Chapter 1632: Entering the Dao by Gnawing
"So soon we're about to break off negotiations?"
Although Qin Mu had long anticipated this day would come, he hadn't expected it to arrive so quickly.
His goal was to delay as much time as possible, to give Yan Kang a chance to catch its breath. Right now, only a small portion of Yan Kang had migrated into the chaotic void, and more critically, Yan Kang's war preparations were not yet complete.
"How did the negotiations between Yu Chenzi and the Heavenly Court proceed in detail?"
He furrowed his brow slightly. Negotiations with the Heavenly Court required careful attention to details—the talks between the Heavenly Court's envoys and Yan Kang's envoys could be dragged out through nitpicking details. The longer the delay, the better.
"The Heavenly Court tearing up the agreement is actually a good thing."
He pondered for a moment, then mused: "Those agreements were ones Yan Kang never intended to sign anyway. However, we can lower our posture and negotiate new agreements with the Heavenly Court. For the second round of negotiations, have Yu Chenzi sell off even more of Yan Kang's interests."
The Village Chief and the Pharmacist frowned.
Qin Mu continued: "Doing this should buy us some more time. No matter how humiliating and sovereignty-compromising the agreement Yu Chenzi negotiates, it still has to pass through my hands. As long as I don't sign it, it's just a piece of waste paper."
The Village Chief and the Pharmacist's brows relaxed. The Pharmacist chuckled: "Yu Chenzi will have to bear the infamy."
Qin Mu nodded: "He's already aware of that. When I sent him to the Heavenly Court to sue for peace, he already realized he might bear the infamy, and might even be beaten to death by an angry mob. He was prepared for that long ago. While he's at the Heavenly Court negotiating, we also need to prepare the spiritual energy bridge connections with the other heavens—establishing direct contact with them, bypassing the Heavenly Court."
He paced back and forth, thinking: "During the second round of negotiations between the Heavenly Court and Yan Kang, the Heavenly Court will face a shortage of heavenly currency. They will definitely strike against the other heavens. The Heavenly Court is short on money—distant water can't quench a nearby fire. Sucking the blood of the heavens under the Heavenly Court's control is the fastest way to get money. Sucking the blood of heavens not under their control would take too long."
He looked up, murmuring: "Those heavens' people will be living in misery, and rebellion will be inevitable. When those heavens revolt, how can the Heavenly Court tolerate that? Heavenly Emperor Hao has just taken the throne, needing to balance favor and intimidation—now is his chance to establish his authority. He will surely destroy a few heavens to awe the world. But destroying heavens that are vassals to the Heavenly Court will only terrify the other heavens and alienate his subordinates. Then when Yan Kang stands up to oppose the Heavenly Court, with Yan Kang as the lead sheep, will it spark a prairie fire?"
The source of the Heavenly Court's divine demon army was the myriad heavens—geniuses from all the heavens considered entering the Heavenly Court an honor.
If the Heavenly Court acted tyrannically and lost the people's hearts, then the Heavenly Court would lose its source of talent.
Emperor Hao could certainly rely on the Heavenly Court's overwhelming military might to coerce the myriad heavens, but the tide of popular support would cause more and more people to resist the Heavenly Court.
It was even possible that many heavens would form alliances with Yan Kang, or that geniuses from the myriad heavens would join Yan Kang!
If that happened, the gap in mid-level strength between Yan Kang and the Heavenly Court would narrow considerably—no longer as hopeless as it was now.
The Village Chief asked: "But what if the Heavenly Court forces Yan Kang to sign before we're ready? Sucking the blood of other heavens only delays the decline of heavenly currency. But sucking Yan Kang's blood is a one-and-done solution for the Heavenly Court! You want to delay time, but will Heavenly Emperor Hao give you the chance to delay? Can you gamble with the lives of everyone in Yan Kang?"
Qin Mu shook his head: "I can't. So when the Heavenly Court brings the agreement over, I will sign it. However, the contract I sign is also just a piece of waste paper—I can tear it up at any time."
The Village Chief and the Pharmacist stared wide-eyed, watching his retreating figure as he walked into the palace.
"In the face of Yan Kang's survival, what do personal honor and disgrace matter? Mu'er has truly grown up."
The Village Chief stood up, smiling: "I also need to make a trip to Yan Kang, to negotiate with the Heavenly Court's envoys. Pharmacist, you come with me. Your relationship with Lady Yuanmu is excellent. If you step forward and open up that connection with Lady Yuanmu, we can definitely buy more time."
The Pharmacist's face turned bitter—the Village Chief was asking him to sell his charm.
He had barely escaped from Lady Yuanmu's grasp thanks to the Southern Heaven battle. Now he had to go back?
