew where; deep in time and space the darkness churned, and then lights kindled in the dark. A paper boat drifted near, and beneath its lantern an old man rose to his feet, took up his lantern and shone it over the corpses of "the Alchemist" and the others. From those corpses drifted their "souls", seemingly without any consciousness, woodenly following the old man's lamplight onto the paper boat. The paper boat turned about; the old underworld courier hung up the lantern; the boat sailed into the darkness, and the strange auras vanished. "Good — the underworld courier has been fooled!

" The Alchemist's voice came suddenly from beneath the ground; then the earth swelled and up out of it burst fleshy worm sacs, and from them the Alchemist, the Lame Elder and the others crawled out, their bodies slick with sticky fluid.

The Alchemist plucked the silver needles from them all.