Chapter 555 — Demonic Nature Unleashed

Shen Mu blinked, quietly stepped back two paces, and still nothing bad happened; he stepped back two more, and yet all was as before. "This jade pendant.

.

. it truly is a jade pendant of Carefree Land! " The Sun-Binder stared at the pendant, turning it over and over, his expression shifting dark and bright by turns, his three faces chattering one after another, murmuring, "No, no, he's deceiving us! How could a man of Carefree Land be half human and half demon?

He must be lying to us! " "This brat is slippery as a ghost.

He looks honest and simple, but in truth he's cunning and treacherous. His words can't be trusted! " "But this really is a jade pendant of Carefree Land. If we could truly capture a man of Carefree Land and use him to find the way there, then report it to the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court would surely reward us richly, and the demon race would have a place to live!

" "The Heavenly Court can't be trusted!

Trust them, and sows will climb trees!

" . . .

Shen Mu quietly backed away several more steps. The Sun-Binder's three faces were still conversing with one another, arguing endlessly.

Shen Mu abruptly turned and fled at full speed. The next moment, he saw the Sun-Binder right in front of him.

The Sun-Binder still stood where he was, unmoving, his three faces still quarreling, and Shen Mu could not help but despair. The Sun-Binder was too strong, so strong that he could twist the space around him, so that Shen Mu could not escape at all; he could not even put a little more distance between himself and the jade pendant! "Carefree Land is deeply mysterious.

They once built a great civilization and founded a Heavenly Court of vast scale! But how could Carefree Land have demon-race descendants?

Highly suspicious! " "Yes, very suspicious.

I say we kill this brat! Kill him now! " "Wait. There's something strange about this jade pendant.

I've found a seal hidden inside it. What kind of seal is this?

Could the secret of Carefree Land be hidden within? " Shen Mu stared, mouth agape, at the Sun-Binder's three faces. It seemed that three different consciousnesses were hidden within the Sun-Binder's body, like three different souls.

At this moment the three faces were scrambling to study his jade pendant, trying to probe the secret of the seal. Shen Mu stood there obediently, not moving a muscle. He could not leave now; he could only do his utmost to be meek and well-behaved.

Just then he heard a clamor of noise, that familiar sound of whispering. It was not unfamiliar to him: back in Fengdu, when King Yama toyed with the jade pendant, he had heard the same sound.

The sound was clamorous, as though no one knew how many wronged souls hid in the shadows, in places unseen, wearing strange, twisted expressions, speaking words that bewitched the heart, luring men to fall and sink into ruin.

Shen Mu shook his head. The whispering came nearer and nearer, as though something lay pressed to his ear, pouring the sound into his brain. He raised a hand and swatted at his ears, but could not swat that uncanny sound away.

The next moment, he felt those tangled voices burrow into his skull. The noise was truly too loud, loud enough that his head felt about to burst. Shen Mu tilted his head, slapping his ears as though he could slap those voices out of his brain.

Yet the sound only grew louder, and all the voices suddenly overlapped into one. Shen Mu's head dropped with a smack.

He stood frozen there, his body swaying back and forth, his hands hanging limply at his sides.

"Heh heh, the seal is nearly subdued by us!

" "There must be some secret in this!

" "Perhaps it can let us fathom the mysteries of Carefree Land! " The Sun-Binder's three faces were still chattering away, when suddenly a voice came from beside him: "Smash it.

" The Sun-Binder turned his head toward the voice and saw Shen Mu standing there with his head bowed, his body swaying to and fro. Startled, the Sun-Binder smiled and said, "What did you say? " Shen Mu kept his head down, and a voice of unspeakable evil issued from his mouth.

Heh heh, he laughed: "I said, if you smash it, something very amusing will happen. Hurry. Smash it.

" The Sun-Binder's three faces all frowned. Such was the evil in that voice that even they felt a chill of dread. After all, he was an incomparably evil Honored King; to make him sense evil, to make his blood run cold, was well-nigh impossible. "Why haven't you made your move?

" Behind Shen Mu, space suddenly cracked open with a sputtering pop-pop-pop, splitting into a great fissure, and with a hum a gigantic evil eye slowly opened, butterfly-wing-shaped demon light bursting forth from it.

When that evil demonic eye opened, the surrounding space was shaken into a web of cracks, as though it might shatter at any moment, and the demon light filled the gaps in the rifts, making it look utterly monstrous and sinister. "Poor little thing, of lowly, feeble blood. .

. " Shen Mu's voice grew more evil still, drifting and wavering. Though he plainly stood there with his head bowed, he gave the Sun-Binder a sense that he was everywhere at once.

The Sun-Binder frowned deeply.

In Shen Mu's mouth he had become a poor little thing, and of a lowly, feeble race at that, which he could scarcely tolerate! And yet he felt a faint palpitation, a hint of peril, though what filled his heart more was excitement: "Is this the secret hidden in the jade pendant?

The secret of Carefree Land? " Behind Shen Mu, a second rift appeared in space, and another strange demonic eye slowly opened.

The cracks in the surrounding space multiplied, and more and more demon light poured out. "Utterly lowly little creature, pitiful low-born wretch, you dare disobey even my command. " Shen Mu bowed his head and laughed: "Hee hee hee, you're courting death.

Now, how shall I kill you so it's most amusing. . .

" The Sun-Binder's expression went dull. He had seen the third eye, set above and between the two evil demonic eyes.

That eye seemed to hold endless demon fire; it wished to open, yet could not, revealing only a slit, and the abundance and strength of the demon fire hidden within made one's blood run cold. The Sun-Binder slowly raised his head, staring blankly at those three evil demonic eyes rising little by little, and rising with them was a towering demon god, demon fire of Youdu burning all about his body, high and aloof, looking down upon the Sun-Binder.

With difficulty the Sun-Binder lowered his head and looked at Shen Mu, while his other two faces strained to roll their eyes and see what on earth was happening. "This is impossible.

Absolutely impossible! " The Sun-Binder's throat was dry, his voice parched: "Inside you, there cannot be such a powerful primordial demon spirit! This makes no sense.

. . " "Destroy the jade pendant! " Shen Mu suddenly raised his head.

His eyes had gone utterly black, dark demon fire radiating from his pupils like butterfly wings, and a terrifying voice turned into dreadful waves of demon sound that came rushing at his face! The Sun-Binder felt a gale strike him; his clothes streamed backward, wrinkles were blown into his face by the waves of demon sound, wrinkles piling upon wrinkles.

Around him sand flew and stones tumbled; the wild waves of demon sound formed a black storm that blew back and away!

He narrowed his eyes and saw clearly: on Shen Mu's brow there was a vertical eye as well, and that eye too was unopened, showing only a slit. "This is.

.

. you were born in Youdu! " The Sun-Binder understood in an instant and shrieked, "You—" BOOM— A huge fist hammered down on him.

Blood sprayed from the Sun-Binder's mouth; the space around them cracked and roared; vast mountains flashed past. The next moment his body plunged into the Chasm Abyss, smashing down a vast altar still under construction.