Chapter 477 — The Evil Thing

" Ban Gongcuo's expression changed at once. Shen Mu looked at the youth in the mirror, several years younger than himself, and spoke unhurriedly. "Moreover, he can sense your summons at any time and any place, project himself over, and help you worship others to death. I do not think a god-devil has such leisure on his hands, nor do I think this soul-worship sorcery is performed in such a way. Suppose one day he suddenly takes it into his head not to project himself over—would you not be killed for it? Great Venerable, we are both clever men. Give me one honest word, and I will spare your life. " Ban Gongcuo's face flickered between light and shadow.

Then he suddenly burst into loud laughter, clapping his hands in admiration. "Worthy of Sect Master Shen, the man I have counted my lifelong rival—it is truly not easy to deceive you. You are right; he did not leave. He did intend to leave this world, but I schemed against him, wounded him gravely and sealed him, and then stripped away his primordial spirit! " Shen Mu's eyes went wide, shocked beyond words.

Ban Gongcuo was smug with delight.

"Like master, like disciple. Everything he taught me I learned, and I surpassed the blue drawn from the indigo! Yet to the end the old thing would not pass on to me the method of becoming a god. I was already old by then; in a few years at most I would die of age, and he cared nothing for the bond between master and disciple. Hmph—if the old thing wanted me dead, then I would see him dead first! At last he was about to leave this world. The upper realm cast down the Guiding Divine Light, and I struck in the very instant he stepped into it. " Waves of chill rose in Shen Mu's heart.

Ban Gongcuo laughed.

"Using the divine ability he had taught me, I threw the Guiding Divine Light into disorder and split it in two! Sect Master Shen, you too are a master of teleportation arts. If, in the moment your teleportation art erupted, someone split it in two—what would become of you? " Shen Mu's heart gave a sudden lurch.

"I too would be split in two.

" "The Guiding Divine Light is not the same as a teleportation art, but it is close enough. Only it separates the body from the primordial spirit.

" Ban Gongcuo was immensely pleased with himself, speaking with great ease. "Using sorcery, I made a blood sacrifice of my own disciple and split the Guiding Divine Light in two. My master, the Shaman God Kui, was at once sundered, body from spirit, and fell out of the light. One stone, two birds; one stroke, two gains. My disciple had long been wishing me dead, so that he might take my place—and in one move I did away with them both. The Shaman God Kui had only his primordial spirit left, no body. In the very instant he lost his flesh, I planted a soul worm in him and took control of his primordial spirit! " Shen Mu shuddered.

He sighed. "Great Venerable, you call the Shaman God Kui evil—but to my eyes, he may not be your equal in that regard.

" Ban Gongcuo shook his head. "You are gilding my face. I am no match for him. He is the truly evil one. After I trapped him, his body still did not die, and his primordial spirit remained intact—several times he nearly broke my seal. It was by making use of his primordial spirit that I created the soul-worship sorcery. The Sect Master would never guess: in my first life I too was a peerless figure, one of the foremost beings of my age, a warrior near godhood. Perhaps because I reincarnated too many times, my ambition was worn away—but in those days my brilliance was not one whit inferior to Sect Master Shen's. " Shen Mu nodded.

"That is true enough. The Great Venerable's abilities are no small matter. You may have learned the methods of other sects and holy lands, but your sorcery is your strongest hand—and that hand was built up in your first life. The techniques of the great sects and schools you learned in later lives were only flowers added to brocade; they did little to raise your strength. Had you been able to devote yourself single-mindedly to sorcery, you would have achieved far more than you have today. " Ban Gongcuo's manner turned bleak. He said gloomily, "What use is it to refine sorcery to the highest degree, if it still cannot make one a god?

Once I understood that, I began to seek another road, trying to draw the way to godhood out of the methods of other sects and holy lands. A pity—those holy lands had no such method either, and I could not fuse all I had learned across several lives into one. In the end, it was Sect Master Shen, the man I regarded as my mortal enemy, who of his own accord made the method of becoming a god known to all, giving me hope of godhood. It leaves me sighing, not knowing what to say. " He stared blankly, lost in thought, then suddenly said, "If I had met you in my first life, perhaps things would not now stand as they do between us. Perhaps we would have been friends. " Shen Mu laughed, embarrassed. "Great Venerable, don't jest. I am not evil in the least.

Where have you put the Shaman God Kui's body? And where have you suppressed his primordial spirit? " Ban Gongcuo said gravely, "If I tell you all, you will not kill me—you will let me go?

" Shen Mu answered just as gravely, "I can swear it to the Earth Lord! " Ban Gongcuo shook his head. "Sect Master, don't jest.

" Shen Mu roared with laughter and waved a hand.

"If not to the Earth Lord, then let us swear to the Shaman God Kui's primordial spirit.

If you break your oath and give me false information and a false location, then the moment you see him, you shall drop dead on the spot!

And so shall I: if I do not let you go, then the moment I see him, I shall drop dead on the spot! "