Chapter 379 Punishment on Behalf of Heaven
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The rain of blood was not heavy, nor did it cover a wide stretch of land—it fell precisely upon the mountain slope where they stood. Shen Mu saw that throughout these woods and hills many trees, flowers, and grasses were growing with terrifying speed; the trees stood tall and lush, and the spiritual qi that hung about them was so thick it seemed on the verge of condensing into something solid, drifting in ribbons and streamers around the great trunks.
Among the flowers and grasses hung a milky white mist, and they had grown uncommonly vivid and tender.
And after so long a rain, the lakes, ditches, and rivers had all filled to the brim; and now in those lakes and rivers countless fish were growing wildly, becoming like the fish-monsters of the Desolate Ruins, several zhang in length. Some had sprouted legs and feet, leaping onto the banks to gape open mouths full of sharp teeth, catching the pattering blood-rain from the sky.
Others among the auspicious beasts of the mountains had swollen in body, bone spurs jutting from within them in branching, forking profusion—a truly frightful sight.
And the mermaids in the lake had grown enormous beyond measure, their once-beautiful faces turned strange and monstrous.
There was too much energy in the divine blood; it easily drove living things to grow into deformed monsters. And this growth was uncontrolled—whatever touched the blood-rain first grew first, and would often swell far larger than the rest.
Plants and insects too had life, and the blood-rain fell upon them as well, making this mountain slope like another Desolate Ruins.
In Shen Mu's view, it was the potent yin-yang qi, the qi of the Four Symbols, and the qi of the Five Elements within the divine blood that had upset the balance inside these living things and produced the mutations—and in that, it differed from the Desolate Ruins.
The strange beasts of the Desolate Ruins mostly carried the bloodline of gods and demons—it was inheritance; whereas the strange beasts of this mountain slope had mostly mutated by absorbing the mighty power in the divine blood.
"Which god has fallen? Is it that Dragon Herder Lord?" Mu Qingdai said softly.
Outside the great hall, radiant clouds of every hue and gleaming white mists spread over the hills and fields, decking the place out like a holy land. But should they step into the blood-rain, they too would likely mutate like the life of these mountains.
Yet if one did not take the blood-rain directly upon the body, one could cultivate here, drawing in the mighty divine power—for a person of divine abilities, this was unquestionably a holy land for cultivation!
Judging purely by spiritual and divine power, even the three great holy lands of Yan Kang would fall far short of this place. After all, neither the Dark Demon Sect, nor the Daoist Order, nor the Great Thunderclap Temple could ever slay a god to nourish its own holy land.
"The Old Woman originally lived in this backwater to trap Fan Xuanshu with her own presence. She surely never imagined this place would become a holy land for cultivation, did she?"
Shen Mu's expression turned odd. With the Sorrowless Sword he carefully caught a drop of the divine blood, examined it, and shook his head. "This is not the Dragon Herder Lord's blood. The Dragon Herder Lord's blood is dragon blood; the divine power hidden in this blood is not dragon blood..."
His expression suddenly turned strange. "This kind of divine blood—I have seen it before."
Shen Mu flicked his sword; the drop of divine blood on the blade ran down to the tip. He turned his wrist, working the sword, and the drop of blood kept flowing along the blade, yet never slid off.
Suddenly the energy within the sword burst forth, and the power of that drop of divine blood on the blade was instantly roused. It was as though a divine ability had erupted; the surging energy collided with the force of Shen Mu's sword move and drove him staggering backward again and again.