Chapter 614 — The Withered Bones of Chiming

Still, one could dimly see that he had been a man of middle years. "Senior. .

. " Shen Mu was about to speak when he saw the three-headed, six-armed man lift his eyelids; the parched eyes in their sockets swelled slowly, pupil and white growing distinct. "What year is it now?

" The man raised a hand, took the little box into his grasp, set it on his knee, and said, breath failing him.

Shen Mu hesitated, then said: "It is the Jingping era now. As for the year, I am not certain. " "Jingping?

" The three-headed, six-armed man tried to rise but could not, and, panting, said: "Should it not be Kaihuang?

Has the Kaihuang era perished too?

" Shen Mu answered honestly: "It perished twenty thousand years ago. Senior, you must have sunk into silence twenty thousand years past, and woken to a world twenty thousand years later.

Why did Senior come to the Demon Race's land? This is Luofu Heaven, the Demon Race's own; because of it the Demon Race nearly met destruction, and so they invaded Taihuang Heaven.

Senior's planet. . .

" The three-headed, six-armed man wheezed: "I am a remnant of the Chiming era. For how many tens of thousands of years I hid and fled I do not know; because I wished to go home, I came out from my hiding place, meaning to return to the ancestral land of Chiming.

On the road we learned that it was now the Kaihuang era, and then we met the enemy, and were forced to flee into this place. " "Enemy? " Shen Mu was taken aback.

The three-headed, six-armed man said calmly: "The enemy that destroyed my Chiming era. The Kaihuang era has perished as well; it must be the work of the same enemy.

Heh heh, I have heard that before the Kaihuang era there was yet the Shanghuang era. .

.

" He shook his head: "I am of the Chiming Divine Race of the Chiming era; my name is Chixi. I was once the overseer of executions in the Heavenly Court of the Chiming era, holding the power of life and death.

Whenever a god or demon transgressed, none escaped death upon the God-Slaying Terrace. " Shen Mu blurted out: "Then this divine mountain.

. .

" "This mountain is no mountain.

It is the God-Slaying Terrace. " The three-headed, six-armed man, Chixi, paused a moment and evened his breath, then said: "On the God-Slaying Terrace gods and demons are slain.

This terrace has drunk the blood of I know not how many offending gods and demons, and over the ages it has grown a great malevolence, so that even I suffer its backlash. I went to war with the Demon Race and was wounded myself; the terrace turned on me, and I had no choice but to seal myself away and sink into silence. Help me up. " Shen Mu went to him and helped him; Chixi's palm clamped onto his shoulder near the neck, and he got to his feet, swaying.

Shen Mu endured the pain: "Senior, you are hurting me. " Chixi seemed not to hear. Bearing down on his shoulder and neck, he walked to the mural, studied the starry sky upon it, and murmured: "The ancestral land — the ancestral land is here. .

.

I am not dead yet; I can still return to the ancestral land. They must still be waiting for me to carry them word. .

. Do you know? The reason this God-Slaying Terrace is so monstrous is that it was forged from the God-Slaying Terrace in the divine treasury of the Heavenly Palace — the God-Slaying Terrace of an Imperial Throne powerhouse.

" Shen Mu was appalled, and murmured: "An Imperial Throne powerhouse.

.

. " His shoulder hurt; Chixi's nails had sunk into his skin, and Shen Mu felt his own blood flowing out, his essence qi and blood streaming into Chixi's body. Chixi's face slowly regained a trace of color, his breath steadied, and he laughed: "Yes. It is this little box that controls the God-Slaying Terrace. Once the box comes out, heh heh.

. .

you nearly carried it off.

" Shen Mu felt dizzy — the sign of too much blood lost — and said, eyes flickering: "Senior, I am truly in pain. I am bleeding; the God-Slaying Terrace has begun to drink my qi and blood. " Chixi's face plumped by degrees, flesh and blood growing, and he laughed: "You are indeed bleeding — but it is not the God-Slaying Terrace that drinks your blood. The water I drank could not replenish my qi and blood; I am too drained, and I need human blood the more. Cough, cough, cough! " He suddenly began to cough loudly.

"What is it, Senior?

" Shen Mu asked with concern: "Are you all right, Senior? Do you feel a little dizzy?

A small itch in your throat? " Unawares, Chixi released him, raised four arms, and pounded his own head, his body swaying; his other two hands cradled the little box. Shen Mu's face was all concern; he said, flustered: "Senior, are you dehydrated?

I have more water here — would Senior care to drink? Oh, I forgot!

Some of these water skins have a little something mixed in! " Shen Mu stamped his foot: "What is to be done? " He turned and paced to and fro; Chixi reached out a hand to seize him, clutched at empty air behind him, and fell to his knees with a thud.

"Some of the water skins — I mixed in Blood-Melting Powder!

" Shen Mu struck fist into palm and sighed long, wringing his wrist: "This poison dissolves blood on contact.

I use it to destroy corpses and erase every trace — how could I have forgotten! Senior, are you all right?

" Chixi knelt there without moving, his pupils slowly turning toward him. Shen Mu avoided his gaze and snatched away the little box cradled in his arms: "Senior's cultivation is profound — you can surely refine away this poison, can you not?

In that case, this junior will trouble you no further. Farewell! " And with that he fled like a wisp of smoke.

Chixi's eyeballs shifted over, and his gaze shot forth divine light, piercing two great holes through the shrine!

So Gui Liuliu was the Lone Wolf King all along. I always thought you had vanished.

When I opened your post, I laughed and the tears came at once — I truly thought you were gone.

In the old days I read every post of yours; I cannot recall what they said, only that the name the Lone Wolf King stayed with me. I have seen the name Gui Liuliu many times too, only I never guessed it was an old acquaintance. I suppose I am growing old.

Enough.

My head is muddled; this way one shows one's true nature too easily, and harms the body too easily. I must go catch up on sleep.