The great sun hung like a moon in the dim, windy sky. In the eyes of Wu Daoming, the Taishang Heavenly Demon, the Pale Gold Giant towered between heaven and earth, a halo of Buddha-light seeming to shine behind his head. The three faces were identical, but each wore a different expression: solemn, calm, or haughty, all gazing down at him.
Thump!
Had he been discovered? Wu Daoming's heart clenched violently, as if an enemy's hand had closed around it. His vision seemed to flush red.
Although the Demonic Seed had taken control of his body, it had kept him in a mortal's flesh to fool the Dharma Body Masters guarding every direction around Luocheng. Faced with this sudden shock, his body's instinctive response could hardly be restrained.
Of course, that reaction also made him more like an ordinary mortal confronted with such a situation, making it harder for anyone to spot a flaw.
Should he strike first and sow chaos, or stay calmer the more dangerous things became and avoid exposing himself? Amid the pounding of his heart, Wu Daoming hesitated for a brief moment.
Just then, he saw the Pale Gold Giant's three pairs of eyes—six gazes in all—casually shift away from him and settle on the Multi-eyed Heavenly King, whose Dharma Body was crumbling from its tiniest structures onward.
Had he failed to see through Wu Daoming's secret?
Or was he pretending not to have seen through it?
Joy surged in Wu Daoming's heart. Whatever the truth, it meant he had escaped disaster for the moment. He covered his face, pretended to be frightened by the "corpse," and stumbled toward the mouth of the alley.
Elsewhere in Luocheng, a blacksmith set down an unfinished farm tool. A shop assistant remembered that he had left his front door