Chapter 595 — Say That Again, I Dare You

The Butcher, the Silent Artisan, the Blind Elder and the rest followed hard on the heels of the army of gods and demons, hunting them down; many demon ancestors led a flood of Nether Capital demon monsters across the hills and fields, fleeing madly into the rear. After thirty or fifty li of pursuit, the army of gods and demons halted—but the Lame Elder, the Alchemist on his back, was still charging headlong on.

All at once he realized there was no one around him, that only the two of them were left, and he could not help but shudder several times; he turned and ran, and only when he had run back into the main body did he breathe easy. Granny Zhu said to him in a low voice, "This is the Deaf Elder's limit. We can't go any farther.

If we keep chasing them down, we'll give ourselves away. " The Lame Elder grumbled, "You might have given me some warning ahead of time, instead of leaving me still charging on ahead.

.

. " The Alchemist slid down off his back, his legs still trembling, and complained, "You damned lame fool, you nearly got me killed in that rout!

" Elsewhere, the Deaf Elder was still wielding his brush like flying, his face flushed crimson. Shen Mu saw that something was wrong, and at once stepped forward and caught hold of him. From his mouth came a shout as fierce and clear as a dragon's cry: "Grandpa Deaf, we've withdrawn the troops—wake up!

" The Deaf Elder stopped his brush, a look of bewilderment on his face, and all at once a sweetness surged into his throat and a mouthful of fresh blood came welling up.

Shen Mu's expression shifted slightly. His ten fingers flew, striking again and again at the Deaf Elder's throat and heart, sealing off his wild, chaotic blood and qi. Then he pressed a finger to the point between his brows, and then circled him swiftly, executing the Genesis Heaven-Demon Art, sending wave after wave of finger-force into the Deaf Elder's body. This time the Deaf Elder had poured out every ounce of his strength, and he had injured his heart-spirit.

The heart-spirit is divided into the heart and the primordial spirit; the heart is the hub of blood and qi. His blood and qi had turned violent and raging, beyond what his veins could bear, beyond what his heart could bear, and so he vomited blood. Shen Mu sealed off his heart and his throat, forcing the blood back.

The Deaf Elder's primordial spirit, moreover, had been drained far too heavily; it had grown unstable, on the verge of collapse.

So Shen Mu used the Genesis Heaven-Demon Art to seal off his hun and po, so that his soul could not leave his body. This would buy time, and make it easier to treat him.

Shen Mu swiftly took out ingredients and refined a pill.

After a moment the pill was formed. He pried open the Deaf Elder's mouth and fed it in, then used various techniques to dissolve and disperse its medicinal power.

Granny Zhu, the Blind Elder and the others returned; the Alchemist at once took over and began treating the Deaf Elder, saying, "It's a good thing little Shen saw it in time. The Deaf Elder's condition isn't serious. He's taken a great loss of vital essence this time, but with me here, I guarantee he'll be hopping about lively by tonight.

" The Deaf Elder gave a muffled snort and said mildly, "I will not be hopping about. A man of letters—hopping about, what sort of behavior is that?

" Everyone relaxed.

Granny Zhu asked, "Deaf Elder, how long can this painting of yours hold?

" "So long as the world within the painting is not shattered, this army of gods and demons can exist forever. " The Deaf Elder sat down. The Alchemist carefully regulated his condition, bustling back and forth; Shen Mu followed along, assisting the Alchemist; Snow Fox held the needle tray, assisting Shen Mu.

The three of them conferred with one another, a lively clamor. "But it isn't really so hard to wreck the world inside the painting.

The demon race was simply caught off guard and could not tell truth from falsehood, and that is why my trick succeeded. " The Deaf Elder's face was bristling with silver needles.

The corner of his eye twitched wildly; the Alchemist stuck in another needle, and now it no longer twitched—though half his face felt numb. His eyes had gone crooked, one eyeball up and one down, drool running from the corner of his mouth: "If I can recover my vital essence tonight, I'll paint another one straight through the night and make them even more wary. . .

Alchemist, I feel like the face of this chicken isn't the chicken's anymore, I can't find the color head. . .

" "This needle is for needling your primordial spirit, but it will prick your facial nerves and throw them temporarily out of balance. Don't worry!

Little Shen, you did well, sealing off his hun and po. Come, look—where should this needle go? " The Alchemist hesitated, pointing at a spot along the Deaf Elder's spine, and asked Shen Mu, "I'm not sure right now whether to needle it here. .

. " Shen Mu studied it carefully, then laughed.

"Grandpa Alchemist is testing me. If you put the needle in here, it passes right through the earthly hun and lodges at the perineum of the primordial spirit. One needle and it pierces into the Divine Treasury of Life and Death; the demon qi and demon nature of the Nether Capital invade, taint the perineum, and pollute the earthly hun. He would certainly be left unable to father children, and his temperament would change drastically as well. " The Alchemist withdrew the silver needle without any change of expression and nodded slowly. "I was testing you, and you actually saw through it.

" Shen Mu laughed. "I knew you were testing me!

This needle, Grandpa Alchemist, is meant to connect the Divine Treasury of Life and Death with the Divine Treasury of the Spirit Bridge, so that Grandpa Deaf's vital essence can circulate between the two treasuries. So it should go here! The needle enters through the Divine Treasury of the Spirit Bridge and draws the vital essence of the Spirit Bridge across into the Divine Treasury of Life and Death—enough to suppress the demon nature and demon qi there without harming Grandpa Deaf's fertility. " His finger moved up a little, and he looked at the Alchemist expectantly.

"This is the spot Grandpa Alchemist was actually going to needle, isn't it?

" The Alchemist gave a long "mm," his face betraying nothing, and needled the place Shen Mu had indicated, secretly ashamed in his heart: "That little fellow Shen—no wonder he is the one who built the mathematical model of the Spirit Bridge space.

His understanding of the Spirit Bridge is just a hair above mine.

.

. " Hearing the two of them talk, the Deaf Elder broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead, beads the size of beans rolling down.

"What if we needle Grandpa Deaf here?

" Snow Fox asked excitedly, pointing at the Deaf Elder's sea of qi. Shen Mu and the Alchemist said hastily, "You can't needle that spot—one slip and his cultivation would be ruined! " The Deaf Elder's face went ashen.

He squinted sidelong at Snow Fox: "Ling'er, I even taught you your letters! " The Alchemist was, after all, still more skilled than Shen Mu.

Shen Mu only understood the Divine Treasury of the Spirit Bridge deeply; his grasp of the other divine treasuries could not match the Alchemist's, and most of the time he could only watch. At last the Deaf Elder's primordial spirit was stabilized, and the Alchemist compounded more medicine to restore his vital essence. That night, the shrill, desolate howls of the demon race came from the distance and kept up all night, with drums beating from time to time, feigning a night assault.

Yet the demon host never moved; they only meant to harass Shen Mu and the others, denying them rest. The next day, the demon race's follow-up troops arrived one after another in great numbers, and still more kept coming. Many demon god commanders came to the front line and looked far off toward the abyss of Wuwang City.