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable."
The Woodcutter of the Wen Heavenly Pavilion, the Scholar Yan Yunxi, the Old Farmer Zhuo Cha, and the Fisherman Han Tang paid their respects to Qin Mu. Qin Mu returned the greeting and said to the Woodcutter: "Teacher, why have you come?"
The Woodcutter said: "First Heavenly King Di Yiyue has succeeded the position of Kai Huang. We came to inform Pastoral Celestial Venerable. Will Pastoral Celestial Venerable attend the ceremony?"
"Di Yiyue has become the second Kai Huang?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then said: "Her strength can be said to be the number one in Wuyou Township, but she's still far inferior to Kai Huang in his prime. I'm living in seclusion now, so I won't go."
The Woodcutter said: "If Di Yiyue becomes the second Kai Huang, then the Heavenly Court will definitely make a move against Wuyou Township. Can Wuyou Township buy Yan Kang some time?"
Qin Mu gave him a deep look and shook his head: "Even with all of Wuyou Township's strength, against the Heavenly Court's punitive expedition, lasting a year would already be considered good. One Celestial Venerable descending to the mortal world with a million divine demons would be enough to crush Wuyou Township within a year!"
The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha asked: "Is one year enough?"
"The time I need is at least twenty years."
Qin Mu said: "Wuyou Township doesn't need to throw their lives away. If you truly want to help Yan Kang, then send all of Wuyou Township's skilled craftsmen to Yan Kang, to help forge heavy weapons in preparation for the great war twenty years from now! Forty years from now, Kai Huang Qin Ye will appear."
The four Heavenly Masters' hearts shook greatly, and they exchanged glances.
Qin Mu said with a smile: "If you trust me, then entrust Wuyou Township's future to me. During Yu Chenzi's negotiations, Wuyou Township is also a bargaining chip that can be sold off."
The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha was furious, but the Woodcutter Sage understood the implication and laughed: "Wuyou Township is indeed a very good bargaining chip. Then, it's settled."
With his word, the other Heavenly Masters all kept their mouths shut, no longer arguing.
Qin Mu asked curiously: "The four Heavenly Masters came together—surely it can't be just for Di Yiyue becoming the second Kai Huang? Is there something else?"
The Woodcutter Sage said: "I came for personal matters. After all, you are my disciple. As your teacher, I should come and see you in person. The wedding gift I sent when you got married—did you look at it?"
Qin Mu nodded: "I looked at it."
The Woodcutter Sage showed an expectant look: "Can it make up for the deficiencies in your cultivation technique?"
Qin Mu smiled: "In theory, it should work. But I found something better!"
The Woodcutter Sage's beard trembled, and he reached for the axe behind his back. Qin Mu quickly laughed: "Teacher, I'm just joking with you. Look how anxious you got. Even if all four Heavenly Masters attacked together, you couldn't last a single move against me now. Don't get angry."
At his words, Yan Yunxi, Zhuo Cha, and Han Tang also became furious.
Qin Mu quickly said: "It's rare for the four Heavenly Masters to come together. I happen to have a difficult problem I can't solve at the moment. The four of you have great wisdom and insight—help me solve it."
He presented the difficult problem he had encountered when ascending the Chaos Hall, posing it in Dao language about the evolution of the Supreme Ultimate Dao, involving the evolution of yin and yang—profound and obscure.
Although Qin Mu's attainment in the Supreme Ultimate Dao was extremely high, he couldn't solve it at the moment.
When the four Heavenly Masters heard this Dao question, each furrowed their brows. The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha whispered: "What is he saying?"
"He asked a question in Dao language."
The Fisherman Han Tang hesitated for a moment, then said: "It's about the evolution of the Supreme Ultimate."
The Old Farmer Zhuo Cha's face reddened slightly: "Why bother with these strange and exotic things? Martial Dao is simpler!"
Yan Yunxi, the Woodcutter Sage, and Han Tang each pondered, then exchanged ideas after a moment. They had also absorbed the fruits of the Yan Kang reforms and had made considerable achievements of their own.
Han Tang cultivated the path of yin-yang and Supreme Ultimate, which was why his fish basket contained two small red fish—representing his yin-yang Dao.
Yan Yunxi was deeply versed in formations and various miscellaneous studies, with extremely high attainments. She had also studied yin-yang, Supreme Ultimate, four symbols, and eight trigrams.
The Woodcutter Sage's learning was even more eclectic.
The three pondered for a long time but found it difficult to solve. Qin Mu showed a disappointed look—if even he couldn't solve this problem, the four Heavenly Masters of Wuyou Township probably couldn't either.
