Chapter 579 — A Strange Visitor Descends

No sooner had his voice fallen than Qingyan's grip closed on empty air: Ban Gongcuo's body flattened to the ground and became a shadow! Qingyan was startled.

He reached for the shadow on the ground, but it burst apart with a soft pop and became a wisp of smoke, and his hand closed on nothing. The smoke split into dozens of strands and streaked away along the ground.

The other young experts of the Dragon Village leaped into the air, each darting in a different direction, each chasing a strand, scattering them one by one — yet nowhere in the smoke was there any trace of Ban Gongcuo. Suddenly Shen Mu raised his hand and sent a streak of sword light flying. Blood flashed; a leg appeared out of thin air and dropped to the ground, spattered with gore.

Shen Mu drove his flying sword with his qi, the blade flashing, but it stabbed only empty air. More smoke spread out in every direction, filling streets great and small, and from within it came Ban Gongcuo's voice, shocked and furious: "Shen!

You and I are irreconcilable!

" The place had always been crowded, and now the smoke filled street after street; many passersby cried out in astonishment. The many dragon experts searched through the crowd, and finding Ban Gongcuo's trail became harder still. Qingyan's face went from green to white and back again.

He was a dragon god, and yet Ban Gongcuo had slipped out of his very hands; his face could not bear it. And Ban Gongcuo was a lame old man, one leg long and one short, the short one a deer's leg — that he should escape was a disgrace indeed.

Still, it was not entirely his fault.

He had borne the man no ill will earlier; he had only clapped Ban Gongcuo on the shoulder, never meaning to seize him, and by the time Shen Mu called out his warning, it was too late to bind him. Ban Gongcuo's talent for fleeing for his life was unmatched under heaven; even Shen Mu admitted himself his inferior. Even Xing An, if he wished to take Shen Mu, had to trap him in a dead-end alley — how much more so with Ban Gongcuo? Seeing the Dragon Village folk somewhat downcast, Shen Mu said, "There is no need for dismay.

Ban Gongcuo's skill at running for his life puts even me to shame. I have fought him several times at the same cultivation realm and could never take him; all I ever managed was to cut off one of his legs. Now he stands a whole realm above me, a great master of the Heaven-Man realm, and his abilities have grown greatly.

Escape arts he could not use before he can now perform, and he is all the harder to hold. That I could, with your help, take another of his legs is already no small achievement. " "To have such death-defying tricks at the Heaven-Man realm — truly remarkable," the Dragon Village folk marveled.

Yet inwardly they were all the more uncomfortable. Ban Gongcuo now had only a single deer's leg left, and still he had escaped from their hands. His talent for flight was indeed fearsome. They had left the village this time resolved to make a name for themselves in a single battle, never expecting that the moment they emerged they would meet a freak like Ban Gongcuo and suffer a setback. Qingya said excitedly, "Our very first day out of the village, and we meet such an interesting fellow! The world beyond the village is even more splendid than I imagined! " The others of the Dragon Village did not share her excitement. Shen Mu saw it all and laughed.

"You have been out of touch with the outside world for a very long time, and your arts and divine powers are somewhat out of date. Do not be in a hurry to return to the village.

Why not come with me to Taihuang Heaven, temper yourselves, and see the arts and divine powers of the world today? " They all agreed. Qingyan hesitated, then said, "Before we left the village, the patriarch instructed us not to grow too close to you.

. .

" Shen Mu picked up Ban Gongcuo's severed leg, sealed the wound at its stump, refined a medicinal liquid, and set the leg in it. Smiling, he said, "Old Man Qinghuang is over-cautious.

You can see for yourselves that I am no villain.

When you reach Taihuang Heaven, ask after Shen Mu, Cult Master of the Heaven Saint Cult — I guarantee you will hear praise on every side. My reputation there is excellent! " Qingya asked curiously, "Uncle Yan once went to Jingping and spoke of the Heaven Saint Cult. It was called the Youmo Cult then, and its reputation was very bad.

" Shen Mu's face was all smiles.

"Those were misunderstandings, and the misunderstandings have since been cleared up. As for the reputation of our Heaven Saint Cult in Jingping today, ask anyone you like — it is praised by one and all!

" The great Cult Master turned away and walked into the Spirit Energy Transference Bridge with a dark expression, thinking, "Nearly everyone who called our Heaven Saint Cult a demon cult has been beaten crippled by me. But I cannot be sure no one is wagging his tongue behind my back, so it is better to go to Taihuang Heaven. My name and the Heaven Saint Cult's name are excellent there; the moment they make inquiries, they will be close to joining. . .

" Qingyan led the young men and women of the Dragon Village after him into the Spirit Energy Transference Bridge. At once the world spun, time and space rushing past, and when their feet came down on corpses and they stepped out of the bridge, a vast and desolate other world opened before their eyes.

They exclaimed in wonder. Shen Mu, however, was looking into the distance, and his expression grew grave. In the sky, the craftsmen of the kingdom of Jingping were assembling a second sun; it was more than half finished.

Two suns shone, and still they could not fully light Taihuang Heaven. Far, far away, the sky was dim, and beneath it demonic qi hung like fog, shrouding heaven and earth. Beneath that sky lay the territory of the demon race. Immense altars, each like a mountain, blazed with thick black light, and the black light rose like smoke straight into the clouds. Streak after streak of black light stood like pillars between heaven and earth, and from time to time a colossal figure descended through the black light!

"The demons are performing a blood sacrifice. Have they summoned their demon ancestors from Youdu — those demon gods born of accumulated demonic resentment? " Shen Mu steadied himself. When he had been carried off by Fu Riluo, he had seen the magnificent giant altars in the demons' lair, and from Fu Riluo's own mouth he had learned that these altars were used to summon the demon gods of Youdu.

At the time, Fu Riluo had triggered the curse in his jade pendant and been struck by it; Fu Riluo was gravely wounded, and many of the altars were destroyed.

Now it seemed the demons had rebuilt the altars.

And now those altars had been activated, and the demon gods of Youdu were pouring through the barrier between Youdu and Taihuang Heaven, descending into this world! "This is serious.

.

. " Shen Mu collected himself and summoned the Taihuang Heaven guards who watched over the Spirit Energy Transference Bridge.

He drew a picture and said, "If you see a youth with a deer's leg come out of the bridge, cut him down. Give him no chance to explain himself!

" The guard took the picture and passed it among the others. "Rest easy, Cult Master Shen.

If that deer-legged youth truly enters the Spirit Energy Transference Bridge, he will not escape death! " "I hope you can rid us of him. .

. " Shen Mu hurried off with the others toward Li City.

Li City was braced as if facing a great enemy, forging weapons.

The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and Pang Yu and other gods stood on the city tower, watching the thousands upon thousands of troops below shift their formations. Shen Mu brought Qingyan, Qingya, and the rest up onto the tower, where he had been lodging all along.

"Cult Master Shen, who are these?