Chapter 28 — A Nameless Shadow Emerges from the Ancient Wall

Shen Mu steadied himself. The map from before the Wasteland Cataclysm had proved most useful: it marked out many of the ruins scattered through the wasteland, so that if he went out hunting and could not make it back to Hidden Remnant Village in time, he could follow the map into these ruins and take shelter from the onslaught of darkness.

"With this map, I can avoid a great many dangers.

" He set his mind to memorizing it, fixing the map in his memory, and after a while found where this mountain valley lay; on the map, the valley was called the Calamity-Quelling Palace. "Calamity-Quelling Palace?

'Calamity' means disaster, misfortune.

" Shen Mu had learned calligraphy and painting from the Deaf Elder, and though he could not claim to be deeply read in the classics, he had still filled his belly with a fair store of learning; he murmured to himself, "The Calamity-Quelling Palace is a palace for suppressing calamity. What calamity, in the end, was this palace meant to suppress? " He looked around and saw that the Dark-Fanged Demon Ape had gone out at some unknown moment and was no longer in the palace.

He supposed the ape had feared that staying would disturb him, and so had run outside. "The big fellow knows how to behave.

" Shen Mu walked out of the palace and called the Dark-Fanged Demon Ape over.

"Big fellow, is there anything strange about this place?

" The Dark-Fanged Demon Ape scratched its head, thought for a moment, and then dashed hurriedly toward the side hall of the Calamity-Quelling Palace. Shen Mu followed at a quick pace, and the silly roe deer behind them came tagging along as well.

"This!

" The Dark-Fanged Demon Ape entered the side hall and pointed. Shen Mu followed its finger and saw a white wall, upon which was painted a human figure—very small, no bigger than a thumb.

He looked the white wall up and down but found nothing besides that tiny figure.

The silly roe deer, sniffing all the way, pressed close to the wall, sniffed at the painted figure, and was just about to lick the wall when, without warning, a hand snatched out—and the roe deer vanished! Shen Mu gave a start.

The Dark-Fanged Demon Ape, too, beat its chest in fury and roared at the wall, yet dared not advance.

On the wall, beside the tiny human figure, there now appeared the painted image of a roe deer, rendered vivid and nimble; then Shen Mu saw the figure on the wall begin, little by little, to move. It opened its mouth, wider and wider, ever wider, and its mouth was full of nail-like teeth, and with one gulp it devoured the roe deer! Shen Mu was aghast.

Having eaten the roe deer, the figure on the wall abruptly took a step and came walking toward them!

Then, to his horror, Shen Mu saw that though the figure never stepped out of the wall, its body grew taller and taller, larger and larger, until gradually it reached the size of an ordinary grown person; still it did not stop, still it kept walking forward. In no time at all the figure had filled the entire wall, and even the ceiling of the side hall was covered by its shadow—a head, a head with a gaping maw—and then its palms spread from that wall onto the other two walls.

"Little bean, run! " The Dark-Fanged Demon Ape seized Shen Mu and sprang away; the shadow on the wall did not catch them.

A furious roar came from the wall, and the wall shook without cease, dust and smoke billowing; then the black shadow spread out from within the side hall, and in the blink of an eye the whole hall was drowned in that shadow from the wall!

The shadow strove to tear itself free from the walls of the side hall, but no matter how it struggled, it could not break out. "So this is a demon?

" Shen Mu halted, blinked, and turned back to test: "Kikeduo suomoye, prajna prajna suomoye, kikeduo prajna suomoye.

" The shadow shrouding the side hall suddenly grew still; then the hall's window lattices burst open, like two dark, sunken eyes, and Shen Mu felt as though a pair of terrible eyes had fixed upon him, an unnameable chill creeping through his bones.

Then the great door of the side hall slammed shut, and at once opened again of its own accord; in the interval between the closing and the opening, a rasping voice came: "The Great Freedom Mantra. You are a junior of my clan?

Pitiable indeed—your mantra has not received the true transmission. Has my clan truly sunk so low?

" Shen Mu probed, "Senior knows the true Great Freedom Mantra? " "Naturally I know it! " The door opened and shut, and a voice brimming with pride came through: "My clan's Great Freedom Mantra holds supreme power—a majestic power that hewed open the world, the power to attain great freedom!

What a pity that, once in your hands, it has become this!

Not the slightest shred of might!

Have this ape stand aside, and I will teach you the true mantra! " Shen Mu glanced at the Dark-Fanged Demon Ape; the Dark-Fanged Demon Ape shook its head and rumbled in a thick voice, "Believe him? A ghost! " "This senior is of my own clan; he will not harm me.

Go out and wait for me," Shen Mu said reassuringly.

The Dark-Fanged Demon Ape was still not altogether easy in its mind, but Shen Mu pushed it out.

The gate of the side hall opened and closed, and that demonic voice spoke: "The true mantra is the subtle mystery of moving one's power; within it is stored the might of gods and demons.

You have only the syllables of the mantra—you have neither its inner spirit nor the method by which its power is brought forth. That method is called the Great Perfection Seal, the core secret art of my clan! My strength is sealed within this hall and cannot last long. Watch carefully: I will teach you only once. How much you can learn will be up to your own ability!

" On the wall of the side hall, the black shadow shrank and shrank, until there appeared a modest shadow about Shen Mu's height; within that shadow line after line emerged, all in motion—the tracks of vital essence in circulation. That demonic voice said: "The Great Perfection Seal comprises four seals: the Demon God Divine Power Seal, the Heavenly Demon Freedom Heaven Seal, the Great Wisdom Brightness Seal, and the last of all, when the three seals merge into one—the Great Perfection Demon Seal!

This is the first seal, the Demon God Divine Power Seal! Your mouth must send forth demon syllables to unleash its might: Kikeduo! " Shen Mu watched without blinking, staring at the black shadow on the wall of the side hall, devoting all his mind to memorizing the path of the working; within his own body, his vital essence, too, began to run along that very track.

"Kikeduo! " The demon words burst from his mouth, and Shen Mu at once felt a terrible power surge up within him; that terrible power forced the five fingers of his hand into a strange seal and, beyond his control, thrust it forward!

Rumble!

A dull, heavy sound rolled out—with this one palm, Shen Mu had actually produced the thunder-peal he had dreamed of: his palm ringing with thunder! Shen Mu stood stunned, feeling it almost beyond belief.

The Demon God Divine Power Seal taught to him by the figure on the wall was astonishingly mighty; in the variety of its changes it could not match Old Master Huo's Thunderclap Eight Formulas, but in sheer force it surpassed them by a wide margin.

Yet this Demon God Divine Power Seal consumed vital essence at a tremendous rate as well—several times what the Thunderclap Eight Formulas used up!

The shadow on the wall writhed, as if seized by something, and was pulled back into the side hall against its will; gasping for breath, it said, "This side hall is too powerful; it presses down on me without cease.

I have not much time left. Watch closely—this is the second seal, the Dark Demon Freedom Seal!

Suomoye!