Suddenly, the Woodcutter Sage whispered: "Zixi, can we use the yang and yin lines of the eight trigrams to replace ones and zeros? That way, the evolution of yin and yang can be solved using mathematics. I have the approach to solving it, but my mathematical attainments are not as good as yours..."
Yan Yunxi's eyes lit up, and she immediately immersed herself in calculation. After a moment, she clapped her hands and laughed: "I've solved this problem!"
Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted. Yan Yunxi manifested her solution process with primordial energy and explained it again. In the air, yin and yang lines were constantly changing, using zeros and ones to form any number, evolving infinitely!
Qin Mu suddenly understood and clapped in admiration.
He immediately entered a meditative state. His primordial spirit took a step toward the Chaos Hall. A Dao question came from within the Chaos Hall, and Qin Mu's primordial spirit answered it in Dao language, smoothly passing through!
His primordial spirit took another step forward, and a new Dao question came from the Chaos Hall.
This question was about the three-state transformation of form, substance, and body in the Supreme Simplicity Dao—also extremely difficult.
Qin Mu pondered for a long time but still found it difficult to solve, so he withdrew again.
The Woodcutter and the other three Heavenly Masters watched him enter meditation, and in just a short moment, his cultivation and strength had improved considerably. They were all astonished.
Yan Yunxi whispered to the Woodcutter: "He's cultivating the Lingxiao realm. After cultivating to the Lingxiao realm, there are nine hundred and ninety-nine stone steps, each with a question. Only after answering them all can one ascend the Lingxiao Hall and advance to the next realm. Answering one question improves one's cultivation and realm."
The Woodcutter's face reddened slightly. Among the four Heavenly Masters, he had unmatched intelligence, but his cultivation realm was the lowest. Although he had benefited from the Yan Kang reforms and crossed the Tianhai realm, he still didn't dare enter the Zhan Shentai realm, let alone the Lingxiao realm.
Qin Mu opened his eyes and enthusiastically presented the Supreme Simplicity Dao question he had heard, expecting the four to solve it.
But the four had little understanding of the Supreme Simplicity Dao. Their eyes were completely in the dark, unable to solve the three-state transformation of form, substance, and body.
The Woodcutter Sage's eyes flickered, and he reminded him: "Why not gather the wisdom of the world to solve this difficult problem? Why just gnaw on the four of us? Why not gnaw on the whole world?"
Qin Mu suddenly understood. He bowed deeply to the ground, thanking the Woodcutter, and laughed: "The Yan Kang reforms have produced countless brilliant minds. I can seek answers from the world! If I can't solve it, someone else will!"
He recorded this Dao question in a divine mirror. Anyone standing before the mirror would hear the Dao question emanating from within.
Qin Mu ordered someone to send this bright mirror to the Yan Kang Academy of Dao, and waited quietly.
After more than ten days, Emperor Yan Feng sent someone back with the bright mirror, accompanied by several young divine beings.
"Your junior, Shu Tongwen, together with these companions, has solved the Celestial Venerable's Dao question." The young divine being bowed.
Qin Mu was overjoyed and humbly sought instruction.
After a long while, Shu Tongwen and the others left with another bright mirror, returning to the Academy of Dao, where they hung the new mirror at the entrance.
In the mirror was a new Dao question—a question about the Supreme Beginning Dao.
Tai Shi heard the news and came. After listening to the Dao question, he took down the mirror and headed to the Yong River Heavenly Palace.
Two days later, Tai Shi returned from the Yong River Heavenly Palace and hung a bright mirror at the entrance of the Academy of Dao.
A few days later, Xu Mengqing, who had come to study, took down the mirror and laughed: "My father told me about this problem a couple of days ago!"
A few more days later, Xu Mengqing returned to the Academy of Dao with a new question. The Yan Kang National Preceptor also heard about this matter and came to listen to the Dao question. After listening, he laughed: "I can solve this." He then took down the mirror and headed to the Yong River Heavenly Palace.
In the Yong River Heavenly Palace, Qin Mu was enthusiastically refining new bright mirrors, having those who solved the Dao questions carry new mirrors back to the Yan Kang Academy of Dao.
Usually, within ten or so days, someone would solve the problem and come to the Yong River Heavenly Palace.
This almost became a grand event at the Yan Kang Academy of Dao—very lively. Whenever a new mirror was hung up, countless young talents and long-established figures would come, all trying to solve the problem!
And whenever a Dao question was solved, it would surely be met with cheers.
Finally, on this day, as the last Dao question was solved, Qin Mu's primordial spirit also stepped onto the topmost stone step of the Chaos Hall. No new stone steps appeared.
He steadied himself, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and looked toward the Chaos Hall.