Chapter 464 — Do Not Forget This Yearning

Liu Ruyin's coffin flew to her side, and this chieftain of the Liu family whispered: "Never mind her preening now—when she dies, we shall make her a Liu! " "Mm! " In the Sword River Valley, banners fluttered everywhere, and Shen Mu was astonished to see that many other great clans and powerful houses of the Western Lands had gathered here and pitched their camps.

It was likely the first time the Western Lands had ever been so tumultuous. The banners of the He, Fang, Gong, Xi, and Fu families hung high, and besides them other houses great and small had all been invited by He Yiyi.

Each of these houses excelled in its own art: the He family in arrays and formations, the Fang family in the control of mountains and rivers, the Gong family in the control of waterways, the Xi family in the control of grass and trees, the Fu family in the control of the signs of heaven.

The other houses had their own skills as well. Yet those gathered here were mostly women, and the sheer number of women was truly staggering.

An army of several hundred thousand women left Shen Mu goggle-eyed.

Though Jingping was an enlightened realm where women might hold office and serve in the army, women made up only some twenty percent of its forces, men still the majority; yet in the Western Lands, women made up eighty percent and men only twenty, and the men generally took auxiliary posts. "This is a rare opportunity for the other Western houses—if the Yu family is overthrown and the Xiong family wanes, they can gain greater power through the True Heaven Palace, and so they have come to the muster.

" Shen Mu drew a long breath, clenched his fists, and looked toward the True Heaven Palace.

On this journey to the Western Lands he had brought only the dragon qilin and Xiong Qi'er—a lone man, a single mount, a frail girl, not a soldier or a horse to his name—and yet he had gathered an army of several hundred thousand women, ready to storm the True Heaven Palace, the mightiest holy ground in all the Western Lands! At the thought, he was so stirred that his very bones seemed to tremble and his primal spirit to soar!

Holding Xiong Qi'er's hand, he entered Yun City with Liu Ruyin and her daughter and Mu Yingxue.

The heads of the great houses had already gathered here, waiting eagerly for his arrival. Shen Mu bowed low to the ground and said in a clear voice: "Shen Mu, Cult Leader of the Dark Demon Cult of the Central Plains, pays his respects to all you elder sisters!

" The women hurriedly returned the courtesy: "Cult Leader Shen, there is no need for such formality. " Shen Mu tugged at Xiong Qi'er, and she hastily bowed and said: "Qi'er greets all you aunties!

" They hurriedly returned the greeting: "We dare not. Little Princess, please rise!

" Shen Mu straightened and laughed heartily: "Only women have such grand ambition, daring to bid the sun and moon make all things new!

Elder sisters, your little brother has come from the Central Plains far away, and would fain behold the mettle of you all at the True Heaven Palace!

Sister Yiyi, may we set out?

" He Yiyi roused Yun City, and the whole city rose up from the ground. At the same moment the heads of the other great houses gave their orders, and the mountains shook, the earth trembled, colored clouds drifted, and an army of several hundred thousand women swept in mighty procession toward the True Heaven Palace! The dragon qilin looked back, and sighed inwardly: "Our founding patriarch was never this magnificent.

A Cult Leader is a Cult Leader—one stroll through the Western Lands and he has sweet-talked tens of thousands of girls. .

.

" Far off, amid drifting mist, the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and Xiong Xiyu stood atop a cloud, gazing upon the scene from afar. Xiong Xiyu was struck dumb, and for a long while could not speak.

The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping was silent a long while as well.

"Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, did you foresee this long ago? " Xiong Xiyu finally came to herself and looked curiously at the middle-aged man beside her.

"Even I, the Nai Kui of the previous generation, never commanded such majesty and power as Cult Leader Shen—one call and ten thousand answer, a multitude gathering at his word.

Cult Leader Shen is all too terrifying!

" The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping exhaled a breath of turbid air and murmured: "I knew he would stir up trouble, and would surely draw the attention of the True Heaven Palace; I only never thought he would stir up quite this much.

Now the True Heaven Palace will feel the pressure to the bone.

That is all the better—that Ba Gou will have no choice but to show himself. Once that Ba Gou is thwarted, the god hidden within the True Heaven Palace must also show himself, and that will give me my chance for a single, sure kill.

. .

" He looked upon the mighty army of women and could not help but shudder, shaking his head: "Too terrifying; such cohesion is truly too terrifying. But then, Cult Leader Shen was born for this very line of work—even I was talked into joining the Heaven Sacred Cult by him.

If this little villain ever took it into his head to rebel.

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.

"