荒墟牧神 - 第29章 小謊牽出老謎局 - 雲海書庫

"Rest assured, Senior," Shen Mu said with the deepest respect. "This junior has practiced the arts since childhood; his kidney waters are abundant, his original yang is full, and his eyesight is excellent. He can see in the dark, so naturally he can make it all out clearly." The figure on the wall flickered, but made no further move; instead it went on displaying the subtleties of circulating vital qi. The third seal of the Great Perfection Seal was the Great Wisdom Illumination Seal, and its circulation was a great deal more complicated. Within the black shadow the route of the qi grew swifter and swifter; even with his Lingxiao Heavenly Eye open, Shen Mu could not fully trace it, and he could not help wanting to step into the side hall. Shen Mu hesitated, set one foot over the threshold and left the other outside the door, and only then could he barely follow the route of the qi. He memorized for all he was worth, but soon the figure on the wall had run through the Great Wisdom Illumination Seal once more. Shen Mu tried to set it going; though he succeeded in bringing the seal into play, he still felt that something was lacking. He had not committed its circulation route to memory in full. "This is the fourth seal of the Great Perfection Seal, and the most powerful of them all. The force of the three preceding seals will merge into this one." The figure on the wall looked weaker still, the shadow smaller and smaller, the voice fainter and fainter: "But this seal is more complex. I fear you will not be able to see it clearly." "Senior, worry not." Shen Mu broke into a guileless grin: "This junior's kidney waters have been plentiful and his original yang full since childhood, and his eyesight is excellent. He can still more or less make it out." The figure on the wall fell silent, its voice dwindling to a thread, and sighed: "But I cannot hold on. Come inside. At the four corners of the hall stand four long bronze nails, driven into the floor. Pull them up. Those four nails are pinned into my back; once they are out I can catch a breath, and with a single breath I can pass the complete seal art on to you." His voice was soft: "You have not yet learned the Great Wisdom Illumination Seal in full, have you? It is very complex, but its power is immense as well — unless you learn it entire, you cannot bring all of it to bear. And the mightiest seal art of all is the fourth seal, the Great Perfection Demon Seal! Pull the nails up..." "Senior, I think I had better not learn it after all." Shen Mu shook his head and drew his left foot back out of the hall. "Too much trouble. I'm stupid — I'd most likely never manage it." The figure on the wall quivered and coaxed with patient earnestness: "I can teach you a second time, if only you would pull the nails..." Shen Mu was in even more of a fix. He shook his head: "Senior said you would teach only once. If I let Senior teach me a second time, would that not make Senior break your word? This junior would feel the more ashamed. I am so stupid — I would fail Senior's expectations." "No — you are very clever." The figure on the wall grew all the softer, as though a kindly elder were instructing a youngster: "You learned the Demon-God Power Seal and the Nether Demon Freedom Seal after a single viewing, and of the Great Wisdom Illumination Seal you already have seven or eight parts of it after watching only once. Your aptitude is extraordinary. See it once more and you will certainly master it. I am fond of your quick wits; I can break my word just this once and teach you a second—" The voice stopped short. Then, threaded with a bone-deep chill, it said coldly: "You were tricking me out of my techniques?" Shen Mu started: "Why does Senior say that?" "You were tricking me out of my techniques!" The figure on the wall blazed into fury, swelling larger and larger until it covered the whole side hall, a hideous and ferocious shadow, and shrieked: "You dare cheat me out of my arts! You little brat —